Few African leaders show up for famine summit

[xchrom]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-ethiopia-aid-20110826,0,2384677.story

Reporting from Johannesburg, South Africa—
Most of Africa's heads of state failed to turn up Thursday for the first African Union donor conference in Ethiopia to raise money for the Horn of Africa famine, leaving activists disappointed with the pledges.

Of the African Union's 54 member nations, only the heads of Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea and Djibouti participated in the conference in Addis Ababa, along with the head of the transitional government in Somalia, the country hit hardest by the famine. Critics accused African leaders of failing to make good on their rhetoric about finding African solutions for African problems.

Activists said leaders had pledged about $50 million, but much of it was "in kind" assistance, with few details given on the services being offered.

The African Development Bank, meanwhile, said it would donate $300 million for long-term development in the Horn of Africa.

[izquierdista]

1. Caterer didn't show up?

:shrug:

If they really want to do something, they need to fund projects like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0jshwUWPBQ and not just sit back and watch while one man funds it out of pocket.

[xchrom]

2. this is how other emerging economies will re-colonise africa

if they don't get to be consistent w/ projects like this.

china, india, bangladesh & others are all looking for land & resource opportunities -- and we know now disasters provide opportunity.

[izquierdista]

3. Be nice if they had their OWN opportunities

If Africans can do these projects themselves, then they can feed themselves and have some surplus to export. Foreigners buying up huge tracts of the best land to plant oil palm orchards isn't going to work without creating a whole slew of bad consequences.

[xchrom]

4. African summit raises fraction of $1.4bn famine fund

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/african-summit-raises-fraction-of-14bn-famine-fund-2345159.html

African leaders have come under fierce criticism after a much-delayed African Union summit to tackle the food crisis in the Horn of Africa raised less than 4 per cent of the shortfall needed. Only four heads of state – from Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti and Equatorial Guinea – attended the meeting, designed to gather urgently needed funds to help save the nearly 13 million people now at risk of starvation on the continent.

Only 21 out of the 54 countries in the AU made pledges, with $20m of the $46m promised coming from three states – Algeria, Angola and Egypt. Aid groups say they need $1.4bn to meet the shortfall in tackling the emergency. Jean Ping, chairman of the AU commission, announced the summit had raised more than $350m, but the bulk of the sum was in fact a $300m loan from the African development bank and not a grant at all.

Small countries such as Gabon and the Gambia pledged sums way above what was expected from the size of their economies, but several bigger nations donated paltry sums. Aid experts are particularly disappointed with the amounts pledged from oil-rich countries such as Nigeria, which promised $2m, and from South Africa, supposedly the continent's economic powerhouse, which offered $1.3m.

[Diclotican]

5. xchrom

xchrom

Why help themselfs, when they can blame old colonial powers for all their misdeeds of today.. How many billions of money have not old, and other "white" nations helped black africa with over the years since most of africa got their independece from Europe after world war two... Even nations, who have never had any colonies in Africa, have given their fare share of help, monetary and in other means over the last 50-60 year or so, and with little to show for.. My country, Norway was given 40 million Nkr (and it is still coming in money every day) to the famile in Somalia alone.. But where go the money... In many cases NOT to the millions effected by this famie... And the "transitional government" are not excactly helping things out either..

Diclotican

[classysassy]

6. The blameless Europeans

The deeds of the past are still in effect years after the white man departed the continent,but the stay behinds like the stay behinds in American politics have helped the Europeans that left,they still influence some of the black leaders they put in place.YOu can see the misdeeds of the white man every where in Africa,they left with intent on returning some day.Aide to the poor countries that were raped by white man is very small or nothing at all,we Americans give Israel more money than all the countries of Africa.Here is a quote from a well known European"Where ever the white man has trod the natives were sure to suffer",truer words were never spoken.

[Diclotican]

7. classysassy

classysassy

Do you really Europe should "Pay" for what happened more than 100 years ago, becouse the "black man" is not able to build up their own nations, and to make their own future?.. Yes I agree that many colonial nations did a horrible job of making many african nations able to exist on their own.. But many of the horrible conditions of today, can marginaly be blamed on the european white man. Many of this nations had all the posibility of the world, to be prosperius rich nations, where rule of law, and principles of a modern nation is paramount.. In the old english colonies they often got decent constitutions, who was draftet on british tradition, and the british Parlament (who by the way, is the "mother of all parlaments in the world) But under the cold war, many things happened, who should not have happened, like installing dictators who ruled with an iron fist, as long as the west was willing to play along becouse they was garantired not communist..

But again, even witht his, Africa of the 1960s had ALL the posibilites to make it to the top, as many of this nations had, and have minerals, gold, and whatever they was a need for in the world.. DRC or Zaire as it once was called, is one of the richest country in the word, if they managed to build up a nation where stability and democracy are the norm. Instead many parts of the poor country are raped many from abroad (and the africans nabours is the worst in plundring DRC for its wealth by the way!) And it is questiable if the central government have ful control over the nations at all.. And this is a country who should have been one for the most rich country in the whole of Africa..

