New York Times - Top Stories

Peter S. Goodman

I traveled to Somalia in late April to see how an especially poor country was faring, given dramatic reductions in aid and soaring costs of food and fuel from the war in the Middle East.

Peter S. Goodman

Nothing I have witnessed in nearly four decades of travels through conflict zones and natural disasters prepared me for what I encountered there.

Peter S. Goodman

I saw 13 tents that normally hold emergency food aid. Twelve were empty. I saw mothers holding babies who were so malnourished that they needed oxygen to breathe.

Peter S. Goodman

I interviewed scores of families who had walked for days to reach camps where international relief organizations used to provide food and medical care. Not anymore.

Peter S. Goodman

The wealthiest countries, led by the United States, have dramatically reduced the humanitarian relief system. As one aid official put it to me, “This is the era of indifference.”