Mobile Version
|
Register
|
Login
home
|
speak out!
|
content zone archives
|
"speak out!" archives
|
vote on it
|
soap opera
|
pub crawl
|
links
|
contact us
|
search
Follow us!
Speak Out! - Gaelic Games
Notices
"Speak Out!" Home
|
Topic Listing
|
Post New Topic
|
Post Reply
Yesterday's HOT topics
|
Today's HOT topics
| Jump to:
All Topics
First
1
2
3
4
5
Last
Select a page:
1
2
3
4
5
PageSize:
10
25
50
Page
1
of
5
Topic:
Africa is giving nothing to anyone __ apart from AIDS
Johnny Come Lately
(379 Posts)
Posted:
11-Jul-2008 10:59
Quote
Edit
Delete
Report Post
Post Reply
By Kevin Myers
Thursday July 10 2008
No. It will not do. Even as we see African states refusing to take action to restore something resembling civilisation in Zimbabwe, the begging bowl for Ethiopia is being passed around to us, yet again. It is nearly 25 years since Ethiopia`s (and Bob Geldof`s ) famous Feed The World campaign, and in that time Ethiopia`s population has grown from 33.5 million to 78 million today.
So why on earth should I do anything to encourage further catastrophic demographic growth in that country? Where is the logic? There is none. To be sure, there are two things saying that logic doesn`t count.
One is my conscience, and the other is the picture, yet again, of another wide-eyed child, yet again, gazing, yet again, at the camera, which yet again, captures the tragedy of . . .
Sorry. My conscience has toured this territory on foot and financially. Unlike most of you, I have been to Ethiopia. like most of you, I have stumped up the loot to charities to stop starvation there. The wide-eyed boy-child we saved, 20 years or so ago, is now a priapic, Kalashnikov-bearing hearty, siring children whenever the whim takes him.
There is, no doubt a good argument why we should prolong this predatory and dysfunctional economic, social and sexual system. but I do not know what it is. There is, on the other hand, every reason not to write a column like this.
It will win no friends, and will provoke the self-righteous wrath of, well, the self-righteous, letter-writing wrathful, a species which never fails to contaminate almost every debate in Irish life with its sneers and its moral superiority. It will also probably enrage some of the finest men in Irish life, like John O`Shea, of Goal. and the Finucane brothers, men whom I admire enormously. So be it.
But, please, please, you self-righteously wrathful, spare me mention of our own Famine, with this or that lazy analogy. There is no comparison. Within 20 years of the Famine, the Irish population was down by 30pc. Over the equivalent period, thanks to western food, the Mercedes 10-wheel truck and the Lockheed Hercules, Ethiopia`s has more than doubled.
Alas, that wretched country is not alone in its madness. Somewhere, over the rainbow, lies Somalia, another fine land of violent, Kalashnikov-toting, khat-chewing, girl-circumcising, permanently tumescent layabouts.
Indeed, we now have almost an entire continent of sexually
hyperactive indigents, with tens of millions of people who only survive because of help from the outside world.
This dependency has not stimulated political prudence or commonsense. Indeed, voodoo idiocy seems to be in the ascendant, with the next president of South Africa being a firm believer in the efficacy of a little tap water on the post-coital penis as a sure preventative against infection. Needless to say, poverty, hunger and societal meltdown have not prevented idiotic wars involving Tigre, Uganda, Congo, Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea etcetera.
Broad brush-strokes, to be sure. But broad brush-strokes are often the way that history paints its gaudier, if more decisive, chapters. Japan, China, Russia, Korea, Poland, Germany, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia in the 20th century have endured worse broad brush-strokes than almost any part of Africa.
They are now __ one way or another __ virtually all giving aid to or investing in Africa, whereas Africa, with its vast savannahs and its lush pastures, is giving almost nothing to anyone, apart from AIDS.
Meanwhile, Africa`s peoples are outstripping their resources, and causing catastrophic ecological degradation. By 2050, the population of Ethiopia will be 177 million: The equivalent of France, Germany and Benelux today, but located on the parched and increasingly protein-free wastelands of the Great Rift Valley.
