It’s Official
Jun 10th, 2007 by brangelina
Angelina Jolie is a now a full fledge member of the Council on Foreign Relations! She now joins people like Colin Powell, Alan Greenspan, Henry Kissinger, Madeleine Albright, and Condoleezza Rice for this special honor.
CFR’s vice president of communications stated,
“Angelina Jolie is accomplished in her field and has demonstrated serious interest in issues such as Darfur, international education and refugees. As such, her profile fits very well with other young professionals we’ve selected as the next generation of foreign policy leaders.”
Going a “little” bit off topic but keeping close to what’s on Angelina’s heart, Spiegel had a fascinating read about the African economy. It may seem controversial but I’m thinking it’s accurate.
“For God’s Sake, Please Stop the Aid!”
The Kenyan economics expert James Shikwati, 35, says that aid to Africa does more harm than good. The avid proponent of globalization spoke with SPIEGEL about the disastrous effects of Western development policy in Africa, corrupt rulers, and the tendency to overstate the AIDS problem.SPIEGEL:
Mr. Shikwati, the G8 summit at Gleneagles is about to beef up the development aid for Africa…Shikwati: … for God’s sake, please just stop.
SPIEGEL: Stop? The industrialized nations of the West want to eliminate hunger and poverty.
Shikwati: Such intentions have been damaging our continent for the past 40 years. If the industrial nations really want to help the Africans, they should finally terminate this awful aid. The countries that have collected the most development aid are also the ones that are in the worst shape. Despite the billions that have poured in to Africa, the continent remains poor.
SPIEGEL: Do you have an explanation for this paradox?
Shikwati: Huge bureaucracies are financed (with the aid money), corruption and complacency are promoted, Africans are taught to be beggars and not to be independent. In addition, development aid weakens the local markets everywhere and dampens the spirit of entrepreneurship that we so desperately need. As absurd as it may sound: Development aid is one of the reasons for Africa’s problems. If the West were to cancel these payments, normal Africans wouldn’t even notice. Only the functionaries would be hard hit. Which is why they maintain that the world would stop turning without this development aid.
You can read more of the interview here.
As the saying goes, “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for life.”
Sounds like just throwing money at Africa is not the answer. When I was young, we had the “We Are The World” song. Today, we have Live 8. Have these things helped. According to Mr. Shikwati, the answer is no.
On the surface, this appears to fly in the face of Angelina’s work. I’m sure she’s aware of the nuances surrounding the issues in Africa.
As Angelina gets smarter on the topic, she’ll learn where she needs to adjust her focus. If money is not the answer, she’ll find out what is and then throw herself into that direction. For Angelina, it’s not about getting token charity to help the cause. Her end goal is golden … “really” helping the refugee.
12 Responses to “It’s Official”
I couldnt disagree more. I have been workind in Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya and help is needed! Of course its better to learn a man how to fish (and thats what the NGO is doing) but you need to give him the tools to do it. I you have seen what I have seen and seen how urgent the help is needed I think you would change your mind. Its a matter of life and death. If it was your country and your family that needed food and medicin I think you would feel differntly. I have actually been living two month in one of the refugee camps in Tanzania where Angelina came to visit. These people have nothing and the tanzanian government have nothing to give these refugees from Burundi. Without the UN 200.000 refugees would be dead by now. Because of the war in Iraq the food supply from WFP was cut dowm to 1200 cal. pr day. It is heartbreaking to witness. I find it naive to suggest that you should stop the Aid.
Much of Angie and Brad focus is not just to throw money at the situation. She has established reall economic infrastructure to help women become independent. This has been documented and she has said so in her interviews.
I believe she is educating herself to learn how to do it better.
Bono has the same idea.
By the way..congratulations to Angie for making the Council…This is huge and quite an accomplishment for someone so young.
Another issue is adoption. I saw a very sad documentary a few days ago about the subject. To adpot has become increasingly popular (the angie-effect) esp. from certain countries. At the moment there is not enough children to give up for adoption (eps. in asia) which has led to kidnapping and selling of children to the adoptioncenters. This is a disaster. This man had given his children to an orphange for a few weeks after his wifes death to recover, and when he came to get them back they were gone. They tricked him into signing the papers saying that it was just a formality regarding the stay at the orphanage. Im sure that many kids get a much better life, but this is not what we want is it?
LOOK AT THESE PICTURES! HOLY STALKING by the papparazzi!!!?!?!?! This makes me furious. Give them some GOD D#M PEACE!
I think that celebrity driven awareness is the only way the masses will see what challenges less fortunate people face daily. There are great obstacles to be faced in Africa but there is also great hope. My family and I lived in Botswana, where there is no civil unrest but where AIDS is still running rampant. 40% of the population’s most productive class, those between the ages of 18-40 are infected by AIDS. What will that mean for the country–a rich, educated, democratic country, the shining star of Africa? If this country can’t battle this horrific disease, what country can?
So, aid and awareness are essential, but you are absolutely right, the answer isn’t a constant stream of handouts but empowerment.
Help fight poverty by buying fair trade, by encouraging self sustainability, by supporting small businesses.
This is not a plug, but that is exactly what I am doing by having a shop dedicated to buying crafts made by women and their communities in Africa, many groups I knew personally, I know for certain that the future is bright and lives can be saved–one basket, one bead, one batik at a time.
