“Faith alone removes mental clutter and restores clarity of mind.” (Dalai Lama)

“Faith alone removes mental clutter and restores clarity of mind.” (Dalai Lama) “If we have any ounce of humanism, our attention should be on the Horn of Africa: Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan and northern Kenya are facing a food crisis that could kill millions of people if we don't act now.” As optimistic as we may be, it is important to recognize that the world is increasingly dangerous and that we are going through one of the most complicated moments in human history. We are not so naive as to think that we can go through this life as if it were a “fast lane as fashionable as the scuts”, without any “citizen, even if they have the profession of journalist” considering themselves scruffy, with the habit of expressing opinions as freely as if you were chatting with friends at the coffee table or at the end of a dinner, not having to pay tolls, and even occasionally paying severe fines for not being protected by a “green lane” ” and to have passed absentmindedly under a portico without paying. “In time, a cynical, mercenary, demagogic and corrupt press will form a public as vile as itself” (Joseph Pulitzer) Today, in the newspaper “O Público” a “chronicle” is published, subscribed by an intensive care physician (Gustavo Carona). titled “DON'T PRETEND YOU DON'T KNOW…. At this moment, in Ethiopia, the country where all our ancestors come from, because here humanity was born, we are facing the biggest food crisis in recent decades. We really have to get this issue in our heads. It could be our children. to invite you to come with me. It's a beautiful journey, it's a journey into the heart of humanity, and it's not far, it's just around the corner. I'm sure you've gone further, if only in your thoughts. Now come here: Lalibela. do you know? It is a small town that is more than 2500 meters high. The name comes from a king of the same name, who one day ascended to the heavens and brought a message from God to build churches that resembled the clouds over which they walked in this conversation. And so, in the mountains of northern Ethiopia, King Lalibela sets out on his life's mission, and with the help of hundreds of thousands of men and as many angels, all together, they begin to build, or rather to sculpt, or even better to excavate, cutting solid stone so that the whole church is made as if it were a tunnel in the sand, but with dozens of meters high and a church carved in stone inside, with doors, windows, several rooms and ornaments. , all carved in the hard stone, and they last until today intact. Whoever passes to the surface only sees the mass of giant stones that look like clouds, as the king promised to God, and whoever approaches and enters is lost in its charms. The first European to see such a wonder was a missionary priest named Francisco Alvares, who, in the context of Pêro da Covilhã’s travels, wrote in his travel diary in 1520 something like: “I will not write about these constructions because no one will believe me, and I will be accused of being a liar...”, such was the beauty and surprise that invaded him. The history, the stories, the spirituality, the mysticism, the panoramic view of a beautiful Africa to infinity, the sunset the color of burning flame, and the salt of the Earth; people. The most surprising thing is that in the midst of an extremely poor population, children all go to school dressed in the same color. This color varies according to age. It's so beautiful to see this palette of colors dressed in smiles, games, running around and curious glances at the world. Slim face cutouts, deep brown eyes, and different shades of chocolate skin. Here, black Africa intersects with Arab Africa, so we see different shades of melanin mixture and features that arouse our curiosity. In her hair, braids are drawn that form ornaments that look like labyrinths of a royal garden. And if we look closely, some have orange shades in the middle of their brown hair. Do you know why they have orange hair? I had to rewind some forgotten knowledge from medical school. It is called Kwashiorkor disease, which, in the Ghanaian dialect in which the disease was described, translates to “the disease that appears to the child when a new baby arrives” or the “disease of the deposed child”, and consists of a deficiency of protein and vitamins. , that is, malnutrition, that is, hunger. And, at this moment, in Ethiopia, the country where all our ancestors come from, because here humanity was born, we are facing the biggest food crisis in recent decades. If we have any shred of humanism, our attention should be on the Horn of Africa: Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan and northern Kenya are facing a food crisis that could kill millions of people if we don't act now.After alarming periods of drought caused by environmental phenomena secondary to climate change, two years of pandemic followed in which humanitarian aid suffered the worst of the consequences. And now we have the blocking of corn and wheat from Ukraine's ports, catapulting this problem to levels that are chilling for the heart. And of course, the wars we don't know about: South Sudan is at war, Northern Ethiopia is at war, and Somalia hasn't known what peace is since the 90s of the last century. It is estimated that around 17 million people are at risk of starvation in this region. There are no adjectives enough to describe what it is like for a mother to look, helplessly, at her child dying, slowly, for something as simple to deal with as hunger. In Somalia alone, in 2011/12, 260,000 people died because the international community reacted late and did not pay attention to the warning signs, which are now even louder and the aid provided in monetary terms does not reach 20% of the estimated be necessary. (Data from FEWS NET, Famine Early Warning Systems Network) How can we keep our family from crying tears of blood? World Food Programme, Action Contre la Faim, Doctors Without Borders are some of the best examples, but above all what we need is to bring this information into our hearts, into our reflections, into our opinions, taken of position and collective conscience. I said it was a beautiful journey, and to the heart of humanity, I didn't say it was easy. But believe me, it's beautiful to be part of the solution, because if you don't, you will be part of the problem. Any of us knows how to treat hunger. It's just wanting" “If we're not racist, if we're not xenophobic, if we don't discriminate against people because of their skin color or geographic location, then we do, but we really have to get this issue in our heads. They could be our children.” In the reality of this life we ​​all know that nothing is forever, but can we continue to pretend that we know nothing about this? https://www.publico.pt/2022/06/13/impar/cronica/nao-finjam-nao-sabem-2009869