A bishop in northwestern Kenya said people are so hungry they are eating wild fruit, roots of trees and dog meat. “Food must reach here soonest to save the people from death,” said Bishop Dominic Kimengich of Lodwar, where most residents are animal farmers and ethnic Turkana. The area has been hit by drought. The bishop said an estimated 63,000 households—about 460,000 people—are facing starvation. Kenyan government officials estimate 1.7 million people, mostly in the country’s northern region, need food relief. Bishop Kimengich said his people also face constant insecurity. In November, Turkana farmers were invaded by neighboring Pokot people over land ownership claims. In 2011, the Kenyan government announced the discovery of oil on the land, and last year it announced the discovery of water reserves. Although the government has promised food relief, the bishop said, “It’s hard to say food has reached all the affected people in the country. Government food is usually slow in arriving.” Bishop Kimengich said that in Lodwar, church officials were feeding an estimated 500 people every week.
Kenya: Thousands Face Starvation
Show Comments (
)
Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
The latest from america
Around the affluent world, new hostility, resentment and anxiety has been directed at immigrant populations that are emerging as preferred scapegoats for all manner of political and socio-economic shortcomings.
“Each day is becoming more difficult, but we do not surrender,” Father Igor Boyko, 48, the rector of the Greek Catholic seminary in Lviv, told Gerard O’Connell. “To surrender means we are finished.”
Many have questioned how so many Latinos could support a candidate like DonaldTrump, who promised restrictive immigration policies. “And the answer is that, of course, Latinos are complicated people.”
Catholic voters were a crucial part of Donald J. Trump’s re-election as president. But did misogyny and a resistance to women in power cause Catholic voters to disregard the common good?