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As you all know, the famine in the Horn of Africa, specifically in Somalia, is undeniably one of the worst catastrophes to have hit the continent perpetually plagued by drought, conflict, poverty, corruption and any other sensationalistic term used by the media to tug at our more-and more apathetic heart strings. To this day, over 29 000 children have perished during what is commonly called as "the worst drought in 60 years". On top of that, Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations' Secretary General, said that 12.4 million people in the area are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, be it medical aid, life-saving nutrients or even the most basic of human necessities: food and water. When it comes to the nation of Somalia, the situation is especially dire considering that, according to the humanitarian organisation CARE, the malnutrition rate in the country is the highest in the world: a mind-boggling 60% of the population is literally starving to death. In an incontestably forlorn attempt at seeking food and shelter, over 400 000 Somalis have completed the treacherous trek to Dabaab, the world's largest refugee camp situated in Northern Kenya that was originally meant for 92 000, but is currently serving an unbelievable 500 000. In parallel, more than 100 000 of the country's inhabitants have risked everything by fleeing to Mogadishu, the nation's capital. In the words of one of the lucky few who were actually able to make it to the city of two million, the meager ration of sugar, dates, cooking oil and a bag of 25 kilograms of rice "is the first food I have been given since I came to Mogadishu two months ago". What is currently happening in the country is the most severe calamity that has struck Somalia since the ousting of Said Barre and the resulting fracas in 1991-1992. The pitiful state of the nation was what forced the United Nations to declare a famine in the region for the first time in 19 years. Though that extreme term has only been used to describe six of the eight regions of Southern Somalia, the area in the Horn of Africa most in need, the UN is fearful that the famine, that has already caused the daily deaths of 4 children out of 10 000, will spread pandemically.The United Nations also warns that "750,000 people [are] at risk of death in the coming four months in the absence of adequate response". According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, 40% of the inhabitants of the Horn of Africa live in areas prone to food shortages. That statistic translates to a truly distressing 70 million people who risk facing undernourishment.
Considering these truly baleful symptoms that render survival in the Horn of Africa an improbable outcome, one is forced to ask thyself: Why is this going on? What can explain the pure anguish that is plaguing the existence of over 160 million people? Naturally, there are many different ways to attempt to decipher the precarious situation in the region, but not all can truly account for all the pain and suffering innocent people have been going through since the food shortages first commenced in April of this year.
The first possible root-cause for the famine in the Horn of Africa is the astronomical prices that have now been set on the basic grains that support the inhabitants of the region. According to World Vision, certain essentials like cereal and water have faced price increases of 300%. Also, the aliments that are most needed for the survival of the farmers and their families are coincidentally those that are the rarest and the most expensive. So, when it comes to grains and cereal, the Southern Somalis can't even afford what they need for survival and are faced with no other option than to flee the region. On top of that, Oxfam International, a confederation of fifteen humanitarian organizations, predicts that food prices will double in the next twenty years. With no money, the farmers are forced to sell both their livestock and their crops in complete desperation. However, because of globalization, their own crops have been devalued when faced with the cheaper imports that litter the local markets. That element renders crop harvesting futile in the eyes of the farmers seeing as they put so much time and effort into their farming and what they finally reap can't be sold. The incentive to grow is also harmed by the fact that the government of Somalia doesn't have the means of storing the surplus food donations received and instead simply gives it away or dumps it onto the local markets again for prices inferior to those of the farmers. So, instead of helping those who truly are in need, the Somalian government does nothing but take advantage of the dire situation by profiting of international donations meant for the people. With malnourished livestock whose meat is now worth less than the essential cereal that supports both them and their farmers, the pastoralists and their starving families have lost the only opportunity they had to buy food. For example, grass, a primary aliment for livetock, has more than doubled in price because of the famine and the ensuing scarcity of aliments it engendered
The second possible root-cause for the famine in the Horn of Africa is the presence of the Al-Shabaab in Southern Somalia. According to the Council on Foreign Relations:
"The Al-Shabaab [...] is an Islamic organization that controls much of southern Somalia, excluding the capital, Mogadishu. It has waged an insurgency against Somalia's transitional government and its Ethiopian supporters since 2006. Originally the militant wing of the Islamic Courts Union, the group that controlled Somalia prior to the country's invasion by Ethiopian forces, Al-Shabaab leaders have claimed affiliation with al-Qaeda since 2007."The reason why they represent a root-cause to this problem is the fact that they are literally starving their opposition (i.e. the inhabitants of Southern Somalia) as a way of putting their Islamic beliefs on the international scene. Their acts are guided by an extremist ideology based on their own unique and severe variation of the Sharia law. The main motive of this group is essentially to overthrow the transitional government in place in Somalia. Due to their affiliation with al-Qaeda, they are naturally against anything that has to the with the Western Hemisphere. Their role in the current famine in Southern Somalia is considered by many as the main cause for this complicated situation. The fact that there has been no central government in Somalia since Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991 essentilly means that the power over the country is up for grabs. Consequently, that is where the al-Shabaab comes in. Through war and corruption, this extremist group profits from the current unrest and distress in the region to support itself both in arms and in militants. By implementing ridiculous taxes on all aspects of trade, they have already been able to make away with 100 million dollars every year. To further prove their point and increase their credibility, the Al-Shabaab has also interdicted the aid of many international humanitarian organizations which they deem to have too many "western" influences that could harm their Islamic goals. Already, they have expulsed groups like UNICEF, both the Red Cross and the Red Crescent and even the World Food Program.
