He’s a rebel with a cause, one that could change the face of the earth and lead to the upliftment of millions of people. Down at THINK2012, for a concert and a mind bending talk on world hunger, oppressive policies and more, Sir Bob Geldof in a tete-a-tete with The Goan
When Sir Bob Geldof convinced his friend, Ultravox’s MidgeUre to write a song for the starving people in Africa, he didn’t know theprofound impact his actions would have on the world, that it would inspire aseries of concerts, raise money, get him a knighthood and most importantlystart a food revolution in Africa. ‘Do they know it’s Christmas’ sold eight millioncopies, inspired Harry Belafonte to bring American musicians together to write‘We are the world’ and then Geldof brought Live Aid to the world, series ofconcerts that raised 150 million dollars that went towards feeding millions ofhungry mouths in African countries.
He shrugs off suggestions that his rebel rousing days areover, or that they only begun during his days with ‘The Boomtown Rats.’ “I wasalways pushing against the authorities.” At 13, Geldof got some people togetherand gathered food for the homeless in his native Ireland, rallying againstthose who preferred oppression as a weapon. “I had a tendency for disruptioneven then.”
His idea, of creating a constituency for change, was onlyfuelled by his passion for ‘giving a damn’. “You don’t have to give a damn, ifyou don’t want to. If you want to wake up in the morning, ignore what’s in thenewspapers, on tv or the radio and go on living your life without caring aboutthe rest of the world, I have one question – How do you live with yourself?”The movement towards globalisation, easy connectivity, being to communicateacross different platforms, has only helped in creating a distraction, turningpeople into self (or phone/internet) obsessed individuals, instead of being apart of a global audience.
If you could narrow down the world’s problems and make aconsolidated list, then hunger would be right at the top, a fundamentalproblem, that Geldof feels, “is caused by over consumption in the West”. 60percent of the arable land in the world, is now in Africa, which automaticallymakes the continent the basis on which the future of the world food problem (orsolution) hinges. But, then too, there are problems. “When you lose the naturalresources, GM food is the direction that everyone would go in. But, there areproblems there too. What I don’t understand is, how can one have intellectualproperty rights to a seed? That’s an issue right there. If someone comes upwith an innovation in this (food) industry, perhaps figures out that we cangrow a certain crop in drought conditions, then we have to be able to imposepatents for a limited time. After that, it’s free. ”
Bob Geldof’s outlook on life, the reason he has taken on theauthorities in the past and has moved governments to revise their outlook oncombating hunger, is simple – “Think like a heretic. Orthodoxy is past it’stime.”
