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Violence, Famine, Locusts

 

The chaos of catastrophic convergence conveyed by Parenti can be seen currently in Ethiopia’s civil war.  Food insecurity is on the rise.  Undernourishment in Africa was close to 20% in 2019, according to the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World.  The sustenance and safety struggle across the continent is amplified as refugees flee violence, natural disasters, and inhospitable environmental conditions.   

The recent struggle in Ethiopia illustrates the degree of pressure conflicts are having. The Ethiopian army has threatened a ‘no mercy’ tank assault on the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, warning citizens to leave immediately. The violent conflict within Ethiopia has noncombatant citizens suffering, men, women, and children.  The Ethiopian government has prevented humanitarian aid from the UN to its citizens in need.  Decisions made by the government are imposing famine on its citizens who have not fled or been unable to escape.  The region of Tigray is home to 6 million people and their supplies have been running out.  The area is drought prone with crop yields in decline, substance agriculture is difficult. 

An added threat to the already tenuous situation, a once in a generation locust infestation dominating the region for over 2 years now.  This current struggle with the Desert Locust in East Africa is connected to conflict across the Red Sea in Yemen.  The enduring violence there has made farmers unable to engage in pest management.  Failure to control populations of the locust locally has quickly escalated into an international disaster estimated to cost the Red Sea region $8.5 billion.  Desert locust swarms can travel 21 miles per hour and cover a distance of 100 miles making them a huge threat to food security.  As climate change pushes locusts to migrate into more habitable territory, they threaten the security of the global food system. 

The local East African food system is in shambles, violence dominates the region, safety and sustenance are hard to find.  Refugees are fleeing the violence in Tigray, over forty thousand refugees have fled into Sudan.  According to the UN, there are 5.2 million people in need of humanitarian aid in the region of Tigray. 

As the affects of climate change, lack of mitigation, and corrupted systems converge in catastrophic fashion; conflicts become everyone’s problem.  Politics aside, hunger exists everywhere, and it is a mission worth solving now.  It is human nature to survive, we are always stronger together. 

Famine in Tigray

 The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2019

Desert Locust Carnage






Comments

  1. I wonder why humanitarian aide was denied to the citizens of Ethiopia. I wonder if it was an economic or political decision, and the needs of their people were not a major factor.

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    1. The ruling political party accused UN officials of meddling in Ethiopian government affairs, mostly aiding the 'wrong' side. Political officials desperately grasping what power they have left.

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  2. I would guess humanitarian aid was denied because of a corrupted government. Its insane how they could careless about the health of these people.

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  3. These scenes that you described in your post are truly terrifying - the "no mercy" military assault sounds like people who are dealing with this situation are entirely forgetting about the value of human life!

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  4. The stats you presented about the locusts is truly astonishing. That is truly wild that Locust swarms can travel 21 mph. The amount of ground those swarms can cover makes farming almost impossible. The famine statistics you presented in this region is disheartening. Great post, Nate.

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  5. Locust facts such as the ones you've presented has always been exciting to me, it's astounding that these swarms can literally consume hundreds of tons of vegetation. A part of me actually want to see it with my own 2 eyes.

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  6. Undernourishment in Africa is a problem that seems to only be getting worse as climate change continues to increase from global pollution increases. its a scary fact to think about!

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  7. The army is ordering people to leave, stating no mercy. But where do they expect these people to go? This brings me back to the thought that people need to learn to work together, and learn that working together is the only way to survive.

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  8. "Desert locust swarms can travel 21 miles per hour and cover a distance of 100 miles making them a huge threat" Pardon my French but what the hell?? They can move that fast? That definitely helps to explain the food shortage in Africa.

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  9. I physical can't imagine a "no mercy" call happening hear on US soil but it defiantly is not possible. As the climate crisis continues to worse this could be a reality I face in the coming years its just to hard to tell what is going to happen.

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  10. Your post was a very interesting read. I knew that locusts could cause massive issues with agriculture but I had no idea they could decimate crops on such a large scale. 21 miles per hour is a lot of ground to cover for a bug, and it is insane that they are capable of crippling countries.

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  11. These are issues of, one could say, biblical proportions. Especially the locusts. That is nutz-o. Thanks for your post, Nate. I feel like Africa is a place that is commonly overlooked. I hope one day that living conditions will be better for the people there. This post makes me grateful to live where I do.

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  12. Ahh... Locusts... How biblical... I'm not very religious in that sense, but something about a cloud-sized swarm of bugs seems like a surer sign of doom than any. Speaking of red flags, blocking international aid to a starving region dealing with medicine shortages is probably NOT going to lead to a decrease in recruitment for the TPLF. Groups like that usually don't enlist the employed, well-fed, or non-desperate types.

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