30/04/2022
„famines occur because they are made to happen‟. There is a need for a new language that talks of mass starvations, which, like mass killings, are regarded as a crime against humanity…. […famines…] are not caused by abstractions - climate, food supply, entitlement decline, war - they are brought about through the acts or omissions of people or groups of people. These people are responsible for famine and mass starvation - they should be held accountable (Edkins, 2002:15, 17).
Devereux also shares Edkins‘ notion with regard to famine causation. He stated that ―famines occur because they are not prevented: they are allowed to happen. Most food crises have a long gestation period, not days or weeks, but months or years, so failure of public action must be incorporated in the causal analysis of all famines‖ (Devereux, 2000:27).
Millions of people in Ethiopia continue to face acute food insecurity and extreme hunger as a direct result of conflict. We are encouraged that the government of Ethiopia and regional authorities in Tigray and Afar have taken steps in recent weeks to enable the delivery of desperately needed food aid to war-affected communities. We urge the parties to accelerate, uphold, and expand these efforts to ensure, as President Biden has said, immediate, sustained, and unimpeded humanitarian access to all Ethiopians affected by this conflict. The United States stands ready to continue to assist in this life-saving endeavor. http://ow.ly/31Cm50IWkRT
