Will Walk for Food- African Famine
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New Refugee at Dadaab, Kenya Camp
I park as close as I can at the grocery store. I cannot imagine having to walk 2 months for food.
Which is exactly what Hassan and a thousand people a day fleeing the violence and the famine in Somalia are doing. We visited with Hassan about fifteen minutes after he arrived in the Dedaab, Kenya, camp with his family. And 400,000 other refugees. He had to leave one young son behind who was too weak to travel. Hassan was faced with the decision: Do I save the rest of my family and risk taking them and leave my son here to die? To die all alone? In a hut. Hoping to die before the wild animals came.
I’m a Dad. Now a Grandpa. I have spent the last twelve hours trying to understand that horrifying decision. I have absolutely no way to comprehend. None.
But Hassan started off. He sold their cow first, but that left them a few goats and a camel. They traveled as far as they could on the sale of their cow. Then they sold a goat and traveled as far as they could. They traveled as far as the sale of all of their animals could take them, then they started eating leaves.
Although he didn’t say it, Hassan’s wife and daughters probably were violently raped several times along the way. Most likely in front of him and the rest of his children. That’s the way the soldiers are. 4 out of 5 women are repeatedly raped. Little girls and old ladies.
I’ve seen starving people before but this is criminal. And as Ambassador Hall said at breakfast this morning, “This is a man-made famine.” Sure, the drought is horrible, but the bad government of Somalia has made this so much worse.
If you know someone who says, “Why are we helping these people?” would you let me know their name and phone number? I’ll buy them a ticket out of my own personal account and bring them over here.
Bet they’d change their mind.