Economist Blames Aid for Africa Famine
"Prevention doesn't sell that much," said Stefanie Savariaud, spokeswoman for the U.N. World Food Program in Niger's capital, Niamey.
"The world has to wait for images of dying children to react. The question is, how to mobilize the international community when it's still preventable?" (italics mine.)
I'm glad that there are still articles like this in a mainstream website such as
Yahoo. While I do not begrudge those people who are helping Africa, I'm afraid that the decade upon decade of donations and charities will not help the continent in the long run. At the very least, this reduces the continent's very real problems as a novelty (the article briefly states that the tsunami disaster in Asia "eclipsed" the efforts going on in Africa), at the worst is that this might create a dependency relationship between Africa and its European givers, and dependency can have a seriously crippling effect which may be irreversible if allowed to go on in such a long period of time.
The fact that those who swear to fight poverty are the nations who are considered first world countries. Most of the organizations helping poor nations are based on Western countries. I have yet to see an international organization founded by Africans for Africans, to fight poverty and to fight debt. I have yet to see a commercial with an African man speaking in his own language and exhorting his fellow countrymen to stand up and join in a unified effort to fight their own battle. I have yet to see an international organization portray strong, fit Africans, who are willing to work with them together, and not as recipients of help, or beggars of the almighty dollar.
It then, very logically, begs the question -- who defines poverty in this case? Who defines disempowerment? The vision of starved African children flash in our minds (if not giraffes and lions) at the first mention of the country, and that imagery by itself is very disempowering -- to be seen in such a way by the international community, the same way many Americans think of nipa huts and terrorists when they think of the Philippines. For us to continue seeing such a great country as such is an insult, and a display of ignorance. By trying to appeal to our sense of pity, we undermine the potentials and the realities Africans are facing. By continuing down this path, this path of dole-out (translation: giving away) strategies in an effort to help poor countries, we undermine their strengths. Poor countries--including our own Philippines--become an entity to be taken care of, instead of partners in their own development. This is not the worst thing that can happen--the worst thing that can happen, and I believe is happening, is that poor countries will actually start believing that without the money and the resources being given to them, there is nowhere else to go. Sometimes doing something is not enough. We have to think about what we're doing.
Isn't the mere fact that organizations and campaigns like the
One campaign are still struggling with the same problems as they did more than twenty years ago (despite setting goals to defeat poverty at this time) a clear signal that it is time, time to address issues and problems in a different manner?
Perhaps asking an African man or woman their own definition of poverty is a good start.
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ETA: Hey guys, a bit quiet yonder here, and I've noticed that my dA journal has become a socio-political commentary of sorts.
I'm really sorry I can't comment/comment back to everyone, but I really don't have much time in my hands. I will set out to do it as soon as possible, though.
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Secret Society!
and some really talented people~
oh, wow
Astonished
Whee! If you guys have a 
I mainly focus on fandoms and such, and I also take requests!
I'm just astounded that people would even visit such a cobweb-filled dA as this one. 
Oh well. Happy birthday, much-ignored dA page! 
