Kenyan Crisis

[GeorgiaCoyote]

Well I just got out of church and I was reminded of the ongoing Crisis in Kenya. There was media coverage for it earler but now you don't hear much about it. So much violence over a dang election. There's a community there that my church has been supporting. As of now world aid has not yet reached this village. All they have gotten so far are contributions from my church and others within the North Georgia United Methodist Conference. I hope and pray that more aid reaches them soon. Those that have survived the violence are gonna have to rebuild since their homes were burned to the ground. Picking up the pieces after such tragedy shouldn't be that foreign to us Americans. Remember the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and how it seemed to most survivors that they were refugees in thier own country. That's exactly what it's like over there right now. I got a little deep with this and I apologize but I just felt folks needed to be reminded is all. Take care everyone.

[rabid_fox]

I remember years and years ago when Ethiopia and Somalia hit the world media.

Actually, I was in primary school then and I remember us being told to bring in money to "feed the black babies" (Ireland and political correctness have never quite mixed).

Since then, I've watched as different African nations have bubbled up into the 'Help them! Help them now!' category and then schlupped back down out of the eye of the charitable West without - and this is important - any country ever getting any real, significant long-term solution-based assistance.

Africa is an absolute disaster; socially, economically and politically there is virtually no stability.

Kevin Carter said it best with that famous image.

[Comrade K]

I remember years and years ago when Ethiopia and Somalia hit the world media.

Actually, I was in primary school then and I remember us being told to bring in money to "feed the black babies" (Ireland and political correctness have never quite mixed).

Since then, I've watched as different African nations have bubbled up into the 'Help them! Help them now!' category and then schlupped back down out of the eye of the charitable West without - and this is important - any country ever getting any real, significant long-term solution-based assistance.

Africa is an absolute disaster; socially, economically and politically there is virtually no stability.

Kevin Carter said it best with that famous image.

That's one of the things that irritates me.

We just want to find some simple answer to it all, throw some money at an impoverished nation, feel good about ourselves and forget about it.
It takes more than that. Like how everyone around here is whining about how we're losing soldiers in Afghanistan. Of course, everyone wants to help the oppressed Afghans, but oh wait, a few Canadian or Western lives are apparently worth more than the entire nation of Afghanistan, and everyone now wants us to pull out.

There isn't any real will to do anything about any of this, just momentary zeal. It`s all reactive, and everyone forgets.

[Steve the Pocket]

Kind of reminds me of a Dilbert Blog post I read yesterday:

http://dilbertblog.typepad.com/the_dilb ... media.html

By way of contrast, the United States didn’t send the military to Rwanda to stop genocide. Some think racism was the reason. Others say the lack of oil was the reason. Maybe the real reason is that you can’t name a single famous person in Rwanda.

[Hanging Tree]

We just want to find some simple answer to it all, throw some money at an impoverished nation, feel good about ourselves and forget about it.

This makes me think of all the people out there who want to do their part to end world hunger by eating less or just complain about people wasting food. They never actually take the time to figure out that lack of food isn't why people are starving, its because all the food sent to the country is being confiscated by President for Life General Mustafa. However making a big deal about only eating rice, or shoping at the co-op, or picketing Walmart, or whatever thing they decide to do makes them feel better then acknowledging what is really happening.

These are the same people who want to shut down sweatshops but ignore when people working in said sweatshops want the sweatshop to stay open.

[Cosmic^Chicory]

These are the same people who want to shut down sweatshops but ignore when people working in said sweatshops want the sweatshop to stay open.

Pet peeve of mine right there - yes, sweat shops suck. So did the sweatshops of the "Industrial Revolution" in Britian and Europe a hundered plus years ago.

*BOTH* are *FAR* superior to the alternative.

The alternative?

Starving to death on a farm. Living in a slum. Being shot at. Other equally bad things.

Yes, sweatshops suck, to the pampered 'western' eye that knows little hardship - but compared to certain death in the slums, to actually be able to make enough money to do more than simply feed one or two of your children, but not both?

That's the survival level choice being made on the ground.

[Comrade K]

These are the same people who want to shut down sweatshops but ignore when people working in said sweatshops want the sweatshop to stay open.

Pet peeve of mine right there - yes, sweat shops suck. So did the sweatshops of the "Industrial Revolution" in Britian and Europe a hundered plus years ago.

*BOTH* are *FAR* superior to the alternative.

The alternative?

Starving to death on a farm. Living in a slum. Being shot at. Other equally bad things.

Yes, sweatshops suck, to the pampered 'western' eye that knows little hardship - but compared to certain death in the slums, to actually be able to make enough money to do more than simply feed one or two of your children, but not both?

That's the survival level choice being made on the ground.

I partially agree. But at the same time, there are many sweatshops where the people are almost forced to work there once they're hired, and have no means of returning to their original home. A lot of sweatshops dance a little too close to the line between difficult low wage opportunity and forced labour. Some are good employment, some are a bit beyond.

The other problem is that you say they are far superior to the "alternative", as though there were only one. They have unskilled labour, but perhaps less exploitation would be a better alternative for them, if people in the west would stop and take note, rather than always hunting for the bargain.

And when people protest for more ethical labour, companies occasionally do notice. Exploiting labour creates scandals, and those can bring companies down, so yeah, by protesting, they are doing something. It's rarely effective, but if nobody did it, nothing would happen, and we'd still be where we were 100+ years ago. There needs to be external pressure on a market in order to change it.

Eventually, it will improve, whether through globalization or through consumer action, but the latter will bring it on more quickly.

[Hanging Tree]

I believe that change will come to the third world country on its own without outside help. If we try to hurry the process then it just hurts those who need the money. As people earn more the standard of living goes up, the people earn more independence and they can demand better conditions. Just look at America, it went through the exact same thing.

[Comrade K]

I believe that change will come to the third world country on its own without outside help. If we try to hurry the process then it just hurts those who need the money. As people earn more the standard of living goes up, the people earn more independence and they can demand better conditions. Just look at America, it went through the exact same thing.

However, there's a great deal of outside influence nonetheless, from companies seeking cheap labour, who will keep the earnings low, as it benefits them. Many of the countries this goes on in don't have the will or sometimes even the capacity to prevent this. In order for wages to go up, consumers will have to be more conscious and demanding, or these countries will have to become more protectionist, as right now, it's exclusively foreign companies and foreign people that reaps the reward of the employment of these people.

The world economy is different now from what it was when America was pulling itself up, because there was little outside economic influence (after the revolution) on it forcing it to function a certain way. Things were more isolated then, and they remained like that until well after America became powerful.

[Lig]

It's sad to see so much chaos and sorrow like that in africa but realistically I don't see that changing in the near future. The only thing I can see that might change the scene there is a sudden population decline. It may sound cold but after a population decline standard of living does go up for the survivors. Fewer people means resources aren't spread so think. It's kind of like cutting up a pizza. Fewer people there are the bigger the slice everyone gets. Only other way I can see the region stabilizing is for a Massive initiative to go in there and completely over haul systems of government there. That would mean significant millitary presence. Basically you'd need to go in and take over fore a period of time. Long enough to get a stable governmental system working. And frankly no country today has the resources or the will to do that and frankly it is morally questionable to too. ultimately the fate of places like this probably rest out of our hands. All anybody can really do is send some money and pray for the best.