Will there be a change in Sri Lanka?

On the 26th of January, Sri Lankans will be heading to the polls to elect a new President. Given the pre poll violence that has overshadowed the campaign so far, it is evident that this has not only been one of the most bloodiest elections in recent history but it is also evident that the results will be carefully monitored both local and internationally.

Yet the process of elections in Sri Lanka is a superficial attempt to paint a picture of democracy in action. For the last 60 plus years, the two main parties between themselves have held power with very little difference in policy, approach and effect. There has been a trend of ‘political upmanship’ where the main opposition party would wreck attempts by the party in power to ensure that the country would not benefit from decisive decisions made at critical junctures. As a consequence,when rival parties came to power, they tended to undo what has been done by the previous opposition government much to the detriment of the country.

Hence, this election rather than focussing on policies or issues or anything of substance, ability and reality, has boiled down to how many false promises, allegations and counter allegations can be made to convince the naïve voter. Support has thus been garnered based on much one can get out of each candidate, and so there have been crossovers and counter crossovers (from each party) like musical chairs, as ‘horse deals’ ensure that politicians and their supporters needs are met.

The politics of Sri Lanka is actually a Shakespearean comedy of errors. Where else would you find one of the chief architects of the final conflict pitted against its chief engineer? Where else would you find almost laughable unholy alliances? For example, you have the JVP, who are seen as a Sinhalese Nationalist party, pitted with the very party who brutally crushed them in the 1980s, against the very man and party they helped to bring to power in 2005. Then, the headlines were very different as President Rajapkase was accused of being a Sinhalese hardliner. Circumstances have now changed and former allies have become enemies and former enemies have become allies with accusations being thrown between the two sometimes bordering on the point of absurdity in some cases.

Yet this kind of unsubstantiated cross-vilifcation is not just the past time of the candidates and their key backers. It seems to be an affliction of the ordinary Sri Lankan who has the uncanny ability to pick up lies and spread them around, often adding their own creative spices to the mix. The result is a ‘Chinese Whispers’ game of immense magnitude.

There seems to be very little appetite for any intellectual analysis of the situation on the part of the general public, especially those that live in Colombo, which is as far removed from the realities of the country as it can be. Everyone is advocating for a change, tired of the cost that the conflict has inflicted upon the nation, tired of the corruption of the political system, tired of how Sri Lanka has become as a nation and society. But you dig a little deeper and you notice that frankly despite all the illusions of grandeur, nothing will change. Speaking to people in Sri Lanka, there are only two camps. Those who want the incumbent and those who want the main opposition candidate with very little room in between. There is not really a middle pat h or alternative and no avenue for a middle path, as the recent violence at the polls have shown. Those that advocate it are a silent majority on the sidelines. Yet dig further and you will find that people have absolutely no clue as to why one should vote for the incumbent or the opposition. ‘Well we need to get rid of Mahinda so that is why we want Sarath’ has been the most common argument that I have heard. ‘Mahinda liberated the country from war and Sarath is a traitor’ has been the other one. No one talks about the policies.What of their policies? How are they going to take the country forward?

Of course, because no matter who wins the presidency, he will have an uphill struggle on his hands. First there will be the task of resettling all the displaced people from the 20 years of war, and focussing on rebuilding the war torn north and east. There will be the task of ensuring a political solution to the grievances of the minorities in a way that ensures that the country moves forward after 20 years of conflict. There will be a need to contain the Sinhalese Buddhist elements who seem intent on hammering the Sinhala nationalist identity home. However more importantly there will be the task of arresting the moral and intellectual corruption that seems to not pervade the political scene but has also seemed to have trickled down into society as a whole. Yet neither of the main candidates has presented a clear proposal for the reconciliation and integration of the society.

This then begs the question; will there be a change if the main opposition candidate is voted in ahead of the incumbent? Whilst a new face will get into the driving seat, the vehicle and direction will be the same. The paradigm will not have shifted!

