Climate change Warns of "hell on earth" - if Putin does not open the ports

 

Of: 

 

Staffan Lindberg 

 

Published: Less than 10 minutes ago 

 

NEWS 

 

The Russian invasion and extreme drought in Africa have created a "perfect storm". 

 

Now the world is facing the worst famine of our time. 

 

- If the Ukrainian wheat is not released, we risk a food supply problem that is "hell on earth", says David Beasley, head of the UN food program, in an Aftonbladet interview. 

 

In a way, it can be said that David Beasley - who two years ago received the Nobel Peace Prize for the UN food program WFP - has failed. 

 

When he was sworn in as WFP chief in 2017, 80 million people in the world suffered from acute hunger. Today, the number has more than tripled to 276 million. 

 

And it continues to rise. - We are facing by far the most difficult humanitarian situation since the Second World War. The worst is ahead of us, says David Beasley. 

 

The 65-year-old American is multi-worded and takes a seat, where we meet inside an early summer empty office in the government quarter in Stockholm. Maybe it's in the nature of things, the person who leads an aid organization completely dependent on gifts sometimes has to shout loudly. 

 

But what is happening right now in the world is anything but normal. 

 

- When the corona pandemic culminated, we thought we had the worst behind us, he says. Then there was the crisis in Ethiopia. And in Afghanistan ...

 

 

UN chief David Beasley's appeal to Putin: If you have a heart for the rest of the world, you must open these ports. Then we can avoid mass starvation. And save millions of lives. Photo: Jimmy Wixtröm 

 

Awaken the world 

 

It's like a perfect storm, to use his own words. A series of crises stacked on top of each other. 

 

Take only the record-high fuel, which this year means that poor farmers in the world are forced to leave their tractors standing. Or the acute shortage of fertilizers. Or the drought in the Sahel of Africa, which is described as the worst in 40 years, in the wake of the climate crisis. Where the children are currently dying on their flight to water and food. 

 

- When you do not think it can get worse, something new happens all the time, says Beasley in a broad Southern dialect. It will be difficult enough for rich countries. For the poor, it can mean the difference between life and death. 

 

At the turn of the year - when the price of food, fuel and fertilizer was already on the rise to record levels - information came that Russia was gathering thousands of troops along the border with Ukraine, a country sometimes called the world's granary and where WFP collects half of its emergency food. 

 

On February 24, Russia invaded - and David Beasley understood that the worst case scenario had occurred. 

 

His first reaction was: I have to wake up world leaders.

 

 

Satellite images show how a Russian cargo ship steals wheat from a port in Sevastopol on 19 May. Photo: MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES /Reuters

 

Reuters Appeals to Putin 

 

Millions of tons of Ukrainian grain are currently being blocked by Russia at ports in the Black Sea.Food that would have reached hunger rots away day by day.

 

- I have appealed directly to Putin and said: if you have a heart for the rest of the world, you must open these ports. Then we can avoid mass starvation. And save millions of lives. 

 

Did you get any response from Putin? 

 

- I have no solution yet. Let's say so. 

 

He laughs. But soon the seriousness takes over again. 

 

- If the Ukrainian grain is not placed on the world market, we risk a food supply problem in the next ten, twelve months which is "hell on earth". Hell on earth. 

Photo: Jimmy Wixtröm 

Warns against migrants 

 

Exactly what will it look like? 

 

- We will see millions of starving children. Riots and unrest. And armed groups and terrorists who exploit it. And mass migration ... 

 

The last word he often returns to during the interview. 

 

WFP assists 130 million people in the world, but lacks the equivalent of SEK 100 billion in funding this year. 

 

At a time when the leaders of the Western world are preoccupied with dealing with security crises and gaining momentum on their own economies, it is the threat of mass migration that breaks through most easily. 

 

- If you do not want to help from the heart, you can do so for national security reasons. This will cost one way or another. Either there. Or here, with us. 

Supported Trump 

 

Beasley's own background is not entirely common in a UN context. He is a former Republican governor, supported Trump in the 2016 election campaign and was nominated by him the following year for the post of WFP chief. 

 

- Most Republicans and Democrats in the center understand what I am saying. But there are fringes in both parties. Republicans who do not want to bet a dollar "over there". Democrats, who want to spend money on just about everything without prioritizing.

 

.

 

David Beasley, 65, is an American Republican politician from South Carolina, and the current head of the UN food program. Photo: Jimmy Wixtröm 

 

How worrying is the lack of money for WFP right now? 

 

- Extremely disturbing. The worst is before us. We have already seen riots in Sri Lanka, Peru, Indonesia, Pakistan and Kenya. If we do not get the money, we will see a destabilization of nations and mass migration that will make the Syrian crisis look like a Sunday picnic. 

 

Quarrel with Elon Musk 

 

What can you do then?

 

- Take food from the hungry children and give to the starving children. 

 

 Is this already happening? 

 

- Yes. We have been forced to halve the food rations for eight million people in Yemen. We must, but it is not right that children need to die. Especially not considering that there are $ 430 trillion in total wealth on our planet. Humanity should be ashamed. 

 

You had a Twitter quarre(Twitter-bråk) with the world's richest man Elon Musk about this ...

 

- I have not given up on Musk yet. I'm just asking for a small portion of his fortune.

 

"The iceberg in front of the Titanic" 

 

 Do you see any concrete signs that the world's billionaires want to help? 

 

- Not on a large scale. Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos could easily make a billion dollars or two. Or the oil companies and the Gulf states. They make huge profits and have a moral obligation to help the poorest. 

 

Immediately after Aftonbladet's interview, a meeting with Minister for Development Aid Matilda Ernkrans (S) awaits. There is no doubt about the reason he is in Sweden: to rattle money. 

 

This year, Sweden is cutting back on development aid to put it in a refugee reception center. How do you look at it? 

 

- The rich countries must prioritize. You have to see the icebergs in front of the Titanic rather than the broken wine glass in the bar. Global food security is an iceberg. And it will lead to mass migration. How do we avoid it? By helping on the spot. 

 

The children give hope 

 

David Beasley's mission is to open the eyes of the world. And mobilize every good force. 

 

-When I go to bed in the evenings, I do not think of the children we were able to save. Without the ones we did not reach. 

 

Late on Tuesday night, he boarded a plane, together with, among others, Matilda Ernkrans. The goal: the war-torn, famine-stricken Tigray region of Ethiopia. 

 

- If I stayed in the office, I would go crazy. It is out in the field that I get inspiration. The children live in the worst conditions, and yet their little faces are so full of hope. Then I must not give up. Then I must also continue to fight, says David Beasley. 

 

 

Temporary shelters in a camp on the outskirts of Mogadishu where Somalis fleeing from drought-stricken areas have gathered. Photo: Farah Abdi Warsameh / AP / TT 

 

Approximately 45% of the population in Somalia is expected to suffer from food shortages and / or starvation before September this year. Photo: AP / TT