Isn't it too much to eat?

While Muslims in Malaysia would have been eating two courses of meal for breaking of fasting today, Somalians are probably have nothing to eat. I read a story in Huffington before about a Somalian mother losing her breast milk to feed her child while on her way to food distribution centre. Can you imagine the devastating effect it has on the baby. How unbearable the situation for a mother to watch it happen to her child is beyond imagination. I admit that I bought extra food everyday. Well, I finished all of them but I think I would have been okay if I did not have another nasi goreng, soto ayam or mee jawa after my nasi with ayam for breaking of fasting. Come to think of it, the Somalians are not even close to a drop of water and I drink like a gallon of it every night. 

So how is it that the world has not noticed? And why is it so difficult for us to give?

The politicians argue about it here and there. They keep bullshitting us about the 'plans' while people are dying. If you can bail out a rich country for trillion dollars, why can't you at least set a portion of million dollars to give food right now? Yes, don't show your moronic I-know-the-economics-of-this-situation-but-you-don't-so-shut-up attitude. Oh please, if your large percentage of your Gross National Income (GNI) can go to military activities that killed millions of people in Iraq, Afghanistans and any other countries, why not show your mercy in times of hardship like this. Argh, who cares? The stock is plunging and it is far more important than saving those kids who have nothing for you, isn't it?

The activists are probably doing their best  to raise awareness about the whole situation. However, it is very sad in Malaysia that most of us are still far from knowing the situation in Somalia. I am doing my bit to tell this to the readers of this blog. 

Don't you think this is again a reminder from Allah SWT for us to stop and ponder about the situation? It is happening in Ramadhan of 2011. When we teach kids about fasting, we always remind them about remembering those poor who are in need of food. We talked about the fakir who are constantly struggling to make their lives. We even tell them the peribahasa (adage) kais pagi makan pagi, kais petang makan petang. But do we tell ourselves about it? We give lessons to others about remembering the less fortunate but never really remember about our brothers and sisters in Somalia. We heard about Sudan before. Now it's Somalia. What happened to Sudan, no one seems to care now. 

Adnan Ansari, the current Vice President of Programs for Islamic Relief USA, wrote in a first-hand account,

"Mogadishu is also officially declared to have catastrophic famine conditions. With the majority of the children being malnourished, the ribs on every child's chest can be counted. Smiles are rare; sighs and wails are commonly heard. People looked at us without any expectation. It seems as though people know that they will have to survive on their own or welcome death early as the only way out.


As a father closed the eyes of his two-year old child while she seemed to take her last breath, we tried to convince him to take her to the hospital. He insisted to let the suffering end. Even though we took the child to the clinic, only a few more breaths had remained--two hours later we found that the body was being prepared for burial."

To the Somalians, they have nothing to kais-ed (looked for food) for in the morning and afternoon. This is Ramadhan and it is therefore a thing for us to do. If you cannot change with your hands, then go use your tongue. If that does not work or beyond your abilities, then doa is the best thing you can do.

Here, with humility I urge all of us to pray for the Somalians. Let us pray that they have water and food. If you can do something more substantive, then go on. Ask others to join as well. 

Remember that the next time you break your fasting, keep in mind that the Somalians have not eaten for days and still in the scorching sun, they survive. Only Allah SWT knows their fate. I know if we even reduce our food intake, the rest of the food still not fly to Somalia! But at least remember and pray for them.