So, how much sense does it make for us actively to increase the adult population of what is already a vastly over-populated, environmentally devastated and economically dependent country?
How much morality is there in saving an Ethiopian child from starvation today, for it to survive to a life of brutal circumcision, poverty, hunger, violence and sexual abuse, resulting in another half-dozen such wide-eyed children, with comparably jolly little lives ahead of them? Of course, it might make you feel better, which is a prime reason for so much charity. But that is not good enough.
For self-serving generosity has been one of the curses of Africa. It has sustained political systems which would otherwise have collapsed.
It prolonged the Eritrean-Ethiopian war by nearly a decade. It is inspiring Bill Gates` programme to rid the continent of malaria, when, in the almost complete absence of personal self-discipline, that disease is one of the most efficacious forms of population-control now operating.
If his programme is successful, tens of millions of children who would otherwise have died in infancy will survive to adulthood, he boasts. Oh good: then what?I know. Let them all come here. Yes, that`s an idea.
kmyers@independent.ie
sam
(8,946 Posts)
Posted:
11-Jul-2008 11:06
Quote
Edit
Delete
Report Post
Post Reply
Ohly mother of suffering jaysus.
ballygowan
(1,987 Posts)
Posted:
11-Jul-2008 11:07
Quote
Edit
Delete
Report Post
Post Reply
Thought provoking!
BLUE TOO
(471 Posts)
Posted:
11-Jul-2008 11:13
Quote
Edit
Delete
Report Post
Post Reply
He has very valid points on this.
It is the responsibility of a country to meet it`s own needs. It is the responsibility of the Western world to try help it get back on its feet. It is not the responsibility of the western world to continue to support it when it makes little effort itself.
It`s goiing to shock lot of people but i agree with most of what he says.
Joe's Toes
(1,091 Posts)
Posted:
11-Jul-2008 11:13
Quote
Edit
Delete
Report Post
Post Reply
Wow, how harsh and uncharitable and dispicable and yet, how abso-fcuking-lutely bang on nail on the head true this article is.
Its what everyone thinks but is afraid to say.
Ozzy
(1,867 Posts)
Posted:
11-Jul-2008 11:27
Quote
Edit
Delete
Report Post
Post Reply
It seems that his view is that it would be best to let African children starve to death, that`s one really horrible, mean spirited article, far worse than the one about `bstards` a few years ago.
I thought the idea of allowing the free market to take its course, even if it results in large numbers dying, had run its course some time ago.
googley eye
(464 Posts)
Posted:
11-Jul-2008 11:28
Quote
Edit
Delete
Report Post
Post Reply
Brilliant piece. Close to the bone and uber controversial but essentially every point he raises is entirely valid. Well done sir. I still don`t like you but well done.
KadePoki
(181 Posts)
Posted:
11-Jul-2008 11:28
Quote
Edit
Delete
Report Post
Post Reply
this man is the only journo with the balls to say it like it is.
100% agree
LimerickNomad
(Power User)
Posted:
11-Jul-2008 11:33
Quote
Edit
Delete
Report Post
Post Reply
Originally posted by Ozzy:
It seems that his view is that it would be best to let African children starve to death, that`s one really horrible, mean spirited article, far worse than the one about `bstards` a few years ago.
I thought the idea of allowing the free market to take its course, even if it results in large numbers dying, had run its course some time ago.
Wasn`t that the British attitude to Ireland back in the 1840s?
ballygowan
(1,987 Posts)
Posted:
11-Jul-2008 11:36
Quote
Edit
Delete
Report Post
Post Reply
Originally posted by Ozzy:
It seems that his view is that it would be best to let African children starve to death, that`s one really horrible, mean spirited article, far worse than the one about `bstards` a few years ago.
I thought the idea of allowing the free market to take its course, even if it results in large numbers dying, had run its course some time ago.
Have you ever studied history?? Communism doesn`t work!
Joe's Toes
(1,091 Posts)
Posted:
11-Jul-2008 11:38
Quote
Edit
Delete
Report Post
Post Reply
Originally posted by LimerickNomad:
Wasn`t that the British attitude to Ireland back in the 1840s?
