Wednesday, August 17, 2011
What do you do with a Somalia?
Americans have wanted to have as little to do as possible with the East African nation ever since 19 U.S. soldiers were killed in the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu, made famous in the 2001 movie Black Hawk Down, which was based on a book by former Inquirer reporter Mark Bowden.
But Somalia won't let this country, or any other, it seems, forget that it is still here. It has become the very definition of anarchy, with only a semblance of a government that can do little to control the terrorists, pirates, and warlords who make life in the country miserable.
The world also can't forget Somalia because it is the most destitute of the nations in the Horn of Africa, suffering from the region's latest drought and famine. The United Nations says more than 3.2 million Somalis, half the nation's population, are in need of food and other aid. More than 600,000 Somalis have fled to neighboring countries.
The world has responded to the East African crisis, which has affected about 12 million people in all. But the aid is not arriving as quickly as it should. As a result, more than a half-million children, many of them in Somalia, are fighting severe malnutrition and could die.
UNICEF recently reported that it faced a $200 million shortfall in emergency funds needed for the region, including more than $120 million for Somalia alone. Afshan Khan, a UNICEF director, urged potential donors to focus on the most vulnerable victims. "Children don't choose where they are born, to whom they are born, what type of government rules them," she said.
Still, it's understandable that some might hesitate to give to relief funds, knowing there is a good chance the aid may never reach its intended recipients. The U.N. World Food Program acknowledged this week that much of the food meant for starving Somalis is being stolen and sold in markets at prices the poor could never afford.
Piles of food have been seen in Mogadishu markets with stamps showing the items came from the WFP, America's USAID, or the Japanese or Kuwaiti governments. Nevertheless, people must continue to give, hoping steps can be taken to get more of the aid to victims.
No one knows when things will be better. Somalia's civil war has lasted 20 years and has been exacerbated by U.S. efforts, aided by Ethiopia, to uproot the Islamic terrorist group al-Shabab. But the famine victims can't wait for better days. They need help now.
Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer