Thursday, October 23, 2008
every morning i wake up and log onto the internet, and my homepage jumps straight to bbc.news.co.uk. today is no different, and the news always shows the world's fears, trials and tribulations - from the economy slowdown, the countries bordering on recession, and to britney spears' comeback.
today, is no different.
today's news reads:
Zimbabwe starves as despair grows
Many Zimbabweans face worsening food shortages
By Peter Biles
BBC News, Zimbabwe
This year's harvest in Zimbabwe has been the worst in the country's modern history. In Mashonaland West province, some people are trying to survive by eating wild fruit and digging for roots.
"If we don't get help now, most of us are going to die. Nearly everyone here is starving" said a Mashonaland West villager
"It's very very bad. I've got 12 children and it's hard to find anything to give them," says a local village chief. "The whole of my village is struggling. No-one has food. There's nothing left here. So there's nothing I can do."
As the political paralysis over the formation of the new power-sharing government continues, people are experiencing severe food shortages brought on by the catastrophic mismanagement of the economy and the virtual destruction of the country's commercial agricultural sector.
In the meantime however, non-governmental organisations working in Zimbabwe have been hit hard by the economic collapse of this once prosperous country, and the resulting cash crisis stemming from levels of inflation that are now completely out of control. But it is not just the rural population which is suffering.
Bizarre and depressing
In the towns and cities, food is also in increasingly short supply. A walk around a suburban supermarket in Harare is a bizarre and depressing experience.
"We are distinctly aware that this is a food crisis that is growing," USAid's Karen Freeman
What's the lie of Zimbabwe's land?
One store I visited looked as though it was in the final stages of a clearance sale. Only two of the 19 check-out tills were operating, and most shelves were entirely empty.
The only fresh-looking food items in the shop were a few loaves of bread, priced this week at Z$30,000 a loaf (about $1). However, Zimbabweans are only permitted to withdraw Z$ 50,000 a day from the banks.
Residents of Harare are digging holes to find water. >>>
Most people often cannot afford what little food is available. Only those fortunate enough to have access to foreign currency can circumnavigate the shortages.
"We are distinctly aware that this is a food crisis that is growing," says Karen Freeman, the director of USAid in Zimbabwe.
This is almost entirely a man-made crisis, created by President Robert Mugabe's government, and his administration stands accused of having done nothing to help.
Zimbabwe starves as despair grows
Many Zimbabweans face worsening food shortagesBy Peter Biles
BBC News, Zimbabwe
This year's harvest in Zimbabwe has been the worst in the country's modern history. In Mashonaland West province, some people are trying to survive by eating wild fruit and digging for roots.
"If we don't get help now, most of us are going to die. Nearly everyone here is starving" said a Mashonaland West villager
"It's very very bad. I've got 12 children and it's hard to find anything to give them," says a local village chief. "The whole of my village is struggling. No-one has food. There's nothing left here. So there's nothing I can do."
Driving deep into Mashonaland West is a reminder that most Zimbabweans live in rural areas. The area around Karoi - 200km (124 miles) north of the capital, Harare - provides an illustration of the suffering currently being experienced in the countryside. Farmers are without seeds, fertiliser and fuel. Next year's harvest is already being written off as a disaster as well.
As the political paralysis over the formation of the new power-sharing government continues, people are experiencing severe food shortages brought on by the catastrophic mismanagement of the economy and the virtual destruction of the country's commercial agricultural sector.
School dropouts
Some Zimbabweans get by on one meal a day if they are lucky, but there is a growing sense of desperation.
Wads of cash are needed to buy what food is available in towns
Wads of cash are needed to buy what food is available in townsOne consequence is that thousands of children are said to be dropping out of school to look for food.
"In one district, 10,000 children of a population of 120,000 left school in a period of six months," says Rachel Pounds, country director of UK charity Save the Children. "There's a lot of lost hope. Zimbabweans put up with things that get worse and worse, but you can see the despair in some of the poorer families in the villages.
"It's causing a breakdown of the community when people have to leave in order to find food," she added.
One villager in Mashonaland West pleaded for help before it was "too late".
"If we don't get help now, most of us are going to die. Nearly everyone here is starving."
He showed me three tins of stored maize, but said that with seven children to feed, the supply would only last for a week.
He showed me three tins of stored maize, but said that with seven children to feed, the supply would only last for a week.
Earlier this month, the UN World Food Programme appealed for $140m (£86m) to provide vital relief rations over the next six months. The UN warned that more than five million people (45% of the population) could need assistance by early 2009.
In the meantime however, non-governmental organisations working in Zimbabwe have been hit hard by the economic collapse of this once prosperous country, and the resulting cash crisis stemming from levels of inflation that are now completely out of control. But it is not just the rural population which is suffering.
Bizarre and depressing
In the towns and cities, food is also in increasingly short supply. A walk around a suburban supermarket in Harare is a bizarre and depressing experience.
"We are distinctly aware that this is a food crisis that is growing," USAid's Karen Freeman
What's the lie of Zimbabwe's land?
One store I visited looked as though it was in the final stages of a clearance sale. Only two of the 19 check-out tills were operating, and most shelves were entirely empty.
There was no milk, cheese, margarine or yoghurt.
Some cabbages, onions and limp bunches of spinach were available, along with a few odd packs of frozen meat. The aisles intended for household goods such as soap and toilet paper were empty and closed off.
The only fresh-looking food items in the shop were a few loaves of bread, priced this week at Z$30,000 a loaf (about $1). However, Zimbabweans are only permitted to withdraw Z$ 50,000 a day from the banks.
Residents of Harare are digging holes to find water. >>>
Most people often cannot afford what little food is available. Only those fortunate enough to have access to foreign currency can circumnavigate the shortages.
"We are distinctly aware that this is a food crisis that is growing," says Karen Freeman, the director of USAid in Zimbabwe.
"The issue of urban vulnerability has never really been felt here before. You could go to the store and buy food in the past, but now you have no option. There's no food in the store and there's no food on the ground. The crisis now is one where you can neither buy food nor grow food."
This is almost entirely a man-made crisis, created by President Robert Mugabe's government, and his administration stands accused of having done nothing to help.
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reading this article broke my heart.
i was thinking to myself, "is there nothing we can do?" then i realised that it is exactly the way someone who sits on their ass everyday seeing this happen to our world and not do anything would think. if we wanted something to change the world and help the people who need it the most, then we have to stop being a bullshitter, step up, say something, and do everything we can.
this is something i want to do. and i hope that you find something you want to fight for too.
