Yolonda Armstead Article Date Sep 10,2013 http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/337778/David-Attenborough-warns-about-overpopulation-saying-that-large-families-are-irresponsible
Sir David Attenborough warns about overpopulation saying that large families are irresponsible. In his article Sir David warns that future generations will be less healthy and happy as the world becomes more crowded, and natural resources become scarce. Sir David goes further to mention in his article that he supports Chinas one-child policy claiming that the country would have to many people to feed if they did not enforce the brutal law. This brings up a vital point that was discussed in class today. Dr. Hansford stated that there is not away for our population to use or eat up the resources that the earth has. Earth has a renewable supply. We also discussed how in various countries there are times that they have to get rid of some of their surplus grain that they have stored up. So this actually goes against the statement that Sir David states regarding our natural resources would become scarce. Note not all natural resources would become scarce. I feel that Sir David’s statement is his opinion and he obviously did not take his own advice into consideration because he has two children himself. I find it interesting that the best solution that he could find on the topic of overpopulation was to ask that China’s policy be used. Which is the one-child policy of China that was introduced in 1978 it restricts urban couples from having more than one child. The Chinese authorities claim the policy has prevented 400 million births between 1979 to 2011. The article stated that a problem with this policy is that it brings about an increase in forced abortions and also leads to an imbalance in the number of men to women. I also see this as a violation of the peoples Human rights. If the people do not have a right to choose to have a family then their rights to life are being violated, especially if they are not in China.
• Yolonda, this article is truly a source for righteous indignation, because it is such a stereotype of white privilege mentality and behavior. Sir A.’s hypocritical remark (you state well he forgot to include himself in his advice) is scary because to me, he displays geno-and/or gendercidal inclinations considering his sympathy to China’s solution and despite him considering it “terrible”. I wonder how he would reconcile an abortion with his societal norms and human rights? Or with one of his children having to abort his grandchild (I assume the photo in the article represents his family). His argument is apparently applicable only within his own social identity framework (racial-group membership, Garcia, p. 110), based on a racial rather than social contract (Garcia, p. 10). Considering his elevation to Sir level into the elite Order of Merit, his racial identity is revolving around his commonality and favor with monarchy/nobility circles. Usually, a high or privileged education level (he is a former politician, naturalist and broadcaster), societal involvement in and favor within these circles is mostly preceding this bestowed honor, based on his white privileges. Although he appears well educated, his knowledge does not include (or acknowledge) such statistics that “The wealthiest 20% of the world’s population consumes 76.6% of the world’s goods while 80% of humanity gets the remainder” (class presentation). His comment that people will live “less happy and healthy” clashes also with our class presentation stats indicating that almost a third of the present world population is living in poverty or 1 billion suffering from chronic hunger. This does not sound to me that people now are generally living healthy and happy! And this is not because of scarce resources as he remarks ignorantly and you point out correctly, but because of inequities and inequalities in social, economic and political access to and distribution of resources, mostly based on a white social/racial contract. I consider his remark ignorant and blatantly racist based on an entitlement attitude (it’s ok to have 2 children for you but not for those less fortunate), but I would suspect that unfortunately many others are agreeing with his flow of thoughts. Again, social justice application can come from a grassroots effort, but it has to be in some manner forceful to get to the head. Exposure of his personal stance concerning the correlation between his family (especially his children and grandchildren) and his comment in a follow-up interview would be interesting. Your comments are right on spot.
The first thing that struck me when I read this article was when he said “there’s no question it’s produced all kinds of personal tragedies.” He said he supported the one-child law, and like you stated, he also has children. What if one of his children would have had to have been killed? Would it have been a “personal tragedy?” This absolutely breaks my heart! I do not think that any child or human being in general, should ever be killed just because of overpopulation. Yes, overpopulation is a problem, but this is not the answer. As you stated in your blog, we talked in class how the earth has enough resources to feed EVERYONE! And still there are resources that are just thrown away. I read in your article that between 1979-2011 there were 400 million births that were prevented from occurring. That means 400 million people died! Just because that’s the law. In my mind, that is crazy. I like what you said about Sir David’s statement being his opinion. I completely agree; and his best advice was that China’s one-child policy be used. I also agree that this is a violation of human rights. People have the right to choose how children they want, and how large they wish their family to be.
