Truemors
OPINION PIECE:
Why is there so much publicity about Dharfur (and rightly so!) yet we hear so little about events happening in Somalia these days? They are certainly both experiencing the same horrors.
Does it always have to come down to out of sight, out of mind?
As a population inside Africa, is it just not important enough for the rest of the world to worry about, or have we just had enough of seeing and thinking about starving and murdered children?
If that's the case, then shame on us.
Nairobi, 27 March 2008 - The World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that Somalia is sinking deeper into an abyss of suffering with hundreds of thousands of women and children uprooted by fighting.
Unless real action to end insecurity is taken very soon, the world is in danger of seeing a whole generation of Somali children growing up having only known war.
Peter Goossens, WFP’s Country Director for Somalia [says] lack of security is preventing full humanitarian access to some areas.
“The international community must put Somalia at the top of its agenda and press for change before it is too late,” said Peter Goossens, WFP’s Country Director for Somalia.
Somalia is part of the Horn of Africa, located on the east coast. It is a peninsula that juts out into the Arabian Sea and keeps company with such other African countries as; Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia.
The latter three countries have all at one time or another faced severe war and famine (ongoing,) that killed off 100s of 1000s of it's population.
(Why on Earth didn't they fish in the Arabian Sea, which is known for it's plethora of diverse fish species?!)
The entire area has to deal with excessive heat and hot trade winds, as well as being constantly volatile and devoid of nourishing food.
It's history is also a violent one; being first involved in the East African Campaign in World War I, then a campaign of the same name, again in World War II.
"We call on all authorities in Somalia to help us reach those in need and urge donors not to give up on this country,” he said.
National reconciliation vital
“All efforts on the security and political front must be urgently scaled up,” Goossens said. He added that an inclusive political process that leads to true national reconciliation was vital to put a lasting end to conflict since 1991.
“Unless real action to end insecurity is taken very soon, the world is in danger of seeing a whole generation of Somali children growing up having only known war,” said Goossens.
WFP warned that the lack of access to the most needy in Mogadishu was becoming untenable. The Somali capital is currently gripped by rising fuel and food prices, which are hitting the poorest families hardest when they were already struggling to survive with few opportunities to work.
When the Siad Barre regime fell in Somalia in the 90s, Osama Bin Laden formed a plan. He funded the al-Itihaad al-Islamiya (already funded by wealthy Saudis) which had ties to al-Qaeda and sent foreign militants in to fight alongside members of the al-Itihaad.
The goal was to form an Islamic state in the Horn of Africa.
Widespread suffering
So far this year, fighting between government and anti-government forces has caused some 20,000 people to flee their homes in Mogadishu every month. A total of 700,000 people – mostly women and children – escaped from the capital in 2007.
Fighting in the capital has caused widespread human suffering and more hunger. Nutrition assessments have been unable to take place in Mogadishu.
Nothwithstanding the insecurity, hot meals made with WFP food continue to be given to a daily average of 52,000 people in Mogadishu – 90 percent women and children – the first such programme in Somalia since the 1992-1993 famine. Food assistance is also reaching the vast majority of people in need outside of the capital.
September 24th, 2001, saw Bush's administration sanction al-Islamiya's finances under Executive Order 13224. They also sanctioned it's leader, Hassan Dahir Aweys.
Tough
Somalia is considered the most difficult place in the world for humanitarian agencies to work. WFP staff and beneficiaries risk their lives daily. Beyond Mogadishu, fighting and attacks have forced WFP staff to pull out of some key areas.
In order to help ensure food for some 1.5 million people in the country, WFP is urgently appealing for US$10 million, particularly in cash, required between now and July.
Without urgent new contributions, WFP warns that it will start running out of pulses in April, cereals and vegetable oil in May and corn-soya blend in June.
WFP has recently raised the number of people it expects to feed in Somalia this year to 2.1 million.
SOS Children's Villages USA - Abandoned Children
VOA News
Somalia Humanitarian Crisis Worsens
by Joe de Capua and Alisha Ryu
Sources:
World Food Program
WFP Warns Somalia Sinking Deeper Into Abyss of Suffering
Wikipedia
Somalia
Horn of Africa
Conflicts in the Horn of Africa
al-Itihaad al-Islamiya
Image Sources:
World Food Program
WFP Warns Somalia Sinking Deeper Into Abyss of Suffering
Wikipedia
Somalia
Horn of Africa
NASA
Horn of Africa
Other Images:
Wikimedia Common
Digg
del.icio.us
AddToAny
Comments (0)