This is a paper I wrote being the Affirmative case in a debate. I will eventually be presenting this so I would like to get your opinions on it.


Africa, the cradle of life, home to the Nile, Sahara, Mount Kilimanjaro, and a place more nature than technology than any other place in the world. However this natural haven of life is plagued by problems abound. As you may know there are serious medical-related problems in Africa and that the USA is doing things to help out. However there is much more than meets eye.

Corruption- the official Transparency International definition states and I quote “Corruption is operationally defined as the misuse of entrusted power for private gain.” Transparency International is an organization that monitors the competitiveness and corruption of most countries of the world. According to their websites CPI Index Sudan, Chad, Zimbabwe, The Democratic Republic of Congo, and Kenya are among the most corrupt countries in the world as of January 2007. A BBC article published in February of 2006 stated that Kenya’s former president Mwai Kibaki had a corruption crisis that was so serious that both the US and Germany suspended all of their aid to Kenya that was the equivalent of several million dollars. I believe it is obvious that we cannot effectively provide aide to Africa with corruption of this magnitude, because we may send money and things but little to none of it actually gets to the people of Africa, just their government.

Another problem that people cannot comprehend would interfere with aide is the fact that a lot of Sub-Saharan Africa is worn torn. Many of you may know of the Rwandan Genocide of 1994. According to Organization of African Unity on UN.org its been calculated that between half a million, that’s 500,000 and a million people were massacred. Do you honestly think that any aide to that country would have gotten through in that time period? Here is the scenario. You’re a truck driver delivering medical supplies to an African country. You suddenly reach a checkpoint that wasn’t there before and men armed with guns are standing around. You stop, a man comes up to you and says. Get out, were taking your truck, find your own back. What do you think they are going to do with those supplies? They will sell them, to buy more weapons to kill more people. But war isn’t just restricted to Rwanda. According to globalresearch.com conflicts along the borders of Darfur are anything but rare. It has spread to Niger, Djibouti, Somalia, the Congo, and even through Uganda and Sudan. Massive troop build ups are seen all over the borders like they are preparing for some kind of all out assault on one another. These issues are what is blocking the tactic we are using today to solve the main problem in Africa.

The medical crisis is what is mainly seen as the problem in Africa and it is indeed a major problem. Africa’s inability to treat their people is the very source of the medical crisis. The Medical Relief Alliance of MRA.com recognizes that a significant number of African residents do not seek physician services or see healthcare providers for a number of reasons; 1) The lack of physician services in the area; 2) A cultural preference to use traditional methods before seeing a medical doctor; 3) The lack of transportation and related costs; 4) Poverty and the associated lingering effects among communities in the region; and lastly the lack of knowledge on the existing healthcare resources and services in the area. According to the source website of our own World Geography text book as of Algeria’s 2006 population of 32,854,000 they only have 113 doctors. Chad’s 06 population of 10,146,00 only had 4 doctors. Yes that’s right 4.0 only 4 doctors. The Democratic Republics 06 population 58,741,000 only had 11 doctors, and the numbers only get worse from there. So, how do we solve such a complicated problem without getting too involved?

The answer is simple. We can’t, we have to get involved and we have to take actual action instead of just giving money to them! However we have to have a plan that is both beneficial to us and beneficial to them since our nations economy could very likely be at risk. We cannot just solve one problem without the others interfering. We must form a plan that will solve the corruption problems, the war problems, and the health problems all at the same time. I have such a plan that will allow the major powers of the world to assist Africa but at the same time not draining the economy of each.

If all the major powers of the world were to again colonize Africa it would indeed solve all of these problems. It would solve the corruption problems by effectively removing existing unstable African governments and replacing them with constitutions according to each major power. In other words the USA would form a constitution for the part of Africa that we aide, Europe would form theirs for their part of Africa, Russia would form their constitution for their part of Africa and so on and so on. This would also effectively remove the warfare situations from Africa by re-drawing the Borders according to which country is aiding which part which will be drawn according to cultural and tribal differences along with the peaceful disarmament of all African nations which will be aided. Also this would solve the crisis of the inability to treat illness and disease simply because each power could directly provide it to them without interference. Last but not least this would allow the major powers to aide the parts of Africa without economic drain through the ownership of each respective parts natural resources which Africa indeed has an abundance of. To this you may say but colonial times were horrible for the African people back then and they want to have their independence. Well that was then, and this is now. I can assure that the ways major powers will be implementing the plan will be much different from back in the colonial days. Also all of the separate African countries will still be allowed to recognize themselves as countries and have their own traditions.

The major powers will not own these countries; officially the major powers will simply aide the unstable governments and have a strong presence in each respective region. There is no other way to directly aide these countries, and we will be helping them on a massive scale. This will essentially be the largest global humanitarian aide project in history, and it will for lack of a better phrase make the world a better place.

Sorry you lost me at RECOLONIZE!

