Fatuma Hassan and her two children hadn’t had a meal in more than a week. They had no choice but to walk over 100 miles to reach a refugee camp that only had minimal food and shelter (Famine in Somalia). Their experience is one of the countless stories of starvation slipping through the fingers of the humanitarian aid efforts in Somalia.
In the Horn of Africa, Somalia and other surrounding countries are in a state of severe famine. These countries have repeatedly struggled with a significant lack of food due to their susceptibility to drought and government instability. Today, the famine has been intensified by the presence of the Islamic Militant group, al-Shabaab. Currently, 3.7 million people face food insecurity in Somalia and over a million children do not receive adequate nutrients (Famine in Somalia).
The primary factor that has contributed to the disastrous famine is the widespread drought prevalent in the region that is limiting the amount of food that can be grown by local farmers. As a result, the prices of food have risen considerably such that even people with access to food cannot afford to buy it. One Somali mother mentioned that a single kilo of rice can cost up to four dollars (Burke). This might not seem like a lot to a person living in the United States, but for Somalis living in one of the poorest nations in the world, these prices are exorbitant. Additionally, it is predicted that these droughts will only worsen due to climate change (Alic).
These suffering Somalis require international aid in order to survive but this is often impossible due to the political unrest in the region. The Islamic militant group al-Shabaab has dominated much of Somalia for more than a decade. According to a Somali woman, “Al-Shabaab is giving us nothing and yet they do not allow aid agencies to come to us. If you talk about the aid or call for aid, they even kill you by labeling you a spy” (Burke). This violent group has blocked much of the humanitarian aid from the international community (Hanrahan). Civilians are not allowed to leave their homes in search of food because al-Shabaab is using them as human shields and does not want the towns to be left empty. If there are only a few families remaining in the towns, opposing countries are more likely to stage air strikes (Burke). Al-Shabaab is unwilling to risk these attacks, even if it means restricting access to aid that could prevent the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people.
Millions of people are currently affected by famine in Somalia (Famine in Somalia). They are often unable to escape their towns in search of food because of al-Shabaab, and if they are lucky enough to reach a refugee camp, food and water shortages are omnipresent. The international community has made donations and provided some aid to Somalia, but there has not been enough involvement to have a significant impact. From 2010 to 2012, famine in Somalia caused over a quarter of a million deaths (Burke). Will more Somalis face a similar fate as a result of the current famine, or will the international community ramp up its efforts to address this crisis?
Works Cited
"African Famine Relief." Global Issues in Context Online Collection, Gale, 2018. Global Issues
in Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CP3208520192/GIC?u=los42754&sid=GIC&xid=e218eb6c. Accessed 12 Mar. 2019.
Alic, Margaret. "Horn of Africa Drought and Famine." The Gale Encyclopedia of Environmental
Health, edited by Jacqueline L. Longe, vol. 1, Gale, 2013, pp. 415-419. Global Issues in Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX2760200135/GIC?u=los42754&sid=GIC&xid=d15ac360. Accessed 14 Mar. 2019.
Burke, Jason. “Al-Shabaab Militants Ban Starving Somalis from Accessing Aid.” The Guardian,
Guardian News and Media, 27 July 2017, www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/27/al-shabaab-militants-ban-starving-somalis-from-accessing-aid.
"Famine in Somalia - Intervention is a duty, not an option." Irish Examiner [All Ireland], 21 July
2011. Global Issues in Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A261935567/GIC?u=los42754&sid=GIC&xid=b2357dd5.
Hanrahan, Mark. “A Kid's Choice as Famine Stalks Africa: To Feed His Siblings or to Eat.”
NBCNews.com, NBC Universal News Group, 10 Mar. 2017, www.nbcnews.com/news/world/famine-east-africa-multiple-crises-strain-efforts-respond-n731766.
McKenzie, David, and Brent Swails. “Somalia: 'People Are Dying..there's No Water'.” CNN,
Cable News Network, 8 Mar. 2017, www.cnn.com/2017/03/07/africa/somalia-famine-united-nations/index.html.
My favorite part of your essay was when you were talking about Al-Shabaab. The information you gave about the group made me way more interested in your topic and how you were very descriptive with the "human shields" made it stand it even more. Also the way you ended your article was VERY DRAMATIC which was cool.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite parts of your article was the hook and introduction. I think the beginning paragraph is interesting yet concise at the same time, and you get straight to the point which is important while writing an article. The following paragraph also gave me a good idea behind the backstory of the ongoing famine in Somalia. My takeaway from this is that many people in Somalia are currently struggling to live, as they have almost no access to food due to the drought and to terrorist group al-Shabaab. Knowing that this is an issue, what is the government doing to help?
ReplyDeleteI loved your hook at the beginning of the essay as it was very intriguing. I learned how one of the reasons for this famine is that the drought has affected food production. It has significantly decreased the amount of food grown and because of this Somalis are unable to afford it. What actions should be taken in order for Somalis to recover from the drought?
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