Online Reporter
Dr Brian Tawanda Marwenze
THE world is no longer paying for this war only on the battlefield, but in the market, in the kitchen and at the fuel station.
Everywhere in the world the story is the same, prices are rising every week, transport fares are up, bread is up, fertiliser is disappearing, yet the cause is not in Zimbabwe, but in two narrow stretches of water thousands of kilometres away that America promised to keep open, but has failed to keep open.
People in world no longer trust America to protect the global economy, even Americans are now worried about inflation, fuel queues and weapons shortages at home and that loss of trust is itself driving prices up.
The first strait is the Strait of Hormuz and everyday about 21 million barrels of oil pass through it, that is nearly 20 percent of the world’s oil and a third of its liquefied natural gas. When Hormuz is closed, there is no alternative route for Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
The result is immediate, oil prices have jumped by more than US$30 in days and have crossed US$130 per barrel. Analysts now warn of US$180, a recent United States Congressional assessment says the war against Iran has already cost Washington at least US$38 billion through July, while depleting key weapons stockpiles.
Zimbabwe imports all its fuel, when oil rises, energy costs rise, transport costs rise and factories cut shifts and every litre at the pump becomes a tax on this war.
The second strait is Bab el-Mandeb. It is the southern gate to the Suez Canal. Twelve percent of global trade passes there, nearly 40 percent of grain, fertiliser and edible oil that moves by sea uses that route.
When Bab el-Mandeb shuts, ships are forced around Africa. The journey adds 10 to 14 days and freight costs triple, insurance rates explode.
The United Nations World Food Programme has warned that these delays will raise global food prices by 25 to 30 percent in the next two months, for families in the world who spend 60 percent of their income on food, that means hunger.
This is not a Middle East war, it is a world war on the cost of living, and no country is spared.
In Africa, from Malawi to Kenya to Nigeria, fuel queues are back. Governments that subsidise fuel are burning foreign currency they do not have.
Farmers cannot get fertiliser because ships cannot pass.
A bag that was US$35 is now US$50 and harvests will fall.
In Asia, in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia, cooking oil and gas prices are up. Garment workers in Dhaka and Karachi face job cuts because factories cannot afford energy.
In Europe, in Germany, France and Britain, gas that comes as LNG through Hormuz is now scarce whilst electricity bills will double and airlines raise ticket prices.
In the Middle East itself, hospitals that depend on diesel generators are shutting down. Medicine that comes through Suez is delayed.
In Latin America, fertiliser shortages mean less food production.
In America itself, truck drivers in Texas, farmers in Iowa and families in New York are paying more at the pump and at the supermarket. The US Congressional assessment warns of inflation returning, even Americans are asking why their taxes are paying for a US$2,8 billion arms deal for 40 000 heavy bombs, including 2 000-pound MK-84s, while their own prices rise.
No continent is safe Muslims, Christians, Hindus, everyone is paying.
Politicians have failed, Generals have failed, the United Nations Security Council is paralysed and the only moral force left that can stop this war is faith.
This war must end, not because one side has won, but because humanity is losing, especially we need the intervention of faith leaders in times like this, the Vatican, Al-Azhar in Cairo, Qom Seminary in Iran, the Zimbabwe Council of Churches, the Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs in the world and the All Africa Conference of Churches must form a joint council. They must meet in a neutral capital, which is respected by both East and West, and issue a joint call: Stop the bombing of civilians, weddings, hospitals and schools.
According to The Washington Post, the Trump administration is preparing a US$2,8 billion arms deal to supply the Israeli regime with 40 000 heavy bombs. Faith leaders must say clearly: YOU CANNOT PRAY FOR PEACE ON SUNDAY AND PAY FOR BOMBS ON MONDAY. Churches in America must lobby Congress to stop taxpayer funding of weapons that kill civilians, for this is a moral issue.
A day to be declared like one Friday, Saturday and Sunday where mosques, churches and temples worldwide pray together for an end to this war and fast in solidarity with the hungry.
When faith leaders in Harare, Tehran, Gaza, Washington and Moscow pray on the same day, politicians will be forced to listen.
Faith leaders must tell their congregations the truth: This war is unpredictable, it will kill more people from hunger and lack of medicine than from bombs, and it is being kept alive by weapons deals. The people of Zimbabwe, who have survived sanctions since 2001, know the cost of economic war better than anyone.
The prediction is clear, if the two straits remain shut for 30 days, oil will hit US$180, and poverty will explode worldwide.
The price of war is not paid in Washington, it is paid by a child who sleeps hungry, by a mother in Delhi who cannot afford cooking oil, by a farmer in Brazil who cannot afford fertiliser, and by a worker in Berlin who cannot afford heating.
Two straits are closed, one human family must now open its heart, and that opening must begin in the church, the mosque and the temple – before hunger and fuel become famine and darkness.
