Friday, July 01, 2005
Africa Needs Help, Why Now?
Over the coming holiday weekend a number of big pushes for African aid will come to a head. The special concert series is being coordinated worldwide to raise publicity. President George Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair have talked extensively about greatly increasing humanitarian aid. All of this comes with good reason. The African continent is filled with humanitarian crises. From the recurrent genocide in the Sudan to the abject poverty of the majority subsistence population the continent is in need of as much help as we can give it.
This comes as a bit of a puzzle, though, since the continent has been in revolving humanitarian crises for decades if not centuries. While many private groups have been working on these problems for a long time, Western leaders and governments have ignored it for the most part. There is no international threat from the African conflicts. The poverty and disease seem to be contained. The problem does not seem to affect western nations. Why have they turned their attention so suddenly?
The real question should be why has it taken so long? These crises have been around for a long time. Any intervention has always been almost half-hearted. These leaders have intervened in European crises, Asian crises, South American Crises, and Middle Eastern crises over this time. Did Africa have to wiat in line? Why did these governments, which are so eager to intervene elsewhere unwilling to intervene in Rwanda, Sudan, Liberia, Cote d'Ivoire, Uganda, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the list goes on and on and on. We could give aid to every country on the continent if the truth were to be told.
Several influences have made the West unconcerned with African issues. Africa has a history of disrespect through colonial powers. Some see Africa as a wast of time because of the predominate skin color. The attitude prevails that a place so rich in resources and so unable to use them must be too inferior to be worth our time. Missionary work has been in operation there for centuries by Christians, but the major religions remain Islam and African Traditional Religions. This lack of change turns people off. Africa has not been a home for any of the major world influences.
Africa, like South America, has tremendous potential that remains unrealized. With its proximity to the Middle East, Africa is a huge potential for Islamic terrorist recruiters. The pressure has been raised by the music series. These have made for the present attention. I hope it will not be short lived. Africa will only change for the better through innovation, investment, and international aid. As a free market conservative, I would prefer the latter to come about privately, but it is good to see some attention from Western leaders after all this time.
This comes as a bit of a puzzle, though, since the continent has been in revolving humanitarian crises for decades if not centuries. While many private groups have been working on these problems for a long time, Western leaders and governments have ignored it for the most part. There is no international threat from the African conflicts. The poverty and disease seem to be contained. The problem does not seem to affect western nations. Why have they turned their attention so suddenly?
The real question should be why has it taken so long? These crises have been around for a long time. Any intervention has always been almost half-hearted. These leaders have intervened in European crises, Asian crises, South American Crises, and Middle Eastern crises over this time. Did Africa have to wiat in line? Why did these governments, which are so eager to intervene elsewhere unwilling to intervene in Rwanda, Sudan, Liberia, Cote d'Ivoire, Uganda, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the list goes on and on and on. We could give aid to every country on the continent if the truth were to be told.
Several influences have made the West unconcerned with African issues. Africa has a history of disrespect through colonial powers. Some see Africa as a wast of time because of the predominate skin color. The attitude prevails that a place so rich in resources and so unable to use them must be too inferior to be worth our time. Missionary work has been in operation there for centuries by Christians, but the major religions remain Islam and African Traditional Religions. This lack of change turns people off. Africa has not been a home for any of the major world influences.
Africa, like South America, has tremendous potential that remains unrealized. With its proximity to the Middle East, Africa is a huge potential for Islamic terrorist recruiters. The pressure has been raised by the music series. These have made for the present attention. I hope it will not be short lived. Africa will only change for the better through innovation, investment, and international aid. As a free market conservative, I would prefer the latter to come about privately, but it is good to see some attention from Western leaders after all this time.
