What Should America do for Africa?

[Truth Hunter]

Africa is a huge continent, made up of over 50 nations, some wealthy, some not so well off. As I understand it, everyone involved sees the problems regarding corrupt governments and have taken steps to either give direct relief to the people or attach strings to the money in order to force reforms. Also, China is only one in a long list of countries that have supported corrupt governments to exploit post-colonial Africa for its natural resources, England and France probably being the worst. The US does most of its exploiting in Central and South America.

 

[Nineveh]

TH,
Since everyone sees what's going on and we see there isn't any progress, why continue down the same path?

 

[Truth Hunter]

What choice do you have but to fight the fires and push for reform. People are acting because the magnitude of the problem is so huge. Bush is no liberal, and he doesen't seem to bend too much to public opinion, if he signed up to forgive debt and increase aid you know it has to be really bad over there. What do you suggest should be done?

 

[Nineveh]

Something different.

Forgiving a debt might help a tyrant in the short term, but they aquired the debt for a reason. Has that reason been addressed yet?

 

[HisLight]

I would like to see the government stay out of this battle. Everytime we give money away we put so many strings on it that we look like bullies. Then the money gets bogged down and never reaches the intended parties.

What is wrong with funding relief through charitable organizations? They use the money more effectively than our government and it makes the money apolitical.

 

[Holly]

3. Once agriculture capable of feeding the population is developed, then it's time to worry about developing vaccines, cures, etc. The people are no longer being cured so that they starve to death.

Crow, I can hardly believe that a statement like this is coming from you, of all people. I can recall the eloquence with which you recently debated Freak, and how adamant you were in defending the efforts to save any unborn child that could be saved to the extent our current medical technology and resources permit. Now you seem to say that there is no point in vaccinating or treating curable diseases in people who are just going to starve anyway. I don't know why you think innocent African children should be sacrificed for your political agenda, when they could be fed and medicated with chump change from the wealthy of the world. Are you truly pro-life, or just anti-abortion?

Throwing money, bags of Purena Famine Chow, and bottles of vaccine at the Africa's problems will not solve them.

When I read you mocking the famine aid as "Purena Famine Chow", it sounds very dehumanizing and as if you are equating the people of Africa with animals.

Most likely it will contribute to the cycle of destruction that bad government has spawned.

You conveniently overlook the disastrous consequences of centuries of European colonialism, droughts, and other factors such as the role of Western governments in propping up some of the worst of the dictators as a Cold War strategy. You make it sound as if the people of Africa have been making bad choices in freely electing jerks. I'm sure that you realize that the millions of children who are dying of preventable causes each year had no choice in any of this.