Bris tolD is s e nt!

Brie fing th e ove rse as accounts of th e rul ing e l

ite . Th e re sul
ch aos, de bt, pove rty, dise ase and civilw ar.
t m ore

Gaping w ounds & band- aids

IN FORMATION FOR ACTION D o- goode rs h ave be e n trave l ling to Africa for ce nturie s.
D e spite th e be st inte ntions of som e , th e y h ave be e n part
of th e col onialisation and cre ation of de pe nde ncy. Th e
Africa D e bt& Pove rty Ch urch se nt m issionarie s to h e l
te ach th e m about our gods e spe cial
p civil
ise th e savage s, and
l
y th at ve ry w e al th y
one th at form s part of th e syste m th at rul e s us. Many
Bl air & Ne w Labour are prom oting African de bt & NGO s (non- gove rnm e ntalorganisations, ch aritie s) arose
pove rty as a m ain issue for th is ye ars G8 Sum m it in from such be ginnings i.e . Ch ristian Aid. Th e TV e ra
Scotl and. In pre paration, Blairs Com m ission for Africa brough t h e art- w re nch ing picture s of starving & sick k ids
produce d its re com m e ndations. Additionally, w e h ave h ad and th e ir m um s, and th e naturalh um anity & sol idarity of
th e re - re cording of Band Aid, anoth e r annual Com ic m any w e ste rne rs e nsure d vast donations for th e se tragic
Rel ie f, and a stre am of re ports, m e dia articl e s and pe opl e . Th e aid industry ack now l e dge s th at in th e w e st
program m e s on th e subje ct. So w il l pove rty be com e th ose w ith th e l e ast to give , give proportional ly th e m ost.
h istory in 2005? It is no irony th at in th e w e st, th ose w ith th e l e ast incom e
pay proportional l
y m ore in taxe s; w h il st Africa pays
A plunde re d contine nt proportional ly th e h igh e st am ounts of GD P back to th e
African h istory m ak e s une asy re ading for anyone w ith th e w e ste rn bank s/institutions in de bt re paym e nts. Th ink on
sligh te st conscie nce or se nse of h um an sol idarity. th at a m om e nt.
Pl unde re d by W e st Europe an e m pire s and trade rs for
ce nturie s th rough col onialism , th e ft of naturalre source s,
and e nsl ave m e nt & de portation of its pe opl e th e w e alth
accum ul ate d by Bristol s m e rch ants & trade rs w as
re plicate d across Europe and th e Am e ricas, as e arl y
capital ists got ve ry rich inde e d.

Th e sl ow e radication of sl ave ry did not e nd Africas

m ise ry, col onial re gim e s and puppe t gove rnm e nts &
dictators continue d th e th ie ving. Post W W 2, Africa w as
anoth e r Col d W ar pl ayground for th e W e st & th e USSR ,
e nsuring ongoing civilw ars, ch aos, de ath and pl unde r.
Tragical ly, nationall ibe ration m ove m e nts, de spite th e ir
som e tim e s social ist rh e toric and th e ir h e roic struggl es
against al lodds, l e d ofte n to th e re pl
ace m e nt of one se t of
fore ign rul e rs w ith e q ually barbaric and dictatorial h om e -
grow n one s (such as Mugabe in Z im babw e ) usual ly
re l
iant on an e xte rnal pow e r for th e ir dom ination. As
capital ism h as progre sse d, th e th e ft and e xpl oitation of
Africas re source s h as continue d, now l e ss obviousl y by
fore ign nations and m ore bl atantly by m ul tinational
corporations.

