When famine is just another weapon of war

As the UN officially declared famine in Somalia, it is intriguing to note that it is the first time it does so since 1984. Thus, the matter is not to be taken lightly and for once, the international public opinion has been alerted thanks to significant media coverage.

Even though it seems like African countries are always on the verge of famine, this crisis is deeply concerning. The worst is simply that there is not much we can do. As people are donating money to help and UN organizations are actively committing to the process of relieving the crisis, al-Shabab, an Islamist group settled in Southern Somalia has declared the famine was nothing but “western propaganda”. They also affirmed aid would not be permitted and thus would not reach the population.

Somalia has been struggling for decades now. After an extremely hard and violent civil war, a government was established. However the country never regained genuine political stability. Northern Somalia or Somaliland decided to secede in 1991 even though it is not officially recognized as a country. In southern Somalia, several warlords still rule the country. The Islamist group al-Shabab for instance is very powerful in the region.

Thus, this excellent article on mass starvation as a political tool appeared very interesting. Instead of only blaming the weather, the poverty and the lack of  infrastructures, Charles Kenny took into account another variable: governing authorities. Through this new approach, the declaration of al-Shabab was suddenly clearer. Mass starvation is just another weapon of war. The Islamist group desperately wants to impose the Sharia and is aggressively opposed to any western organizations. It killed 42 relief workers in 2008 and 2009 to further show its heinous and violent methods.

As long as Al-Shabab will not accept charities in the regions it controls, Somalis will keep flooding overcrowded refugees camps in neighboring countries. The famine risks spreading and hence further destabilize East Africa. The stakes are high and Western organizations should keep pushing and negotiating. The International Criminal Court could even issue an arrest warrant for the terrorist organization.

When a population is taken hostage by its very own people, when the most dedicated humanitarian organizations are powerless, when famine is just another weapon of war, we realize how far some people are willing to go to impose their ideology.

Decency? Huh? / Décence? Hein?

Keeping faith in human beings can be hard when you read this new article on Mladic, former Bosnian Serb commander who committed genocide.

After refusing to go to court, the obnoxious and detestable man kept on heckling the judge on his recent hearing, saying he would not listen to the charges. He finally took off his translation headphones to not hear the truth.

He also said he was an old sick man and complained of being imposed impossible conditions. Wait, but what did he do during the Bosnian war to thousands of people? Maybe he should have thought about the consequences before.

The man clearly does not want to assume responsibility for what he did and it is more than shameful.

I keep trying to find my words to explain my feelings about his behaviour but sadly i can’t find anything that would be strong  enough. I want to write about decency, duty and apologies but these words are definitely unknown to Mladic.