Voices of Famine

The Situation

East Africa is facing it's worst drought for decades. Over 11 million people are facing a severe hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa, caused by a deadly drought spreading across the region of East Africa which is the worst experienced by the continent in 60 years. The drought is having devastating impacts on numerous countries including Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti, and Eritrea. Tens of thousands of people have already died, and more continue to be at risk, with children highlighted as the most vulnerable. Staggeringly nearly half a million children are at risk of dying and of catching deadly diseases due to malnutrition. With such astonishing numbers, the crisis has already been labeled the "children's famine." Many of the children arriving at refugee camps arrive when they are already in the latter stages of malnutrition. As such, even with food and medical assistance, less than 40 percent of these malnourished children will survive.

War-ravaged Somalia has been the worst hit by the drought in the region. Two of Somalia's southern regions are already facing famine conditions with the rest of Somalia "close to famine conditions," according to Mark Bowden the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia. Bowden stressed the need for speedy aid and "exceptional action" to help the nearly 3.7 million Somalis in crisis. 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. 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, which has resulted in the death of tens of thousands of Somalis, mostly children. Thousands of starving refugees arrive daily in already crowded refugee camps in neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia. Most emerge from their grueling journeys bearing scars that probably will not fade anytime soon.

The documentary

The purpose of the documentary is simple, to give a voice to the victims of this tragic crisis. Unlike the news reports that daily recede further away from the front page, the documentary will give an intimate insight into the plight of the victims. It will personalize their lives and let their voices be heard. The victims will be able to speak directly to the rest of the world to let them know what they have to go through daily. These aren't the 30 second pre screed sound bites you get on the news, nor is it some expert sitting in a news studio, or about some dignitary visiting a refugee camp for a photo opportunity. The film will place the audience within the barren landscape and the world of hardship in which the victims live. It will illustrate the perilous journey that the victims have had to take in their search for safety, including the loss of life as well as the disintegration of whole societies as a result of the famine as well as the waring landscape in the victims have had to exist. There will be no other voices within the documentary other than those of the victims of the famine.

The Motivation and Goal

Shooting mainly in the refugee camps near the Kenyan Somalian border as well as in the Somalian capital of Mogadishu, the goal of the documentary is to raise as much awareness of the famine through the personalization of these tragic circumstances. We hope that this will help result in a greater effort by the general public and governments to raise the more than 1 billion dollars that is needed to aid the victims of the famine. All the proceeds from the documentary will go to charity. The tragedy of the situation is that the famine has been going on for over two years and it is only recently that the world has reacted to the situation and sadder still mainstream media outlets spent little time on reporting on the situation. Having spoken to people on the ground we have found out the at first there was a mad scramble by media agencies to cover the story and by international dignitaries to be seen to be doing something by visiting the camps, but this frenzy of activity has all but dried up as the world's media has moved on to the next story. It is really important that everyone do something no matter how small to help alleviate the tragedy. It is easy to be cynical and say that nothing can be done about the situation because of the instability in Somalia, but the fact is, people are dying at an alarming rate and we all have to do our part in making a change.

Distribution

The film is to be exhibited through as many forms of media outlets as possible. The intention is to get a cinema distribution as well as through television, but also via the internet, from video sites like Youtube and Vimeo to social networking sites such as Facebook. It is also hoped that the film will be on other sites such as newspapers and any site that chooses to distribute the film.
The intention is to have a donation system for viewers to donate as much as they want, with all proceeds going to a charity involved with the crisis.