URGENT CRISIS APPEAL FOR SOMALIA & HORN OF AFRICA

http://www.unicef.org.uk/landing-pages/hornofafricaweb/


http://www.unhcr.org/emergency/somalia/global_landing.html?gclid=CJyA7M_GrqsCFUp76wod2mDlKA


http://www.icrc.org/eng/donations/index.jsp


http://www.civicworldwide.org/healing-the-wounds/somalia


United Nation High commission for Refugees (UNHCR)


http://www.unhcr.org/emergency/somalia/global_landing.html?gclid=CJyA7M_GrqsCFUp76wod2mDlKA


Help Save Lives in Drought-Stricken East Africa


https://wfp.org/donate/hornofafrica?gclid=CO7DxLf9sKsCFUF76wodxBOrfQ 


International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)


http://www.icrc.org/eng/donations/index.jsp


http://www.globalgiving.co.uk/pr/8500/proj8493a.html?rf=ggadgguk_goog_even_somalia_4&gclid=CO3xu8zKr6sCFQUb6wodO2hueQ


http://www.qaafaid.org/41/urgent_crisis_appeal_for_somalia_and_horn_of_africa

Famine in Somalia: It's not a natural disaster : It's murder

THE FAMINE in Somalia has once again focussed attention on the problems of the less developed countries. Much of the response to the crisis is a short term one in the form of food aid. However in order to understand the causes of this and other famines in Africa it is necessary to race back the roots of the problem to colonisation and imperialism. It is necessary to focus on the political economic and social policies pursued in post-colonial times which perpetuate recurring famine and crisis. The role of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund are crucial in understanding what is really happening.

Most of the misery and famine which is unfolding in Africa today has its roots in imperialism, in the colonisation of African countries by European armies and business interests. Before the invasions the peoples of Africa were primarily subsistence farmers, hunters or traders; though there were also some highly developed civilisations that have been written out of the history books. It is true that in the past there were droughts but vast numbers of people did not starve.

There are two main reasons for this, firstly African agriculture was much more diverse than it is now. People planted a variety of crops so that if one failed others which were more drought-resistant survived. Today most of the land is given over to growing cash crops for export to pay off crippling debts to Western banks. The second reason why droughts were not so devastating was because forests were far more extensive than they are now. Forests tend to stabilise rainfall patterns and also minimise the damage caused by floods in the rainy season.

Imperialism smashed the traditional African cycle of agriculture by demanding that Africans pay taxes in cash. This meant growing crops for sale on national and international markets.
The 2Oth century has seen a huge expansion in the acreage devoted to growing cash crops such as tea, coffee, cotton, rubber, cocoa, and ground nuts. Today much of the most fertile land in Africa is growing cash crops. Half of the food growing land in Senegal is growing peanuts for western margarine firms. Cash crops involve intensive cultivation and the extensive use of fertilisers which has led to land degradation, an increase in desert areas and the poisoning of the water table. The bulk of external debt in Africa is owed to Western governments.

Slavery and the damage it did to Africa is a significant factor in the underdevelopment and poverty which is never acknowledged by Western countries. Between 1701 and 1810 more than six million Africans were transported to the Americas to provide free labour for large farmers and businessmen. This haemorrhage of young men and women crippled African society.

External debt and falling commodity prices have had a crippling impact on African economies during the past decade. In the 1970s Western banks encouraged many less developed countries to borrow heavily. This borrowing, supposedly for roads and irrigation projects and so on was often siphoned off for personal use by dictators or wasted on useless projects or on arms. The money was borrowed at low interest rates. Interest rates jumped from 6% to 18% in a few years, dramatically increasing the debts. In 1990 African debt was double what it was in 1980.
African countries were forced to call in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to seek a way out of their problems. However the 'solutions' of the I.M.F. have been to impose draconian and brutal cutbacks in health and education, and the abolition of food subsidies. This is a capitalist solution to a problem caused by capitalism in the first place. Famine, desperate poverty and the complete absence of health and education services are the result for millions of Africans.

Currency devaluations and cuts in public spending have led to massive unemployment. The export-oriented growth insisted on by the I.M.F. means an increase in cash crops and a consequent fall in food production. People in Africa are condemned to go hungry while the best land is used to grow tobacco, cotton, flowers, tea and coffee for the U.S., Europe and Japan

Very pathetic efforts were made under the Toronto Accord 1988 (an agreement signed by creditor governments after appeals from debtor countries) to alleviate the worst impact of this debt. Only seventeen countries were eligible under this agreement and the savings were minimal anyway. It is worth noting that even if the terms of a subsequent agreement, the Trinidad Agreement, had been extended to all debtor countries, which it was not because most creditor countries would not agree, debtor countries would still be spending one third of their export earnings on debt repayments.

