White Saviour

[username8348]

Ed Sheeran has said that he wouldn't participate in a rerecording of Do they Know it's Christmas which was first released in the 80s to raise money for a famine in Africa.

The single and other similar endeavours have been criticised as portraying a negative view of Africa and belying a White Saviour complex.

Some critics have said that Africa is capable of dealing with its own problems and such sentiments mean it loses business and investment:

While they may generate sympathy and donations, they perpetuate damaging stereotypes that stifle Africa’s economic growth, tourism and investment, ultimately costing the continent trillions and destroying its dignity, pride and identity - Fuse ODG

Do they know it's Christmas was last rereleased to raise money for ebola. Geldof has denied the claims saying that they're bollocks and the money has achieved a lot.

Western countries give a lot of aid to African nations, is it time to stop that aid? Many countries are feeling the pinch and could plough the money into their own nations.

AIBU to believe that we should stop playing the White Saviour and as advised, let Africa deal with its own problems?

But it is very much a long the line of patients, particularly those with chronic conditions, being experts in managing things themselves. They might need help or tools or treatments, but it's very much working with a patient coaboratively not a medical person swooping in and telling them what has to happen.

Unfortunately once you look into these 'charity' volunteer companies, you soon realise it is all being done for the benefit of that company.

Want an orphanage built, lets send a bunch of students paying £5k each on a gap year over to do it 🤔. Really want to help that orphanage get built, give the local builders the job. If they don't have the skills, send some builders over to teach them.

As a child I raised money for the Ethiopia appeal, even before Sir Bob started because I was extremely upset at the pictures being shown in the media. It was only when I reached adulthood and researched how corrupt it all is and how little aid reached the people that truly needed it, that I changed my beliefs in charity giving.

Sir Bob and Sir Bono would have disappeared years ago if not for their self aggrandising nonsense that has made little change to Africa in the past 40 years.

Oh right, those lazy patients who can't help themselves how fortunate you can show them where they are going wrong.
I actually think your lecturers attitude is a dodgy as anyone who wants to help because it makes them feel good.

No @TheignT what you wrote above was the exact prevailing attitude in conventional medicine. The patient needs saving and the doctor is there guiding them to salvation. Modern therapeutic approach recognises the strengths of a human in front of them and works with them collaboratively. If you don't like this approach, it's ok. You have an ample choice of paternalistic old-school doctors out there still who can treat you as helpless patient not in control of their treatment.

Like others have said, I am not a fan of judging something of the past with today's eyes and morals. The song was written with great intentions, raised a lot of money and - no doubt - saved a lot of lives. Well done Bob and Midge and well done everyone who bought it in the 80s.

But that was 40 years ago and it was of it's time. I can well see how views of Africa need to be changed from that of many people desperately starving and needing charity to one of a vibrant continent filled with diverse and varied countries with many different skills, values and needs. I don't think the song needs rerecording or has any place in 2024, tbh.

Going back to the OPs question, I don't think we should necessarily stop giving aid, I think it's more about how it's given and used to ensure empowering rather than reliance. I see aid as a redistribution of wealth between countries which has to be inherently a good thing if done in the right way.

Re. the song, I think we can't judge the 1984 version by our standards now, times have changed. However, we are right to question whether it should be re-released now, and for me the answer to that is no.

Yes, I think this is fair. It's like someone earlier on said: giving money to train doctors in their own country is probably a good thing, parachuting foreign in to deliver aid is more problematic in the long run.

But, then if people need help right now, what do you do? It's a minefield.

This is what Fuse actually said and he makes some very valid points. I don’t really doubt the original intentions of artists in the song but actually, perpetuating the idea that Africa (which is a continent!) is full of dying and starving people who need charity to survive is ridiculous. Christmas is Ghana is probably the best time of the year and whilst lots of people would be considered poor, it’s a whole country with diversity and joy. I went to Ghana for the first time as an adult, and honestly even as a black person, I was expecting deprivation and starvation everywhere. In reality, it was much more like my normal London life than expected. Songs like band aid, give an idea of the continent of Africa which is not as close to the truth as people think.

Want an orphanage built, lets send a bunch of students paying £5k each on a gap year over to do it 🤔. Really want to help that orphanage get built, give the local builders the job. If they don't have the skills, send some builders over to teach them.

I think you're sort of missing a few key points here.

eg, things like houses for humanity or building orphanages - often these are projects undertaken in a very short space of time and the volunteers are not there designing the building, measuring the frames etc... they're carrying bricks around and maybe digging holes, under the supervision of people who actually know what they're doing (many of whom are local) but they're basically free labour.

As importantly, many of these sort of projects build long-term relationships. So, a group of students come out and support the building. They meet some people. Perhaps they stay in touch. They go home. They lobby their local church or university to set aside some funds to go to the orphanage for routine maintenance and costs or, as they get older, they set up a direct debit and send money over directly. Over time, perhaps they become wealthy or are in a position to direct more money in some way..... These organisations rely heavily on these funds to keep doing the work they're doing.

My brother, who works in this sector, told me recently that when they do fundraising of this sort, it takes on average, at least five direct contacts with potential donors before they see any real investment. Building those relationships, and finding ways to do so by, for example, getting these people out on a bit of a "jolly" to experience it for themselves, is often a crucial step in the process.

That's not to say there aren'y many many faults with the way these funds get channeled to Africa and other parts of the world, but dismissive casual comments like these really get my back up because they're completely out of touch of the reality.