Some 700 immigrants rescued off Italy over two days
While this article is relatively short in comparison to previous articles, it makes an impact. The title alone was intriguing enough for me to select this article for this week. The article describes that over 700 people were rescued from boats off the coast of Sicily in Italy over a two day period. These boats were carrying migrants and refugees from Syria, Egypt, Eritrea, Nigeria, and Ghana. Luckily, of those 700 people only one family of four needed medical treatment. With odds such as these, its no wonder that families attempt the dangerous escape from their impoverished or dangerous homeland. The article states that an increasing number of refugees and migrants are believed to be from Syria and Egypt as a result of the increasing violence in these countries. They also describe that many of these individuals are making the trek from North Africa in an attempt to get to Italy or Malta. The article states that, in European Union states, migrants and refugees are assessed to determine if they meet the requirements to be deemed to have genuine grounds for seeking asylum in Europe and Italy has asked other European Union countries to help in sharing the burdening of housing and re-homing these refugees and migrants. The reason that this article was of particular interest to me is because it reminded me of Nadia from the Not For Sale book by David Batstone. In this book, she was being transported to Italy to be sold into the human trafficking trade. So as not to trudge on the grounds of whoever has human trafficking as a topic, I will just briefly mention that I wondered how many of those 700 rescued were being shipped to Italy for that very purpose. I then starting thinking about how many of these individuals’ human rights that we learned about in class were being infringed upon and how few they seemed to actually have, especially the refugees who seem to genuinely feel that they have no other choice but to make a dangerous journey with a remote possibility that they will be granted to privilege to live another day. I can not imagine picking up and leaving everything that I have established in order to start over from scratch, but then again, that has never been a life or death decision for me. I am beginning to feel an immense amount of empathy for these individuals who just want to survive another day. How can they plan for a future and think about how their actions affect others when they may very well have a fatalistic attitude and justifiably so?
Unknown Author (2013, September 7). Some 700 immigrants rescued over two days. BBC News: Europe. Retrieved from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24002586
Kristin, So many times I have heard people say things like, "people need to just stay in there own countries", or "I'm against immigration and we need to close our borders". I look at the picture on your article of those children and I think to myself, what if I was in such a desperate position that I felt the best choice was to risk my life and the lives of my children by traveling across the ocean in an open boat. I am beginning to realize just how ignorant I am in regard to activities taking place in other countries and the issue of immigration, migration, and refugees. I'm not sure what the answer is but I do recognize this is a major problem.
The article may have been short, but I thought it was powerful. The pictures was worth a thousand words and like Melissa stated in her reply I have also heard people say “people just need to stay in their country”. I wonder if everyone had to take social worker classes and read what we read if they would feel the same way. When I was finished reading your article I could not help but continue to think of the children and the parents and where they might be now. I am busy getting my 3 year old son birthday party ready and I wish that everyone could have the life that we do. I know as a parent that parents would do anything for their children’s safety and future and that it why the desperation results in them risking their lives to get in that boat for an attempt at a better future. It reminds me that I have to do more to help. Thanks for sharing.