External debt is the huge millstone on many poor African countries. The Irish Mozambique Solidarity Group estimate is that there is a net transfer of US$30 million every day from the debtor countries to the West. In 1989 Richard Jolly, deputy director of UNICEF, estimated that at least 500,000 people died that year as a direct result of such debt.

Overpopulation is sometimes put across as a cause of famine. It is clear from the above analysis that overpopulation is not really a factor at all. Health services, which include contraception and abortion services, are certainly needed in Africa, not as a solution to famine but as part of the health and education services which are almost totally lacking. To argue that overpopulation is the cause of famine is not only to overlook all the historical factors but it is also seeks to blame the people of Africa themselves.

It is obvious that imperialism and capitalism, particularly the activities of the World Bank and the IMF are the causes of famine. A final point on overpopulation - it is a fact that the poorest countries have the largest number of children per family due to a combination of social and economic factors and conversely the richest countries have the smallest number of children per family. High standards of living, good health and education services all contribute to a low rate of population growth.

Finally a word about aid. By U.N. estimates it will take well over half a million tons of food to provide for Somalia alone over the next year. Yet only 30,000 tons of food monthly are being sent from donor countries. Worse still, other African countries under serious threat of mass starvation - such as southern Sudan - are being ignored because they are not yet in the news. Under capitalism food is used as a weapon and not as a resource to be equitably distributed. Until this corrupt system is replaced by a system, anarchism, which puts production and distribution for need before production for profit and power, people will continue to starve in Africa while the EC bosses worry about ways to dispose of their food mountains.

Patricia McCarthy

http://struggle.ws/ws92/famine37.html


http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2011/07/famine-in-east-africa/100115/

Donate: End Somalia Famine (East Africa)

HELP

http://www.unicef.org.uk/landing-pages/hornofafricaweb/


http://www.unhcr.org/emergency/somalia/global_landing.html?gclid=CJyA7M_GrqsCFUp76wod2mDlKA


http://www.icrc.org/eng/donations/index.jsp


http://www.civicworldwide.org/healing-the-wounds/somalia


United Nation High commission for Refugees (UNHCR)


http://www.unhcr.org/emergency/somalia/global_landing.html?gclid=CJyA7M_GrqsCFUp76wod2mDlKA


Help Save Lives in Drought-Stricken East Africa


https://wfp.org/donate/hornofafrica?gclid=CO7DxLf9sKsCFUF76wodxBOrfQ 


International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)


http://www.icrc.org/eng/donations/index.jsp


http://www.globalgiving.co.uk/pr/8500/proj8493a.html?rf=ggadgguk_goog_even_somalia_4&gclid=CO3xu8zKr6sCFQUb6wodO2hueQ


Somalia's Children Caught in the Crossfire


https://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/site/c.6oJCLQPAJiJUG/b.6662481/k.2BA2/Donate_Now/apps/ka/sd/donorcustom.asp?msource=W1108EDCRYJ&tr=y&auid=8824967


http://www.unmultimedia.org/photo/gallery.jsp?query=subject:%22Famine+in+Somalia%22


http://www.wfp.org/stories/horn-africa-10-ways-you-can-help


https://www.wfp.org/donate/fillthecup


https://www.secure.careinternational.org.uk/form.asp?id=697&cachefixer=


https://secure.unicefusa.org/site/Donation2?df_id=10380&10380.donation=form1&JServSessionIdr004=rwf5jmp7sc.app227a


http://www.freerice.com/#/english-vocabulary/1411

Somalia Famine Could Claim 750,000 Lives in Next Four Months Without Better Aid

Facts

Somalia has existed in a security vacuum since 1991. Since then, fighting between rival warlords and an inability to deal with famine and disease has led the UN and numerous other organizations to describe the humanitarian situation in Somalia as the worst in Africa and the world.

Reports indicate that 3.2 million Somalis, about 45% of the entire population, are suffering from hunger and malnutrition and are in dire need of emergency humanitarian assistance. Of the 3.2 million, 650,000 children are under the age of five.

