Dear Somalia
Imagine that you are walking in the desert, that you are walking 208 kilometers to be precise. The sun is burning your skin, your eyes, and your feet. You have never felt this tired before. You have never felt this hunger. Even if your body screams and you want to stop, you don’t. You continue because you are thinking of your children. If you stop, they will stop. If you stop, they will die.
It is easy to read this blog post while you are sited in front of a computer at the comfort of your own home. The fact that you are safe, does not make this story less true. Many people and many countries are suffering at this exact moment. We need to do something about it because “people” is the third pillar of sustainability. I feel like people that consider themselves sustainable make actions concerning animals, the environment, and products. Which is not a bad thing. But what about people? What about humans that are suffering? Why would they not matter?
This video shows the concern of “famine” in a specific country Somalia. You can see that some countries are not able to provide the same quality of life as others are capable to. That is why other countries should cooperate and help those people in need and provide them with a better opportunity. It is a common belief that hunger has decreased and disappeared in the world. But has it? According to the UN website, in 2015, there are 795 million people that are undernourished. That means 10% of the world’s population suffer a chronic hunger.
They say that an image means more than 1000 words. That is why I have provided this infographic. The biggest problem that our living generation has, is narcissism. We think more of what we want now, without thinking of others. And I say “we” because we being guilty of wasting food.
Next time you go to the supermarket or you go to a restaurant, think before you act. Think if you are truly going to eat all of it and stop wasting food. The world needs you and small changes have big impacts.
-Maria
If you want to learn more about the problem of Somalia and hunger in the world, here are some links you can look into:
- Puntland, Teetering on the edge of famine
- What can be done to save millions facing famine?
- Alarm as hunger crisis worsens
References
It’s interesting what you mentioned about people being one of the three pillars of sustainability. It’s true that people are often forgotten or overlooked when we think about trying to help the world become a ‘sustainable’ place. I wonder if this is because of the way people prioritize, or maybe it’s simply because some ‘sustainable’ acts are easier than others. For example, it’s easier to make your recycling efforts very clear and thorough; it’s something you can measure and do immediately, whereas providing aid to people suffering from a drought in Somalia can seen far away and impossible to help. I think it’s important that people are more exposed to these issues and news stories around the world, to help normalize the idea of helping people as an act of sustainability, rather than only considering the planet.