Your article truly correlated with what we read in Not for Sale. I think that was an excellent reference point as it is so similar to Nadia. I too wondered immediately if several of the 700 were not misguided and promised something else on their "mission" to freedom. How many were going willingly and actually knew what their lives held once they arrived? The picture in the article shows what I assume to be an entire family, so I can't imagine the life they were leaving behind when they got into an open boat and set out on the open seas. They must have held a lot of faith that once they arrived in Italy things would be better. Then, I formed my own opinion about how some in Italy might feel about all of the refugees, simply because of how the last part of the article was worded. It stated that they requested help in shouldering the "burden" of the influx of refugees. I feel that burden is a word that can mean so many different things. What about the burdens that caused these people to make this trip in the first place. I can see where it can cause hardship on the countries that take everyone in, but the fact that everyone is trying to come there is proof enough that borders should not be closed. Finally, I was left wondering about those who do not get granted asylum. I cannot help but wonder if they get sent back, or if there is corruption and others meet another fate, like sexual slavery before being deported. Bastone really opened my eyes and I now have so much doubt about what happens to refugees in circumstances such as this.
This article reminds me of the many heart breaking stories about the people who escaped from North Korea. Instead of taking boat in ocean, they walk many days in very cold weather taking a risk being killed when they were found by North Korea authorities. Even though they could successfully escape and crossed the boarder, there were no places that embrace them and protect them. When I learned that U.S helps many refugees and rescue those people in danger because of the war or other problems in their homeland, i was very impressed. I am not sure what I can help individually, but if I can do something, I would motivate more countries to accept refugees. If they cannot do this, at least not stand against those who desperately need safe places to protect their lives because we do not know when our positions can be changed. Countries that enjoy more freedom and safety need to open more to accept refugees or find ways to help them directly or indirectly. Certain regulations or agreements should be made to help refugees through international institutes or meetings in more systematic way.
During our World problems and advocacy course we have been given an assignment to read the book Not for Sale written by, David Batstone. This book is educational information about the very real problem of human trafficking on a global scale in our world today. Human Trafficking affects us all on some level. All too often people seem to hold the opinion that human trafficking is bad but there is nothing that can be done to prevent and stop it. Also I feel that many people conclude that if these heinous crimes are not taking place in our back yards, they are out of sight and out of mind. This course has really opened up my eyes to the problems of human rights violation involved with human trafficking. The question is raised within me, “what can we do to prevent, decrease, and eventually stop human trafficking all together?”
I came across this article and think that we could all take a cue from Scotland and what they are trying to do to combat the monster in the closet. The good news is Scotland is attempting to do something! A plan is being proposed there to fight against human trafficking. A bill has been proposed that will result in punishments not being imposed on victims of human trafficking that have been forced into criminal activity. Every four days a victim of human trafficking is discovered in Scotland. Astonishingly there have reportedly only been five people ever convicted in Scotland for human rights offenses. Jenny Marra, Labour MSP feels strongly that victims are being punished rather than the true criminals. For example, women forced into prostitution are ending up in jails while the people who forced the women to sell their bodies get off free. Dr. Anne Gallagher made the statement, “It would be the most innovative and comprehensive piece of anti-trafficking legislation in the world” in regard to the proposed legislation. As I read this story I do recognize a potential problem with this legislation in that it could be used as a loophole by criminals. Criminals who were caught in some criminal acts could state that they were being forced by others to commit the acts. In order to restrict this type of misuse of this new legislation, determinations would need to be made on a case by case basis and full investigations would need to be completed. If this legislation was paired with stricter punishments and accountability for those who enslave others in human trafficking as well as those who feed the value of the market I believe that changes could be made. I think the entire problem needs to be looked at from all angles in order to move toward a solution. Not only do the victims needs to be free from punishment, but there should be greater punishment from the “slave drivers”, and those who participate in activities such as buying sex from those being trafficked. We all have an accountability piece in this major problem. As we all know our clothing and other materials often come from foreign countries and are sometimes produced by organizations that use human trafficking to make and distribute a product. It is important that we educate our selves on these issues and begin to investigate where our products are coming from, the companies that distribute them and if they have been caught in the act of using child labor or human trafficking activity of any kind. We can also help by purchasing products such as jewelry from night light as described in the book. This helps the victims of human trafficking to find a sense of purpose and income source. This problem is larger than all of us so we must work together to begin to make a difference. Education in key so tell someone else about the global problem of human trafficking today, and what we can begin to do to combat it.
