Gamecocks should aid in tragic famine by donating and getting involved
Twelve million people in Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti are facing the worst famine in 60 years. Ten thousand die daily due to starvation, dehydration and preventable diseases. Thirty thousand children under the age of five have died since May.
These statistics are just numbers, and despite our best intentions, we have become desensitized to numbers. So here's another explanation: Imagine the casualties from 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina occurring daily. Imagine the tears and heartache occurring every day without any clue when it will be over. That is the misery millions of East Africans have been facing over the last several months.
I am pleading to my fellow Gamecocks that a tragedy doesn't have to hit home for us to care.
Somalia is not home to pirates and extremists. Somalia is a nation recognized by the United Nations. However, Somalia is in a bad state. It has an antiterrorism government that holds no power. Somali civilians are living in anarchy. While we worry about our partisan politics, they are living with nothing. We cannot let 12 million people suffer because we fail to recognize the difference between a terrorist and a victim.
Could monetary aid fall in the hand of extremists? Truthfully, there is a chance that Al-Shabaab could get its hands on some relief funds. Yet, this is no greater than the risk of Al-Qaeda getting your money every time you fill your tank. Nor is the risk greater than money spent on diamonds funding guerilla warfare in central Africa. Some ideologies say it's only okay to risk funding terrorism if we get a diamond or a tank of gas out of it, but when it comes to helping starving victims we cannot risk it.
Some say we have to help ourselves — that given our current financial crisis we cannot afford to help others. I know that people in our nation are struggling and my heart goes out to all impoverished Americans. However, helping people is not mutually exclusive; it's very much possible to help those in need here and give to those dying overseas.
Consider that $1 can fill four cups with nutritious meals. Four quarters can feed a child for over a day. When nearly everyone has an iPhone or Blackberry, I wonder, how impoverished are we as a nation?
It's not my intent to make anyone feel guilty, nor is it my place to dictate how much to give. But imagine your cousin, niece or nephew crying because they have not eaten for days. Envision someone you love crying in agony, the cry of a person literally starving to death.
Remember the PSA of the couple who heard their neighbor abusing his wife. The man goes next door and hands the abuser a baseball bat to continue the assault. The message is if you don't help then you are responsible.
-Gelila Selassie, Pan-African Student Association President, with contributions from Bereket Kindo and Bernard Oniwe