There’s nothing good about the news coming from Somalia. Or the Somaliland area. Or whatever you want to call that drought-stricken place that’s among the most lawless in the world, the transitional government notwithstanding. But serious, concerned people have an interest in knowing what’s happening there and helping, so far as within us lies.
Much of the food aid is being stolen and resold. That makes the starving children — 400,000 are a risk of a starvation death, per the UK development minister (video) — the hostages of those hoodlums who, in essence, holding them hostage before a starving world. (And in essence, the same thing done by that most repressive of governments, North Korea. Let’s not forget them.)
Leads one to despair.
So I’m asking if anyone has heard a good analysis of the situation, or better, know of a group that has been more effective in securing food for vulnerable, hungry people. Understamd, then act.
From Bill Frist’s column Aug 16th in WSJ. He’s been out front on Somalia. My wife heard him on NPR a day or two ago and was reduced to tears by what he said.
“In times of budget cuts, we must remember that, according to Oxfam International, emergency food relief during a famine costs seven times more than preventing a disaster to begin with. Hence U.S. efforts such as the multi-year, multi-agency Feed the Future program to stimulate research into making plants more nutritious and crops more drought-resistant. ”
“With the chaotic economy dominating the news, it’s easy to focus on ourselves rather than others so far away. But when we remember that we spend only a tiny fraction of one percent of our budget on developmental aid, that recent assistance is smarter and more targeted than in the past, and that our investments in the Horn of Africa alone have saved millions of lives, each of us can be proud of our past investments and supportive of their growth in the future.”
“What can we do as individuals who care? A good place to start is the list of aid organizations on the website of the U.S. Agency for International Development, http://www.usaid.gov. ”
“Dr. Frist, a physician and former majority leader of the U.S. Senate, is chairman of Hope Though Healing Hands. ”
FWIW I was at a Town Hall meeting last night with my Rep (and not the only UU there either) and there wasn’t as single question on Foreign Affairs save mine on Libya.
Thank you. I would have thought there would have been more interest, though.