Therefore the concept of being ‘principled’ by picking either the incumbent or the main contender becomes laughable. Both these candidates and the parties and alliance they represent are two sides of the same coin and at this critical juncture in Sri Lanka’s history may not be able to offer anything of value for taking the country forward especially as it moves towards post conflict reconciliation and reconstruction. Picking either one of them would be at best, frantically grasping for a last minute consolation prize and it would be based on a limited understanding of the ground realities and ingrained prejudices. There will be nothing pure or principled about the choice.

If people want to make a principled choice and vote for ‘change’, then there will need to be a paradigm shift . Variations on the same old themes should not be the order of the day. They will have to make a radical choice on the candidate that they choose. There are 18 other candidates in the running, but are all dismissed, because they have no chance of winning. This is not the point. The point is that you vote for an alternative because you want this change without compromising your principles. Some commentators have even advocated to spoil the vote, if you can not find a decent candidate who voices the concerns of those without voice or those whose have been robbed of voice or have had their voices purchased . This might seem to some a bit extreme but under the circumstances in Sri Lanka, extreme measures are called for.

Regardless of who wins in the election, no one doubts that now is the time for reconciliation. Petty rivalries will need to be forgotten. Past grievances will need to be looked into and addressed. This requires the support of all concerned from within Sri Lanka and outside of it.

After 26 years of war that cost thousands of innocent lives, the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has brought Sri Lanka to a crossroads. Yet despite the government's victory, there has been widespread international criticism about how the war was handled. Success has come at a price in terms of destruction, death and the displacement of civilians. The number of actual deaths during the conflict, particularly in its last days, will never be known, despite many international attempts to hold the Sri Lankan government to task.

Despite the LTTE being widely praised in the Tamil diaspora as a "freedom fighting" organisation, it was one of the world's worst terrorist groups. It had perfected the art of suicide bombing and assassination, as well as engaging in the massacre of civilians from all communities, including Sinhalese and Tamils, and the ethnic cleansing of Muslim civilians from the north in 1990.

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Reconstruction, resettlement and rehabilitation will be the immediate postwar challenges and will have to be expertly handled. Reconstruction of infrastructure will be the easiest and most attractive option for donors, but creating an environment of equity and social justice could be relegated to the bottom of the list. There must be a separate effort to ensure reconciliation between people. Many barriers have been erected between Sri Lanka's communities and special programmes to build bridges, facilitate interfaith interaction and regain intercommunity trust are urgently required.

This is the role that the Sri Lankan diaspora as a whole will need to play to bring about a reconciliation that combines human values with an understanding of the need to move away from apportioning blame. Rebuilding trust will mean honouring unity and celebrating diversity, working towards equity and justice and ensuring the eradication of social prejudices in building a collective identity.

Elements of the Tamil diaspora, in particular, have been active in sustaining the conflict. Some are still trying to keep the cause alive by exerting pressure on the international community to instigate war crimes proceedings or cut back on trade subsidies such as the EU's generous tariff preference, the GSP+.

However, they fail to realise that this will not harm the government and will be detrimental to the overall development of the country. Cutting tariff preferences, for example, will affect industry – which will in turn affect the livelihoods of all communities. Ultimately, taking a government to task should be done through a normal democratic process, which can only work if all elements within the country work towards that goal. The focus now has to be on the future development of the country.

How Sri Lanka handles the current displacement crisis is likely to determine the confidence of its minorities and the diaspora. Pressure is mounting for quick resettlement and to give Tamils a share of power. To this end the government will have to work to ensure that all people feel they are equal citizens with equal rights.

Addressing the Sri Lankan parliament last May, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said: "We have removed the word 'minorities' from our vocabulary." Sadly, people seemed to have brushed aside the president's statement as a gimmick, claiming that he himself does not believe in it and has no clear plans for the future. Without denying past grievances, there should now be a move to hold the government to task in terms of building confidence among the various communities and giving ownership to the minorities in rebuilding the country.

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The Tamils believed that they were fighting for an identity and to control their own affairs. Such feelings cannot be blotted out by eliminating the LTTE but they can be made irrelevant by the treatment Tamils (and other minorities) receive in the new Sri Lanka. There should now be an active and systematic campaign for celebrating coexistence among Sri Lanka's diverse communities – and the Sri Lankan diaspora can play a big part in it.

