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00:20Wembley Stadium, London, July 13th, 1985.
00:24The stage is being set for Live Aid,
00:26a unique rock event that will be televised to a vast audience all over the world.
00:31Well, I don't know anything about the billion people.
00:34It's going to be difficult enough for me, there being 75,000 in front of me,
00:37because I've never played in front of that many people.
00:43To me, it's not a pop concert. To me, it's not a TV show.
00:46To me, it's simply a means of keeping people alive.
01:04And now, just after 16 hours of Live Aid,
01:09would you welcome, Slater Squall!
01:24Here we are, here we are, here we go, what a morning we're here.
01:30Throughout the day and into the night,
01:32the crowds at Wembley and Philadelphia rocked the music of the world's top bands,
01:36who were performing to raise money for the victims of the African famine.
01:40You've got to get on the phone and take the money out of your pocket.
01:43Don't go to the pub tonight. Please stay in and give us the money.
01:47There are people dying now, so give me the money.
01:55After Live Aid, you really couldn't say you didn't know what was going on.
01:58Nobody really on the planet could say they didn't know.
02:01And the thing I hadn't anticipated was the emotive content of the thing.
02:05The exhilarating shock of knowing that there was someone in New Caledonia,
02:11there was someone in Latin America, there was someone in South America,
02:13there was someone in China watching at that point in time that exact thing.
02:17And by and large experiencing the same emotion.
02:21It was an unbelievable day.
02:24An unbelievable day it was, one that generated a massive response to the crisis in Africa.
02:33It was television pictures that first motivated pop stars like David Bowie.
02:39I remember seeing the first TV news reports of the African famine.
02:43I expect a lot of you saw them too, and felt the same sadness and anger
02:48that so many people were still starving in this so-called modern world.
02:53Well, that emotional feeling made me and many other rock musicians take part in the Live Aid concert.
02:59But what do we really know about the African famine?
03:02Well, we know that it happened.
03:04But TV hasn't really told us much about what lay behind it.
03:09In a wide sweep around Michele, the people lie without food, without water, and without...
03:14These are the sort of pictures we saw on our TV screens.
03:18Millions having to leave their homes.
03:20Thousands dying every day.
03:22Little hope for those still living.
03:32People who saw the reports were deeply moved, and gave generously to the charities.
03:39But what do we know about the causes of famine?
03:42What do we know of the people who were hit by it?
03:53Most Africans still live off the land, and farm it in the traditional way.
04:01Some are now being trained in improved methods of agriculture
04:04to help them recover from the recent famine.
04:07Today, it's hard to believe that people like Tuabich Swalaka
04:11were only months before on the verge of starvation.
04:19Before the famine, we lived quite a good life.
04:23We had cows, oxen, and some goats.
04:26But then the drought came, and some of our animals died from lack of water and grass.
04:32The others, we had to slaughter to eat because our crops had failed.
04:36It was the only way of staying alive.
04:43With our own fields barren, Tuabich had to sell all her possessions to get food for her family.
04:49Food, which by now was scarce and expensive.
04:53The horror of the famine was upon her.
04:59We had to break up our house and sell it as firewood just to get a little money for food.
05:07When there was nothing left, we started to eat wild leaves.
05:12My husband took all this very badly.
05:15He was used to having proper food, and soon he refused to eat the leaves.
05:20He became depressed and fell ill.
05:23Within two days, he was dead.
05:29While we were mourning for my husband, my baby son also died from hunger and diarrhea.
05:35From that time on, we were in a desperate struggle for survival.
05:40When we were to die, we were to die.
05:45Like Tuabich's family, millions of Africans were facing starvation and were forced to leave their homes.
05:52Their only hope of survival was to join the flood of refugees from the land.
06:00The summer is over, autumn is here.
06:08And some faces laughter, and some faces nears.
06:15You're always protected, and hardship is near.
06:22Some children have no worries Some children have no fears
06:31Not like children of the third world Who can't put each day
06:38Not like children of the third world And their heartbroken parents
06:44Once they slowly fade away
06:53Only you and I can't stop them crying
06:57Only you and I can't stop them crying
07:05Only you and I can't stop them crying
07:08Only you will die, can't stop them crying
07:12And leave them to sorrow, can't stop them dying
07:16All you'll be doing, can't stop them crying
07:20Only you will die, can't stop them dying
07:24Save me in his life, can't stop them crying
07:27And let them suffer
07:29Can't stop them dying
07:40Some made it to refugee camps, but even here their ordeal wasn't over.
07:48There was pitifully little food or water and few medicines.
07:53For some, it was just too late.
