Chapter 19 trip to somalia

Originally, people all over the world had not had the opportunity to witness first-hand the genocide and the tens of thousands of dying starving people crowded into refugee camps.However, after the mother's visit journey, all things and attention seem to be focused here.In the end, the international community took some belated and misguided steps to try to stop the massacre, among other things.These scenes are what I saw in the movie "Beyond Boundaries" and left a deep impression on me. Although my mother has done a great job in Somalia, in her heart, after the trip to Somalia, her resentment for social injustice and her feelings for children who are struggling to die have reached a peak.She said in an interview: "My heart is full of hatred for human beings themselves." She has experienced wars and heard the voice of confession in the world, "This will not happen again", but why does she still have such a feeling? Thoughts?Because in fact this kind of tragedy is still repeated, which is very unfortunate.At the same time, she feels empowered to make the most meaningful contribution of her tenure: because the media remains interested in her, so will Somalia.

We once swore that the Holocaust would not be repeated.She wants to tell us a sad fact: In Africa, such massacres happen every day.A large number of people died of starvation.Refugees are not forced into camps, but they feel very hopeless and extremely exhausted because they cannot support themselves and their families. They feel very shamed psychologically and can only regard this place as their final destination. I wonder if some of us secretly wonder with disdain why they still live such poor lives after all these years?But they cannot get out of this situation.In some developing countries, the situation is one of paradox.On the one hand, their war is escalating; on the other hand, they have almost nothing.Leave the capital and you'll find almost no infrastructure such as roads, schools and hospitals, let alone development.That's why one of the first things we did after our mother died was create the UNICEF Audrey Hepburn Memorial Fund in the United States.She believes that the only way to change this is through education, and our Audrey Hepburn Memorial Fund is dedicated to that.Our foundation runs educational programs in four African countries that mothers say are most in need of infrastructure: Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Eritrea.Four years after the foundation was established, we added Rwanda.Today, our commitment is growing, we are participating in UNICEF's Putting All Children in School program, and our foundation enters a new decade of planning. The "School for All" program aims to give 120 million children around the world access to education.

Some believe that the slow development of these countries is due to the withdrawal of colonial rule.This statement is absolutely false.My mother said: "Get free first, then develop yourself." African countries got free, but unfortunately, all the facilities left over from the colonial period are temporary in nature, and it is even more tragic that people here hardly get it educate. "Countries like Vietnam and Cuba have even more educated population than the United States, and they also have infrastructure. They can save themselves." Africa can't, this is the legacy of the colonial period.

When a mother is interviewed or gives a speech, she usually starts with the sentence: "What is more important than a child?" She is not asking a question or making a gesture. She believes that the core of this sentence is an undisputed FACTS: Is there anything, and what is more important than human survival?In a person's life, what is more important than childhood love, warmth, care, food, and education? In a way, the word "global" only catches our attention when it is associated with "economics."When the economies of Brazil and Japan began to decline, when the world economic downturn caused our precious assets invested in the stock market to shrink, we were worried, we were anxious, we were worried, and we were helpless.All we can do is wait and watch.But when our children are dying of poverty, starvation, and lack of the most basic means of subsistence - which mothers often remind everyone can only get by a dollar a day - we can do more than that It is "waiting" and "watching".

She also reminded everyone that of the 5.6 billion people living on our planet, 3 billion live on less than $2 a day, 200 million live on less than $1, and 1.5 billion live without water.This means that 900 million people live in one world and 4.7 billion people live in another world.The ratio of the two is about 5:1.She often ponders, what can we do to change this situation? "Their kids are dying of starvation and our kids are busy losing weight. Is this our world?" Mother said in March 1988: "The world is not fair. But there is only one world, it is getting smaller and smaller, and people have to come into contact with each other more and more frequently. We live in such an environment , Those who are rich have the obligation and responsibility to help those who have nothing.”

She often reminds people that as little as 1.5 percent of the combined GNP of developed countries can eliminate this nightmare.What will our children think of us when they find out that we have missed such an important opportunity?