This originally appeared here

Challenges of the Monsoon

The recent announcement by the UK government that it would only concentrate on ‘emergency’ funding for the inhabitants at Manik Farm has been designed to exert pressure on the Sri Lankan government to develop some solid and sustainable settlement to the issue of the 300,000 plus IDPs after the end of the conflict with the LTTE in April. 

Since the end of April, these refugees have been in these camps  with the most basic of needs found wanting.  If you had read any of my previous blogs you would have read about the challenges faced by these people as well as those working within the camps, the situation not being helped by a reluctance of the government to open up.  Understandably though as there is this incessant government paranoia of ‘having no friends’.

 However with the onset of the monsoon season producing the bigger threat of flooding and water borne diseases, the government, camp authorities as well as the humanitarian community are faced with a bigger dilemma.  How do we sort this out?  How do we deal with a potentially even bigger problem?

The fault is borne by everyone. Unfortunately like previous governments before it, there was a knee jerk reaction by the government to the issue of the IDPs (largely brought about in response to international pressure) when it committed itself to the 180 day resettlement notice.  For many of us on the ground, we felt that this was too premature and not feasible, given the extent of the displacement and the damage done (both mentally and physically).  Just look at the challenges that are being faced by those that are returning to Mannar or even the east after hostilities ceased there? 

Hence what it was felt was needed was a planned approach where all stakeholders were involved.  Unfortunately this has and is not taking place as the government is wary of any outside interference. The humanitarian agencies are not being consulted as they should be primarily because they have lost the confidence of the government.

The humanitarian community is also to blame for the current fiasco in terms of the basic conditions in the camps.  Most of us knew the unrealistic nature of the resettlement plan and we have also privately discussed how it is not possible to move people back into the areas immediately after displacement.  Yet publicly most of us kept on pushing for quick resettlement and an end to the camps. Some of us in fact opposed it from day one, putting great suspicions on our motives, intentions and objectivity.

Most agencies argued with the issue of semi permanent vs temporary (see my blog on the issue of the toilets) whilst knowing that any solution should realistically in fact be medium term.  This is the natural cycle of any post disaster reconstruction and resettlement.  Just look at the issue of tsunami victims in the east who are still in refugee camps yet to receive any support for long term settlements.  Knowing this we campaigned for something else and accused the government of something else, in the firm realisation that the government would react in the way that they did.  Hence the vicious cycle was perpetuated and the political tennis match continues.

Somehow, there should have been a middle point that we arrived at in terms of accepting a medium term situation, preparing for this and ensuring that the beneficiaries got the best that we could offer them. There should have been this will to move towards this in order to develop a better confidence and relationship with the government as opposed to dictating terms.

Of course the issue of ‘internment’ and security was something that we could have also met halfway with the government had there been an open mind and situation to discuss this. 

However at the end of the day, the monsoons will come, the camp inhabitants will suffer from floods and whatever else that comes with floods and it will be left up to the government and humanitarian agencies to try and cope with this, each side throwing accusations against each other on responsibilities.  The vicious cycle will continue.

As for the long term solution, the planning has to take place now.  The current situation is very unsustainable from all accounts.  Despite there being a need for security to be preserved, the camps will need to be made more open and downsized.  It will make them more manageable.  The sustainability of the operations has to be considered in this regard. Of course, we have to realise that the resettlement will not really take place properly for another year or so.  The logistics, challenges and financial constraints are just too much to even consider.  So what does this mean?

There needs to be this discussion that takes place.  The humanitarian community need to  push for this and if there is international pressure to be mounted on the Sri Lankan government, it should be on this issue, to engage in a holistic and inclusive planning for resettlement and rehabilitation.  This is the priority at the moment.  Any other issue is tantamount to a distraction and will not help those most in need.  

Challenges for Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is certainly in the midst of a paradoxical situation.  You would not be far wrong to surmise that depending on where you visit, you will see different aspects of Sri Lanka that makes you wonder whether you are in the same country or not.

