Sunday, May 22, 2005

A chicken or an omelette?

The front of a Christian Aid pamphlet asks "Would you give Judith a chicken or an omelette?". From her picture Judith is, at most, 11 years old. We are told she lives in the Congo. If you haven't seen the pamphlet, and even if you have, think about the question for a moment. Decide your answer.

Did you come up with 'neither' or, maybe, 'what she really needs is a culture that is capable of nourishing the congolese in ways that are appropriate to their environment'? The answer isn't a chicken. In fact no-one has any no idea what the practical answer is. We have not a smidgeon of a jot of a Mus Minutoides of an inkling. To imagine that we have is to demonstrate an Argentinosaurus of a conceit. To pretend that carrying on 'doing something' is better than doing nothing when we know that it makes things worse is selfish conscience salving.

Would you give Judith a Sony Memory Stick or an Amazon voucher?

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