07:57Weakened by hunger and exhaustion, tens of thousands died,
08:01often of common diseases like diarrhoea and measles.
08:06One of those who managed to survive was 14-year-old Abdu Mohamed.
08:15When hunger forced us to leave our village,
08:17we walked a long way before getting to the relief camp.
08:21At that time, the buildings here at Bati were only temporary wooden shelters.
08:27To begin with, we were given Special Biscuit Street by the Red Cross.
08:35By this time, both my mother and father were very weak.
08:39And I was in a bad way, too.
08:42In fact, the whole family was.
08:45Many people died in Patekam.
08:49My brothers and father died.
08:51And then my sister as well.
08:55Death was everywhere.
09:03The situation in Ethiopia has gone well beyond the stage
09:06at which words like tragedy and disaster have any meaning.
09:09If the plague is not starvation, it is disease and vermin.
09:12The rows and rows of tents all tell the same story,
09:15a people sitting and waiting.
09:17In October 1984, the world at last woke up
09:21to the full scale of the African crisis.
09:26A massive relief operation, but laterly swung into action,
09:30and Band-Aid was born.
09:32Everyone, regardless of political opinion,
09:34or intelligence, or IQ level,
09:37fails to understand
09:39why Europe wallows
09:41in a mound of food
09:43while a thousand miles to the south
09:45we have endless millions of people
09:48innocents dying
09:49because they have nothing to eat.
09:51It is preposterous and must not continue.
09:53We could hear us
09:57Just for one day
10:01Oh
10:04Well, I wish I could swim
10:08Like dolphins
10:11Like dolphins can't swim
10:16Cause we love us
10:19And that's the fact
10:23Cause we love us
10:27And that is that
10:31Though nothing
10:34Could keep us together
10:38And we can be there
10:42Just for one day
10:45It's about time someone did something about the family in Africa
10:48Because, I mean, there's people dying
10:51And we've got a lot to the east
10:52And they've got nothing
10:53We can be here in the world
10:58We can be here in the world
11:01We can be here in the world
11:03The fact is that we are bulging with wheat in Europe
11:07And while we bulge
11:09And while we don't know what to do with it
11:10People in Ethiopia are dying by their thousands
11:13That's obscene
11:15We can be here in the world
11:20And I'm getting
11:23And no one can help us
11:27Maybe we're not
11:30Then we're better not to stay
11:34We can be heroes
11:38Just for one day
11:52Think of the heroes
11:57But all I can remember
12:03I remember
12:05Standing
12:07Standing by the wall
12:10By the wall
12:12And the guns
12:14The guns shot above our heads
12:20And we kissed
12:22For so nothing good for
12:26Nothing good for
12:27And the shame
12:30The walls on the other side
12:35How we can be
12:38Just for one day
12:46We can be heroes
12:49And no one can help us
12:53Maybe we're not
12:55We can be heroes
13:04Just for one day
13:07We can be heroes
13:10We can be heroes
13:17We can be heroes
13:32I said it
13:37We can be heroes
13:40Just for one day
13:48Thank you
13:54People have given millions of dollars to help fight the famine
13:57The money and food help to keep hundreds of thousands of Africans alive
14:01But sending out food is only a beginning
14:05Emergency relief can't actually build a future that works
14:08To stop such a tragedy happening again
14:11We've got to do something about the basic causes
14:16Television coverage of the famine has been massive
14:19But do we know, even today, what caused the crisis?
14:26Is the worldwide television audience any wiser now than it was before?
14:32Or did television perhaps mislead us into believing that there might be a simple answer?
14:38What do you think was the main cause or the main causes of the famine in Africa?
14:46Well, I imagine war, communism
14:51The economic situation, drought
14:54The conditions down there in themselves is a problem
15:16They can't grow food
15:18Or enough of it to go around
15:21Well, which of these are right?
