Tag Archives: famine

Famine Devistating Somalia Again

Somalia is being devastated by famine again. Is it more proof that Africans lack perception or are there hidden factors at play?

Major news sources are reporting that Somalis is in the midst of another deadly famine yet neither the United Nations or the Somali government has made a famine declaration yet. Hundreds of men, women, children, and livestock have already died of starvation and the drought that is affecting the region is getting worse. Drought in the region is not new yet there never seems to be any preparation for their inevitability.

Of course, there are lessons to be learned in all situations but some might say that the midst of despair is the wrong time for conjecture. They will also say that this is the time to take action to help Somalians in anyway we can. I say this is the perfect time for analysis because we need to address the stereotype that Black people lack perception.

Major online news outlets have comment sections on their websites and these comment sections are filled with racists who love to bathe their brain cells in the Dopamine that spewing hatred for Black people produces. Yesterday, I was on one news website that I won’t mention, reading an article on the Somalian drought. After the article there were many comments and if you were to read comments about African famines 10 years ago, these comments would be the same because the hate never changes.

I saw comments like, “If we keep feeding them, they will keep breeding. Let’s send them birth control instead of food.” And the classic, “Why can’t they learn how to grow food?” The sensible thing to do as a Black person would be to ignore the racism as we always do but I for one, hate to hide my head in the sand like an Ostrich. I know that aside from the hate, there are many truths in what these devils are saying.

What is perception and why do Africans seem to always be ill-equipped to handle disasters?

Perception is defined as the process or state of being aware of something by way of one’s Senses. Alternative words for perception include; awareness and consciousness. Therefore, to say that a person lacks perception means that they do not process information well or they are not intelligent. When a person is described as being perceptive, it means that they are insightful, intuitive, and most of all; wise. We all know that Africans are very smart people so why does the rest of the world label Africans as not being perceptive?

Contrary to popular belief, famine is not caused by drought; famine is caused by lack of preparation. Drought is caused when a prolonged lack of precipitation (rainfall) results in a lack of vegetation growth. Human life depends on other life such as plants, animals, and insects. Without rain, all these lifeforms cannot exist in a region. Somalia is no stranger to droughts. The country is located in a region of Africa where rain might fall only a few times per year or not at all. When rain doesn’t fall for several years at a time, the situation is referred to as a drought.

The wise thing to do when you live in a drought-stricken region is to prepare for drought. People who live in cold climates call it “making Hay when the Sun shines”. In Somalia’s case, it would be stockpiling enough food for themselves and their animals in the rainy seasons. The truth of the matter is that Somalians have being doing that; however, several other factors are contribution to the famine this time. The real contributors of the famine in Somalia this time are Climate Change and prolonged Islamist sectarian Wars.

South Sudan Needs Your Help

There is a crisis of epic preportions unfolding in South Sudan. The Afrakan country is being ravaged by war, famine, and disease causing thousands of deaths on a daily basis. The suffering, especially to innocent women and children, is extremely severe but we know that no situation is ever helpless. Each and every one of us can make a difference in saving lives. The time to act is now because South Sudan needs your help.

South Sudan is the world’s newest country. It gained its independence from Sudan less than 10 years ago after many years of civil war. However, shortly after becoming a full-fledged republic, the country itself fell into turmoil over tribal conflicts and political and ideological differences between the ruling tribes.

While it may be understandable that every nation experiences internal strife, what makes the situation in South Sudan worse is the unending Drought affecting the entire region. As people watch their crops, animals, and children die of starvation, fighting between government troops and rebel forces is also driving them into UN refugee camps in the millions.

The UN has been trying to broker a cease-fire between government forces and rebel fighters with little effect. At the same time, numerous Aid agencies are on the ground in several areas providing medical aid to the sick and dieing as well as handing out food and water to the starving.

Many people have never heard of the situation in South Sudan. Those who have, fall into several groups. Some people help by donating to charities, some people turn a blind eye thinking that it’s the job of the UN, and some simply don’t care. Forget about the people who don’t care because we know that a great many people care but either lack the resources to help or don’t know how.

If you care about the lives of your fellow Afrakans then there is a way that everyone that cares can help. This very simple method involves the spreading of information. Ever heard the saying…?

Out of sight, out of mind

This is a True and Wise statement. When some people hear about the situation in South Sudan and feel helpless to do anything they simply put it out of their minds. When information is present on the Mind people have no choice but to think about it. When it’s information that affects the Conscience it generates Empathy and people begin to care.

Your task therefore is to spread information. Spread the word to everyone you know in person and on social media. Get daily updates from news sources or do a search on Google Alerts for “South Sudan”. Post the information on your Twitter and Facebook accounts and encourage your family and friends to spread it too.

In time so much information about South Sudan will be in front of people’s eyes that they will have no choice but to think about it. The information will begin to dig into their conscience creating an involuntary response of wanting to help. In time the fighting factions in South Sudan will notice the world looking at them and become self-conscious about their unethical war.

The UN will notice that citizens in their respective countries are holding their political actions in account. They will send in more peacekeepers and other support resources. Aid organizations will notice that a lot more of their donors are watching their actions and allocate more of their resources to the region.

South Sudan needs your help. Start the information spreading campaign today.