Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire
  • omnibus

Ethiopian Mystery: The Case of the 428 Disappearing Food Aid Trucks
Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
29 Sep 2021
Ethiopian Mystery: The Case of the 428 Disappearing Food Aid Trucks
Ethiopian Mystery: The Case of the 428 Disappearing Food Aid Trucks

For nearly a year, warmonger and USAID administrator Samantha Power has been shrieking about famine in Ethiopia's Tigray, and demanding the humanitarian corridor that 428 massive food aid trucks have now mysteriously disappeared into.

Since July 12, the UN World Food Program (UNWFP) has sent 466 food aid trucks into Ethiopia’s war torn Tigray region, but only 38 have returned. That’s 428 missing or stranded trucks, and these aren’t pickups. They’re massive six-wheelers and more, usually pulling more massive cargo loads behind. They’re not cheap. Whether they’re owned by the UNWFP or private contractors, that’s a lot of pricey trucks.

The BBC reports, “We've asked the UN where the trucks are, but they haven't yet been able to provide clarification.”

Really? There’s no satellite intelligence that could spot more than 400 massive trucks on the ground even though it can spot every house on every block in the world these days? There are no truck drivers with satellite phones to stay in touch with the UNWFP, even if Tigray’s communications infrastructure is down? The UNWFP can afford to lose hundreds of these trucks, but can’t afford sat phones for the drivers?

Or are the trucks underground, and if so, why?

Are they perhaps full of Tigrayan Peoples’ Liberation Front (TPLF) troops and ammunition on their way to and from the war’s front lines? There’s no hard evidence of that, but it’s a theory as good as any the BBC is floating. And the BBC does, at least briefly, quote the Ethiopian government saying that fuel shortages are not the problem, and suggesting that the trucks may have been seized by the TPLF.

Of the 38 trucks that returned, all returned before September 16, meaning 279 trucks were missing at that time. Nevertheless, the UNWFP sent another 149 trucks last week, the third week of September. Why? Because the situation is so desperate that they disregarded hundreds of massive missing trucks? Unlikely. But none of the 149 have returned.

Does the UNWFP have so many massive trucks that they needn’t worry about hundreds getting lost? And so many truck drivers who don’t fear driving into a black hole?

Once again according to the BBC:

“Tigrayan forces fighting the Ethiopian government and its allies have laid the blame at the door of the Ethiopian government. ‘The truck drivers are provided with fuel that's only [enough] for a one-way trip to Tigray. They are not provided [with] reserve fuel [to return] that is customary on such trips,’ the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) said in a statement.”

If that were true, how could the UNWFP send 466 massive aid trucks into Tigray without knowing that all but 38 lacked the fuel to return? Why would they send another 149 trucks without a refueling plan if hundreds had indeed lacked the fuel to return?

And again, what about the truck drivers? Would all but 38 of 466 drive into Tigray knowing that they lacked the fuel to return? Never fear, the BBC has another possible answer:

“It [the TPLF] also says truck drivers—many of them ethnic Tigrayans—complain of violence and intimidation during inspections at checkpoints manned by the Ethiopian military and local security officials outside Tigray. It says they are not willing to go through these again to make the return journey.

“There are also restrictions on the amount of cash that can be carried, and with banking services suspended inside Tigray, there is no money available for them when they arrive.”

Well, again, if any of this were true, why did the UNWFP send another 149 trucks in during the third week of September? Why had they continued to send hundreds of trucks between July 12 and September 16 if only 38 had returned?

The BBC assigned “BBC Reality Check” staffers to investigate the case of the missing trucks, so why haven’t they asked these questions?

Why do the missing trucks matter?

For one, no individual or institution should ever give the donor-dependent UNWFP another dime if they’ve lost track of more than 400 massive aid trucks in Tigray or anywhere else, or if they were stupid or devious enough to keep sending hundreds of trucks when only 38 had returned. The US, UK, and Germany fund the majority of the UNWFP budget, with more contributions coming from individuals and corporations. Are any of them asking questions, and if not, why not?

For two, the near starvation of the Tigrayan people has been the rallying cry of USAID Chief Samantha Power, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and the rest of the humanitarian interventionist gang in the US and EU and their stenographic press. If they’re really so distraught, can’t they find a way to make sure these food aid trucks return for more? They have a lot of sway with the TPLF, their former puppets, who control the trucks’ destination, Tigray.

For three, can’t the UNWFP and/or donor nations make sure that the truck drivers have satellite phones so the UNWFP and the rest of us can at least know where they’ve gone and why they haven’t returned? Their safety would seem to be a concern for both the UNWFP and its donors.

