Turkish deputy pm says Turkey cannot disregard hunger & deaths in Somalia

ANKARA (A.A) - August 5, 2011 - Turkish Deputy Premier Bekir Bozdag said on Friday that Turkey could not disregard the ongoing hunger, drought and child deaths in Somalia.
Speaking at a ceremony in capital Ankara, Bozdag said, "The world has turned into a village now. Yesterday, we could not see the children dying of hunger in Somalia, but with today's technology, we witness and feel people's pains no matter where they live. That's why we cannot ignore the hunger, drought and child deaths in Somalia".
Pointing to the aid campaign initiated by the Turkish Directorate General for Religious Affairs to help Somali people, Bozdag said Turkish people had been showing a great interest in the campaign.
The deputy premier said, in addition to the religious affairs authority, Turkish Red Crescent and several NGOs also conducted aid campaigns, stating that the first part of the aid materials collected so far would be sent to Africa starting from next Monday.
Somalia is currently struggling with one of the worst droughts in the past 60 years.
The epicenter of the drought lies on the three-way border shared by Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia, a nomadic region where families heavily depend on the health of their livestock. Uganda and Djibouti have also been hit by the disaster.
Tens of thousands of people have so far been displaced and scores lost their lives due to the humanitarian situation in the region.