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jacksdad
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I know this has been done before, but I'm annoyed!

Whilst I fully realise that this new drought disaster is a biggie, why oh why does OUR Government keep sending money that we allegedly haven't got?

Its been announced that an extra £52 million is to be sent, now I'm sure the poor souls genuinely need it, but so do all the people in the UK who are being told "No, sorry, can't buy you life saving medicine 'cos we're skint" or "your kidney transplant has been postponed again as we have overspent this month" et al :devil:

I believe that Charity Begins at Home, or am I just getting over cynical and unreasonable in wanting to look after our own people before every other needy country on the planet?

 

No racist rantings please, just sensible 'for' and 'against' opinions :unsure:

Edited by jacksdad
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I know this has been done before, but I'm annoyed!

Whilst I fully realise that this new drought disaster is a biggie, why oh why does OUR Government keep sending money that we allegedly haven't got?

Its been announced that an extra £52 million is to be sent, now I'm sure the poor souls genuinely need it, but so do all the people in the UK who are being told "No, sorry, can't buy you life saving medicine 'cos we're skint" or "your kidney transplant has been postponed again as we have overspent this month" et al :devil:

I believe that Charity Begins at Home, or am I just getting over cynical and unreasonable in wanting to look after our own people before every other needy country on the planet?

 

No racist rantings please, just sensible 'for' and 'against' opinions :unsure:

 

I think thats a pewrfectly fair train of thought!

 

In the 80s we sent millions out for aid then through the 90s and the 2000s we were sending money every month from charities who bamboozled us with the slogun "they don't want to live on hand outs they simply wish to WORK themselves out of poverty"

 

If having your end away and producing children you can NOT feed is working yourself out of poverty no wonder it went belly up :rolleyes:

 

We have supplied Tools we have supplied skills and man power also seeds and shown them the way to make and bore wells etc.

 

Even water aid on the TV tells of helping over 16 million people by supplying wells for clean water and irregation for crops.

 

I think it's time we STOPPED sending this money as it's clear we are going to be propping these people up till the end of time!

 

There is OBVIOUSLY something in that country that Europe wants or why else would we help them.

 

I say pull the Aid and let their Somalian pirate's phut their bills :yes:

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They have too many kids which they can't support, they don't help themselves with their internal wars and when we help out with aid or military backing we don't get thanked for it.

 

I like many are completely snow blind to yet another campaign for foreign aid.

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I know this has been done before, but I'm annoyed!

Whilst I fully realise that this new drought disaster is a biggie, why oh why does OUR Government keep sending money that we allegedly haven't got?

Its been announced that an extra £52 million is to be sent, now I'm sure the poor souls genuinely need it, but so do all the people in the UK who are being told "No, sorry, can't buy you life saving medicine 'cos we're skint" or "your kidney transplant has been postponed again as we have overspent this month" et al :devil:

I believe that Charity Begins at Home, or am I just getting over cynical and unreasonable in wanting to look after our own people before every other needy country on the planet?

 

No racist rantings please, just sensible 'for' and 'against' opinions :unsure:

:stupid::stupid::stupid: Very Good Point - Well Put.

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[quote name='jacksdad' timestamp='1310817715' I believe that Charity Begins at Home, or am I just getting over cynical and unreasonable in wanting to look after our own people before every other needy country on the planet?

 

No racist rantings please, just sensible 'for' and 'against' opinions :unsure:

I think that says it for the majority of the British population, we dont like to think of people starving, perhaps would not begrudge it to such an extent if we knew for sure it was being spent on saving lives. Supporting India is a farce, there appears to be immense wealth and immense poverty in that country, why cant the wealthy there take care of the [poor?

 

Blackpowder

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.

 

The money for drought and war torn Horn of Africa is terrible and

I'm torn between saying yes help them and no let them be. we have

been helping for years but they take and take. Their own leaders

kill and steal but we still give??

 

I do not have any answers but we are a soft touch and they know this.

The news last week was saying that the poor **** are being told to travel to the

refugee camps because there is food and water available.

 

As for India......

 

I totaly disagree with sending £200 to £300 million a year to help poverty

in a country where their own government spend £250 million on a space project.

 

We are paying to eliviate poverty but they pay the same amount on a space programme.

 

taz

 

.

Edited by taz24
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We are a soft touch country.............

