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Food Crisis - Discuss!
Anyone up for a discussion on the food crisis in Africa?
For those that don't know, the UN will be declaring a famine in portions of Somalia tomorrow. Famine can be hard to declare because so much is taken into account and a ton of stats are gathered. Anyways, over 11 million people in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia are affected by the worst drought in over 60 years. Aid of course can't properly get into Somalia because of Al Queda, so people are fleeing. I should note, the main stronghold group over Somalia decided to let aid groups in to avoid a humanitarian disaster but Al Queda has essentially said no way.
The largest refugee camp is located in Kenya and currently has close to 500,000 people. They are getting 4,000-5,000 new refugees each week - in just that camp alone. Families walking over 25 days to get to camp - many dying along the way. Once they reach camp, they wait to be processed. They wait to be granted and given refugee status and then they are able to get a ration of food and water. There is simply not enough food and not enough aid. The drought has killed off all crops. Livestock has died off, which then affects the food chain. New rains are not expected until October and the rainy season has not provided sufficient rains the past 2 years.
The last official famine was in 1984/1985 and this is seen as one of the biggest humanitarian crisis'/disasters in a very long time. Millions are being affected and it's really only the beginning. Things are expected to get much worse.
Discuss! What do you think the role of the US should be, if any? Should we provide additional aid? Why doesn't the US media cover this more? I saw a brief 5 minute thing on Nightline and that's really about it. Is the need just seriously too big that we don't know how to help? Does this fall solely on the UN who says they do not have enough aid? Do you think the US should just stay out of it?
Someone better discuss with me! lol
Re: Food Crisis - Discuss!
honestly speaking - this is why I think its not covered more -
1. People are starving in Africa? It's not a new thing - hence why media isnt paying much attention to it. Doesnt grab the ratings much. People are always starving there. To sound like a total American Ahole, its "old news" (gah, did that just come out of my mouth?") - Like I said, just being totally honest - if even unpleasant to think how shiesty americans can be.
2. There is a LOT going on here in the US - especially with the economoy, elections, ect.....its getting more press.
3. I think that the US population doesnt get all hopped up to march off there because HONESTLY - its a give/take thing. We are much more apt to help a place that has something to offer (read - OIL).
4. Its unpleasant to watch. NO ONE wants to see a child dying on the ground, all swollen bellies, ect......I dont want to see that - so in my perfect little world, honestly, I'd probably turn the channel. I dont want to watch circus animals get beat, so I dont watch the PETA stuff on youtube. Its just unpleasant. I remember when someone posted that story about the photog who killed himself because he took a pic of a dying child in the dirt while a vulture waited behind the child - and he didnt help the kid? - I saw that pic, and I wish I wouldnt have. I think about it every now and then, and it really bothers me.
5. Africa I think, for the most part, is pretty unstable (as far as warlords go and all that) - now, I dont know that much about the conflict over there, but it seems like there is always some azzhole starving his people to gain power or control.
-- Now, as far as the UN's role - yes, keep trying to feed them, and get food to them - but I dont think firing up another US war over there is a good idea right now. We are spread pretty thin already. With so many rules of when you can shoot, when you cant, ect.....shitt, what can you do anymore? Nothing.
Like I've said 1 billion times before, the world is going to ***. All of it. Everywhere.
I think we have a bazillion problems at home like everyone else does...but my issue is that, while I don't think we should be the country spearheading and paying for international endeavors, I do think we should buck up and pay our dues to the UN, and do our role with NATO and every other international organization that we "belong" to yet we are the #1 developed country that is NOT paying it's dues. How do we expect these organizations to function if one of the leading countries isn't doing it's part.
UN would be a great option.....if the countries that contribute to it did just that...contributed.
That being said, if my husband would agree, we would sell our house--we wouldn't be in the US, we would be in an underdeveloped country doing humanitarian work.
