If you work with an NGO or in government in Africa, the quickest way to get dead is to actually solve a problem and make the lives of Africans better. The skilled bureaucrat will know how to fail 100% of the time, while appearing to be making a best effort. The amateur will fail and only make a slight dent on the problem. The real pro will make the problem much worse, create two or three new problems and earn recognition for excellence in solving the problem. These are your rising stars who have a future in government.
All our foreign aid is used to facilitate this scam. We launder our federal tax dollars through these despot regimes on the condition that they allow us to plunder the country of its natural resources. The despots are more than happy to get rich off the suffering of the locals.
I have personally witnessed that absolute repulsion the despots have for their "fellow citizens." The suffering and death of swaths of these useless eaters is only of concern if it threatens one of their international loans or grants they are planning to cash in on.
Human suffering in the 3rd world is an asset class. The greater the suffering, the greater the value of the asset. Our foreign aid goes to develop and refine these assets.
Pardon my curiosity, but you seem like someone who has experience in this topic. I saw your other post here today. Maybe you work for a government agency? You appear to have traveled a lot - worked in countries that receive a lot of foreign aid. I imagine you’ve witnessed total system failure. I would like to hear specifics if you can (feel free to change the names-dates-locations). I had once thought of a career in foreign service. Did you go into it hoping to save the world - and now you’re just jaded? It’s all very disappointing.
I actually started out in missions, but found that corporate missions agencies are completely focused on meeting numeric goals and cannot spend time and effort making a meaningful impact. So, I went independent. I have lived in a number of countries and have been able to make impact on a one-on-one basis. Any effort to see a larger scale impact was frustrated. It took me a very long time to realize that it was a problem of misaligned interests. I could not accept that these people who claim to be passionate about changing the world or serving their people, etc, are just running a racket and have very malign intent.
I have personally witnessed intention project sabotage for the purpose of keeping gravy trains flowing. I have seen intentional poisoning of ground water just before survey teams come, expressly to ensure that funds to clean ground water keep flowing. I have seen amazingly impactful programs get spiked and pointless money wasters get additional investment.
My quest to make a massive impact ended up nearly ruining me. I went from being rather well off to filing a combined Chapter 7 with a Chapter 13. I have now re-emerged from this bankruptcy and the Lord is blessing me with new opportunities to make an impact, but this time aware that those I perceived as allies are enemies.
If you could wire yourself Project Veritas style .... “Project Africa: Foreign Aid.”
You might make that big impact after all.
I really, really should have! I think I will next time I go. For example, the US bought one of the Western African agencies laptops for every single government official. Yet, when you go into their offices, there isn't a laptop to be seen ANYWHERE! I saw them come out of the boxes. I saw the excitement and energy. A week later, they are back to stacks and stacks and stacks of paper and no laptops.
Also, I tried hard to catch these asswipes actually working. Never once did I go into the building and catch anyone above janitor doing any actual work.
you probably know about "red cross cash" https://youtu.be/GhRq0Sj6fOM...
Godspeed to you, Pilgrim. be careful.
How many trillions have been sunk into the continent, yet things appear worse than we started.
God bless you.
I've started projects that were making local people good money. But when I left, so did their interest in the business, it was all very disappointing and puzzling.
Eventually, I realized that without my protection, a successful enterprise would be targeted by pressure groups for payoffs etc. They can't afford to be outstanding in their communities, I'd trained the less powerful but more skilled outsiders. It's a tough thing for me to learn. The only growth that will be sustaining has to come from within. Rather spiritual actually!
First post, eh