Global hunger

Fr. Michael’s story about the Filipino mother sadly separated from her 3 children because the mother was jailed for stealing food three times for her children while the Filipino husband had earlier been detained for unauthorized stay in Japan still haunts us till now.

We will definitely follow up and get more details about their case. We will also explore what humanitarian alternatives can be provided for this particular family. We will also try to contact key figures who can provide assistance to this family and other Filipinos in similar circumstances, hopefully, urgently and comprehensively.

Their sad plight also made us reflect on related questions about hungry migrants and other hungry people throughout the world.

How many other Filipino migrants, not only in Japan, but elsewhere, are experiencing hunger at this very moment due to a number of causes, unemployment, detention, calamities, political instability, and so on?

Not only Filipino migrants but other migrants, and not only migrants, but millions of hungry people all throughout the world are experiencing the multiple whammy effects of the continuing global economic crisis, environmental as well as political challenges.

According to the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, while global hunger is declining (from 1.023 billion in 2009 to 925 million in 2010), the number of hungry millions globally is still unacceptably high!

Developing countries have most of the world’s hungry (16% of their population). Asia and Pacific continue to be the region with the most number of undernourished people (578 million), Sub-Saharan Africa had 239 million hungry, 53 million in Latin America and the Carribean, 37 million in the Near East and North Africa, and 19 million hungry people even throughout the rich, developed countries!

An earlier FAO report noted that hunger is not a result of poor harvests. Hunger amidst abundance of food production and supply is, ironically, our present situation now. High domestic food prices, lower incomes, and increasing unemployment due to global economic crisis were listed as important causes of hunger. To quote: “Many poor people cannot afford to buy the food they need.”

For those who are interested to read more about the 2010 FAO Hunger Report entitled “The State of Food Insecurity in the World, you can check out their website http://www.fao.org/publications/sofi/en/ for more complete information and analysis.

More local and global efforts have to be exerted to reach out to these millions of hungry people, especially the children. The immediate and long-term damages to physical and mental health and growth, not to mention deaths, that result from hunger, should alert everyone to prioritize this global problem urgently, effectively.

Sr. Flor Florece who had just returned to Japan showed pictures she took of the situation of the people in Haiti. One picture which depicted what looked like hurriedly made clay plates turned out to be a picture of the food that the poor, hungry of Haiti ate! With nothing more to eat, they combined sand and soil with some salt just so they could have something to eat and to share with the rest of their hungry families, their children most especially.

More immediate action from all is badly, urgently needed to respond to the hungry millions around us and throughout the world!

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