Poverty and Responsibility - Debate
Ladies and gentlemen, adjudicators and members of the opposition, is the developed world responsible for poverty in the developing world? Ofcourse it is, and I hope tonight we have shown you thatwithout a doubt, the motion should be proposed!
The opposition argue that it is the responsibility of developing countries to face up to their own poverty, to take the initiative tomagically lead themselves out of crippling debt and hardship, with little or no help from developed countries –We face up to our own debt crisis here in Ireland, as do countlessother 1st world countries, so why should wehave to help other countries? Sure, it isn't our problem.
But you see, they're living in a whole different world. Here in Ireland we live in rooved houses. We have a social welfare system whereby people wont starve to death. We have a health system that means your broken leg will get treated within a few hours of arriving at hospital. We take these things for granted, but in thedeveloping world a broken leg could be your demise. Having a roof over your head is a luxury only a few can afford. And every. single. year. 15 million children die of starvation. These two worlds are in no way comparable.
We are the cause of the debt crises in the developing world –colonialism, interest repayments on colossal debt burdens and trade embargoes, protectionism and exploitation have plummetedthese countries into poverty. If we are the cause, weneed to be the solution. Morally we cannot stand back and let our brothers and sisters in the third world sufferfrom such terrible living conditions, they're trapped in thevicious cycle of poverty, and without our help millionswill die of preventable causes such as famine and disease.
As Lisa explained earlier, Irish NGO's and charities such as Concern and Oxfam strive to help improve conditions in the developing world. Lisa also discussed the developed worlds contribution to climate change, and how this is havingdisastrous effects on the lives of
The opposition argue that it is the responsibility of developing countries to face up to their own poverty, to take the initiative tomagically lead themselves out of crippling debt and hardship, with little or no help from developed countries –We face up to our own debt crisis here in Ireland, as do countlessother 1st world countries, so why should wehave to help other countries? Sure, it isn't our problem.
But you see, they're living in a whole different world. Here in Ireland we live in rooved houses. We have a social welfare system whereby people wont starve to death. We have a health system that means your broken leg will get treated within a few hours of arriving at hospital. We take these things for granted, but in thedeveloping world a broken leg could be your demise. Having a roof over your head is a luxury only a few can afford. And every. single. year. 15 million children die of starvation. These two worlds are in no way comparable.
We are the cause of the debt crises in the developing world –colonialism, interest repayments on colossal debt burdens and trade embargoes, protectionism and exploitation have plummetedthese countries into poverty. If we are the cause, weneed to be the solution. Morally we cannot stand back and let our brothers and sisters in the third world sufferfrom such terrible living conditions, they're trapped in thevicious cycle of poverty, and without our help millionswill die of preventable causes such as famine and disease.
As Lisa explained earlier, Irish NGO's and charities such as Concern and Oxfam strive to help improve conditions in the developing world. Lisa also discussed the developed worlds contribution to climate change, and how this is havingdisastrous effects on the lives of