To think Stacey Dooley was right in her response to David Lammy

[CoolCarrie]

“ Africa doesn’t need white saviours” says Lammy commenting on pictures of Stacey Dooley on a comic relief trip. Why pick on her? Loads of celebrities over the years have gone to Africa to show how money is helping the poorest of the poor, and the huge difference it has made over the years.
What Africa does need is governments that are not corrupt and better leaders.

I agree with david.

FFS he didn't have a go at Stacey Dooley, he actually made that explicit.

And yes her insta comments are vapid and ignorant.

He mentioned her specifically.

And in the past he’s also picked out other celebrities like Ed Sheeran. Stacey Dooley is just the current embodiment of a wider debate he’s been raising for years.

He did, I saw the tweets, the initial one was next to a picture of her and his later comments referred back to the same picture.

I completely agree with Lammy and it's perfectly obvious that he was provoked to comment because her picture is current. He's not targeting her out of misogyny or anything like that.

It's so obvious that those commenting that he should do something know nothing about him and seem to be assuming this is the one and only thing he has ever done/commented on.

I think he's a good example as an MP and is a very vocal opponent of the government, particularly in relation to the Grenfell fire and Brexit and all manner of other issues that tend to affect the poor and vulnerable in this country.

Raising awareness is part of his role, but of course he hasn't the time, capacity or expertise to actually organise a whole fundraising project/approach. That is not what he is elected to do. He has stated very clearly that he has held meetings with the BBC about another approach and their statement that he hasn't got back to them is downright misleading. But the BBC lost my respect a while ago. He says, quite rightly, that him going there would be no different to any other Westerner doing so, so why on earth would he want to do that? It would be hypocritical to say the least, even leaving aside the fact that it would take him away from his job.

I agree that local tradespeople would have been better. I assumed the volunteers paid their own costs - if that's not the case then yes, that's a huge waste of money.

Iwannaseehowitends no, when you see or hear of people fundraising for these trips, they are using the donations to fund their flights and accommodation and I think, to cover some admin fees on behalf of the charity/company they are going over to work with.

That's the non celebs obviously.

From his Twitter:

'You continue to miss the point. Flying me, a British politician, out to speak for citizens of a continent I have never lived on is more of the same patronising fluff. Please invite an African filmmaker, celebrity, farmer, teacher or businessperson to make a film in my place.'

"When? He is a very active MP- that’s his job."

I worked for a high profile MP, shadow front bench now. With the best will in the world, very few MPs are in reality very active. High profile isn’t the same thing at all.
Their staff, now they work incredibly hard

I can understand Mr Lammys views and they are very valid. When i was a mere child at infants and primary school,,,and thats a fair few decades ago now,,we used to have an annual collection thing called "st josephs penny". I was a good catholic. Some may remember it? You were sent home with a purpose made white cardboard box with a slot in it to collect spare cash from family members. It was supposed to be used to feed the poor in poor countries,presumably Africa and asia,,not England.

That was a long time ago. Year on year ive seen filmreels and photos of starving children for annual appeals. I have to ask, in all this time with all this aid pumped in,,what exactly have they been doing to improve their own lot other than slaughtering eachother and living in corrupt regimes which many support?

If any "Africans" wish to step forward and take Ms Dooleys place, well crack on. Also if any African journalists wish to travel to the UK to film our food banks,our homeless ,our drug addicts,our low paid,our failing NHS etc,,please come,,i would welcome a new take on our own failings and poverty just to even things out a bit.

In the mean time, if the aid pipeline is shut down,,people will suffer more and starve.

Also if any African journalists wish to travel to the UK to film our food banks,our homeless ,our drug addicts,our low paid,our failing NHS etc,,please come,,i would welcome a new take on our own failings and poverty just to even things out a bit

Yup

I think David Lammy is right, western pop stars, celebrities and politicians can't 'save' Africa. The image presented to the rest of the world of a war-torn, starving, impoverished continent is wrong and it's damaging. Western aid agencies are an industry - a multi billion pound industry which relies on that image, not just being maintained but reinforced.

Tony Blair called Africa a 'scar on world's conscience'. He may have been trying to help, but statements like that are highly offensive. And they maintain the image of Africa the Victim.

I went to visit Ethiopia a few years ago, to see the gelada baboons in the Simien mountains and the churches of Lalibela. So many people asked if I was bringing food with me - because to so many people Ethiopia and famine are synonymous.

The goals of Comic Relief are good - and it is true that celebrities raise income. But these images are so harmful in the long term, the people there don't need pity, they need respect.
But the celebrities are well-meaning, and it's difficult to criticize altruism. And aid agencies are not going to change what is working for THEM.

