Lest these startling figures from Brazil leave the impression that the problem called underdevelopment is “over there", we should remember that Canada lost 50% of its farmers from 1951 to 1976, and ontinues to lose them. Food security is 3in growing more fragile, as Canada ontinues to grow more dependent on \ ood imports (though remaining a net ex—
liaid 1‘
led the Coady philosophy since the in- stitute’s formal launch in 1958. '
In the 1920’s and 30’s, Father l. Thomp— kins, founder of the Antigonish move- ment, and later Father MM. Coady, ‘pro-
moted the principles of co-operatives and '
credit unions as a means‘of improving the destitute lives of farmers and fishermen in rural Nova Scotian communities.
Coady believed in a healthy mixture of private and public ownership in society, “a society where all the people par- ticipate in the economic processes and get their fair share of the wealth which all help to create . . . in a democracy, the people don't sit in the economic bleach- ~ers, they all play the game.”
It was Thompkins' convictiOn that education should serve a practical pur- Pose in giving people insight into their problems, and encouraging each to play in active role in effecting change. "The lob of all educators,” Coady wrote, “is' to tive the mass man a chance to appreciate his rich heritage and to express himself." individual expression in the Coady’s
Project required of students, involving an economically-sound project practically llirked to the economic area that is home to the student. An assigned guide consults With the student, but the project’s success Calls on independence throughiprepara- lion and iniative: "
Strongly tied through the’university to lie Roman Catholiciefforts in the Third World, the Coadvlnnitute’s work in 1975 ‘ as endor'sediby‘MOther’Theresa of Cal- utta: “Your leadership'*role i’s deservedly Cknowled laimedfr.
porter of food because of grain).
A nice illustration of World Bank designs to create dependency in "un- derdeveloped" countries comes from a .World Bank country report on Papua New Guinea (PNG): "A characteristic of PNC’s subsistence agriculture is its relative richness: over much of the country nature’s bounty produces enough to eat with relatively little expenditure of effort. The root crops that dominate subsistence farming are ’plant and wait' crops, requiring little disciplined cultivation . . . Until enough subsistence farmers have their traditional life styles changed by the growth of new consumption wants, this labour constraint may make it difficult to introduce new crops.”
Bilateral aid, channeled directly from a supporting country to the recipient, also tends to serve the donor country much
better. Justifying Canada’s bilateral programme, the President of the Canadian lnternational Development
Agency, said in 1973: “We know that 80%-90% of ' this money is currently being spent in Canada, on Canadian goods, commodities and ser-
.
vices...” This is the rationale given to “Seven out of ten Canadians thought that
their country's aid should be increased or main- tained."
Curriculum includes a major independent '
ged and universally. ac- ~
# businessmen for Canadian bilateral aid. Another government document says aid
provides an initial source of financing for
the export of Canadian goods and ser- vices to poor countries. It provides Canadians "with the kind of knowledge and experience‘which help support the ex- pansion of Canada in commercial in- terests overseas." Most of Canada’s $1.25 billion (approx. 0.43% of GNP) in aid is in
,the form of multilateral or bilateral aid.
“Aid,” US Congressman Frank Church once said, “is used by Congress both as a carrot and a stick to reward or punish recipients depending on how thea—US regards their behaviour." lt’s since been called a "weapon" by Reagan administra- tion officials, and that goes for financial, food, scientific—and military—aid.
El Salvador . ’
At present, several different kinds of aid are pouring into the small Central American countryiof El Salvador. The glaring contrast bemeen what is called "aid" to this country sheds light on the in- terests each kind of aid represents;
Helicopters and howitzers
In 1980, over 10,000 people met violent
deaths in El Salvador, in the bombing and strafing of towns and villages, and in kid- nappings and assassinations, in city squares and markets. These acts were carried out by the junta’s security forces and right-wing death squads. They in- cluded the assassinations, among others, of some 60 professors of the National University and eight Christian Democratic mayors. The most famous victims have been Archbishop Romero and the four American missionaries. The death toll is
still mounting right now, at about 1,000 3
every month. I . . The military hardware needed to carry
out this massive repression is another example of foreign aid.
