People are walking up to 70km in search of water
Posted on 02/17/2006 6:30:03 PM PST by FairOpinion
People in southern Somalia are starting to die from thirst in the worst drought in over 40 years in some parts of the country, says aid agency Oxfam. Oxfam says assessment teams found seven people who died of dehydration, and that tens of thousands are now at risk.
People are surviving on the equivalent of three glasses of water a day, in temperatures of over 40C (100F).
Oxfam reports an almost unprecedented situation, where people beg for water along the sides of the road.
All surface water has gone, boreholes are running dry, and people are walking up to 70km (45 miles) in search of water.
The 830 ml available per person per day has to be used for drinking, cooking and washing.
"The situation is as bad as I can remember. Some people are dying and children are drinking their own urine because there is simply no water available for them to drink," Somali village elder Abdullahi Maalim Hussein told Oxfam.
Relief effort
Schools and local groups have collected $100,000 - a large sum in an impoverished country - to pay for a relief effort.
Livestock in the south have been dying because of hunger
On Wednesday 10 water tankers left the capital, Mogadishu, with supplies for the worst hit regions in the south.
Oxfam says it will launch a similar operation next week but is predicting that without water supplies more children will die.
"The situation will get worse unless swift action is taken," said Mohamed Elmi, Oxfam Regional Programme Manager.
"People cannot survive on just three glasses of water a day when the temperature is hitting 40 degrees."
Relief efforts in Somalia are made difficult by a lack of proper roads and the absence of a functioning central government, with control of the country divided among rival militia groups.
The World Meterological Association has warned the Horn of Africa will remain in the grip of a drought until at least April.
The United Nations estimates more than 11m people in parts of Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, Eritrea, Tanzania and Burundi need food aid for the next six months.
1. Why did the MSM think the Cheney hunting accident deserved to be front page news for days and we don't even here about this?
2. Where is Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton to a) call the MSM to task for ignoring it and b) to help these poor unfortunates in Africa.
3. Where is the UN? I guess they are too busy writing the report about Guantanamo, crying over the terrorists, no time to help the innocents suffering.
People are walking up to 70km in search of water
If you don't have any water, walking 70km isn't going to help you, you will never make it.
I will personally donate 100 cases of bottled water if someone can tell me where to send it and make sure it gets to the right places.
Good luck getting it past the corrupt government officials....just the same maybe you could talk to a church that is helping in Somalia...this is such a sad situation...
Sorry, but I have become a cold hearted bastard in the last couple of years. I see billions of aid dollars given to countries that either never reaches the people who need it because of local corruption, or when it reaches the people who need it they spit in our face.
This is not a international problem. Locally the Katrina 'victims' have soured me on giving a dime to charity. If you want a hand out it is included in my tax burden.
Turn off the spigot of money and let them figure out their own problems.
Sorry for the rant but I am filling out my 1040 and my give a damn is busted.
That's exactly the point -- so much money is spent on fraud and for people who don't really need it.
The one potentially useful function of the UN would be is to help people in large scale disasters and they are failing.
Was this even on FOX News?
Aren't these the people that shot down our helicopter ?
Not to worry.
I'm sure the warlords of Mogadishu are stepping up to help.
As soon as they get a moneygram from their buddy Osama.
(end sarcasm)
I'm sorry for the suffering folks in these places. But the powers in those
countries are so busy telling The West/Europe/USA to get out, it's hard to
tell if any aid sent will not be diverted for profiteering.
Gee, can anyone remember Mogadishu? Habib's successors and his minions could generate a lot of water with their energies and neighborly love.
The only decent charity that I found, which can be trusted is the Salvation Army.
According to the Army's 2004 annual report, approximately $0.83 of each dollar spent by The Salvation Army is used to fund direct services for people.
To donate by phone:
1-800-SAL-ARMY (725-2769)
I am sure they could give you info, whether they are helping in Somalia.
They are an international organization.
http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/www_usn.nsf
Their international page:
http://www1.salvationarmy.org/ihq/www_sa.nsf
But I would start with the above phone no.
Al Qaeda shot down the helicopter, these are a bunch of innocent people who have never even been in Mogadishu.
We have a very large Somali population here in Minneapolis. Although it may cause me intense pain just by glancing at it, I'll try to read the Red-Star Tribune to see if there is any info about legitimate local charities working to address this problem.
Oxfam was one of the big Tsunami charities. Surely they've got some cash/donations left over to get some water to these people.
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/press/releases/somalia_160206.htm
Well, it seems OXFAM is reporting on it, but not a word about what they are actually doing.
Two books for reference on the topic of Africa and aid to Africa:
Out of America: A Black Man Confronts Africa
by Keith B. Richburg
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0156005832/qid=1140231192/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/102-8063805-7408150?s=books&v=glance&n=283155
The Road to Hell: The Ravaging Effects of Foreign Aid and International Charity
by Michael Maren
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0743227867/qid=1140230974/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/102-8063805-7408150?s=books&v=glance&n=283155
Oops, in the middle of the Oxfam report, they do say they are helping:
"In response to the crisis Oxfam International is launching emergency water operations in Somalia, helping up to 200,000 vulnerable people and their animals.
Oxfam is targeting areas along the Kenya/Southern Somalia border: the lower parts of Gedo and Lower Juba regions. Further assessments are being carried out so that Oxfam can scale up the intervention in appropriate areas."
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