Is it fair in the long term to help Somali famine?

-Such a complex issue, but my understanding of Somalia is that it's been torn apart by civil war for 30 years, it is full of pirates and Islamic Al Qaida and a land that cannot sustain life long term, as the famines every ten years testify. THEREFORE... are we (the West) doing more harm than good by giving aid that encourages them to stay in a land that's dying, and on a political level, why do we want to make healthy millions of people who's intolerant interpretation of Islam wants 'us' dead? Most of the money goes to corrupt officials who will buy arms to continue their civil war anway, and the same famine will happen to the children of the people we help in ten years time. So what is the point of donations? Beyond making compassionate Westerners feel 'good' for ten minutes as they tuck into another guilty obese feast?

Can we seperate facts from human life?Most food aid money doesn't go to graft. That is just wishful thinking from someone who doesn't give to charity. All charity involves some graft, often with the best intentions, as they pilfer food money to stock up on jesus texts.



You;re just justifying your own selfishness.





Here's a selfish reason to give food aid. Butter is cheaper than bullets. Food aid is propaganda. Ten years from now, the famine survivors can either be remembering that the west spent ten cents a day to keep them alive, or they can remember when the west sent nothing and the only food aid came from arab charities, funded by the same people that have spread an obscure sect's beliefs across the arab world largely through providing cheap schools to poor kids. Ever considered how much better we'd be off today if we'd been building third world schools instead of leaving that to the house of Saud?



Food aid should be selfishly labelled in American, UK, NATO, or UN flags, rather than being funneled through the local governments, allowing them to play the big man to their country. If Pavlov can make dogs salivate by ringing a bell, you can make UN baby blue popular by associating it with food.



Give a man a fish today, he's a lot less likely to decide you're the source of all his ills tomorrow. How is it you can't grasp one of the simplest and oldest rules of political control?Somalia has received billions in aid every year for decades some african & surrounding countries up 2 50 years!! So clearly aid does not work. Somalia have faced droughts of this extent before & have relied on hand out since they should be better prepard with the money they,ve had !! They manage to have sex & have baby,s 1 after the other,contraception & a kik up the butt thats all the aid they need .*
Molehole;

Somalia is another example of the failure of Islam.
You can feed them today, but then who's gonna feed them and their children tomorrow?



It's tremendously sad, but you can't fight Darwin.
It's obv that far too many ppl live in this region relative to its ability to support life. They have a one child per couple policy in China, why not in Africa?
Positive attitude, and good works are never misplaced. They may havebeen better placed, but never wasted. My answer is no help them some more. I do.



Chico
Providing aid would be particularly foolish in such a corrupt country that knows famine like we Americans know recessions: it would never arrive to the needy. It would be diverted and dispersed and wasted on people who are not starving. This is the curse of the Horn of Africa.



I'm not in agreement with "Smells Like New Screen Names." Famished Somalians have been given food historically and look at where they continue to arrive.



Like Eva Peron, I "despise charity," simply because it has been invented to assuage the guilt of the fat and decadent. Nothing can be done for the Somalians. They have been contaminated by an insidious fundamentalist force that makes them ineligible for my sorrow or concern.



I'm not a monster: I wouldn't dream of providing drug addicts with clean syringes. If they want to destroy themselves with AIDS, overdoses and Hepatitis C, go right ahead: that's what our American Freedom over here on the other side of the pond is all about-but when you drop dead, make sure it's not on my lawn. I just mowed it in onerous heat (100掳).



Much better to donate to relief kitchens and food banks that can help our own citizens.



It's so odd: the Somalis can't rally enough to collect food to feed their starving, but they perfected high seas piracy and turned it into something lucrative, at least for a spell. When they learn to use this native intelligence in a positive way, then I'll personally salute them.



I remember Biafra in 1971.