15:26In fact, there have been droughts in Africa for centuries
15:29But they didn't always lead to famine
15:33By using traditional methods
15:35African farmers knew how to cope with drought
15:41Ninety percent of Africa's food is still produced by small farmers
15:45But many have been pushed into poverty
15:47And are forced to farm on poorer and poorer soils
15:53Africa is now unable to feed itself
15:56Not because it's overpopulated
15:58But because the small farmer has been neglected
16:00And food production is in decline
16:06When drought comes, it triggers a crisis
16:09The precarious balance between population and food supply is destroyed
16:14And the result is famine
16:23In 1984, over half of Africa was hit by the worst famine
16:28In the history of the continent
16:31Ethiopia and Sudan were the worst affected
16:34But in the same year, five of these drought-stricken countries
16:38Including Sudan
16:38Were able to bring in bumper harvests
16:41Not of food, but of cotton
16:46One of the main causes of famine
16:48Is that more and more farmers are encouraged
16:51To grow export crops like cotton or coffee
16:54Instead of food
17:00There's more money to be made in these cash crops
17:02Which earn governments the hard cash they need
17:04To import manufactured goods from the west
17:07And to buy necessities like oil
17:13Only a minority of Africans live in the cities
17:16But governments spend most of their money here
17:22Money is also used to import weapons
17:28Africa's many conflicts
17:29Eat up ever-increasing amounts of cash
17:32Conflicts that are often fuelled
17:34By the political interests of either east or west
17:40The effect of all this
17:42Has been to starve the countryside of money
17:44And the situation is getting worse
17:47As the prices of cash crops fall
17:49Governments have to borrow massively from the west
17:54In 1984
17:56Africa received $3 billion in aid from the west
18:00But had to pay out $11 billion in debt repayments to western banks
18:07This is how the world is helping Africa
18:14Instead of making progress
18:16The continent is being pushed backward
18:18Into misery
18:30Unable to live off the land
18:32Thousands migrate every year to the shantytowns of Africa's fast-growing cities
18:42Those who remain on the land
18:43Are forced to scratch a living
18:45From dry and infertile soils
18:47Which are often too poor
18:49To take the pressure of cultivation
19:14Every year more and more trees are cut down
19:16To make way for agriculture
19:18And to be used for firewood
19:22Wood is the only source of fuel in the countryside
19:25And for many who live in the cities
19:27So there's no choice
19:41When it does rain
19:42There's little vegetation left to protect the soil
19:45And erosion is widespread
19:48When the penance has a hidden expense
19:53When the pens on the play strings are white
19:58These rivers shouldn't be brown
20:00They are full of soil that should be growing food
20:05In the Ethiopian highlands alone
20:07A billion tons of precious topsoil is washed away every year
20:25In times of drought
20:26The eroded landscape becomes a desert that cannot support any kind of life
20:43When conditions get this bad, Africa needs help
20:46As the only way that people can survive in times like this is through relief aid
20:54In this part of Ethiopia
20:56There's little water available
20:57And all food has to be flown in
21:04A third of the hundred million dollars raised by band-aid has been used on emergency food aid for areas
21:11like this
21:12But the question is how to spend the rest of the money so that it would be of lasting help
21:19I think the money that should be given should be given for long term projects
21:23And I also think that the people should be consulted
21:25There are people in Africa or wherever the area of famine is
21:30And not just send money
21:32That helps nothing
21:34Or just bring food
21:35That helps nothing
21:36You give them for a month to eat and the next month are the same
21:39Or even even more
21:40Just give them good schools
21:44And learn a lot
21:47And then build them up
21:49One person's power is small, but
21:51I think there are some ways in the world
21:55I think there are some ways
21:58people will be able to lose time
21:59To cool things
22:00Many people are pretty
22:09We look for life
22:10Not just imagine
22:10We want you
22:14Can't live
22:17King
22:19To the children
22:21My friend
22:22In October 1985
22:24Bob Geldof
22:26went on a tour of Africa his three-week journey through the famine belt began in
22:39the countries of the Sahel on the edge of the Sahara yeah you only have a
22:43million dollars so so you don't hit on us for all your individual projects if we
22:50could have some basic consensus as well as talking to government representatives
23:03and aid workers he met and talked to local people and saw himself the stark
23:08reality of life on the desert fringe
23:35over 12 billion dollars of aid has been poured into the Sahel in the last 10
23:40years but only a fraction of this has been used to help small farmers instead much
23:45of this money has been spent on big expensive aid projects like this
23:50irrigated rice scheme in Mali but the rice grown here goes to feed people in the
23:55cities and not the local people it's not the kind of scheme that band-aid wants to
24:00back if you do a massive water project say for example you're bringing water up
24:08from the line on these huge Archimedes screws you know the turn them turn the
24:12water up and they then irrigate vast areas of the desert and if the screw goes