In addition to the humanitarian crisis in Somalia, there are over a quarter million Somali refugees in Kenya alone. These refugees are living in vercrowded and inadequate conditions. Despite these crises, news media are not covering these crises and there is a global silence on this staggering suffering.

Humanitarian and Refugee Fact Sheet

Overwhelming focus on recent piracy in Somalia has undermined the staggering humanitarian and refugee crisis in Somalia, the world’s worst humanitarian crisis according to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.

The U.S. Ambassador to Kenya, Michael E. Ranneberger, and a number of international agencies have declared Somalia a major humanitarian crisis with a complex emergency caused by drought, high food prices, rising malnutrition rates, disease outbreaks, population displacement, and civil insecurity, to mention a few.

The United States Agency of International Development’s June 1, 2009 report shows that:

3.2 million Somalis, about 45% of the entire population, are suffering from hunger and malnutrition and are in dire need of emergency humanitarian assistance.

Of the 3.2 million suffering Somalis, 650,000 are children under the age of five.

Over 8% of the population is suffering from acute malnutrition, that is more than the 1% of the global threshold for emergency food crisis.
Health problems associated with acute malnutrition include marasmus (wasting of fat, muscle and other tissues); cretinism causing limited mental and physical growths; brain damage; blindness; infection; and death particularly among children under five years old and adults with health problems.

Yet, there is a global silence on this staggering human suffering.

The Plight of Somali Refugees

Over a quarter million Somali refugees in Kenya are living in overcrowded and inadequate refugee camps developed for 90,000 refugees.

Gerry Simpson of Human Rights Watch and Refugee Researcher concluded on his recent visit to refugee camps, "The refugee crisis worsens with every day of delay and continued paralysis and unresponsiveness puts the well-being of all the refugees — new and old — at grave risk".

Kenya, Ethiopia, Yemen, Nepal, and Turkey should respect the United Nations Convention on the Status of Refugees and Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees and end their mistreatment and unlawful arrest of Somali refugees.

How You Can Help Alleviate the Crisis?

Take just one minute to call your Senators and Representatives at (202) 224-3121. Provide your zip code to the operator who will connect you with the office of your legislator. Share with them the following key messages or make your own unique message:

Sponsor or support increased emergency food aid assistance in Somalia.

Sponsor or support the development of a plan to provide protection and assistance to refugees in Kenya and Yemen, and internally displaced people in Somalia.
Sponsor or support the development of a comprehensive strategy that deals with the full range of humanitarian and refugee crisis facing Somalia.

Somalia Famine Could Claim 750,000 Lives in Next Four Months Without Better Aid

The worst drought in East Africa in 60 years continues to take a severe toll. The tragic stats coming from the UN (via BBC News):

Six areas are now considered to be afflicted by famine, with the latest, the Bay region, being worse than any so far--58% of children there are malnourished, a record rate of acute malnutrition. 12 million people in East Africa, 4 million people in Somalia alone, are affected.
750,000 of these people in Somalia being "at risk of death in the coming four months in the absence of adequate response", according to the UN's Food Security and Nutritional Analysis Unit.

The Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya is now that largest in the world, with as many people in it as Kansas City, Missouri.

Overall it's worse than the famine in Somalia in 1992 and is approaching equaling the Ethiopian famine in the mid-1980s.
Read the BBC article linked above for some background on the famine, the role of Islamic militants in preventing aid from reaching affected areas (for a while at least they denied famine existed) and preventing Somalis from leaving the nation, such as it can be called a nation.

As for the absence of adequate response to the ongoing natural and humanitarian disaster, Mother Jones makes the case that the de facto media blackout of the famine certainly isn't helping the situation.

The article cites data from the Pew Research Center showing that over July and August the East African famine has accounted for just 0.7% of all news coverage. And cites Doctors Without Borders figures on how a little bit of coverage can go a long way--when ABC briefly covered the famine the aid organization reports that it received more than $100,000 in donations in one night.

As for the role of climate in this, UNEP head Achim Steiner reminds us that all signs pointing to climate change "exponentially" increasing the scale of of natural disasters.

And a quick glance at a map of the areas of the world with the greatest food security risk and one showing greatest water stress due to climate change and population growth shows where the impact will most acutely be felt:

29,000 Children Dead Due to East African Famine in Past Three Months (Video)

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/08/29000-children-dead-east-african-famine-past-three-months.php
http://somalipeacemaker.blogspot.com/2011/09/new-images-of-famine-stricken-somalia.html

U.N.: 750,000 people in Somalia face 'imminent starvation'

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/09/05/somalia.famine.report/index.html

=====

Somalia Famine: UN Needs More Money to Increase Aid

The fate of tens of thousands of people living and dying from famine in the Somalia is literally in the hands and hearts of the internationally community.

