The Paradox of Starving Children in Africa - Propaganda?

[Winston]

I have a paradoxical question. If there are so many starving children in Africa, as the Western media likes to portray, then here's what I don't get.

If there are millions, or even thousands, of children and people who look like all bones in Africa, like they show on TV, then it would mean that they literally have nothing to eat right? Well human beings can only survive without food for 3 or 4 weeks right? If so, then how are all these millions of people with nothing to eat surviving to adulthood and reproducing with so many babies, who in turn survive into adulthood and repeat the cycle? If they had nothing to eat, wouldn't they all be gone in a month? How are they producing millions of more starving children with nothing to eat and lasting throughout every generation? Something doesn't seem to add up. Isn't this a contradiction of basic logic?

Interestingly enough, everyone I know who has gone to Africa say it's nothing like the media shows. They saw no starving children, and instead see an advanced industrial society with technology and development everywhere.

If that's so, then is this all a Western media propaganda? If so, what purpose does it serve? And where do they find all those people who look like they are all starving and bones?

Either way, why does the media wish to portray Africa as either a place where everyone is starving, or where savage tribes engage in warfare and cruelty? What's the purpose in that? Why don't they show the normal industrialized parts of Africa? What is their agenda and motive?

[Winston]

Why can't these starving children in Africa just build farms and crops, and live the way people did before money existed, when society ran on the bartering system?

I still don't understand how all these starving children are able to survive and reproduce millions of more starving children.

[Billy]

I don't mind if the kids die over there either. You know why? Cuz their parents are f***ing stupid! If you are that god damn poor stop having kids! Use a freaking condom! They have been around for more than 2,000 years. If you can't afford one go old school and use a pigs stomach or whatever they use to use. If you can't do that than don't have sex at all or just stick to oral and anal.

[Rock]

I have a paradoxical question. If there are so many starving children in Africa, as the Western media likes to portray, then here's what I don't get.

If there are millions, or even thousands, of children and people who look like all bones in Africa, like they show on TV, then it would mean that they literally have nothing to eat right? Well human beings can only survive without food for 3 or 4 weeks right? If so, then how are all these millions of people with nothing to eat surviving to adulthood and reproducing with so many babies, who in turn survive into adulthood and repeat the cycle? If they had nothing to eat, wouldn't they all be gone in a month? How are they producing millions of more starving children with nothing to eat and lasting throughout every generation? Something doesn't seem to add up. Isn't this a contradiction of basic logic?

Interestingly enough, everyone I know who has gone to Africa say it's nothing like the media shows. They saw no starving children, and instead see an advanced industrial society with technology and development everywhere.

If that's so, then is this all a Western media propaganda? If so, what purpose does it serve? And where do they find all those people who look like they are all starving and bones?

Either way, why does the media wish to portray Africa as either a place where everyone is starving, or where savage tribes engage in warfare and cruelty? What's the purpose in that? Why don't they show the normal industrialized parts of Africa? What is their agenda and motive?

You know me, I've been to Africa several times, and I certainly never said that it was an advanced industrial society with technology and development everywhere. On the the contrary, in my writings, I've mentioned how most of sub-Saharan Africa is a dire shit-hold, the closest thing u might find to hell on earth. Lad writes some great poetic and inspirational stuff. But as far as Africa is concerned, his views are pretty much romantic fiction IMO.

What you've mainly seen in the media regarding starving children in Africa are adverts from fund raising campaigns for aid organizations. They use shock appeal to get a share of Joe American's wallet. It also makes sense that mainstream media would support this view as its typically in their interest to make Americans feel lucky and privileged. Its one of their distraction techniques.

Extreme mass starving does happen at times in parts of Africa. Its normally the result of famines created by civil wars or extreme droughts. So its usually not a permanent condition in any one place. And it does wipe out the majority of whole populations sometimes.

Africa is full of extreme poverty, corruption, and violence. Its by far the worst inhabited continent on the planet. PI is a well functioning and prosperous democracy compared to most sub-Saharan African nations. That should give u an idea of how advanced and developed it really is.

[Winston]

Rock,
So roughly what percentage of people in Africa are in famine and all bones like the media shows? What percentages and which countries?

What did you see in Africa? Were you in any dangerous areas? Did you face any danger there?

[Rock]

Rock,
So roughly what percentage of people in Africa are in famine and all bones like the media shows? What9 to percentages and which countries?

What did you see in Africa? Were you in any dangerous areas? Did you face any danger there?

