Help comes too late for tens of thousands of nomads - threat of starvation is also man-made

The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) accuses the governments of East Africa and the International Community of being partly responsible for the famine at the Horn of Africa. "Not only the prolonged drought, but also a general lack of interest in the nomad's situation, misguided agricultural politics, civil wars and – last but not least – the lack of prompt action by the wealthy industrialized countries, have led to a point where tens of thousands of nomads are now threatened with starvation," said the STP's expert on questions regarding Africa, Ulrich Delius, in Göttingen on Tuesday. 

Experts and aid agencies had already warned about the impending famine in November 2010. "But even the best early warning system isn't of much use, if the International Community only reacts to pictures of emaciated children," criticized Delius. There would have been plenty of time to provide enough nourishment for the nomad's herds – and plenty of milk could have been produced for the nomad´s own use and even some to be sold, so that the shepherds would have been able to earn money to purchase other comestible goods. However, due to the impending extinction of their herds, the nomads are now left with nothing – and need to be supported with costly food aids from abroad.

"Furthermore, the authorities have misused a lot of precious grassland during the last decade – hundreds of thousands of hectares, allegedly unused – for agricultural projects and for the settlement of farmers," said Delius. These areas were traditionally used by the nomads and their herds, when their usual pastures could not provide enough food.

In view of the human rights organization, this shows, inter alia, that many governments have still not managed to appropriately adjust to the nomad's way of life. For reasons of preventing tax evasion, nomads are often not allowed to cross borders to neighboring countries in order to use their pastures – but these migrations are a necessary response to the consequences of climate change. Although many government representatives consider shepherds to be underdeveloped "hillbillies", their cattle is still an important economic factor and the only chance of survival in many regions.

Another major threat to the nomads lies in the ongoing civil wars in Somalia and the Ogaden region (Ethiopia). Due to the battles, shepherds often cannot move freely between their pastures. In Somalia, radical Islamic militias even prevent nomads from escaping to neighboring Kenya, while Kenya intensifies the famine by refusing to give shelter to further refugees, although a camp has already been set up.