Millions of Starving People

Anyone else notice that "starving children in africa" is used in an almost casual, even joking sense when talking about stuff? As it turns out, people are actually starving right now, in what is probably the worst humanitarian crisis in the world currently. Yet, for some reason, the only place I find it is Reddit news...

http://motherjones.com/blue-marble/2011/09/millions-are-starving-horn-africa

We we all just anesthetized as kids with the 'save the children' infomercials? I was reading this article this morning, and just thinking about how some crises get more attention than others - it blows my mind how many things happen simultaneously on earth, and the sum of the world's problems seems insurmountable. I guess I understand why some people roll up into a ball, or ignore it. I wish there was some way to effectively help, but the most effective thing I can think of is donating money - and I have a pitiable amount of that.

Reminds me a bit of how Chris might have been feeling in his earlier post this week.

I don't want to try and determine some currency by which world disasters can be weighted - I find that to be annoying and pretentious, but seriously - why doesn't this kind of story get equal coverage in the media? I mean, this may veer off onto a whole different topic, but when media outlets recieve money from advertisments, are there any guarantees of fair, equal coverage to world events?

I get this feeling in the gut of my stomach, that is the integration of hearing about this sort of crisis over and over again, and finally, understanding somewhat the magnitude of the crisis. When I feel this way, somehow my philosophical unrest of any given moment seems pretty selfish compared to what my fellow human beings are forced to endure. Its a feeling of impotence mixed with loathing.

It seems unfair that I can devote my life to something abstract like particle physics, while others have to devote their lives to making continuous sacrifices to get even their most basic needs met..

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/09/01/general-af-ivory-coast-un-wikileaks_8654181.html

I mead, god damn it, reality check people, we should all probably stop jacking ourselves off about all our problems, about how much jesus and god loves us, or how we're such enlightened secular humanists that see through all the bullshit and focus on what matters - each other.

I guess that is a bit of an un-focused rant. But, then again, I've just come off listening to atheist pod-casts for the last two days and BBC news about Tripoli and Qaddafi, and felt kind of pissed that these other stories aren't covered. There is a lot of fucked up shit happening in Africa right now, and we should all care about it. Its our long-lost home-land, after all.

[EDIT]

It turns out, Somalia, like many African countries (not all, thankfully) is not impoverished due to a lack of food. Journalists who have traveled in and around Somalia have noticed that in areas, there are flourishing crops, and large, fat herds of cattle. Why is there such a starvation crises, then? It turns out that Somalia is fractured, and divided between warlords. These men and their child-armies, conscripted very young and essentially brainwashed until adulthood, systematically work to utterly deprive other competitors of food, water, and medical treatment. Thus, if you happen to live in a less powerful, or unprotected village, you are certain to be utterly fucked. And, the infighting prevents anyone from receiving external aid. Aid workers attempting to enter are robbed systematically of their aid money and supplies, and turned back, at best. The situation is utterly fucked, and nothing short of a country wide unification and rebellion will save Somalia, aside from large-scale UN invasion. And why isn't there one already? Probably because Somalia is not of 'strategic interest' to the United States.