Make Poverty History? Not like this.
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This year saw the launch of a new brand known as Make Poverty History. It is everywhere; on everyone's wrists, on every website, in every newspaper, as popular as the latest mobile phone ringtones. I use the term brand for those very reasons. As the public awareness of this organisation, charity, or whatever you like to call it, becomes more widespread, so indeed does poverty in the world's poorer nations. In fact, poverty in some places is worse than ever. Why?

Make Poverty Historty stems from the same people who are behind the Live Aid events, the first of which was held in 1985. The group admits themselves, that since 1985, poverty has in fact got worse in many places. The aim of the 1985 event was to make poverty history in Ethiopia. Although I'm sure much good came from the event, despite over £70 million raised, it failed to meet it's aim.
It is not necessarily the fault of the organisers of this charity, but the makepovertyhistory campaign and it's actions show a complete misunderstanding and ignorance of the real causes of poverty in third world countries, and how to resolve them. In fact the campaign stank of western hypocrisy from the world go.

One of the main forms of promotion for Make Poverty History was the white band campaign, encouraging the general public to buy a white plastic band with the logo on it, to show their support for the organisation. It was later revealed that the white bands were manufactured in a factory in China where workers had to work a seven day week for less than the minimum wage. It turns out the charities having these rubber bands made had not properly checked out the factories where they were being produced. It strikes me as slightly contradictory that an organsiation which states it is trying to promote fair trade would have their promotional material produced under forced trade conditions. The white band campaign is typical of Western marketing, taking huge global issues and attempting to cram them into one, neat, small, marketable product for the masses.

On 2nd July 2005, Make Poverty History held the Live 8 event, an event heralded as a turning point in history, which aimed to unite the world in the cause to help Africa. This event too, smelt slightly fishy...if it wasn't that nearly all the performers were white, it was perhaps the VIP section at the front of Hyde Park. Was this event not about equality?

The large majority of the English public lapped up Live 8 like a thirsty cat laps milk, but for me personally there's something about a bunch of millionaires dancing and singing around a stage that doesn't quite sit right in my stomach. It's easy for the likes of Madonna and Robbie Williams to perform at an event such as this and rant on about the poor, famine, and ethics, after all they have their mansions to go back to when it's all over. Was Live 8 about making us feel bad for the poor, or feel better because we're rich? There were definitely mixed messages.
An alternative to inviting the world's most famous artists to perform, would have been to invite the world's least famous. How about scouting Africa for some talent? Hell they have musical instruments over there and they definitely don't lack passion. The attitude taken by the organisers was that they needed famous acts to draw in the crowds and to create the attention they wanted, but by taking this approach, they are surely missing the point of exactly what they supposedly stand for. They had a chance to open peoples eyes, but instead, they fed us more of the same shit we could see at tea in the park.
When UN Secretary General Kofi Annan stepped on stage, I thought to myself at least this guy might have something of significance to say, but I was again let down. He told the crowd the world was "truly united" to help the poor. Indeed the world was united, well, all those who have televisions and mobile phones, which I'm guessing cuts out most of Africa and Latin America, the two areas of the world living in most poverty. As he stood on stage, UN spending on military remains 25 times the amount spent on aid.

Bob Geldof would have us believe that Live 8 strongly influenced the minds of world leaders at the G8 summit, and I'm sure the leaders would have him believe that too. In reality it is British and American foreign policy that has been a major cause of global poverty for the past 30 years. How can Tony Blair wear a badge supporting Make Poverty History, when it is his illegal war in Iraq that is leaving millions of civilians homeless and without food or aid? If we are to truly make poverty history, our governments need to be 100% with us, not working against us. Of course events like Live 8, with its impressive array of beautiful celebrities, only helps the government pull the wool over our eyes and distract us from what is really happening.

The Make Poverty History website listed Sudan as one of the poorest and most disease ridden nations in Africa. What is doesn't tell you is why. It doesn't mention the Clinton Administration bombing of Sudans Al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory in 1998. At this point in time, Sudan was just beginning to get somewhere in its fight against poverty, disease, and political instability. Afterwards, the US tried to justify the attack by claiming that the Al-Shifa plant was producing the ingredients for the deadly VX nerve gas, but Sudan's assertion that it produced 50% of the country's medical drug requirements is closer to the truth. Two British undercover agents who had been working at the plant prior to the missile attack confirmed that they did not believe the plant to have any military or terrorist connections at all. The US also suspected Sudan, and the Al-Shifa plant specifically, of ties with Bin Laden and Al Quaeda. In fact, to the contrary, Sudan intelligence services had extensive documents on Al Quaeda members, intended to be used against the terrorist group, documents which, ironically, if made available to the US, might have enabled them to foresee and prevent the attacks of 9/11. Of course after being bombed, Sudan were understandably not in the mood for joining forces. America's war against terrorism perhaps looked somewhat hyprocritical.
The Al-Shifa plant produced a full range of antibiotics, medicines for malaria, rheumatism, tuberculosis and diabetes. Since that date, cases of all these diseases have rapidly risen in Sudan. Millions have died or are living in pain, and the economy is in ruins and has not managed to redevelop, despite some so called "generous" aid and compensation from the USA after the missile strike was declared to have broken international UN law.

Sudan is not an isolated case. Throughout the last 50 years, the USA and it's allies, including Britain, have been directly habouring and contributing to the very terrorism which it claims to be fighting against.
Today, perhaps the people of Iraq can take comfort in the fact that they too might be next in line for such generous aid. Sadaam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction remain undiscovered, just as the deadly nerve gases were in Sudan. Anyone got deja vu?
Take any of the world's nations where poverty is at its highest, and an example of Western military intervention or corporate exploitation is likely to be involved. Nicaragura, Peru, Argentina, Afganistan, the list goes on. If it's not the Clinton Administration it's the Bush Administration. If it's not Nike, it's Ford.

Make Poverty History and Live 8 set out to eradicate poverty in Africa, but in fact with its naive views and corporate approach, as well as being backed by a modern day Ghandi who happends to be a multi-millionaire himself, ultimately it is only contributing to the problem. Africa is perhaps cursed by being rich in natural resources such as gold, diamonds, and oil, products which if it did not have, at least it might be left alone to control its own destiny.
I only hope that the general public, in future, sees through these kind of distraction techniques and learns to look through the bright lights of television, mobile phones, and stupid rubber wrist bands, and that those who are in a position to motivate the public realise that you can't tackle political corruption and exploitation with a pop concert.
Make Poverty History has succeeded, in making it history from people's minds. That is, until the next PR stunt comes around....

Step-On Magazine Issue 28
Photography & Editorial : Andrew Winter