By Zachary Carrel, The Oklahoma Daily
The nation of Somalia is about to face a human disaster of mammoth proportions.
For several decades, Somalia has slowly fallen into chaos. Civil wars have led this once beautiful country to complete collapse, and now the population is about to face the consequences of being a failed state: More than 3 million people are facing famine, and there is no help from the international community on its way.
In 1991, a civil war led to this nation’s first major famine and its current political climate, which has itself lead to an even more devastating famine.
Now the country is crippled by civil war once again. Warlords have broken up the nation, and their wars have destroyed Somalia’s infrastructure. The extremist Islamic organization Al-Shabaab has control of the Southern side of the country and is the main force behind the civil war, but the internationally accepted government is not much better. This political instability coupled with two drought-ridden growing seasons, the worst in 60 years, has led to a massive humanitarian disaster.
The situation will only grow worse as time goes on. The international community is increasingly hesitant to face this famine because of the scope of the problem and the instability of the region. This fear will lead to the deaths of hundreds of thousands. The U.S. would be the first choice to help tackle this issue but is overextended with multiple wars. Europe is also tied down as it tries to save its economic union from collapse, and China can barely keep up with its own problems. That leaves very few options for people of this region.
There are plenty of nations across the world that have the money to fund an aid endeavor, but these countries lack the logistical capabilities to deal with a disaster of this size. The United Nations needs countries with the military and civilian infrastructure to take on the problems in Somalia that are holding back aid efforts. So, if no nation can lead the effort on its own, the only option is a well-organized joint campaign.
If the international community doesn’t act soon, we could be seeing death on a major scale. The U.S. cannot be the only nation fighting this famine. This disaster needs the entire international community to intervene in order to save the lives of millions. But the world is once again looking away.
Zachary Carrel is an international studies and anthropology senior.
http://samotalis.blogspot.com/
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