When I was at school, I recall watching recordings of news footage and documentaries on all sorts of global disasters. A particular favourite topic of my teacher was the recurrence of famine in East Africa, and every time we did a case study, someone would raise their hand and say, "But sir, it seems they have a famine there almost every other day. Why do people stay there?" I always thought this was a good question, but it provoked gales of fury from the decidedly lefty master and was never really answered to my satisfaction. However, I think now is a good time to be asking such a question, along with a couple of other pertinent ones.
Since 1950, East Africa, most particularly Ethiopia, but Somalia and Eritrea were also frequently affected, has suffered nine really big famines, in 1958, 1972-1973, 1984-1985, 1991-1992, 1998-2000, 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2011. Most of these were caused by drought and then exacerbated by local warlords taking advantage of the situation to have yet another bust up, but other aspects such as an exploding population and backward agricultural techniques contribute greatly to the problem, and it seems clear to me that here we have what may almost be termed an uninhabitable region, at least until some proper farming techniques are implemented, and the inhabitants stop fighting each other long enough for some infrastructure to take root. And yet none of these things happens because every time East Africa shows the world once again that it is incapable of looking after itself, the developed world pitches in with oceans of cash to fix it.
So far the aid budget for the latest crisis stands at $2,013,059,376 in tax money, or enough for about $15 for each of the 139,719,295 who call this congenial region home, with a further $612,729,918 pledged. Only about 28 million people are in need of emergency food though, so that brings the total up to $94 per person. $94! Anywhere else, you have to work for that kind of money. Since 2000, Ethiopia alone has received roughly $1.2bn per year in foreign aid, and this is discounting any charitable money. These figures beg the question of where on earth all of this money is going. Apparently not much goes towards putting seeds in the ground.
It is difficult indeed to see pictures of emaciated African children, and it is good to do one's bit, but it is becoming increasingly apparent that government aid is worse than useless, creating conditions in which people live from harvest to harvest rather than learning from the mistakes of any one of the previous famines and continuing to ignore the simple equation of hunger: Constant Sexual Activity + Desert + Tribal Warfare = Starvation.
So why are great chunks removed from our wages almost on an annual basis just to be thrown into the vast money-pit of Africa? It's not as if we don't have problems of our own. One might even feel good about it if it actually made any difference. I believe it is time to stop this farcical business of pointless "food assistance". By all means, give through a charity, but the government is not there to bail out the citizens of other countries who can't run their affairs properly. It is the primary function of government to look after its own - that's why we have one, and more to the point, why Ethiopia has one too. However, somewhat like the benefits-addicts which plague and disfigure British cities, what is there in it for East Africa to sort itself out when it can rely on such incredible sums from countries and continents that actually function? It is time for Africa to start standing on its own two feet.
With thanks to Guy Somerset for a couple of links.
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