It is difficult to convey to people here in the United States the severity of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Somalia. When the average American hears that there are people starving to death somewhere in Africa it comes as no surprise. We have heard this so many times throughout our lives that we have come to expect it and sadly, to even accept it as an inevitability. It is for this reason that we here at the Liberal Mob have blogged about the situation taking place on the Horn of Africa a couple of times in recent weeks. First about the Failed State status of Somalia and how it compounds and worsens the ecological and humanitarian crises taking place there, and later why the United Nations & the International community had trouble responding quickly and decisively declaring a famine.

For those of you who want to know what a nation without government looks like, look at Somalia. The government runs no, economic programs, social programs, schools, healthcare facilities or resource management of any kind. Somalia is a failed state according to this annual report from ForeignPolicy Magazine. The report also ranks it as the most unstable country in the world for 2011. The ongoing conflict there has led to a refugee crisis that has been left unsolved in the region for nearly 20 years (there are people in the region thought to have been living in camps for well over a decade). This is compounded by the fact that Somalia is suffering from extreme drought. Some parts of Somalia have not received rain in over two years. The results have been catasrophic as hundreds of thousands of people are fleeing Somalia for refugee camps in neighboring Ethiopia and Kenya. The average Somali refugee spends 25 days walking from Somalia to the nearest refugee camp, often with no reliable sources of food or water. Many refugees in this mass exodus are reported to have traveled over 150 kilometers by foot to reach the camps. Once they arrive, prospects are not much better as the camps are many times past their intended capacity.