Maravi

Jump at Finland's offer for help

Jump at Finland's offer for help
By The Post
Mon 05 Nov. 2012, 15:50 CAT

The Patriotic Front and its government should jump at the offer for help made by Finland. They should welcome Finland's offer to help them realise their campaign promises because no country in this world can today solve all its problems by itself. We all, in one way or another, need the help of others.

Those not ignorant of the unchallengeable right every human collectivity has to build a just future, those who - whether or not they share our political outlook - know there is no possible alternative to mutual respect, friendship, collaboration and solidarity among people, deserve our consideration and respect.

The highest level of political thought was reached when some men and women became aware that no people and no individual had the right to exploit others, and that the fruits of the efforts and intelligence of each human being should reach all others.

We salute all those who have arrived at such stimulating convictions because this is a road that leads to a more just, fair and humane world for which it is our collective duty to struggle. And some day, we won't distinguish between origins; we won't espouse national chauvinism, nor borders, nor rivers, seas, oceans, distances. We will be above that, with all human beings called upon to live in a world inevitably globalised, truly just, filled with solidarity and peace. We must struggle to achieve that day.

This battle of survival for us who live in poor countries includes us all: those who have large resources and those who have very little. We think that both the rich and the poor, if they are sailing on the same ship, would not want the ship to sink. There might be a minimum of collaboration to try to save the ship. We are really sailing in a Titanic with a lot of sea beneath and many icebergs in the way.

Of course our battle should not only be for survival, should not just be for the sake of surviving. It should be a battle to take part in the struggle for a better world, to participate in that struggle along with the world. We think that the idea of the future world is the most important and most noble idea that any good human being can harbour.

We don't want to look at these issues in a narrow, nationalistic manner - nationalism is not our basic idea, although we deeply love our country. We consider ourselves internationalists, and internationalism is not at odds with the love of one's homeland, for the land where a human being is born or where millions of human beings are born, and neither is the love for the land where one was born incompatible with a united world.

The culture and identity of a country is not incompatible with a united, completely globalised world. A just, globalised world, globalised under another conception, would not only save the physical space we must live in, but create millions, hundreds of millions, thousands of millions of millionaires.

Not the type of millionaires as are vulgarly conceived today, but in material goods that should be distributed in an equitable and just manner. They would be millionaires in human spirit, which only under another system and under other conceptions can be infinitely enriched.

We accept the idea of self-reliance. But self-reliance does not mean that the world should be devoid of solidarity. Not everything is obtained through trade on the market. There are things that still require active solidarity and other forms of co-operation among peoples than just trading. And help is not always and should not always be just about aid, money.

There are many areas of human endeavour in which we need the help of others. And we should not be ashamed as a nation to ask for help when it's needed.
Finland is very advanced technologically and otherwise. And there are many ways in which we can share their experiences and knowledge to the benefit of our people. And when they offer help, we should not be arrogant, pompous or cynical and scorn over it. We need help and let's get it when it is offered.

Of course, we should hope for foreign help from other peoples but we cannot be dependent on it; we should depend on our own efforts, on the creative power of our entire people. We should seek regeneration through our own efforts, relying on what we ourselves can mobilise or generate.

There are many areas where we have challenges and we need help. For instance, we are not getting the best out of our forests. We are destroying our forests at a very fast rate without any tangible benefits from them. Finland has vast experience and knowledge in these areas. Assistance from Finland can help us exploit our forest resources in a more beneficial way.

Finland is one of the least corrupt countries in the world and we would benefit something by co-operating or collaborating with them in this domain. We still need a lot of help from others in the fight against corruption. It is a fight that has proved very difficult for us to undertake on our own.

Left on our own, we will not achieve much in the fight against corruption. The Patriotic Front promised a lot on fighting corruption during the election campaigns. If international support is not mobilised, they are likely not to achieve much in this fight.

This is one area in which Finland's help can be sought. And here we are talking about the creating, streamlining and strengthening institutions that are involved in the fight against corruption and in the establishment of more efficient, effective and orderly procedures. Finland has advanced systems in these areas and we can do well with their help. There are many other areas of co-operation with Finland that can be explored to our benefit. Let's jump at this offer and get the help we need from Finland.

Labels: FINLAND

posted by MrK @ 9:36 PM