I don't know the percentage of people who are skin and bones to the point of being at death's doorstep. But consider that besides hunger and violence, there's a serious HIV epidemic in much of Africa with no treatment options available to most. Having AIDS also causes your body and face to eventually waste away to skin and bones if it goes untreated.

When I visited a neighborhood in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia, I saw alot of malnourished children, many probably AIDS babies. I've never stepped foot in any of hte African refugee camps. But I imagine it would not be a pretty sight. For the last few years, Somalia has been a total war zone. Living there is probably more dangerous than living in Baghdad.

If you want data which is reflective of African life quality, consider life expectancy at birth as a proxy. Most sub-Saharan African nations range from just 39 to 52! Contrast that to 67 for North Korea, 72 for the PI, 74 for Vietnam, and 83 for Japan.

As for dangerous areas, many African capitals are extremely dangerous. At night in Nairobi, I remember hiring an expensive cab to take me from a club to my hotel just 2 blocks away. To minimize danger, I had to take cabs from trusted companies to go out and about and avoid large swaths of cities 24/7. If you carry a bag, camera, or cellphone around, there's a high risk of having it snatched or being mugged. If you are non-black, people assume you have lots of money. You are automatically a mark in the eyes of many less savory types. Basically, you can't let your guard down there the way you can in most of PI or most other parts of poorer Asia. Much of Africa is a lot more violent and aggressive.

[Contrarian Expatriate]

Look at the typical African-American. Most black men are in prison. Most don't even graduate high school.

The crack epidemic, introduced by the CIA, into black communities really f***ed up the psyche and health of the blacks.

Africa is tribalism and warlords hold power, that is why the African people were never united. Because if they did, no foreigner would take advantage of them and they would be prosperous.

African-Americans act ghetto, talk ebonics, worship thug culture, want to be NBA superstars, and don't value education. The materialism and money culture has really infected the black youth to be disrespectful, classless gangster wannabes.

China will dominate Africa's resources because they have forgiven their debt. This is a smart move. The 1 billion Chinese have a booming economy that demands raw materials. The African dictators are happy to stay in power and as long as they please their Chinese business partners.

Please tell me you are a troll just looking for some attention. I highly doubt you could be so stupid to actually believe the substance of that post. If for some reason you do actually believe all that, don't bother ever applying to Mensa.

[onezero4u]

foreign aid = money from poor people of rich nations going to rich people of poor nations.

ie: your money via govt channels will never reach those in need...it will be diverted by the head goons in charge.

i think these starving people got dealt a shit hand and have as many kids as possible to ensure at least some survive a high mortality rate

but condoms, hand jobs, oral and anal would probly ensure more food for those that survive

[Truthville]

I work with quite a few Ethiopian immigrants and have talked with them extensively about their country.

The "people" you see on the advertisements are usually neighborhood kids that the "aid" organizations drum up for their commercials.

One of my good friends at work told me that where she grew up, the AID people lived in a mansion located in the nearest town to her. She told me that would round up the local children after they had been playing all day, dirty and what-not, and then give them about fifty cents to take their pictures for their brochures!

These people, according to her, live the "high life" with maids, chauffeurs, etc.....

While I'm sure there are legitimate AID organizations around, I imagine most are, at best, just vehicles for sophisticated thievery. I doubt many people are helped by these organizations, except for the people collecting the money.

I would think that AID organizations actually run by the local populaces would be more legitimate.

As far as WHY the people have large families? Just the the Philippines, most are farmers, so more children equals more free help equals more crops produced equals more money. Also, once again, like the Philippines, there is no Social security type system to support people whom are too old to work. Thus, more children equals more money for retirement.

[Rock]

I work with quite a few Ethiopian immigrants and have talked with them extensively about their country.

The "people" you see on the advertisements are usually neighborhood kids that the "aid" organizations drum up for their commercials.

One of my good friends at work told me that where she grew up, the AID people lived in a mansion located in the nearest town to her. She told me that would round up the local children after they had been playing all day, dirty and what-not, and then give them about fifty cents to take their pictures for their brochures!

These people, according to her, live the "high life" with maids, chauffeurs, etc.....

While I'm sure there are legitimate AID organizations around, I imagine most are, at best, just vehicles for sophisticated thievery. I doubt many people are helped by these organizations, except for the people collecting the money.

I would think that AID organizations actually run by the local populaces would be more legitimate.

