When I posted a very brief blog about the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya about a year ago, I didn't foresee how much further the situation there was about to deteriorate. After all, in September 2011 about a dozen children were dying of starvation in that God-forsaken camp every day.
But of course it's much worse today, as reported in the Los Angeles Times, with a shortfall of international funding even far below what was already less than enough to sustain the survival of tens of thousands of children, and relations between almost 500,000 Somali refugees and the local Kenyan population and government continue to worsen.
Local attitudes toward the camp's population range from indifference to hostility. Refugees compete with the local population for firewood, water and land.Meanwhile in Somalia the ongoing drought produces even more internal refugees, at the absolute limit of destitution.
Reluctant to attract more refugees from Somalia, the Kenyan government has resisted providing updated sewer systems, water, schools and clinics.
"These people have no shelter, food or even medical care."
But on the upside, Obama's high-profile raid to free two kidnapped aid-workers in Somalia generated a flood of positive publicity!
Obama’s Lean, Mean SEAL Machine!$900 billion for "defense" in the budget for 2013!
The Somali raid, for all of its Hollywood drama, is only one of hundreds of daring missions conducted by elite U.S. commandos in recent years. Navy SEALs and other special operators, with the encouragement of President Obama, have become a primary weapon in “denied areas” like Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia.
But we cannot afford another $25 million for 500,000 desperate Somali refugees, although that's less than Americans spend on bubble-gum in a week.
