You’re not helping them long term which was the point of the Sankara quote.
It forces these countries to be dependent on food aid rather than self sufficient which means that if they try to go even somewhat against neoliberalism and actually raise the living standards and wages of their people the US then pulls the aid (as well as likely aiding armed groups to kill the leadership) in order to force the government out and installing comprador regimes in its place.
Same with those charities that “donate” a pair of shoes to developing countries for every pair purchased. And clothing donations are basically just shipping our plastic waste over there and under cutting the local clothing industry at the same time.
Much of the clothing shipped to the country is made from petroleum-based materials such as polyester. When the clothes cannot be used, they end up burning in landfills near Nairobi, exposing waste pickers and local residents to toxic fumes.
“More than one in three pieces of used clothing shipped to Kenya is a form of plastic waste in disguise and a substantial element of toxic plastic pollution in the country,” the report by the Changing Markets Foundation says.
Between 20 and 50 percent of all donated clothing is not of sufficient quality to be sold on the local secondhand market, the foundation says. And what can be sold has a negative economic impact by undercutting the prices of locally produced new clothes.
While this is all true, it’s much easier to justify to your constituency sending food that was grown and purchased in the local economy.
You’re creating jobs locally, and helping people at the same time!
You’re not helping them long term which was the point of the Sankara quote.
It forces these countries to be dependent on food aid rather than self sufficient which means that if they try to go even somewhat against neoliberalism and actually raise the living standards and wages of their people the US then pulls the aid (as well as likely aiding armed groups to kill the leadership) in order to force the government out and installing comprador regimes in its place.
Same with those charities that “donate” a pair of shoes to developing countries for every pair purchased. And clothing donations are basically just shipping our plastic waste over there and under cutting the local clothing industry at the same time.
https://www.rfi.fr/en/international/20230219-donated-clothes-an-environmental-disaster-in-disguise-for-developing-world