As the billions in unspent aid money donated generously by the West for the tsunami victims is slowly being frittered away through corruption and mismanagement, it's time once again for another massive redistribution of wealth to placate the world's salivating socialists.
Leading this crusade is none other than Sir Bob Geldof who is organizing a series of simutaneous free concerts and a protest to be held in Edinburgh at the G8 Gleneagles 2005 conference to draw attention to poverty in Africa.
Pathological optimist or political poseur. I'll let you be the judge. But judging from the following statement on the Live 8 website, I'm inclined to say the latter.
Leading this crusade is none other than Sir Bob Geldof who is organizing a series of simutaneous free concerts and a protest to be held in Edinburgh at the G8 Gleneagles 2005 conference to draw attention to poverty in Africa.
Pathological optimist or political poseur. I'll let you be the judge. But judging from the following statement on the Live 8 website, I'm inclined to say the latter.
"The G8 leaders have it within their power to alter history. They will only have the will to do so if tens of thousands of people show them that enough is enough."
One would think that if Sir Bob Geldof was really serious about leading a bipartisan effort this time to combat poverty in Africa that he might reconsider trying to organize an implied confrontational approach against the G8 leaders and refrain from using this tiresome and unproductive "us versus them" dichotomy. Why use it? Because, ironically it is precisely this dichotomy rather than Africa's woes that act to invigorate the left.
Don't expect to see any protesters with their placards in Edinburgh denouncing Marxist thugs like Mugabe, who's racist polices have driven Zimbabwe from being the breadbasket of Africa to the dustbowl or the sex crazed kleptocrats like the King of Swaziland who continues to deplete the small nation's treasury with luxury items for his 10 wives while his nation ravaged by poverty continues to struggle. Instead, we can most likely expect to see a plethora of anarchists and unemployed "human shields" blindly intent on blaming the G8 for Africa and world's woes and denouncing the warmongers Bush and Blair for their atrocities in Guantanamo and Iraq.
Don't expect to see any protesters with their placards in Edinburgh denouncing Marxist thugs like Mugabe, who's racist polices have driven Zimbabwe from being the breadbasket of Africa to the dustbowl or the sex crazed kleptocrats like the King of Swaziland who continues to deplete the small nation's treasury with luxury items for his 10 wives while his nation ravaged by poverty continues to struggle. Instead, we can most likely expect to see a plethora of anarchists and unemployed "human shields" blindly intent on blaming the G8 for Africa and world's woes and denouncing the warmongers Bush and Blair for their atrocities in Guantanamo and Iraq.
By engaging the fanatics of the extreme left and loons like Joe Trippi this time, Sir Bob Geldof is taking a big gamble. The prospects of riots or unlawfulness breaking out reminiscent of Seattle in 1999 will basically spell out Sir Bob Geldof's final swan song and deflect any attention from the crisis in Africa.
I'd be lying if I said that there was not a small part of me that sincerely wanted to believe in the professed altruism of individuals such as Sir Bob Geldof. He has dedicated a good portion of his life on trying to solve the woes of Africa and for the life of me, I can't understand why he seems to either ignore or simply brush aside the fact that ultimately only Africa can help Africa.
Like anyone else I am moved by the images of starving African babies with their protuding stomachs but I believe it is high time that individuals such as Bono and Sir Bob Geldof stop exploiting these horrors and come to the realization that pouring more aid into Africa only keeps Africa perpetually attached to the addictive teat of Western aid and is not a viable solution.
Simon with Simon World has an open thread on how exactly Africa might learn from Asia here.
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Like anyone else I am moved by the images of starving African babies with their protuding stomachs but I believe it is high time that individuals such as Bono and Sir Bob Geldof stop exploiting these horrors and come to the realization that pouring more aid into Africa only keeps Africa perpetually attached to the addictive teat of Western aid and is not a viable solution.
Perhaps it is time that Africa take a cue from Asia and learn to accept responsibility for their own fate.
Simon with Simon World has an open thread on how exactly Africa might learn from Asia here.
Kim Du Toit is also fellow blogger who has spent 30 years living in Africa and written a sobering assessment of the aid situation in Africa entitled "Let Africa Sink". I would urge you to read it.
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