Africans to Bono: “For God’s sake please stop!”

This article originally appeared on this blog and has since been published at American.com.  It differs slightly from the original version.

It's time to let Africa imagine its own future.

Arusha, Tanzania–Africa is a continent of despair and desperation. Here, eight year-olds toting AK-47s massacre whole villages and eccentric dictators feast on the organs of the opposition, believing it'll boost their mojo. Tsetse flies nibble on the eyelids of starving children who sport distended bellies like it's their birthright, not to mention the fact that by the time you finish reading this article, another six Africans will die from malaria, five from AIDS, and seventeen from poverty and hunger. Also, the wildlife is beautiful and the people like to dance and sing.

That's Africa, and it's in desperate need of our help. Luckily, a few enlightened megastars from America and Europe have come to save it.

Continue reading "Africans to Bono: 'For God's sake please stop!'"

Image credit: Photo by Flickr user advencap

Comments

"Africa is a continent of despair and desperation."

It is so tiring to have you "well intentioned" white people reduce us to and define us by our problems.

My God, with "friends" like you you, who needs enemies. Can't you just look for another hobby other than "saving" Africa?

[Liz]

You need only look at the welfare system in the US to see how it contributed to making generations of African Americans financially disfunctional with little incentive or vision to move beyond aid programs.

[GACHEKE GACHIHI PEOPLES PARLIAMET KENYA]

Lost in in the forest of blogging...i NEED HELP .

[Jennifer Brea]

haha....Gacheke. What help do you need?

[Jennifer Brea]

To anon: I hope you understand that the intent of the first paragraph is to mock popular stereotypes of Africa. Did you bother to read the rest of the article? Also, I am not white.

To Liz: I'm not sure exactly where you stand on welfare so forgive me if I'm misinterpreting you.

There's good welfare and there's bad welfare and neither form necessarily makes people "lazy." My family has at various points in our history been a recipient of welfare. But I worked my ass off, did well in school, got lucky at a few crucial points, and was fortunate to go to one of America's best universities. Getting money or food or health care from the American government certainly didn't make me lazy. It helped me survive.

Black poverty in America is a lot more complex than welfare and it's completely inaccurate to use arguments about the destructiveness of aid to Africa and then make generalizations about social help and black people everywhere.

[GACHEKE GACHIHI PEOPLES PARLIAMET KENYA]

Am know getting the discourse ...am getting the bearing ....Jean brea.

[Bawa]

Thanks for this superb article. I completely agreed with almost all the points you've raised. Aid, aid, aid is not the solution to our problem. We need investment, better trading terms, infrastructural development to mention but a few. There is no doubt aid is making our leaders lazy and the more corrupt. And unless I forget, the Swiss banks should stop accept the booty.

[lova]

Hello Jen,

This article is truly invaluable and I cannot thank you enough for covering all the issues at hand. I took the liberty to translate in French some of the main points you made. Hope this is OK by you.
Best,

[Blaise]

As late President Sekou Touré of Guinée Republic used to put it, "aid must help us get rid of aid", otherwise it is at best a humanitarian conspiracy.
The question you raised in this article, Jen, is very important : it is a key political point for Africa's development. Aid nurtures the vicious circle of non-development – with connected calamities –while investments bet on Africa's progress.
L'enfer est pavé de bonnes intentions dit-on. Pour sortir de l'enfer, il faut vite abandonner la logique passive de l'aide et aller vers la culture active de l'investissement en Afrique.

We once discussed on Chinese saying that «it is better to teach someone how to fish than giving him a fish". Your analyse hits the right point of Africa's dilemma. And lovely enough, it does it at the right moment! Comment dit-on "merci beaucoup!" en anglais ? Ah, j’en perds presque mon latin...

[Lisa Amenya]

I appreciated your article, thank you. At a minimum, my immediate reaction was emotional and intellectual. I am still thinking thru a lot of your comments.

Daily I witness the strong work ethic, ingenuity and determination that I believe clearly defines the people who live in my city, Nairobi. And, I feel proud to be Kenyan.

I want to briefly expand on a short topic in your article about production of artemisinin-based malaria treatments in Africa - its happening!
Quick facts about Advanced Bio-Extracts Ltd. (ABE)
- ABE is the largest producer of artemisinin on the African content. (artemisinin is an essential ingredient in ACT malaria treatments recommended by the WHO).
- US$20 Million planned to be invested in East Africa
- 50 Million malaria treatments to be produced from ABE's 2007 planned production
- In 2006, approx. 7,500 farmers (mostly smallholders) were contracted to grow raw material for ABE
- US$160,000 is approx. value of payments to farmers for raw material produced in 2006; US$300,000 projected to be paid to farmers in 2007.
- 165 full-time staff are employed

This is as a result of investment - not hand-outs.

I strongly advocate that the WHO and Global Fund focus their resources to develop process capacity and quality standards for expanded production of ACTs in Africa.

[Benin Mwangi]

Jen:

THANK YOU!

This was the best article on the whole trade vs aid debate that I have read.

But I guess what else would I have suspected? You are a professional and you are passionate about everything that you write about.

