Bassman62 Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 The thing people don't get with aid to africa is that giving aid to an overpopulated country will only make things worse. Look at what happened with Geldof and Live Aid in the 1980s. What money eventually filtered through (after the corrupt warlords and government officials had taken their share) was used to save lives so children who would otherwise have died grew up to have massive families of their own. The result 20 years on is that Ethiopia is even more overpopulated than it was then so the famine is even worse. Until African countries take steps to reduce their populations they don't deserve a penny of our help. And we'll be back at square one next year being pressured and emotionaly blackmailed by 'Comic Relief etc whilst Longcol asks you to prove that the funds were misappropriated even though millions are starving. In the recent 'Geldof Band Aid' documentry it stated that the haulage cartel prevented the aid being moved from the ports until they'd been paid a huge fee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longcol Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 And we'll be back at square one next year being pressured and emotionaly blackmailed by 'Comic Relief etc whilst Longcol asks you to prove that the funds were misappropriated even though millions are starving. Like you keep ignoring - the funds raised by comic relief would not have been sufficient to prevent everyone from starving. Much of the funding has gone to more long term infrastructure - clean water ect that makes life sustainable. Yes their is bound to be some "graft" skimmed off - but there seems to be a pretence that all the money raised by charities and sent by government is diverted into buying arms etc, which is quite clearly nonesense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2pac Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Like you keep ignoring - the funds raised by comic relief would not have been sufficient to prevent everyone from starving. Much of the funding has gone to more long term infrastructure - clean water ect that makes life sustainable. Yes their is bound to be some "graft" skimmed off - but there seems to be a pretence that all the money raised by charities and sent by government is diverted into buying arms etc, which is quite clearly nonesense. If the powers that be in these he'll holes know they will get aid money. they know they can spend what cash they have on guns. In this way aid money buys guns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassman62 Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Like you keep ignoring - the funds raised by comic relief would not have been sufficient to prevent everyone from starving. Much of the funding has gone to more long term infrastructure - clean water ect that makes life sustainable. Yes their is bound to be some "graft" skimmed off - but there seems to be a pretence that all the money raised by charities and sent by government is diverted into buying arms etc, which is quite clearly nonesense.Well the long term infrastructure bit doesn't seem to be working, the aid doesn't seem to be working so what will you come up with next, they spent it on shares in Brooklyn Bridge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longcol Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 If the powers that be in these he'll holes know they will get aid money. they know they can spend what cash they have on guns. In this way aid money buys guns. You talk as if the only income these states have is from aid - simply not true. Many Arab countries have supplied arms to Muslims in the Horn - much from the Saudi's is likely to be gratis. Warlords will still buy arms whether or not the country gets aid. It isn't a simple solution - there is no magic wand - one "Band Aid" would never stop famine in Africa. And back to the OP - the current famine is being caused by the worst ever drought in 25 years. Yes the countries in the Horn are largely basket cases but the choice at the moment is largely between saving lives and millions starving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longcol Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Well the long term infrastructure bit doesn't seem to be working, the aid doesn't seem to be working so what will you come up with next, they spent it on shares in Brooklyn Bridge. The World Bank would appear to disagree with you. http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTABOUTUS/IDA/0,,contentMDK:21275250~menuPK:3266877~pagePK:51236175~piPK:437394~theSitePK:73154,00.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andygardener Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 The mental islamists have decided they will behead aid workers afterall. http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/07/201172291538656428.html Al-Shabab says aid group ban remains in place Islamist rebel movement rejects UN's famine claims and does not allow certain support groups into drought-hit Somalia. Last Modified: 22 Jul 2011 09:53 Two weeks after al-Shabab said a ban on certain aid groups working in Somalia would be lifted, the Islamist rebel movement has announced that the ban remains in place, the AFP news agency has said. The group also rejected a United Nations declaration that parts of the country had been hit by the worst famine seen in the area for 20 years. Al Shabab, which controls parts of the affected region, accused the UN of exaggerating the severity of the drought and using it as propaganda. "Those earlier banned groups are not welcome to serve in our area of control," al-Shabab spokesperson Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage said in a broadcast on the Islamist Al Furqaan radio on Friday. "There is drought in Somalia but not famine - what is declared by the UN is 100 per cent false." "The declaration of famine is political and is a lie with hidden agendas," he added, saying only that there is "a shortage of rain". The UN's World Food Programme (WFP), one of the aid groups banned by al- Shabab, said on Friday that it would fly aid into the capital "within days". Somalia is the worst affected country in the drought-hit Horn of Africa region, where the UN says that more than 3.7 million people are at risk of starvation. Al Jazeera's Peter Greste, speaking from a refugee camp in Dolo Ado, Ethiopia, said he could neither confirm or deny al-Shabab's claims but that the refugees at the camps he had been to needed quicker services and more aid. "It's very difficult to confirm exactly what is going on in Somalia," he said. "[Refugees] are still arriving at a rate of about 1,500 a day [at Dadaab refugee camp, the largest in the world, in Kenya]. "There are 11,000 refugees [in Dolo Ado] alone who still have to be processed." Two weeks before Friday's announcement, Al Shabab said aid would be allowed in by all aid organisations. Rozanne Chorlton, UNICEF's co-ordinator in Somalia, told Al Jazeera on Wednesday that UNICEF has been allowed to deliver aid unhindered in al-Shabab-controlled areas over the past fortnight, but that "it may be more difficult for organisations that were not already in areas affected". Al-Shabab, which is aiming to overthrow the government and impose Sharia law, imposed a ban on the WFP in February 2010, saying that they had received complaints from local farmers that the WFP's food aid made it harder for them to sell their own products at a sustainable price. The rebel group said in 2010 that some food distributed by the WFP had already past its expiration date and caused illnesses among aid recipients. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mj.scuba Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 The mental islamists have decided they will behead aid workers afterall. http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/07/201172291538656428.html Al-Shabab says aid group ban remains in place Islamist rebel movement rejects UN's famine claims and does not allow certain support groups into drought-hit Somalia. Last Modified: 22 Jul 2011 09:53 Two weeks after al-Shabab said a ban on certain aid groups working in Somalia would be lifted, the Islamist rebel movement has announced that the ban remains in place, the AFP news agency has said. The group also rejected a United Nations declaration that parts of the country had been hit by the worst famine seen in the area for 20 years. An Islamist group that wants to impose Sharia Law on the whole of Somalia, which for its own ambitions of dictatorship would rather see their own people die....no real surprise there. As hard line Islamists, I'm sure they will also accept that natural disasters are punishments from God. I wonder if they are capable of self examination and questioning whether they have incurred God's wrath? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassman62 Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 - much from the Saudi's is likely to be gratis. Once again just your say so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassman62 Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 An Islamist group that wants to impose Sharia Law on the whole of Somalia, which for its own ambitions of dictatorship would rather see their own people die....no real surprise there. It would seem that some people on this forum are quite happy to prop up this regime, don't you find that a bit strange or suspect Hmmmm?. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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