It's been a few weeks since thousands fled from the Canadian city
of Fort McMurray to escape the raging wildfires. The news has died down but the
big blaze rages on. It is not unusual for the U.S. to lend a hand in this type
of exceptional natural disaster, as Canadians have been deployed state-side in
similar occurrences. Outside of the bilateral relationship with its U.S. ally,
foreign aid is not something Canadians are accustomed to.
That's why eyebrows were raised
when a contingent of 300 African firefighters landed in Edmonton to lend a
hand. Three hundred -- that's 100 more firefighters than the U.S. is sending
Canada's way to battle the historic blaze.
According
to Africa corresponded Geoffrey York , the P.R. line goes as follows: "South
Africa is repaying a debt to the Canadian people for their support for the
anti-apartheid struggle". It's an interesting rationale considering Canada's frosty relationship with Mandela's party , the ANC over the past decade.
The more plausible explanation is that
the Fort McMurray aid initiative is a "strategy for changing the lives of
unemployed South African youths. The jobless young men and women were recruited
for a government-funded organization called Working on Fire".
WOF has trained 5,000 firefighters to serve in 200 bases across South Africa.
This
Canadian experience is quite the resume-builder for participants in the
program. One can imagine a successful 8 week stint in Fort
Mac, while pious and noble, is also a career springboard. Everybody
wins!
South Africa Leads the Way
In a time of need, South Africa graciously sent help
Canada's way. The aid isn't just in manpower, it is in a recalibration of
social progress barometers for women and minorities. Westerners often look at
Africa as upside down and backwards. Perhaps it is the West that is lagging
behind. Working on Fire proves that
the West still has a lot to learn from Africa.
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