Somalis flee famine along ‘roads of death’

Tens of thousands of Somalis, mostly women and children, are on the move, fleeing the worst famine in a generation in this Horn of Africa nation. Resilient Somalis have endured two decades of civil war and two consecutive seasons of failed rains. Now, after their livestock and crops have died, and with their babies suffering from malnutrition and food prices skyrocketing, they have given up any pretense that they can survive on their own.
Any hope of the world helping them has also faded. Al-Shabab, the militia linked to al-Qaeda that rules large swaths of famine-stricken southern Somalia, has barred international aid agencies from delivering assistance to regions it controls. It has heavily taxed ordinary Somalis on food and other goods, exacerbating the crisis. In fact, the militia denies that a famine is taking place, disputing the United Nations’ contention that tens of thousands of Somalis, mostly children, have died because of it.
Yet nearly 170,000 Somalis have fled to already crowded refugee camps in neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia since January, according to U.N. figures released Monday. In Kenya, about 1,300 Somalis are arriving daily; an average of 1,700 are entering Ethiopia. Most emerge from their grueling journeys bearing scars that probably will not fade anytime soon.
Waiting in vain for help
Xukun Muhumed walked more than 130 miles to seek help for her thin baby, sickened by hunger. As she trudged slowly across the bleak landscape, choked by famine and drought, she wondered whether her infant son, Sadik, would survive.
“If Allah wants him to die, he will die,” said Muhumed, her voice dropping. “I have seen many people who have died along the way.”
“These are becoming roads of death,” Josette Sheeran, executive director of the U.N. World Food Program, told reporters in Nairobi over the weekend. “Over half the women I talked to had to leave children to die or had children die.”
“In the Horn [of Africa], we could lose a generation,” she added. “Those that survive could be affected deeply.”
On Sunday, Muhumed held her frail son in this border town, where they had arrived a day earlier after a month-long journey. Sadik was listless, his eyes half closed, his skin leathery from malnutrition. Moments earlier, he had vomited the little milk he had swallowed.
There were no doctors, no aid agencies distributing food. Many of the new arrivals sat under trees or on vacant patches of land, waiting for help.

World Chocolate Day-MY DAY:)))))))

However, upon further digging we have found some interesting facts that you should know, although the best part is that you can use today as an excuse to over indulge in what is one of the tastiest food snacks.

Now we are no experts, but we do know that American’s love chocolate, you only have to look at some of their foods and drinks to realize this. However, it is also popular in other parts of the world, so why not have a day that helps to celebrate it? So what kind of things can you partake in today in celebration of this strange day?

Well the first is to take a day off your diet and have a chocolate related breakfast, which will then been followed in a few hours by a chocolate based drink and snack for lunch and then finish with a lovely chocolate desert after your dinner.

While we cannot find any Chocolate Day activates today, we do know that everyday is a Chocolate Day at Cadbury World. Why not help support this ailing company by going there for the day and enjoy everything chocolate?

There is a host of other things that you can also do, such as visit a health spa and have yourself covered in chocolate, which is said to be very good for the skin. There are even chocolate yoga classes, now do not ask me how I know this, I just do.

Another great thing you can do today is create a custom M&M character, which you can do by visiting the official M&M website. You will see that you will have the opportunity to choose a body, shape, arms, legs, face and accessories for your M&M character. Once you have done this you can then generate what it will look like, all you have to do to complete this process is give the little guy a name and then submit it.

The final thing that you can do today is send someone your love today in the form of chocolate. You can do this by simply sending an eCard that has a chocolate theme. There are 17 to choose from on 123greetings.com, just try not to send one to someone who has an issue with weight, as they could get offended.