The line between charity and dependency is wafer thin.

Again, millions of people are starving in Ethiopia. Millions of dollars in aid and food supplies have already been delivered, and, millions more are on their way. The situation is serious, sad and alarming. Alarming, because of its severity and because we have been there less than three decades ago. My question is what happened to the millions raised and donated then – not because I am a tightwad – but because there were lessons there. Same country same crises, did we learn anything 25 years ago and if so what was done about it?

Ethiopia, like many of its neighboring countries is full of natural wealth (precious metals and stones) and is mostly a very fertile country. So, what happened to the millions donated in the 80s and where is the agricultural support given by the west at that time? What percentage of the aid given was for instant relief and consumption, and, how much was for building and fostering strong and sound future self reliance for the country? Recently it seems the same countries are hit by the same disaster repeatedly. And if the west is responsible to bail them out are they also responsible to see to it how the bail out is used and administered? Or is it just charity and once given they can do what they wish with it, even if what they want will not yield the best outcome!

With today’s technology most famines and desertification should be a thing of the past, mainly since most are man made. And no, I am not jumping on the climate change bandwagon, man made in the sense of deforestation, uber-urbanization and throwing to the wind any respect to natural equilibrium. This is a problem Ethiopia and many of her neighbors are facing today. The second reason is dependency, the Chinese proverb, “Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man how to fish and he will eat for a lifetime” is at the heart of this problem – by its nature and culture aid encourages dependency while it should promote independency.

Whenever there is a crisis in a developing country the developed world gets together and gives generously care packages and monies to rescues and support them, which is admirable and very humane – but there should also be practical and long term solutions – that can only be achieved if the emphasis on the long term development and out come is as strong as it is on instant relief. Without doing that both parties might feel exploited.