With the recent earthquakes in Chile and Haiti, students have raised money to be sent to aid the victims during these difficult times. Whitworth’s response to these crises is admirable; $4,500 was raised for Haiti as of Feb. 16, as reported in an earlier issue of the Whitworthian. However, it is important to be discerning as to which organizations we support with our funds.
Recently the BBC unearthed evidence that suggests only a small percentage of the billions of dollars in aid sent to Ethiopia during its famine in the early 1980s actually went toward securing food for Ethiopian citizens. The majority of the money was put toward weapons purchases, the report claims.
BBC reporter Martin Plaut was in Ethiopia at the time of the famine, and reported on the mass amounts of aid funneled into the nation through aid campaigns sponsored by Irish pop star Bob Geldof and charity supergroup Band Aid.
Last year, however, Plaut was contacted by Ethiopians who told him the bulk of the aid money had been used by rebel groups to purchase arms. It appears that members of the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front, a prominent rebel group with ambitions to overthrow the Ethiopian government, posed as merchants during the famine to gain access to aid money. They subsequently spent the funds to purchase arms.
Much of the aid that was given to Ethiopia during the famine came from Americans.
Sadly, most Americans who gave aid during the famine probably would not have been able to locate Ethiopia on a map. It’s likely that the majority of them were not knowledgeable about the political climate in the nation. It should be commended that they gave when called to do so by Geldof and other pop stars, but the truth is that it doesn’t appear the fundraisers for the famine were knowledgeable about the situation themselves.
Admittedly, there is debate over the validity of the report. Geldof and some Ethiopian officials insist that the money did arrive at its intended destination.
Regardless of this, however, we feel this story holds a valuable lesson: know before you give. This situation constitutes a case in which we gave carelessly of something we have in abundance. But we should always keep in mind that unstable nations are full of social elements who will not miss an opportunity to get a hold of funds.
The BBC has called this discovery “a disturbing allegation that few would choose to confront.” We agree with this. But we also believe that Westerners should confront issues such as this to ensure that future aid endeavors are not wasted.
Whitworth students are known for their support of charitable ministries, be we must be wise when choosing which charities to give to. There are several services available which investigate non-profits to examine how they manage the money and resources donated to them. Students should make use of these resources when selecting a ministry to support.
An education of the heart is part of Whitworth’s mission and giving of our resources to charity is certainly an element of that. However, Whitworth students are also receiving an education of the mind. It is important to remember that giving from the heart should not be done in absence of a critical examination by the mind.
Editorials in the “In the Loop” section reflect the majority opinion of the Editorial Board, which is made up of five editors.
IN THE LOOP: Wisdom needed when choosing charities
Published: Monday, March 8, 2010
Updated: Tuesday, March 9, 2010
7 comments
The person who is acting like a grain merchant is still alive and TPLF leaders didn't deny that he was high ranking TPLF official at that time. It isn’t word only that picture tells a lot.
does it imply Americans are idiots who do not know what they do or where countries are located or does it mean that Ethiopia is not a country enough to be known or located on map to the Americans? This is really absurd!!!
The other issue is that it was not BILLIONS of dollars that was raised during the famine, it was MILLIONS; B and M makes a huge diffrence. An ordinary person would easily know why this is reported right now, and the evidencesmentioned are rubbish. Please leave us alone, do not make a dirty business out of made up stories of Africans!
Enough has been said to smear Africa and enough should be enough! basta!! I did not say bastards!