Will Our Fear of Terror Starve Somali Children?
When famine strikes, children are mongst those who suffer the most. Not only will many die but countless others suffer long term, often permanent damage from malnutrition that impairs both physical and mental functioning. It is clear that an epochal famine is unfolding in Somalia where much of the territory is controlled by a designated terrorist organization, al-Shabab. It is not clear yet whether al-Shabab has emerged from denial about the magnitude of the catastrophe on its hands or that it will permit UN and NGO interventions.
What is clear is that as it stands now, the US Government’s anti-terror regulations would make an effective response impossible. Al-Shabah are by no standard good guys and some diversion of aid is inevitable. But does al-Shabah pose an existential threat to Americans? Are we so frightened of Somali “terror” that we could justify the death of tens of thousands of children? As the excerpts below rom a piece by Suraj K. Sazawal at http://www.charityandsecurity.org/blog/ notes, even during the height of the Cold War when we were dealing with an adversary armed with nuclear missiles, Ronald Reagan permitted humanitarian aid to alleviate famine in Ethiopia, one of the Soviet Union’s strongest African allies at the time.
“ Under U.S. law , humanitarian groups risk prosecution for interacting with members of a designated terrorist group like al-Shabab, although such contacts are necessary to deliver aid to civilians trapped in territory they control. Since the application of the laws in 2009, U.S. aid to Somalia has dropped by 88 percent, from $237 million in 2008 to $20 million in 2011. This includes the U.S. government’s suspension of funding to the UN World Food Program in December 2009 when the UN estimated 3.2 million people were in need. …. . President Ronald Reagan let food aid into Ethiopia during the famine of the 1980s. President Obama should do the same today for starving Somalis.”
Shame on us if we can’t find a way to respond
William Espinosa
Website
Check out Youth Advocate Program International’s website www.yapi.org !
Welcome!
Welcome to the new blogging site of Youth Advocate Program International! Stay tuned for new blogs!
