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| Fall 2008 CommentsThe Humanitarian Carnival: A Celebrity VogueAs the spectacular opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics was broadcast, an American mother filmed her own “opening ceremony” from a dusty refugee camp in Chad. Over unsteady footage of Darfurian children running and playing football, a Sudanese child sung the national anthem. It was modest and moving—human theater that only grabbed attention because its creator happened to be a celebrity. Actress Mia Farrow appears in the final scene holding a torch made of brushwood. The vulnerability of Darfur’s children finds expression in Farrow’s trembling voice and drawn face. It is as visceral and empathetic a part as she has ever played, and it is for real. Darfur has become part of Mia Farrow.” Full text articleAlex de Wall helps to restore confidence in Western scholarship and academic excellence(which is not tainted by pandering to the policies of those who have agendas linked to strategic -political interests) One point to add. Celebrities - in their lack of expertise or knowledge of problems like Darfur- become like the blind who lead the blind. They obscure the real issues. An example.The conflict in Sudan is ALSO between modernity (in the Centre where tribalism almost vanished and where political parties ,civil society organisatios and trade unions were formed since the /1930's/1940's on a national basis .By comparison the backwardness of the margins of the country; caused by uneven development since colonial times, has created a political landscape which is tribally based. JEM fought in Chad to save the President there ,because he belongs to the Zaghawa like most of jem's leadership and fighters ,then crossed the border into Sudan and attacked Omdurman. The concept of the Nation State has no place in their vision. That is also the reason why the rebels speak of the hegemony of certain tribes in Northern Sudan.They can only see the detribalised parts of the Sudan through their own blinkered tribal eyes. This essay is long on criticism--and much of it is both timely and appropriate, but what I am not making out of this essay is any kind of solution to the problems de Waal is addressing. After an initial reading I'm left with the impression that Mr. de Waal favors no kind of intervention at all in cases of mass human rights atrocities. If we are not to trust in the wisdom of celebrities or photo-ops, then where should activists be directing their energies? Mr. de Waal can criticize Bono, Oprah Winfrey, and whomever else he judges to have failed to have lived up to his standards for either scholarship or meaningful action in any of the conflicts he's mentioned, but if Mr. de Waal himself is short on solutions I fail to see how he has gained any sort of moral high ground in the process or conveyed to his readers any message of value from which they can direct their energies in more constructive ways. Alex de Waal raised some interesting points for discussion in his article “The Humanitarian Carnival: A Celebrity Vogue”. Unfortunately, he based a few of these points on inaccuracies about (RED). Specifically, he cited a factually incorrect article from 2007 to suggest that (RED) did not yield a return in its first year because it had raised $18 million from the sale of products, but spent $100 million on advertising. This information is simply wrong. One hundred percent of the contribution from the sale of products to the Global Fund is put to work in Africa, with no overhead -- no advertising money -- taken out. The advertising that helps sell these products is completely separate and comes from (RED) partners’ existing marketing budgets. (RED) convinces these companies to redirect a portion of their existing budgets to help promote the (RED) products they are selling – so, instead of advertising normal khakis or regular tennis shoes, partners advertise their (RED) products that generate money to fund AIDS programs in Africa. Today, (RED) has 9 partners that offer 350 (PRODUCT) RED items in over 60 countries. (RED) has generated more than $110 million for the Global Fund. This makes (RED) the 14th largest annual contributor to the Global Fund, above countries like South Korea and Australia. Mr. de Waal stated that the launch of (RED) appeared to be a regressive role for our co-founder because it did not tackle complex policy issues. This misses the point that (RED) is one flank of a much bigger army of people, and one plank of a much bigger strategy when it comes to fighting AIDS. (RED) came about for two reasons. First, Bono’s advocacy work with DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa) to raise much-needed resources for the Global Fund kept hitting a wall as the Global Fund had initially been established as a ‘public/private partnership’, yet there was next-to-nothing coming from the private sector. Governments said they would not increase their own contributions until there were substantial funds from the private sector. Hence (RED) was born and has helped leverage more than the $110 million it has raised. Second, Robert Rubin, ex US Treasury Secretary advised that when problems were of such a scale and awareness was so low, support would not come without marketing the problem ‘like Nike’ and providing actions that people can take. (RED) not only raises money from people who might not otherwise give to this issue, but it raises awareness and discussion amongst consumers, the voting public and the media. We believe it also increases support for policy and legislation on a much bigger scale that addresses AIDS in Africa in all its complexity - as advocated for by our sister organization, the One Campaign, also co-founded by Bono. It will take all elements of society to help address the epidemic. (RED) is just one part of the solution, but it is an important part which does not operate in isolation and that for the first time engages business in a sustainable way. That's a lot of criticism, tinged with cynicism, without suggestions. What would Mr. de Wall suggest that people-famous or not-do in the face of these tragedies? If he has a better idea, let's hear it. If not, he should find something better to do than take pot shots at those who commit themselves to ending genocide, diease and hunger. |  Submit Your Comment |
Posted by Harry Vann Phillips | October 10, 2008 14:18:39 PM EDT