On the topic of the Somalians.

To those of you who read this blog (still), i'd like to say sorry for the lack of updates lately. I've had many, many things to talk about yet time has not been very kind to me. The start of the second semester has been busy right off the bat, but i've also been very slow in trying to get my points across lately or forming thought provoking paragraphs and sentences. It seems sometimes, that i've turned dyslexic.

Anyway, i remember being 15 and a bitter cynic. Frankly, i don't even remember why i was so bitter. All i know is that i looked at a lot of things, if not everything, in the most pessimistic of ways. Fortunately (or not), i've grown out of that mindset and i tend to lean more towards optimistic views of life nowadays, although still retaining some sort of realistic perception of everything (in short; hoping for the best, preparing for the worst). And so, it saddened me greatly when i asked my parents why they did not partake in the mission trip to Somalia and was met with an answer laced with cynicism and bitterness; "This is just political propaganda for the upcoming elections, and you have been fooled."

While it cannot be disputed that the motives behind the sending of the aid team to Somalia might be less than pure and a little sketchy, i'd like to think that the people who went there genuinely did want to help out the impoverished Somalians in famine. I don't disagree that those doing the sending had ulterior motives due to the immense amount of media coverage that was given to the mission, but why should we focus on them? I find that if all of us were to adopt such a negative view of things, nothing will change. Yes, charity does start at home, but let us remind ourselves that the Somalians have no one but the international community to turn to, and so, as we are all brothers and sisters of the same Earth (as well as in Islam), we musn't turn them away at such a desperate time of their lives.

Like i said before, i don't disagree at all that those in charge might have some less than sincere intentions at sending out the aid mission. I'd even go so far as to say that the death of the cameraman was a result of doing something in the name of glory instead of genuineness (no disrespect to his memory whatsoever, the man died an absolutely unnecessary death). The approach and execution of this aid mission was wrong in all sense of the word. Being in dangerous territory like war torn Somalia instead of a controlled environment like a refugee camp is one thing, but the failure to don basic safety equipment is another. I am not pro-government, or pro-opposition, but i am pro-common sense. Knowing the intense state in which Somalia is in, and has been in for many years, one should have had the smarts to use safety equipment despite the reassurances from the Somali "authorities" that none were needed. I don't reserve my judgment for the ones who were in charge of this trip because the facts are laid bare for us to see, but let us be a little more generous for the ones who had no hidden motive behind their reason for joining the trip to Somalia, other than sincerity in helping others who are suffering.

Relating to that, i don't think that i have been fooled by political propaganda at all, but rather, i am holding out hope that there are still people out there who are paying attention to the Somalis. So many people are dying each day, and you can say that this is nature's way of balancing out the environment, or this is survival of the fittest in action, but when the majority of those who are hungry, ill and perishing are young children who did not even get the chance to fight, it isn't right for any one of us to just sit back and watch. And if, like me, you are unable to contribute physically or financially to help them, i don't think we should bad mouth those who are taking steps to at least ease the suffering of these people who have been helpless for so long.