The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #150684   Message #3511729
Posted By: GUEST,Eliza
05-May-13 - 03:19 AM
Thread Name: Poachers wipe out Mozambique's rhinos
Subject: RE: Poachers wipe out Mozambique's rhinos
In my experience, I'm afraid Africans mainly live in the moment. Their families need feeding now, so they take the money now. They have such a fear of dire poverty and starvation always in their mindset that any offer of some cash is taken up. The future is uncertain but the need is very present. For example, a well was drilled by a Charity in a village I know of, and pipes laid just below the ground to take the water to other villages nearby. This saved the women carrying heavy water pots on their head for miles from a contaminated source. A year later, the charity returned to service the pumping system, and found to their horror that the pipes had all been dug up and the metal sold. The women were still carrying the water. They explained that water was there for the carrying, but food was not, so in their eyes the money was far more important than the pipes. The Mozambique Rangers probably realise that their jobs are by no means secure, and could be lost at any time. So they preferred a quick fix. To an African, a stupid rhino is nothing. They probably can't understand our white person's obsession with wildlife etc when most of Africa is going hungry. I don't agree with their view, but I do understand how it's been formed.