The Look of Longing on Their Faces

With every long delay in updates comes a rich flow of things to talk about. I store it up in my head until I am bored enough to put it onto the computer. Unfortunately, I end up forgetting most of it. But, something I can't forget is the G8 summit, going on right now in Edinburgh Scotland (KT's been there. Why it's pronounced "burrow" instead of "burg" is beyond me). The G8, if you don't know, is a meeting of the US, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, Canada, and after the cold war, Russia. These are the strongest economic powers in the world, excluding China and including Russia, and they get together and decide how to share economic power for the next year.

However, this year there is the very real possibility that all G8 members will agree to drop the debt, meaning that billions of dollars in interest and debt repayment can be redirected back into the debtor countries, with the hope of ending long standing suffering and poverty.

When I think about hearing the news that the debt has been dropped, I think of jumping up and down, shouting, driving my car through the streets honking, weeping, praising, and lying prostrate (mostly in that order). The idea that this miracle could really happen is overwhelming. If we can do this, Africa has the chance to turn itself around and become a place where you live past 40, where your parents are alive, where you have all your limbs, and where you don't go to bed hungry every night.

But then the cynicism sinks in. How do you stop a train that's been going in the same direction for over a hundred years? How long does that take?

And then the real bad news hits: Even if the debt is dropped, Africa faces a heavy burden of internation subsidies, rampant corruption, war, and poverty, and the never forgotten AIDS. How does a man with no legs get on his feet and stand?

We'll see, in the coming days, whether to rejoice or mourn. Right now, there is only mourning. I presume you have already heard.