Oh no, not again.

[Wheeze]

For those of us of a certain age i.e. young adults when Live Aid happened, the current news from East Africa is difficult to take. What more can we do? Never mind a nation, the whole western world stood up and was counted 32 years ago. The impact was amazing. The feel good factor huge. Musical careers were born/salvaged. Some lives (many??) were saved. The world was set on a new course of enlightenment and joy.

Except it wasn't. Here we are again with distressing images on the news and herds of unfortunate people (I use the word deliberately) destined to tragedy and heartache.
And why? Drought? overpopulation? stupidity? No, the callous, pathetic idiotic self interest of those in 'power'.

What can we do? Giving money, like before, sending aid, like before, showing compassion, like before....non of it makes a blind bit of difference.

I'm mad/sad.

[Witton Park]

I'm optimistic Wheeze.

Brexit - I know some might say "what?" but I believe that the EU is restricting the capacity of what we used to call 3rd world nations to develop.
The best way out of their situation is through trade, not through handouts.
I hope and believe that we will be able to help them trade out of poverty once we are able to open up our markets to them.

Building up our armed forces, particularly the navy, should be a priority. We saw with the Ebola situation and how our navy played a key part in the response, how the military can be a force for good.
Hopefully armed conflict is not so much an issue, but we cannot be complacent when it comes to defence. So in times of peace, what better way to use the navy than for relief in situations like famine, plague, earthquake?

[wheezing donkey]

Could it be that Live Aid actually worsened the situation, long term, as the generosity of all and sundry actually relieved "those in power" of taking responsibility for the peoples' needs?
Just a question, not a statement; but you've got to check out all the angles.

[Mike T]

You are working your hardest, eking out an existence, along comes a charity that starts handing things out - what do you do, keep working, or join the queue. And what happens to the price of food/clean water/medicine/petrol when charity workers start spending their money. Lets think sideways instead and build a merry go round that the children can play on to pump water that saves their mothers having to do it - but it is too hard to push and bores the children so the mothers still have to do it and the cost is totally wasted. Lets get in a United Nations force - but they bring cholera, which kills thousands - they deny it, then admit it, but refuse to compensate.
Life is complicated. And look at how much the CEOs of the charities earn. Don't get me wrong, one of my sisters works for MSF and they do seem to do good things - including being a major player in sorting out Ebola.
But think hard before giving - make sure your money will go to people who know how to use it effectively.

[Wheeze]

Yeah, all good points. My issue is that until we sort out the d*ckheads who get into positions of power in these countries, nothing will ever change. My impression is that the African leader mentality is extraordinarily resistant to the concepts of the rule of law and democracy.

[wheezing donkey]

Yeah, all good points. My issue is that until we sort out the d*ckheads who get into positions of power in these countries, nothing will ever change. My impression is that the African leader mentality is extraordinarily resistant to the concepts of the rule of law and democracy.

I stand to be corrected, Simon; but 'we' sorting out 'them' is surely reverting to a colonial style situation which most people of a modern, democratic inclination appear to find distasteful?
There appears to be nothing simple and straightforward in this world; it's as if every solution creates its own problems.

Also, bear in mind that not all but many of the d*ckheads who get into power in these third world countries appear to have been educated at one or other of our public schools or military academies

Ian.

[Wheeze]

Precisely. They take the advantage of a good education from a stable democracy and use it to subvert a nation to their own whim.
In fact d*ckhead is too polite a term for them
They are nothing but...but... c*ckwombles!!

[Wheeze]

It seems death and famine are unimportant compared to the spoutings of Nicky McCranky.
Hey ho, here is an extract from a report by the Enough Organisation.

The current situation in Sudan is described as a violent, greed-fueled kleptocracy, in which institutions of accountability have been deliberately undermined, and calls for hard-target “follow the money” investigations into the looting of the nation. The report further provides a series of critical recommendations to address the root causes of famine, destabilization and war, and to dismantle the violent kleptocratic system that is driving the suffering of the South Sudanese people.