In a world of instant communication, technological progress and accessibility, incidents where people die from starvation should have been a thing of the last century. Yet Somalia's complicated history, internal rife and international interference have given rise to a tragedy the magnitude of which the world is perhaps unable to gauge as yet.
Drought is nothing new to the country. It has faced massive droughts at least three times in the last 30 years - mid-1970s, 1983, and 1992. Analysts have argued that, though the situation worsened substantially, the first two times Somalia was able to circumvent all-out famine. The biggest reason, they put forth, is that the then government was able to foresee the situation and mobilise national and international resources to protect its people. The famine of 1992, like the current one, hit the Bay area in Southern Somalia. At that time, civil war had already started after the fall of Dictator Mohamed Siad Barre. The Bay area was agriculturally the most productive area controlled by warlords who used food as a weapon.
Today, this same Bay area is part of the territory controlled by Al-Shabab - an internationally recognised militant group with open affiliations with al Qaeda. The Somali government is a rickety administration at best with no control over the southern territories. The US is supporting the government-backed fighters to engage with Al-Shabab out of fear of Somalia becoming another safe haven for al Qaeda. In 2010, Al-Shabab threw out all international aid agencies from the area accusing them of spying for the western countries and propagating Christianity amongst Muslims.
In the politics and power struggle of armed groups within the country, and international politics, the real victims are the ordinary Somalis. Time is the biggest challenge right now as international aid starts to trickle in. Sadly, the ground realities indicate this catastrophe has a long way to go before it can be controlled. The biggest problem is access to people dying of starvation. Hundreds of thousands Somalis have already fled to Kenya and Ethiopia. The biggest concern for the UN is the huge number of people who die because they leave behind their homes and travel long distances in search for food.
Somalia needs help. Humanitarian agencies are calling this famine the biggest disaster to hit Horn of Africa in the last 60 years. Despite the obvious donor fatigue afflicting aid agencies and those who have extended help in time of need, resources must be engaged to provide support to Somalia. Now is the time for the international community to step up and save innocent people who are at the moment looking in the eyes impending death.