Simplistic but essentially yes. Then mass immigration, then finally got the sh1t together. Wasnt that famine when we finally realised that nobody was going to help us but ourselves. It was painful, but it was ultimately a turning point for the better.
googley eye
(464 Posts)
Posted:
11-Jul-2008 11:44
Quote
Edit
Delete
Report Post
Post Reply
Comparisons to the Irish famine are hardly fair or right now are they?
We had one. These people consistently find themselves in the same situation time and time again. Theyre just really unlucky I suppose.
Ozzy
(1,867 Posts)
Posted:
11-Jul-2008 11:50
Quote
Edit
Delete
Report Post
Post Reply
Originally posted by LimerickNomad:
Wasn`t that the British attitude to Ireland back in the 1840s?
Broad brush strokes, as the prince Myers might say, but yes that was the attitude that saw over a million Irish die.
Welger AP630
(2,507 Posts)
Posted:
11-Jul-2008 11:53
Quote
Edit
Delete
Report Post
Post Reply
While we are on our honesty `tell it as it is` crusade, it is worth while mentioning that violence begets violence and that the UK (by extension us too ) was a net importer of violence into that continent for years.
When putting down the Mau Mau rebellion the Brits themselves were building concentration camps six years after the downfall of Hitler.
http://www.amazon.com/Imperial-Reckoning-Untold-Story-Britains/dp/0805076530
While this omission is glaring, I do agree with much of his central thesis about what they are now referring to as the `Third sector` (public, private, charity ) .
I think what goes on in Northern Kenya is emblematic of the problem. Basically the drought is cyclical up there and the reality is there is famine at least one of every five years up there. The people choose to live there and take their chances, if you were to take charity out of that equation, people would simply not live there.
I would like to hear some honesty from Sir Bob on this as he is really quite an intelligent person.I just wonder if the appeal is now too tied to brand Geldof.
suirboy
(776 Posts)
Posted:
11-Jul-2008 11:57
Quote
Edit
Delete
Report Post
Post Reply
The article is fairly harsh in some points but it`s hard to disagree with a lot of the overall sentiment. As always, it`s a lot of the innocent victims of these regimes that will suffer one way or the other.
Ozzy
(1,867 Posts)
Posted:
11-Jul-2008 11:58
Quote
Edit
Delete
Report Post
Post Reply
Originally posted by ballygowan:
Have you ever studied history?? Communism doesn`t work!
Never mentioned communism . I have a degree in history, I wonder if you ever studied politics. Ireland provides aid to Africa but thad does not make it a communist country. Nor is it a country that takes economic liberalism to such a ridiculous extreme that it would refuse to give food to starving people who can`t afford it, as Myers suggests. Hope this clarifies.
Donohill
(732 Posts)
Posted:
11-Jul-2008 12:06
Quote
Edit
Delete
Report Post
Post Reply
"It will win no friends, and will provoke the self-righteous wrath of, well, the self-righteous, letter-writing wrathful"
This is essentially why he wrote the article. Provoke a reaction, get people to buy the Sindo, more money for for Sir Anthony etc etc. Probably doesn`t even believe half the stuff he writes these days. The guy was good on the Times when he only had to provide the Diary once a week and his ideas could be thought out and well constructed. The frequency he`s having to produce articles for this rag doesn`t suit him or his style.
An Madra Rua
(283 Posts)
Posted:
11-Jul-2008 12:15
Quote
Edit
Delete
Report Post
Post Reply
Africa is fked
treaty_exile
(829 Posts)
Posted:
11-Jul-2008 12:19
Quote
Edit
Delete
Report Post
Post Reply
Originally posted by LimerickNomad:
Wasn`t that the British attitude to Ireland back in the 1840s?
No, since the profits from Potato exports were not distributed on what we would now recognise as a manufacturer-exporter basis.
callo32
(2 Posts)
Posted:
11-Jul-2008 12:21
Quote
Edit
Delete
Report Post
Post Reply
Makes good points all right, but I think he`s looking at it from the wrong point of view.
I would question how the overseas aid is given to such countries. Surely this day and age governments can see that dumping food etc. in times of crisis alone will not solve anything. Not good for teaching the childer morals eh?
