Hunger is Closer than you Think
Posted by krosinsky on April 1, 2008
Swollen bellies. Emaciated figures. Outstretched hands. These are the images we see when we think of people starving. And usually these bellies, figures and hands belong to people we don’t know who are from far away lands, making hunger and the overriding issue of poverty seem very far away for us. We grow immune to these images and stories and learn to think of hunger in these dramatized terms. But hunger isn’t a dramatization. It happens to real people and doesn’t always stand out to you like a swollen belly, emaciated figure or outstretched hand does. And it is closer than you think.
My friend’s friend is starving right now. She lives in Cambodia, a country where 35 percent of the population is malnourished. She is a single mother with three children, all of whom are school age. My friend and her friend met years ago and continue to keep in touch through email, the most recent one revealing that she has been going without food since she cannot afford to buy any for herself.
I can’t imagine what her hunger must be like. I’ve never gone without food for even one day…I get grumpy if I just skip one meal. And just imagine what it is like when you have three children to support in addition to yourself.
She was embarrassed to tell my friend that she is going hungry, but her hunger isn’t something that has resulted due to her mistakes, but is instead a product of her environment. Due to recent food and fuel price increases, the world is experiencing a food crisis . This video on You Tube from Al Jazeera gives you an idea of how severe it is.
According to the report, food prices have risen 55 percent since June of 2007, so it is simply becoming too expensive to buy food. And this is happening everywhere – even in the United States. But while we are feeling the pinch and therefore may cut brand name foods or our snacks, the poor are going without the necessary nutrients to keep them healthy.
What’s more is that when there is no money for food, that means there is no money for education and none for health care. It also means you do not have the nutrients to concentrate on studying or fight off disease. Therefore, the fact that so many people are going hungry points to a much larger issue, one of inescapable poverty. One out of every seven people in the world don’t get enough to eat so just imagine how large this issue actually is.
I would say that I can’t believe that this kind of injustice reigns in our world, but I can believe it. I bet you can too. However, hopefully we aren’t so jaded to accept this inequality and injustice but instead do what we can to work against it. My friend sends her friend money whenever she can so if you want to help this woman and her family, send me an email at krosinsky [at] gmail and your donation will be part of the next money transfer. If this is too sketchy for you, I encourage you to inform yourself about the issue and demand that our representatives do more to help the people going hungry in this world. Maybe if we all do something about it today, we can prevent people from suffering from hunger and all that is associated with it in the future.
**Update: Here is another good video describing the food crisis and how violence has started to become part of the equation: Global Food Prices Crisis.
marge said
I’ve stared hunger in the face, but I’ll never be able to fully grasp it. Even if I moved to a developing country and lived on a dollar a day, there would always be an “out” for me. A way back home. So the hopelessness felt by this friend is perhaps the worst part that we don’t always realize. It’s not just physical; it’s mental torture.
Here’s a question for blog readers. How can we justify going out for lunch and spending just $10 when so many people are literally starving? How can you justify that to yourself? Do you even think about it, or does it never even cross your mind? What does that say about you – either way? Ignorance is better than being aware and still spending the lunch money.
Marge said
Okay, so it’s like this:
Should we become this socialist republic of sorts where everyone rich gives their money to the poor so everyone has a mediocre life. Or is that even the question?
Is the question simply, should I make a sandwich for lunch or should I go out. Think how much money can be saved by this. How can this be justified? By helping one person who was born into a society of pure poverty can change the world. Think: Martin Luther King, Ghandi – these individuals changed things. So you could be helping that one person who will change things for good. Sometimes it only takes one. What say you?
Marge said
Anyhow, suppose everyone gave their extra money to people starving in Krisland (so that they could have food). How much would “extra” mean?
(Yes, I know this is a question related to my comment and not the blog).
And what would happen to the people in Krisland? They’d have food right and we would have less.
But, what if this method applied on a much larger scale? Where is the stopping point? Do we just have no “extras” in life so that others can afford to eat? Or should the question be framed differently?
And will people start to take advantage if they are getting everything given to them? And what happens to the economy in other countries? What if people aren’t going to the movies, aren’t eating out? Would the whole economy collapse?
I thought you would have a good answer to this.
(I’m about to start reading, “Living High, Letting Die,” so I’ll keep you Ms Blogger updated on that book as you might be interested).
krosinsky said
K “Marge,” you have given me a lot to think about and respond to.
I do feel bad when I spend a lot of money on myself, whether it is a $10 lunch or a $600 camera. I stop to think is what I am buying is really necessary and think of what else could be done with the money. I could donate it to some charity or help out the homeless more. But me giving a couple bucks to a homeless guy or $20 to a charity isn’t going to change anything. Sounds horrible, but it is what I really believe.
Yes, $20 can help a poor person get food for a week or so. But after that week, then what? They are back in the same situation.
Instead of just giving handouts to the poor, we need to figure out why people are poor in the first place. This is a question for political theorists and economists and I have to say I don’t know what the answer is. I would need to delve deeper into development theory to provide any kind of educated answer but I do tend to lean towards dependency theory and the need for some kind of monstrous structural change in the way the world economy works. What this change is, I have no idea but I’m sure other people out there have thoughts, which I would be very interested to hear.
So I think that while handouts are fine to help the poor live more comfortable lives right now, we need to think in larger terms if we really want to end hunger and poverty on a large scale. You asked if we should just give our extra money to the poor so we all live mediocre lives and I say that is fine as long as it is part of a larger struggle to end the root cause of poverty. But giving money to poor people and doing nothing else is not sustainable, since, as you say, the economy would shrink and weaken and eventually we would all be on the brink of starvation.
In sum, I don’t feel toooo bad about spending money on myself compared to how bad I feel when I realize that I haven’t theorized more about how to end poverty in a real way.
Marge said
K – Yes, $20 can help a poor person get food for a week or so. But after that week, then what? They are back in the same situation.
Me – Completely agree with this, although I used to think it a lot more. But as someone once told me – it does make a difference to that one person for that one week. It just might save their life – either through food or hope.
I don’t know the answer.
K – Instead of just giving handouts to the poor, we need to figure out why people are poor in the first place.
Me – Definitely agree with this. This is a very good answer and does help me understand things in a broader perspective.
So is socialist capitalism the answer?
krosinsky said
I don’t know what the answer is. I’ve been reluctant to settle on one economic theory because frankly, I haven’t studied the topic enough to provide an educated response. Socialist capitalism sometimes seems like the answer to me, other times full blown communism does, other times neither does and I am left spinning. This is an interesting topic to discuss so I encourage other readers to chime in with what system they think will best end poverty. I’m sure someone out there has a more interesting answer than capitalism, socialism or communism…
Terry said
This game is somewhat related and I thought you would appreciate it, if only for the vocabulary lesson.
http://www.freerice.com/index.php