Bob Geldof on Band Aid at 40: the highs and lows / a new edition brings together the 1984 original with 2004, and 2014 : Jonathan Dean / The Times of London
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| The Band Aid recording session |
Article shared by Alan Court
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Ethiopian Famine 40 Years On
A friend sent me this article from The Times of London’s 24 November edition. This article and its photos will bring back memories for many who were in Ethiopia at the time, particularly those who visited Korem. I recall visiting Bob Geldof at the time, in his studio in the centre of London. I went with a couple of folks from the UK Committee. Geldof was super crude in his dismissal of what UNICEF and the UN system had been doing “so why didn’t you f….d up f…..g people prevent this f…..g famine in the first place?” There was no point in saying what we had been doing (a lot) under Padmini’s brilliant leadership to mitigate the problems and change the way FAO and WFP were acting at the time. On the latter, Jim Grant acted on Padmini’s recommendations and worked with the SG to change UN country leadership. Our visit to Geldof’s studio was also successful to the extent that Band-Aid did provide funding through UNICEF. Jim and Ethel Grant had their own hilarious stories of Bob Geldof coming for breakfast in their New York apartment.
Whatever we all, as individuals, may think of the usefulness, purpose, or direction of Foreign Aid, there is no doubt that the sheer human emotion that drove Geldof, and also the late Quincy Jones who orchestrated “We Are The World” to gather celebrities together to their cause, has, does, and will change lives for the better, as the opening story in the article shows. As the Talmud says “Whoever destroys a soul, it is considered as if he destroyed the entire world; and whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world.” Given the global situation today I entered the entire sentence of the quote, not just the latter part.
As for music and celebrity involvement, it possibly started in 1971 with the benefit Concert for Bangladesh which George Harrison of the Beatles pulled together with many star performers. The concert was opened by Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan, both of whom had Bengali ancestry. UNICEF has much to thank Jack Ling for. He was then Head of Communications, who somehow managed to work with George and the Beatles to pull it off. The concert was followed by a successful album and a documentary film. Funds went to UNICEF. I understand royalties are still coming into UNICEF from what is now the George Harrison Fund for UNICEF.
Best
Alan
As for music and celebrity involvement, it possibly started in 1971 with the benefit Concert for Bangladesh which George Harrison of the Beatles pulled together with many star performers. The concert was opened by Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan, both of whom had Bengali ancestry. UNICEF has much to thank Jack Ling for. He was then Head of Communications, who somehow managed to work with George and the Beatles to pull it off. The concert was followed by a successful album and a documentary film. Funds went to UNICEF. I understand royalties are still coming into UNICEF from what is now the George Harrison Fund for UNICEF.
Best
Alan
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Summary
For the 40th anniversary of the 1984 recording of "Do They Know It's Christmas, a special edit combines versions from 1984, 2004, and 2014, along with reflections from original participants, and Geldof's continued commitment to the cause.
Quotes by Geldof
"And now it's a fractious world — febrile... I've never felt it so fragile, and people have lost any ability to control events."
"This little pop song has kept millions of people alive. Why would Band Aid scrap feeding thousands of children dependent on us for a meal?"
"There are 600 million hungry people in the world — 300 million are in Africa. We wish it were other but it is not. We can help some of them."
Thanks Alan for re-igniting a multitude of personal feelings and memories of that very special period in UNICEF's and my own personal histories. Jim Grant wanted me to go to Addis as the Rep, after leaving Hanoi in mid-1983. I did visit for a week and had discussions with Padmini who was O-I-C. As it turned out I opted to go to NY to head the Africa Section while she was confirmed as the Rep. It was, therefore, on our respective watches that many exciting things were happening in Ethiopia and in Africa. Other than BandAid, we had the Run for Africa and the visits of Audrey Hepburn as highlights of UNUCEF advocacy and substantial aid to Ethiopia and to Africa in general. Truly monumental times they were.
ReplyDeleteFuad, while I may be wrong, I got the impression that what Detlef asked was if events such as Band-Aid did more harm than good. We may all have been engrossed in our careers, but perhaps we should try to think back and reflect on our experiences. Judging from the interviews and opinions of many Africans, Band-Aid-type events do longer-term harm even if they may provide short-term relief. Having worked in several emergency interventions in Africa I can but agree. The fact that the international community, WFP and UNICEF are only phone calls away does not encourage countries, with many other priorities such as defence and internal security, to build any emergency preparedness. Anyone with experience in humanitarian aid knows this to be true.
DeleteHumanitarian aid saves lives. No doubt about this.
ReplyDeleteThe current controversy about the newly recorded Christmas song, 40 years after his first release, should not leave us unconcerned. According to other musicians, “Do They Know It's Christmas” helps to perpetuate damaging stereotypes that stifle Africa's economic growth, tourism and investment, ultimately costing the continent trillions and destroying its dignity, pride and identity. The US National Public Radio (NPR) asked Kenyans to weigh in. Click here for their report (without paywall). Nigerian writer Dipo Faloyin issued a scathing critic of this and other campaigns in his book “Africa is not a country” – because it did not just bring in money but also perpetuates the white saviour syndrome.
Moreover, we need to be careful in equating humanitarian aid and development aid. Most critics of ‘foreign aid’ continue to support disaster relief (though it could be slow or inefficient), but are critical of the significant larger amounts of ‘development aid’, which often do little to nothing to address the basic causes of poverty and underdevelopment.
We may, of course, celebrate some moments of our career. But who, if not we as insiders, can best reflect on what went well and what didn't?
I was working in Ethiopia for Save the children when the song came out and the money came in that was shared between many of the NGOs. I can say that even with the monies that went to various government and TPLF coffers, it did a lot to create projects that served many communities at that time. What was of concern to many in the country was the patronizing song “ do they know its Christmas?” Being sung about a country that had converted to christianity before UK or Ireland. Many Ethiopians and others felt this was typical of the kind of ignorance about Africa that existed amongst so many westerners. Unfortunately the behaviour of Bob Geldof, his language and even the casual way he dressed was also viewed by many as disrespectful and insulting. Even if during the Derg regime officials had to wear a Korean style uniform they still retained their dignity. These were highly educated people, many with degrees from well known universities in UK, Europe and the US who were trying to do the best for their country. Being lectured at by an arrogant dishevelled young man in faded jeans and dirty sneakers using foul language, was extremely annoying but they tolerated him with more grace than he deserved. Those of us NGO representatives squirmed in our seats with embarrassment and yes shame at his behaviour. All these years later it seems agencies are still on a learning curve on how to communicate about humanitarian issues, the communities they serve etc. I am sorry the song was re- released as it does nothing to advance any knowledge of Africa and Ethiopia in particular. Just perpetuates same old stereotypes. This is not anonymous it is Angela Raven-Roberts
ReplyDelete