Posted on 08/09/2002 12:08:23 PM PDT by Clive
Zimbabwe has imported enough grains to stave off famine for only two months, a United Nations (UN) report said today.
"The rate of national food imports to date falls far short of the national demand. Hence, maize meal and maize grain remain in short supply," a UN Humanitarian Situation Report said.
The government reportedly planned to import an additional 500,000 tonnes of maize from South Africa, which combined with international food aid, would give Zimbabwe enough food for seven months, the report added.
A survey by the UN's World Food Program (WFP) in the south-eastern district of Chipinge, found that school dropout rates have risen from less than 1% in January to 10% in July. "Half the children surveyed ate only one meal a day. Only 10% had some breakfast, usually leftover sadza (maize porridge) before going to school," the report said. It also added that dropouts and absenteeism rates have increased and that it has become common for children to faint from hunger.
According to the report, a national assessment of food needs was underway with the results expected in time for the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg on August 26.
After the March harvests, Zimbabwe had a 1,8 million tonne shortage of grain, leaving six million people facing starvation before the next harvest, the UN said. The WFP has blamed the shortages on drought and on the government's turbulent land reforms, which left most commercial farms unable to operate normally. - Sapa-AFP
"Let's see, it's too bad they are starving, but Mugabe brought this whole thing on himself. He's going to use starving children to get aid, which he will promptly steal. We could try giving aid through nongovernmental organizations, and that might help ease the suffering. But even nongovernmental aid might help prop up Mugabe, so we have to be careful."
We need to send a message that Mugabe's behavior is unnaceptable. He should be removed from power. But with so much else going on in the world, we can't really send in the Marines. It's a tragic situation, and people are going to die. The question is how can we get rid of Mugabe? No easy answer exists."
How a liberal brain might respond to this article.
"Okay, Mugabe has killed a lot of people and driven people off the land. But he is going against white people. That must mean he hates western civilization. I hate western civilization too, because my parents were brought up in western civilization, and I hate them. They used to tell me I was special when I was a baby, but then they stopped telling me that as much as I got older. They even made me take out the trash and clean my room as if I was just another kid! Well, I AM special, darn it!
I bet Mugabe is just like me. He's just trying to get respect from a civilization that doesn't understand that he's special.
Okay, we've now logical established that Mugabe is the good guy. If he's the good guy, then the starvation is either bad luck or the fault of western civilization. In either case, more sensitive souls like me have to help. Part of being special is being more sensitive than everyone else.
"I know! I'm going to organize a benefit concert tomorrow! Maybe I'll even get to meet Bono!"
You couldn't be more right, pardon the phrase.
I can still remember the "We are the world, we are the people" business, with all those rock stars and everybody being begged/ordered to send money for the starving Ethiopians, while their own government was the largest part of the problem. A lot of people did send money and felt SO GOOD about themselves as enlightened liberal Westerners helping the blighted downcast. And practically none of that aid reached the starving, distended-bellied young Ethiopians who needed it so desperately. It was just another scam.
Well, UN, you were too slow to respond to this whole damn mess. If you weren't in bed with every 2-bit commie dictator in the world you would have seen this coming and done something about Zimbabwe. Now, it's an after-the-fact attempt to save thousands from a death by starvation. Too bad, so sad. It's time for some tough love for the welfare states in the cess-pool that is Africa. As long as the Western world continues to bail out failed dictatorships, there will never be any positive change.
Excellent article on Poverty, autocracy and aid:
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