For four, was the food distributed to its intended recipients in Tigray before 428 of 466 trucks disappeared? Or did it disappear with the trucks?

Ann Garrison is a Black Agenda Report Contributing Editor based in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2014, she received the Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza Democracy and Peace Prize  for promoting peace through her reporting on conflict in the African Great Lakes Region. You can support her independent journalism on Patreon . She can be reached on Twitter @AnnGarrison  and at ann(at)anngarrison(dot)com.

Ethiopia
Tigray

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles. Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


Related Stories

Notes from Wartorn Ethiopia, Part III: Crimes of the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front
Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
Notes from Wartorn Ethiopia, Part III: Crimes of the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front
27 April 2022
BAR contributor Ann Garrison reports on conditions in Ethiopia.
Notes from Wartorn Ethiopia, Part II
Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
Notes from Wartorn Ethiopia, Part II
20 April 2022
BAR contributing editor Ann Garrison continues her reporting from Ethiopia.
Notes from Wartorn Ethiopia
Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
Notes from Wartorn Ethiopia
13 April 2022
BAR Contributing Editor Ann Garrison reports from Ethiopia.
H.R. 6600 Would Impose More Harsh and Illegal US Sanctions, this time on Ethiopia and Eritrea
Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
H.R. 6600 Would Impose More Harsh and Illegal US Sanctions, this time on Ethiopia and Eritrea
23 February 2022
House Resolution 6600, the misnamed Ethiopia Stabiliz
Ethiopia, from The Development State to The Neoliberal State
Djibo Sobukwe
Ethiopia, from The Development State to The Neoliberal State
26 January 2022
The current conflict in Ethiopia must be examined with a deep analysis of that country's history.
The Deadly, Destructive Costs of Ethiopia’s Illusory Independence
Mark P. Fancher
The Deadly, Destructive Costs of Ethiopia’s Illusory Independence
05 January 2022
The mythology of Ethiopian independence is an impediment to understanding the current situation.
Humanitarian Hawks Demand War on Ethiopia, National Guard Deploys to the Horn
Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
Humanitarian Hawks Demand War on Ethiopia, National Guard Deploys to the Horn
14 December 2021
News of the deployment of National Guard troops to an unspecified location in the Horn of Africa is an indication that US interference in the r
How the Left Can Get Ethiopia Right: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly with #NoMore
Filmon Zerai
How the Left Can Get Ethiopia Right: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly with #NoMore
14 December 2021
The best way for leftist anti-imperialists to support Ethiopia is to not take a hardline position on the internal politics of the country.
#NoMore Censorship of Africa’s Roving Digital Army of Peace
Simon Tesfamariam
#NoMore Censorship of Africa’s Roving Digital Army of Peace
01 December 2021
The removal of Twitter accounts advocating for peace in the Horn of Africa shows the connection between the state and big tech companies.
Ethiopia: The West’s Diplomats Meet in Secret to Decide How to Help the TPLF
Jeff Pearce
Ethiopia: The West’s Diplomats Meet in Secret to Decide How to Help the TPLF
01 December 2021
Former and current diplomats from the US, EU and UK met with representatives of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).

More Stories


  • Black Agenda Radio May 13, 2022
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio May 13, 2022
    13 May 2022
    Black and Palestinian solidarity, the Cuban revolution lives, and say political prisoners' names while they're still alive.
  • Black and Palestinian Solidarity
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black and Palestinian Solidarity
    13 May 2022
    Asantewaa Nkrumah-Ture is an organizer and dues paying member of Black Alliance for Peace Philadelphia. She recently spoke at the Al Awda conference in New York, to discuss the history of Black and…
  • The Cuban Revolution Lives
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    The Cuban Revolution Lives
    13 May 2022
    Camille Landry is a lifelong activist and owner of Nappy Roots books in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. She is also outreach coordinator for the Lucy Parsons Popular Human Rights Schools for Alliance for…
  • Say Political Prisoners Names While They’re Still Alive
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Say Political Prisoners Names While They’re Still Alive
    13 May 2022
    It was recently announced that Sundiata Acoli, Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Army member, will be granted parole after nearly 50 years of incarceration. The late Glen Ford, co-founder of…
  • Obama and Liberals Killed Abortion Rights
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Obama and Liberals Killed Abortion Rights
    11 May 2022
    The revelation that the Supreme Court is poised to overturn the Roe v. Wade decision has not motivated left-wing democrats to effectively mobilize on an issue they claim to care about. They are made…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us