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At which point we admit that current approaches to helping these countries does nothing and we reach out for other, radical, approaches and ideas?
I spent 3 weeks driving my 4x4 through Sudan in early 2019 [1], just a month before they finally got rid of Al-Bashir, and it was incredible.
The people of Sudan were some of the kindest and friendliest I have ever encountered on the planet. When I asked for directions to buy bread and it turned out to be complicated, the following morning locals brought a bag of fresh-baked bread to my campsite and refused to let me pay for it no matter how much I insisted. Their currency was already falling so fast I was getting a better rate for USD cash every day.
Gas at the time was $0.35USD / gallon - though the lineups were days long. The locals never let me wait in line and insisted I skip it every time.
Later in the North I met a very kind man who invited me for delicious coffee every day just to sit and talk. He again refused to let me pay for it and was clearly very proud of his country and people. On the second and third day I brought pastries to share. He said for decades it would have been unthinkable to talk out loud about getting rid of Al-Bashir, but during my visit it was starting to almost be acceptable. He did warn me to keep my voice down and leave my big camera in my 4x4 - people were edgy.
Sudan is on the list of 5 "evil" countries, just because I visited for three weeks I can never again get an ESTA (visa waiver) to enter the USA. It makes crossing the border much harder, especially when I live in Canada (not yet a Canadian citizen).
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pqtfwlfDAw
or text if you prefer (hit next article at the bottom of each post) http://theroadchoseme.com/to-khartoum
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There have been internal conflicts, but nothing at the scale of the 2023 Civil War.
> I suspect all the aid and help over the decades has really just prolonged things
It's being fueled by the proxy war between Iran, UAE, KSA, Egypt, and Ethiopia.
Ah yes, blame the lack of rulers and not colonialism or war.
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> I suspect all the aid and help over the decades has really just prolonged things Can you be more specific about the counterfactual? I’m assuming you’re not imagining that the country’s population would have just fallen to 0 absent aid, but I can’t figure out how you’re so sure things would have been better run
The Dictator’s Handbook covers this topic I think.
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At which point we admit that current approaches to helping these countries does nothing and we reach out for other, radical, approaches and ideas?
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