I could go off on a tangent about how the overconsumption of the most developed countries is, in part, responsible for the fact that there isn't enough food and resources to go around but I wont
Oi. I could answer this on so many levels, but for me the bottom line is our fear of scarcity as individuals, which becomes a societal norm. We fear not having "enough" - whatever that is - for ourselves and our immediate families, and this allows us to ignore other indidividuals, then other ethnic and/or socio-economic groups, and then finally entire nations and continents that aren't "like us."
It's a self-perpetuating cycle. Picture a circle with rings around it. We place ourselves at the center of the circle. Our loved ones are the closest rings. Then our neighbors and the people we interact with everyday, etc. are the next closest rings. The rings keep going outward, and they represent people we don't come face to face with, and the people we sense are "different" from us. The further the ring is from the center, the further the people they represent are from our everyday consciousness. And the easier they are to avoid.
Addressing the UN and our national government is a whole other post, but getting back to this fear of scarcity on an individual level... I truly believe that many of us have a fear that there isn't enough to go around, and that we need to STORE, STOCK UP, HOARD what we can get our hands on, "just in case." This is why the poverty rate among children is surpassing 25% in our nation, because we put ourselves first and make sure that our own shelves are "adequately stocked" first, before, for example, donating food to others. The problem is, because of our fear of scarcity (i.e., the false belief that there isn't enough food for everyone) what we THINK is "adequate" or "enough for ourselves" keeps changing. We keep thinking that we need more and more BEFORE we can give to others. We say, "If I won the lottery I'd donate a bunch to people in need" or "If I were rich I'd be more generous." But again, if you start with the false belief ~ the fear ~ that there isn't enough for everyone, then no matter HOW much you have, you will never have enough, to give away. But if you start with generosity first, and with the belief that God has provided for you, and will keep providing for you, AND that God has blessed you with resources SO THAT you can share them with others, it's a different story.
Take food. I can't tell you how many food drives I've been part of where people donate what they think they might not use. Where they must be saying to themselves, "Well, beggars can't be choosers. This product should be 'good enough' for 'them' since they're hungry... and it's been sitting around here so long that I guess I don't really "need" it... I won't miss it that much, so it's a win-win for everyone." They pat themselves on the back for giving up something, but they've chosen something that they really won't miss and didn't really want for themselves anyway.
This mentality really saddens me, and I remember having it myself. It reminds me of children who are asked to share their candy, and try to give the least desirable candy to others because that way they don't have to deal with the uncomfortable feeling of letting go of something they want for themselves.
We're afraid of our own potential suffering. We let fear be our driving emotion.
We're afraid that we won't have enough in the future, and so we don't give more to others in the present. This fear drives us to buy too much for ourselves, but sadly we will NEVER have "enough" if we never honestly address our own hidden fear of scarcity.
"Give us THIS DAY our DAILY bread."
Oh yes, I totally agree. Sorry, I didnt' mean getting into another war or anything. Plus, as we've learned this week, we can't exactly hit targets anymore (joking). Side note, did anyone hear that story? We had what some are saying Al Queda's new leader a few days after Bin Laden was killed and they missed his truck that they were following with three different missiles! The truck stopped, he switched trucks, sped off, and then we got his old truck with 2 Al Queda operatives - but not the main guy. I saw it on CNN last night. Anyways, yes, I agree with you there entirely.
Sounds like the US did pledge more aid this morning. I want to know where the money is going though. Are we just sending it to the UN and then not giving them any support? Can't we pay some companies here in the US to make some food to send over? That would help the economy at the same time. If we want to help medical things, have the US manufacture more medical supplies to send over. Can we provide them support logistically?
During the last famine, over 1 million people died. I don't know if they are estimating death totals, but it is so sad.
I know there are a bit more logistics involved, but what is really aggravating to me is how many could be helped if everyone just gave one dollar. That's it. A buck.
I agree with dingwoman that we're able to "remove" ourselves - to an extent. Before this whole midwest flooding thing, I would've said, "Yes, that's it!" But when I saw (see) the lack of our very own Omaha metro area not doing a damn thing with regarding to helping their "own," who could be considered just like them, I'm not so sure I can totally agree.