Betrayal Of The Poor

Last week the G8 leaders met in Germany. Despite all the spin they tried to put on it, the content of their agreement for the third world seems to have been that they are not even going to deliver on everything that they have promised previously. Whilst they were deciding that, about 20,000 people will have died of hunger in the countries most affected by their decision. This is a disgrace.

Two years ago I was in Edinburgh for the Make Poverty History March. The strength of world feeling was very visibly demonstrated by that, and the G8 leaders responded by making a number of pledges, the same pledges that by and large they have failed to deliver and are now trying to wriggle out of. The deaths of every single person to die from hunger, malaria and other easily curable illnesses are on the hands of the G8 leaders.