Birhan Woldu

Birhan Woldu (born 1981) is an Ethiopian who, as a child during the 1983-1985 Ethiopian famine, appeared in video footage taken while she was starving and close to death. The footage was shown at Live Aid in 1985.

Woldu was originally found in 1984 by a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) documentary crew led by Brian Stewart and Tony Burman.^[1] Her family had walked from their village in Tigray to Mek'ele in hopes of finding food or relief. Her sister Azmara died during the trip, and she and her mother both became very ill.

While at the aid center her father, Woldu Menameno, was told by the attending nuns that Birhan would likely die within the next fifteen minutes. He wrapped her in a white burial shroud and began to dig a grave. However, as he began to bury his daughter, he noticed a faint pulse. He alerted the nurses, who eventually restored her to health.^[2]

She subsequently became a symbol of the 1984—1985 Ethiopian famine and a trigger for the global famine relief effort. In 2004, an adult Woldu appeared in Band Aid 20's music video for "Do They Know It's Christmas". In 2005, Bob Geldof had the film played again, at the Live 8 concert in London, then introduced Woldu, who thanked the audience for their support, in her native tongue. She remained on stage for the first part of Madonna's performance of "Like a Prayer".

In 2010, Birhan, then a nurse, became engaged to Birhanu Meresa, whom she had met while the two attended an agricultural college in Ethiopia.^[3]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Indepth: Ethiopia - Strange Destiny CBC website
• Original TV report that inspired the aid projects around the world (1 November 1984)

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