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Personal from
Asia's millions
are
saying:
"God
willed
us to
be
poor."
TRUE
or
FALSE?
TOKYO:
O
VER HERE
in the Far East,
Asia's multimillions of poor
are saying hopelessly, "God
has willed us to be poor." lt's a
heart-touching story. Why should
hundreds of rnillions be so impover–
ished? Why? The true facts will as–
tonish - and they
should
arouse
you!
After the end of World War II, a
massive effort was launched world–
wide to develop the poor nations of
the world. The United States led the
rich, industrialized nations in organ–
izing this gigantic human effort.
These affiuent nations made it a
goal - many called it an obligation
- to lift the world's impoverished
majority out of its state of misery,
poverty, despair , and hopelessness.
They called this new process "de–
velopment."
The "Poor" Become the
Developing Nations
The poorer nations in Asia, Af–
rica, and Latin America took to
themselves the new name of "devel–
oping nations." This name sounded
progressive, less humiliating than
" impoverished nations." Chief
among these were the two most
populous nations on eartb, China
and India, and also Indonesia, fifth
on earth in population. Also in–
cluded in this category were the
other nations of Southeast Asia.
This massive world-effort faced
many problems: the population ex-
PLAIN TRUTH September 1973
plosion, food, education, health,
jobs. And each is related to the
other in a complex system. The stu–
pendous program included move–
ments toward industrializa tion,
compulsory education (at least
through and past the elementary
leve!), and the "Green Revolution."
Billions of aid dollars and rnil–
lions of dedicated man-bours have
been poured into this intemational
uplift elfort. And, after more than a
quarter century, the result?
All over East and Southeast Asia
today, where I've been surveying
the situation personally,
Asia's poor
are getting poorer!
All over Asia today, where the
biggest masses of the earth's people
live, the majority still exists - they
don't really live - in deepest pov–
erty, hunger, ignorance, disease,
filth and squalor - in despair and
HOPELESSNESS!
Why?
Because, according to a front–
page story in the
Hong Kong Post
Herald,
the millions say, "God has
willed us to be poor."
Sorne who have put their lives
into this vast effort to uplift the
world's poor, in a wave of frustration
and pessirnism at seeing their efforts
failing, seem about ready to agree.
Development Not Reaching
lndividuols
There has been development, yes!
Scattered in Southeast Asían
countries are sorne show-case facto–
ries and modern high-rise buildings
in cities. Sorne of these countries are
increasing in terms of gross national
income, while
in
terms of individual
humans they are stagnating. Devel–
opment does not seem to be reach–
ing the approximately 40 percent of
desperately
poor people.
Even in Japan, one of the most
economically sound nations on
earth, the same is true. In my most
recent visit with former Prime Min–
ister Eisaku Sato, he remarked that,
although the nation has prospered
economically, the standard of living
of the average family has not in–
creased.
One primary reason for this
whole situation is population
growth. In Asia are roughly 56 per–
cent of the earth's people - about
two billion one hundred miUion -
and that will
DOUBLE,
it
is
esti–
mated, in less than 30 years! Due to
rapid population growth, there are
more illiterate Asians than there
were 20 years ago. Populat ion grows
faster than elforts at education.
Much of the effort to overwork
the soil to feed these burgeoning
millions and force bigger crops
through artificial fertilizer and in–
secticides is upsetting nature's bal–
ance in the soil .
It
means bigger
than normal crops now - and
smaller and inferior quality crops
later when the population doubles.
(Continued on page 33)