by Domnall Óg
Home >> Make Poverty History
Feeding the poor is neither religious nor ideological. It’s human.
The gap between the rich and the poor on our planet is greater than ever. Malnutrition, wars, debts and badly administered aid are common features of many, many people’s ordinary lives.
There are no laws of physics or chemistry that make this inevitable. It is all man-made. Big and powerful countries make the rules that govern trade. Not surprisingly, these rules are unfairly favourable to the rich countries.
These rules oblige poor countries to open up their markets to imports and businesses, and sell off public services like electricity – even when this isn’t in their interest. Poor countries can’t support their farmers with subsidies. Rich ones can. Is that fair?
Why don’t we change these rules? We can afford it.
Many Third World countries spend more money paying off their debts to the rich countries than helping their own people. They pay more to us than to their own starving poor.
Why don’t we cancel the debt? We can afford it.
Eight million lives could be saved every year if minimal healthcare was available in developing countries. One woman dies every minute as a result of problems in pregnancy or childbirth. Of these, 99% are in developing countries. A child dies every 15 seconds from water-related diseases.
Let’s give more aid. We can afford it.
On July 2nd 2005, the G8 [the most powerful men on the planet] are meeting in Edinburgh in Scotland. The United Kindgom government also begins its presidency of the European Union. We can’t afford not to make history and make poverty a thing of the past.
Eight men in one room to stop 30,000 children dying every single day of extreme poverty. If they were American children or European children, the solution would be found before those men even took off their coats.
I just thought you should know. If you’d like some more information, try the following websites:
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Posted on http://www.weeklyletter.com at 2005-07-01 02:00:00 +0200
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Does anyone participate in an ONG? If so, could you give us the name and some explanation about your activities?
Thanks in advance,
Almudena
I am afraid in the G8 meeting the poverty problem unfortunately doesn’t matter, because if certainly had mattered, the hungry in the world wouldn’t exist.
The other day I listened in the radio that the more powerful countries in the world will cancel the debt of the Third World. I hope this will be the beginning.
I think if the big countries help to construct and develop to the small countries the poverty will disappear. But, it’s easier gives spare money. Why?, Have the big countries fear to the development of small ones?
Countries don’t have loyalties or ethics. They have interests. The trick is to make them see that helping the poor is in their interests. That’s why demonstrating and writing letters to members of parliament and the press are important strategies that anyone can use. If we make Third World poverty as important as unemployment and “the fight against terrorism”, then our governments will listen. If not, we’ll vote them out.
I think it’s a great article. Thank you Donal for sharing it with us.
I believe we make a mistake when we try to clean our consciousness throwing our guilty away. The governements are not guilty. We are the guilty for let them doing so. Why don’t all people in the 1st world go to the biggest demonstration heve never seen before in order to show the G8 that if they don’t care about it, we don’t want them?. That we are not going to permit one more child dead for not having the water we waste, the food, the medicines,...Don’t you think if people show in that way, governments probably would change their minds? Of course not by ethical reasons but for mantain the power.
Of course, we can afford it, but nobody really wants to help them, because if G8 or another G … had wanted to help them they had done it before. I think there are lot of interest created, but not now, a lot of years ago. They can cancel the debit but I think that G8 always will ask something at change the one way or another, and for that It´s no solution. G8 must cancel and forget all about the debit. I feel very bad for that and I think that I can´t do anything for this situation, and the only thing that I can say is that I´m happy to live where I live.
But OF COURSE you can do things!!!! You can write to the newspapers, or your member of parliament, to your local church groups. Organise petitions, demonstrations and publicity stunts to raise people’s awareness.
Where there is hope, there is life.
Hello,
I see two separate ways to end with third world poverty:
1.- Help them is as many ways as we can as a country but also as individuals.
2.- Developed countries should stop this consumer craze that is running in our veins and that is destroying Eath resources and third work countrie’s resources also: wood, petroleum, etc.
Let’s just play fair with them and help them without asking for anything in return.
Regards
Cristina
Excellent Cristina! You are absolutely right!
Yes, Cristina! You are absolutely right!!
A topic that has not really been mentioned in this forum is CORRUPTION. Coming from a Third World country myself, I very well know what it is like to live in a society in which most people are extremely poor and a small number of people, disgustingly rich. There is practically no middle class in the Philippines. Since the days (or shall I say years?) of President Marcos, the political leaders and their cronies embezzle millions of dollars that should belong to the people. Whatever the G8 decide, little is to be done in countries led by the corrupt, in countries in which the voting system is blatantly fraudulent, in countries in which most voters are simply too uneducated to see the future in the long run. If you look in the Internet, you will see that right now there is a political crisis in my country. President Arroyo is blamed for not having won the last elections cleanly, her husband and other relatives have left the country accused of corruption, and our political and religious leader, Cardinal Sin, passed away some weeks ago. The country is in the eye of a Pacific hurricane.
I colaborate with Intermon, you could apadrinate childrens but your money isn`t only for the child .The money will destinity for community.
Hello,
I agree with most of the comments you have done. It’s important for the world that G8 cancel the debt to the poorest countries but if there are not good and honest leaders that take care of their country’s people, the result is that the “rich� people of those countries increase their richness.
Besides that, we can’t just turn round and forget the problem. If we do nothing, we are allowing things to continue the same way. It’s difficult to solve this kind of problems but we have to do something.
Bye.
The theme that Donal presents in this moment, is a very hard reality. People are conscient since 70´s that the developped societies was using the natural resources of an irresponsable way , whithout taking account that the Earth is a limited planet, and that the resources are limited , and many of them – petrol, gaz, minerals- are not renewable. The tecnological development of the first world, needs more and more resources in order to obtain a mistaken social belfare, and the results of this need of goods is the dessertization, the global heating, the dissapear of glaciars and one very big contamination of the environement ( air, water)and the generation of residues of any kind.
The gouvernments take account this situation and organized different international meetings called with very resonant name CUMBRES. In 1992 in Rio the Janeiro was place one of the the most important cumbre ” La Cumbre of the Earth”” where the presidents of 178 countries signed the accord to act under the concept of “Sustenaible developpement”.
Ten years after, (Rio + 10) none had been better, the poor people was more poor and the environmental was worse than before.
In this momment i don´t believe in politics or in philosophycal concepts comming from the cumbres for helping people thah lived in abject poverty. I only believe in people that show results, people that have let all and works in poor countries. People that belongs to ONG´s or religious man or woman. So I contribute with them sending money that they use for improuve the situation