AFRICA & HUNGER

 AFRICA & HUNGER:-

African continent and hunger are intertwined so much so that it is not uncommon to find one getting images of malnourished children, who are nothing but skeletons with bloated stomachs, so thin and frail looking women, utterly anemic, with match stick hands and legs. With such a naturally blessed countries, rich in flora and fauna why should any individual starve herein Africa! But reality is something very different. Sometime back there was an image circulating in social media of a child which was about to die and a vulture eagerly waiting to devour the same! It is such a pathetic plight in African continent though blessed abundantly by nature and its precious resources to suffer and stay in such pitiable plight all these years.

Improper distribution of resources, lack of political will& straight forward leadership, greed and avarice of the ones who are rich, exploitation by so called investors who come only to exploit the resources and leave the people in same old pitiable plight… all contribute to this sad state of affairs!

It is not uncommon to find the rich enjoying every single day evening choicest of richest single malt / blue label / black label whiskey served by local servant in tattered cloth. The rich then enjoy their drink with roasted macadamia / cashew nuts. Poor servant may go to sleep without his simple dinner, as he cannot afford the maize flour whose price has hit the roof!  

For the sake of a bag of Maize flour, staple food of many Africans, murders do take place as day do common resources due to hoarding go out of the market as traders want to make most out of the price hike which used to happen invariably every year when there is an acute short fall in rain fall or due to excess rainfall due to a storm or cyclone! Thus a commoner’s life so precariously balanced on natural vagaries goes haywire every year leading them to a debt trap from which they never escape!

Having associated with food industry and spent considerable part of my life in African continent I find their life style appalling due to poverty. Most of them travel long distance to attend to work. By and large the common mode of transport is their own feet which takes them to 5 to 10 KM everyday one way ,mostly commuted by running to reach their place of work in time. Most of the companies do not have facility for subsidized food as found in other developed countries.

 One has to carry lunch along with him.  To reach the work spot at 7 AM one should leave home by 5 AM. Thus after finishing breakfast at such an odd hour one runs to reach the factory. On reaching the work spot they rush to locker room to change and straight away hit the work spot. It is not uncommon for a worker to consume on reaching work spot sugar / milk powder/ biscuit powder etc. to get himself / herself charged to start his work. If caught by any supervisor they are dismissed immediately. The cold insipid lunch shall be the sole source of food to satiate the hunger prangs in lunch time and till he reaches home by night travelling another grilling 5 to 10 KM by foot.

This is the same with women who are pregnant. They too undergo the same ordeal everyday and are expected to take care of the life growing in them. It is not uncommon to find someone falling flat on account of hunger as mostly they start the day without any breakfast.

 In some of the African countries children are found to masticate wrappers used in food packaging as the sole source of something to keep chewing. Some of the workmen just bring an avocado as lunch as this fruit is found to sustain them for long duration!

Some companies in their wisdom provide free food to retain labor as the food provided is the sole motivator for them to come and work regularly. But such facilities are available in a very few establishment. By and large people come with their own Tiffin filled with rice, maize meal, fish or a few vegetables to satiate the hunger. One good custom among Africans is to share the food whatever little they have with colleagues.

The other day, I had to visit my director’s office. As I was about to enter the chamber I was stopped by a tall lanky worker who used to work in the packing hall. He was coming out of the director’s office. He was in tears. His gestures, garrulous sounds and body movements indicated that he was cursing and doing so vociferously.  As I could not understand some of his utterances, I called the security to avert things getting out of hand. The security officer then translated the story.

 This worker was fired, summarily dismissed because he was found eating some biscuits by a supervisor. The worker was claiming that if someone had eaten a food, made right in front of his eyes to satiate his growling hunger, was that a big crime in this developed world! My heart skipped a beat and I was also cursing mentally the man who went and complained this matter to a director as well as the director who had no empathy! I was reminded of the National poet who wanted to burn the world if one soul went to bed without food!