June 21, 2006
An SOS text message from a disaster zone
When no one seems to listen, pick up the phone to make your point. This is exactly what one refugee in a Kenyan camp did say there just was not enough food. The SOS went all the way to London, where Greg Barrow picks up the story in Reuters AlertNet.
The following text messaged landed in the London offices of the United Nation World Food Program:
“My name is Mohammed Sokor, writing to you from Dagahaley refugee camp in Dadaab. Dear Sir, there is an alarming issue here. People are given too few kilogrammes of food. You must help.”
... If he had the time and the money, he might like to spread his message further by texting his appeal to ministers and civil servants -- or for that matter, Bono, Richard Branson and Bill Gates.
It will never happen, but it would be interesting to measure the impact on donor support if alongside regular food rations, WFP could hand out mobile phones and a list of VIP telephone numbers.
Humble SMS text messages from refugees could become an effective SOS for millions whose voices are so rarely heard."
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