George Monbiot has a point in his recent article regarding the disaster in Asia versus the war in Iraq. Let me quote:

“It looks still worse when you compare the cost of the war to the total foreign aid budget. The UK has spent almost twice as much on creating suffering in Iraq as it spends annually on relieving it elsewhere. The United States gives just over $16bn in foreign aid: less than one ninth of the money it has burnt so far in Iraq.”

Looking at the priorities of the World leaderships, it seems that taking is more than giving. The paradox lies in the fact that if we, in the Western World coughed up and started to eliminate poverty, we might not even have a reason to go to war. Evil-tongued people would say that the only good reason to go to war is to bring a certain kind of ‘togetherness’ into the world of your voters. There’s nothing like a good old ‘us-versus-them’ once in a while, plus you can gain a lot of money on warfare by pillaging another country. Destruction pays off - just like smoking. It kills people, but pours a hell of a lot of money into the economy. Government-supported addiction you might call it. I’m getting out on a limb here…

Anyway, as much as you want to support Asia, I beg you also to support the fight for debt elimination, fair trade and better aid. Go to www.makepovertyhistory.org if you want to start somewhere…