I'm not going to buy Band Aid 30. Neither, it seems, is Fuse ODG who has been put off by the patronising view of Africa that the whole idea represents. Indeed! Not that this is new. The original Band Aid had that problem from the outset, as has much of the media representation of both the continent and individual countries. What was the last 'good news' story you saw on TV news about things African? Aspects of development education has suffered from this problem for a while, and I vividly recall, not so long ago, sitting through a teacher INSET session on Ghana which consisted of making beads.
Given that African music can be so wonderful, and that there is so much of it available, I found myself wondering why this wasn't being used to promote charitable giving in relation to Ebola. Silly me! No where near enough scope for the bulging egos of ageing rockers who could give millions on their own if they cared to. Happily, there are plenty of UK charity options for all good Bono-refusniks. Go on ...
And for a witty comment on the whole sad business – Band Aid, that is – you could do worse than look at RADI-AID.
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