Dieoff starting in Africa

[Lord Beria3]

http://www.powerswitch.org.uk/forum/vie ... 85&start=0

[UndercoverElephant]

If I was a cynical b*stard I would wonder if the government are encouraging the reporting - nothing like a good famine to make people feel guilty about complaining about a mere collapsing economy and wipeout of the welfare state.

Maybe, but given that this seems to be even worse than the 1984 famine, I think the media would be onto it anyway.

It's not worse yet...

[ujoni08]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14039801

'[...] Mr Abdellatti linked the case to the food crisis in the Horn of Africa, which is affecting an estimated 12 million people. It is the worst drought in 60 years. Its effects have been compounded the violence in Somalia, which has been racked by constant war for more than 20 years - its last functioning national government was toppled in 1991'.

Jon

[UndercoverElephant]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14039801

'[...] Mr Abdellatti linked the case to the food crisis in the Horn of Africa, which is affecting an estimated 12 million people. It is the worst drought in 60 years. Its effects have been compounded the violence in Somalia, which has been racked by constant war for more than 20 years - its last functioning national government was toppled in 1991'.

Jon

So we have the worst drought in 60 years, combined with three/four times the population of 60 years ago, combined with peak oil, a global financial crisis and a failed state.

Doesn't look good.

[Lord Beria3]

http://www.collapsenet.com/free-resourc ... jor-crisis

One article was trying to raise money for the starving africans.

DON'T PAY A PENNY.

Africa is doomed. Its population is going to crash - any food bailout is only going to make the problem worse.

[vtsnowedin]

http://www.collapsenet.com/free-resourc ... jor-crisis

One article was trying to raise money for the starving africans.

DON'T PAY A PENNY.

Africa is doomed. Its population is going to crash - any food bailout is only going to make the problem worse.

I'm sorry to say LB that I am in complete agreement with you on that.

[UndercoverElephant]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14078074

Horn of Africa drought: 'A vision of hell'

But sometimes, Ms Andrey has to persuade mothers to go with their severely malnourished children to hospital. Frequently, they do not want to go - they say they need to forage for food, water and firewood for their other children - often as many as seven or eight - and they cannot afford to be away from their families. To some mothers, the weak, malnourished child has become a burden and they are prepared to let it die - a sacrifice in order to save their other children.

Aid workers like Abubakar have to negotiate hard with mothers to convince them to change their minds. "Some families had already prepared children for death and we had to intervene and tell them: 'No, this is not possible, this child is still alive and he can make it, so you have to give us a chance to try.' So we have to negotiate with them. It's hard but sometimes we win."

The place to which he wants to take the most seriously ill children is MSF's intensive therapeutic feeding centre.

Inside, it is a vision of hell. Tiny, emaciated children with wrinkled skin hanging off their bones, rib cages jutting out, bulbous eyes gazing out forlornly, flies covering their faces - the all-too-familiar images of African hunger.

"Some of them die on the way, some die in the wards," said Dr Christopher Karisa. "What we are doing here can seem like a drop in the ocean but the ocean will be a drop less if we don't do it. It's a challenge, a really big challenge."

But how could this be happening again, in July 2011?

One aid worker told me: "We were supposed to have an early warning system but what is the point of warning the rest of world when it doesn't listen?".

The world we live in is insane. How could this be happening again? How could it not be? It's like jumping out of a plane and wondering why you plummet to the ground.

[madibe]

Well, it's just been on the news (BBC) that the British public have donated £6 Million in the last 24 hours since an appeal was launched.

I really don't know how to feel. Let me explain - and I am not a heartless b'stard...

We have managed to raise 6m in the space of a day - amazing. Apparently the news said that 10 million are in need.

Now, it looks like the sticking plaster is going on again. I reckon it costs very little to actually feed and water a child. Enough to give them renewed vigour.

But - it's just going to happen again and again. The people are living in a hostile environment... not enough water, poor soil and no infrastructure to speak of. The people keep breeding like rabbits and the quality of life must be beyond belief.

Why do we keep doing this? We all feel pity, but a better option would be to sterilse them (oooh...no...) better, get them a decent working nfrastructure - however, perhaps things are so bad that even that won't help. So... people of Africa. Stop living there! Bloody hell, migrate...do something... walk...

Why do these people sit in a shitty dustbowl breeding and waiting to die?

I can only just imagine how difficult it must be - and seriously, they are doomed as it stands at the moment.

This obviously pulls on the purse strings - but is it the right thing to do?

As an aside, I notice the BBC reported on our 6m donation but did not mention any other countries donations...there must be stacks. How much money does it take to breed another generation of starving people?

