After working some months here, I am the more the more concerned about the functioning of the international so-called development aid. Without entering into details, meanwhile I have the impression that the outcome of the well meant aid is negative. In other words, it does harm more then it does help. To give you two examples:
- Some organisation is distributing food aid, beneath several thousands of tons of wheat from subsidised US production. It is not encouraging farmers to produce wheat or any other food, when they get it for free as soon as there is mal nutrition.
- In collaboration with the government, several hundreds of thousand USD are spent to transport drinking water per truck to drought affected people. This action is well meant as emergency to safe lives, but it does not solve any problem, in contrary, it makes that the people keep staying in a life hostile environment and the population is growing, hence, every year higher water trucking costs are needed (1 m3 costs between USD 20 and 30).
The more the more, I am thinking that it could be more intelligent to stop this kind of actions, as in the majority, this aid is very linked with own interests from the aid community. (And you know, I didn’t change my political attitude at all, I am still very far left J)
And nevertheless, I am still supporting small solidarity activities supporting small businesses and know-how transfer and capacity building. As well I do support international aid after natural disasters and mostly armed conflicts (e.g. ICRC).
Enough critics! Here some modest constructive suggestions for a better world:
- Abolish agriculture subsidies in Western world
- Abolish trade tolls
- Stop Swiss (and others) bank accounts from autocratic and dictatorial regimes
- Do not support (asylum, bank account, political and military support) anymore guys like Ben Ali, Baby Doc, Mugabe, Gbagbo, etc.
- Live modestly, consume less, as to poverty, we have to reduce our richness, see also: http://www.decroissance-bern.ch/
- Think global, act local, e.g. http://www.solliterre.ch/
For interested people, maybe the two following books from the Zambian economist Dambisa Moyo are interesting to read (I did not read yet, hence no recension from my side):
