When will the international community commit itself to eradicating poverty in the Horn of Africa? Hundreds of thousands of people in East Africa live in tent cities, terrorism is rife and countries in that region are declared failed or unsafe states.
We know about poverty in the Horn of Africa, because thousands of Somalis and Eritreans have been saved at sea near our country and have found refuge in Malta. As a small island state, our contribution to East African poverty relief can only be symbolic, although it is substantial per head of population when compared to other European countries.
Development assistance in large measure has to come from the governments of advanced countries, so that Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea can establish market economies in their own countries and attract foreign direct investment to put agriculture, industry and services on a sound footing. In this way a stop is put to the flow of thousands of migrants who risk their lives each year to find refuge in European countries. Otherwise criminal and terrorist organisations will continue to flourish and the immigration saga in Europe will continue.
Another region lately in the news is the Philippines, where thousands are feared dead as a result of Typhoon Haiyan which hit the country on Friday, 8 November. Hundreds of thousands have lost their homes and millions affected. Massive international humanitarian aid is urgently required and will be sent by governments to meet the pressing needs. All over the world, NGOs and agencies working in the social sector have begun collecting contributions to relieve as much as possible the immediate suffering of these people so devastated by the typhoon.
However, apart from relieving the immediate suffering of people in such a dire situation, it is the responsibility of all country leaders – large and small – and the media, to raise their voices so that climate change is once more put high up on the agenda in international fora to help countries hit by natural calamities caused, or magnified, by global warming. In this way, those affected by such calamities can be helped to return to their usual way of life. Much more importantly, industry and pollution in advanced countries has to be regulated, so that the terrible consequences of global warming can be minimised or averted.
The Philippines as not – as yet – been declared a failed or unsafe country, but hundreds of thousands of Filipinos will start living in tent cities and if they are not helped to return to an organised way of life, they too will fall into the poverty trap. Criminality will become their main industry, and immigration – regular and irregular – will feature on a large scale in their communities. Finally, terrorism will rear its head. It is at such a stage that the leaders of the international community will declare the Philippines a failed and unsafe state! What a paradox!
Mario Mifsud
HAMRUN