LAHORE, Pakistan -- One of Lahore's small Christian communities sits on army land, and thus constitutes an illegal occupation in the government's view. Most homes have one room, the latrines are makeshift, and families are lucky to survive on $20 a month.
These are "very difficult times," one resident told me. But these people have never seen a penny of the billions in foreign aid received by Pakistan over the years.
When government officials talk about foreign assistance, they rarely use numbers less than a billion. As when a gaggle of world leaders, led by U.S. President George W. Bush, recently met in Monterrey, Mexico. Like at most such gatherings, they spent their time spouting platitudes while planning new ways to waste taxpayer's money.