If you’ve ever seen the movie “The gods must be crazy” you know the hilarity and tragedy that sometimes comes with cultural differences. In the movie a coke bottle is dropped by a passing helicopter into a remote African village. The indigenous people find the bottle and think it was sent by the gods. They marvel at it with curiosity and wonder. It becomes something highly valued and soon the villagers begin to fight over the unique gift they were given. The longer they keep the thing around the more problems it causes. The villagers realize that this gift was not for their benefit, though it seemed amazing at first, it actually does much harm and causes all kinds of conflict between people. Someone actually gets killed as a result. The elders of the village meet and decide that they must do whatever they can to rid themselves of this cursed object.
I was recently reminded of the metaphor this movie provides. Though I haven’t seen it since I was a kid I remember enough of the story to see its importance. The last time I saw it I mostly appreciated it for the comedic scenes where an clumsy Australian aid worker tries to woo a foreign woman and his jeep ends up in a tree (or something like that, it’s been a while). I wasn’t too much of a deep thinker back then, though I’m sure my parents tried to explain the lesson involved.
Our entire experience here has transformed our view of “aid” work, and has confirmed some suspicions we had looming in the back of our skeptical minds. Unfortunately the “gift” of money that Americans are sending here, which is very often dropped haphazardly into unsuspecting places, appeals greatly to the locals at first. What we have seen firsthand is the corruption and manipulation it causes and the conflicts that arise at the expense of innocent victims.
At the end of the movie a designated member of the community is given the task of walking to the end of the earth and getting rid of the thing that has caused so many problems. When he comes to a huge cliff, he throws the bottle over the edge and asks the gods what they were thinking when they sent this strange and terrible gift. I feel like being that guy. I’m almost committed to walking to the edge of the earth to get rid of this gift that is causing such horrible problems and perpetuating cycles of greed, bribery and corruption.
Some people become so dependent on financial support from those in the west that they get locked into unethical and corrupt situations which take control of their entire lives. We have seen good-hearted, caring people bend to the will of those with questionable motives and manipulative tactics. There are organizations here who use money to take advantage of the culture of bribery (though they would never call it that) and gain the loyalty of locals who are then susceptible to exploitation.
The issue of child slavery and the trafficking of children is cultural and very complex. Anyone who tries to simplify it is missing a lot of the point. I’m not trying to excuse it, but many people don’t realize that some children are trafficked into a better life than they would have with their families (living on the street, eating out of the garbage). Some parents believe this is an opportunity for their child to learn a skill and gain some education and an occupation. Many slave masters were forced into labor themselves as children. We have seen the release of these children to ngos through means that perpetuate the trafficking. If the fishermen are given enough compensation for the kids they give up they have more incentive to buy children in the first place. Why not buy children from parents and sell them at a higher price to the western ngos? Not to mention the appeal of children getting free schooling and housing -this has driven parents to lie and claim their children were trafficked who are their own for the sole purpose of getting them into the accommodations and care of the ngo. If you think the slave trade with West Africa ended decades ago, you’ve just learned the truth. It’s ugly. It’s very uncomfortable and incredibly heartbreaking, but the truth of the matter is we are funding it. Americans, churches, kids birthday money that they sacrifice to help others. I wish I was kidding. Whether you care about this particular issue or another, my main goal in telling this story is that everyone who donates or supports any organization knows exactly where their money is going. The sad truth is many people don’t care. It feels good to give, it feels good to put a picture of a cute kid on the fridge and tell others about the difference you are making. But do you know what goes on behind the scenes? Do you know what that organization stands for? It’s so easy to manipulate people. It’s easy to blockbuster it and sell it. We really need accountability. God help us if we ever refuse it.