24:16wrong and it's European engineering bingo out goes thousands of acres of rice
24:23and therefore thousands of people died whereas if you tiny little projects with
24:27small little screws if one of them goes wrong it doesn't affect the others and
24:31also to local to use local technology so that you don't have to call in
24:35engineers from Brussels to fix the thing when it goes wrong
24:40high technology does have a vital role to play in Africa's future but there have
24:45been many mistakes and the continent is littered with the remains of projects
24:50that have gone wrong even if they're successful schemes like this dam eat up
24:57large amounts of money and rarely bring benefits to those who most need help
25:03what's wanted is a different kind of development that puts money into the
25:07countryside
25:16the Ethiopian highlands where the African famine first hit the headlines and
25:20where 70 percent of the people live
25:25the land has been almost completely deforested and the mountains are among
25:30the most eroded in the world
25:33oh
25:40if you know better busy you know what it used to be easy dealing with erosion in
25:44the past but now it's becoming much more difficult
25:48yeah the problem is that the land you see around here
25:52it used to be covered with forest which protected the soil
25:55that should actually
25:56that's a much more efficient
25:58chef for installation but the trees have been cut down for firewood and for
26:03building houses
26:04so that the land is being left bare
26:07our soil is being washed away
26:09you should have a lot
26:12yeah I'm gonna touch over your gutta with to combat soil erosion
26:15peasant associations all over Ethiopia are building simple but effective stone terraces
26:24we are building these terraces to stop the flood of soil and water when it rushes down off the
26:32mountains and in your can yeah what happens is that the first terrace will
26:37catch some of the soil the next catches some more and so on
26:41in this way we can protect our soil
26:52the other main way of stopping erosion is by planting trees
26:56in less than a century Ethiopia's forests have been reduced
27:00from covering forty percent of the land to just four
27:04in an ambitious attempt to reverse this hundreds of tree nurseries have been set
27:09up all over the country
27:14when they're planted on the hillsides the trees will stabilize the soil and prevent erosion
27:22when they're fully grown they'll be used for firewood for building for
27:26for feeding animals and some like fruit trees for feeding people
27:35all over the country people are preparing the land for seedlings
27:39it's hard work but it's work they choose to do as they know it's important to save the
27:45soil a lesson that's being learned throughout Africa if we are going to feed our children
27:51we must look after the land
27:54think of the forest when the trees are growing
28:00think of the time that they take to grow and
28:05the years they take to produce their timber and
28:11the time time it takes to cut them down
28:15think of the sun
28:23they take to grow higher
28:26the years they take to produce their timber and
28:31the time it takes to cut them down
28:36think of the soil on the earth beneath us
28:41The winds are glowing, turn into dust
28:45If there are no trees to hold it together
28:50And the land, turn to desert, turn to sun
28:56We need to teach people another way
28:58We learn about nature so that we can say
29:01Whatever we take away, we know we must repay
29:06Think about what you think about it
29:09Think what you do to the land
29:12If you take care of the land
29:14Then the land will take care of you
29:16If you take care of the land
29:19Then the land will take care of you
29:21With the 100 million live aid got
29:23We could have given a dollar each to 100 million people
29:26Because we're 130 million affected by the drought
29:29Could have given a dollar each
29:30They'd have stayed alive for about three weeks and then died
29:34Or we keep as many alive as possible
29:36On immediate emergency aid, food and medicine
29:40And we spend the remaining two-thirds
29:43On what is called long-term development
29:45Which is basically a very boring term
29:47For making sure once they have been kept alive
29:50That they will continue with a life
29:52It's the old cliche about giving a guy a fish
29:55Or teaching him how to fish
29:56One will keep him alive for the day
29:58The other will keep him alive for life
30:04During the famine
30:05Most families were forced to eat the seeds
30:07That should have been planted for their next crop
30:10So the relief agency, World Vision
30:12Was given live aid money to supply them with more seeds
30:15As well as with tools and with fertilizer
30:20This isn't charity
30:22It's an investment in the future
30:25It will not only help them to get back on their feet
30:28It will also enable them to grow more food
30:31Of better quality
30:39Most people in Ethiopia use oxen for plowing
30:42And without them, farming is next to impossible
30:46So hundreds of people were given oxen
30:48Including Tuwabich
30:54To us, an ox doesn't seem much
30:57But to her, it's the key to the future
31:06After the famine
31:08My neighbors told me
31:10I wouldn't be able to farm my land
31:12Now that my husband was dead
31:14But I couldn't give up my land
31:16I told them that even if I didn't own any oxen
31:20I could still plow the soil with hand tools
31:23And grow vegetables for my children
31:27In the end, I was able to stay on my land
31:31Now I have been given an ox
31:34And I can plow the soil properly
31:37I will be able to feed my children
