[Discussion] Why is over half of Africa so poor?

[Da Best Ever]

This is a quote from the French president, Francois Mitterand in 1994:
‘Despite the considerable sums spent on bilateral and multilateral aid, the flow of capital from Africa toward the industrial countries is greater than the flow of capital from the industrial countries to the developing countries’ (see Touissaint and Comanne 1995: 10-12).

The West receives far more from Africa than it receives in aid. Plus, with the Structural Adjustment Programs imposed on these poor people, their markets have been privatized by the United States, U.K., and other leading countries.

The West hurt Africa big time by colonizing and asserting dominance over them which sheer force. It was no more different than a bully picking on the weakest kid at the playground.

 

[Da Best Ever]

Are you serious? No one has a valid answer as to why they are poor? Jesus Christ!!! You should read a little more if you think that, there are a ton of causes.

Just to name some and in no particular order:

a)Lack of education among the population (education means progress and is associated with wealth in a society no matter where)

b) Widespread corruption among those who rule (many of them typical dictators or lack of a real government)

c)Hate among different groups that for land,resources or simply because of ancestral disputes.

d)Most of the help(medicine,food,money) first world countries provide is often lost (stolen) and doesn´t reach those in need.

e)Lack of job/studying opportunities in those countries for people to break the vicious cycle of poverty they have fallen into for so long.

f)A very large population that far exceeds their ability to supply proper nutrition to most of them.

g)Deadly disease and epidemics affecting a large percentage of the continents population.This never ends, as people die others become infected.

There are more reasons but those are closely related to the ones i have mentioned.Africa is poor (and will continue to be poor) because their problems are not easy to deal with, there is no formula and practically nothing is simple there.

The so called first world countries have tried to deal with the vast amount of problems Africa has in many ways through the years but nothing really changes.Charity(good intentions) has never and will never be enough to deal with all the corruption, selfish interests,hate rooted wars and lack of education common in those countries.

The cause of all that was the hate against them by the West.

 

[KcMSean]

hmm i know what you mean however.. think of how many people there are in this world and how many charities around there are that continues all year round which have been going for years and i know there are a lot of people who do take charities seriously so there must be others in the world that do the same.. then you have special event charities which are huge such as children in need and raise up to a million pounds or more in some cases an this has also being going on for a good few years now and africa and other places still arnt better off?

makes you think a bit doesnt it?

I just feel as if those charities dont help out as much as they should. And as for how many people there are in the world, the percentage of those who have the means to help is rather miniscule. Its a shame, no doubt, but its the truth. But yes, it does make you think. I honestly feel like there are enough to make some kind of difference, but what is going on?
As a 21 year old in school it's easy to say I'd like to help those less fortunate for me, and I truly would, it just saddens me to see that all the help that caring people gives basically amounts to nothing.

 

[Da Best Ever]

Nope, it's well known that the United States lives off the poverty and failure of African countries via the IMF World Bank. Even Francois Mitterand, the former president of France admitted that Africa pays more to the West than it receives in aid and they still do to this day. Not to mention how the U.K. rigged Nigeria's first election in their favor thus causing the malpractice of corruption in African countries today.

Pure hate and that's sad, this world is full of hate. We humans have free will the greatest trait given to us over all of creation yet we use the free will to oppress others.

 

[Infinite Yaoi Emperor]

Pure hate and that's sad, this world is full of hate. We humans have free will the greatest trait given to us over all of creation yet we use the free will to oppress others.

It's not hate. I wish it were hate, hate can be beaten. It's greed.

 

[theacknowledgedone]

You and your friends still have a long way to go to see Africa flourish as it should. What you and your friends are doing is valiant but minuscule in the grand scheme of things. Former oppression hurt their society big time. Also America did not care or want to help Africa American's for a long time and still a lot of discrimination and hate exists today so what makes you think America would care about an entire Continent of African's they once persecuted?

It's the little things that matter. We have several speakers for Africa come to our school and many other schools on numerous occasions to praise what has been done on not only our part but many others as well. America can't change what had happened in the past but we've made progress as a country. In fact, we even have an African American president now. I'd say that's a pretty big step for us. As long as there are people who still believe in helping others you can't discriminate against the US and proclaim we are all bad.

 

[Da Best Ever]

It's not hate. I wish it were hate, hate can be beaten. It's greed.

Hate transformed itself into greed.

 

[Reflection]

Pure hate and that's sad, this world is full of hate. We humans have free will the greatest trait given to us over all of creation yet we use the free will to oppress others.

Agreed. It just makes me sad that things like this still occur and that our economy is built by corpses of 3rd world citizens who rely on us to help them.

 

[Infinite Yaoi Emperor]

Hate transformed itself into greed.

There was never hate. The hate only came when they rebelled and took their power back. Hate sprung from greed. Read my post above, it explains the entire history of modern Africa.