In my opinion, governments such as Ireland and the UK etc. should be helping places like this to run their country, get it on their feet, and keep it that way. Democracy is a joke in these places, so I don`t see why it should cause such problems with independance etc. FORCE THEM.
Give a man a bit of rice, save him for a day.. assist in the organisation of production schemes for plantations and associated industrial economy, let them help themselves.
googley eye
(464 Posts)
Posted:
11-Jul-2008 12:23
Quote
Edit
Delete
Report Post
Post Reply
Originally posted by callo32:
Makes good points all right, but I think he`s looking at it from the wrong point of view.
I would question how the overseas aid is given to such countries. Surely this day and age governments can see that dumping food etc. in times of crisis alone will not solve anything. Not good for teaching the childer morals eh?
In my opinion, governments such as Ireland and the UK etc. should be helping places like this to run their country, get it on their feet, and keep it that way. Democracy is a joke in these places, so I don`t see why it should cause such problems with independance etc. FORCE THEM.
Give a man a bit of rice, save him for a day.. assist in the organisation of production schemes for plantations and associated industrial economy, let them help themselves.
That basically equates to the US` style of philosophical imperialism though.....
Pog Mahone
(9,387 Posts)
Posted:
11-Jul-2008 12:36
Quote
Edit
Delete
Report Post
Post Reply
This PWE can use all the fancy language he likes ‘My conscience has toured this territory on foot and financially’ so fcuking beautifully put, but the main gist of his article is ‘let these cretins die to fcuk and we will all be better off’, why stop there Kevin, why don’t we send our ‘Mercedes 10-wheel truck and the Lockheed Hercules’ in and nuke them to fcuk, get rid of them all, resolve Africa’s problems and our conscience once and for all.
I’m all for free speech, but when I read this sh1te and see the willing/grudging acceptance of the bile he produces, then I sometimes wonder. Thought provoking, he has valid points, brilliant piece, every point he raises is valid, well done Sir, balls to say it like it is, hard to disagree with the overall sentiment, it’s what everybody thinks but is afraid to say it – WELL IT ISN’T WHAT I FCUKING THINK.
When I see this sh1te, I feel really sorry for the thousands of Irish people who are short or long-tern volunteering in some of the most god forsaken places in the world, this kind of sh1te just makes their job so much more difficult.
Shame on Myers and those who support him!
McFlurry
(615 Posts)
Posted:
11-Jul-2008 12:38
Quote
Edit
Delete
Report Post
Post Reply
Excellent article, very thought provoking.
dubliner 2
(10,823 Posts)
Posted:
11-Jul-2008 12:46
Quote
Edit
Delete
Report Post
Post Reply
The fact that any of you give credence to this "man" is unbelieveable. Africa`s problems were wholly caused by the West and yes we`re responsible. The rape of the continent by the Imperial powers in the 19th Century has left them in the state they`re in and when those powers left they did nothing to help these countries towards self government. Myers is beneath contempt. A shock jock who has not had an original idea in his life.
SHANNONSIDER**
(8,499 Posts)
Posted:
11-Jul-2008 12:57
Quote
Edit
Delete
Report Post
Post Reply
I find Myers` stereotype that every bloke in Ethiopia is a bandolier wearing sex maniac a bit preposterous. His rather Malthusian prophesies of food shortages and spiralling population growth however would be a big concern for the west as well as Africa.
First
1
2
3
4
5
Last
Select a page:
1
2
3
4
5
Page
1
of
5
"Speak Out!" Home
|
Topic Listing
|
Post New Topic
|
Post Reply
‘We talk just like lions, but we sacrifice like lambs…’.
Whatever Happened to….
Anyone you know in your club?
Bin Tags Don't Make a County
‘Some a’ Dem’ Lads are only Dow-en for the Showers….’
Heavenly Hurling: How the Gods pass their time...
GAA Time and Real Time
Saint Patrick and the camogie princesses
Keats and Chapman at the Munster Final
Mass, the Mater, ‘The Dergvale’ and Mullingar…
More "Content Zone" Topics >>
More "Speak Out!" Topics >>