If you are in Colombo you would no doubt be enjoying watching the finer aspects of cricket as Sri Lanka entertains visiting teams from  Pakistan and New Zealand.  Go down south and you would have experienced one of many marathon beach parties that have taken place to entertain the many summer visitors that flock annually to Sri Lanka’s shores.  In the central province of Kandy, the annual  Esala Perehera  (a  Buddhist festival unique to Sri Lanka consisting of dances and richly-decorated elephants) came to an end a few weeks ago and other smaller Pereheras have also started to wind down.  In the northern parts of Sri Lanka, election fever was rising as candidates campaigned for the first time in a long time in local government elections, one of many anticipated for this year in a run up to early presidential elections perhaps in 2010.   Despite the poor showing at the polls, people (mainly the government) still were buoyed by the fact that they took place. As the IMF loan  begins to trickle into the  country there certainly seems to be an upbeat mood, as imports are trickling back in and the tourists are heading back to the shores.

However this positive energy is tempered by a sudden dose of reality as one realizes the true challenges facing the country.  The residents of Manik Farm in Vavunia are now entering the third month after the defeat of the LTTE.  The chaos of the initial months have now disappeared and a system has been established for running the camps.  The problems of the toilets are still there and food is sometimes inadequate.  The medical needs are tremendous and there are still challenges for proper access to the camps by agencies, particularly those where there are foreigners.  There is still a little bit of confusion when it comes to the smooth operations of the camp and coordination is proving to be an arch nemesis. Hence there are some agencies that are choosing to coordinate with each other in what is called ‘cluster groups’ whilst others are choosing to work on their own or directly with the government.  Individuals / locals though seem to have better access into the camps and it has been heartening to hear of few stories of individuals helping out the best way they can.  The worry now is that as the monsoon season approaches, flooding will occur.  Already, over the weekend, floods caused the ‘temporary’ resettling of 400 residents in one of the zones in Manik Farm.

Another challenge is the final resettlement of the people who have been displaced.  The amount of investment that would be required for such a feat is still uncertain, but it needs to be given a priority.  The execution of this needs to be done in a well thought out manner.  Whilst some resettlement is already taking place and there was a token opening of the A9 road to Jaffna, there is still a lot of uncertainty as to the process of resettlement.  This process can’t just be for political gain but will need to involve real consultation at all levels to ensure reconciliation.

The real big challenge though is keeping these issues news worthy as it appears that the vast majority of the public seem to have forgotten the plight of the people.  As the news has slipped from the front pages of the newspapers or the headlines on the TV, so has the awareness of the plight of the displaced.  One reporter at a dinner the other day was remarking on how difficult they were finding it to obtain news for their broadsheets.  It seems that the war was good business at least in terms of paper sales.  When I asked him what about reconciliation and reconstruction and the pledge of the government to tackle minority issues, he remarked wryly, ‘let us wait and see’.  And so this is perhaps the mood of the norm.  ‘Let us wait and see what the President or the Government does’.  No one seems to be willing to take the first step; No one is even bothered about the historical significance of the President’s statement ‘There are no more minorities’.  People I have talked to are just apathetic enough to wait for the politicians to come up with something rather than taking the challenge up themselves. How does one go about ensuring the eradication of ‘minorities’ from their vocabulary?

There are enormous challenges at all levels in Sri Lanka: micro / meso / macro.  Some of the challenges are inter and intra ethnicity and faith.

Take for example, the clashes between rival mosques in southern Sri Lanka a couple of weeks ago which turned bloody leaving scores dead and injured or the incident where police were accused of attacking people on the pretext of searching for terrorists or members of the underworld or the supposed impunity and liberty that people are still accusing the armed forces of behaving with. These incidents serve to underline simmering tensions that exist under the surface. 

These tensions are to do with economics, deprivation, poverty; ignorance and lack of understanding.  What is important to realise is that whilst this may be in existence within communities, it also exists between communities and will need to be addressed.  People are still talking about the challenges facing  ‘their’ community be it Tamil or Muslim or any other.  There is still no sense of a collective identity.  What is sad is that people have abrogated their individual responsibility to do something about it.

