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Clay Aiken appeals for world attention on Somalia
in.reuters.com — By Guled Mohamed HARGEISA, Somalia (Reuters Life!) - Clay Aiken appealed on Wednesday for the world not to forget Somalia, where conflict and hunger have created one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. Aiken said U.S. and international...
Allegra560- 188 diggs
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- scorpionlady, on 06/25/2008, -7/+5Love a man with heart and compassion
- butterflyshine, on 06/25/2008, -7/+5I love a man who uses his voice for the children who aren't heard
- coopersgirl, on 06/25/2008, -6/+2This breaks my heart. There but by the Grace of God go I. Thank you Clay, for making me aware of this.
- scoetrain, on 06/26/2008, -1/+1What does "Grace of God" mean?
- joyfullness, on 06/27/2008, -0/+0It means that If I were not so fortunate, it could be me.
Many of us are blessed to have nice homes, educations, computers, etc. We do not live in a country that is stripped of everything and brutalized daily, where food is hard to come by.
- Jedmaster, on 06/25/2008, -6/+4His humanitarian trips for UNICEF make me so proud to be an American.
- liney23, on 06/25/2008, -5/+4I hope people realize that those children in need had nothing to do with past Somalia misdeeds. Clay Aiken cares about the children of the world. All the celebrities who work for UNICEF are very special!
- aikenfan, on 06/25/2008, -5/+4Clay's such an amazing young man. Thank you Clay for the children of the world.
- arl4music, on 06/25/2008, -4/+5It would be wonderful if every person in the spotlight, every celebrity acquiring fame and fortune, used their name, their influence and their time this way. Imagine the good that could be accomplished. Clay's a true citizen of the world, in my opinion.
- dakota24, on 06/25/2008, -5/+3Thanks Clay for your support of children all over the world.
- MollyO2, on 06/25/2008, -5/+2. I have a monthly pledge for the children of UNICEF but I will definitiely will donate again specifically for these poor forgotten people of Somalia. I am so glad to see that this upstanding young man cares about them too and wants to do what he can to help them.
- CinnamonStardst, on 06/26/2008, -4/+2Wow. Very smart of UNICEF to have Clay Aiken in Somalia bringing attention to the situation. The celebrity ambassadors are very good at raising awareness for those who can help with financial support. Every little bit adds up! I'm sure that there will be some much needed funds raised to help the children there.... Bless them.
- outback1, on 06/26/2008, -4/+2It breaks my heart.
- outback1, on 06/26/2008, -5/+1It breaks my heart.
- ac42, on 06/26/2008, -5/+4That little girl's quote says it all. When we are whining and complaining that we only have the 2nd generation iPod or don't like what's on our full plate and refuse to eat it, or complain about having to go to school (or even our nice cushy jobs, for many), it's stuff like this that gives you some perspective. And without celebrities who are willing to join organizations like UNICEF and go to these places, we would never hear a word about it most of the time.
- SeaweedWater, on 06/26/2008, -3/+1What kind of loser still has the 2nd generation Ipod?
- ac42, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2Thanks for proving my point. We are too ***** spoiled!
- all4luv, on 06/26/2008, -4/+3What a wonderful job the UNICEF ambassadors are doing in bringing attention to crisis situations for children in our world. As a trained educator, Clay Aiken is a perfect choice to observe and report back the conditions that challenge the children in areas of continued unrest.
- claylily, on 06/26/2008, -6/+0Clay, as usual, you make my heart swell! Thank you Clay for informing us of the situation in Somalia where, unfortunately, "the truth got rearranged".
Godspeed to you.
Hugs,
Lillian - claylily, on 06/26/2008, -9/+0Clay, as usual, you make my heart swell! Thank you Clay for informing us of the situation in Somalia where, unfortunately, "the truth got rearranged".
Godspeed to you.
Hugs,
Lillian - claylily, on 06/26/2008, -9/+0Clay, as usual, you make my heart swell! Thank you Clay for informing us of the situation in Somalia where, unfortunately, "the truth got rearranged".
Godspeed to you.
Hugs,
Lillian - gaymarie1, on 06/26/2008, -5/+2What a great thing you do Clay. We are so proud of you! Thank you! My heart is just bursting!
- Paktu, on 06/26/2008, -2/+7The last time we tried to help Somalis by providing humanitarian aid back in 1993, it resulted in the Battle of Mogadishu (also portrayed in the film Black Hawk Down). Here's a quote from Wikipedia about the battle:
"Ambassador Robert Oakley, the US special representative to Somalia, is quoted as saying: " My own personal estimate is that there must have been 1,500 to 2,000 Somalis killed and wounded that day, because that battle was a true battle. And the Americans and those who came to their rescue, were being shot at from all sides ... a deliberate war battle, if you will, on the part of the Somalis. And women and children were being used as shields and some cases women and children were actually firing weapons, and were coming from all sides."
