Blog Action Day 2011: Famine Claims Thousands As Tons Of Food Wasted

"Statistics tells of an ominous:  the day will come when many would fight for a single grain, rich and poor alike, the dispensation when money is a non-factor." 

When a tourist or an expatriate worker for the first time lands in any Saudi city, chances are the conspicuous Arabian culture pretty much does not go unnoticed. Tall minarets dotting skylines and at some point juxtaposed with a skyscraper, bustling traditional souks and ubiquitous modern malls greet you with explicit Arabian hospitality. From the unmistakable traditional garb worn by men to his unique driving style (left foot nestled on the dashboard while behind the steering wheel is a common sight in major roads), one can easily make out and understand local customs and behavior. Sea of black-clad shoppers can be seen raiding the malls at night is another peculiarity unique to Saudi women. 

While a lot of positive things come out long in the list, speaking of Saudi uniqueness however, entails a variety of opposing qualities. Let me stick then to the obvious. If one happens to be in Jeddah, one thing that won't escape your eyes is the all-gleaming blue occupant in every street corner that hosts substantial feline population. These poor creatures can be seen fighting one another for a lump of wrapped yellow rice and ribs loosely hanging on the edge of  blue dumpsters. These wasted foods dumped by people come from the excess on their tables. You cringe knowing that thousands of people die in Somalia due to starvation, and here you see foods being abused and disrespected. Some foods they throw are still fresh and look very much edible.

Coming from the word itself of one Saudi mother, she admits that Saudis in general live in a culture of excess, and food is no exception.  Saudis have penchant for holding feasts especially during summer holidays when weddings are preferably held. Along with the massive feasts also come tons of leftover food that they simply dump. People show less concern for the hungry ones around them that wasting food has been ingrained in their culture.

The month of Ramadan is no exception. Okay, everybody knows every able-bodied Muslim adult fast from dawn till dusk (well, they see to it they are pretty well-stuffed before the break of dawn so that feeling hungry during the day does not make sense). Fasting is imperative so as not to 'lose' reward from god. Even most of my colleagues are too terrified a drop of water touches their lips or they risk losing their reward (hence talking with them closer is not advised). The zeal is there to perfect the daily ritual of shunning food and water, but wait till they get to the table when the loudspeaker signals time to break their fast. You don't believe your eyes how   leftovers could still feed a handful and yet  fly straight to the garbage.

Ramadan 2010 actual data: 

* In Dubai, 1,850 tons of food on average are thrown out daily - mostly from large banquets and top-end venues like 5-star hotels. The rich and famous in the emirate demand lavish food served in hotels at Iftar, after which all excess go straight to the garbage as per hotel policy.

* In neighboring Abu Dhabi, 500 tons of food on average are dumped daily. It is not clear whether attempts by various NGOs to raise awareness on food wastage have been successful.

* In Saudi Arabia, no figure or estimate is available due to some press censorship. Anything that comes out unfavorably for the country's image is an outright 'lie'. But consider this: the very media outlet that screams of massive food wastages over in Dubai and Abu Dhabi is a Saudi daily, yet it carries no figure or estimate of the same from its very own.

* Saudi Arabia has one of the highest obesity rates in the world. Local health experts readily blame the culture of over-eating especially in Ramadan, that some even die of high-blood pressure and other related illnesses triggered by eating oily and fatty foods.

Emphasis on Ramadan:  Traditionally, families prepare sumptuous meals and gather for Iftar (breaking the fast) and Suhoor (meal before dawn). As a festival of giving and sharing, Ramadan is centered around on providing bountiful meals so that increased food purchasing is witnessed during the month, making way for more wastage. At mealtime, the habit of piling food on to the plate (in most cases, hunger breeds gluttony), contributes to massive food wastage. Cooking too much food to reward oneself for enduring a day's fast is also an unbeatable habit by many in Ramadan. Anticipating guests to join  Iftar meals also drives them to cook more, to which extent excess food has no more room in the fridge, thus food is wasted.

Putting into perspective, facts laid down are simply comprehensive.  The glaring display of extravagance on food and the resulting food wastages by rich countries is beyond anyone's comprehension, yet across a narrow strip called the Red Sea, piles of dead bodies are strewn everywhere due to famine. Aid organizations do exist in the Gulf region, but they are yet to make an impact proportionate to the region's food wastages. Efforts have been made to minimize food wastages, but without the cooperation of the people, these blah blahs could well turn out to be some vexing advert of epic proportion.