The new fight that Sri Lanka now faces is not of  minority issues (although this is also important) but addressing equitable distribution of resources so everyone benefits.  This is the path towards ensuring a new collective resolution to solving the country’s issues.

slum dwellers

You know there is a saying that ‘you can’t see the forest because of the trees’.  I have often wondered about that statement and applauded the guy who came up with it.  Because it is true!! Often we are so used to seeing what is in front of us that we rarely step back and admire the greater picture.

Over the last couple of months, we have been so engrossed in the humanitarian crisis that is currently affecting Sri Lanka that nothing else is as important.  The news and the blogs have been awash with claims and counter claims  as the battle has spread to cyberspace.  As aid agencies, it has been easy to get caught up in the immediate disaster that very often, other equally pressing needs have been overlooked or pushed down the priority list.  As the displaced get all the attention and focus, those who are equally in need without much attention get forgotten.

The urban poor are by themselves a separate entity.  The ‘forgotten people’ as I called them once in a previous blog.  Equally deserving of our attention yet getting a minute fraction of it during normal times, during emergencies, the attention given to them is nil.  I heard stories during the tsunami of beggars in Colombo making the journey east or south wards to get what was being handed out to tsunami survivors, purely because no one was giving them in Colombo.

I bring this up because recently I had to pay a visit to one of the slums in Colombo where one of the beneficiaries of our child support program was living.  The child’s mother had suddenly died and we were there to pay our respects.  Visiting there after having visited the camps in Vavunia was an eye opener for me.

Slums in Colombo are probably like any other developing country’s capital, although the city displayed in Slum Dog Millionaire is probably one of the extreme types.  Houses are cramped close together and you will find people of all faiths and ethnicities living peacefully and in a sense of co-existence and dependency.  We have often debated that in order for us to develop our conflict resolution program; we should actually consult the people in the urban slums since they seem to have got the right form.

The defining thing about the slums is that whilst people may have houses or what can be described as houses, there is often poor sanitation and water facilities.  So toilets and bathing facilities are common and it is not rare to see people cooking, washing clothes and bathing on the road.  During the rainy season, inevitablby it becomes a fast flowing flood of raw sewage down the road and into your house.  If you are unlucky to be living in areas that always get flooded, every year, without fail, you will suffer from flooding or worse, your house may be built on marshy land which means 365 days a year, you are water logged.

Visiting this child’s house where there were a few possessions lying around, I was struck by the sheer hopelessness of the situation.  This child and his sister and mother were living in what could be described as a two bedroom place, except that the bedroom was in the kitchen and the living room doubled up as another bedroom, dining room and store room.  I am not even sure where the bathroom was.  The mother had died suddenly and here were these two kids without anyone to fend for them.  Their mother had been a day labourer just making ends meet whilst their father was a three wheel taxi driever who had been murdered about 4 years ago.  So there was nothing for them.  No house or investment or estate or $500 million legacy left to them as had been left to now the world famous orphans.

These people were living in abject poverty, rarely making ends meet, not being able to eat 3 square meals or getting the benefit of a proper childhood.  Our child sponsorship program was able to help them make ends meet with additional food and health checks and support for education.  So in this sense these particular kids were lucky.  However if you take the majority of children living under these conditions, then this would be their plight.  Open to crime or any other vices, the kids don’t seem to have a very rosy future.  In fact very few of them make it past high school before they start fending for themselbes.

The sad fact is that these kids and families are not less needy than those in the north and the east.  To some extent, the families who have been displaced by war or disaster are often luckier because they receive assistance from organisations like ours and they are on the government list.  The urban poor operate beyond the radar and out of sight.  It is very hard to get humanitarian agencies to work in these areas since it is not their mandate.  It is the mandate of the government or local civil society.