And you don’t need to be Angelina, George or Bono to do it. You can help support fair trade and with that purchase, you can help developing nations and their people to stand up on their own and make the world a better, more just, and less needy place.
http://www.womensworkbw.com
http://www.fairtradefederation.org
Angelina and Brad, it’s great that they are helping others with their money and publicity, but hey there are other people who do these things too. Also I think those two are prefect for each other, cause they both are insecure and feel that they are the best and feel they are better than you, may be compare to other celebrities, but you’re forgetting they are just “celebrities” as well, and that’s all. So they need to “look good” for their images as much as possible. Angelina is a very pretty fat lips frog face, and Brad, well lets just say his the missing butt of Angelina that follows her around, as if he does not have a his opinions. That is all folks; about me telling you how superficial those two really are and look. And it’s nice they are adopting poor kids, and rubbing it in your face…………….very nice.
I give 3 years until Angelina leaves Brad, which will led Brad in a massive “cry me a river” mode.
… whatever … sounds like just another uninformed first and only time visitor
oh dontcha love the first time haters that come on here to spew buttloads of garbage??
Yes, they can’t be doing all this good stuff for any other reason than to make themselves “look good”..yep. you’re so right. You’ve got them pegged to a T. If only we could be as inquisitive and brilliant as you..to be able to judge an entire person’s character and personality just by looking at pictures and reading about them.
You’re talented.
I would bow down to you but my cup of sarcasm overfloweth already.
i know, any help is needed for poor people of the developing world, but i must say i do not trust angelina so much. time will show everything. That what happened with censorship of press recently is just the beginning. She enjoys power, and she wants to show that she is the best in the world. she says she does not want to teach, but she is doing so. i think there are other people who deserve more than she to be in the council for foreign relations. She empathise with poor people and so does not eat, so we are compassionate for her extremely thin figure, but in the same time she buys an extremely expensive yaht. hipocrisy? could not she enjoy in something chepaer? No. she is used to her rich lifestyle, because it gives her power. i am sure she is happy that she can help people, but many other people are also helping and love so. but she is also smart and she knows how she will get an attention. it is not anymore about being a great movies star, and when she says she does not want to be remembered as a movie star but as a humanitarian, i still think it is just because she knows that it gives her power. it is my impression about her. i was trying to understand her. but to me, she vibrates and sounds diffeently than sting, bono, and even audrey hepburn. they have a kind of humility and simplicity. she does not. i think, she is mostly clever. she is like young teneege stars who attrcts attention buy drinking and driving, but is more clever than them realising that there are other things which are better. it is good tha a star is giving a better example, but let’s be honest – she is just a small drop in the ocean of people who do and behave in humanitarian way. in the beginning, i was even think that she got so many children in such a short tima just to keep brad. she succeded! maybe they love each other now, but it is because she got what she wanted. i think it is such a person – she always gets what she wanted. brad seems so stupid running aftter her and doing what she wants. but he also got what he wanted – children. i say, time will show who is angelina jolie. i do not trust her so much. i appreciate very much that what she does for poor people, as i also works for humannitarian organizations, but there is something wrong there. the way what and how she is doing is not the only way. there are many ways of helping and many people are doing so. in any case, i think poverty is so complex issue and adopting childre, and giving money for sustainable projects is only one way. more important is to understand that the problwm of poverty in developing countries is in a great measure the problem of the western world. people in teh west live in the luxury because of a systematical exploitation of developing world – i am from europe, so do not think that this is an african who is writing. to see the world changed and improved, we must change ourselves. it means living simply and sompassionately. i do not see that angelina jolie and similar to her live simply. it is just a pomp, show, money, glory – and all that brings – power. you can have power in positive and negative sense, whatever, i think that angelina jolie seeks power more than anything else. shefound what in this world makes you powerful and she goes for it. if she is so compassionate and forgiving person – why she did not go to talk with jennifer aniston when she was in depressin, why she did not forgave oprah when she invited her to her show. i simply do not trust angelina jolie. forbiding the press to ask about something, although she was thinking she is doing that for some noble reason, is just an addicction to power.
peace!
ps – due some problems with computer i could not write capital letters.
just an addition – and to be honest. reading in the press, reading about her interviews – i did not hear her so much speaking about poor people. occassionally she mentions that. but she mostly speaks about her family, herself, herself and herlsef… and i do not think it is because of journalists how are asking it. if she is really intelligent, she would be able to divert questions, to say something else… but obviously, she enjoys speaking about herselfs. my friend died why working in afrika and living in poor and simple conditions, sacrificing herself during her 20 years in developing world, and of course, nobody know for her, everybody knows for angelina jolie, how just fly in 1st class, spend few days with poor people, shake hands, write something in her thin notebook, give long press interviews, and most of her time enjoy in her richness. the world is becoming so ridiculous place…
Brad and Angeliena are only human beings, they have no power or super power. They happen to be cautious, kind and generous. I understand that people like them has opportunities to travel around the world and what they saw probably affected their views about life. So they wanted to provide solutions to problem if they could and eliminate inhuman treatment of people in the very poorest part of the world. They know they cannot do miracles, but they can give some help with their money and ability to reach political figures to become aware of the problems. There are many people like them, but BRAD and ANGELINA are celebrities, that is why they know they have advantage than the rest of their kind. Let’s be thankful there are people in some part of this world who lend their hands to those who need it. If only we focus our attention on how to make this world a little bit better, then we can assure children has future.