Texan Mosaic

by CALEB BROWN//Staff Writer

Sometimes I wish I could cure world hunger. 

I wish I was a billionaire so I could give it all back and help fight hunger in the world. I really would. People think I’m crazy when say things like that, or they say it’s impossible.

I chose to write about world hunger, because this issue really does bother me. I can relate in a way. I don’t like how some people take food or water for granted, especially when there are kids in Africa and parts of Asia that would literally kill just for a drink of water.

Hunger or starvation can even be used as a weapon of war. On CNN, they reported that some of the rebels and government forces in Syria were blocking the roads and highways so that humanitarian aid, such as food and water and other resources, couldn’t get in. I don’t think they should be taking it out on the people trapped in those war zones. They are just innocent people. You shouldn’t starve your own citizens. That’s very inhumane.

Starvation and hunger are in just about every country in the world. The people who die  most frequently from malnutrition are in African countries. An African senior food and nutrition advisor of the African union has come out and claimed that 12 people die of hunger or malnutrition every minute in Africa. That’s very sad. A food and nutrition adviser, Boishepo Giyose, said that about 300 million Africans are undernourished. I think that number is very unacceptable. There’s too many countries in Africa that produce oil, such as South Africa, The Republic of Congo and Gabon. The crazy thing is the countries I listed have very high poverty rates. I know I’m not an economic genius, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that some of these African governments are extremely corrupt.

They are producing oil, the most precious resource probably in the whole world. So you know they are bringing in a lot of money, millions, if not billions, of dollars. So why are there people starving? There’s obviously politicians and other officials pocketing the money coming in from the oil. But that would be very hard to prove. The people are too scared of their government to speak out and protest. That’s why I think it’s so important to talk about this issue, especially for people in the western world. We need to be their voice.

I wish I could start some kind of charity to help these people in Africa. Just $10 could go a long way in those Third World countries. I don’t think the mainstream media gives this issue much attention, but they should. People are dying every day, and no really seems to care or notice. Of course, there’s those commercials on TV with those celebrities telling you to donate whatever amount and try to guilt you into donating. But I think it’s ridiculous, because the commercial itself costs more than $1 million just to air. If those celebrities really cared, then they would go to those Third World countries themselves instead of trying to gain publicity and pretending to care. I’m not saying all of those charities and celebrities are complete fakes. Some actually go to Africa and donate or help build wells and give other resources.

I think if the media gave it a little more attention in western countries, it would really help. It would not take much. Our currency is worth so much more in those Third World countries in Africa. People fail to realize that hunger and malnutrition are all over the world, not just in poor countries. It’s even in the United States, which is terrible. America is one of the richest countries in the world. So why is there poverty and hunger here? I honestly don’t understand that. I used to have friends who were so poor that they would literally go to school just to eat lunch, and that would be their only meal of the day.

I thought that was kind of sad. How can America claim to be so great and mighty when they can’t even help their own citizens? I also had another friend who was only 16 and basically lived on his own with his little brother, who was 10. I remember going to the convenience store to get some candy. I had money, but my friend didn’t. I looked over and he would be stuffing his pants and stealing all kinds of different snacks and drinks. At first I thought he was just showing out. But he later told me that his mom left one day and never came back home. He said he didn’t like stealing, but he didn’t have any money. He would have to steal food from different grocery stores to feed him and his little 10-year-old brother.

I could go on and on about how poor some of my friends were and the things they would have to do to survive. My point is that American citizens should not be living in poverty or worrying about where their next meal is coming from. I think that if we just cut a little bit of our military spending, we could easily fix the  hunger and poverty rate in this country.