As im pe rial ist pow e rs w ith dre w , th e y took th e e xpe rtise &

gove rning structure s th e yd im pose d on Africa, l e aving
be h ind th e fal se nation state s th e y h ad cre ate d across th e
contine nt. Th e y al so took , and continue to tak e th ose Th e Eth iopian fam ine on our TV se ts in 19 84 l e d to
Africans, w h o w e m ay te rm m iddl e - class (e ducate d, w ith BandAid, Live Aid, Com ic R e l ie f, and an upsurge in
spe cial ist sk il
ls), dow n th e brain drain out of Africa. Th e donations to ol d and ne w ch aritie s. Ye t Ge l dof h as
ol d w ays of pre - col onial socie tie s h ad be e n l arge l y adm itte d re ce ntl
y th at Africa is w orse off now th an in
re pre sse d or de stroye d, now th e y found th e m se l ve s 19 84. In fact, Africans are proportionate l y poore r now
e xpe cte d to fol low th e w ays of th e W e sts industrial ise d, th an 40 ye ars ago! In Eth iopia al
one , 6 to 8 m il lion pe ople
de m ocratic state s, but w ith out th e sk il ls to do so. Th e y are re liant on food aid to survive e ach ye ar. Som e 25
h ave continue d to be rippe d- off by w e ste rn financial m illion Africans h ave die d from H IV/Aids l arge ly be cause
institutions & corporations, w h o h ave gre ase d th e pal ms US Corporations w oul d not re l
ax th e ir pate nts on drugs
of any dictators or rul ing e lite s. W e al th h as fl
ow e d out of for m any ye ars, so pre ve nting th e provision of ch e ape r
Africa into th e pock e ts of w e ste rn busine ss & bank s and copie s of th e drug. At th e sam e tim e 3000 ch il dre n die a
day from m al aria be cause th e y l ack basic tre atm e nts th e m 50 q uid, and if th e y dont pay it back w ith inte re st
costing £10 e ach . In th e UK l ast ye ar, th e 4 bigge st bank s, our taxpaye rs w il lbal e you out. W h ich sounds to us l ik e
plus th e 2 bigge st oilcorporations, m ade com bine d profits anoth e r con- trick (se e PFI brie fing pape r) to h e l p
of ove r £60 bil l
ion. Th e U.K.s rich e st pe rson, Lak sh m i corporations m ak e m one y, th at m ay not h e l
p Africa. Le ts
Mittal , sits on a pe rsonalfortune of at l e ast £14 billion. not forge t th at th e G8 and oth e r institutions h ave fail ed
be fore to cance lth e de bt and sort Africas probl e m s out,
w h y sh oul
d th at ch ange now ?
Th e Com m is s ion for Africa
Aid and ch arity h as not w ork e d, in th e m ajority of case s at W h atth e w e s tre ally w ants
le ast. It is a m ulti- m il
lion pound busine ss, offe ring ve ry Ne ve r m ind such il lusions as fair- trade , or trade justice ,
w el l paid care e rs, e spe cial l
y at th e top- e nd of its such conce pts are al ie n to capital ism , and w il lonl y be
bure aucratic structure s. Som e w oul d say it h as re - e m brace d in any w ay if profit can be m ade out of th e m
launch e d a th ousand sh ow biz care e rs! But continue d h e nce Starbuck s & Te sco ge tting fair- trade ce rtification!
pove rty in Africa h as be com e an e m barrassm e nt. Th e re is W h at th e G8 & corporations re al ly w ant is th is: a m ark e t
a grow ing aw are ne ss, fue l l
e d by th e aggre ssive to e xpand into. Th e y w ant a m ode rate l y h e al th y,
cam paigning of som e (such as th e D rop th e D e bt e ducate d, sk il le d, non- unionise d w ork force to produce
cam paign), th at our pol itical& big busine ss e l ite s are goods ch e apl y; and th e y w ant a re lative l
y pe ace ful, stabl e,
tak ing th e piss ove r Africa. W e k e e p giving, th e y k e e p h e alth y contine nt to consum e th ose products. A contine nt
ge tting poore r, and th e corporations k e e p ge tting rich e r. th e y control . Th e y l ook at Africa and th e y th ink of Ch ina,
