International Development: UN to send food aid to Miskito Indians

Reuters reports that the United Nations is to send emergency food aid to thousands of Miskito Indians threatened with famine in a remote corner of Nicaragua after a plague of rats plundered their crops.

The UN will send 130 tons of food to 14 Indians near the Coco River who face food shortages because of the rodents.

The rat population has boomed as people hunt more snakes, the rats natural predator, for food and skins.

If you are interested in the Miskito Indians, www.aliciapatterson.org has a fascinating article on their history and involvement in 1980s political drama.