JOHN O'SHEA,
Madam, - A recent Irish Times Editorial gave a succinct analysis of the disastrous food shortages that Ethiopia and the rest of the Horn of Africa are currently experiencing.
You are correct when you say that the numbers involved this time are twice those of the catastrophic famine of 1984 which killed a million people and prompted the Live Aid phenomenon. I think, however, that you may have overestimated the improvements, logistical and political, that have taken place in the meantime.
I was in Ethiopia in 1984 and found the Mengistu regime to be as callous a group of despots as it has been my displeasure to encounter. They did nothing to help their people and, worse, put obstacles in the way of those trying to help. Nor, it has to be said, was the world prepared to challenge this evil regime. Many claimed to be tackling it but it turned out they were either being naïve, or simply lying.
I do hope that the present government in Ethiopia has learned from the mistakes of its predecessors. It is essential that the aid agencies be allowed the freedom of movement that will be necessary if the major humanitarian campaign that will be required in the New Year is to have any chance of success.
It is essential also that the cessation of hostilities with Eritrea is maintained so that resources and manpower can be concentrated on saving lives rather than gaining military or political advantage.
If the Ethiopian government co-operates with the international community and the world at large rallies to the cause of the Ethiopian people, and indeed the millions of other Africans facing severe food shortages in the coming months, perhaps a major disaster can be averted.
There can be no doubt that up to 30 million people in Africa are facing a very uncertain future and it will require the concerted efforts of a great many people and agencies to overcome the immediate problems. In the long term it is up to the political leaders of the world to come up with solutions.
Sadly, there does not seem to be anyone on the world political stage at present with the charisma or clout to force the issue of world poverty and hunger further up the international agenda. It's a big job, but perhaps there is someone out there that is up to it. For the sake of the millions who live in utter poverty and know the pain of hunger we can only hope so. - Yours, etc.,
JOHN O'SHEA, GOAL, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin.
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Madam, - While the extensive drought in Ethiopia has been widely reported, a similar disaster in neighbouring Eritrea has been largely ignored by the media. At least a third of of Eritrea's population of 3.5 million, particularly those in rural areas, will be affected by the worst drought of the past decade.
Eritrea and Ireland are alike in many ways. Their populations are comparable, and both won their independence from a much larger neighbour after years of struggle. Ireland and Eritrea also both suffer from the misconception that they are still part of the bigger, neighbouring country.
Rightly, the people of Ireland have been extremely generous in support to Ethiopia, but this generosity should also now be extended to Eritrea. Given Ethiopia's obviously larger population, the sheer extent of the problem appears much greater, but in terms of impact on individual families, drought causes the same hardship and suffering in both Eritrea and Ethiopia. Drought is ravaging the Horn of Africa and all those affected need assistance.
Drought does not stop at clearly marked borders or recognise a difference between the farmers of Eritrea and Ethiopia. In terms of our support to the region during this time, neither should we. - Yours, etc.,
VINCENT E. O'REILLY, Chief Executive, Refugee Trust International, Blessington Street, Dublin 7.