Global impact: Food waste is a real concern of global proportion. Many food products can be classified as biodegradable, but its non-consumption means that precious resources used in its cultivation and production are wasted, such as energy, water and material used for its packing. Carbon emissions resulting from the food's transportation, storage and disposal are also big contributors to climate change.

While thousands die of hunger in many parts of the world, food waste is deemed a serious global issue. Studies indicate that not all rich countries have a hand on this global phenomenon (as this issue is more culture-based). This global concern however is a source of national shame for those countries whose people act irresponsibly, without regard for those dying because of hunger. It is not their fault, yes, but the attitude certainly does show utter defiance to human conscience, that human beings are inclined to show respect and compassion to their kind.

Today marks this year's Blog Action Day and coincides with the celebration of  World Food Day. Apparently, food scarcity is the single most pressing issue that affects many nations on earth. The Horn of Africa for example, is beset with famine due to a prolonged drought that results to hundreds, if not thousands of death every single day. On the other hand, just less than an hour- flight across, rich nations like the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia traditionally compete with each other as to which one gets the crown of having the most number of tons of food wastage on summer holidays and in Ramadan. If tradition is to take the blame, I hope people start to act like humans and practice humanity for the sake of their kind, albeit inferior to their eyes.

If nation or nations preach peace to be their way of life because that is what their religion teaches, then let it practice what it preaches. Let it start by being peaceful with nature - to show respect for all the blessings  nature has given them, and show compassion to those who lack in life. The media and the academe in those  countries should spearhead educational campaign and rally the support of its national and local leaders, thereby gaining a foothold on gradually changing the mindset and practice of its people that are proven irrelevant in the fast-shrinking globalization. Statistics tells of an ominous:  time will come when many would fight for a single grain, rich and poor alike, the dispensation when money is a non-factor - the one  foretold in the Bible as the coming  Awful Horror. Let's hope that everyone stakes his claim to the greater cause of preserving nature, so that food and other necessities in life do not vanish in haste, when climate change has the final say in man's destiny.

Somalia: Hell On Earth As The Rest Of The World Forgets

"Is it because Somalia does not equate with Japan's status as being too glamorous to suffer a catastrophe? That the people of the Horn do not matter as much as people from traditionally 'important' nations?"

Djokovic had won his third slam in a year. "Mad Men" dominated the Emmys in the nth year running. The pop world goes gaga over Lady Gaga, until when, I have no idea.. And Sarkozy came to Tripoli and treated like a rock star. Yet there is no dearth of sobering news as the world economy is in tatters, at least in the West, for now. More and more Americans are getting poorer. Greece is likely to be tossed off of the EU for its irreparable economy that further sends the bloc into economic doldrums. The world has plenty to talk about - mostly those that titillate our senses, and sending others of importance to oblivion.

Had it not been for Gadhafi, the world would have completely lost account  of what is happening in Africa. News that centered around the tyrant's demise albeit virtually had all media outlets around the world screaming in unison. For all its oil's worth and  bisexual innuendos pertaining to one of Gadhafi's sons, even the resignation of Steve Jobs from Apple's top echelon, was poised to upstage even the more hellish scenario further east at the Horn of Africa. Still few would choose to read or google about the famine in Africa.

These are not scenes told with exaggeration. It will break your heart. Somali families trek through the desert for weeks to get to the nearest UN refugee camp on Kenyan border some 50 miles away. Babies born along the way had their baptism of life's cruelty the moment they emerge from their mothers' wombs. Lucky if they make it through arduous journey and if their mothers are strong enough without having to eat anything to continue the journey. And my eyes welled up on this one - a mother had told of her little boy she left on the desert road because he was too weak to walk because she knew then he wouldn't survive. She had to be strong for her other children whom she thought stood a chance to survive in a long journey that took them forever.

Carcasses of dead animals along every single patch is a sight in ubiquity. As both humans and animals struggle to stay alive, there is nowhere near a tiny hint of vegetation that can bring them little hope. People fight off one another for a scant supply of drinking water. Given the situation, children and weaker ones do not stand a chance to survive longer. Even when herdsmen wish to sell off at knock-down prices what is left of their livestock, nobody would buy them for chances are they would soon be dead. A man who along with his family survived the trek to the refugee camp swears he used to be rich in their community but has given up little hope, looking at the loosed skin hanging from his emaciated son.

