In a part of the world where little attention is given
beyond the briefest of news flashes, there is an ongoing famine
impacting countless lives. Spurred in part by both drought and war, a
famine is now casting its long shadow over millions of people across
the Middle East and many parts of Africa.
Foreign interventionism, U.S. arms manufacturing and
humanitarian aid that often comes too little and too late have helped
twist a knife in wounds made by war and colonialism. This endless,
man-made cycle continues to unleash devastating consequences.
Somalia, where the U.S. has been waging a covert drone
war, is no stranger to famine. Between 2011 and 2012, over 260,000
died, half of them children under the age of 5, making it the worst
famine in the last 25 years. Data from Somalia’s Food Security and
Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU) shows that 4.6 percent of the total
population and 10 percent of children under 5 died in southern and
central Somalia alone during that time.
The report argues that a combination of events led to
the devastating famine, starting with weather conditions, which were
the driest seen in the eastern Horn of Africa in 60 years. The
organization found that “the result was widespread livestock
deaths, the smallest cereal harvest since the 1991-94 civil war, and
a major drop in labor demand, which reduced household income.”
In addition, the amount of humanitarian aid delivered to
southern Somalia in 2010 and 2011 was exceptionally low, “especially
compared to 2008-2009, when food aid accounted for a significant
proportion of national cereal supply.” Not mentioned in FSNAU’s
report is the U.S.-led “war on terror” and wider
counter-terrorism policies, which have brought about the rise of
extremist groups like al-Shabaab.
Full
article:
Comments
Post a Comment