by B. R. GOWANI
IMAGE/BBC
it is 2011
Kenya and the Horn of Africa
(Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Somalia)
are under the clutches of famine
due to extended period of droughts
and galloping rise in food prices;
there is also warfare in Somalia
which has become a warground:
militias, religious extremists, and
omniscient and omnipresent US are busy
exerting influence and flaunting prowess
hunger, starvation, sickness, malnourishment,
and, of course, death are common side effects
who faces the consequences of these factors?
the wretched of the earth, as always …
what happens to them?
the powerful are not all evil
they have devised a long lasting solution
it’s called refugee camps
for old people,
it’s the departing place from this world
for children,
it’s the location where they lose their childhood
for many others,
it’s the hell to part with youth and middle age
US AID or Agency for International Development
is always present to help
although 40% of the aid goes back to the United States
to those companies who’ll supply things
P. Sainath wrote a book:
“Everybody Loves a Good Drought”
it’s about the Indian government
but the United States loves everything:
whether war, drought, or famine
it loves to rebuild and recreate
but somehow it never gets finished
it is continuous work-in-progress
also then it helps the US economy
famine has forced hundreds of thousands
to leave their homes for survival and
migrate to the nearest refugee camps
Habiba is one of them, with her two children
she left her home in southern Somalia
for a refugee camp in Dadaab, in eastern Kenya
distance is 160 kilometers or 100 miles
less than two hours drive
but on Bus #11, that is, two feet
it could take days or weeks
Habiba and her children kept on walking
children got very tired
she would pick one of them up
walk a certain distance
then would carry her other child:
they were all exhausted
Habiba had crossed the limit of human endurance,
stamina, strength, and will power
she herself needs to survive
to save the children’s lives
now she was at life’s most critical juncture
faced with a heart-rending dilemma:
beyond her feeling capacity
the most devastating situation
she had to make a choice:
it was not like choosing brands of cereals
or cars with sunroof or without
it was choosing between her two children
whom to pick to live
whom to leave to die
she looked at both her children
eyes filled with tears
heart overwhelmed with grief
brain numbed by the thought
hands shaking by the decision
she offered a prayer
and committed an act
absolutely against her will
and resumed her journey with one child
she’ll live her entire life with this guilt
for no fault of her own
the cruel circumstances
the true picture of war’s pain
largely unheard yet existing
killing souls yet saving bodies
she told her story to Rajiv Shah of US AID
who then narrated it to President Obama and others
Shah expressed hope:
“Let us work together
to end extreme poverty in our lifetime.”
then proceeded with statistics
this is a perpetual drama
some years later
someone else will tell such stories,
give some figures
IMAGE/UNICEF
B. R. Gowani can be reached at brgowani@hotmail.com