w ith its fast grow ing e conom y & consum ption, w h e re
Th e te rm s & conditions of l oans to Africa re q uire th e m 60% of al le xports com e from busine sse s w h ol l
y or partl y
privatise e ve ryth ing in th e nam e of structuraladjustm e nt w e ste rn control le d, and no h um an righ ts! W h e n th e y tal k
program m e s; it puts re strictions on th e ir trade out w h il st of fre e dom & de m ocracy, th e onl y h um an righ ts th e y
tak ing our goods (and w e apons) in; and it e ncourage s th e h ave in m ind are th ose th at al l
ow you to e xist on th e ir
ongoing corruption of corporations and rul ing e lite s. te rm s e nsl ave d unde r capital ism , th e consum e r socie ty,
Th e y do not give Africa a ch ance . Th is h as l e d Blair and and pe rsonalde bt, w ith onl y th e fal se illusion of ch oice .
Ne w Labour to act out of a confuse d and h ypocritical Just l ik e in th e W e st.
Ch ristian Social ist form of m oral ity. Al ong w ith Bl airs
se l
fish de sire to be re m e m be re d in h istory for doing W h atcan w e do?
som e th ing good, th is h as l e d to th e cance llation of bi- W e k now aid & ch arity doe snt w ork , particul arl
y w h en
late ralde bts (w h e re one country ow e s one oth e r country) tie d up w ith im posing w e ste rn val ue s & structure s. Som e
to th e UK. NGO s w ork to e ncourage se l f- h e l
p & se lf- m anage m e nt in
Africa, to facil itate th e de sire s of African pe opl e , not
H is Com m ission corre ctl y ide ntifie s som e probl em s im pose on th e m . Look into it and h e l p w h e re you can.
corruption and e xpl oitation; l ack of inte rnal Al th ough w e ve ry rare l y h e ar of th e m , th e re are m assive
infrastructure s & re source s for e ducation, h e al th , training social m ove m e nts in som e African nations, continuing
& adm inistration; m assive fail ure to al l e viate dise ase . It th e ir tradition of struggl e , but dire cte d tow ards l and
cal ls for: 100% cance l lation of both bi- l ate raland m ul ti- righ ts, w ork e rs righ ts, re sisting privatisation & oppre ssion
late ral (ow e d to m ore th an one country, usual ly an & corruption, de m anding acce ss to re source s. Look into it.
institution such as th e IMF or W orl d Bank ) de bt for at
le ast th e 42 H IPC (poore st African nations); for m assive Th e m ost use fulth ings w e can do are to oppose th e
incre ase s in aid (not l oans!) to fund e ducation, h e al th , corporations & rul ing e l
ite s in our countrie s. Ye s, buy
h ousing, w ate r provision, training & oth e r basic e th ical
ly if w e can, but m ore im portantl y confront &
program m e s; and for th e re m oval of re strictive trade h arass th e institutions, corporations and pol iticians at
barrie rs and tariffs to stim ul ate th e e conom y. h om e - give th e m no pe ace untilw e h ave ch ange d our
ow n socie ty.
But th e se proposal s are unde rpinne d by th e e xpe ctation
th at al lw e ste rn nations, institutions & bank s w illcom pl y M ore Info
(of w h ich th e re is z e ro guarante e th e US h as al re ady w w w .jubil e e 2000uk .org/
rul e d out 100% de bt cance l lation due to corporate w w w .african- initiative s.org.uk /
pre ssure ); and by an ide a nam e d th e Inte rnationalFinance w w w .w dm .org.uk /
Facil ity (IFF), a brainch il d of Gordon Brow n. Th e IFF w w w .ifiw atch ne t.org/
inte nds to raise m one y on private finance m ark e ts, w w w .com m issionforafrica.org/
guarante e d by gove rnm e nt bonds (e sse ntial l
y our, w w w .m ak e pove rtyh istory.org/
taxpaye rs, m one y). W h ich is a bit l ik e saying you give

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