A great article

[Iori Yagami]

http://www.nationalreview.com/hanson/hanson060702.asp

[sharonbn]

It is an interesting, even eye-openning article.
This is despite the fact that the article's main point (hypocracy of the attitude of the west towards ME and other world regions) is by now acknowledged by all
(well, at least all but takeo... :))

[Vic]

The issue is not new. Many of those active in thirld-world aid resent the priority given to the Palestinians. They never seem to voice it in public - just why? :(

I remember a dramatic article by a famous Iranian filmmaker on the plight of Afghan refugees dating back to June 2001, before "thw world" took notice of their existence:
The total number of people killed and refugees in Afghanistan equals the entire Palestinian population but even us Iranians' share of sympathy for Afghanistan does not reach 10 percent of that for Palestine or Bosnia, despite the fact that we have a common language and border.http://www.iranian.com/Opinion/2001/June/Afghan/

I have seen a large German weekly running a 4-page article with colour photographs on Jenin and then somewhere in a dark corner a tiny colunm on 5 million or so people in immediate danger of dying as a result of a famine in Southern Africa. According to some other - few and scattered - reports the number can well be 10 to 15 million, but there is, after all, no serious reason to discuss it. Even the French Farmers' Union considers it apparently much more important to protect Arafat.

So here is a terribly cynical question to consider: how many Afghans or Africans does a Palestinian cost, in terms of financial and other aid, attention etc.? In numbers, please.

[Iori Yagami]

Well, there are about 3 million pallies... And as you said, there are 15 millions dying of famine at Africa... Well, that means that one pally is 5 africans... Interesting exchange rate, ain`t it?

[elke]

Originally posted by sharonbn
It is an interesting, even eye-openning article.
This is despite the fact that the article's main point (hypocracy of the attitude of the west towards ME and other world regions) is by now acknowledged by all
(well, at least all but takeo... :))

IMHO it's because the African situation can be traced, at least to a major extent, to the European colonizing past in the African Continent. Wide exposure to this disaster will bring to the fore the hypocricy of European nations when it comes to the ME, and simultaneously require them to do something. This will divert precious resources from the appeasement of the Palestinian terrorists to actual help for the truly needy.

[Vic]

Originally posted by Iori Yagami
Well, there are about 3 million pallies... And as you said, there are 15 millions dying of famine at Africa... Well, that means that one pally is 5 africans... Interesting exchange rate, ain`t it?
Wrong mathematics, Yori ;) What struck me about the article was that a very liberal estimate of Palestinians who suffered physical injury in Jenin or were in danger of further damage at that point would have been about 500, a proportion of 500 to 5,000,000!

It may cost a lot of time but I do wish that someone would do serious research comparing the usual foreign aid budgets with the sums allocated to the Palestinians. I have heard that in most European countries the Palestinians are No.1 in foreign aid pro person (quite aside from the EU aid) - which means that for every computer donated to Palestinian schools there is someone who didn't get food or medical aid, landmine clearing equipment not bought, etc.