The final possible root cause for the famine in the Horn of Africa is also my personal diagnosis for the total catastrophe that is taking place right in front of our eyes. I believe that the main cause for this situation that is quickly becoming irremediable is the crop failure that causes a loss of essential livestock which, in turn, snowballs into the death of the farmers by way of an evident a lack of food. The inefficiency of the crop system that the inhabitants of the Horn of Africa have depended on for such a long time is in part due to the massive drought that has been plaguing the region before the famine was even declared. Though droughts in the impoverished and arid area usually occur every 10 years, but now, because of climate change, they have been reappearing every two years bringing food shortages with them at each visit. The increased chronicity of the droughts is also due to the to the fact that the rain seasons that provide relief to the region have been total failures. That element results in the loss of the main source of revenue for many Southern Somalis: their livestock. Seeing as a great majority of the herders that reside in Southern Somalia are pastoralists whose nomadic lifestyle is centered around the survival of their animals, the death of their primary resource represents the end of their self-sufficient survival. The importance of livestock in their lives takes on a greater meaning when you consider the fact that "In people's concept, the life of the individual is at least equal as the one of the animal, often less important". Naturally, with no money to gain from their dying animals, they have nothing but the clothes on their back. So, with that in mind, being self-sufficient is but an idealistic hope that the farmers can never attain. The livestock they depended on before was their source of income to buy the grains that were the basis of their crops. The lack of crops also means that the ones that they luckily were able to harvest are all that they have left. That naturally leads to a food shortage which forces the farmers to flee in hopes of a better chance of survival in one of the overpopulated refugee camps in the Horn of Africa.
Considering my choice for the diagnosis for the famine affecting 12.4 million people in the Horn of Africa, it's now time to wonder: What can be done? In my opinion, I believe we must concentrate on the long-term solutions to this problem instead of those whose positive impact will only be felt for a very short amount of time. Seeing as both the drought and the ensuing famine are persistent issues, the response must equal the importance of what it's trying to combat. When it comes to the crop failures in the Horn of Africa, I think the main problem is that the farmers and their families are too dependent on rain. As we all know, Mother Nature can be as generous as she can be wrathful. Her unpredictability is a fact that we cannot deny nor change. So, instead of wasting time evaluating the potential of a crisis and ignoring the signs of an obvious disaster, we have to find a way to work around the unpredictable. One possible solution is the long-term development of the irrigation system in the region. With a proper irrigation system, the little rain that may fall can be efficiently stored and distributed. An efficient irrigation system will permit us to focus on the aridity of the land that supports both the animals and their farmers. Due to deforestation and desertification, the land in the Horn of Africa is becoming more and more barren. The inability to yield anything does nothing but hurt those that depend on it. Because of those important elements, the pastoralists aren't able to grow the crops that keep them alive nor the grass that feeds their livestock. Therefore, their potential to be self-sufficient is hindered and they must depend on buying food that they can't even afford. Something else that urgently needs to be done is the modernization of the traditional farming techniques that the pastoralists have been using for such a long time. Already, this calamitous famine has served as a proof to the inefficiency of their techniques. If they want to be able to compete with the cheap imports that devalue their crops, they need to produce more and more often. Though that may sound very idealistic, it is a feasible task if the farmers receive the appropriate machinery and fertilizers that can make their life so much easier. To help them with that, an emphasis has to be made on feeding the livestock they so dearly depend on. As mentioned previously, with no livestock, they are forced to flee and risk their lives on the way. So, if the animals are fed, the pastoralists have a reason to stay and fight back against this purely man-made famine. It gives them a needed incentive to keep on pushing. I consider all these solutions to be plausible seeing as they are all interconnected and can all be achieved through one main action: the prioritization of self-reliance and sustainability.
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So, how can you help? By believing in the spirit of Christmas and by giving gifts that can actually make a long-term difference of course! Seeing as the members of the Humanitarian Coalition are some of the few charities actually allowed by the Al-Shabaab, donating through Plan Canada, Oxfam Canada or CARE Canada (the only three that offer donation gifts) is a sure way of getting something done. Gifts like animals give the farmers the opportunity to get a fresh start on improving their lives and becoming self-sufficient.
To order your gift online or by phone, you can simply visit these sites or call these numbers and choose what you want to purchase:
Plan Canada
http://plancanada.ca/Giftsofhope/shopdisplayproducts.asp?page=1&id=1
1-800-387-1418
Oxfam Canada
http://www.oxfamunwrapped.ca/multi_category.php?interest_category=1
1-866-572-2831
CARE Canada
https://secure3.convio.net/careca/site/Ecommerce?VIEW_CATALOG=true&store_id=1101&NAME=&FOLDER=0
1-800-267-5232
If you really need any more convincing to get involved, just read these touching testimonials and you'll see how anyone can make a difference in everyone's life.
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