Humanitarian ? You're kidding right ?

Fidelis

"Ireland is to make a £8.49 million humanitarian and rehabilitation assistance package available to benefit 21 of the world's poorest and most crisis-ridden countries"

It's to pay tribute to all the emigrants over the years and to assist poor countries.

I'm sorry, but for a country with the fastest economy in the world and massive amounts of money floating around the place for millenium spikes that serve no purpose except to announce our position to the world as a country with money to burn, is just outrageous.

Some quick calculator work shows that each country will recieve .4m each. It's a disgrace, we should either give a country a nice big wad of cash to develop them or else leave them alone without having to expect recognition as an aide provider for giving them enough money to build a public toilet...

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Nil Desperandum

Clintons Cat

sadly that ammount of money wouldnt even pay a months interest off the debt incured by the average third world country.
Until there is wholesale restructuring of international finance institutions the poorest countries will continue to slip further behind the rest of the developed world.

DadaKopf

people like yoweri museveni are leading the way for african debt-ridden countries managing to get out of crisis.

Maybe there's one important issue which makes large donations or loans unpapatable to all richer countries of the world; a lot of the monies loaned is siphened off into people's pockets through corruption. As much as there is 'legislation' to stave this, it happens everywhere.

I agree that new institutions should be set up but since they're all political in nature, the money train just keeps on going.

I haven't a clue what the solution is, to he honest.

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"I collect spores, moulds and fungus."

Paladin

Who cares about them?

I do, but in saying that Im probably like most of you people here in that we will work for money for ourselves before any 3rd world country. Im just pointing out that mostly people are just full of talk. Its a small minority that actually do anything.

And yes, world governments and international debts (or the abolishment thereof) are the only things that can really help, since these countries arent educated enough to help themselves.

"Education will set us free"
-CantRememberButReadSomethingSimiliarItLastWeek

DadaKopf

world governments will lead to mass beurocracy and corruption and even to a greater threat of total globalisation.

it's a big gamble - was David Mitrany and his interdependence theory right? or is interdependence [EU, USA, world market, global village] a danger to people's liberty and ability to realise themselves to their full potential?

No one can deny that money is a very important tool in modern life but it's got to be channelled to the right people. That's why it's got to be carefully used and donated.

Corruption should be addressed before money loans (RE: Machiavelli, "The Discourses")

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"I collect spores, moulds and fungus."

Paladin

LOL

Perhaps I should rephrase that....
World governments = All the governments of the world, not one big government

bugler

Dada has a great point there,its one i raise whenever anyone mentions this topic to me.
there is no point canceling debts if the government in power is incapable/corrupt.
Look:
West: ok,u spent all the money we lent you over the last few decades on fabergé eggs and palaces and cars,but we are prepared to cancel your debts due to huge public opinion.now,would u like some more money? here you go,200 million dollars.
Third world government:"thanks.This will help get our country back on its feet*snigger* Im off to buy faberge eggs,and maybe some cars.Might use this to fund another border war.Or redecorate my palaces.either way,its all good.


[This message has been edited by bugler (edited 18-03-2001).]

DadaKopf

hehe, nicely put

Fidelis

Yea but the CIA actually does exist, it actually does serve a purpose, if the Yanks really wanted a fabegé egg totting African leader to dissapear, they'd make it happen.

They are 'friends' with Kuwait for one obvious reason and if Liberia or some **** hole in Africa had Uranium supplies or vast oil supplies, you can bet that the poxy Yanks would be their 'friends' aswell.

Unfortunately, countries do things not out of sympathy or good will, but from massive public opinion or in expectance of reimbersement.

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Nil Desperandum

bugler

Yeah but its not just the US we have to keep in mind here.Countries do donate cash to needy nations out of kindness/decency,and this gets hijacked along the way.I see Ireland is sending half a million quid to afghanistan.Lets hope that gets to who its meant for.

--Kaiser--

most of the money that gets sent to third world governments will be spent on so called 'defense' or, as bugler put it, 'faberge eggs and rolls royces'.

First the dictators should be ousted, replaced with someone fit to rule, then give em money

Excelsior

donating money like that, while it shouldn't really be knocked, because it is a good good thing, is a pathetic drop in the ocean.
7 million people will die of hunger this year.
that is the symptom of the greatest injustice, bar none, that humanity faces:
that of 3rd world debt.

the nations of the 3rd world that are so crippled by debt are no less capable of running their economies than we are. the problem is they don't own their economies. the wto and the IMF force them to grow cash crops as primary agri-industry rather than concerning themselves with the feeding of their population.
the pharmecutical corporations litigate if they produce spurious versions of their triple threat AIDS drugs. meanwhile, AIDS will kill 10.5 million people in South Africa alone by 2005.
the plans proposed by Jubilee 2000 are a solution to this. a solution that can't be offered by occaisional donations by the likes of our governments.

i don't think they will offer the debt renewal to the nations that will clearly abuse it. and it will be regulated by Jubilee themselves so that it won't end up in the coffers of a Swedish arms manufacturer.

off topic though and i apologise.
i think it is great we are giving some money away. but it won't be more than a drop in the ocean to the billions that are living in fear of literally dying of hunger in the year 2001.