I do think though that 1 thing that may be more crucial, in the long run, than aid/trade may be sound economic policy and transparency in goivernance-next would come trade.

But even without it trade still empowers communities to do for themselves without having to wait on government or anyone else. In some few instances, though both on the African continent and any other part of the world where you have a swift change in environment causing severe hardship-then aid may be more appropirate-and Jen thanks for pointing out that out of 47 in SSA only 5 countries may fit within that scope.

That means that definitly more trade can be done and it is under-covered by the media because the media would rather overshadow this with issues on 3 out of the 5 countries you mentioned...anyhow, I could go on and on-but you are excellent Mam.

Thank you

[Jennifer Brea]

Thank you everyone for reading and for your insightful and intelligent comments.

@lova, thanks for translating.

@blaise, i still agree that the fish v. fishing debate is really the core of the problem and you put it very well on your blog post. but when will african governments really start fighting for their own interests just as ruthlessly and aggressively as the Chinese do? or is that the those in power are perfectly comfortable with the status quo, even if it keeps everyone else in poverty?

@ Benin. i was so excited the first time I found your blog totally dedicated to business in Africa...there definitely feels like there's a new ideological movement on the horizon, and it's not just the TED conference.

It can be depressing; these issues are old and all of the solutions have been proposed before. I mean, how old is the fair trade movement?

Maybe one difference now is that people are out there blogging, and we can get loud and stay loud without having to fight for media time. I hope, I hope.

@Lisa. That is absolutely awesome. Thank you for sharing that information about Advanced Bio-Extracts. I love Nairobi. I found so much inspiration in the incredibly dynamic, smart, kind and motivated people I had the luck to know while I was there.

[Jason]

Hi Jennifer,

All good points and worth debating. There are plenty of P2P programmes that manage to bypass the local elites and get to the people. Even in Tanzania programmes like www.heifer.org have been quite successful in helping Africans help themselves.

I wrote about some of this a week ago (check my URL) on hope and Justice.

I did notice Mr Benin suggest that we celebrate a certain Nigerian billionaire $6b (former president of Nigeria on another blog.)

Which is exactly why we shouldn't give aid to African governments!!

There is also the Mo Ibrahim prize which can be used to help retire some of these leaders.

Check "African billionaire has a plan for progress: Pay dictators to go away" on boston.com

[Gillian]

Hmmm... If I (white westerner) donate to a free school for bright children from poor families in Tanzania, am I part of the problem, or part of the solution?

Am I giving aid, or investing? Perhaps I get an indirect return on my money because a group of academically capable children grow up with a good education and join the ranks of professionals in their country?

I don't think I'm going to stop, regardless of the answers. And I don't think I will stop encouraging others to support the School of St Jude in Arusha. www.schoolstjude.blogspot.com

Aid or trade is not an either/or debate. Let's talk in more detail about what is needed for which.

I'd like to hear some innovative, entrepreneurial ideas for giving kids the education they need if their country is to become rich. Until those entrepreneurs appear, the main pathway to good education for poor children in many African countries is via donors.

[Matt]

Jennifer, thanks for your astute mix of bold recalibration and deep empathy in the piece. Your article has me feeling somewhat vindicated in starting a program that will train theatre companies in sub-saharan Africa to educate communities, via street theatre and scheduled performance, on the symptoms, preventative measures, and treatment time frame pursuant to Malaria. This parasite clearly poses one of the greatest economic threats to certain parts of Africa.

This program obviously does not constitute much capital investment in the continent, so can you think of a way to enfold that into the project?

[Jennifer Brea]

@Gillian - there is a really dynamic TED attendee who is starting a leadership academy in South Africa. He has a lot of great ideas about how to create institutions that offer high-quality education to students who cannot afford to pay school fees AND turn a profit (or at least break even)...more on that later. It is in a similar vein as the TED attendee from the Heart Institute of the Caribbean which turns a profit but has never had to turn away a patient for lack of ability to pay. There ARE ways.

You're right: it's not aid or trade/investment. But we have to stop seeing Africa as somehow different than the rest of the world. It's not. The same basic principles upon which every other region has /is developing apply. Some of the obstacles may be unique, but the solutions are at their core the same.

To Matt: Thank you for your email and your post here. I'm really not the one to answer your question but I will do my best to find some people who can.

My initial instinct is to say that educational component of your project is important and very valuable. But think of the skills your program is giving people and how they might be marshaled not only to educated, but to help people put food on their table.

Why not set up organizations that do community education/outreach (for free) but also spend time on income-generating activities like theatre that charges a (nominal) entrance fee? The project might not be profitable, but could be sustainable.

Really, the best thing you can do is to talk to as many people as you possibly can: African, non-African; NGO, private sector, artists/actors...the regular folk who will participate in and benefit from your project.

More on all of this later. I apologize for not responding in-depth to some of the more recent comments. I am currently traveling in Rwanda. Keep the comments coming!

[CareTaker]

A well written, frank and balanced analysis of the aid-trade discourse. Thanks for taking the time to inject some clarity into the issue.

What I struggle with is will the so-called "Cheetah generation" - who were over-represented at the TED conference - achieve their goals of liberating Africa from the claws of poverty and underdevelopment if the issues of poor/bad governance is not addressed?

