Darfur

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Food aid to the Sudan, and specifically the Darfur region is being halved, due to a lack of contributions. According to the article, they only received one third of the contributions they had hoped for. The U.S. donated $188 million for supplies, while the only significant European contribution came from Italy, at just $1.2 milliion.

Haven't these people gone through enough yet? Now they are having their food rationed down to 1,050 calories per day.

 

I think the real question is this: How much of that food actually gets to those who are in need?

 

pffft, im glad Italy contributed, Germany should to, cos both of them attacked this area in the 2nd world war i think, corrected me if im wrong.

 

Since Africa is directly a result of Western Colonialism, it's rather irresponsible for European nations not to do anything (specifically the UK and France who governed the majority of Africa pre-WW2). I want to say it was the UK who governed Sudan pre-WW2, but I can't remember off the top of my head and my books aren't present.

 

That's actually true of the entire world, at this point. Name a significant, inhabited area of the globe that wasn't drastically altered by European (and later, Western) involvement.

 

You are correct. The forces in question were called the Afrika Corp and caused mass destruction. However, they were unable to defeat the army of Ethiopia. Tanks, bombs, and guns against men on horseback with spears...... I love it.

Back to the topic at hand...

Indeed they have been through more than enough. With the combined resourses available to various societies there really is no need for anyone, anywhere to suffer.

 

I think we've read different histories. Every book I've encountered suggests that the opposite is true.

 

Yeah, the abyssinian conflict of 1935, where th Italians cunningly used tanks against the forces of Haile Selassie. The Abysinnians lost.

Liverpool

We also owned part of France once. Shall we send troops to put down the riots?
Shall we donate money to Hong Kong?

If we sent money to everywhere we used to own, we'd be bankrupt before we reached India. Then, the French and Italians can send us money instead!

 

What GB, France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands did to their colony is quite different then past acts of conquest. Only with Asian and African colonies did European nations set up economies based on being economically dependant on the mother country for goods produced by the mother country, as well as have the colony "produce" raw materials. England never set up France with the idea of using France's labor and resources to benefit England at the price of retarding France's economic ability.

Europe used Africa and Asia, during the 19th and first half of the 20th century the same way the fat cat capitalist used the lower class. I'll refrain from quoting Frantz Fanon here or Jean-Paul Sarte for that matter (primarily because I don't have a copy of "the Wretched of the Earth" on hand).

 

But surely blaming Britain, France, Spain, Italy et al. for that is visiting the sins of the father on the children?

 

For me it's more of a marxist mantra. The haves of the system are forced to do their turn of suffering so the have nots stop being have nots.

I'd like for the UN to pilfer the U.S. and Japan as well, but there's alot less historical justification (could pilfer Japan for the rest of Asia's sake I suppose with WW 2 and all). However the U.S. is spending well over 300 billion a year on it's military so I suppose that is justification enough for making us Yanks give until it hurts.

 

No, the fact that America spends 300 billion on the military isn;t justification. The fact that it wastes this money with stupid things is justification. We had an debate in my french class today about third world poverty vs military spending (in english. I am teh uber at changing the subject to waste time before lunch).

Our teacher is, dare I say it, slightly naive when it comes to such matters, and advocated-wait for it- halting all money spent on medical research for a year, and donating the money to charity.

When I'd stopped laughing, the debate continued, but I'm off topic, so I'll revert.

While, of course, Darfur desperately needs the money, think about all the other problems that have required cash in the last 12 months. I'm sure there are some much closer to home. Nouveau Orleans, for example? AIDS research? Cancer research? BIRD FLU? The demands on the public pocket are immense. The last 5 or so years have seen disasters (natural and man-made) arrive thick and fast, after all.