I've nothing against Stacey Dooley, whether you like or not, she is an award winning investigative journalist, and probably more credible there than Ed Sheeran or David Tennant. But I think this whole means of fund raising should be dropped. It was outdated 20 years ago.

I don't like the way he chose to make his point. For those who don't/aren't willing to dig deeper his initially singling out Stacey Dooley will just be translated as 'white people can't help black people' I feel he could have made his point far more eloquently and intelligently.

That said he does have a very valid point to make. Slightly off piste but a few months ago I was reading a yucky article in the wonderful Daily Fail about Meghan Markles charity work (or more specifically a story about her pissed off ex PR agent) before her engagement to PH. I was shocked being quite naive about these things, that celebs actually hire agents to procure them charity gigs specifically so they can raise their profile. The agent will select appropriate charities that will garner the opportunities (speaking engagements, networking opps) and press attention. I had previously thought these arose naturally out of the celebs interest or the celeb would be approached by a charity. To think that people are being carted via first class flights to other areas of the globe to have pictures taken of them surrounded by poor school kids in order to specifically boost their profile and portfolio and boost their career status or money making capacity is quite exploitative and disgusting.

But these things often are done for these purposes, altruism rarely comes into it.

A couple of years ago I remember watching Lenny Henry visiting a family of orphan siblings living in the worst shack in a shantytown. It was right next to raw sewage and very noisy and unsafe for them. He worked out how much a nicer shack would be, easily affordable for him and bought it for them so the kids could live in a cleaner shack at the edge of the shantytown. It was very generous of him and i’m Sure he meant well, but, the kids were still living in a shantytown, still had no adult caring for them, still at risk. I hope he keeps an eye on how they are doing. I’m not criticising him, but I think this is more of an example of the “saviour”, swooping in a singleling our one family to save rather than anyone addressing why so many thousands are living the same life. I suspect CR has to be very careful not to upset the governments of the country’s they work with and can’t be seen to criticise them. But politicians, like David Lammy are much better placed to ask questions about why some African have such abject poverty. Instead of spending his time critising a woman.

Some high profile people simple garner the celeb status of repping charities to purge their own guilt because of their wealth and privilege. They also maybe want to feel useful rather than useless as many dont have proper jobs and/or dont know what real work is.

I think it must be impossible to go there and not want to help financially in some small way.

I do find this idea that Africa is no longer deserving of charity a bit ridiculous. Yes some countries have a growing middle class but poverty is still endemic, corruption is horrific and lots of the governance is basically fucked.

Where does David Lammy stand on overseas aid in general, does anyone know?

www.davidlammy.co.uk/single-post/2016/06/14/Foreign-Aid-debate

Fazackerley

No one is suggesting it doesn’t need charity but he’s pointing out that perpetuating the stereotype or maintaining a single gaze has the effect of maintaining that as the status quo, a position that it suits us to maintain.

Does no one remember Macron meeting the Ghanaian president all full of ‘how can we help?’

The High Commissioner for Uganda was on This Morning earlier. He supports what David Lammy said but I think he explained the situation much better. He said that he was offended by celebrities putting African children on their social media. He agreed that in making the films about schools and other child related projects it's necessary for children to appear in such films but that putting a child's image on social media isn't necessary.

Year on year ive seen filmreels and photos of starving children for annual appeals. I have to ask, in all this time with all this aid pumped in,,what exactly have they been doing to improve their own lot other than slaughtering eachother and living in corrupt regimes which many support?

FFS, this is exactly the harmful view these charities keep alive. Saying Africans just slaughter each other and support corrupt regimes puts across the view Africans are barbaric, lazy and need foreigners to help them.

Ethiopia, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire are amongst the fastest growing economies in the world. Do people think this is because of foreign aid from the west and Africans have just sat back and done nothing for themselves?

IMO, using the phrase “white saviour” has got people’s backs up and they’re unwilling to see David Lammy’s point.

No one is suggesting it doesn’t need charity but he’s pointing out that perpetuating the stereotype or maintaining a single gaze has the effect of maintaining that as the status quo, a position that it suits us to maintain.

Exactly this.

‘White saviour’ is a long-held and used academic term and theory and the exact right phrase for this situation.

If Dooley and her team are the journalists that I hope they are, they will use this as the basis of a new documentary.

I agree with David Lammy. I dont like how Stacey Dooley put it all over instagram. Plus that baby doesn't even look happy in her arms!

Sammy said in an interview the Spastic charity name was changed to Scope because of it was deemed inappropriate. Comic Relief needs to think about the lens in which it portrays Africa.