FREEDOM IS NOT ENOUGH

摘要

Josiah masiamphoka is tired of being a beggar. But the subsistence farmer and father of six lives in Malawi, where the rains have again failed to fall. The first time Masiamphoka was forced to take handouts was in 1994, when he lost most of his corn to drought Then drought struck again in 1998, and again in 2002. Now the United Nations World Food Program has just announced a $150 million appeal to rescue Masiamphoka and millions of other people facing hunger and starvation in southern Africa. But WFP officials concede that a new appeal will likely be needed two or three years from now, when the rains fail again. "In the old days, people had food," says Masiamphoka, 59, whose family has subsisted for months on water lilies and shriveled sweet potatoes. "But it seems like God has decided to punish us."