Helping others

I recently wrote about the cut to foreign aid by the chancellor and the letter that was written to our local MP.

A number of comments were made about giving aid and that most of it ends ups in the wrong hands.

So I asked CAFOD about the questions that had been raised by several people here are the comments I received which I would like to share with your readers.

On the case about aid and it creating dependency. I think it is worth noting that the reason many countries are poor in the first place is very often due to a complex history dating back to slavery and colonialism – which helped countries such as our own to get wealthy at the expense of others. And in the modern day there are continued economic relationships that are often based on extraction of wealth and resources – for example low income countries lose $200bn a year in tax avoidance by multinational companies (more than is received in aid!).

So it is within this context of a very unequal global economic system that people around the world are pushed into extreme poverty and low income countries’ governments are not always able to support all of the needs of their population.

While CAFOD strives to tackle these root causes of poverty and injustice and build a fairer world, we also think aid spending is an important act of global solidarity. As one of the world’s wealthiest nations we have a moral duty to the world – after all, we are one global family. We recognise that aid is not a ‘silver bullet’ and won’t fix all the world’s problems, but is can act as an important gesture of global solidarity that goes some way to acknowledge the fact that the UK’s wealth was built to some extent, at the expense of historic relationships with other countries – some of which are now in need of the support of the international community.

On the point about aid being badly spent. We too have had concerns with the direction of travel with some areas of aid spending. But we do not think the answer is to stop aid spending. Instead, we think the solution is to make sure that aid is spent better

Moreover, the request for the government to keep the commitment of 0.7 per cent for international aid was a pledge made by this current government in its election manifesto and it was also placed into UK law in 2015, which means that the government has a legal duty to meet the 0.7 per cent target.

Best wishes to all of you for 2021. John Vivian Fareham CAFOD Group

decreased, nor has the availability of these drugs. In reality, the huge amounts of money earnt from the involvement in moving these drugs around the world has enriched both Cartels and government agencies like the CIA, as proven in the NicaraguanContra affair.

It has been clear for many years that the 'War On Drugs' has failed. Looking deeper, it is clear that the war on drugs has been a charade from which many have profited and many ordinary people have suffered.

Now is the time to face reality, to strip the Cartels and the gangs of the money that causes the violence and other crimes, and to legalise the use of these drugs.

Harm reduction will become easier, international criminal gangs will be wiped out, burglary and shoplifting and other crimes will disappear. It is a logical move. Only the money resulting from the illegal trade prevents it.

James Walsh Tennyson Crescent, Waterlooville

A question of equality

Two articles caught my eye recently:

Parking fine mother slams ‘bullying’ firm in The News and Woman tries to save a life … and gets a parking fine in

The Times.

The common factor in these two stories is the unreasonable behaviour of parking firms. I was under the impression that the government were going to sort these organisations out. Apparently, they haven’t.

I hope both of these ladies go to court, armed with QCs, funded by crowdfunding or gifts, and sue the pants off these rattlesnakes. Furthermore, I hope any councils who employ these people drop them like hot potatoes. On the world stage: a lady in Saudi Arabia has gone to prison for five years after campaigning for women to drive; a lady in Wuhan, China, has been jailed for four years for reporting on the origins of Covid 19; and, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe continues to be held by the Iranian authorities. Can we not stop trading with these countries or make their leaders feel uncomfortable?

2020 has certainly been an Annus Horribilis. Let us hope and pray, that in 2021, the world finds that kindness is a more meaningful and satisfying attribute over profit and power.

Alec Matthews Parkside, Bedhampton

A trick of the eye

I read with interest the objections to the demolition of the old City Records Offices, so went to have a look.

On the other side of the road is the magnificent and massive new University Sports Centre, temporarily clad in rusty corrugated iron, methinks

George Langton Dorrita Close, Southsea