AL-SHABAAB
Al-Shabaab is an Islamic organization that controls much of southern Somalia, excluding the capital, Mogadishu. It has waged insurgency against Somalia's transitional government since 2006. Al-Shabaab contains thousands of fighters and continues to grow because of Somalia's absent government. Even the clan war lords that were present before have proven willing to co operate. Foreign fighters have also travelled to Somalia to join the fight with the al-Shabaab. To begin with, the Western influence and help towards the al-Shabaab had only increased popular support. But, the 2011 wide spread famine has weakened the group. International Crisis Groups Horn of Africa analyst says, ''many in Somalia, even former supporters of the group, saw them as culpable in the crisis because they prevented aid groups from helping needy populations in time. The group has imposed Sharia law in some towns. hen it started its invasion in 2006, they used tactics such as suicide bombing, shootings and targeted assassinations to oppose the Somali government and what the al-Shabaab perceived as ''allies''; from aid groups, the Ethiopian military, to the African Union peacekeepers. In February 2008, the United States added the group to its list of foreign terrorist organizations. Al-Shabaab's broad aim is to eradicate clan divisions and the nation state. Also to reconstitute Somalia as a Islamic state under Sharia law, which worries its neighbors Kenya and Ethiopia, that both have huge Somali populations.
"The only thing that's going to stabilize Somalia is when people in the South come to do what the people in the North have already done. Which is to reconcile among themselves and agree. Starting from a community base of pacts between each other that they're going to stop conflict and start to create administrations . It has worked in the North and it is spreading in the North." - Sally Healy of the British think tank Chatham House.
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| http://www.bar-kulan.com |
PEOPLE OF AFRICA
The most impacted players of the famine would have to be the citizens of the Horn of Africa; because all the conflict and the drought not being their fault, they are the ones who have to suffer. And what ends up happening to them? They are either killed, die of starvation and other complications or they flee the city hoping for a better life elsewhere, but the worst is that some are just stuck there. In July 2011, the UN officially declared famine in five regions of Somalia- Mogadishu, Afgoye, Middle Shabelle, Lower Shabelle and Southern Bakool. Tens of thousands of shallow graves litter these regions, so far some 29 000 children under the age of five are among the buried. In mid-August, 400,000 Somalis had made lucky escapes to now the worlds largest refugee camp in Dadaab, Northeastern Kenya. The UN Food and Agriculture organization estimates that up to 1500 people move daily across the border to the camp. The al-Shabaab is preventing aid from reaching 3.6 million people which is nearly half the population, while 1.4 million people are severely affected by the drought. CARE states "Somalia's malnutrition rate is fifty percent, the highest in the world." But that is just in Somalia alone, 12.4 million people in the Horn of Africa are in desperate need of food aid. Crop losses in Ethiopia and Eritrea are up to 75% and only the countires Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisuma have experienced rainfall; but it still wasn't enough.
As of August 15 2011, only 48% of the 2.5 billion dollars needed has been received, there is an urgent need for the remaining 1.3 billion dollars to help the people of the Horn of Africa. |
| http://maritimers.ca/tags/horn-of-africa/ |
ORGANIZATIONS
I can't even begin to describe how many organizations that are involved in the famine in Africa. They have contributed so much and each organization is highly need; CARE, Oxfam, Red Cross, UNICEF, Doctors Without Borders, Valid Nutrition and the World Food Program. They are all a part of helping deliver aid to the people of the Horn of Africa. But organizations such as the World Food Program are banned from most of Somalia's regions because of the al-Shabaab.
Here's a quick look into a few of the contributing organizations:
Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres- MSF provides independent, impartial assistance in more than 60 countries to people whose survival is threatened by violence, neglect, or catastrophe, primarily due to armed conflict, epidemics, malnutrition, exclusion from health care or natural disasters. MSF also reserves the right to speak out to bring attention to neglected crises, challenge inadequacies or abuse of the aid system and to advocate for improved medical treatments and protocols. |
| http://multiculturalcookingnetwork.wordpress.com/ |
CARE- CARE has grown into one of the world's largest private humanitarian and development organization, reaching millions of people in over 80 countries around the world. CARE helps strengthen communities through an array of programs that work to create lasting solutions to the root causes of poverty. They focus on- Maternal child and health, climate change, emergency relief, HIV & AIDS, food security, and economic development.
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| www.care.ca |
World Food Programme- WFP is the food aid arm of the United Nations system. Food aid is one of the many instruments that can help to promote food security, which is defined as access of all people at all times to the food needed for an active and healthy life. WFP will continue to: use food aid to support economic and social development, meet refugee and other emergency food needs, and the associated logistics support, promote world food security in accordance with the recommendations of the United Nations and FAO. The core policies and strategies that keep the WFP running are: to save lives in refugee and other emergency situations, to improve the nutrition and quality of life of the most vulnerable people at critical times in their lives and to help build assets to promote the self-reliance of poor people and communities, particularly through labour intensive works programmes.
Drew Barrymore- WFP Ambassador- www.wfp.org
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