‘These farmers are forced to leave their parents and young children to die…’ Oxfam’s Jim Clarken on the reality of the African famine
IMAGINE you and your family have left your house to begin walking hundreds of miles for food and water. Along the way, your elderly parents and your youngest child starve to death.
The above is typical of the harrowing scenes witnessed by Limerick man and Oxfam Chief executive, Director, Jim Clarken, who has returned home after visiting famine hit Africa.
“It’s a very very serious situation when the United Nations uses the word ‘famine’. Tens of thousands of people have died already. It’s by far the worst in many years. Communities who rely on agriculture for survival have been wiped out,” Jim told the Limerick Post.
An exodus of 3,500 people a day are fleeing Somalia and arriving in parts of Ethiopia and Kenya that are suffering one of the driest years in six decades.
During his aid mission to various African regions, Jim, from Askeaton, was shocked to the core by the desperate situation unveiling before his eyes.
The young men from the communities we visited were all gone. They had walked hundreds of miles to find pastures and water for their families and livestock. All the women and children had either died or were left very vulnerable. They are exiting in a place that has no prospect of food, and this is replicated all over,” Jim explained.
Having just turned 40, and having become a father recently, Jim is struck by how lucky he is and how lucky we all are in Ireland even in the midst of an economic recession.
“We’re all going through our own serious problems in Ireland but it is relative to what’s going on elsewhere. What is always striking about the Irish is how we’re able to put things into perspective. Ireland’s contributions have been extraordinary and people in Limerick are great to support Oxfam,” said Jim, who also acknowledged the contributions being made at Oxfam’s shop on William Street in the city.
When a famine erupts, the solution isn’t rocket science, but the effect on the suffering is incredibly hard. One of the other problems facing Jim and all the other Irish aid agencies in Africa is the constant threat of local militiamen.
The armed gangs are running Somalia, according to international commentators, by targeting famine refugees and inhibiting the entry of food and water parcels.
“It’s an outrage. The conflict is making things difficult but the main problem is this is the worst drought in sixty years. Food, water and emergency aid are desperately needed,” Jim said.
Another problem for the farmers of Africa is largely down to a change in food prices worldwide.
“What’s happening is systemic of a global change in food prices. Around the world prices have risen by more than double what they previously were. Livestock prices have been similarly hit.”
Jim recalled: “People I met no longer have cattle to trade. All their livestock are dead. These farmers are forced to leave their parents and young children to die, as they search for help.”
The Oxfam chief’s main aim is to continue to raise awareness of the famine and to continue to fundraise.
Oxfam Ireland has launched an Emergency appeal for East Africa. You can help save lives by donating to Oxfam online at: www.oxfamireland.org or by contacting 1850 30 40 55 or by visiting its facebook page on facebook/oxfamireland or by texting GIVE to 51500.
Jim Clarken, Chief executive, Oxfam Ireland, at the Dollow health centre in Somalia.
