[Dissent-bristol-info] Briefing paper - Africa (DRAFT)

Tue Mar 29 12:52:02 BST 2005

wicked; below are a few minor suggestions, where the *text surrounded
by stars* denotes the alteration, with two stars concurrently **
denoting the removal of text, mainly punctuation.

great stuff; should get em thinkin.

morris

> Africa – Debt & Poverty
> 
> Blair & New* *Labour are promoting African debt & poverty as a main issue for
> this year's G8 Summit in Scotland. In preparation, Blair's Commission for
> Africa produced its recommendations. Additionally, we have had the
> re-recording of Band Aid, another annual Comic Relief, and a stream of
> reports, media articles and programmes on the subject. So will poverty
> become history in 2005?
> 
> A plundered continent
> African history makes uneasy reading for anyone with the slightest
> conscience or sense of human solidarity*, p*lundered by West European
> empires and traders for centuries *through colonialism*, theft of natural
> resources *and the repression, enslavement &* deportation of its people. The
> wealth accumulated by Bristol's merchants & traders was replicated across
> Europe and the Americas, as early *(*generally white*)* capitalists got very
> rich indeed.
> 
> The slow eradication of slavery did not end Africa's misery. Colonial
> regimes and puppet governments & dictators continued the thieving. Post
> WW2 Africa was another *C*old *W*ar playground for the West & the USSR,
> ensuring ongoing civil wars, chaos, death and plunder. Tragically,
> national liberation movements, despite their sometimes socialist rhetoric**
> and their heroic struggles against all odds, led often to the replacement
> of one set of foreign rulers with equally barbaric and dictatorial
> home-grown ones *(for example Mugabe's administration in Zimbabwe)*? - usually reliant on an external power for their
> domination. As capitalism has *progressed*, the theft and exploitation of
> Africa's resources has continued, now less obviously by foreign nations
> and more blatantly by multinational corporations.
> 
> As imperialist powers withdrew, they took the expertise & governing
> structures they'd imposed on Africa, leaving behind the false nation
> states they had created across the continent. They also took, and continue
> to take, those Africans who we may term 'middle-class' *(*educated, with
> specialist skills*), down the 'brain drain' out of Africa*. The old ways of the tribes had been largely repressed
> or destroyed, now they found themselves expected to follow the ways of the
> West's industrialised, 'democratic' states, but without the skills to do
> so**. They have continued to be ripped-off
> by western financial institutions & corporations, who have greased the
> palms of any dictators or ruling elites. Wealth has flowed out of Africa
> into the pockets of western business & banks** and the overseas accounts of
> the ruling elite. The result – more chaos, debt, poverty, disease** and
> civil war.
> 
> Gaping wounds & band-aids [nice!]
> *(*Largely white*)* do-gooders have been travelling to Africa for centuries.
> Despite the best intentions of some of them, they have been part of the
> colonialisation, exploitation** and creation of dependency. The Church sent
> missionaries to help 'civilise' the 'savages', and teach them about 'our'
> god*s* – *especially* that very wealthy one that forms part of the system that rules us.
> Many NGO's (non-governmental organisations, charities) arose from such
> beginnings ie Oxfam & Christian Aid. The TV era brought heart-wrenching
> pictures of starving & sick kids and their mums, and the *natural* humanity
> & solidarity of many westerners ensured ** vast donations **
> for these tragic people. The aid industry acknowledges that in the west
> those with the least to give, give proportionally the most. It is no irony
> that in the west, those with the least income pay proportionally more in
> taxes; whilst Africa pays proportionally the highest amounts of GDP back
> to the western banks/institutions in debt repayments. Think on that a
> moment.
> 
> The Ethiopian famine on our TV sets in 1984 led to BandAid, LiveAid, Comic
> Relief, and an upsurge in donations to old and new charities. Yet Geldof
> has admitted recently that Africa is worse off now than in 1984. In fact,
> Africans are proportionately poorer now than 40 years ago! In Ethiopia
> alone, 6 to 8 million people are reliant on food aid to survive each year.
> 
> The Commission for Africa
> Aid and charity has not worked, in the majority of cases at least. It is a
> multi-million pound business, offering very well paid careers, especially
> at the top-end of its bureaucratic structures. Some would say it has
> re-launched a thousand showbiz careers! But continued poverty in Africa
