Third World Debt- A New Aparthied System
"The son of Adam has no better right then that he would have a house wherein he may live and a piece of cloth to hide his nakedness and a piece of bread and water" Hadith Tirmidhi
The third world is in crisis. Starving children, rampant disease and lack of medication are daily experiences for its people. Every day 35,000 children die of starvation or illness. In this desperate state, the third world has turned to the west for guidance. Over the years, the western financial institutions (the IMF and World Bank) have outlined several economic programs which third world countries implement. The latest economic miracle cure is globalisation. This has lead to nothing but a deepening of the crisis and further exploitation of the developing world at the thieving hands of the western nations.
Free trade allows large multinational corporations unlimited access to the resources of the developing world. In the African country of Chad, the World Bank is funding the development of a vast oil field and pipeline that will extend 550 miles through the Cameroon. The bank is loaning $540m of the projects $3.5bn total cost. At first glance this appears a positive development for Chad's economy. However, the World Bank later disclosed that the vast majority of the profits would go to its silent partner, the American petroleum giant Exxon Mobil. A similar story of exploitation is repeated in the gas and oil fields of Bangladesh, Uzbekistan and Yemen where the emblems of Shell, Total and Exxon are common place.
The stranglehold tightens as free trade opens vast markets for the exploitation of large western companies. The recent visit of U.S. president Bill Clinton to the Indian subcontinent was predominately a business trip typified by the 700 businessmen that accompanied him. Through the dropping of trade barriers, America was able to secure multimillion-dollar contracts. The same motive lies behind the acceptance of China into the WTO. It's population of 1.2bn people presents a giant market for the products of western companies. Tony Blair in the 2000 G8 summit in Japan said regarding the financial focus on the third world "It is hard headed economic investment in the markets of the future". This has lead to nothing but the explosion in the worldwide profits of companies such as Coke Cola, General Motors and McDonalds, leading to the closing down of local manufactures and businesses in the third world.
Globalisation has also lead to the phenomena of outsourcing. This is where large corporations lease out a portion of their production process to factories in the third world. This allows them to exploit the cheap labour in the most impoverished areas of the developing world. This has given rise to what has been termed sweatshops. Nike Sportswear runs the most infamous of these. A large proportion of Nike's shoes are produced in the far east and typically sell for between $60 and $80,. Recent revelations have shown how these factories house women and children working 12-hour shifts, 6 days a week earning less than $2 a day. On top of that, workers are charged for a glass of water and can be fired if they spend too long in the bathroom. Although Nike's is the most publicised case, there is a growing trend of multinational corporations exploiting this opportunity of cheap labour rather than helping to improve the working conditions of these poor nations.
The final nail in the coffin is that free trade has lead to the financial liberalisation of the developing world. The west claimed that financial institutions would invest in the developing world, leading to a healthy rate of growth third world economies. However, the reality of what has transpired is not quite the rosy picture the west likes to portray. There has been very little direct investment or joint ventures with companies in the developing world. Rather we find that the role of the western financial institutions is largely restricted to the financial markets often referred to as the parasite economy. It has become painfully obvious that their participation in these markets is solely for the exploitation of naive local traders. The recent stock market crashes of the Far East bears painful testimony to this fact. Effectively, the markets were manipulated and then destroyed by the likes of George Soros et al in the pursuit of fast easy money. The economies of the Far East faced one of the greatest crashes witnessed since 1929. This daylight robbery of global proportions was made possible due to the developing worlds submission to the call for financial liberalisation, which is not surprisingly supervised by the west.
This clearly exposes the true motivation behind the west's clamour for free trade. These solutions will never lead to the solving of the problem, as that was never their intended purpose. The third world turning to the west can be likened to the sheep seeking refuge with the wolf. As a result, the outcome has been that poverty in the developing world is on the rise, and is now twinned with an overburdening debt problem.
If we view this in the context of the western capitalist countries and their nature, the conclusions regarding the motives behind free trade should come as no surprise as they are moved by nothing but personal gain and benefit. Consequently, they view the third world as an opportunity to increase the wealth of their own nation rather then to help their fellow man. This was illustrated in Lord Palmerston's comments on British foreign policy when he said, "We have no eternal allies, we have no eternal enemies, our interests are eternal and perpetual". Therefore, exploitation is the inevitable outcome of the relationship between the first and the third world.
In contrast to this, Allah (swt) commands Muslims to carry and spread Islam to the whole of mankind in order to look after their affairs,
"And We have not sent you but as a Universal Messenger to men, giving them glad tidings, and warning them." (TMQ 34: 28)
Therefore, an Islamic State would not view other nations on the basis of benefit but rather with a view to liberate them with the justice of Islam. It would look to the developing world with the aim of incorporating it into the Islamic lands. This would not lead to the exploitation of the developing world, as the Khalif would assume direct responsibility for the welfare of his new citizens. Resources and expertise would be directed into the developing world from wealthier parts of the state rather then the reverse which was witnessed when the colonialist rampaged through the third world. Therefore, the Khilafah will solve the problem of third world poverty by using the resources of its lands effectively and making sure it is distributed equally, between all its citizens whether they are black, brown or white, or whether they live in the capital or a distant village.
This was witnessed in the experience of Egypt, which was incorporated, into the Islamic lands by the Khalifah Umar Ibn Al-Khattab (ra). Under Islamic rule this area became so rich that it was they who helped the capital Madina when it was suffering a famine. Also, under the rule of the Khalifah Umar Ibn Abdul Aziz, the part of Africa under Islamic rule became so wealthy that in some provinces there wasn't a person poor enough to receive Zakat. The Islamic state as a whole experienced great prosperity with every city having a built up infrastructure, and never did you find one area living in palaces while others were going hungry.
Therefore, only with the return of the Khilafah state will we finally see the end of the exploitation of the third world.
"A book which we have revealed unto you, in order that you may lead mankind out of darkness into the light" (TMQ 14:1)
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