Some survivors who made it to the camp  have brought with them harrowing tales to tell.  Other families according to them were being stopped by Al Shabab militia  on their way to Kenya, telling them to go back and pray to Allah for rain. "For there is dignity dying in your own country than in another land", the militia's leader preaching at them. And for all its notoriety, it is hideous to think that this terrorist group is preaching dignity to its people when for all other reasons, this group has created famine for not allowing aid agencies to function in its own country so that thousands of lives could be saved in the process.

It's been two years running that drought has gobbled up the livelihood of people in Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia and parts of Kenya and Djibouti. Save for Somalia, the aforementioned countries have tackled their problems without so much chaos because there exist a functioning government in those states. By contrast, Somalia has had no functioning government since 1991 that paved the way for anarchy to rule, compounded by the Al Qaeda- linked militia Al Shabab's presence that has virtually taken over the control of most of the country. 

The drought at the Horn of Africa is said to be the worst in over 60 years. Its natural arid land somehow has taught the people how to cope with scarcities from rain, but a prolonged dry spell unprecedented in the region has caused international aid agencies to sound an alarm of a looming humanitarian catastrophe. It's been three or four months that various aid agencies had unanimously asked world donors especially rich countries, to take seriously if not prioritize the widespread humanitarian catastrophe besetting the region. Indeed,  bulks of aids came trickling albeit haphazardly, but not in a manner tangible enough to cope with the needs of the refugees. Given the scale of this humanitarian disaster, sadly some rich countries do not seem to see it as emergency.

For God's sake, thousands are dying and will surely be dead if the UN fails to respond appropriately. How many rich countries have so far pledged to make a difference in the lives of those still living that refuse to die just yet? Okay, even rich nations have their own share of problems ranging from inflation to unemployment, or perhaps a regular movie ticket that has gotten more expensive, but seeing a tent city supposedly for the living  juxtaposed in an equally crowded burial ground for the unlucky, does that not bother them? Is it because Somalia does not equate with Japan's status as being too glamorous to suffer a catastrophe? That the people of the Horn do not matter as much as people from traditionally "important" nations?

Why all this time only one famous celebrity in Yossou N'Dour, himself an African has come forward to rally  support from his continent out of compassion for the needy? Has George Clooney ultimately grown weary of rallying support from Hollywood, that none from among the megastars seems to be aware of what is happening to another class of human beings down there at the Horn? 

Don't get me wrong, famous celebrities are not bound by any contract to use their fame and power to be able to raise awareness on any world problem. And if anything, that is the least they could dispense from their wealth to save others from perishing. They have the power to effect change and be a catalyst for the world to act. But judging on a slow and disappointing response, it is very discouraging that very few people actually know the real situation, with which to some extent they describe it as "hell on earth".

Obviously, the miseries of others easily get swept under the rug,  for we are not in any way affected by their plight. That is the coldest and most irresponsible reaction any sane human being could demonstrate towards a fellow human being. And if  the scenes of  untold of miseries unfolding on television  do not rend our hearts, and instead we opt to hop on another feel-good channel for us to escape reality, and still we unhesitatingly parade our left-overs in a fast-food chain for all to see, so that we escape being branded as glutton in public, then shame on us, because we heap scorn on ourselves.

How many people around us have the temerity to flaunt their wealth and excesses, yet their next door neighbor hardly had a meal on their table? How many people we know that easily forget their humble beginnings when luck comes by, so that they readily had a bout with amnesia? Yes, life is truly unfair. Some have the gall to show off their fortune, others their so-called fruits of their labor, but just the same there is no dignity gained from a lavish display of ostentation when most people around us die of deprivation. 

Jesus in his teaching has warned, "For what profit is it for a man if he gains the whole world but loses his own soul?" (Mark 8:36) And in Luke 12:15 he warned his disciples, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." And for the least of our brothers, he declares, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for the least of these, you did not do for me." Then they will go to eternal punishment. - Matthew 25:45,46.

Each one of us is human enough not to be moved by the conditions of our fellow human beings in Somalia. It is a feeling that we all should embrace and not turn a blind eye to. So, if your conscience dictates you to bless others and be blest, you may click HERE to donate a little of what you can share, or at any link located on the side bar of this blog. Thank you.