James Talarico, a Democratic state representative in Texas, recently was interviewed on MSNBC and asked by hosts what his views are on the war in Gaza. He responded, “There’s a theologian who said, ‘I screamed at God for the starving children until I realized that the starving children was God screaming at me.’ And God is screaming at all of us in Gaza as we speak.”
Talarico went on to condemn Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for utilizing hunger as a means of political warfare against Gazan civilians.
Mallory Challis
Back in August, WHO predicted 640,000 people living in the Gaza Strip would face “catastrophic” levels of food insecurity by the first week of October. Regions that are classified as enduring a famine are in the “most extreme” conditions based on the prevalence of three criteria: Food deprivation, acute malnutrition and starvation-related deaths.
“Catastrophic” living conditions, by their dangerous nature, cause great levels of destruction, suffering or harm, making it difficult to survive day-in and day-out for everyday citizens.
This all was before the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect on Oct. 10, although starvation still plagues God’s children in Gaza.
“Less than half the amount of necessary aid is getting to Gazans.”
According to a BBC interview with director-general of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the health catastrophe in Gaza will last for “generations to come.” He explained that, although the peace deal allowed aid to come into Gaza, access is still restricted by Israel. Less than half the amount of necessary aid is getting to Gazans.
The need is immense compared to the limited supplies being brought in. And famine is not the only catastrophic factor.
Tedros noted that because of the war, much of Gaza’s infrastructure has collapsed, such as the health care system and water and sanitation systems. These institutions are critical to living a healthy life, and Gaza will have to rebuild them so their people can survive on a large and long-term scale.
He also explained that mental health is an important factor of the health equation for survivors. Famine and disease aside, the trauma of living in a war zone, losing loved ones in spontaneous bombings and constantly fearing if your next meal will come will be lifelong for Gazans. And trauma, especially when it is experienced by the collective, can be passed on between generations.
As I write this article, I’ve just finished eating dinner — and had such an abundance of food, in fact, I had to freeze some to avoid food waste. But as I sit here with a full belly, these children are starving. I am reminded of Talarico’s theological statement.
God is screaming at us.
After coming across his interview on my Instagram feed a few Thursdays ago, the quote he shared haunted me. Try as I might, I could not figure out what theologian this gut-wrenching line was attributed to, and it fell to the back of my mind.
Until today when another political leader, this time from my home state, came across my feed to tell his constituents about another hunger crisis.
It was a video of Jeff Jackson, the North Carolina attorney general, explaining the U.S. Department of Agriculture has instructed all 50 states “not to provide food assistance to anyone starting November 1” due to a lack of government funds caused by the government shutdown. This means the SNAP program, which serves about 41.7 million Americans, is essentially being shut down.
“In North Carolina, 600,000 children will be living in a hunger crisis the morning after they go trick-or-treating.”
Of those who receive these benefits, 16 million are children. In North Carolina, this means 600,000 children will be living in a hunger crisis the morning after they go trick-or-treating.
Comparatively, the number of children in North Carolina who will fall into food insecurity due to this immediate pull of government provided assistance is nearly the same as the total number of people who were starving due to the two-year-long war in Gaza.
And just like Netanyahu and the Israeli government have been criticized for inducing and drawing out famines in Gaza as a means of political warfare, Jackson believes the refusal to fund SNAP benefits is a morbidly political move being made by those who hold all the power in the world to ensure these children continue receiving food benefits.
“The truth is, they have the money,” Jackson explained. “They have a $6 billion emergency fund that Congress gave them for exactly this situation, to make sure kids don’t go hungry. They are choosing not to use that fund. And I believe the reason they’re doing that is to ratchet up the pain for the shutdown. This is a political move. And that’s illegal.”
He even said the situation is “becoming a national crisis” as we come closer to millions of people being unable to eat. Coming just in time for the holiday season and winter.
I wonder what catastrophic effects, like the ones Tedros described for Gazans, this crisis will have on hungry families in the States. I wonder how many of those 600,000 children in North Carolina live within 10 miles, 5 miles or even 1 mile from my own home.
Again, I sit and write while my dinner digests.
I think of the children on the school playground just a mile away. How many of their parents are hoping that some kind neighbor will be giving away cans of nonperishable food instead of Halloween candy? How many of their teachers have compiled resource lists of local food banks and soup kitchens to send home?
The children are about to starve. I think I can hear God’s mighty breath drawing in as he prepares to scream once again.
And I wonder where this scream will beckon me.
Mallory Challis is a master of divinity student at Wake Forest University School of Divinity. She is a former Clemons Fellow with BNG.
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