Famine's devastation: 4 dead children, 1 family

[Forkboy]

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Kaltum Mohamed sits beside a small mound of earth, alone with her thoughts. It is her child's grave — and there are three others like it.

Just three weeks ago, Mohamed was the mother of five young children. But the famine that has rocked Somalia has claimed the lives of four of them. Only a daughter remains. The others starved to death before Mohamed's eyes as she and her husband trekked to Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, in search of aid.

Thousands of parents are grieving in Somalia and in refugee camps in neighboring countries amid Somalia's worst drought in 60 years.

The drought and famine in Somalia have killed more than 29,000 children under the age of 5 in the last 90 days in southern Somalia alone , according to U.S. estimates. The U.N. says 640,000 Somali children are acutely malnourished, suggesting the death toll of small children will rise.

http://news.yahoo.com/famines-devastation-4-dead-children-1-family-173235180.html

[virgogal]

1. Every time I slip into "poor me" mood I catch myself and

think of these poor people.

What a tragedy !

[Warpy]

3. Since the fundy asshole Islamic bunch are the ones preventing aid

from getting into the hardest hit areas, maybe this will also signal a lessening of their stranglehold on so much of that country.

Remember, where ever fundamentalist religion takes over--any fundamentalist religion--people start to die from things that are preventable, women and children first.

[sabrina 1]

12. They are now allowing aid in.

I guess they are hungry now too. For whatever reason, they finally relented. I guess it's not much fun to be in charge of a country with no one left alive.

[Forkboy]

4. It definitely provides a little perspective.

[Bluerthanblue]

9. agreed-

k&r.

[cutlassmama]

2. The aid organizations are low on donations this year.

[DevonRex]

5. Thank you for reminding us of the devastation there. K&R nt

[Forkboy]

7. I'd say you're welcome but I hate posting this stuff.

:(

[DevonRex]

13. I know you do. And you know

we need to see it so you bite the bullet.

[emilyg]

6. kick

[Forkboy]

8. Thanks, emily.

:hug:

[Liberal_in_LA]

10. k&r

[ProSense]

11. Human Rights First: "everyone cares, but nobody drives action until it’s too late"

Obama Praised for Action Plan to Prevent Mass Atrocities, Genocide

Washington, DC – President Obama today announced two important steps his administration will take to prevent mass atrocities: the creation of a standing interagency Atrocities Prevention Board and a proclamation barring serious human rights violators from entering the United States. The President’s action plan elevates mass atrocity and genocide prevention to a “core national security interest and a core moral responsibility in the United States of America.”

“The risk of mass atrocities right now in Syria, Cote d’Ivoire, and the South Kordofan region of Sudan put into sharp relief the need for effective preventative action. Too often, such impending human rights disasters are orphans in the bureaucratic process—everyone cares, but nobody drives action until it’s too late. Today’s announcement promises a new approach: Presidential priority, senior level responsibility, and a direct line to the top for urgent action,” said Human Rights First’s Elisa Massimino. “Successive administrations have recognized that preventing genocide and crimes against humanity is in the national interest of the United States. Finally, there is a concrete effort to put that rhetoric into action and create a standing prevention structure within the U.S. government. We welcome the President’s initiative in making this a priority.”

According to today’s announcement, President Obama is creating an Atrocities Prevention Board, a high-level decision-making structure to bring the full resources of the U.S. government to bear in preventing mass atrocities and to establish authority to marshal inter-agency resources to this end. National Security Advisor Tom Donilon will lead a comprehensive assessment of how the U.S. government can best organize its structure and resources to ensure early and less costly preventive action. Over the next 100 days, Donilon will work with the secretaries of key agencies involved in prevention—the Department of State, the Department of Defense, and the intelligence community, among others– to structure the board.

[malaise]

14. It's too sad

and apparently M$Greedia loves to show non-Western people with flies around. :cry:

[YellowRubberDuckie]

15. Who cares about them?! They aren't 'mericans!

:sarcasm:
I am so sad that those families are suffering so badly.