U.S.A.
Everyone Else
Health
Science
Business
Technology
Sports
Video Games
Entertainment
Future
Humour
NEWS > BUSINESS > SOMALIA BESET BY FAMINE AFTER MCDONALD’S CLOSES LAST LOCATION
SOMALIA BESET BY FAMINE AFTER MCDONALD’S CLOSES LAST LOCATION
July 22 2011
Mogadishu, Somalia – There are few areas of the world as miserable as Somalia. One of a handful of failed states, beset by warlords, piracy, and foreign manipulation Somalia is the whipping boy of planet Earth. There is very little good in this country of 
nine million people, it’s a place that God and the world simply forgot. There are parts of Somalia that look exactly like you would imagine Hell would look like. Somalia is the great failure of the modern world.
For many of us, Somalia is a reminder of what can happen to a country when it is left to neglect and decay. To even call it country is really just a pleasantry. There is a central government, of sorts, but they have little control over much of the territory and they are so twisted by corruption and malice that even those few governed areas are just as chaotic as the rest of the world. Somalia is, perhaps, evidence of the power of the rule of law. This country is what happens when social constructs and structures break down, this country is the raw and pure side of humanity. Not everyone in the country is beset by malicious cause however, but those people are usually the victims of such behaviours and now, rocked by a series of fast food chain closures across the country, are the ones suffering in one of the worst famines in the nation’s history.
“Somalia is facing its worst food security crisis in the last 20 years. This desperate situation requires urgent action to save lives. If we don't act now, famine will spread
to all eight regions of southern Somalia within two months, due to poor harvests and infectious disease,” said a U.N. official. “We still do not have all the resources for food, clean water, shelter, and health services to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of Somalia. We have already seen the deaths of tens of thousands and we expect that number to rise steadily unless urgent action is taken.”
The famine was prompted in part by a massive drought which killed crops and livestock. That paucity of local supplies was cited as one of the reasons for the restaurant closures.
“We are constantly assessing of our outlets across the world. McDonald’s is dedicated to bringing healthy, tasty, and affordable food to people all across the planet but we also have to be mindful of economics. We, like many companies, are still feeling the effects of the global financial crisis and that is reflected in our actions regarding restaurant openings and closures,” said a spokesperson for the company. “We have a responsibility to our customers but also to our investors. The situation in Somalia had degraded to a point where it was no longer economically feasible to keep those restaurants open, due in part to the famine, security concerns, and new government levees. Unfortunately, we had to make a decision to feed our shareholders rather than the people of Somalia. However, we are more than willing to consider new options in the future.”
Taco Bell, once the dominant fast food chain in the country, completed a pullout late last year ahead of the drought.
“It may seem like a cold thing to do, but the company likely had no real choice. Food
prices are rising all over the world and in high maintenance – low margin areas stores had to close. I’m sure many people in the U.S. have seen similar things. It’s just the new economic reality and it’s likely here to stay,” said Scrape TV Business analyst Ken Green. “McDonald’s has, like many other companies, decided to focus on more specific markets. While they may have been able to turn a profit at the Somali locations, it wouldn’t be enough to make it worth keeping them open. It’s a smart decision and I’m sure many investors will be happy, even if the Somali public is less so.”
Another reason cited for the closures was the company’s recent initiative to renovate many existing locations, which would have been inordinately expensive in Somalia. The company’s Mogadishu headquarters has also been closed.
William Ashford, Business Correspondent
NEWS > BUSINESS > SOMALIA BESET BY FAMINE AFTER MCDONALD’S CLOSES LAST LOCATION
LINK IT! http://scrapetv.com/News/News%20Pages/Business/pages-6/Somalia-beset-by-famine-after-McDonalds-closes-last-location-Scrape-TV-The-World-on-your-side.html |
TWEET IT! http://goo.gl/rbYqe |
BOOKMARK IT!  
|
|---|
Scrape Store
