Terrorists took much more than 37+ lives in London

The bombings in London on July 7th were tragic. I sat, watching the footage on CNN in horror like everyone else in the world. What made it more sad for me though, is that the whoever was responsible for the terror bombing did a lot more damage than just what we saw on TV. It changed the focus of the G8 Summit and diverted the world’s attention from the issues of poverty and climate change. Consider for a moment two facts:

37 people were killed in the bombings in London
1 child dies every 5 seconds of hunger somewhere in the world (according the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, as reported by the BBC).

Which is more horrible? Do the math.

The G8 summit can be considered a success though, because the world’s wealthiest nations agreed to double the amount of aid to Africa and cancel the debt of the 18 poorest nations in Africa. The world leaders need praise and encouragement for this positive step toward ending a more serious and deadly threat than world terrorism.

As reported by the BBC:

In the words of Tony Blair: "It isn't the end of poverty in Africa, but it is
the hope that it can be ended. It isn't all everyone wanted but it is progress -
real and achievable progress."

And Bob Geldof, the former rock star
and Live 8 organiser, paraphrased words first uttered by Winston Churchill.

"I wouldn't say this is the end of extreme poverty, but it is the
beginning of the end," he said. Of course, the various deals fall far short of
what many campaigners wanted.

There was more disappointment in the area of climate change. The United States of America is still refusing to join other nations in taking concrete actions to lower emissions standards although Bush did agree to language that stated that human activity is playing a role in global climate change.

With the publicity from Live 8, there was tremendous focus on this summit. Looking at the news now, it has taken a back seat to concerns and fears over the terrorist attacks. This means we have more work to do in keeping these issues on the agenda of news providers and world leaders.