The Commonwealth Games: Does inspiration help the poor?
As the Commonwealth Games get launched next week in New Delhi, scrutiny is falling on the costs of this $6 billion extravaganza. While the Games inspire, much like the World Cup and other major sporting events, do the benefits outweigh the costs?
The media has been focused on various aspects of the Games- what it means for child labour, for security in the Indian capital, and then there are the worries of the athletes whether it is the risk of catching dengue or of finding a snake in your room or a menacing monkey outside of it. (The monkeys are terrifying, not cute)
With all this (mostly negative) coverage, ranging from important to trivial, it’s easy to lose sight of what the Games are supposed to mean- a chance for India to shine, to replace its image of undernourished children and starvation with world class stadiums, competition and a chance to show that it’s on equal footing with the previous hosts of the games, such as Australia, England and Canada. An event of this scale can inspire right?
I was thinking about this a few months ago when I attended a talk in Oxford by Bernie Fanaroff about science contributing to development in Africa. Dr. Fanaroff is an astronomer who has managed to get big money from the South African government to support a bid to become a major player in astronomy. He is also project director of SKA- the Square Kilometre Array- which is basically a telescope project. I will stop going further into the physics before embarrassing myself (and my husband who is an astronomer!).
But in short, Dr. Fanaroff made a strong case that investing in something inspirational- that takes us beyond the day-to-day- can have sustainable and important repercussions for the country as a whole. Because of his efforts, astronomy courses are being taught in Kenya, Mozambique, Madagascar and Mauritious- and other African countries are thinking of starting. In a room full of physicists, the questions were technical, but I asked a political one- how he had convinced the government to invest in studying the universe when it had so many problems on earth- for example, how many more people could have been put on ARVs with that ~$100 million. I was persuaded by Dr. Fanaroff’s response that having these kinds of world-recognized projects (and events) can inspire the youth of the country to invest in their education, can provide jobs as technicians and scientists, and can ensure that the best brains stay in the country rather than emigrating to Europe or the U.S.
I would say that the jury is still out on the impact of these grand projects and events- such as the World Cup, SKA, the Commonwealth Games- on benefiting the entire country, and particularly the poor. What this area really needs is in-depth study- and research on-the-ground- it would make an ideal PhD dissertation to look at what (if any) are the long-term benefits of these types of events, and whether they make up for the cost.
Food for thought- $6 billion for the Commonwealth Games, $4 billion annual government expenditure on health (0.36% or GDP for 2010-11).
Devi Sridhar
Thanks Devi for asking some important question,
The first impression that Commonwealth games athletes will get when they arrive for the Commonwealth games is the brand new glitzy IG Airport. When I arrived back this week it struck me that the whole airport precinct might as well declare independence from the rest of India given it is totally cut off from the reality of 1 billion of India’s population. I felt guilty enjoying a privilege out of reach of the majority of India and, worse still, a privilege that may in fact exist on the back of exploitation of the poorest and most needy. A Guardian article, by Pankaj Mishra’s warns against being deceived by the thin veneer:
“As innumerable urban “beautification” programmes reveal, these powerful Indians would ideally like their less well-off compatriots to take their vanity projects, such as October’s £1.5bn Commonwealth Games in Delhi or India’s planned junket to the moon, as evidence of inclusive economic growth is to fall for the flimsiest of illusions.” http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jul/28/india-poor-aid-military-business-elites
Nearly every development indicator bespeaks the reality: 43% of Indians kids are underweight, 50% anaemic in UP, 240 million people live on less than 1$ a day, only 54% attend secondary school, the most maternal deaths, the most infant deaths, the most TB deaths….. etc etc.
India is one of the most inequitable countries in the world and there is inadequate charitable intent or social welfare schemes for the poor. According to Akhbar in the Guardian, the Commonwealth Games were a:
“a fortuitous opportunity for Delhi’s ruling class to divert a vast fortune from the national exchequer in the name of national prestige, and spend it on just those few parts of India’s capital where the elite live”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/soutikbiswas/2010/08/do_the_commonwealth_games_have_anything_to_do_with.html
I do wonder if we can rely on some trickle down effect from the commonwealth games? I doubt it. I think these games represent the epitomy of un-common wealth!
I would be happy to be proved wrong though.
Nathan
Whenever a third world country hosts an extravaganza like this there is raging debate on these lines. There is the positive spin espousing the virtues, mostly economic, from the people concerned. The olympics in Greece is a case in point.The jury is still out if it really chnaged anything for the regular folk there. It is a stretch to envision the Commonwealth Games doing anything other than what they were intended to do.: improvement in infrastructure, temporary jobs, a surge of interest in sports activities and physical fitness among the youth which may or may not be sustained to make any longterm impact and to improve or change the image of the country. Sadly the problems plaguing the country will still remain after the games.
But can this event be used as a forum to bring about awareness of issues which may be critical to improve the lives of the people of India is an interesting thought. There is no reason why it cannot. It however requires well designed strategy and coordinated effort. The most important requirement though is people with vision at the right places. A starting point may be to to create awareness and eduacte the people watching the games about the critical issues facing the country. It may stick long enough at least with a few. The Games may help to create the momentum. But the campaign has to be sustained to result in meaningful outcome.
It worries me that while the world has gone global,yet our approach to solving problems seems so fragmented. The problems you alluded to as India’s problems have to be viewed in a global perspective. With all the riches and resources we have in the world, no one should go hungry and no one should go without health care. Global involvement using such events as the Games as Forums to promote awareness and participation will definitely go a long way to achieve the goal.
It is easy to be inspired, but the hard thing is to stay inspired till we achieve the goals!