Really? you got that far and then just gave up and didn't read it with an open mind? I have two words for you. EPIC FAIL

Perhaps if you used paragraphs it would get more readers. Take the 5 minutes to add them.

Well, let us have a go:

In an academic paper, it is very dangerous to make this deduction. You mention 5 countries, but there are 53 African states. So it would be like saying that in 5 American cities there is a crime problem, so america is crime ridden. I am not denying that in many African countries, corruption is a problem, but this kind of hiberbole is not good in an academic paper.


Again, a problematic statement in an Academic paper, as you say this, then you refer to a war thatis over, not a current war. Later on you do refer to Sudan, and the possibility of this war spreading, but it has not yet. Do you know any war currently going on in sub-sahara Africa? Many countries have returned to peace now. Sudan, Somalia and the DRC being the only major ones I know of, and the threat of war between Ethopoia and Eritrea. The UN has comended how greatly the number of conflicts in this region has dropped. (It is in a another thread on here somewhere, it is too early for me to look).

Missing a mojor one in this list, the high costs pharmaseutical companies charge for it's medicine.

Oh boy, let's not.WE don't want you here. And honestly, how would this not affect your economy negativly? How much is the war in Iraq and Afganistan costingthe US every year? Or did you think Africa would just welcome you with open arms? this plan also fails to regocnise that some of Africa's probles actually comes from being colonised in the first place!!

Also, you want to conquer all African states, because some is failed? Zimbabwe is bad, so let us take over Zim, and South Africa and Botswana and Zambia which are all stable states? Makes no sense at all. This also fails to regocnise the advances some African countries have made in turning their fortunes around.

And who decides who is going to take part in this. You mention the US and Europe. You want the EU to colonise us, or the countries on their own? (the EU also doesn't have a const.) which ones then? Serbia too? Or only some European nations. Who decides? And Japan? And China? What about Russia? Wait, don't they have corruption and wars too? Mmmm, so who is it going to be?

How is constitutions going to solve corruption problems? All African countries have those, some of them are pretty good. How is the American constitution goingto solve corruption. (Thank goodness this means the UK can't colonise us again, since they do not have a constitution!!)

Yeah, it was Europes drawing of the maps that caused many of the problems in the first place. Also, infrastructure is now developed according to the current borders, how are you going to fix that now? And re-drawing borders helped cause both WWI and WWII, so maybe not. Andwhat do you mean with disarmament? Who do you mean? the armies of Africa? The police, or all the people? Good luck with that one! Africa is large, it is easy to hide weapons. Again, look at the failures to do so in Afganistan and Iraq, how would it be more successfull in Africa?

Interestingly, a big part of the problems of a shortage of medical personel in African countries, are because the Western nations, who also have shortages, are poaching them. Treaties are now benig sought between the AU and EU to stop this, as we need our nurses and docters.

ABC News: Doctors Leaving Poor Countries in Need

Now I am confused, because thisis not colonising, this is saying - okay, you help them, we help these countries. Itis devinding the aid. But above this paragraph, you aredefnitly describing colonising Africa. So what is it you plan to do? Tkake away countries independnce. Taking away some of these countries to decide for themselves who sould run them. That is colonising, and it is just plain wrong.

I am sorry to say, but your plan, if it would ever be accepted, but neither the west or Africa will accept this, ever, would be doomeded to failure.

AH









I

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“The subject no longer has to be mentioned by name. Someone is sick. Someone else is feeling better now. A friend has just gone back into the hospital. Another has died. The unspoken name, of course, is AIDS.”
“From the point of view of the pharmaceutical industry, the AIDS problem has already been solved. After all, we already have a drug which can be sold at the incredible price of $8, 000 an annual dose, and which has the added virtue of not diminishing the market by actually curing anyone.”

Man... I hope your mates didn't bet on you winning this debate.

Sorry Flipfreek, to whom were you refering?

AH

__________________
“The subject no longer has to be mentioned by name. Someone is sick. Someone else is feeling better now. A friend has just gone back into the hospital. Another has died. The unspoken name, of course, is AIDS.”
“From the point of view of the pharmaceutical industry, the AIDS problem has already been solved. After all, we already have a drug which can be sold at the incredible price of $8, 000 an annual dose, and which has the added virtue of not diminishing the market by actually curing anyone.”

I agree. This is not a scholarly presentation. Without correct paragraphs, paragraph transitions, topic sentences, etc., it would not receive an acceptable grade in college and would likewise not be "A" work in High School. Before the logic of your argument would be evaluated, the basics of good writing would have to be mastered.

When I hit the copy and paste it didn't do the double line spacing that I did or the paragraphs. Sorry about that. Everyone thank you for your constructive criticism. Hopefully I can edit this after its turned in to add more points that you guys have pointed out. Later today I will answer your comments Africanhope.

Pythagoras. I didn't make any comments regarding the essay itself because you pretty much covered everything.