Melissa- I really liked your response to this article. My topic for the group project is also on human trafficking and it is amazing to me how many acts can be classified under this broad title. As you stated, women and children are especially vulnerable and it saddens me to think that women who have been forced into prostitution are then jailed and punished for committing a crime that literally in some cases, kept them alive. As I begin to uncover more information I am overwhelmed with the work that needs to be done to bring attention to this issue. Even beyond sexual trafficking there are so many women and children that are forced to work for 12-14 hour days for what basically amounts to pocket change. They are too young to protest or too scared to rebel. I am the first person to admit that I don't even consider where something is made before I buy it. If there was a picture of an 8 year old enslaved child on the tag it would certainly be a quick way to make someone think twice about purchasing goods that are manufactured in these conditions! I also strongly agree with your statement that people don't believe that enslavement like this is taking place so close to home and "out of sight" really is "out of mind" in this case because it's so terrible to think about.
This article is inspiring, in such a way that Scotland is looking at tightening human trafficking laws. I really liked the part that victims would no longer be punished under the law, and instead would be offered assistance and hopefully much needed therapy due to what they have been through. Like the article indicates, if this law is put into effect, it could change the world by leading the way to stop human trafficking. This topic is a HOT topic right now in the world, and there are so many people, mostly women and children, who are bound and thrown into the slave trade, it is really sickening to think about. We buy things in this country that is most likely made from one of these persons. I really hope this legislation passes, to assist those taken in slavery. This impact should be huge. When women are taken and forced into, say prostitution, they are most likely threatened and beaten if they try to escape, or threats are made on their families. I am so pleased to see an article about a country finally doing something to fight this issue. Thanks for your post. I really am starting to look at what I buy from now on, and where it is made, that first night of class was really an eye opener when only one person in the class had on an article made in the USA; hopefully not by a person taken in bondage.
Melissa - I completely agree with your sentiment that something needs to be done about human trafficking. Your article highlights how backwards our justice system is in that we punish the indidivual being trafficked and NOT the traffickers themselves. It said only five people have been held accountable for human trafficking in Scotland. That seems incredibly low compared to the thousands that are forced into being trafficked. I am not sure if you have read this far in the Not For Sale book yet or not but the disconnect between these two is described in the book. The missing link, so to speak, is government corruption. There are government officials that have a vested interest in the humman trafficking trade which is why our justice system appears so backward. So, how do we correct government corruption, espeically when nobody will readily admit that may be what is happening in these countries?
Brazil’s universities take affirmative action Topic: Discrimination Submitted by: Lisa Norton 9/14/13 The topic of discrimination is so broad and there are millions of articles out there which could qualify for this blog discussion. This week I chose to focus on racial & economic discrimination as it relates to educational opportunities since our entire Chapter 4 reading (Sernau) discussed what it meant in different parts of the world for both men and women to receive a formal education (or lack thereof) and the direct impact it has on society.
Brazil recently passed a law that reserves 50% of its spots in federal universities for students coming from public schools, low-income families and who are of African or indigenous decent. In years prior to this ruling, the public universities were comprised of mostly white students from private schools and those falling within Brazil’s upper class population. There were very few spots available to black or mixed race students who were most likely to have attended public school. The push for equality began ten years ago as affirmative action gradually began being accepted at state and private universities. A university degree is one of the only ways to guarantee a better living condition and higher paying job for the future. While all of this sounds very progressive, it’s not without an underlying air of resentment from the other prominent university students. As with any position, the more qualified candidates that apply, the lesser chance you have of getting selected. The racial quota that is currently being imposed has many people worried that students who are not qualified to attend university will be admitted simply to make the numbers balance. The quality of students (and their earned degrees) may suffer because the candidates in question may have had a less than adequate preparatory education.