> has become an embarrassment. There is a growing awareness, fuelled by the
> aggressive campaigning of some *(*such as the Drop the Debt campaign*)*, that
> our political & big business elites are taking the piss over Africa. We
> keep giving, they keep getting poorer, and the corporations keep getting
> richer.
> 
> The terms & conditions of 'loans' to Africa
 *R*equirements that they
> privatise everything in the name of 'structural adjustment programmes';
> the restrictions on their trade out whilst taking our goods (and weapons)
> in; and the ongoing corruption of corporations and ruling elites** do** not
> give Africa a chance. This has led Blair and ** NewLabour ** to act
> out of a confused** and hypocritical** christian-socialist form of morality. *Also, together with* Blair's selfish desire to be remembered in history for
> something good, ** this has led to the cancellation of bi-lateral debts
> (where one country owes one other country) to the UK.
> 
> His Commission correctly identifies some problems – corruption and
> exploitation; lack of internal infrastructures & resources for education,
> health, training & administration; massive failure to alleviate disease.
> It ** call*s* for - 100% cancellation of both bi-lateral and multi-lateral
> ** (**owed to more than one country, usually an institution
> such as the IMF or World Bank) *debt* for at least the 42 HIPC (** poorest
> African nations); for massive increases in aid (not loans!) to fund
> education, health, housing, water provision, training & other basic
> programmes; *and* for the removal of restrictive trade barriers and tariffs to
> stimulate the economy.
> 
> But these proposals are underpinned by the expectation that all western
> nations, institutions & banks will comply, of which there is zero
> guarantee – the US has already ruled out 100% debt cancellation due to
> corporate pressure; and by an idea named the International Finance
> Facility (IFF), a brainchild of Gordon Brown**. The IFF intends to raise
> money on private finance markets, guaranteed by government bonds
> (essentially our, taxpayers, money). Which is a bit like saying 'you give
> them 50 quid, and if they don't pay it back with interest our taxpayers
> will bale you out.' Which sounds to us like another con-trick *(see PFI briefing sheet)* to help
> corporations make money, that may not help Africa.
> 
> What the west really wants
> Never mind such illusions as fair-trade, or trade justice, such concepts
> are alien to capitalism, and will only be embraced in any way if profit
> can be made out of them – hence Starbucks & Tescos getting fair-trade
> certification! What the G8 & corporations really want is ** a market to
> expand into. They want a *moderately* ** healthy, educated, skilled,
> *non*-unionised workforce to produce goods cheaply** and they want a
> relatively peaceful, stable, healthy continent to consume those products.
> A continent they control. They look at Africa and they think of China,
> with it's fast growing economy & consumption, where 60% of all exports
> come from businesses wholly or partly western controlled, and no human
> rights! When they talk of freedom & democracy, the only human rights they
> have in mind are those that allow you to exist on their terms – enslaved
> under capitalism, the consumer society, and personal debt, with only the
> false illusion of choice. Just like in the West.
> 
> What can we do?
> We know aid & charity doesn't work, particularly when tied up with
> imposing western values & structures. Some NGO's work to encourage
> self-help & self-management in Africa, to facilitate the desires of
> African people, not impose on them. Look into it and help where you can.
> Although we very rarely hear of them, there are massive social movements
> in some African nations, continuing their tradition of struggle, but
> directed towards land rights, workers rights, resisting privatisation*,*
> oppression & corruption *and* demanding access to resources. Look into it.
> 
> The most useful things we can do are to oppose the corporations & ruling
> elites *that represent them* in our countries. Yes, buy ethically if we can, but more
> importantly confront & harass the institutions, corporations and
> politicians at home - give them no peace until we have changed our own
> society.
> 
> More Info
> www.jubilee2000uk.org/
> www.african-initiatives.org.uk/
> www.wdm.org.uk/
> www.ifiwatchnet.org/
> www.commissionforafrica.org/
> www.makepovertyhistory.org/
> 
> Bristol G8 Dissent…contact details etc.
> 
> Images:
> I have jpgs of
> 1. Black/white outline of African continent (maybe text could be laid on
> top of this on 1 page?)
> 2. Graffiti on wall – No 2 G8 2 End Poverty
> 3. B/white pic of shanty town
> And somewhere a subvert of BandAid logo
> 
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