<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><HTML><FONT SIZE=2 PTSIZE=10 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial" LANG="0">Dear Colleagues<BR>
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A very short observation regarding the discussion about the value of different systems in an emergency situation like the current tsunami disaster. The sad news is that there will be a considerable mobilization of resources in the aftermath of enormous death and destruction, and discussion and (probably) funding for a multi-million tsunami warning system for the Indian and Atlantic Oceans ... and lots of relief activity and even quite a lot of relief funding. <BR>
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But at the end of the day the basic economics of most of the regions most affected by the disaster will be left worse than it was before, and the investment needed to have even reasonable levels of infrastructure (transport / safe water and sanitation / communications / etc) will not be made and the situation will be as bad or worse than before. When the media goes home so will donor priorities, official development assistance and national government intervention. There is a need for an alternative development paradigm driven by community needs!<BR>
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While the top 10% of the world has seen amazing progress over the past forty years, the bottom 50% has gone substantially backwards. This is because the basic dynamics of development are not being adequately understood by development leadership, and the results are plain to see. We need to be clear, spending on relief is NOT development, and typically relief expenditures dries up the budgets for development. Watch this play out in 2005!<BR>
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More than anything else I want to see all communities able to communicate with the external world, 10 miles away or 10,000 miles away. The technology is available. It could easily be funded and be sustainable. Why is it not being done? Mainly the regulatory regimes, the priorities of government ... and discounting heavily the needs and priorities of remote and rural communities. <BR>
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And when communities communicate, it would be nice if someone was listening, and able to offer the sort of development investment that the communities are asking for. What a novel idea!<BR>
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Enough ..... but a lot of the death is a result of extreme poverty and failed development that has ignored what would have been reasonable to get done.<BR>
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Sincerely<BR>
<BR>
Peter Burgess<BR>
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____________<BR>
Peter Burgess<BR>
Tr-Ac-Net in New York<BR>
WISPforD in New York<BR>
Tel: 212 772 6918 <BR>
Web: www.afrifund.com<BR>
Email: mailto:peterb@afrifund.com<BR>
Database http://www.afrifund.com/wiki/index.pcgi?page=AfrifundDatabase<BR>
Coffee: http://afrifund.coffeefair.com<BR>
Blog: http://taame.blogspot<BR>
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In a message dated 12/29/2004 1:23:16 PM Eastern Standard Time, john.lawrence@undp.org writes:<BR>
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<BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">Subj:<B>Re: [bytesforall_readers] Re: RE: [Telecentres] how many telecenters continued </B><BR>
Date:12/29/2004 1:23:16 PM Eastern Standard Time<BR>
From:<A HREF="mailto:john.lawrence@undp.org">john.lawrence@undp.org</A><BR>
Reply-to:<A HREF="mailto:bytesforall_readers@yahoogroups.com">bytesforall_readers@yahoogroups.com</A><BR>
To:<A HREF="mailto:bytesforall_readers@yahoogroups.com">bytesforall_readers@yahoogroups.com</A><BR>
CC:<A HREF="mailto:donc@internode.on.net">donc@internode.on.net</A>, <A HREF="mailto:joyojeet@SIMS.Berkeley.EDU">joyojeet@SIMS.Berkeley.EDU</A>, <A HREF="mailto:telecentres@wsis-cs.org">telecentres@wsis-cs.org</A><BR>
</BLOCKQUOTE><BR>
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