July 6, 2005

Live 8 -- the beneficiaries reactions:

From Yahoo/Reuters:
Africans puzzled by Live 8 but hope for change
Few Africans watched the star-studded Live 8 gigs meant to highlight their plight but many said on Sunday any bid to relieve poverty was welcome -- even faraway rock concerts performed for rich whites.
And more:
ACTION NOT WORDS
Africans who knew about the concerts thought they were a good idea but wondered why their own musicians had been sidelined -- a criticism that prompted the last-minute addition of the much smaller Johannesburg gig.

"What do participating musicians know about Africa?" asked Susan Outa, a student in Nairobi. "How do we know whether half of them have even visited a single African country?"

At the Johannesburg show on Saturday some 8,000 people stared nonplussed at a giant screen beaming live footage of U2 and other western acts little known in Africa from glitzier concerts in rich countries.

But while artists said they would have loved to share the stage with international stars such as Bjork and Bono, they said the local concert offered a chance to educate young Africans about the issues behind their daily strife.

"As a young African man this gives me a chance to talk to other young Africans about the issues that are stopping them from being free," said Zola, South Africa's king of kwaito -- a version of hiphop that grew from the townships.
First, get rid of all the despots. My favorite example is Zimbabwe which went from being a food exporter to a food importer all to support President Bobby Mugabe's jet-set lifestyle. People complain about the disparity between rich and poor in the USA but a floating turd like Mugabe gets a free pass because he rules a non-American country. Cultural relativism at it's stinking and hypocritical worst. Posted by DaveH at July 6, 2005 9:48 PM | TrackBack
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