Blog Topic Number 10

    
     When asked my personal opinion on foreign aid to Sub-Saharan Africa I must confess that reading the sections of the textbook and the article provided in the assignment substantially changed my outlook on the situation in Africa.  This whole situation shows both the upsides and downsides of the massive globalization taking place in our world today.  The section "Global to Local: The Used Clothing Trade" in the textbook shows just how much certain products exhibit globalization here.  Toward the end it says we live in a world today where a shirt made in Honduras can be worn by a teen in New Jersey and then boxed up and sent over to be worn in Uganda. 

(Many celebrities have become well known for their efforts in African Aid)

Globalization becomes more of a matter of questionable results when talking about the system of foreign aid and investing in Africa.  In many countries more than 20% of the GNI comes from foreign aid, a number found on page 271 in the textbook.  Also from the textbook I learned that in 2005 that percentage was 54% in Liberia and 47% in Burundi.  This to me says we have taken our assistance beyond the point of help and progression and brought it to the situation where corruption, dependency, and laziness has been the end result of Western efforts.

     When we provide this much 'assistance' to these nations we remove much of the need or desire for their own industrialization.  They become dependent on the money they are receiving from foreign sources and lose the innovation needed by the people of a nation to make the economy self dependent and self sustaining.  However I do not think we need to completely refuse aid to these countries either.  In my opinion we need to find a healthier balance at a much lower level to provide assistance at and still encourage growth and safety of the people who live there.  Efforts need to be made to ensure the money ends up where it is supposed to and nations whose leaders siphon the money off for themselves need to receive less aid or incur some sort of punishment. 

     When I read the section of the book that talked about the clothing being sent over to Africa harming the local textile industry I realized just how delicate the issue really is.  Because there are many people who are making their meager living off of the used clothing coming into these countries from charitable foundations but at the same time we cannot expect the industry to survive and become self sustaining if it is being pulled under by the clothing being brought in.  So in closing, I think the level of aid needs to be substantially lowered but at the same time I think the aid we do send needs to be examined and put to a more optimal purpose.  Somehow we need to ensure our aid results in better living standards and survivability for the people of Africa while at the same time ensuring that in a matter of years or decades the aid will be unnecessary and these people will have their own economy and structure to care for themselves.