Murder in Somalia

Over 29,000 children have died of hunger in Somalia, a neighboring country of oil-rich Gulf region and a former colony of Italy, which sleeps over humanitarian situation here but was swift to attack Gaddafi’s military bases in Libya.The worst famine in six decades has spread to five regions in the Horn of Africa with little hope over the next four to six weeks. The United Nations describes a situation as famine when at least 20 per cent of households face food shortages so severe that they are unable to cope with it.

The ongoing disaster may become a catastrophe by December affecting over half of the country’s 7.5-million population. The African leaders won’t be convening a conference earlier planned for August 9 due to short notice. Belatedly, obsolete Arab League met to discuss statehood of Palestine but no word came out for a suffering Arab nation just next doors. Now Turkey has called upon the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) for an urgent meeting to raise awareness and money in the holy month of Ramadan.

In a telephonic call to his compatriot and OIC President Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu sought immediate strategy to deal with Somali situation in a meeting to be held in Istanbul or Jeddah.

Donor fatigue aside, the European and American economies are struggling to deal with latest wave of depression. However, the roots of African problems lie in the continents’ colonial past. Agrarian African people used to sow multiple crops to meet their nutritional needs but the colonizers wanted higher taxes, thus shift to cash crops like tea, coffee, cotton, rubber, cocoa, and ground nuts occurred.

Nonetheless, heavy deforestation under pressure from growing population has resulted in change of rain patterns, failure to contain water in land and increased number of floods in the raining season.

Owing to shallow policies of international donors, the African countries are paying heavy interest on loans, some of which were received in the 70s.

Given the multitude of factors, the global aid only offers short-term solution for the Somali people. Even the immediate aid need amounts to whopping half a million tons for a year. So far the aid supply line provides only 30,000 tons of food each month, much less than desired to neutralize affects of starvation. Countries like Southern Sudan are said to be the next in line for a famine disaster.

Somalia is not a God forsaken territory but an important nation on the Horn of Africa where terrorism, global neglect and Arab and western indifference have sown the seeds of bigger troubles in future than famine or piracy at sea.

The responsibility and opportunity both lie with the Muslim world to divert zakat and sadiqa towards starving children in Africa and get the Almighty’s blessing in Ramadan. The month of Ramadan provides an excellent opportunity for the international humanitarian organizations to raise funds and collect nutritious food for the latest African famine. Even the shivering ruling elite in the Middle East can open their valets to win much-need goodwill amongst the awakened public. Given the neglect of Arab world and the European nations alike, it is not a state of famine but murder in conflict-ravaged Somalia.

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