As Shakira said four years ago "People are raising their expectations go on and feed them this is your moment no hesitation" The whole continent was bustling with World Cup fever and expectations were indeed raised, but what happened to Africa? Well the short answer is nothing much. It is still full of expectation and potential which is yet to be realised. Of course there has been innovation, there have been success stories but not enough for this blogger's liking. The global south as a whole do need our help and I feel that we owe it to them. Not because we are superior in any way, shape or form, but rather to the contrary. Our efforts to modernise and westernise these 'backwards natives' has completely failed. We need to fix it.
To do this, I think we need to do two things, stop chucking money at them, and stop telling them that our way is the right way, because it really isn't. Clearly our way hasn't been working and our financial situation is still in a mess despite what the mainstream media have to say about it (have a look at http://rt.com/shows/keiser-report/175580-episode-max-keiser-632/).
We need to realise that money, or at least the money which is being spent now, is completely misused. Intentionally or unintentionally. The average guy in the village ends up losing out. The wealthy and fairly well educated guy in the city ends up winning. That is the harsh reality in many countries and is just plain wrong. 40 years ago E.F. Schumacher said much the same thing. We as the West go to less 'developed' countries and focus all of our energy on the more wealthy parts of a country, the ones which are easier to develop. We provide them with high precision, high maintenance and highly complicated tools. The factory owners who already had the land prosper, the few who are qualified enough to work at the factory prosper (in many cases foreign workers are imported)...and the average person on the farm; well, they 'didn't want to' take our help. The average man is left to work his farm with a limited market. He cannot match the lower prices, output or uniformity which the factory provides and what is demanded by the foreign market which he must now compete in. He is essentially jobless. In the worst, but not uncommon scenario he will join a militia group promising food for his family and an end to the white man taking what is rightfully his, a happy and peaceful life. The man could also move to the city with his family, where he is faced with the problem of a lack of housing and lack of jobs. Again, devoid of a happy life.
Imagine if this money had been spent differently and invested in educating the man rather than ruining his livelihood which his ancestors had most probably enjoyed for centuries before him. This is why I'm calling for an increase in intermediate technology. Where the machinery is simple enough for the man to be taught how to use it. Where the output would be affordable for the local community and contribute to its flourishing rather than its demise. Where jobs are created instead of lost and where people do not have to take a blind trip into the unknown by moving to a city. Another idea that springs to mind is the Barefoot College (http://www.barefootcollege.org/). An initiative which is simple, easy to transfer and costs next to nothing. It offers a basic education in what the people in the towns and cities need to know. It allows for them to develop by themselves, independent of continual cash injections from foreign aid. No matter what the lads say, bigger is not always better. This is just one example of a decentralised approach to aid and development which treats the people as if they actually mattered in a way which they can understand.
That's my rambling done and if you made it this far I thank you for reading. Please feel free to comment and share your opinions.
To do this, I think we need to do two things, stop chucking money at them, and stop telling them that our way is the right way, because it really isn't. Clearly our way hasn't been working and our financial situation is still in a mess despite what the mainstream media have to say about it (have a look at http://rt.com/shows/keiser-report/175580-episode-max-keiser-632/).
We need to realise that money, or at least the money which is being spent now, is completely misused. Intentionally or unintentionally. The average guy in the village ends up losing out. The wealthy and fairly well educated guy in the city ends up winning. That is the harsh reality in many countries and is just plain wrong. 40 years ago E.F. Schumacher said much the same thing. We as the West go to less 'developed' countries and focus all of our energy on the more wealthy parts of a country, the ones which are easier to develop. We provide them with high precision, high maintenance and highly complicated tools. The factory owners who already had the land prosper, the few who are qualified enough to work at the factory prosper (in many cases foreign workers are imported)...and the average person on the farm; well, they 'didn't want to' take our help. The average man is left to work his farm with a limited market. He cannot match the lower prices, output or uniformity which the factory provides and what is demanded by the foreign market which he must now compete in. He is essentially jobless. In the worst, but not uncommon scenario he will join a militia group promising food for his family and an end to the white man taking what is rightfully his, a happy and peaceful life. The man could also move to the city with his family, where he is faced with the problem of a lack of housing and lack of jobs. Again, devoid of a happy life.
Imagine if this money had been spent differently and invested in educating the man rather than ruining his livelihood which his ancestors had most probably enjoyed for centuries before him. This is why I'm calling for an increase in intermediate technology. Where the machinery is simple enough for the man to be taught how to use it. Where the output would be affordable for the local community and contribute to its flourishing rather than its demise. Where jobs are created instead of lost and where people do not have to take a blind trip into the unknown by moving to a city. Another idea that springs to mind is the Barefoot College (http://www.barefootcollege.org/). An initiative which is simple, easy to transfer and costs next to nothing. It offers a basic education in what the people in the towns and cities need to know. It allows for them to develop by themselves, independent of continual cash injections from foreign aid. No matter what the lads say, bigger is not always better. This is just one example of a decentralised approach to aid and development which treats the people as if they actually mattered in a way which they can understand.
That's my rambling done and if you made it this far I thank you for reading. Please feel free to comment and share your opinions.
