17 votes

Somalia faces worst drought in decades, leading to record number of displacements

Somalia faces worst drought in decades, leading to record number of displacements — Toronto Star

Somalia is facing the worst drought in four decades, devastating floods and more than 30 years of conflict, leading to a record number of displacements this year, with more than a million people fleeing their homes in just 130 days. This brings the total number of internally displaced people to nearly four million, which is close to a quarter of the country’s population. In desperation, some mothers are poisoning their babies with detergent and salty water to trigger illnesses and thus receive free food from health centers. This food, instead of being given to the sick child, is sold to provide for the whole family. Source

6 comments

  1. [4]
    Gekko
    Link
    well that's hellish not very fun to think that this is going to just keep happening and get worse

    well that's hellish

    not very fun to think that this is going to just keep happening and get worse

    7 votes
    1. [3]
      Curiouser
      Link Parent
      Yeah, I've been dreading the awful climate change human suffering headlines. When Australia was on fire in early 2020, the coverage was stomach turning. If you find a way to cope outside of...

      Yeah, I've been dreading the awful climate change human suffering headlines. When Australia was on fire in early 2020, the coverage was stomach turning.

      If you find a way to cope outside of ignorance and weed, I'd love to hear about it

      3 votes
      1. [2]
        Gekko
        Link Parent
        Mostly just by being thankful I don't live in an area that is seeing dire effects. My heart aches for the millions of people affected, I feel like a piece of garbage if I ignore it for my own...

        Mostly just by being thankful I don't live in an area that is seeing dire effects. My heart aches for the millions of people affected, I feel like a piece of garbage if I ignore it for my own comfort. Apathy is how we got where we are now.

        I vote for politicians who don't think climate change is a hoax and want to instill regulations and restrictions on corporations and wealthy individuals who are, as we speak, doing everything they can to make the situation worse for a quick buck. It's the limit of my political power as a citizen, but I can sleep at night knowing I'm doing what I can to slow this horror.

        3 votes
        1. Curiouser
          Link Parent
          That's about where I'm at. I eat less meat & live more responsibly, stopped buying too much junk, and I vote. It still feels shitty to watch places get hit so hard while I'm minimally impacted.

          That's about where I'm at. I eat less meat & live more responsibly, stopped buying too much junk, and I vote. It still feels shitty to watch places get hit so hard while I'm minimally impacted.

          2 votes
  2. automaton
    Link
    As someone with a family sitting comfortably in Canada with a job, food, social support systems, free healthcare and a home, I really cannot imagine the hell these people are going through....

    As someone with a family sitting comfortably in Canada with a job, food, social support systems, free healthcare and a home, I really cannot imagine the hell these people are going through. Especially when it's so bad you would willingly poison your child to get food.

    My only thought is: life seems really unfair, and a large part seems to just be a luck lottery based on where you were born.

    I can only hope some of the 4 million displaced peoples can find a better life elsewhere, maybe even here in Canada, as refugees.

    6 votes
  3. chocobean
    (edited )
    Link
    Edit: If your choices on how to feed 7 children are between making one sick vs having all 7 die or sold into sexual slavery, AND you hope the one getting sick and receiving medicine will...

    Edit:

    A September 2022 study by the United Nations refugee agency found that nearly 20 per cent of children who worked were engaged in sexual transactions, while others worked in factories or as porters, domestic servants or street vendors.

    If your choices on how to feed 7 children are between making one sick vs having all 7 die or sold into sexual slavery, AND you hope the one getting sick and receiving medicine will live...... This is the dreadful algebra.

    But before we judge these mothers too harshly, remember that perhaps this is one or two cases, and quote from Terry Pratchett, from Snuff:

    When nothing else can survive, they do. Their universal greeting is, apparently, “Hang” which means “Survive.” I know dreadful crimes have been laid at their door, but the world itself has never been kind to them. Let it be said here that those who live their lives where life hangs by less than a thread understand the dreadful algebra of necessity, which has no mercy and when necessity presses in extremis, well, that is when the women need to make the unggue pot called “soul of tears,” the most beautiful of all the pots, carved with little flowers and washed with tears.’ ”

    3 votes