In recent weeks, our hearts have been wrenched as we witness the horrific images of famine plaguing countries in the Horn of Africa as a result of the most devastating droughts in over half a century.

The youngest, most vulnerable and most helpless among us are once again the foremost victims of an unprecedented humanitarian calamity in our generation. Millions of people in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya face starvation of unimaginable proportions, which threatens further magnification in the weeks ahead.

The attending plights of a refugee crisis with an increase in infant mortality and an upsurge of violence and of a health epidemic will loom over the region for a long time.

The failure of the international community to heed timely warnings, together with the global economic unrest in many nations of our world, has brought a calamity to the brink of catastrophe.

Yet, this is no time for blame; nor is there time for delay. This is a moment of concerted solidarity and collective support. We must hold our political leaders accountable for their proper and prompt response to this predicament. Moreover, we must encourage our faithful to arouse from shock to action.

St. John Chrysostom, our fourth-century predecessor on the Throne of Constantinople, drew a direct parallel between saving our souls and helping the poor. We must persistently remember to see the face of God in “the least among us” (Matthew 25.40, 45), to place the poorest among us before personal interests and national fears.

Our brothers and sisters in the Horn of Africa are in desperate need of emergency relief to prevent this crisis from repeating itself. Let us not fail them. Let us not abandon them in their isolation. Let us help them rebuild their future. Let us see in them a reflection of ourselves. Let us discern in them the image of God. Let us respond immediately and generously.

From our Venerable See, the Holy and Great Church of Christ, we shall continue to offer our most fervent prayers and take every step to ensure that our brothers and sisters in the Horn of Africa will find prompt, tangible and generous relief within our churches and communities as well as through the various local and international agencies.

At the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the 15th of August 2011

+ BARTHOLOMEW
Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome,
and Ecumenical Patriarch


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