31:41I am very happy
31:47The fact they've survived is quite literally miraculous
31:51I was there in the middle of it
31:53And the fact that anyone came out of some of these areas
31:56To me is unbelievable
31:58I could not believe it
31:59To see them getting their seed and their tools
32:02And be restocked with their livestock
32:05And going back to a viable life this time
32:08Which comes from people's money watching this
32:11Is to me like
32:12It's a triumphant feeling
32:15But it's a sort of sad one
32:17In the fact that if it hadn't have happened
32:19All those that you see now would be dead
32:23There are now more than 300,000 dead in Ethiopia
32:27The funerals and burials continue daily
32:31For hundreds of other Ethiopians in this camp called Bati
32:35During the famine
32:367,000 people perished at the Red Cross camp at Bati
32:40Which gave shelter to 30,000 Ethiopians
32:44Today, Bati camp is transformed
32:48It's been turned into a centre for the training of local farmers
32:51A powerhouse for change and development
32:56Among those who are benefiting
32:58Is Abdu Mohamed
33:05The food we were given
33:07When we arrived here at Bati
33:09Saved our lives
33:11But we didn't want to depend on charity
33:13And help from outside forever
33:16We wanted to manage for ourselves
33:23So now, we have seeds to plant and fertilize
33:28We can farm our land again
33:31From now on, we will be self-sufficient
33:39Working in partnership with the people
33:41The Ethiopian Red Cross has started a five-year development program
33:45In the Bati region
33:46Aimed at preventing the recurrence of famine disaster
33:50And improving the health of the community
33:53People know that improving and protecting the water supply is important
33:57As many diseases are spread by contaminated water
34:04Health education in schools is helping to spread the word
34:07Food
34:08Food
34:10But even those farms
34:13We want you to make sure the food we are
34:29God
34:37Insect pests are a real threat to the African farmer, so people are keen to learn about
34:41pesticides and also to try out fertilizers, which are new to this part of the country.
34:52But these new ideas are not being forced on the farmer, there's a will to learn and also
34:58a reservoir of traditional knowledge on which to draw.
35:06Africa's future depends on this blending of the best of the old and the best of the new.
35:12The traditional skills and knowledge are already there, as well as the willpower and resourcefulness
35:18of the African people.
35:24If given the chance, and the right kind of help from the West, Africans can build their
35:30own future.
35:35With more good long-term development, the risk of famine would be greatly reduced, and Africa
35:42tomorrow would be a better place to live than Africa today.
36:08My thing about long-term development is that it's also long-term development of the North,
36:12Europe, in that if it can shift the knowledge of a whole section of young people, that they
36:19no longer have to think about Africa as this sort of their poor neighbors next door, but
36:23actually as a viable land with proud sort of people, who don't need to be told what to
36:32do, but just need to be helped over a hump.
36:34Then I think that that will have far more profound effect than most everything else that Bandai has done.
36:40one last time.
36:42Then if you take care of the land, then the land will take care of you.
36:54If you take care of the last, then the last you take care of you.
36:59If you take care of the last, then the last you take care of you.
37:12At Christmas time, there's no time to be afraid.
37:18It's Christmas time, let the light vanishing.
37:27That in our world of plenty, we can spread a smile of joy.
37:36Throw your arms around the world at Christmas time.
37:43But say a prayer.
37:45If Africans have a lesson to learn from the family, the West has a more important one.
37:53Africa alone is not responsible for its decline.
37:57If the continent is to have a future, we in the developed countries have to change our attitudes and rethink
38:04our policies.
38:06Only then can we rid the world of family.
38:15Charity does begin at home, but home, as Live Aid pointed out, if nothing else, is this planet.
38:21And we can press our button, and your next-door neighbour is Asia or Africa.
38:25And whatever else happened on Live Aid, whatever people were crying for, it was a rekindled sense of something that
38:31we'd lost long time ago and rediscovered.
38:33A very tangible sense of humanity and an understanding that because this person happened to have a different colour skin,
38:41so what?
38:42There's him with his kids dying.
38:45And you put yourself in the same situation, and most people thought, there but for the grace of God.
39:15I mean, of course there's a sense of pride, but much more there's a sense of overwhelming emotion.
39:19And much more than that, no longer are you able to sit in front of your TV and say,
39:25that's awful, but what the hell can I do?
39:27Now you must say, that's awful, and I actually can do something to affect changing the planet.
39:31Sing it to the world!
39:33Sing it to the world, be the world, be the world, and I know that springtime is coming.
39:52Springtime is coming!
39:55Sing it to the world, be the world.
40:01As I know it is Christmas time!
40:19Thank you, everybody, that's the end of our show, you've got a fantastic morning, thank you, and good night.
40:30We're back to Philadelphia now, thank you very much for coming, please leave the stadium slowly and quietly, it's been
40:38the most fantastic day, thank you, thank you.