Following on from yesterday's post on children dying from starvation, we are now informed that the world is facing its worst humanitarian crisis since the formation of the UN, 60 years ago. More than 20 million people in four countries in Africa are facing starvation, 20 million adults, children and elderly, coming face to face with an avoidable cruel, slow death. While this man made human tragedy is rapidly unfolding, our great leaders sitting in opulence are wringing their hands and crying crocodile tears, in one of the most gigantic displays of mass hypocrisy that the world has seen. They speak as if this nightmare has just sprung up suddenly, caught them by surprise, and they shake their heads spouting the figure of $5 billion needed to alleviate this suffering, as if this was a massive stumbling block to getting on with solving this tragedy. $5 billion dollars? Where's the problem? To put that in perspective, here in Scotland two asset management companies have just merged, creating a pot of assets of £660 billion, just to be shuffled around the world to make more money for those who already have much too much money, the Rothschild family is reckoned to be worth some where between $300-$400 billion, the Walton family of Wal-Mart fame, is sitting on approximately $149 billion, then we have smiling generous Bill Gates with $79 billion. So where is the problem in raising a paltry $5 billion to save 20 million people from starvation?
Another factor in this cruel, insane an hypocritical scenario, is the fact that Africa is extremely rich in natural resources, which are being plundered by the developed nations. Those developed nations are happy and willing to pour billions of pounds of weaponry into this plundering process, creating mayhem and unimaginable suffering. Weapon sales to Africa for the period 2010-14 show an increase of 45% on the period 2005-09. Was the famine problem not starting to show its ugly face at that stage? However, we mustn't in any way impede the growth of the arms industry and its profits.
What we are seeing epitomises capitalism, the only criteria is the growth of wealth, not its distribution. The cost of that growth in human misery is irrelevant. This famine will play its self out on the cruel inhumane stage of capitalism. The need for wealth to alleviate it will be a struggle, despite the fact that the world is awash with wealth, that wealth will continue to flow into fewer and fewer hands, and other famines, other avoidable human tragedies will come an go. Unless of course we get rid of the system that causes and aggravates these situations. Capitalism is the problem, not the world, we can shape the world in a more humane and just fashion, we have the resources, we have the ability, we have the imagination, when will we have the will and determination to end this festering cancer of capitalism that is eating humanity and destroying the planet? Must another 20 million people face the slow cruel death of starvation?
