He goes on to say that the rich Northern banks should stop charging high rates of interest on loans to the South, simply because they can’t pay the money back. There are many Southern countries that are in debt to Northern banks. They needed to borrow money to reform their own countries and try to improve the lives of their people. Now after decades of interest and little or even no repayments the Southern countries are faced with massive debts. There are many people dying in these countries because of unnecessary starvation, high infant mortality rates and many curable diseases. These problems could all be solved, if only the countries were allowed to concentrate on improving life rather than trying to pay back money that they don’t even have.
Brandt cleverly throws open the doors of the South and exposes how severe the conditions in the South actually is. He shows the world that how the self-mindedness of the wealthy North has led to millions of people facing difficult lives and even death. He advises the rich to be charitable and donate money and other resources to the poor, so that they can develop themselves and try and gain the same standard of life. He says that international aid is crucial to the development of these countries, both short and long-term. Short term aid could be providing clothes, medicine and food, things that are likely to run out quickly. Long term solutions help improve the infrastructure of the country e.g. building roads, new schools, improving irrigation and setting up new hospitals. He highlights the importance of the South helping and working for themselves. This will prepare the south for the future and help them learn from past mistakes. They should not be made to feel that they are being provided for as this might be insulting for some and also this might lead to them being reliant on outside help.
Brandt looks at the problem of relative poverty and says that this problem should be dealt with carefully and quickly by the North. He warns them that if left alone these small problems might grow to reach uncontrollable levels and this would prove to be disastrous.
Religion plays an important role in tackling poverty. In both Christianity and Islam there are teachings of providing care for others and helping the less fortunate.
Christians believe that they should help the poor because Jesus Christ, their prophet, helped the poor a great deal when he was alive.
Jesus told the world lots of parables, many of them about helping the poor. For example ‘Good Samaritan’ was a parable about Jesus helping a poor man without even looking at where he was from or what tribe he belonged to. This taught Christians to help the needy no matter who the person was or what they had done, they should be helped first. ‘The Camel and the Eye of the Needle’ is another good example of a parable about helping the poor. Here a rich trader, who had lots of possessions when he died including camels and other goods, tries to go to heaven as he was a pious man on earth. However he is stuck at the gateway, the Eye of the Needle, and can’t pass through because of his camels and goods. So the man has to take his good off and pass it through then he sends his camels through and finally he goes through. Meanwhile a poor man who didn’t have any possessions walks through with ease. The moral of this parable is that it is easier for the poor man to go to heaven, rather than a rich man, as he has much less responsibility in life. The rich man has excess and surplus wealth which he can improve the lives of others and help people with.
Jesus told parables to people because they were easy to relate to and people could easily learn lessons. He wanted people to help others, especially the ones that were worse off than themselves. Modern Christian followed Jesus’ example and set up charities like the Red Cross. This charity helps countries in emergencies, in war or if there is a natural disaster. They disregard the background f the country they go to aid of and get on with the job. However they preach Christianity, distribute copies of the bible, encourage people to be good and follow the examples of Jesus Christ.
Islam teaches Muslims to give a share of their wealth to improve the life of the poor. Zakah is compulsory for every earning Muslim and is a 2.5% donation of their total wealth to charity. It is a pillar of Islam along with Sawm; this is the fasting in the Islamic month of Ramadan. It is also compulsory for every able Muslim. This fasting gives Muslims an insight of going without food every day for a month and feeling how a poor man would feel all year. It also focuses Muslims and helps them to keep on the right tracks.
There are also many stories in the Quran that tell Muslims to help the needy. For example, it says that Muhammad (SAW) used to walk through a certain pathway and there used to be an old lady that used to leave out sharp stones to hurt the prophet’s (SAW) feet. One day however the prophet (SAW) saw that the stones were gone. He immediately went round and asked people what happened to that old woman. They replied that she was ill and at once he went to her aid. He helped her get better and when the old lady was better she came round to visit him. She asked him why he had bothered to help her as she had been so cruel to him. He replied that no matter what a person had done, there should be no reason why you shouldn’t help them when they are in need; a Muslim should do all s/he can to help.
These ideas made Muslims join together and create organisations like Muslim Aid. This organisations single aim is to rid the world of poverty.
Islam and Christianity both respond well to the issue of poverty in my opinion. They both encourage their followers to help the whole community rather than just themselves. They are both very respectful and teach that the world should be improved for everyone to live in.
Organisations like the Red Cross and Muslim Aid work for the better of the poor however they can’t cover everything and everyone in the world purely because they have limited resources and funding. These organisations have played a key role in reducing poverty in the world; however they can only reach the tip of the iceberg. The problem is just too big for these organisations to deal with own their own. They must have the full backing of every government including western states like the UK and the USA. Without the key help of these organisations the situation would be much more drastic and would affect the world.
As a Muslim I deal with the problem of poverty by donating what I can to the mosque which in turn supports and helps poverty projects in the local area and abroad. I find that Zakah does not apply to me directly as I have not got my own source of income. However my parents who are providing for me pay Zakah and donate money throughout the year to the poor. Sawn does apply to me though and during Ramadan I fast from dusk till dawn. I experience the hardships of hunger and I am more focus as a Muslim changing various aspects of daily life. I feel that the world should stop creating and fighting in minor conflicts and should unite to work for the greater good.