As far as WHY the people have large families? Just the the Philippines, most are farmers, so more children equals more free help equals more crops produced equals more money. Also, once again, like the Philippines, there is no Social security type system to support people whom are too old to work. Thus, more children equals more money for retirement.

I agree with most of what you've written but not all. And I noticed on my recent trip to Haiti that people were very sick of having their photos taken. Many would cover their faces and some wold even give the finger. When i asked why, I was told:

- Many had been rounded-up before for photo sessions with the promise that it would generate an influx of additional help but that never materialized

- Haitians are generally a proud people and do not like having humiliating photos taken of the worst sights there and having them beamed all over the world. I noticed that even many of the beggars felt shame in asking for money from whites so would only approach well-healed blacks.

- Widespread beliefs in voodoo still exist there and some believe photos can be used as part of this - to curse people.

Incidentally, many of the UN, NGO workers, and non NGO workers there are indeed on sweet packages. But you must realize that there is very little middle ground there. Even in the best neighborhood in all of Haiti, most places do not have air-con (including some of the hotels) and its generally a very harsh environment to spend any time in. Therefore, its very expensive to provide even a semblance of what people from most other countries (excluding most in Africa) are used to. But many of these guys are also highly over-paid IMO, some making well over US$100K. So I can understand some of the infrastructure costs. But not the pay-packets. I think many in Haiti would like to see the UN just pack-up and go home. But a couple of the more educated locals told me that if they leave, the country would likely spiral back into a much higher level of instability.

Research Somalia to understand how hopeless the situation often is. When you send aid, its abused by those in power. When the UN gets involved in civil wars, they are often misunderstood and resented. Its like poring money into a black hole with little to show for it. But after the world packs-up and leaves the conflict area, things get even worse. Nothing solves the problem.

As for the areas I don't agree with you on:

- I highly doubt that letting locals run and administer aid programs would help. In true African style, those at the very top would help themselves to most of it. Why do you think Africa is so messed-up in the first place.

- I think another key reason why people tend to have lots of kids there is ignorance regarding contraception or lack of access to it. Also, superstition may play a role in some of the cultures there. And for others, they expect to lose a large percentage of their offspring to AIDS so they compensate by having as many as possible in the hopes that at least one may survive.

[momopi]

Heh, I just heard that one of my ex-GF got a gig at USAID.

[Winston]

Rock,
So roughly what percentage of people in Africa are in famine and all bones like the media shows? What9 to percentages and which countries?

What did you see in Africa? Were you in any dangerous areas? Did you face any danger there?

I don't know the percentage of people who are skin and bones to the point of being at death's doorstep. But consider that besides hunger and violence, there's a serious HIV epidemic in much of Africa with no treatment options available to most. Having AIDS also causes your body and face to eventually waste away to skin and bones if it goes untreated.

When I visited a neighborhood in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia, I saw alot of malnourished children, many probably AIDS babies. I've never stepped foot in any of hte African refugee camps. But I imagine it would not be a pretty sight. For the last few years, Somalia has been a total war zone. Living there is probably more dangerous than living in Baghdad.

If you want data which is reflective of African life quality, consider life expectancy at birth as a proxy. Most sub-Saharan African nations range from just 39 to 52! Contrast that to 67 for North Korea, 72 for the PI, 74 for Vietnam, and 83 for Japan.

As for dangerous areas, many African capitals are extremely dangerous. At night in Nairobi, I remember hiring an expensive cab to take me from a club to my hotel just 2 blocks away. To minimize danger, I had to take cabs from trusted companies to go out and about and avoid large swaths of cities 24/7. If you carry a bag, camera, or cellphone around, there's a high risk of having it snatched or being mugged. If you are non-black, people assume you have lots of money. You are automatically a mark in the eyes of many less savory types. Basically, you can't let your guard down there the way you can in most of PI or most other parts of poorer Asia. Much of Africa is a lot more violent and aggressive.

Then you were a fool to go there. lol

How can there be an AIDS epidemic though? The AIDS scare has been proven to be mostly a myth. The US was supposed to have an epidemic but never did. Plus, Momopi posted stats that said that the chances of getting HIV during heterosexual sex are 1 in 800. That is so low. How could it possibly cause any epidemic? Something doesn't add up.

There are many diseases there. How do you know they are not suffering from something else?

[Winston]

I work with quite a few Ethiopian immigrants and have talked with them extensively about their country.

The "people" you see on the advertisements are usually neighborhood kids that the "aid" organizations drum up for their commercials.

