poverty seeking peace

Poverty is a difficult subject, made more difficult in war-ravaged countries like Somalia because of it’s lack of a functioning government. The entire country is poor, with a growing number of Internally Displaced People (IDP) each day. These people are the many who have migrated, or been driven from their homes to a new town or city as a consequence of war. These people have lost everything. They have no homes, land, food, resources or community support systems. They are the ones most susceptible to disease and other health problems. These people have become indistinguishable from the rest of the poor in Somalia, and normally are the responsibility of the national government. Somalia, however, is a failed state. With such a lack of regulation and support, who speaks for the human rights of these people?

Although there are many humanitarian relief programs and NGOs operating in Somalia, these are a bandage to a critical, haemorrhaging wound. I'm not sure yet what is really needed; I’ll have to research more, but what I do know is that from everything I’ve read, there is always one thing the people of Somalia seem to want more than anything else, and that’s peace. Surely there is more we can do…

Photo credit here.