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General discussion

Donations for Australia? What for?

by acmhatre Feb 12, 2009 4:33PM PST

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I dont mean to be insensitive while I write this but why isthe australian bush fire being given such importance by asking people to donate money etc. There have been around 200 people killed which is very sad, but I didnot hear any donation pleas for people the 200+ people who died in terrorist attacks in Mumbai or the nountless number who have die in africa or when thousands were killed when Russians attacked Georgia?Also a few episodes back, Jason made a comment calling India (If I am not wrong) a third world country. India is the 2nd most fastest growing country in the world. Third world is not the best word for it.

Which makes me wonder if BOL is biased towards the "developed" countries. How come these announcements are made only when catastophies strike the developed nations.

BOL needs to make a choice, either treat everyone equally or don't get invovled at all. But prefrential treatment to developed countries is not good.
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Discussion is locked

5 Posts
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Ohh shush
by Nicholas Buenk Feb 12, 2009 6:43PM PST

India is a 3rd world country that is a simple fact, growth rate makes no difference. A GDP per capita of $941 is 3rd world. Infact Australia's GDP is 900 billion, comparded to 1100 billion for India, the difference is 21 million people vs 1.15 billion!
And the reason it's been given such importance? Probably a lot more Australian listeners than Indian listeners, who emailed in about the disaster. Most Aussies that have ever been killed at once out of war.

Nicholas - Annoyed Aussie

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you actually proved my point!!!
by acmhatre Feb 12, 2009 7:21PM PST

Nicholas:

As I said, I didnt mean to be insensitive and actually your reply supported my arguement. Can't a country with 900B take care of its citizens. Why do they need donations? Shouldn't a 3rd world country like India getting the donation when bad things happen there.

Also, I didn't want to make it about India specifically but I might as well respond to you since you dragged it in. Tell me how does it feel when two 3rd world country's cricket team (South Africa and India) pawned the aussies. Also, India - a third world country has one of the best space programs in the world (ISRO) which would have known if you werent passed out on australia's most significant contribution to the world - Fosters.

Anyways, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt that your rude reply was just an instinctive reply and I do agree that it just might have been the case that more aussies wrote in about the bush fire.

Again, didn't want to be rude but sometimes one just has to be like that.

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Ha
by Nicholas Buenk Feb 13, 2009 2:05AM PST

And many more people than those who have lost their lives, have lost their homes and everything they own. The donations are for medical assistance, temporary accommodation and assistance with them rebuilding their lives, and are largely contributions from Australians, $53 million so far. What we are talking about is thousands of people displaced from their homes.

Australian inventors came up with a lot of things, the bionic ear, football, the electric pacemaker, penicillin, the teleprinter (or tty), the car radio, electric drill, the lawn mower, latex gloves, the torpedo, the notepad, photocopying and refrigeration.

Anyway why are we fighting, aren't we both supposed to be members of the british commonwealth?

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(NT) who cares, people are still being helped.
by kwahhn Feb 13, 2009 12:48AM PST
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I think you're right
by acedtect Feb 13, 2009 2:40AM PST

We should have done more, but the interesting thing is we got many more emails from our listeners about the Australian fires than about the Mumbai attacks and almost none about the Russian invasion.

It's one interesting manifestation of relying on our audience. We need to be aware of these things. Thanks for pointing it out.

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