It’s not a crisis it’s a drama !
Posted on the 04.08.2011 by Alain Hubert
It is not only as a UNICEF ambassador but also as a simple human being that I want to increase public awareness and in particular the one of each one of you of what it is happening nowadays in the Horn of Africa.
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Very shortly, I will travell to Kenya invited by Unicef to discover the daily details of the drama that it is happening now in the Horn Africa ; as of course after this trip I will come back once more to you, my visitors, to tell exactly what I've seen on the field.
But beforehand, I would like to invite you to read some articles I have myself found very interesting about the subject and also to express something I feel deeply in my heart : a lot of international newspapers and journals of humanitarian organisations speak about what they call 'the crisis' in the Horn of Africa. But when you read what kind of situations the local people have to face only to survive and give some food to their children, you rapdily come to the conclusion that we are living very likely the most dramatic episode of the starvation the world has ever known. A crisis ? NO ! A DRAMA ...
Here are some excerpts of these articles : "...Almost 100,000 Somali refugees have arrived in Kenya since January, currently about 1,300 a day. This brings the total number of refugees, most of them Somalis, living in inhuman conditions in Kenya’s Dadaab refugee camps to nearly 400,000. The camps were originally built for 90,000 people. However, Kenyan authorities have refused to open the “Ifo extension” camp, which has been ready to take refugees in since November 2010, and have failed to identify urgently needed additional land to reduce crowding in the existing camps. Kenyan authorities have also said that refugees fleeing drought since early this year should be assisted inside Somalia..." (Contributor, Human Rights Watch, 28 July). And further : "...Kenyan government statements that Somali refugees are fleeing only famine and not conflict, or that Somalia is now safe, are just plain wrong. Kenya is clearly shouldering a huge burden, but instead of saying that Somalis should stay home it should re-affirm its commitment to welcome and assist Somalis in Kenya. ..." Daniel Bekele, Africa director at Human Rights Watch.
In another article published by the Voice of America on 08 July : "... United Nations and international aid agencies say the crisis in the Horn of Africa is overwhelming their ability to provide assistance to the millions of people suffering from the region's worst drought in 60 years. The agencies say they are overstretched and underfunded and are appealing for more help from the international community.
The drought crisis is affecting Ethiopia, Kenya, central and southern Somalia and Djibouti. But, aid agencies say the impact is greatest in Somalia. They say the fall in crop production is causing food prices to rise. Compounding this problem is the ongoing fighting between the government and al-Shabab insurgents.
The United Nations reports more than one-third of Somalia's 7.5 million inhabitants needs humanitarian assistance. Because of the prevailing insecurity, most aid agencies have left the country. Some still maintain a presence in the more peaceful parts and also provide assistance through local aid agencies...."
You can donate by sending your contribution to this bank account BE 31 0000 0000 5555 with mention 'Urgent help for children of the Horn of Africa". Or go on line at : www.unicef.be/don
Somalia, 2011: An armed soldier monitors children and women in a food distribution queue, at a displacement camp in Mogadishu.
© Unicef
