So I watched most of the Live 8 concert this weekend and it made me start thinking about some things. Now I'm all for ending poverty and I know opening up markets and increasing trade will go a long way to helping out people in these countries, but no one ever really talked about these issues:
1) We get cheaper medicines to these countries and let's say it halves the number of people dying every day... How will these 10 000 people who no longer die each day get fed when there are already hundreds of thousands starving?
2) If there are farmers trying to get their crops sold and people starving, why isn't more of the food making it to local markets? Why focus on the international/intercontinental?
3) At least twice I heard statements saying "It's time we step up and help out. AIDS was introduced to Africa to keep them down just like the government put crack in the ghettos in the 70s. We need to stand up and say that's not right."
Do people believe that? That some secret coalition of western world leaders thought to themselves "hey I know how we can keep african farmers from competing with us, lets give them an incurable disease" Seriously? The whole crack in the ghettos thing is at least plausible, but AIDS? People really need to get their facts straight before going on national tv and blurting stuff out.
Just things I thought about.