Agree. I'm glad the line was replaced in the last version as it doesn't land well in this day and age, but I've always thought of it as an angry line, as 'just count your damn blessings and look at how some people have to live.'

I don't think it's helping that Bob Geldof is being so arrogant about his achievements, though. The whole Messiah complex is bound to be turning some people off to the message.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c10l2vvjy9lo

I look forward to Fuse's non-cringy, dignified and above all future-proof solution to the current situation that won't make people "squirm" in 40 years time.

I support Doctors Without Borders and Engineers Without Borders. They work directly with the communities that need help and about 93% of their takings go to their projects.

I always saw this as sarcastic or maybe just saying "well it's them and not you" in a "cause we know you don't care!" Way?!

Yes Africa is severely lacking in young people who can dig holes and carry bricks. Your brother epitomises all that is wrong with it. Treating building a home for people as an opportunity to network, make friends, get something good to look on your CV.

Teach the people out there the skills, It doesn't need a group of unskilled teenagers to travel 7k miles in a plane to ask their church, friends, university to send aid money.

Tbf though, if you were around at the time, children and people in Ethiopia were literally starving because of the famine and it was a way for folk in the 80s to help out.

The song is certainly very dated in the way it expresses its sentiment. However I do think its a bit ironic when white people accuse other white people of being white saviours. The only views worth listening to about this are the beneficiaries themselves. Otherwise it's just another bunch of privileged people taking it upon themselves to speak on behalf of disadvantaged people and tell other privileged people off for helping them in the wrong way. Usually without the first clue as to how the disadvantaged people feel about it.

This is why Live Aid makes me cringe so much. We don’t know where our money is actually going, and we know that it is at least very likely going into the pockets of corrupt governments, so why are we sending money at all? Money can’t solve problems that are prevalent in the developing world. We also have our own country to think of and all of the issue we already have.

I think there is a big difference between Bob Geldof reacting to an immediate humanitarian crisis (however dodgy the lyrics might have been) in 1984, when there were fewer methods to either research or donate to charities, and the voluntourism industry now.

The situation was an immediate emergency, people - children and babies were starving right at that moment and the instinctive reaction is that money was needed to buy and send them food. At that point in time there wasn't time to build relationships, work alongside them to develop better farming techniques, buying them a goat etc etc. They needed food. Immediately.

Even now there are often emergency appeals in the wake of a disaster, by unicef or DEC which I imagine are different from longer term charity projects

There was plenty of criticism of Band Aid back in 1984, with many pundits and bands expressing the same misgivings.

It's less about playing the white saviour, more about being accused of playing the white saviour.

I recall it's a phrase used by David Lammy about Stacey Dooley when she was in Africa for Children in Need or something similar.

When people saw Stacey Dooley with an African child, most people see a woman and a child. But David Lammy sees a white woman and a black child, which makes it completely different, apparently. Perhaps he's right. Either way, his desire to play identity politics means that otherwise well-meaning people like Ed Sheeran now think twice about getting involved in good causes.

It was well intentioned but like everything else these days someone has to whine about the unfairness of it all.

Africa is like a bucket with a hole. It will never be full, however much aid they receive, because of the corrupt political landscape. They haven't made a lot of progress themselves over the last 40 years.

Charity begins at home for me these days I'm afraid.

Spot on, and I say this every year when the Band Aid arguments come up as they always do. Ethiopia didn't scan so they said Africa - so what. It raised tons of money and saved tons of lives. The eighties were a different time, let it go.

You can indeed, but you probably can't motivate hundreds of thousands of people to put their hands in their own pockets without presenting them with a truly ghastly picture of need.

You can't be serious.

My thoughts are as follows:

1. I'd rather 100% of aid money went to where it was needed rather than lining the greedy pockets of the corrupt, but I don't know how to stop that and such a small % of my money goes out I'm not going to complain
2. People who weren't around then and cba even reading about Band Aid have no business talking about White Saviours - there was a full on famine at the time

I don't think it should happen again. The last one was ill-thought out - like a different poster said, we know better how to support and should be doing it like that. Rehashing old songs is so lazy.

I think people just like to moan to be honest . As others have said it did what it was meant to at the time 🤷‍♀️

You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. Lots of these young African people are working alongside these students. Difference being... they have to be paid. Which often isn't possible becuase... did you know that there are huge economic challenges in large parts of Africa and communities don't have the resources. And I bet your next point will be ,"well, if they're out of work as so many people are, perhaps they should use free labour as a way to get experience and contacts then" but that completely and totally misses the deep seated challenges experienced by these communities.

If you've never been part of these communities then you really have no idea. Many of these projects whether they're about education or health or welfare simply cannot be funded without outside support. The one my brother works on, for example, now employs over 200 people, the vast bulk of whom are local. The funding received from international donors supports their training, pays their salaries (which often also has to include accomodation and transport as it's in very rural areas) all so that they can provide educational services in the broader community and yes, further training for others. They are building generational wealth by helping children achieve sufficient education to go to university or get better jobs, often that then feeds back into their communities in terms of skills and cash. It's a virtuous cycle and yes, part of it started with bring loads of young rich people from westernised countries to visit and help.....

Feel like i need to edit to add that I'm not suggesting that teenagers bujilding orphanages is the holy grail of helping African communities! I'm just making the point that all of this is a great deal more complicated than you seem to think it is.