Famine In Somalia By James Nachtwey
Old Is Gold
M
ogadishu, the capital of Somalia, the country which was
eventually torn apart and collapsed by warlords in 1991
transformed into a haven for muggers, terrorists and freebooters, the
very exemplification of a failed state once called by the name, "White
Pearl of the Indian Ocean".
The Country has taken a better shape in past years but in the 1990s and
2000s, the place had transfigured into infested desert wasteland with
little in the way of functioning government. Undoubtedly it wasn't
always like this, but the fundamental deductions point to the unstable
government. In 1969 it was taken over by military dictator Siad Barre
who was a member of the Darod clan. The crux of the catastrophe of
the 1990s reaches back to him.
In the 1970s, Majeerteen clique decided to retaliate against Barre
after he got Somalia involved in a disastrous war. Soon, Barre came
into collaboration with a paramilitary group called the Red Berets
and adopted environmental exploitation as their weapon against the
Majerteen. They aimed towards the destruction of the reservoirs which
in turn led to the demise of thousands of people due to thirst. Later
more clan rose against Barre and by the 1980s Somalia was largely in
a state of civil war. In early 1991, Mohamed Farrah Aidid, a warlord
over took the place after Barren lost the support of the United States.
And by the summer of 1991, Somalia was engulfed in the hands of
conflicting troops, warlords, clan alliances and muggers. Villages
were looted, water sources were destroyed, crops were burned down
to ashes by the armies and bandits. Virtually every nook and cranny
was turned into a hostage to one or more groups of heavily armed
men. In a country with parched climate teetering on the brink of
bare subsistence, this manoeuvre altogether brought enough force to
trigger a holocaust. The country's harvest of 1991 suffered a setback
and couldn't provide people with enough sustenance. Without any
food or livestock left, people in the countryside villages began starving
which ultimately led to the death of over 300,000 people. Leaving
Somalia as the desiccated barren lands, dried wells and skeletons.
This was the time of the 1920s when James Nachtwey went to Somalia.
He is an American photojournalist and war photographer who has
witnessed and covered most of the conflicts of past thirty years. In 1981
during the IRA hunger strike, he received his first foreign assignment
to cover civil strife. Since then, he has spent 34-years in conflict zones
and committed himself to documenting
wars, conflicts, and critical social issues.
James Nachtwey was not able to secure
any assignment to capture the devastating
conditions in Somalia. So he rather went
on his own, where he was encouraged and
assisted by the International Committee
of the Red Cross. He brought back the
glimpse of the soul-stirring events.
"I have been a witness, and these pictures
are my testimony. The events I have
recorded should not be forgotten and
must not be repeated." - James Nachtwey
James Nachtwey
The picture capturing the scene of a dreadfully weak woman waiting to
be taken to a feeding centre in a wheelbarrow. The picture has captured
the torment, the frustration and the stench of this nightmare. It was
the actual status of Somalia which had resulted into the death of a
great many people. The picture was published as part of a cover feature
in the New York Times Magazine and left people questioning about if
there should be anything more important to us than humanity. It left a
great impact on the readers and opened some eyes.
One reader wrote, "Dare we say that it doesn't get any worse than this?"
It doesn't settle here; the world was similarly moved by the reflection
of circumstances that photographers displayed. Later ICRC along
with the help of various NGO's and United Nation came with a lot
of food aids. The Distribution of food in Somalia was logistically
straightforward but needed a lot of planning to ensure security as
warlords were not in the favour of food aids which led to several
critical conditions. As looters recognised no authority there had been
several incide