That said I am sure I will get various arguments for and against this blog.  My intention is not to spark a debate over politics or what agencies should and should not do.  It is more to reflect and revisit.  The needs are great to empower and uplift people from poverty.  Poverty is multidimensional with many faces.  Thus it requires many different approaches and ideas.  When we think about the needy in the camps in vavunia, let us also not forget those who live down our street or in our cities, for they are as equally in need.  Whilst we individually or collectively may not be able to influence or support what is happening in the north, this doesn’t mean that we can’t do something for those who we can help. I can’t help but make this final statement but at the end of the day   if you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make that change

Tribute to the Innocent

You know there is a saying that ‘you can’t see the forest because of the trees’.  I have often wondered about that statement and applauded the guy who came up with it.  Because it is true!! Often we are so used to seeing what is in front of us that we rarely step back and admire the greater picture.

Over the last couple of months, we have been so engrossed in the humanitarian crisis that is currently affecting Sri Lanka that nothing else is as important.  The news and the blogs have been awash with claims and counter claims  as the battle has spread to cyberspace.  As aid agencies, it has been easy to get caught up in the immediate disaster that very often, other equally pressing needs have been overlooked or pushed down the priority list.  As the displaced get all the attention and focus, those who are equally in need without much attention get forgotten.

The urban poor are by themselves a separate entity.  The ‘forgotten people’ as I called them once in a previous blog.  Equally deserving of our attention yet getting a minute fraction of it during normal times, during emergencies, the attention given to them is nil.  I heard stories during the tsunami of beggars in Colombo making the journey east or south wards to get what was being handed out to tsunami survivors, purely because no one was giving them in Colombo.

I bring this up because recently I had to pay a visit to one of the slums in Colombo where one of the beneficiaries of our child support program was living.  The child’s mother had suddenly died and we were there to pay our respects.  Visiting there after having visited the camps in Vavunia was an eye opener for me.

Slums in Colombo are probably like any other developing country’s capital, although the city displayed in Slum Dog Millionaire is probably one of the extreme types.  Houses are cramped close together and you will find people of all faiths and ethnicities living peacefully and in a sense of co-existence and dependency.  We have often debated that in order for us to develop our conflict resolution program; we should actually consult the people in the urban slums since they seem to have got the right form.

The defining thing about the slums is that whilst people may have houses or what can be described as houses, there is often poor sanitation and water facilities.  So toilets and bathing facilities are common and it is not rare to see people cooking, washing clothes and bathing on the road.  During the rainy season, inevitablby it becomes a fast flowing flood of raw sewage down the road and into your house.  If you are unlucky to be living in areas that always get flooded, every year, without fail, you will suffer from flooding or worse, your house may be built on marshy land which means 365 days a year, you are water logged.

Visiting this child’s house where there were a few possessions lying around, I was struck by the sheer hopelessness of the situation.  This child and his sister and mother were living in what could be described as a two bedroom place, except that the bedroom was in the kitchen and the living room doubled up as another bedroom, dining room and store room.  I am not even sure where the bathroom was.  The mother had died suddenly and here were these two kids without anyone to fend for them.  Their mother had been a day labourer just making ends meet whilst their father was a three wheel taxi driever who had been murdered about 4 years ago.  So there was nothing for them.  No house or investment or estate or $500 million legacy left to them as had been left to now the world famous orphans.

These people were living in abject poverty, rarely making ends meet, not being able to eat 3 square meals or getting the benefit of a proper childhood.  Our child sponsorship program was able to help them make ends meet with additional food and health checks and support for education.  So in this sense these particular kids were lucky.  However if you take the majority of children living under these conditions, then this would be their plight.  Open to crime or any other vices, the kids don’t seem to have a very rosy future.  In fact very few of them make it past high school before they start fending for themselbes.

The sad fact is that these kids and families are not less needy than those in the north and the east.  To some extent, the families who have been displaced by war or disaster are often luckier because they receive assistance from organisations like ours and they are on the government list.  The urban poor operate beyond the radar and out of sight.  It is very hard to get humanitarian agencies to work in these areas since it is not their mandate.  It is the mandate of the government or local civil society.

