Why Are they Doing Nothing About Zimbabwe

[padi56]

Things are getting really crazy. There was little anyone could do during the blitz on farms as there were quite a few supporters in Zimbabwe of this action, but the subsequent economic collapse and erosion of democracy and freedom have proved that some action should have been taken.

Now it seems that Mugabe is really looking to dominate his countrymen with an iron fist. For the past few weeks he has been demolishing thousands of homes across the country with devastating effect (as you can see below in just one part of Harare). He's called this "Operation Murambatsvina" which means "drive out rubbish", that's what he thinks of the hundreds of thousands of people he's thrown onto the street (most of them opposition supporters BTW).

The UN reckons that more than 3m in Zimbabwe will need food aid in the coming year, but this will probably rise even further because Mugabe has now decreed it illegal for these people to grow their own food.

For a country that used to provide so much for her own people and her neighbours, with so many farms, it's a crime that it has now been allowed to come to this.

There is strong opposition in Africa for former colonists like the UK and other European countries, as well as the US, to interfere with African politics, but how can they simply not do anything about this?

Sheer Madness.

Or is it because Bush, Blair and the rest of the west, don't have any interest in Zimbabwe and helping its people, because theres NO oil there or financial
gain.

[pandrew]

"They" as in the U.S. and England are a little busy right now.
How about we let the French deal with it, they seem to have the answers to all the worlds problems.

[Rockrolex]

There was a piece on CBS Sunday Morning today that dealt with Bob Geldof's Live 8 concerts coming up next weekend on the eve of the G8 summit to try to raise their consciousness about the hunger problem in Africa. We'll see how much good that does.

[padi56]

I think someone here, is going to be making a bit of profit, out of the Live8

So far theres been 8 concerts announced, no doubt with others to follow......

£1.50 to text for the chance to win a ticket....which is fair enough

But what is the £2 for, once you actually win them ? Postage and packing ? I can buy a stamp and an envelope for less than 30p

Look at it this way....

Even if 1 million people text for the chance to win at each concert --

thats £12 million raised through texts right away......
another £2 for the winners to get the tickets once they actually win....thats another couple million Pounds across all the concerts

So theres at least £14/£15 million profit right away, before the concerts even begin....theres been no mention where all this cash is going or has went.....

Call me a cynical old git,and while im on a roll..

..

Why the f**k is Geldof and CO not donating some of their millions, instead of constantly bitching about people not doing enough ?

Yeah good on ya Bob.....sit in your multi million Pound mansion and bitch about people starving and living in poverty ..........Go on tv and bitch about it, travelling there and back in your huge fancy car...........and come up with a brain storming idea of Live Aid all over again, but this time charge people £1.50 to text to even have a chance to win a ticket, then charge the winners a further £2 to get the tickets..... makes me really wanna go out and donate.....

Dont get me wrong, Im all for giving to charity ....but this sucks big time..



what happened to the aid and food generated by Live Aid the original ????????

Well it was split up and sold in 8 countries.........oh yeah and not one of those 8 countries, was any of the countries the aid was destined for.

QUOTE
Coinciding with the G8 Summit (summit held annually between 8 countries to decide and discuss economic and foreign policies) being held early July in Scotland, the show will be called Live 8, take place in over six countries and be broadcast simultaneously world wide.

To most the original concert was a resounding success, though much debate was raised in the years following, as to how much of the donated 30 million pounds actually reached its target destination.

The ruling Marxist dictator at that time Mengistu Haile Marium, who contributed to much of the poverty and famine whilst still in power of Ethiopia. Sent armies to divert and steal, vast quantities of aid supplies to feed his troops. Even the huge influx of foreigners, at the time were forced to convert their currency, at a rate that was highly favourable to the government, the result being more money for more weapons.

The only people who are gonna gain anything are the government officials, who spend £3 million in Aid money given to them on their election campaign to get re-elected.......yeah this happened - Ethiopia... £3 million taken from the health budget to fund the African government re-election campaign

Lets all hold a concert for the third world countries.........lets line the pockets of corrupt governments and government officials....In 10 years lets fecking do it all over again, because we didnt learn, when all the aid given goes missing, and the starving people who need it most. Are ummm still starving and still dying, and still living in desperate poverty because their governments, have syphoned off all the aid and money given to them. .........

Hell yeah

Great idea BOB !

and lets not forget the studies.

QUOTE
One problem with food aid is that the dumping of free food in Third World countries depresses prices for local farmers, therefore resulting in less domestic production. According to George Dunlop, chief of staff of the Senate Agricultural Committee, millions of Indians may have died of starvation because American wheat dumped in India bankrupted thousands of Indian farmers. Thousands of Guatemalan farmers were likewise hurt when food aid poured into the country after the 1976 earthquake. For these unfortunate farmers, "the price of domestic crops dropped at a time when farmers desperately needed cash to improve and repair their homes...." In Bangladesh, the upper and middle classes receive free food from foreign aid programs, thus impoverishing local farmers with artificially low prices.

QUOTE
A second major problem with food aid is that it encourages the recipient nations to adopt policies that discourage production. With food aid to "cover-up" the most grievous results of their actions, Third World governments can pursue such counter-productive policies as forced collectivization and price controls on farm products. For example, Tanzanian President Nyerere was able to collectivize farms and engage in massive relocations of peasants because food aid "hid" the consequences of such actions. In many cases, such as in Bangladesh, food aid leads to the neglect of agricultural production because of the belief that other nations will provide sufficient amounts of free food:


Bangladesh officials are convinced that the
international donors will not allow them to starve.
Since it is easier to order a shipment of food through
the embassys of the world than to spend time and money
on a domestic procurement program, a definite
complacency has settled over the bureaucracy. The
technocrats who dominate the powerful ministries of
finance, planning and food are resigned to continued
reliance on American, Canadian, and Australian surpluses
of food grains. One symptom of the relief mentality
is a reluctance to invest too much of the country's
limited resources away from the more glamorous
industrial sector and into low profile agricultural
projects.



Everyone is well aware, that the countries suffering most right now, are run by tyrants and governments. Who are the perfect definition of the word CORRUPT, and every one knows that any Aid, those countries get, will be syphoned off by government officials, in those corrupt governments. Well before the Aid gets to the people who really need it, and 10 years down the line they're going to be just as poor

SO what the is the point of holding all these concerts, bitching about the people dying of starvation....

Most aint gonna see a single solitary Pound, or grain of rice generated by these concerts and the DVD sales.

But it might.

Fund arms, weapons, corrupt governments, and in the same stroke, depress the only thing that the poor have, (farming).....Kill any hope of making any economic growth, in any third world countries, kill any economic prospect for any sort of farming industry. so that the third world countries can grow and sustain their own needs......

Well the only good thing about this, is the writting off the 3rd world debt
Well the banks goverments never had any hope of it being repaid anyway

Yeah BOB ! Great going..

[Uncle-AJ]

Now if only Zimbabwe was a major oil producer, I'm sure the west would have been in their and sorted things out by now.

I agree with you about Gelduff. What a wanker that man is and his group was crap. Who made him the world's conscience?

[dman]

Great points Adrian, very spot on mate!!

[Rockrolex]

Your point being, Padi? LMAO!!

[padi56]

Originally Posted by Uncle-AJ

Now if only Zimbabwe was a major oil producer, I'm sure the west would have been in their and sorted things out by now.

I agree with you about Gelduff. What a wanker that man is and his group was crap. Who made him the world's conscience?

Yes Adrian agree with you,as I said in my posts all these so called celebrities
are the same