Some Thoughts on Foreign Aid

“Feed the World. Do they know it’s Christmas time at all?”

- Bob Geldof

I am no expert, I have experienced a mere two weeks of life in Ethiopia and I
deeply admire those who have dedicated their time and effort to trying to
help the extremely poor people of Ethiopia who live undoubtedly tough lives.
But, from my superficial observations of life in Ethiopia it seems to me
that something, somewhere has gone wrong with the provision of aid here. I
am not claiming to have answers and I certainly am not meaning to criticize
the work people are doing here. But, for what it’s worth, here are a few
thoughts….

Every village I have cycled through in Ethiopia has resulted in crowds of
children (and often adults too) running alongside the bicycle shouting “YOU!
YOU! YOU! MONEY! MONEY! MONEY! GIVE ME MONEY!” Passing people on the open
road produces the same response, accompanied by open, outstretched palms.
When money is not forthcoming, stones are often thrown at me.

These are not isolated incidents: it is EVERY village and almost EVERY child
that is begging for money. In all the countries I have ridden through I have
never experienced such begging in rural areas. Rural poverty is very
different to urban poverty; it is not so ugly and desperate, people
generally have some food, some shelter, some support from fellow villagers
etc. So I have found it very shocking for kids knee-high to an Oxfam grain
sack to be screaming “MONEY!” at me.

There is a knee-jerk reaction in Ethiopia: a white person equals money. I am
not seen as a person here, I am a mobile cash point. If I do not give money
I have stones thrown at me.

Foreign aid has undoubtedly saved lives in Ethiopia. But aid has long-term
consequences, like the ripples from a pebble dropped in a pond. A small
example: the Japanese are currently building a good quality asphalt road
north of Addis Ababa. But donating a road also means that poorly trained
drivers in poorly maintained vehicles are able to drive far faster than ever
before. Road casualties increase dramatically. With vehicles travelling
faster than ever the multitudes of barefoot pedestrians and donkeys that
share the road are also gravely at risk. Wider consequences.

The huge input of aid by Western Countries (generalised as being white
people) seems to have bred a culture where the Ethiopians want to be rich,
but they don’t want (or feel the need?) to help themselves. Why manage the
village water supply carefully when white people will give you bags of grain
for nothing? Why provide a service in a town when persistent pestering of
white tourists will eventually lead to them giving you cash? White people
are seen as a bottomless, indiscriminate fount of cash.

That, it seems to me, is the problem. What then is the answer? I have no
idea. Ethiopia certainly has problems, but in many of the areas I rode
through there seems to be no excuse for being hungry: the land is fertile
and green and there is plenty of space available for farming. I believe that
money is not the solution. Perhaps the people need educating more: how to
make best use of their land, resources and time etc. How to help themselves.

It is an uneasy position to be a relatively affluent white traveller
surrounded by very poor beggars. However, giving random handouts of cash to
these people will only increase the amount of begging and decrease the
desire for the people to help themselves. Harsh, but I think it is true. I
think that it is far better to donate money to a proper organisation that
leaves the initiative with the local community to help themselves: the
establishment of a water pump for an entire village, for example.

I believe that the local people must be the ones taking the initiative and
making the decisions on a local level. Simply donating money only increases
the “white man = easy money” mentality. Dervla Murphy suggested that ALL
foreign aid should be withdrawn from Africa so that the people can begin to
help themselves. That is a drastic viewpoint, but I am beginning to
understand the essence of her view. For something has gone wrong when no-one
says hello to me, they just scream for money and hurl disappointed stones
when I do not oblige. I am white. I am not a person, I am a source of cash.

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