That said I am sure I will get various arguments for and against this blog.  My intention is not to spark a debate over politics or what agencies should and should not do.  It is more to reflect and revisit.  The needs are great to empower and uplift people from poverty.  Poverty is multidimensional with many faces.  Thus it requires many different approaches and ideas.  When we think about the needy in the camps in vavunia, let us also not forget those who live down our street or in our cities, for they are as equally in need.  Whilst we individually or collectively may not be able to influence or support what is happening in the north, this doesn’t mean that we can’t do something for those who we can help. I can’t help but make this final statement but at the end of the day   if you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make that change

More than just food!!

In the last two years, a worrying global phenomenon has been emerging as reports of food scarcity, rising prices and the declining nutrition levels of vulnerable populations become commonplace. In 2007 images of sporadic rioting in about 25 countries worldwide including Egypt, Haiti and Ivory Coast as a result of rising food prices was telecast showing the global outreach of the problem.

The World Food Program (WFP) has described this phenomenon as a ‘ silent tsunami’ threatening to plunge more than 100 million people on every continent into hunger whilst the Asian Development Bank (ADB) estimated that one billion people in Asia could be seriously affected by the surging food prices.

The most severely affected will be the developing countries in Africa and Asia, whilst food exporting countries like those in the Middle East will be affected by the drop in supply and the increase in prices.

The first question to ask is how have the food prices increased so tremendously that it is now causing a global crisis? The second question to ask is what does this mean for people? The third question to ask is what should be done about it?

To a certain extent despite many warning signals, it is obvious that this problem has crept up on the world catching it unawares. In 2007 the food price index calculated by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) rose by nearly 40%, compared with 9% the year before which was replicated again in 2008. With the global recession taking effect in the first half of 2009, this trend is set to continue. Nearly every agricultural commodity has been part of this rising price trend. However, humanitarian organizations, governments and the other bodies seem unable to have forecasted it and powerless to prepare for the repercussions.

The increase in food prices is being driven by several factors such as:

• Income and population growth which has affected food demand and supply
• Climate change
• high energy prices
• subsidized bio fuel production
• globalization
• urbanization
• land and water constraints
• underinvestment in rural infrastructure and agricultural innovation
• lack of productivity

The combination of these new and ongoing forces has affected the prices of food commodities which in turn have caused changes in food availability, which have had crucial implications for the livelihoods of poor and food-insecure people.

At the national level, countries that are net food exporters could benefit from improved terms of trade, but some of them may miss out on this opportunity by banning exports to protect consumers. Net food importers, however, will struggle to meet domestic food demand. This means that for example, almost all countries in Africa are net importers of cereals, and will inevitably be hard hit by rising prices.

At the household level though, surging and volatile food prices will hit those who can afford it the least—the poor and food insecure. For example, rising food prices could lead to:

· deterioration of the nutritional status of pregnant and lactating women and of preschool children

· the withdrawal of children especially girls from school

· the distress sale of productive assets.

· Compromising the future ability of individuals and households to escape poverty.

Because of their economic circumstances, poor households are more responsive to changes in food prices than the wealthy, but there are variations across countries in the magnitude of this sensitivity. The food security and nutrition of the poor are at risk when they are not shielded from the price rises. At the household level, it is common for the poor in developing countries to spend 50 to 70% of their budget on food, and a large proportion of the food budget on staple foods. Further, the poor tend to have remarkably monotonous diets, getting the vast majority of their caloric intake from staple crops and consuming little in the way of animal-source foods, fruits, or vegetables, which are rich in essential micronutrients. The few poor households that are net sellers of food will benefit from higher prices, but households that are net buyers of food—which represent the large majority of the world’s poor—will be harmed.

The nutrition of the poor and the vulnerable (like children and the elderly) is also at risk when they are not shielded from the price rises. For example malnutrition that leads to stunting in preschool children directly affects their ability to learn in school and thus their ability to earn income as adults. Higher food prices will also lead poor people to limit their food consumption and shift to even less-balanced diets, with harmful effects on health in the short and long run.

