Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site pyuxa.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!gamma!pyuxww!pyuxa!wetcw From: wetcw@pyuxa.UUCP (T C Wheeler) Newsgroups: net.flame Subject: Re: poor starving people Message-ID: <1085@pyuxa.UUCP> Date: Mon, 3-Dec-84 08:48:48 EST Article-I.D.: pyuxa.1085 Posted: Mon Dec 3 08:48:48 1984 Date-Received: Tue, 4-Dec-84 19:47:53 EST References: <642@amd.UUCP>, <4692@fortune.UUCP> Organization: Bell Communications Research, Piscataway N.J. Lines: 40 Well, I guess I will put my two cents into this discussion. The problem of starvation in Central Africa can be tied to two things: Nature and Man. First, Nature has been sticking it to the countries of Central Africa by holding back the needed rain and allowing the spread of desert-like conditions over a vast area. There is not too much that can be done to combat Nature. Vast amounts of money would be needed to even make a dent in the water problem. Secondly, the hand of man can take a great deal of blame for the shortage of food in the area. First, Etheopia, Chad, The Sudan, and a swath of countries right out to the Atlantic Ocean have been doing two things to insure the starvation of their people. Several of these countries have been buying military supplies to fight internal strife and have overlooked the needs of the people. Those countries not into current warfare situations have been enccouraging their farmers to plant cash crops for sale to overseas markets. By planting the cash crops, they have taken much need land out of production needed to supply the basic needs of the population. There have been droughts before, but because the farmers were producing basic food crops and storing the surplus, the extent of the drought was blunted. Now, with the production of cash crops, there is no surplus to fall back on in times of drought. Further, with many of the governments in the area hell-bent for military power, there is no money to buy food stocks. I find it ludicrous that Southern Chad has great fields of strawberries planted just to adorn the tables of Europe. Angola grows great harvests of soy beans, yet they have no soy bean processing plants. The crop is sold to European markets and the money used to buy military goods to shore up the ruling party stronghold. This scenario can be repeated all across Central Africa. What can be done, you might ask? I don't know short of going over there and whacking the rulers up-side-the-head and splainin it to em. Maybe some of you folks could come up with some suggestions? That was a dumb thing to say, of course you all have suggestions. T. C. Wheeler