A lot of people are unwell because of disasters and we do not help this at all. You say “it isn’t our fault” but it is partly our fault. This is because in Nepal they have to pay back a lot of debt with high interest rates and because we put them under lots of pressure to pay back the money they have to cut down forests to sell wood. By doing this they are causing landslides because the tree roots hold the earth together and they have to remove them to pay back debt. The way that we live and the pollution that we create is helping to aid the green house effect which in turn is causing the polar ice caps to melt and cause floods. Where you say “if they are unhealthy they should listen to their doctors” this is not possible because in places like Niger there are 53986 people to the ratio of one doctor. You also say they should “eat a more balanced diet” but they can’t because the food they have is limited and are lucky to eat anything at all. You are right that there is enough food in the world but it is not distributed evenly. In Britain Mountains of left over crops were left to waste, when in fact it could have saved many life’s in Africa. People in Africa are not educated about contraception because they cannot afford it so that is one reason why they have so many kids. In Niger 87.2 % of people aged over 15 are illiterate and this is yet again down to the lack of money for education. Another reason why people have so many kids in Africa is because the infant mortality rate is really high so they keep getting pregnant so there is more chance of their children surviving. You say that “you only have to see food all over the world in our supermarkets to know there isn’t a shortage.” This food is produced for very little money and the price goes up dramatically in the supermarkets. So supermarkets make a big profit where workers in LEDC’s work really hard and get paid hardly anything. You make the point “they wouldn’t be exporting it if they were short themselves, would they.”
Although these countries are really short of food supplies they are forced to sell their crops to Britain. This is because Britain sees something they like and take over. These crops and goods begin to pour into Britain. So countries like India lose business and are forced to buy back their own goods from Britain for higher prices and have to sell their own products at really low prices to Britain.
As you say “helped these countries get started” this is just opinion. We developed countries for our own benefit, not theirs. Examples of this are that railway systems were built in places like India so that the trading of cash crops can be done easily with surrounding countries. This is an example of the negative effects of colonialism. We are responsible for this because we have forced countries into a trade cycle and they can’t get out. They can’t manage on their own and they rely on Britain to survive. Where you say “if you look at Malaysia”, this is a totally different country to the countries that are in poverty. The first thing is that the weather in Malaysia is no where near as hot as it is in Africa due to Africa being situated on the equator. So in Malaysia there will be better conditions to grow crops and to work in where as in Africa it is too hot to do anything. Secondly Malaysia has a lot more money in their country than places like Niger and Kenya. Britain did not exploit Malaysia like it did to other countries and Malaysia had a mini industrial revolution in the 1970’s so they are more equipped to meet the needs of people in their country. Lastly Malaysia has a different political and colonial history to countries in Africa.
You say “I feel sorry for these hardworking drugs companies.” These drug companies charge high prices to try to exploit the need for medicines. People in LEDC’S don’t have access to medicines, or education to understand that disease spreads. You also say “don’t use proper contraception”, this is because they would not be able to get hold of contraception and the lack of education means they would not no what contraception is. Also there are not enough doctors to give out contraception and educate sufferers. Due to there not being contraception and education this takes me onto my next point. You say “half the adult population is being wiped out” so you are aware of the damage that poverty and aids causes. If medicine is not available and people are not being educated whole generations will be wiped out so people won’t be able to fill jobs and the situation will get worse. This problem could be prevented if education was provided, but it isn’t.
These “sensationalist pictures on TV” you are talking about, this is reality. An example is the famine in Ethiopia which was caused by a natural disaster but was made worse by man because we did not help straight away. The government of Ethiopia was cruel, because it spent £100 million on ceremonies whilst 1000 people died everyday. Mean while the USA and Britain had mountains of excess grain which was left unused. To add to the natural disaster of the draught Ethiopia was suffering from a civil war which made the situation a lot worse. So by making these outrages claims that sensationalist pictures on TV are made to make things look worse than they already are you are being very naïve.
From your “recent safari in Kenya” you say people seem to be fine. Yes they seem to be fine but in fact they are not. These places that tourists go to are made to look nice and you don’t get to see the damage that has been caused to these people’s lives. You only get to the surface image of what is going on, they would not sell tourism if the reality of poverty was where they are selling tourism. The money made by tourism does not reach the neediest and the tourist companies benefit not local people. People are chucked out of their homes and told to make room for tourist companies and an example of this is that the Masai Mara were forced to move out and were exploited. In your letter you make the claim that some people “can’t afford to go on holiday.” This is true but does not even compare to not being able to afford any food to eat. There are two types of poverty, relative and absolute. One in six people in the world live in absolute poverty, living on less than 65p a day. So when you make claims that people can’t afford holidays and cars they count themselves lucky that they have food and shelter. You are yet again being very naïve because you don’t understand the difference between the needs and wants in life. Where you say “loads of places selling food” you refer to Burger king and Mc Donald’s. But people in poverty would not be able to afford fast food as it would take them a week to be able to afford a meal from Burger King or Mc Donald’s. Where as people in the north have greater purchasing power so they can afford to buy better quality food.
As you “squirm at the thought of how much money we give away”, the amount of money we have given in aid is no where near enough but money is not necessarily what’s needed. When this money is given in aid, they eventually have to pay it back including the interest as it is very high. So what are needed are debt cancellation and other types of aid such as food and basic shelters. Where you say they should “pay back what they owe” they have and the mountains of interest as well. The interest rates were promised to be low but this did not happen. The interest rates are unfair and totally unrealistic. Also the money that we ‘gave’ in aid is not a free handout its often tied aid. The comment you make about people in Africa being “lazy” this is false. Some people have to walk miles just to get basic supplies such as water. So by saying this you are being ignorant as you do not know how hard people have to work just to get the simplest of things.
When you say “I hear Stantonbury campus students are being encouraged to get involved” and “wasting time on things on things they can’t change.”
People should not be ignorant of the problems in the world and if the younger generations are becoming aware and getting involved then will we grow up to be helping and caring people. So by helping out younger people are becoming educated to what is going in the world. If Stantonbury students are prepared to get involved and help then why are people like you not prepared to? One person can make such a difference, This is because a girl had a facial disfigurement which could have been treated with a £2 mouthwash but due to the fact she could not afford it her condition has become a lot worse and would now cost £7000 to treat her. So if someone could have donated £2 pound this girl would not be in the trouble she is in. Finally you say “it is time the media stopped trying to manipulate us.” The media is just showing us what goes in the world, it is reality. So manipulation does not come into it. You also say “charity begins at home.” This is a very selfish attitude; it is basic humanity to help. Most people will have added extras in their lives that they don’t need or use and this money spent on them could change so many lives. The last I want to say is that you make me rally angry when you say at the end “hardworking citizen”; by this you are implying that people in LEDC’S are lazy and this is total ignorance
Yours,
Nathan Puxty
