'Half of Africa's population is under 16'

[irishcream]

?!?!?!? As quoted by Bob Geldof... Now, africa is a damned big place...so that's a whole lot of people, dying of one thing and another...basically, if that's the case...then the nation is going to be extinct in the next hundred years for sure... Some people say it's all their own fault, that they should use the contraceptives... But what's really going on? All this aid goes to africa, supposedly. Surely a few million must have made it's way over there in the last 20 years?! SO WHERE IS IT?! Is it really lining the fatcats pockets? Only a fortnight ago, i was reading about a president, in Tanzania, i think it was, who had blown so much money on some dumb boat... Any thoughts on this people? And what about this concert, is it really going to change the politicians' mind? How do you stop such powerful dictators? They are saying that 8 men in one room could change history... it's bugging me.

[Kaniaz]

I don't think we can really blame or expect the world leaders to change everything. They all do happen to lead the most powerful countries on the world, and they have alot of other things to worry about - such as, well, their own countries. Africa is in a really sorry state, and I would love as much as anyone else to see something done about it - now would be nice - but I'm not sure if just throwing money at it is going to fix that. They tried that before, I believe, and that didn't work. This time, the plan is basically not "raise money" but "indirectly raise money by convincing the world leaders to do it". You've got "Make Poverty History", bands and all these other little things going on to try and raise awareness, and while they look like a great plan on the outside, and sure in theory they're pretty good, the praticality is - yes, the world leaders already know about poverty. It's not like they haven't tried before to fix something. They're not stupid. But, rather, Africa isn't going to change overnight, over a year, or over the course of ten, twenty years. Money has gone to Africa and there are a couple pockets of healthy areas, but the problem is, the place is just so barren, the money is being spread out and making no use. A good analogy would be a bowl. One droplet of water could be, say, a million pounds. So drop it in. Seems pretty big, eh? Now spread it around the entire bowl and you've got nothing. You're going to need alot more money than that, I'm afraid. OK, so what? A million is peanuts for the world goverments, right? Well, no, actually, it isn't. That million could also of been spent on global warming, on AIDS, or any other crapload of extremely important tasks the world also has to be getting on with. We could all be boiling alive in thirty years. Half of England could be flooded. Russia might start a nuclear war. The world leaders would love as much as anybody else for everything to just be fixed, but no amount of awareness, band wearing or letters is going to just make things go "poof". It's very romantic and a nice dream that Africa could be changed by us, the public, telling the G8 summit guys to do something about it. But really, I don't think it's going to happen. I don't think any of us will be around to see Africa get much better than it really is. The gigantic mistakes that have been made there with money loaning, wars, droughts, and god knows what else, only multipled by our own faults, the birth rate of Africa and all these other complicating factors... Well, there's only so much you can do in the awareness department before you've just got to spend time on these things. Things will, eventually, get better, but it's going to be a long, long time before it does. At least, that's my opinon. I'm no politican.

[OpheliaBlue]

Yeah, lots of money to change the problems overnight won't cut it. It's got to be a lot of little stuff, done well, and consistently, over a long long period of time. Better education is a start. I wanted to join the peace corps (before I had my son). Anway, after he's grown up, and I get more teaching experience here, Iplan to give it a go.

[irishcream]

well, i agree that it's not going to change in our lifetime... i've been thinking something else...is there anyone still around that can remember where it went wrong? I mean, trying to look at it holistically, if you like...in order to treat the disease, you've got to treat the cause...so if we could just find out where the rot set in, track back. would that work? or am i being idealistic again? I realise nothing is going to change overnight, and i agree with that bit about world leaders having to worry about their own countries...England's not so hot either, it's overcrowded...

[Kaniaz]

The cause? Ourselves. We brought it upon them at the beginning - we colonized them, then left them, a few wrong moves...WHAPPO. They plummet. I often get the suspicion that the economy is in such a way that somebody has to be at the bottom of the pile... This time, it's Africa. Until the economy changes majorly again, space colonization or something radical, then I don't expect Africa will ever reach a decent level. It might get slightly better, but sadly, not as much as I'd want.

[Rakkantekimusouka]

Originally posted by OpheliaBlue Yeah, lots of money to change the problems overnight won't cut it. It's got to be a lot of little stuff, done well, and consistently, over a long long period of time. Better education is a start. I wanted to join the peace corps (before I had my son). Anway, after he's grown up, and I get more teaching experience here, Iplan to give it a go. It's such a shame all the shit that goes on there now...yeah, definitely not a "quick fix" there. OMG I'd LOVE to be in the peace corps! The thought crossed my mind, but now I may just give it a go when I have the chance.

[nightowl]

it gets me wondering what the state of Africa will be in say...50 years from now when im all old and stuff...will it be the same or something different.... ...will all this "awareness" actually help africa...