Guilty thoughts about the Horn of Africa

[Bevo Incognito]

Roughly 11 million people are on the brink of starvation in Somalia, Kenya, Eithiopia, Djibouti etc.. Somalia is the worst hit and, actually, Kenya and Eithiopia are doing relatively well.


The reasons for the famine are varied, but they include both the fighting in Somalia between militant Islamic factions, the worst drought in history, the lack of a functioning government in Somalia etc...

I''ve been watching BBC tonight and the images are heartbreaking. The ones most impacted by the famine are the children who die along the long road to a refugee camp. Some of the refugees walk for eight weeks before reaching a camp, assuming they make it.

So I see these people and my emotional heart cries out that we must do something to help these people. After all, these children are totally innocent victims and most of their parents are, too. They did nothing to deserve this fate.

But I'm in a kind of moral quandary. This is an epic drought in a part of the world that experiences them frequently and that does not get enough rain even in the very best years. Clearly, it cannot sustain the number of people who live there now and (especially) going forward. So I come to the kind of malthusian conclusion that it would be more humane to let millions die now than to save them, see them procreate, and allow tens of millions to die in 10 or 20 years.

Meanwhile, we're running huge budget deficits and can't afford to try to save the entire world or, really, any part of it outside of ourselves.

My Catholicism makes me feel guilty for having thoughts like these, that it would be better to let so many die now than to sustain them for awhile, only to see the problem grow.

Thoughts?

 

[Hpslugga]

It's a legitimate question and it can be applied in a lot of situations. Do you want to do things that superficially make you feel good, or do you want to really help people? It's a tricky predicament because not everything is clear-cut. Can people really save the affected groups you mentioned, or is the extent of that potential only what you described, which is just prolonging their deaths to where they procreate and produce a generation(s) that cannot survive even as long as their parents? It's a very difficult question and it's also an important one. Improving social conditions like these is a slow process. I'm really not sure what the right answer is in this particular case.

 

[Dionysus]

Not to make light of a tragic situation, but I’m reminded of Sam Kinison’s comedy bit about Ethiopia in the 80s. He said we shouldn’t send them food, we should send luggage so they can move to where the food is because you live in a ******* desert.

Is a civilization trying to sustain itself in an unsustainable part of the world? If this were people trying to survive in Antarctica how would we feel? We’d probably say you can’t live there, it’s too harsh and won’t support life well enough, you need to settle in a place more conducive to life.

Is the African situation really much different?

 

[Sangre Naranjada]

We need to take care of our own house first. Then, after the 50 or 60 years of housecleaning it will take to get our own fiscal mess straightened out, we might start looking at shipping money to places where images from news stories are heartbreaking.

If you are a person looking to bum some money off of folks, you don't go down Guadalupe street and beg the dragworms to help. Right now, America is the dragworm of planet earth. Other nations need to stop panhandling us.

 

[Horn6721]

BI,
I understand the guilt you feel. as you say these are totally innocent straving babies and children.
Sadly that has been going on for decades.Remember "We are the World"?
I am sure there was another campaign before that. We and much of therest of the world have poured untold billions into Africa yet most of the people are worst off than ever.
Between starvation and illing (Kenya may not be starving but many people, mainly Christians).

I don't know the answer either

 

[Crockett]

Maybe we can't fix it, but we can make a difference. I like the United Methodist Committee on Releif to help because all you donate ends up going to charity. For UMCOR's take on the situation go toThe Link

 

[majorwhiteapples]

It is not the governments job to help in these situations. There are religious organizations, relief groups, etc... The way the government is helping these folks out....they are tax exempt!!! They don't pay taxes for anything, revenue, property, sales etc.

 

[Longhorny630]

Since you mentioned Catholicism, of which I am also a member, I would say it would also be humane for practicing Catholics to stop having large amounts of children. Granted, it's not nearly as a common occurrence as it used to be, but, c'mon, 8+ kids is just insane. We are at a point in human society in which 'be fruitful and multiple' is no longer a requirement for human survival, rather, the excessive multiplication creates a drain on resources and in the long term will lead to more wars, famines, and death. It's just a thought that's come across my mind from time to time.