 

We send millions out to countries that would be better off being educated

 

We join in on wars that costs us millions yet depend upon fundraisers to support and help our wounded

 

We charge our own old folk for care when they need it, yet we give our prisoners the same quality of care for free and even a chance to earn a small wage :oops:

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When I was at secondary school we had a question put to us in our RE mock GCSE (it was compulsory, not an option choice as it was a Catholic job) 'Charity begins at home, discuss'. I echoed most of the sentiments above and got called in for a discussion about my disturbing values. Even then it was widely reported that alot of Catholic preists were bacons and as a result I thought the lecture on morality was hilarious.

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A number of people come in to the country and rip the backside out of the welfare system, commit credit card fraud, steal from the Royal Mail, clog up out courts, prisons and hospitals. We then send aid - by the million - to the self same countries. There seems little gratitude from some of the population.

 

Why are we so hated as a nation, when we seem to be the first to step in with aid?

 

Whatever we send never seems to cure the problem, but sets a precedent for the next time.

 

How much of what we send gets used for the intended purpose? Forgive me for being cynical.

 

I sincerely hope I don't have a racist bone in my body, but in answer to the original post - sad that it is - I would pull the plug on foreign aid.

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I think that says it for the majority of the British population, we dont like to think of people starving, perhaps would not begrudge it to such an extent if we knew for sure it was being spent on saving lives. Supporting India is a farce, there appears to be immense wealth and immense poverty in that country, why cant the wealthy there take care of the [poor?

 

Blackpowder

 

Living in India I have first hand evidence of the poverty here but I do agree with you. India as a country doesn't need our money. Most people here don't know that the UK give aid to India and are shocked to find out. India gives aid to Pakistan and Bangladesh!

 

The problem here is that most people who now have money have come from impoverished backgrounds. They think that they, or their parents, made it so why can't the people in slums. Then there is the caste system.

 

I actually do a bit of charity work here for an orphanage looking after children with severe mental disabilities. It is very humbling to spend some time there. We built a playground for the children last year and will be painting and decorating the place later this year. With the money we give they can afford a doctor, speech therapist and physiotherapist to come in every day. It's only when you spend time with the kids you realise what real poverty is. Anyway the little I do makes we walk with some pride in my step for a day or so.

 

Have a look www.deepashram.org

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In the West we are living too long but generally the population is levelling off and we are increasingly dying from the effects of opulent lifestyles . In the 3rd world , the population has to boom in order to replace those killed by the climate . To interfere with the balance of things could be dangerous .

I guess some in the West would like a developed 3rd world someday so we can sell them stuff .

If there is anything positive about foreign aid , it might be that the poor unstable nations might start to knock on our door wearing suicide vests .

It is tough to see the kids suffering however .

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I totally agree with the op, get our own house in order before trying to sort others.

 

And keep away from lost causes altogether.

 

If the animals in the safari parks need to be culled so they all don't starve through over population, is this not just natures way of thinning the human population of these drought prone countries to within sustainable levels.

 

By us sending aid are we not helping to falsely keep a larger population than can be naturally sustained on the land, and therefore when the crops fail and drought strikes more die than would be the case if we hadnt interfered at all.

 

I wish the government would listen to the masses before getting us more into debt and none of it helping us.

 

ATB figgy

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I think we are all very nieve if we really beleive the money given to charities go to the poor sod,s who need it, no it pays the fat wages of the officers of those organisations, then the officers of the country it goes to, who in turn send it to their Swiss bank accounts.

Don,t believe me how long have we been giving aid to Africa but nothing has changed, all those billions for the tsumani, people still living in rubbish, but new government offices have been built, Haiti once again vast amounts raised has anyone noticed any change, except once again new government offices etc.

My opinion is we should not send cash but prefabricated kits of buidings, four walls and a roof, water tank matresses that way hopefully it would give accomadation to a few, provide employment in this country.

I also think the charities should be more transparent with their accounts, by that I mean easier to understand, show how much goes on wages and admin. all those paid over £40k per year and how many hours or days they actually work, do they have other jobs.

How much actually is spent on aid not including the free stuff collected, I tried to make head or tail of one charities accounts about five or six years ago and gave it up as a bad job,

I feel better now

 

Mick

Edited by Mickthemiller
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It is galling to see that at least some of the aid sent to developing nations is siphoned off by corrupt government officials and elected representatives. However, in my opinion, is is right that developed countries attempt to alleviate poverty in these under developed states.

 

I take the view that it is not charity that they require but fairer trade agreements so that they can compete at an international level. To some extent the money given comes back to the West in the form of payment for necessary imports which these countries cannot provide from their own resources.

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