Many countries have already taken steps to try to minimize the effects of higher prices on their populations. Countries such as Argentina, China, Egypt, India, Russia, Thailand, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Vietnam are among those that have taken the easy option of restricting food exports, setting limits on food prices, or both. China has banned rice and maize exports; India has banned milk powder exports; Bolivia has banned the export of soy oil to Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela; and Ethiopia has banned exports of major cereals. Other countries are reducing restrictions on imports: Morocco, for instance, cut tariffs on wheat imports from 130% to 2.5%; Nigeria cut its rice import tax from 100% to just 2.7%.

Price controls and changes in import and export policies undertaken by these countries may begin to address the problems of poor consumers, who find that they can no longer af­ford an adequate diet for a healthy life, in the short run, but in the long run, some of these policies are likely to backfire by making the international market smaller and more volatile. In addition price controls reduce the price that farmers receive for their agricultural products and thus reduce farmers’ incentives to produce more food. Hence specific policies are needed to deal with the causes and consequences of high food prices.

Although the current situation poses policy challenges on several fronts, there are effective and coherent actions that can be taken by countries to help the most vulnerable people in the short term while working to stabilize food prices by increasing agricultural production in the long term:

• First, in the short run, developing-country governments should expand their social protection programs (that is, programs like food or income transfers and nutrition programs focused on early childhood) for the poorest people—both urban and rural.
• Second, developed countries should eliminate domestic bio fuel subsidies and open their markets to bio fuel exporters like Brazil. Biofuel subsidies in the United States and ethanol and biodiesel subsidies in Europe have proven to be misguided policies that have distorted world food markets.Subsidies on bio fuel crops also act as an implicit tax on staple foods, on which the poor depend the most.
• Third, the developed countries should also take this opportunity to eliminate agricultural trade barriers. Although some progress has been made in reducing agricultural subsidies and other trade-distorting policies in developed countries, many remain, and poor countries cannot match them.
• Fourth, to achieve long-term agricultural growth, developing-country governments should increase their medium- and long-term investments in agricultural research and extension, rural infrastruc­ture, and market access for small farmers. Rural investments have been sorely neglected in recent decades, and now is the time to re­verse this trend. Farmers in many developing countries are operating in an environment of inadequate infrastructure like roads, electric­ity, and communications; poor soils; lack of storage and processing capacity; and little or no access to agricultural technologies that could increase their profits and improve their livelihoods. Recent unrest over food prices in a number of countries may tempt policy­makers to put the interests of urban consumers over those of rural people, including farmers, but this approach would be short-sighted and counterproductive.

Organizations like Muslim Aid are now developing Food Security Programs in order to deal with this crisis. Making use of traditional and seasonal programs such as Ramadan and Qurban is one way of working to address the issues of rising food insecurity. Working in the spirit of supplementary food provision, which is what these programs are designed to address, organizations can meet the rising need for nutrition and food security programs to be developed. In particular the following will need to be looked at:

• An emergency food package which can also incorporate aspects from Ramadan, Qurban, Fidya, Kaffara and Aqiqah. All of these programs means that there is a seasonal continuity of funds available to run these programs
• Child and mother nutrition
• Fast impact food production
• Financial services for small holders
• Advocacy and awareness programs

What is it that we as individuals can do?

Firstly it is to realise that there is a problem. The worrying part is how little concern there is about this issue which, more than any other, should be gripping people. The mere fact that some are going to bed hungry while others have plenty to eat is by all spiritual teachings a crime. There are still people wasting food when others can make use of them.

There are still weddings taking place in grand hotels and exclusive dinners held where food is thrown away without any concern for its value. There are still people who insist on eating rice three times a day, simply because they want to.

At times like this there is a need for dialogue and discussion on how people can respond collectively to this globally emerging crisis. People must plan how to address vulnerability in the short, medium and long terms.

Elsewhere, countries have set up food banks and are talking about improving agriculture and trade. Many people are considering a change in diet and lifestyle. People should be conscious about wasting food or overeating. People should be aware of their consumption habits. Where there is excess food, people should consider giving this away to those in need. Often it is the silent needy who are most vulnerable and these people need to be sought out.

We may still be a long way off from the food-related riots that have gripped other parts of the world, but we're soon likely to see the need for food aid distribution spread more widely among our people.

This originally appeared in Islamonline