The deadly famine in Somalia could spread if the international community doesn't provide the funds needed to respond to the hunger crisis that has already killed thousands, the United Nations humanitarian chief warned.

"Unless we see a massive increase in response, the famine will spread to five or six more regions," Valerie Amos, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, told reporters at U.N. Headquarters. "Tens of thousand(s) of Somalis have already died and hundreds of thousands face starvation."

The U.N. humanitarian agencies declared famine in two areas of southern Somalia last month.
Amos said the drought in the Horn of Africa is the worst in 60 years, according to information on the U.N.'s Web site.

The drought had already affected large areas of Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti and has left an estimated 12.4 million people in need of humanitarian aid, according to the U.N.

Amos, who is also the U.N. Emergency Relief Coordinator, said early warning systems had predicted the drought last year and humanitarian agencies had appealed for $1.6 billion dollars.

"As of mid-year, around half of that money had been raised, and as of last week donors had committed more than $1 billion," Amos said in a statement. "It is not enough. But neither was the crisis ignored as some have suggested. And even as we ask ourselves some important questions we can't allow those to distract from the task at hand. We need to deal with the here and now as well as with the longer term."
Amos said $1.4 billion is needed immediately so that relief organizations can ramp up response to the hunger crisis in the region.

She also urged traditional donors who have already contributed generously, to provide additional resources. Amos is also appealing to corporations, foundations and private individuals to provide some help as well.
Longer-term measures to make drought-prone areas of the Horn of Africa more resilient are already being implemented, according to Amos. She cited Ethiopia's social welfare scheme known as the Productive Safety Nets Program, and Kenya's employment plan that promotes natural resource management in arid and semi-arid areas.

Amos also asked that parties involved in Somalia's conflict uphold international humanitarian law so that aid workers can deliver help to those in need.

The U.N. will support a plan by the African Union to hold a funding conference for the Horn of African hunger crisis later this month, Amos said.

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/190880/20110802/somalia-famine-un-needs-more-money-to-increase-aid.htm

http://www.life.com/gallery/62981/image/119370229/famine-in-somalia#index/0

http://lightbox.time.com/2011/08/25/collateral-crisis-the-catastrophic-famine-in-somalia/#18

http://thewe.cc/weplanet/news/children/hunger_children_dying.htm

HELP: UN seeks more donor help on Somalia famine

http://www.unicef.org.uk/landing-pages/hornofafricaweb/


http://www.unhcr.org/emergency/somalia/global_landing.html?gclid=CJyA7M_GrqsCFUp76wod2mDlKA


http://www.icrc.org/eng/donations/index.jsp


http://www.civicworldwide.org/healing-the-wounds/somalia

United Nation High commission for Refugees (UNHCR)

http://www.unhcr.org/emergency/somalia/global_landing.html?gclid=CJyA7M_GrqsCFUp76wod2mDlKA

Help Save Lives in Drought-Stricken East Africa

https://wfp.org/donate/hornofafrica?gclid=CO7DxLf9sKsCFUF76wodxBOrfQ

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

http://www.icrc.org/eng/donations/index.jsp


http://www.globalgiving.co.uk/pr/8500/proj8493a.html?rf=ggadgguk_goog_even_somalia_4&gclid=CO3xu8zKr6sCFQUb6wodO2hueQ

Somalia's Children Caught in the Crossfire

https://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/site/c.6oJCLQPAJiJUG/b.6662481/k.2BA2/Donate_Now/apps/ka/sd/donorcustom.asp?msource=W1108EDCRYJ&tr=y&auid=8824967


http://www.unmultimedia.org/photo/gallery.jsp?query=subject:%22Famine+in+Somalia%22


http://www.wfp.org/stories/horn-africa-10-ways-you-can-help


https://www.wfp.org/donate/fillthecup


https://www.secure.careinternational.org.uk/form.asp?id=697&cachefixer=


https://secure.unicefusa.org/site/Donation2?df_id=10380&10380.donation=form1&JServSessionIdr004=rwf5jmp7sc.app227a


http://www.freerice.com/#/english-vocabulary/1411