The West responsability with the Third World

RE: The West responsability with the Third World

Ok guys, I’m from a Third World country so I guess I can comment a little better on this, but as long as I dont know enough about African and Asian situation, I’ll restrict my comments to Latin American situation.
Our problem isnt in fact lack of food or even, lack of money. Our problem is much about polital irresponsability, very stupid concentration of money and very huge international debt. Many countries in Latin America such as Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Chile, have great possibilities to become 1st World countries but the problems I’ve already mentioned dont let us go ahead in many important areas, such as education and general social matters. The best rich countries would do for us is to forgive our international debts. Brazil spend, each year, something like 50% of all the money it gets, in the debt payment. This lets very few money to be invested in our social and technological development. There are also the others 2 problems, but these are up to ourselvers to solve them.

Regards,
Junin

RE: The West responsability with the Third World

Hi,

“However, there are certain nations on this world which suffer at our hands. Iraq for example, the innocent people are dying because the West wants to see an end to Saddam and won’t commit to supplying proper aid until he is out.”

So, in your opinion, the future for the Iraqi people lies in the west’s hands? Do you not think that if the Iraqi people were that dissatisfied with their lot that they would rise up in their millions and oust Hussein theirselves? Isn’t it a case of the better the devil you know?

“In Angola the West supported the civil war financially for some time and many lives were lost.”

But is it only the west? The former Soviet Union supported many third world regimes, not with food aid and health care but with weapons

“Europe and the US both have large stocks of food readily available which goes to waste year after year when it could be used to feed people in Africa…”

What about people in the US and Europe? Do you know how much malnutrition there is in Europe and the US? In the UK each winter thousands of old people die because they can’t afford to eat and stay warm. And because of that they become debilitated through not eating properly while trying to keep warm or are admitted to hospital with hypothermia. Can we at least get our own house in order before trying to save the world?

“…but it doesn’t get there because various powers that be do not agree with certain African leaderships, and so the people continue to starve.”

Wombat has already mentioned Mugabe’s advocation of the murder of white farmers and the redistriburion of land. I’ve got no problem with the redistribution of the land but in many cases the farm buildings are destroyed, those who worked the land are beaten and/or murdered and the land lies derelict with crops dying. What is the point of that? And why should we have any sympathy for a country which is doing that to itself?

Regards,

kev35

RE: The West responsability with the Third World

I agree with some of what Wombat is saying, if a government is corrupt such as in Indonesia or Ethiopia and recieves aid but decides to spend it on weapons (Ethiopian Su-27s) then is the West to blame for their misery…no!
However, there are certain nations on this world which suffer at our hands. Iraq for example, the innocent people are dying because the West wants to see an end to Saddam and won’t commit to supplying proper aid until he is out.
In Angola the West supported the civil war financially for some time and many lives were lost.

Europe and the US both have large stocks of food readily available which goes to waste year after year when it could be used to feed people in Africa, but it doesn’t get there because various powers that be do not agree with certain African leaderships, and so the people continue to starve.

RE: The West responsability with the Third World

I don’t think we western nations should feel we are totally responsible for the woes of the poorer nations.

One has only to look at what is happening in Zimbabwe to see that the indigenous people there, with Mugabe at the helm, are very quickly destroying their economy bequeathed to them by Britain when Rhodesia became independent and changed its name. Other countries in Africa have done the same thing. Yes, they were colonised and yes, they were taken advantage of, but their economies, their industry and their infrastructure was, for the most part, left in place when they gained independence and wer effective in the way they supported the countries’ economies. Uganda, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Tanzania – probably a host of others I can’t think of. Once prosperous, now corrupt and ruinous.

Funny thing, too, that so many poor nations, which always have their hands out for help from other countries, have military juntas or despots running them, with much of their GNP being put towards military hardware.

I was apalled today to hear that Australia is providing Indonesia with $10 million to help them fight terrorism following the Bali bombing. Bloody hell!!! Indonesia is corrupt, inefficiently governed and no doubt will squander any assistance we provide. Megawati has asked our PM when we will stop deterring Aussie tourists from visiting Bali. She has some nerve!

No, I don’t think we should feel too guilty about the plight of many countries – it is self inflicted in too many cases.

Regards

Wombat

E,R,S & L.