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?

I think the lyrics of the song are woefully misinterpreted. Not knowing it's Christmas is about it not feeling or being a special time of love and plenty - not being lacking in religious knowledge!

Yeah but I think it’s when it replaces an entire part of a nascent economy it becomes a problem. Foodbanks and clothes donations within the UK are not the bulk of economic activity.

register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/?p_p_id=uk_gov_ccew_onereg_charitydetails_web_portlet_CharityDetailsPortlet&p_p_lifecycle=0&p_p_state=maximized&p_p_mode=view&_uk_gov_ccew_onereg_charitydetails_web_portlet_CharityDetailsPortlet_regId=292199&_uk_gov_ccew_onereg_charitydetails_web_portlet_CharityDetailsPortlet_subId=0

I think we need to move away from the concept of "aid" and towards the concept of "justice".

It's well established that HIV is of chimpanzee origin and originated in Africa and crossed into humans there. This doesn't change anything but you claiming it spread TO Africa is simply inaccurate.
A major issue in many deprived areas (in Africa & elsewhere) is the interaction between HIV & TB.

Actually second hand clothes from the UK and other developed countries are a real problem - a huge amount is shipped over to Africa and sold at low prices which wipes out the local textile industry, plus surplus gets burnt or dumped causing pollution.

https://www.greenpeace.org/africa/en/press/56381/fast-fashion-slow-poison-new-report-exposes-toxic-impact-of-global-textile-waste-in-ghana/

I don't actually know whether to laugh or cry at this level of ignorance.

why?

This

I wonder if the Americans tie themselves up in knots over We Are the World

They're very busy banking the cash they make out of low income nations.

Bob Geldof reacted to seeing news reports of starving people on the news, and wanted to help. Although this may be naively simplistic, that’s what Band Aid was for, to help people. It was a humanitarian response, in the same way that people responded to international Red Cross appeals such as the Boxing Day tsunami, and also to home-grown fundraising efforts.

Regarding Ethiopia, the programme that had the biggest influence on how we view Ethiopia today was Romesh Ranganathan’s holiday programme, where he visited non-popular tourist destinations. His portrayal of modern Ethiopia had a huge impact on their tourist trade.

Ha! No you're obviously no expert (but there are some good books... maybe read some?)

When do you think African nations gained independence from colonialism? Do you consider colonialism to be a form of aid?

The point is that times have moved on. African people are talking about the negative impact of using language that dehumanises and negatively stereotypes a whole continent, and the impact this has had, both socially and economically on such continent. The idea of ‘white saviour complex’ is evidenced numerous times on this thread alone. The idea that all, or at least most of Africa, is in dying need of saving from white people sending there kids on a gap year or singing a shitty song, to help them. It’s really not complicated, and Bob Geldof response to any notion of change, just shows him to be arsehole imo. Yes, all artists including ES probably did this with the best intention but actually, the people who you claim to be helping with your oh so wonderful gestures, are telling you it’s not hitting the way you think it is. I much prefer Ed’s response to Geldof!

No one is saying that there is no place for charity, unfortunately that is not the world we live in. But instead of singing a song about there being no joy in Africa and starving children everywhere you turn, just listen and see if there is a better way of doing it.

For those of you so desperate to listen to music that makes you charitable this year, Fuse ODG has a much better one!

That's not the point though is it. If they weren't Christians the phrase would be meaningless. It means, do they know it's Christmas or are they suffering too much to remember. The song was written about an extreme famine situation with children dying like flies. Not about normal Ethiopian society.

Why the world keeps sending money there as it doesn’t reach the targets? Also, with all the people coming out saying the Africans are offended which sounds very ungrateful as the intentions were for a good cause. May be the better off Africans feeling offended can help their continent. While we can focus in helping homeless people here in the U.K. that pretty sure includes Africans who moved here.

If you know you're doing something worthwhile, why would you care about one nasty person's opinion?

But realistically most volunteers do it for themselves - that's not a problem as such but something isn't inherently beneficial just because it's voluntary. Unless you've a particular skill set that's not available there and are addressing a particular need, short term volunteering is mostly just tourism. Exceptions would be a surgeon who spends 2 weeks operating on difficult cases. Or an expert going over to deliver a training course for local people. If you're going to spend 2 weeks doing unskilled labour, especially if you get charged for doing so, it's tourism not volunteering. Maybe your nasty friend thought you were in this category.

If he had stopped there, that would have been great. In reality Saint Bob & Saint Bono made careers out of fundraising for africa in particular, even when it became apparent it wasn't getting where needed. Lets be honest, who would actually remember Bob Geldoff other than his charity endeavours.

Much as the lyrics of Do They Know It's Christmas can be criticised for western saviourhood, I think they're quite tame next to We Are The World:

"Well, send them your heart
So they know that someone cares
And their lives will be stronger and free
As God has shown us by turning stone to bread
And so we all must lend a helping hand"

Well, I am going back to my history schooling in the 90s but let's see if I remember it correctly.
Egypt - early 1920s
Liberia - sometimes in the mid to late 19th century
French sub-sahara somewhere around 1960
South Africa - early 20th century. Before Egypt. 1910-1915?
Mass decolonisation in the 60s and 70s.

What's the point you are making, may I ask? And how does it pertain to the OP's question.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing

I must said I am more worried about modern day slavery. That is the real injustice of the times we are living in. It is happening right in front of our eyes on this country, everyday.

If anyone wants to donate there is a charity called giving with care. You loan someone the money they need and they pay you back. Last year I loaned someone 60 quid to replant a paddy field after years of none use they paid that money back and now have rice seed to carry on planting for future generations. Its brilliant.

Well - given most African countries didn't gain independence until the 50s and 60s, it wasn't clear what the context of the aid given 100 years ago was. You can't count anything given before independence as aid, surely? But I see now you were talking about a tiny minority of countries and generalising to the whole continent, to make them look worse. Rather like the original song in fact!