What does this sentence mean?
This is part of a news from 2014 and the woman is talking about Ebola in Somalia.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7XhJABdAiI

From 1:55, she said, "Yes, it`s scary. Yes, it`s terrifying. Of course, it`s terrifying. But what are you going to do? Women, men, children are dying, families are being devastated. And in any other conflict situation, people take that risk and they go in. Somali during the famine, you couldn`t move for the international community, and you get to Monrovia, and you just feel the sense of loneliness and isolation and the fact that people just aren`t on the ground."

What does "you couldn`t move for the international community" mean here? Does it mean they can't seek help from the international community?

And does the last line "people just aren`t on the ground" mean people would not go outside?

Thank you for help!

Question

What does this sentence mean?
This is part of a news from 2014 and the woman is talking about Ebola in Somalia.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7XhJABdAiI

From 1:55, she said, "Yes, it`s scary. Yes, it`s terrifying. Of course, it`s terrifying. But what are you going to do? Women, men, children are dying, families are being devastated. And in any other conflict situation, people take that risk and they go in. Somali during the famine, you couldn`t move for the international community, and you get to Monrovia, and you just feel the sense of loneliness and isolation and the fact that people just aren`t on the ground."

What does "you couldn`t move for the international community" mean here? Does it mean they can't seek help from the international community?

And does the last line "people just aren`t on the ground" mean people would not go outside?

Thank you for help!

Answer

@Fergus @Abigail Greene Thank you

Answer

This is an English idiom:

When we say "you can't move for [something]", it means there is really a lot of [something]. There is so much that it is difficult to move around! For example we might say "in central London you can't move for tourists"; this means there are so many tourists in central London that it is difficult to move.

In this context "Somali during the famine, you couldn't move for the international community" means that during the famine in Somalia there were many many international organisations present (the "international community"), but now in Monrovia, these organisations are not present.

Answer

I believe she's saying "you couldn't move *through* the international community," meaning international organizations weren't working together to solve the problem effectively, and help had to come from individuals instead.
As for "people on the ground," she means helpers (doctors, aid workers, etc) aren't actually in the area.

Answers · 3

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