 

[narutobasegod]

because eurpeans colonized there for there resources natural resources they mined and took diamonds and all of that they kept the Africans in poverty set up ractism and when the finally left the countries and stuff the Africans where poor but still had tons of natural resources but needed money and lots of money on how to get started and to learn what to do with it whats the point of having a diamond are oil if you don't kno how to use it are what to use it for so they said we will show you and teach you give you this money for tis this and this but we want it back and we want part of this and these benefits here and there when you learn how to use them and so on and so fort so basically what im saying is AFRICA IS THE RICHEST PLACE ON THE EARTH FOR AS IT'S RESOURCES AND STUFF BUT THEY HAVE TO PAY BACK THE LOANS AND PORTIONS OF THINGS THAT OTHER COUNTRIES STILL OWN AND ANOTHER PART THAT I DIDNT MENTION IS ALL THE WARS IN AFRICA IS ALSO APART OF THE REASON THERE IN POVERTY AND THIS IS A TRUE ANSWER MY FAVORITE SUBJECT IS HISTORY I LOVE TO LEARN IT SO I KNOW ALOT ABOUT IT JUST BN HONEST

 

[Da Best Ever]

It's the little things that matter. We have several speakers for Africa come to our school and many other schools on numerous occasions to praise what has been done on not only our part but many others as well. America can't change what had happened in the past but we've made progress as a country. In fact, we even have an African American president now. I'd say that's a pretty big step for us. As long as there are people who still believe in helping others you can't discriminate against the US and proclaim we are all bad.

Changes have been made slowly albeit but nonetheless they are changes. Still, hate in the U.S. exist and people like to not acknowledge it and throw it under the rug as if its nothing is happening. America is the biggest bully and everyone knows it, I simply have little faith in mankind because " man " is the most powerful things on the planet yet the power is used for the value of ones self and not the whole of people. We are destroying the planet, so I know we as people don't care about another race and Continent, we kill ourselves so I know people we don't even know are irrelevant to us. That's just sad.

 

[Infinite Yaoi Emperor]

because eurpeans colonized there for there resources natural resources they mined and took diamonds and all of that they kept the Africans in poverty set up ractism and when the finally left the countries and stuff the Africans where poor but still had tons of natural resources but needed money and lots of money on how to get started and to learn what to do with it whats the point of having a diamond are oil if you don't kno how to use it are what to use it for so they said we will show you and teach you give you this money for tis this and this but we want it back and we want part of this and these benefits here and there when you learn how to use them and so on and so fort so basically what im saying is AFRICA IS THE RICHEST PLACE ON THE EARTH FOR AS IT'S RESOURCES AND STUFF BUT THEY HAVE TO PAY BACK THE LOANS AND PORTIONS OF THINGS THAT OTHER COUNTRIES STILL OWN AND ANOTHER PART THAT I DIDNT MENTION IS ALL THE WARS IN AFRICA IS ALSO APART OF THE REASON THERE IN POVERTY AND THIS IS A TRUE ANSWER MY FAVORITE SUBJECT IS HISTORY I LOVE TO LEARN IT SO I KNOW ALOT ABOUT IT JUST BN HONEST

You're right about most of that, except for the fact that Africa is not one of the richest parts of the world. Europe and North America have/had the most abundant resoruces, which is the only reason that Europe and now America are in power. They had the initial edge and have been riding it ever since.

 

[theacknowledgedone]

Nope, it's well known that the United States lives off the poverty and failure of African countries via the IMF World Bank. Even Francois Mitterand, the former president of France admitted that Africa pays more to the West than it receives in aid and they still do to this day. Not to mention how the U.K. rigged Nigeria's first election in their favor thus causing the malpractice of corruption in African countries today.

President in another country talking bad about us to make himself look better is all I see at the bold. All I'm saying is unless you yourself have been to an event or participated in the act of helping anyone in Africa don't proclaim to better than us or downplay our efforts.

 

[Da Best Ever]

There was never hate. The hate only came when they rebelled and took their power back. Hate sprung from greed. Read my post above, it explains the entire history of modern Africa.

I read your post.


Hate is what started fighting from the very beginning. Wars started from hate, since African's were so underdeveloped there was no need for war when you can just walk in and take, they were so naive. Also while techincally the African's rebelled against Western colonization the West powers could have easily stomped them, the truth of the matter is they had already did what then came to do which was assert dominance the resources were a perk and easy pickings. You have to realize that time period is the beginning towards African's which still continue today. Another reason why the Western powers just left is because not all Westerners accepted that and in the " New Age " that sort of think was inhumane.

 

[Da Best Ever]

President in another country talking bad about us to make himself look better is all I see at the bold. All I'm saying is unless you yourself have been to an event or participated in the act of helping anyone in Africa don't proclaim to better than us or downplay our efforts.

You have to admit to yourself that all that could be done is not being done.

 

[Da Best Ever]

Agreed. It just makes me sad that things like this still occur and that our economy is built by corpses of 3rd world citizens who rely on us to help them.

Its a cold cold world.

 

[Reflection]

President in another country talking bad about us to make himself look better is all I see at the bold. All I'm saying is unless you yourself have been to an event or participated in the act of helping anyone in Africa don't proclaim to better than us or downplay our efforts.

I hope you do realize that France is also considered the West. Your efforts are admirable and I'm sure it's saved a few lives, but as long as the IMF World Bank exists, Africans will be the basis of our prosperity as well as other countries like Haiti, Iran, etc. They had the loans IMPOSED on them and the interest rates of these loans are continuously hiking up. Plus SAP restrictions have cut off all of Africa's money making industries.

 

[Da Best Ever]

I hope you do realize that France is also considered the West. Your efforts are admirable and I'm sure it's saved a few lives, but as long as the IMF World Bank exists, Africans will be the basis of our prosperity as well as other countries like Haiti, Iran, etc. They had the loans IMPOSED on them and the interest rates of these loans are continuously hiking up. Plus SAP restrictions have cut off all of Africa's money making industries.

" Liberty died, with a thunderous applause. "

 

[Parrish]

Why are most Americans fat ?

weight shouldn't be compared to one person because different heights have different average body weight. Plus inbreds don't exist in my country

Seems OP struck a nerve here.

 

[Da Best Ever]

Seems OP struck a nerve here.

Where did the inbreed thing come from???