The African public sector is controlled by some corrupt and inept bureaucrats and politicians - the set of people Dr Ayittey refers to as the "Hippo generation." I think until we start seeing the "Cheetahs" make serious inroads into the public service and political arena, their impacts will be very much curtailed to the fringes of the African society.

[Nii Simmonds]

Hi Jennifer,

I emailed you a few weeks ago, how is everything? Good story I actually wrote about you on my blog, keep up the good job reporting about development in Africa.

Check out my blog when you get a chance. http://nubiancheetah.blogspot.com/

[Russell Nelson]

@Blaise: remember, if you set a man before a fire, you have warmed him for a day, but if you set a man on fire, you have kept him warm for the rest of his life.

@Jennifer: Excellent article. I'm a big believer in free trade as opposed to international charity. I look at the states of the USA, observe that they have free trade between each other, and conclude that free trade can't be criticized. Oh, it creates winners and losers, sure. But the losers are the ones who need a kick in the butt to get them to do what they are truly good at, not just what they've done in the past.

You've noted that aid can be helpful or not. Indeed, there is helpful charity, and there is harmful charity. If you give a healthy man a crutch simply because you've never seen him walk, he will in time require the crutch.

You might find "A History of Wealth and Poverty" interesting. Originally published in hardcover, the author recovered the copyright and has published it online.

[pjali9]

Bono and contributors of aid compete with no one and compliment all... all the bloggers here take sides so quickly - without him and all of the others like Bono where would a large portion of people in Africa be? Starving that's where. - when a person is hungry or better put STARVING do they want a job? or to be told to be creative? How about telling them to "go invent something... you can do it". The solution to any problem is a whole solution - getting a continent and 900million people on their feet and producing their own living is huge and won't happen by saying stop the aid ... invest your money in start up enterprise... Bono is a catalyst - all of the solutions to any problem or challenge are dynamic and require constant motivators... remember that change takes place over time and in many ways... the dialog is applauded and needed to spur more actions so keep talking but don't sacrifice actions for dialog... The actions in the beginning supplement the actions taken along the way and so on until we will all see Africa as a strong and independent Continent with a world voice with continueing contributions - I see Jennifer Brea is an advocate of change and a catalyst commentator that writes to invite debate and for others to voice opinions...and take action... we've never had the same conditions before in Africa that we do right now - it is an awesome place with the most complex dynamic in the world i would venture a guess that most people TALKING about investing Africa have never invested in Africa... money or time. Go there and make something happen... cause something positive to happen... like Bono or the 1000's of people that spend their days working there... do something besides talk about the actions others are taking.

[Erastus B.]

Quite some flowerly words but very misleading about Africa. Africa is a continent, and just because one incident happens in one African country does not mean that is what is happening across the continent. And no, Africa is not a continent of despair and desperation as you put it. What a misuse of your time and writing talents? Be real and preach hope not misinformation...I challenge you to a conversation if you still believe what you have written is right.

I am tired of seeing people like you who think that there's nothing good in Africa, if there was none, why run there for vacations and safaris every so often? Why not challenge your leaders who have promoted and continued the rape of Africa's resources? Why not show the other side of Africa which is thriving in your electronic and print media? Why not stop taking advantage of what you call "our desperation" to enrich yourself?

Be real and do know that Africa has sons and daughters who will stand for it from users like you. And I am one of them.

[jackie]

Jen, I think you're making it seem that charity in general is a bad thing when perhaps what you're really opposed to is large volumes of aid given to governments and NGOs.

Would you support a scholarship fund at your university that allowed bright African students to study there? Probably so, but it doesn't sound like you would endorse an American family sending money to an African family so they can put their children in a school where they are.

You should also remember that nonprofits are not the same as private companies, hence the term nonprofit. The marketing they do is less about selling a product or service and more about giving people a cause they feel proud to support. National Public Radio (NPR) in the USA is funded almost entirely by listener's donations and grants, and NPR knows what a for-profit news station looks like. People give to their church, a church abroad, effective African NGOs and ineffective African NGOs, effective international NGOs and ineffective international NGOs, the National Rifle Association and the National Heart Association, Teach for America and Teach for Africa, not because they pick a name out of a hat but because the organisation's message resonates with them. It's a free market, even if you strip it down simply to companies competing for people's tax deductions.

If the school of St Jude is successful at raising enough money from foreigners to sustain its operations, what's wrong with that? Is the problem that African families won't know the true value of a quality education unless they pay for it themselves in some way? Will having a few thousand more children out of school finally give the government or the parents the impetus to make sure the next generation goes to school?

Or is the idea that foreigners should only fund businesses in poor countries and keep their charity to themselves?

I spent three months volunteering in Tanzania. One day, I was with a group of Tanzanians and observed something I've never observed in a western country: a woman came around with a piece of paper and an envelope in which people gave a contribution. When she came to me, I saw that people were writing down their names and their individual donations to pay for a wedding. Most people gave about $1 or $2 but I gave $10 because I had more money than them. After that, the woman continued around to the other people I was with and they continued to donate, too.