Give Justice Not Aid

Donors are meeting in Sweden in the coming days to discuss the reconstruction of Lebanon following the country's bombardment by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). Despite failing to defeat their stated enemy, Hizbullah, and rescue their two kidnapped soldiers, the Israelis did make short work of the Lebanese national infrastructure including roads, bridges and power plants. And let's not forget all those apartment buildings in the wrong part of Beirut. According to the logic of the IDF these were fair game. Bizarrely, it seems, they were punishing an entire country for the actions of a tiny minority.

And now the world is coming to the rescue. And their approach indicates that they are not interested in the least in analyzing the causes of the war just throwing money at the Lebanese (with North American, Japanese and European contractors getting the business). I expect that after all these roads and bridges are rebuilt they will be destroyed again in some future war between the IDF and Hizbullah.

Isn't there something wrong with the US and Britain sitting down with other donor states to dole out aid to poor little Lebanon? Didn't the US provide the bulk of the weapons that Israel used to decimate Lebanon? And didn't Britain allow emergency weapons shipments to Israel from the US to pass through their territory unchallenged? I guess it's good business to fund the destruction and rebuilding of a country; you make money on both ends. How does aid make you rich, you might be thinking? Isn't it just a donation? All aid has a price. Nothing is done from the goodness of one's heart in international politics. Lebanon will have to agree to strict demands set down by donors to receive their aid.

And for individuals like ourselves, perhaps aid for aid's sake is not enough when a war is the cause. Maybe we shouldn't give aid but should fight for justice instead; at the very least we should do both at the same time. I have felt this for some time. Well meaning Canadians will give aid to help the Lebanese and the Israelis but this really isn't enough. Those people need to get active and think about the issues and fight for justice; that will be different to different people of course but ultimately it might get people thinking about power and justice in places like the Middle East. And best of all, you won't have to answer the door for another financial appeal from Christian Aid or Oxfam. You would have done their job yourself.