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Originally Posted by Acrylic-bob
If you really wanted to show your support and solidarity with the poor of the world how about doing something to help them to help themselves. Our supermarkets now carry a range of fair trade products. If every one of us made a resolution to include just one of these products in our weekly shopping basket it would do more positive good than all of Saint Geldoff's rantings.
For those of you of a more radical disposition how about writing to the ambassadors of Zimbabwe or Sudan and telling them where you think their governments are going wrong and what a bunch corrupt murdering b*st*rds you think they are - in a loving and inclusive and politically correct way, of course.
The only way things will change in Africa is if the people at the top are made to feel the disgust of the world at their abuses. Sanctions against South Africa changed the political climate there. The reason why Mugabe calls the British Government "Gay Gangsters" is because he fears the effect that sanctions will have on his own tenure.
We don't need Saint Geldoff and his chums to be anything other than what they are, a pleasant distraction or aural wallpaper. The tools that will effect change in the world are in our own hands - they always have been!
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Once again A-B you're taking your usual bullish approach and berating us all for not being as informed about things as you are. The simple fact is that a lot of people didn't have a clue about what was going on in Africa and I'll bet that very few people even knew the G8 summit was taking place - they do now!
The concert on Saturday was about awareness on two levels - firstly making all the people of the UK (and around the world) aware of the problems in Africa (if Joss Stone and people of her generation didn't know before hand then they do now). Secondly, making world leaders aware of the strength of feeling of the people - I think they might just have got the point!
I agree, Aid won't help (that's been proven as even Bob Geldof admitted that the situation was worse than it was 20 years ago), neither will wholesale wiping off the debt but giving African nations the tools to help themselves might just help a little. Yes, you're right we should be using fair trade products - let's see, did everyone know about them? - probably not, but they might now because we're aware of it, we're discussing it.