Some things will never add up
Over the last few days numbers have fallen at me from the media causing confusion, indignation and all sorts of unease in this normally numerate head of mine, as they too regularly are want to in this world we live in:-
· The Israeli government plans to give $9 billion1 compensation to the 8-9000 people who will be forced to evacuate disputed land they were encouraged or chose to live on (some of whom will have had very limited and unpleasant other choices, but many deserted safe, secure homes to live there).
· Israel is a major recipient of America’s ‘aid’ budget (OK, no numbers and old news, but it’s about $3-5 billion before invisible assistance: more than goes on all Africa or South America).
· America has been spending about $180 per annum on Iraq and Afghanistan.
· The world bank estimates it would take about $170 million to provide clean water and immunisation to all those in need.
· British politicians have been engaged in complex talks to try and raise an additional £4 billion for international aid, with America being one of the reticent parties.
· A woman in Bangladesh earns 15 Taka per day collecting shrimps (£1 = 115 Taka).
· A Bangladeshi business man with criminal history acquires 800 acres of disputed land for prawn production, which will result in its salination so removing it from other use, but employs only 100 workers on around £17 per month. This is is a land in which 1 acre appeared to me to support at least a whole family.
No doubt the details of these numbers may be disputed, but (with the possible exeption of the first) their orders of magnitude are likely truths. Some things make no apparent sense: except, they’re quite simple to understand.
1This first figure I heard on BBC radio, although a brief web search provides no support for this figure and surely it has to be wrong. Indeed, The Independent suggests a compensation package of about £500m for 1,500 displaced families, a mere £333,000 per family.