After the Ethiopian government and military forces in the northern Tigray region agreed to a permanent cease-fire, Ethiopia started taking steps toward peace. The agreement, made by Ethiopia, paves the way for Ethiopian federal security forces to take control of all airports, highways, and federal facilities within the Tigray region. It also allows federal troops to enter Mekelle, the regional capital of Tigray. Ethiopia claims this transition will be “expeditious, smooth, peaceful, and coordinated.”

Nevertheless, the Tigrayan people are under high skepticism of Ethiopia. These are the same soldiers who have been fighting the Tigrayans for the past two years. The United Nations and human rights organizations have accused many of them of committing horrors that constitute as war crimes.

So, will Ethiopia help the Tigray people? Are justice and equity being sought out? Will the Tigrayan people continue to suffer at the hands of the Ethiopian government?

Today, we continued studying the Middle East’s multifaceted and complex history. We learned the importance of the Middle East as a bridge between Africa and Asia and a bridge for both culture and empire. Through the rise of Islam and the expansion of the Ottoman Empire, the Middle East became a prevalent and powerful region in the world. The rise of the Middle East also grew the increase of xenophobic beliefs and Islamophobic ideals in Europe. European Christians believed that Muslims were violent and pursued a false religion. They claimed the Prophet Muhammad (alayhi as-salam) was the antichrist. Islamophobic ideas seen today can be traced back to the Roman Empire. The Ottoman Empire began to decline in the 1600s. In 1798, Napoleon invaded Egypt, signifying the start of European expansion into the Middle East. The Middle East today is shaped but the long-lasting rule of the Ottoman Empire, the growth of Islam, and the expansion of Europe. We are just scratching the surface of a region with so much history.