Christian activists welcome Live 8 opportunity

By Meghan Wood & David F. Dawes

THE CAMPAIGN to end poverty in Africa will soon get a boost from some big-name entertainers, and Christian anti-poverty activists are welcoming the effort.

The Live 8 concerts are scheduled to be held in different international locations July 2, with satellite broadcasts bringing the participants together with viewers worldwide. The event is a prelude to the G8 summit, due to take place at Gleneagles, Scotland in early July, where heads of state from eight of the world's leading industrial nations will gather to dialogue on themes of Africa and climate change.

Several dozen performers are scheduled for Live 8, ranging from hitmakers U2, Pink Floyd, Coldplay, Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney to international notables such as Senegalese superstar Youssou N'Dour, Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli and French rock legend Johnny Halliday.

Park Place in Barrie, Ontario will hold up to 75,000 people. Canadians are expected to come from across the country for the free show, which features top entertainers. Among Canada's performers will be Bruce Cockburn, Gordon Lightfoot, Bryan Adams, Jann Arden, Great Big Sea, the Tragically Hip, Our Lady Peace, Barenaked Ladies and Billy Talent. Celine Dion will appear via satellite, according to a report at Pulse24.

Between sets, the crowd will be able to watch footage from Live 8 performances in other countries, broadcast from London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Tokyo, Johannesburg and Philadelphia. Organizing the Canadian event is Rolling Stones manager Michael Cohl; the band, which did a high-profile SARS benefit concert for Toronto, has chosen not to participate.

Some pundits have expressed skepticism about the concerts. Referring to what he maintained was a failed effort to get donated money to many victims of the Asian tsunami disaster, National Post columnist Bruce Garvey wrote: "So here we are again, treading the same well-worn trail that leads to nowhere . . . Don't expect Live 8 to make a whit of difference to anyone's life in Africa."

While conceding that "it would be churlish to doubt the sincerity" of event organizer Sir Bob Geldof, Garvey concluded: "By all means take the clogged highway to Ontario's cottage country for the big concert on the long weekend. Just don't believe Bob Geldof when he tells you you'll be helping save Africa."

Garvey's confident cynicism is not shared by some high-profile Christian activists.

Involved in all the behind-the-scenes work preparing for Live 8 is World Vision (WV) Canada. According to a recent press release, the organization "is mobilizing the tens of thousands of Canadian supporters -- who through child sponsorship, donations, and volunteering have been helping to make poverty history for years."

WV said it is "encouraging Canadians to take part in the Live 8 concert, or order a white wrist band -- the symbol of the Make Poverty History campaign -- and receive a free postcard to send to the Prime Minister, urging him to use his voice in the G8 to make the changes that will end poverty."

Dave Toycen

"As a Christian organization, we always want to work from two approaches," Toycen explained to CC.com. "First, God has special concern for the poor; and second, God's created everyone to be generous. It seemed that these two things could intersect with Live 8."

British leader Tony Blair, he added, "has made it clear he wants the next G8 meeting to focus on poverty. Through that meeting, plus this year's United Nations review of the Millenium Development Goals and the World Trade Organization meeting in December, there's opportunity for significant impact on international and government policy."

Toycen said he hopes the involvement of Christian non-government organizations in this campaign will enhance the reputation of Christianity.

"We're trying to support a humanitarian outreach, but make people understand we are motivated by God," he said. "We need to show that we are not only concerned about people's souls, but their bodies as well."

Geoff Tunnicliffe

"We live in a time of both global opportunity and worldwide uncertainty," Tunnicliffe stated. "However, the impact of globalization brings new possibilities to speak out for the global poor, those impacted by HIV/AIDS, children at risk and for the hundreds of millions of people who have their religious freedom severely restricted. I feel very humbled and privileged to be asked to serve our global community in this way."

Tunnicliffe told CC.com that Live 8 is a very hopeful sign. "The encouraging thing is that there is growing momentum about this issue; but the Christian community needs to be on the leading edge. Responding to the poor was the heart of Jesus' ministry."

Live 8, he said, will work in conjunction with the Make Poverty History campaign, and WEA's Micah Challenge initiative. "It's not just about having a concert, but how we can make a difference. The important thing is getting this issue on people's radar. We can actually make a difference in reducing poverty. This is doable."

The G8 leaders, he stressed, "are getting multiple messages from all kinds of different sectors -- the Christian community, the business community and the entertainment industry. A number of voices are beginning to be heard."

One of those key voices is that of Bob Geldof. The Irish rocker initiated Live 8 as an attempt to follow up his 1985 Live Aid concerts, when top performers played simultaneous shows in London and Philadelphia. The TV audience was estimated at 1.5 billion, and some US$80 million was raised. According to the Seattle Times, Geldof said that year: "To die of want in a world of surplus is not only intellectually absurd, it is morally repulsive."

Geldof made front page Canadian news June 22. 'Geldof heaps scorn on PM,' read the Globe & Mail headline. Geldof was echoing the criticism of his compatriot, U2's Bono -- who publicly berated Paul Martin in April for Canada's foreign aid policy.

In a video message announcing Canada's participation in Live 8, Geldof cited the fact that one-time prime minister Lester Pearson had committed Canada to key aid targets well over three decades ago. He said Canada's current leader, therefore, has a responsibility to sign on to a comprehensive international debt-reduction plan.

"There's no use your Prime Minister coming to Scotland unless he's prepared to do this deal," he stated. "If he's not prepared, [then] stay at home. Just stay at home. Don't come. You're not welcome unless you're prepared to do something finally and irrevocably on behalf of the poor of this world."

The Globe & Mail also ran a somewhat less confrontational online editorial by Geldof, in which he stated: "An historic deal is now in sight. Paul Martin can be the man who pushes the deal through. He has a unique opportunity to make poverty history. It is his for the taking. If Canada commits, [then] the U.S. and Japan will face intense pressure to deliver. We can accept no half-measures or small-time initiatives. An entire country, and increasingly the global media, and a generation of Africans, are looking now to you, Canada. The spotlight is on your next move."

Dan Aykroyd and Tom Green will co-host the Canadian Live 8 show, which will begin at 11 am and run until 8 pm -- or when all the acts are finished.

Related stories:

Geldof heaps scorn on PM ahead of key aid meeting
Martin 'net welcome' at G8 summit unless he commits to 0.7% target, rock star says
Globe and Mail, June 22

'No use' coming to G8 unless Martin does aid deal my way, Geldof says
Paul Martin should double aid to Africa or skip the G8 summit in Scotland next month, Live 8 founder Bob Geldof said yesterday.
National Post, June 22
Also: Vancouver Sun

A rock and roll fantasy
Get ready for it. In the next 10 days we're going to be swamped by the greatest outpouring of Canadian generosity of the spirit since the great gush of Christmas giving that greeted the South Asian tsunami. . . . Sadly, that's not the way it works. The majority of tsunami victims are no better off today than they were on Dec. 27. Millions in government-pledged aid has not materialized and most of the contribution-flooded non-governmental organizations, their budgets handsomely covered well into the future, are still locked in negotiations with host governments over new fleets of SUVs, new staff and so-called long-term development projects.
Bruce Garvey, National Post, June 22