I'm going to Hell for saying this, but ***** these people. Seriously.- ijacker, on 06/26/2008, -1/+1no, not hell, but you will get dugg down alot
- stpteach, on 06/26/2008, -1/+0Sadly, the Somalian mothers and children of today are still suffering for the hell of the past. The children, in particular, shouldn't be scorned for mistakes of the past. I support the UNICEF effort and I applaud Clay Aiken's appeal for aid to this needy part of the world.
- PodSoda, on 06/26/2008, -0/+0The Americans acted like real dumbasses in Somalia! You can't go into a country and offer aid and assistance with guns drawn. They even tried it in New Orleans after Katrina! It was the very wise General Honore that insisted that any uniformed troops offering assistance in Louisiana PUT THEIR GUNS DOWN! What a shame he wasn't in Somalia.
We went into Somalia fully armed and ready for battle. WTF did you expect every one to do? Of course they reacted badly. It's not like the people had a full color program in hand explaining what all those armed troops speaking a foreign language were doing in their town. Use some common sense.
- Voawat, on 06/26/2008, -4/+2Fifteen years has elapsed since the Battle of Mogadishu. I think it's time to hope for the better for this struggling nation and it's children.
- EffYoo, on 06/26/2008, -4/+3Holy crap, what a huge wave of spam commenters & diggs. Wonder how much they cost
- SeaweedWater, on 06/26/2008, -4/+4Clay Aiken is gay for Somalia.
- chicofaraby, on 06/26/2008, -4/+1Who?
- staxofmax, on 06/26/2008, -1/+3I'm definitely in the minority opinion in believing that these humanitarian missions, as they are carried out, do far more harm than good. This humanitarian crisis is due to too many people living in a region with not enough resources to support them. So the solution to this is to ship off a bunch of food and manpower so that these people can survive and inevitably breed, driving the population levels ever higher, and resulting in an even larger humanitarian crisis in a few years?
I'd be all for aiding the nation if the aid plan involved sterilization, re-distribution of the population, or some other means of humane population control (i.e. not killing every firstborn son, or whatever). But the current method of dealing with these issues is wholly inadequate and ultimately misguided.
See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malthusian_catastroph ... ... - snupe93, on 06/26/2008, -2/+3It's so good to hear about celebrities trying to walk the walk and do something positive. Ben Affleck just came back from the Congo and is trying to create awareness of their situation and now Clay Aiken is doing the same for Somalia. I admire these celebrities that put in the time, effort and energy to try to make a positive difference and effect change. More power to them!
- ncgran4clay, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2staxoffax
But do the innocent children deserve to starve & be riddled with disease because of the acts of adults there. I can do nothing about the political or other factions in operation. But an innocent child is an innocent child no matter where they are. They do not choose where they are born afterall. - user1111, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2The people of Somalia are just as much a victim of the thugs and bullies that are running riot in the country. Please help the children. Education can really change things.
- CB266, on 06/26/2008, -1/+1I am one who is guilty for forgetting about Somalia since the 1990s. I hadn't realized just how dire the situation is there for children.
- UncleJimBob, on 06/26/2008, -1/+1Without question, Somalia brings back a difficult memory in US history, but children are innocent; they should not be held responsible for the sins of the past. UNICEF is wonderful organization that has been helping children all around the globe for many years. I admire those like Clay Aiken who use their celebrity to try to make this world a better place. Peace.
- crafty1955, on 06/26/2008, -3/+1There but for the Grace of God go I.
- ObeseSnake, on 06/26/2008, -1/+2This is the story where all the women of Digg, all five of them, come to Digg this story up.
- Lodehy, on 06/26/2008, -1/+1Another country where innocent men, women and most especially children are in desperate need for assistance of the very basic kind- food and homes and education and safety from the violence that surrounds them everyday. Makes some of the comments posted here beyond petty and selfish. Thank you Mr. Aiken, for bringing this deplorable situation to our attention.
- scoetrain, on 06/26/2008, -1/+3If these comments were any gayer, they'd have on capri pants.
- stargazer11, on 06/26/2008, -1/+1Humanitarianism comes from the heart. UNICEF is to be commended for their efforts on the benefit of the world's children.
- Surferess, on 06/26/2008, -1/+2Go Clay. Do whatever good you can while you still can!
- ctenn2ls, on 06/26/2008, -1/+1The spam is seriously creeping me out. Maybe they could send that SPAM to Somalia instead.
- shezgirl, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1innocent children are suffering. I can't even imagine the conditions that they live in. If Unicef is already in the country then they are the ones that can best deliver aid. This is really sad.
- JanWhatever, on 06/27/2008, -0/+0This is not about the UNICEF Ambassador, nor is it about what has happened politically in the past. This is about the suffering of innocents. If the Ambassador can bring attention to this and help a few children in that country to grow healthy and be educated, it will improve the future of those living in Somalia, which improves the world.
- 1ally, on 06/27/2008, -0/+0Hope he can bring some awareness and help to the area. That's the main thing.
and God Bless him for trying.
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