I've been thinking a lot lately about the direction my 'career' should take in the next few years, and which path I should follow. Do I want to become part of the development aid industry and turn myself into an outspoken advocate for fair trade? Or does my real passion lie in helping (re)settle refugees and assist them in rebuilding a new life? My questions still don't have an answer, but once you start researching all these issues, it quickly becomes clear that there are inextricable links between current international trade rules, poverty in the developing world, and the flow of illegal immigrants/refugees. Agricultural subsidies for EU and US farm
ers have been crippling farmers in the developing world for ages, to the extent that they can now no longer find markets for their products and become reliant on aid money from the West. Have a look at this documentary if you're interested in this topic. In recent years, the IMF has forced African countries to stop subsidies for their farmers while Europe and the US pay up to $300 billion in subsidies to protect their own agricultural industries. A tad ironic, not to mention hypocritical?? I'd say so. I'll avoid getting on my soapbox and unleash an angry tirade on the IMF, EU and World Trade Organisation (WTO), but the overwhelming injustice of this system often makes me feel powerless and sad. The good news is that average consumers and/or voters can achieve minor changes by buying Fairtrade products and putting pressure on politicians to change our protectionist policies. Who knows, maybe development aid could be significantly reduced if we actually allowed third world countries to benefit economically from their own produce:
ers have been crippling farmers in the developing world for ages, to the extent that they can now no longer find markets for their products and become reliant on aid money from the West. Have a look at this documentary if you're interested in this topic. In recent years, the IMF has forced African countries to stop subsidies for their farmers while Europe and the US pay up to $300 billion in subsidies to protect their own agricultural industries. A tad ironic, not to mention hypocritical?? I'd say so. I'll avoid getting on my soapbox and unleash an angry tirade on the IMF, EU and World Trade Organisation (WTO), but the overwhelming injustice of this system often makes me feel powerless and sad. The good news is that average consumers and/or voters can achieve minor changes by buying Fairtrade products and putting pressure on politicians to change our protectionist policies. Who knows, maybe development aid could be significantly reduced if we actually allowed third world countries to benefit economically from their own produce:
"Trade is more important to us than aid. We want to stand on our own feet and don't want to be dependent on aid forever" Malawi representative at WTO
"It's because of trade that many nations in Africa are kept in poverty" Tadesse Meskala, founder and manager of Oromia Coffee Farmers Co-operative Union.
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