A
combination of climate change effects and the worst drought in 50 years
has led international charity Oxfam to forecast that approximately two
million people in Chad will be facing hunger this summer.
Chadian Farmer (F): For
the last 10 years, all of our hard work in our fields has produced
nothing. Because there has been little rain, so we have to buy maize
from the market.
Dr.Marzio Babille – UNICEF Representative in Chad (e): Unprecedented impact of lack of rainfalls has accelerated vulnerability in malnutrition rates.
Zara Hassan – Chadian Farmer (F): Nothing grows here. The sand has taken over and there is nothing left. The soil has gone and the land is now covered with sand.
With
lands left barren by desertification, a process driven in part by
deforestation for fuel as well as overgrazing by increased livestock
populations, the region’s limited resources have been further strained
by Arab herders moving south in search of water and food for their
animals.
Increased tensions over shortages have even led to
violence in some cases. Chief Engineer Nekarambaya Kamndo of eastern
Chad’s Am Dam District noted vastly decreased rainfall in recent years
as well as a change in landscape and climate.
He stated, “The
desert is advancing. The sand is moving onto the streets like it hasn’t
before. And it’s very hot. I’ve never known it so hot.”
Our
heartfelt sympathies are with the suffering Chadian people as we pray
for the blessing of gentle rain and that our swift steps toward
sustainable lifestyles soon relieve such inadequacies in Chad and other
drought-stricken areas of our globe.
Speaking during an April
2009 videoconference in South Korea, Supreme Master Ching Hai addressed
the tragic repercussions of food shortages, as well as the simplest and
most efficient solution.
Supreme Master Ching Hai: All
this is important because if humans are in shortage of food or of
water, then conflicts, of course, will break out. When our family
members are in danger of hunger or thirst, maybe we would do anything to
bring food to them.
So reluctantly, some virtuous or good
people might even go astray and cause conflict between neighbors and
then, on a larger scale, it will cause conflict between nations.
Scientists have documented that one serving of beef takes more than a
thousand gallons of water to produce. By contrast, the vegan diet uses
about one-tenth of that amount.
So, the best way to prepare for conflict is to take complete prevention.
The vegan diet will help us to achieve that goal, and almost immediately.
http://www.mg.co.za/article/2010-06-11-starving-chad-chewon-leaves-animal-feedhttp://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx.ReportId=89465http://rainforests.mongabay.com/deforestation/2000/Chad.htmhttp://greenworkslinks.blogspot.com/2009/07/averting-deforestation-in-southern-chad.html