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Birhanu Degefa was visiting family in the Ethiopian city of Shire in November, when soldiers suddenly began rounding up men on the street, accusing them of being rebels, and demanding to see their identity papers.

War had just broken out in the northern region between Tigrayan rebels and government forces, and Tigrayans like Birhanu were at high risk of being profiled and arrested, or worse.

She had just been crowned , but Ethiopian marathon runner Gotytom Gebreslase broke down in tears when asked if her family was celebrating her win back home in war-torn Tigray.

"I haven't spoken to my parents in months," she said, wiping her eyes as she spoke at a during the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, in the northwestern U.S. state of Oregon, in July.