THE plight of several million people in east Africa puts into perspective questions about the behaviour of News International staff, or even who should chair the Synod business committee. The plight of the hundreds of thousands from Somalia, Ethiopia, and elsewhere, stuck in vast refugee camps, is doubly painful because of the traditional independence of these people. They are used to coping with drought, moving their families and herds several hundred miles to new pastures. Whether the severity of this drought is a product of the chaotic 21st-century weather-systems is unknown; the majority of climate scientists could be wrong, of course. The victims might have coped, none the less, had drought been their only problem. But two others factors have made life unsupportable. The first is conflict, which has restricted movement and made many susceptible to roving bands of militia. The peaceful creation of South Sudan, at the southern end of the drought region, is to be welcomed. The peace is fragile, however, and border disputes continue to threaten the new state.
The second factor is global speculation in foodstuffs. A recent briefing by Olivier De Schutter, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, complained about the impact caused by “the entry into markets for derivatives based on food commodities of large, powerful institutional investors such as hedge funds, pension funds, and investment banks, all of which are generally unconcerned with agricultural market fundamentals”.
The result of all three factors, climate, conflict, and commodity trading, is a sharp rise in food prices, bad enough in the UK but lethal in parts of Africa. Political action can be taken to tackle each of these causes, but progress is bound to be slow, particularly when it comes to global warming, and the drought crisis has to be dealt with now. Aid is the only answer.
The Gospel last weekend was the parable of the sower. Arable parables still touch a nerve. Had the parable been framed in the present, a fifth category might have been added: path, rocks, weeds, good soil, Gro-bags. Plants grown in an artificial medium have no incentive or opportunity to put down deep roots, and know nothing of life “in the wild”. Food and water are so plentiful and available in the developed world, that the sympathy needed to prompt charitable giving is threatened. Church links are vital to help spread knowledge, and remind those living in relative plenty of their bond with those who have nothing.
News of the World closes
THE closure of a newspaper is usually a cause of regret, but the News of the World’s reputation was lost long before the hacking scandal. It tempted its readers with tawdry and salacious stories. Sundays will be better without it.