Living between hope and fear in Ethiopia’s Lalibela

Residents are rebuilding the world heritage city after government troops recaptured it from Tigray rebels.

Ethiopian Orthodox pilgrims attend a prayer session at the monolithic Orthodox church ahead of Ethiopian Christmas in Lalibela, Ethiopia.

Renovations are in full swing at Lalibela's airport. Rebels of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) had destroyed the terminal when they took over the pilgrim site in northern Ethiopia early this December. After government troops recaptured the city, there is now hope for the tens of thousands of pilgrims, who will travel to the area in the coming weeks. Christmas, traditionally celebrated in Ethiopia on January 7, and the Timkat festival on January 19, which marks the baptism of Jesus, are important events for Orthodox Christians in the country.

"For Orthodox Christians, religion is an elixir and that is why pilgrimage sites such as these play such a big role," priest Joachim Hempel says. Hempel was in charge of the rectorate of the German evangelical church in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa between 2018 and 2019 and also undertook many study trips to Lalibela.

Many pilgrims will try to go to Lalibela by car or even on foot and will spend days on destroyed roads. For over a year now, Tigray rebels have been battling government troops under Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who assumed power in 2018 with the promise of reforming the country. Abiy took away the powers of the TPLF, which had dominated the country for 25 years. The ongoing fighting has plunged the country into a humanitarian crisis.

Lalibela has been occupied by rebels and recaptured by government troops twice now. "It is a place, which is of great symbolic value for the entire Ethiopian population and whoever has a foot in the door there, at least has media attention on their side," Hempel tells DW . Political analyst Asfa-Wossen Asserate endorses this point of view: Lalibela never had anything to do with the conflict directly. "There was no military reason but a publicity-related one."

Churches carved out of rocks

Wíth a population of around 3,500, the city of Lalibela lies tucked in the mountainous region of Amhara on the border of Tigray, where the rebels come from. The city is known for its rock churches, sculpted in the 13th century on the wishes of Emperor Gebre Meskel Lalibela. What makes these churches unique is that they were carved directly into the volcanic rocks, and the best-known of these is "Bete Giyorgis" (Church of St. George), that was carved 13 meters deep into stone in the form of a Greek cross. Before the pandemic, 40,000 to 50,0000 visitors came each year to see the churches, which have been UNESCO World Heritage sites since 1978.

"Lalibela was created as a 'compensation' for devout Ethiopian Christians, to replace a nearly impossible pilgrimage to Jerusalem with a trip to Lalibela," according to Hempel. In 1187, Jerusalem was captured by the Islamic ruler Saladin and the spiritual center of Christianity became part of the Muslim world. In adjacent regions of Ethiopia as well, Islam played an important role during this time. A good example is the Aksumite Empire, which, during the late antique period, comprised of present-day Eritrea, parts of Ethiopia, Sudan and Yemen. Its capital, Aksum, in the region of Tigray today, was considered Ethiopia's center of Christianity until the downfall of the Empire. Lalibela took over that position.

The city has retained its meaning for Christianity but it has also developed into an important center for research, says Marco Vigano, founder and coordinator of two NGOs engaged in the research and administration of Ethiopian natural and cultural heritage. "Many of the golden paintings on the rocks on the inside of the main churches, like the one on Christ's crucifixion are really unique. You can still see the colors," Vigano says. The pilgrim sites not only attract believers and tourists, but also archaeologists.

Human rights violations

As rebels marched into Lalibela, they plundered houses and hotels and committed war crimes ranging from rape to murder. According to Marco Degasper, travel head at Simien Eco Tours, many residents fled to Bahir Dar, the capital of the Amhara region, or to Addis Ababa. The rebels however didn't touch the rock churches. They are intact, confirms Lazare Eloundou Assomo, director of the UNESCO World Heritage Center. "It is a fact that the we will do everything so Ethiopians have international support and assistance to work together towards the conservation of these sites."

Meanwhile, people who fled Lalibela are now slowly coming back. They hope that they will be able to rebuild enough so they can host pilgrims during the Ethiopian Christmas. At present, there is no electricity or running water, says travel head Degasper, who is closely in touch with his colleagues in the area. The residents of Lalibela also need not worry about fresh fighting, says political scientist Asfa-Wossen Asserate. "All areas, that were taken by the TPLF in the Amhara region have now been freed." But it is too early to predict how the conflict will develop. In Lalibela, people are determinedly looking towards the future, to rebuild the pilgrim site into what it once was: a place of peace, faith, and hope.