Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Aid, Aid, And More Aid

How long has Africa been considered a "developing" continent?  How long will it remain as such?  This has been a question that I have asked for the last decade.  
In the last 50 years, Africa has received more than 1 TRILLION dollars in "aid" from Canada and the US alone.  And that figure doesn't include individual donations.  So far, I haven't seen much developing at all with such a substantial amount of money.  There are many reasons behind this that haven't seemed to get through to the heads of our governments :

  • This money is largely being given to the governments of African countries, they themselves trusted to use these funds to help their people.  Considering the long history of corruption in these governments, little, if any ever reaches the people that need it.
  • The money that reaches the people is used in the wrong way such as giving them food through organizations such as the Red Cross, instead of helping them become self-sustaining.  The age old adage comes into play in this case : Give a man a fish, he will eat for a day.  Teach a man to fish and he'll eat for life. 
  • Not enough money is being dedicated towards simple education to improve their own lives.
It's come to the point that I couldn't care less about African poverty.  They know how kids are created yet they continue to have them.  Perhaps teaching them about oral sex could prevent this? If they gave a damn about their kids, they would stop having more when they can't afford to feed the ones they have.  I will never willingly give any money to any African aid organization.  It's not my job to raise their kids.  It's not my job to increase their quality of life and it isn't my responsibility to pay for their education. 
One thing is a definite in my mind : Africa will never be a "developed" continent.  There is more civil war on that continent than all other continents combined.  The Sudan has been likely the longest running of these, having been in a near constant civil war for 26 years.  Money hasn't stopped it, and the UN (one of the most corrupt and useless bureaucratic bodies in the world) hasn't done a thing to stop it.
It's come to the point where all aid needs to be pulled, all foreign troops need to be withdrawn, and all eyes need to turn away from this continent.  Let Africa run it's course.  Money, diplomacy (hard enough in a prehistoric system that the majority of Africa uses for "government") and good will have done nothing.  If they are meant to destroy themselves like savage animals, then let it happen.  You wont see any tears from my eyes.
While we're at it, stop giving money to Haiti.  They have enough to rebuild better than before and will only turn it into a "ghetto" as before.  I've known quite a few people that have traveled to the Dominican Republic and have been warned not to cross into Haiti because they will kill you there.  If that's so, why would we help them?

Cheers,

Blake

2 comments:

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  2. I'd just like to say, although many of your points are valid, using hearsay to prove a point doesn't work in the case of Haiti. Just because a person tells you they have 5 heads and 18 arms doesn't mean they actually do. Maybe they have a hidden agenda in telling you such things... hmmm?

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