TO blame the "white man" all the time is just an excuse to not do their job to make the differnt nations better than they are today.. Many European nations, with no tie to the old colonial past, have paid billions of dollar over the last 60 years, to in fact try to rebuild and to make the different country better prepared to make it on its own.. EVERY TIME, rebels, thiefs, or sivil war have destroyed all what was build up... Infrastructure, hospitals, schools, you name it, every time one of the first thing rebels was doing, was destroying what was build up with currency from abroad..

If African leaders really want to rebuild, and to make Africa a decent continent, where africans from all parts of the continent at least should have a chance to be prosperius and democratic, they have to do it themselfs, and not just blame the white man for everything what is going wrong today.. Most of the nations we are talking about here, is more conserned witch tribe the leaders is coming from, than if the leader is able to do their work, and build up a nation.. The worst course in Africa, is not what the white man did 50 or 100 years ago.. The worst course Africa have today, is that most pepole are not willing to work togheter for a common goal inside a nation, but wil rather tear a country appart, becouse of tribal rivaliery.. Most of Modern Africas pain is coming from the fact, that the idea of a NATION more or less dosen't exist, the tribe, the "clan" is the most important thing in existence.. And if you belive that africa was living in peace and prosperity before the white man managed to medle it the wrong way, you are soorly mistaken. Most of Africa was divided by "empires" who was maybe as worse as the white man, when it came to slavery and qonquering nabours over the houndres of years before the white man "discovered" Africa in the 1700 and 1800s. Read little about ancient Africa, and you wil discover that the "black man" is as worse as the "white man" ever was, long before Africa was conquered by the different colonial powers, and the current borders was made into what it was..

But I agree. The "White man" did a lot of wrongs in Africa, and should have prepared Africa far better than it id, in the aftermath of world war two, where colonial powers had to leave, either willingly and in peace. Or in war and in horror.. The british managed to make it willingly and in peace for the most part.. Other parts of the old colonial powers was not that lucy, specially the belgians was not willing to give up Congo, with the consequenses that when Congo blow up, it really blow up, and a lot of horror was a consequenses of it all..

I don't know why Israel are given so mutch money by the US, even tho I suspect it to be becouse as a counterbalance to the arabic nations, who have friendly ties to Russia.. Israel exist in a unfriendly corner of the world, where they have been at war with more or less everybody the last 60 or so years.. I don't know how to fix it, even tho I have a idea where everybody at least should be content about the outcome.. But it involve a lot of political play that I might not are to sure about... And it have to have the backing of at least 3 of the big 5 in the UN..

Not small amounts of money had been spendt on project in africa since early 1900s.. (many country had given a lot of money to african nations in more than a century.. ) first it was by missions, who hoped to win new souls for christianity, but after world war two it have been more in the name of building up a nation, not about christianity or not.. Even tho many churches have used resourses to do that too.. And not every church is just after new souls, many are indeed intersting in helping "the black man" to a better future, building schools and other infrastructure... I Know a few, who have worked in Africa over the years, and they have at least tried to rebuild and to build new things to "the black man"...

But again, to blame the "white man" more than 60 year after their indepence is little stupid.. Its like Norway should blame Denmark and Sweden for that they pilaged and stole most of our ancient history, not to say more than 50 percent of our land since 1380... Iceland, Greenland.. Hebridene, most of the Icles in the West/North Sea) even on the american continent (Parts of New Foundland) Herjedalen, Båhus Len, to take a few have all been parts of Kindom of Norway, but today, they are in other nations rule.. Sweden own Herjedalen, Båhus Len. Hebridene is own by the UK (It was taken by the scottish king and when England was taking Schottland it was made into the UK as part of Scottland) Iceland is a independed nation today, (it have been that since 1944) and Greenland, who still are a part of Denmark, even tho it historic have been part of Norway, not Denmark.. We could have been sitting in our poor shacks and blaiming sweden and denmark for every pain we ecountered the last 100 year.. When Norway was free in 1905, we was one of the poorest nations in Europe, not to say in the world.. 100 year after our independence, we are one of the richest country in Europe - and in the World too. Thanks to hard work, and luck with our richness in the North Sea, we are now one of the few nations in the world, with no debt, and a lot of money to spend, if so wanted..

The different African nations, should be able to build a better future, using their marvelous prosperity, but as long as the leaders are more intersting in stealing from the coffins, and not using their ressourses for the best of the whole nations, no country is able to make it either.. Corruption from bottom up is one of many reasons that most of Africa today, still are dirth poor, and need "the white man" to help them when the land dry out, and they are not able to feed themselfs.. This nations IS able to feed themself, if they get the tools, rather than just the money. Money goes just to the leadership, who steal literaly food out of infants mouth if they want to.. It is not that easy, to steals tools as money you know..

Africa can, if they shoose to, in 50 years time be a wealthy continent, if they want to say past is past, the future is out there (and the cripling debt that many nations have, is also a thing of the past)..

But, what I know, Im just a "white man" born long after most colonial powers had left the african continent, and just a white man, who try to get a grasp of what happening out there..

Diclotican