A new CNN series revisits Live Aid, the 1985 global concert that rallied the world against mass starvation in Ethiopia. The program features powerful stories of survival, such as that of a woman who, as a starving infant, became one of the faces of the famine. While the series celebrates a moment when musical superstars united to combat world hunger, it also casts a stark light on a contemporary crisis, as the horrific images of emaciated children from 1985 are tragically mirrored today in Gaza.
The Ethiopian famine was caused by a combination of severe drought and the political weaponization of hunger by the ruling Derg regime. In stark contrast, the famine unfolding in Gaza is entirely man-made. Following the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, Israeli leaders announced their policy to cut off food, water, and power to the civilian population.
The consequences of this policy have been devastating. In May, United Nations food security experts reported that one in five people in Gaza was facing starvation. More recently, six starvation deaths were reported in a single day. The aid group Doctors Without Borders estimates that 25 percent of women and children in Gaza between the ages of six months and five years are malnourished.
While Israeli leaders are responsible for this crisis, United States leadership is complicit. The U.S. provides the advanced weaponry that ensures Israel’s overwhelming military superiority and consistently blocks United Nations efforts to hold Israel accountable for the commission of war crimes.
Recently, the Israeli government announced new humanitarian measures, including an airdrop of what the Washington Post reported as just seven pallets of food staples. Officials also restored electricity to the area’s only water desalination plant and pledged to aid in food distribution. A statement from the Israeli military claimed these moves were “aimed at improving the humanitarian response… and to refute the false claim of deliberate starvation.” Yet, these actions only demonstrate that Israel has possessed the capacity to end this suffering all along.
Discussions about the region are often deflected by its complicated history. However, feeding starving children is not a complex issue. Geopolitical grievances become irrelevant when they are drowned out by the anguished cries of dying children.
Source link
