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Azz
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30-10-2013, 03:33 PM

Foreign aid - should we? Shouldn't we?

What do you think about your country and foreign aid?

Do you think we can't afford to? Do you feel we have a moral obligation to help poorer countries? Do you think by doing so, we win 'hearts and minds'? Do you think money on education is always a positive thing (because education usually goes hand in hand with progress)?

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Julie
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30-10-2013, 03:37 PM
I think if you look at the amount of aid we have already spent and what it has achieved you would have to say it is a huge failure in most cases. Much better for individuals to decide where they send their charitable contributions rather than vast amounts go to war lords and corrupt officials. IMO of course.
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Tang
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30-10-2013, 03:40 PM
What my heart and conscience tells me is YES we should. We must not let the gap between rich and poor WIDEN. The consequences for all will be disastrous if all aid to the poorest is stopped and that is allowed to happen.

Some say 'charity should begin at home' but they are often the same people who say that all benefits to those 'at home' should be curtailed!
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Julie
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30-10-2013, 03:55 PM
The trouble is though the rich get richer on the aid and the poor don't get a look in ! We could actually be making it worse for them.
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Tang
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30-10-2013, 04:16 PM
A lot of people share your views Julie. I think the popular newspapers have much to do with spreading that.

Of course people give to individual charities as well anyway. But nowhere near on the scale that govts can give aid.

And yes, even for individual home grown charities - not all the money (or sometimes not even most of it) reaches those it is intended for). But what's the alternative? To close your mind and heart to hundreds and thousands of starving and dying children and people who haven't even got fresh water to drink? And children who have no hope of any sort of 'education'?

It's oft mentioned that the UK for instance is in dire straits and needs to spend the money at home - truth is it is still one of the 'richest countries in the world' taken globally. Of 184 countries in the world the UK ranks 23rd in the list.

The Global Financial Centres Index ranks London as the world’s Number One Financial Centre. It stays a little ahead of New York, and Hong Kong, which have been fairly consistent as the top three for some time. The only other European centre in the top ten is Zurich. Four top ten centres are Asian, and four are North American.

Yet still many 'Brits' speak as if they are living in an impoverished country. Obviously the wealth of any country is not 'spread evenly' with the richest few percent owning more than the rest. But you'd be surprised how little everyone would end up with if it was.
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Julie
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30-10-2013, 04:38 PM
It's not just the media I have friends who go regularly to these countries (missionaries) and they see it all first hand. What we give individual charities they tell me does far more good than government aid. When you think about it if our government were given aid do you think we would get any of it really or would it get lost in administration ? whereas water aid etc goes straight to digging wells making a huge difference (many others do just as well that was just an example).
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Tang
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30-10-2013, 04:48 PM
Originally Posted by Julie View Post
It's not just the media I have friends who go regularly to these countries (missionaries) and they see it all first hand. What we give individual charities they tell me does far more good than government aid. When you think about it if our government were given aid do you think we would get any of it really or would it get lost in administration ? whereas water aid etc goes straight to digging wells making a huge difference (many others do just as well that was just an example).
I too have good friends who go regularly from here and do hands on work to help the 'street children' of Egypt. And at great danger to themselves in recent times and they can't even 'advertise' for help as they have it made quite clear to them that they will be stopped from entering the country if they do.

Countries where adoption doesn't exist. Where if a family loses the 'father' the mother has to 'remarry' to be kept and often the new husband will not want the children.

Babies who've been put on rubbish dumps and had their extremities gnawed by rats. One of my pet charities is FACE. They are brave individuals. And they appreciate every penny of aid (and every toothbrush and flannel and colouring book) they get.

But they still would appreciate more government help. It's a bit like someone rescuing a dog and giving it a good home. They made the WORLD of difference to that one dog. But there are millions of others who need help.

Problems like the systematic 'cleaning up' by murdering street children of Brazil will not be solved by personal donation to private charities. They need exposing and given coverage to attract worldwide attention to them.
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Tang
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30-10-2013, 04:49 PM
I think I will duck out of this now as it is a 'pet' subject for me. But it might cheer you up to know that Development aid fell by 4% in real terms in 2012.

Following a 2% fall in 2011. The continuing financial crisis and euro zone turmoil has led several governments to tighten their budgets, which has had a direct impact on development aid. There is also a noticeable shift in aid allocations away from the poorest countries and towards middle-income countries.
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Julie
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30-10-2013, 04:51 PM
Originally Posted by Tang View Post
I too have good friends who go regularly from here and do hands on work to help the 'street children' of Egypt. And at great danger to themselves in recent times and they can't even 'advertise' for help as they have it made quite clear to them that they will be stopped from entering the country if they do.

Countries where adoption doesn't exist. Where if a family loses the 'father' the mother has to 'remarry' to be kept and often the new husband will not want the children.

Babies who've been put on rubbish dumps and had their extremities gnawed by rats. One of my pet charities is FACE. They are brave individuals. And they appreciate every penny of aid (and every toothbrush and flannel and colouring book) they get.

But they still would appreciate more government help. It's a bit like someone rescuing a dog and giving it a good home. They made the WORLD of difference to that one dog. But there are millions of others who need help.

Problems like the systematic 'cleaning up' by murdering street children of Brazil will not be solved by personal donation to private charities. They need exposing and given coverage to attract worldwide attention to them.

Absolutely agree but the money doesn't go to doing that in so many cases it goes into the pockets of richer people.
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Tang
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30-10-2013, 05:50 PM
Originally Posted by Julie View Post
Absolutely agree but the money doesn't go to doing that in so many cases it goes into the pockets of richer people.
Well it's oft said that MOST of the money doesn't reach the intended recipients. But even if SOME of it does it's better than nothing.

And 'missionaries' are usually more interested in changing people's 'religious' views or their 'values' or 'culture'.

Originally Missionaries were more concerned with clothing naked natives, introducing them to the Bible and Western culture and convincing them that the 'missionary position' for sex was the only way. Hence the term 'missionary position'.

Something of value is a good read on this subject.

A very old African saying:
“When you take away the customs, culture and religion of a people, we better replace it with something of value.”
In the case of a lot of indigenous people - the Maoris for instance, their 'culture' ended up being replaced by welfare, alcohol and dependency on drugs.
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