Up to two hundred thousand placard-carrying people converged on the streets of the Scottish capital Edinburgh on July 2 to protest at poverty in Africa. The mass march was part of the Make Poverty History campaign organized by rock musician and human rights activist Sir Bob Geldoff. The rally was orchestrated to coincide with the G8 Summit, to be held in nearby Gleneagles on July 6-8. The number of demonstrators was twice that expected. The campaigners formed a human ring of solidarity around the city centre and held hands in a minute’s silence. The demonstration passed off peacefully, much to the relief of local police, who had mounted a massive anti-riot operation in anticipation of flare-ups.
Ten Live 8 rock extravaganzas were also staged around the world in support of the Make Poverty History appeal. International rock superstars volunteered their time and vocal efforts to apply pressure on G8 leaders to help Africa. The free concerts all took place in G8 countries, bar one in Johannesburg, South Africa. They kicked off in Tokyo, Japan, although concertgoers there seemed to have little idea what the political message of Live 8 was all about. The showpiece concert was in London and was attended by 200,000 music lovers. The message being sent to G8 leaders is to end extreme poverty in Africa by doubling aid, canceling debt and creating fairer trading conditions for African nations.
Live 8 can be considered as the second part of Live Aid, a series of rock music concerts celebrated in 1985 to get money for helping poor people also in Africa. It seems that politicians only work on this if people put pressure on them by creating great campaigns to raise awareness on the social worldwide problem.
Comment on the role of politicians in this cases, as well as how people seem to be best represented by famous people, rather than politicians if we want a solution to poverty in the world.
Adapted from http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/
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