Link to article: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/9/iraq-protest-food-prices-russia-ukraine-war
Protests have erupted in Iraq’s impoverished south over a rise in food prices that officials attributed to the conflict in Ukraine. For about a week, the price of cooking oils and flour have skyrocketed in local markets as government officials have sought to address growing anger with various statements and measures. A retired teacher stated that “The rise in prices is strangling us, whether it is bread or other food products,” and “We can barely make ends meet.” On Tuesday, the Iraqi government announced a number of measures to confront the increase in international prices. The spokesman of the Trade Ministry, Mohamed Hanoun, attributed the rise in cooking-oil prices to the conflict in Ukraine, as Ukraine produces a large share of the world’s cooking oil. Both Russia and Ukraine are major producers of various foodstuffs, including sunflower oil and wheat, and the Middle East is particularly dependent on these imports from the two countries.
I find it incredibly sad that these people can not afford to live and it is just another consequence of this senseless war that Putin has started. Sadly, I’m not sure how these people will get the aid they desperately need. I doubt foreign powers are going to provide aid to them or their government, and the government of Iraq doesn’t have the greatest track record of providing equal opportunities to their citizens. I think that eventually the UN will have to get involved not only in Iraq but in other places that are affected by this inflation of prices, as I imagine Iraq is not the only country/people affected. I believe that we as a country could also look to aid them as we have plenty of excess food and more specifically corn oil.
This relates to what we are discussing in class as the United Nations may have to become involved in this situation if it becomes a humanitarian crisis and people can’t get food to survive.