Mini rant over. Oh, I do feel sorry for these folk. But what to do?

[clv101]

So... people of Africa. Stop living there! Bloody hell, migrate...do something... walk...

A lot do, it often doesn't end well.

Why do these people sit in a shitty dustbowl breeding and waiting to die?

It's their home, their community, their culture. Also, I expect, for most of the people, most of the time, the quality of life is okay.

[2 As and a B]

When I see those scenes from the Horn of Africa (oh-er missus), I count the children until I fall asleep.

[Ludwig]

When I see those scenes from the Horn of Africa (oh-er missus), I count the children until I fall asleep.

Whatever one thinks of overpopulation, that comment is in extremely poor taste and you should be ashamed of yourself.

[postie]

But what to do?

Nothing. F--k 'em. Really.

There's now double the amount of people starving than at the time of Live Aid.. so that was an absolute waste of time and an increase in the general amount of misery. Instead of biting the bullet and saying.. "look, we aren't helping you to breed the next generation of fly-encrusted starving babies.. either die or survive.. and whoever survives will probably have enough to live on."

Yes, that's heartless.. but then so is making more babies when you know you aint got food to feed them.

If we're serious about "saving" people, we should stop the scatter gun approach and instead of handing out aid, pick one country that is on it's knees and spend 10 years devoting all our energy to that country. a benevolent colonialism...of sorts. Make it illegal in this country to send donations to any other country.. everything aid-wise goes to that one nation. Water, health, education, farming, etc etc. AND... as it drags itself out of the 3rd world and prospers, other countries could do the same with some other nation. After 10 years.. you'd have a healthier, more educated and fed population.. that.. guess what.. might actually not be a problem.. and could even help with problems in it's own continent. If it isn't solved in 10 years... then they're too dim to help, or too corrupt.. move on to another country for a 10 year plan.

Or we could just keep tossing bags of rice at people and letting middle class Christians go out there to set up a goat rescue centre for Jesus. Cos the last 50 years has been such a roaring fecking success , hasn't it????....

[UndercoverElephant]

Well, it's just been on the news (BBC) that the British public have donated £6 Million in the last 24 hours since an appeal was launched.

I really don't know how to feel. Let me explain - and I am not a heartless b'stard...

We have managed to raise 6m in the space of a day - amazing. Apparently the news said that 10 million are in need.

Now, it looks like the sticking plaster is going on again. I reckon it costs very little to actually feed and water a child. Enough to give them renewed vigour.

But - it's just going to happen again and again. The people are living in a hostile environment... not enough water, poor soil and no infrastructure to speak of. The people keep breeding like rabbits and the quality of life must be beyond belief.

Why do we keep doing this? We all feel pity, but a better option would be to sterilse them (oooh...no...) better, get them a decent working nfrastructure - however, perhaps things are so bad that even that won't help. So... people of Africa. Stop living there! Bloody hell, migrate...do something... walk...

Why do these people sit in a shitty dustbowl breeding and waiting to die?

I can only just imagine how difficult it must be - and seriously, they are doomed as it stands at the moment.

This obviously pulls on the purse strings - but is it the right thing to do?

As an aside, I notice the BBC reported on our 6m donation but did not mention any other countries donations...there must be stacks. How much money does it take to breed another generation of starving people?

Mini rant over. Oh, I do feel sorry for these folk. But what to do?

There is something deeply ironic about the bolded statement above. Are these people living in a hostile environment? Certainly looks like it right now, but we also happen to be talking about the birthplace of Homo sapiens, or close enough. This hostile environment is supposedly our natural home.

[RenewableCandy]

I think it was a bit different when it was the Birthplace of Homo Sapiens. Either that or there was a reason why a load of us came "out of Africa".

[madibe]

clv101 wrote:

Also, I expect, for most of the people, most of the time, the quality of life is okay.

Erm...nope, not really. Also 10 million dying is a lot (on a humanitarian level - - nothing to nature) ...even if it is 'occasional'...which it is not.

No, clv, it's a shit hole of magnitude. It may be the birthplace of humanity, but that was way-back when everyone had a thousand and odd acres of forage. Really the culture hasn't moved on from the hunter gatherer days either. So there are two main problems: Overpopulation and lack of infrastucture (which icludes workable agriculture, political stability, investment, education etc etc ...)

Long term it isn't good - and no matter how many bandages are thrown at it, both literal and financial I fail to see how it can be remotely managable or sustainable.

I agree with Postie's plan - sustained investment for one area / country (if we can continue to do so) as it seems to offer the best chance of progress and dare I say, return on investment.