One of my good friends at work told me that where she grew up, the AID people lived in a mansion located in the nearest town to her. She told me that would round up the local children after they had been playing all day, dirty and what-not, and then give them about fifty cents to take their pictures for their brochures!

These people, according to her, live the "high life" with maids, chauffeurs, etc.....

While I'm sure there are legitimate AID organizations around, I imagine most are, at best, just vehicles for sophisticated thievery. I doubt many people are helped by these organizations, except for the people collecting the money.

I would think that AID organizations actually run by the local populaces would be more legitimate.

As far as WHY the people have large families? Just the the Philippines, most are farmers, so more children equals more free help equals more crops produced equals more money. Also, once again, like the Philippines, there is no Social security type system to support people whom are too old to work. Thus, more children equals more money for retirement.

Are you sure they weren't speaking out of pride, sort of like how Filipinos are in denial about the poverty and low quality shit in their country? If those neighborhood kids were living well and only rounded up for pictures, then how come they were all bones as though they had nothing to eat? How did they fake that?

[Rock]

Rock,
So roughly what percentage of people in Africa are in famine and all bones like the media shows? What9 to percentages and which countries?

What did you see in Africa? Were you in any dangerous areas? Did you face any danger there?

I don't know the percentage of people who are skin and bones to the point of being at death's doorstep. But consider that besides hunger and violence, there's a serious HIV epidemic in much of Africa with no treatment options available to most. Having AIDS also causes your body and face to eventually waste away to skin and bones if it goes untreated.

When I visited a neighborhood in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia, I saw alot of malnourished children, many probably AIDS babies. I've never stepped foot in any of hte African refugee camps. But I imagine it would not be a pretty sight. For the last few years, Somalia has been a total war zone. Living there is probably more dangerous than living in Baghdad.

If you want data which is reflective of African life quality, consider life expectancy at birth as a proxy. Most sub-Saharan African nations range from just 39 to 52! Contrast that to 67 for North Korea, 72 for the PI, 74 for Vietnam, and 83 for Japan.

As for dangerous areas, many African capitals are extremely dangerous. At night in Nairobi, I remember hiring an expensive cab to take me from a club to my hotel just 2 blocks away. To minimize danger, I had to take cabs from trusted companies to go out and about and avoid large swaths of cities 24/7. If you carry a bag, camera, or cellphone around, there's a high risk of having it snatched or being mugged. If you are non-black, people assume you have lots of money. You are automatically a mark in the eyes of many less savory types. Basically, you can't let your guard down there the way you can in most of PI or most other parts of poorer Asia. Much of Africa is a lot more violent and aggressive.

Then you were a fool to go there. lol

How can there be an AIDS epidemic though? The AIDS scare has been proven to be mostly a myth. The US was supposed to have an epidemic but never did. Plus, Momopi posted stats that said that the chances of getting HIV during heterosexual sex are 1 in 800. That is so low. How could it possibly cause any epidemic? Something doesn't add up.

There are many diseases there. How do you know they are not suffering from something else?

In my lifetime, I hope to see at least 75% or more of all the countries in the world - good, bad, and ugly. Yes, most of Africa seems like a hellhole. But some of the gals have out-of-this world body types for someone like me. And Ethiopia is famous for its world class beauties as has been discussed before on this forum. Davewe has been to Africa too (Kenya). Just check out his avatar.

OK, perhaps the AIDS scare is a myth. I'm no doctor. I don't know what diseases the people I saw had. Perhaps AIDS hardly exists in Africa and everyone is just lying about the cause of death for those cases? Anyway, life expectancy is low there. Talk to any local or longer term expat whose been around several countries there and they should confirm it to you. Perhaps there's some mystery killer that we don't know about? Perhaps its just due to the rough life and high incidence of violence. Whatever the causes, the results are ugly. The average African your age in a couple of the worst countries would already be dead!

[E94]

Geesh, OP from what I'm getting you're thinking all 1 billion Africans are starving?:roll:

It varies by country, and even in country it may vary by region.



The easiest way to end malnutrition:
1) Repair/build infrastructure across African nations. There may be excess amounts of food in certain regions, yet it sits and rots due to poor road/rails that impede transportation.

2) Invest in modern irrigation and fertilizers.

3) Stop damaging the land. Climate change, for those believers, and deforestation will wreak havoc on Africa unless addressed. I know Rwanda and some Sahel states (like Niger and Senegal) have programs where farmers plant a few trees on their land. It helps return nutrients to top soil, prevent erosion in high winds, slow down water evaporation in dry spells and warmer periods, etc.


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