US. President Reagan has recently an- nounced resumption of this aid to the jun- ta (suspended temporarily because of the American killings). His official spokesper- son on Latin America and Ambassador to the United Nations, Jeane Kirkpatrick ex- pressed the need to support “moderate autocrats friendly to American interests.” By American interests, Kirkpatrick means American‘business interests.
Medical aid
Yet El Salvador is receiving another brand of aid as well—this kind not from the American administration, but from or— dinary Americans-and Canadians, and Germans, Dutch and others. Through in— dependent, non-governmental organiza— tions this aid is going not to the junta but to the popular resistance movement, the FDR (Democratic Revolutionary Front, a coalition of all popular opposition movements).
In Nova Scotia, student councils, the Latin America Information Group, OX- FAM, churches and other groups have raised money for Medical Aid, with benefit concerts and fundraising letter campaigns. Throughout .the country Canadians are also registering their political views with the government: even
‘as early as last fall the Canadian Govern- ment had received more mail about El Salvador and the atrocities of the US.- ‘backed regimethan it had over. Vietnam? or Biafra. Solidarity, not charity
The people of ELSalvador, and of Zim- bawe and other Third World countries don’t need "hand-outs”. They don’t want “sympathy”. They want justice and ask for the solidarity of’world citizens in their pursuit of it. Their need is urgent.
Support for Medical Aid to El Salvador, the Nicaraguan Literacy and Health Cam- paigns, Zimbabwean reconstruction are all visible proof that many Canadians are not standing idly by in the face of the grotesque inequalities in the world or the calculated suppression of popular movements. Their objective is to end needless world poverty. It is the equitable distribution of wealth and power amongst all peoples, and health, food and shelter for all. a
A recent poll conducted by a private firm for ClDA found that seven out of ten Canadians thought that their country’s aid should be increased or maintained. Of theSe, almost half—46%—thought it should be channeled through voluntary development organizations.
This short poem, written in the midst of
‘tremendous struggles in southern Africa,
hints at what this other kind of “aid” is about
Solidarity
is notan act of charity ~
but mutual aid between forces
fighting for the same obiective.
Eleanor MacLean is on the staff of the Halifax branch of OXFAM-CANADA, a group working to assist underdeveloped countries through self-helpand long-term development projects. OXFAM is active'in the Caribbean, Southern Africa and South American nations. Its operations are largely dependent on public support. The group’s Halifax offices are located at 1649 Barrington Street, Halifax, NS. B3] 305. m
Page 3
Name games in Aid
“When I use a word, ” Hum- pty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, “it means iust what I choose it to mean - neither more nor less. ”
“The question is,” said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things.”
“The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master— that’s all. ”
— Through the Looking Glass
Words can have a way of clouding reality sometimes. What are “vital in— terests”? What do we mean by “aid” to the l‘less fortunate"? What do others mean by using the same words? Why are some "less fortunate than others”?
"Underdeveloped" and “less devel- oped countries” have only been in existence since the early 19605, when the terms became commonly used—right about the time many nations, especially in Africa, were gaining political in- dependence. Before that they were called "the colonies".
This change of terminology is significant. As the political reality of colonies became unacceptable, the language of bureaucracy came up with "underdeveloped" countries. (Were they falling victim to a mysterious, dreaded disease-—”Underdevelopment”—genetic in nature perhaps?)
The unequal relations in reality be- tween rich and poor continued, but the vocabulary used to describe that reality underwent change.
The most recent nomenclature for relations between the same countries is the "North-South Dialogue”. The distinguishing feature is supposed to be geographical location. No doubt buried in the volumes of the Brandt Commission are eminently logical explanations for Australia and New Zealand being con— sidered part of the “North” . . .
- . » I - —E.Mac|..