In Reply to: Drugs in Bali posted by 888kiwidragon on Thursday, 25. August 2005 at 12:24 Bali Time:
For starters, many people generously gave to aid organisations in order to help the survivors of the Tsunami in Aceh, which is an issue far removed from drug taking in Bali. Australians also donate to many other causes in Indonesia.
This is not Australian aid. It is individual aid. These people would have donated no matter where they were from. And hopefully they are kind enough to continue to do so, and sensible enough to see that aid and tourist drug use are separate issues.
Australian "aid" is what people call the billion dollars that Australia "gave" to help with the reconstruction of Aceh. Half of it is a loan. The other half is little more than a subsidy to the Australian companies who will be doing the construction/clean-up work. There will of course be some benefits to Indonesia. But had the "aid" been properly used, it would have benefited a lot more people.
The 500 million loan component is interest free. But since the Rupiah has already devalued almost 10% since the loan was given, Indonesia is already the equivalent of 50 million dollars poorer for it. The last thing Indonesia needs is more foreign debt. I hope sanity prevails and this debt is written off in the near future.
Also, the "aid" has already been used as a bargaining tool in Australia's FTA with Indonesia, so it benefits companies that may not have given a cent to help those who have suffered. Then, of course, there are the mining companies that have been profiting off Indonesia for decades, taking advantage of workers who get paid two dollars a day (who got no benefit from the cash paid for the mining rights, but will have to use some of that money pay back the debt).
Western countries do not give to poor countries. They take. poor countries produce things. We consume them. That's why we are rich and they are poor. We give aid when we have to... to keep them going so they can make or grow or mine some more stuff for us.
Cutting aid would be fine if we were planning to give back everything we've taken. Otherwise, I think it's best that keep giving a little bit back, even if it's only a fraction of what we've taken.