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Food Crisis goes on, little noticed by Globalizations’ Gladiators - Page 3

© Glenn Brigaldino

Where food insecurity has lead to food crises or even deteriorated into famine conditions, there can be no doubt that "Famine is the final manifestation of government's failure to serve and protect its citizens" and plainly but tragically "Famine happens when governments and households fail to make the right moves and the right choices at the right moment".

Yet with regret one must note that responsibilities for failure are often a two-sided shortcoming, as donor Governments continue to under-perform in terms of aid levels and effectiveness. They often choose to tie their aid to procurement of donor country products and services, as well as continue to impose or uphold unfavorable trade, debt and finance regimes through the donor controlled international organizations. As we prepare to gather around the holiday dinner table, there will be many empty tables, not only in Africa. Charity is never enough; it does little more than try to mend the holes in old socks when new stockings are needed. Frequently charity creates an illusion of "better doing something than nothing at all" comforting those who give, without requiring them to politically act or make drastic changes in their own lifestyles and behavior. This is not to say that isn't important and necessary to donate and support organizations working in relief and development. It is meant as a reminder that while giving, we must also constantly question and politically challenge those in power who make the political choices that perpetuate a global economic system that serves the few, placates some and neglects all too many. Let's enjoy this season as a time to share and reflect upon how we live and organize our lives. Let it also be a time to start making personal changes in our lives that divert from the pressures and fallacies of inflated consumerism. There is more than enough to go around, this is the time to get moving. Best seasonal wishes, GB

================================= Endnotes

Stephen Devereux (Ed.), The 'New Famines', 2002, IDS Bulletins - Vol 33 No 4

Mean times - Report of the NGOs in Complex Emergencies Project, January 1999, M.Bryans, B. Jones and J. Gross Stein, Center for International Studies - University of Toronto, Coming to Terms Vol. 1, No.3, online at http://care.ca/info/publ/MeanTimes99.pdf

J.Gordon examines how the economic sanctions against Iraq have been politically hi-jacked by the USA to serve as a "weapon of mass destruction" by blocking and delaying approved contracts for humanitarian purchases, including food and food processing equipment. See: Cool War, Harper's, November 2002, p.43-49

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