In Chapter 4 of our textbook, the author states that “the type of education a student receives and the quality of that education varies greatly depending on that student’s position in society”. This article claims that Brazil is ready to redefine that stereotype by offering broader opportunities to minorities and those in the lower half of the socioeconomic divide. In class we discussed “human capital” as a way of investing in people, teaching them skills that would in turn help them better their community. I think Brazil has the right idea but it is going to take some time to see a true measure of the affirmative action law and how it affects the workforce. You can educate the poorer population but getting companies to hire them may be another story. I believe it will take time to see a change in the professional workforce. However, if the universities are embracing this idea of equality, hopefully the employers were follow suit and realize that the more minorities that emerge with degrees the greater the impact will be on their communities and families.
I really enjoyed reading this article. I have seen firsthand the mixture of races down in Brazil. I have family in Brazil due to migrating there from Portugal. There national language is Portuguese and my last name (Monteiro) is Portuguese which means mountain. Within our family, we have a mixture of skin colors. We have family members that are the fairest of skin to family that have the darkest pigmentation. Not only do they discriminate first by what you look like down there, they take into consideration wealth. My family owned slaves off of the west coast of Africa which is what is currently known as Cabo Verde (Cape Verde) and Portugal. Migrating to Brazil 40 years ago; they have a lot of land there and continue to thrive. I think just like the USA many countries that were colonized by France and Great Britain that allowed slavery. It will continue to take years for people of color to earn their place in education and business. One thing that was mentioned in the article was the fact that a gentlemen stated that it has to start early in getting a proper education. Affirmative action is only a starting point but it goes much deeper as inequalities from the rich and poor.
I am glad that you chose this article I really learned interesting facts regarding Brazil. I am really in ‘awe’ at the fact that a college education in Brazil is free!! Along with the fact, that half of Brazil’s population is of African or Indigenous descent. I find it sad that if half of a countries population is persons of color, the ‘so called elite class’ still feels the need to not allow those persons to obtain quality jobs and an college education to obtain the quality of self-sufficiency that they need so that they are not struggling financially. I understand that Brazil feels that enacting on affirmative action is taking a stance, but I see it as Brazil needs to be willing to invest in their people of colors education prior to time for the students going to college. This would eliminate them having to worry about the workforce having employees that are not competent. But of course the purpose of the segregation of the races is to keep the White as the elite and the African and persons of Indigenous descent to feel beneath the white race. So really this is just a band aid when in fact surgery is needed to remove the cancer.
Lisa I enjoyed reading this article. First of all I never knew that Brazil had so many minorities. I actually learned something reading this article. I think that it is great affirmative action was brought about ten years ago to give underprivileged Brazilians better chances of getting free higher education. First of all education is your freedom. It is your power. I thought it was sad that these free universities only benefited those that were well to do. The chances of a minority getting the competitive places were slim. I think that it was a great plan to make it mandatory for all 59 Brazilian federal universities to reserve half of their positions for affirmative action by 2016. It saddens me to see how it appears that modern day slavery is going on there. It is accepted. The low mentality for blacks was just heart breaking. A comment was made that since the blacks will get into these universities then Brazil will not grow in the areas needed. Blacks were expected to get low paying jobs. Sad, Sad, Sad.
Lisa good article, keep up the good work. Very interesting.
Genocide 9-14-2013 http://news.yahoo.com/rwandan-ties-stake-frances-genocide-hunters-seek-justice-185354964.html Religious and ethnic diversity has a large amount of power to fuel violence. History is full of stories of one ethnic’s group attempt to dominate another (Sernau, 2012). An example of this is Rwanda, where two ethnic groups the Hutus and the Tutsis shared land. Under European colonial administration in the 1900’s, this favored the Tutsis, at the loss of the Hutus. In 1992 Rwanda gained independence, then followed a group of fiery Hutu leaders to begin the initiated the attacks. The International world was slow to respond and brushed the attacks off as “ancient hatred” (Sernau, 2012, p. 210) In Rwanda 1994 there an estimated 800, 000 people mostly minority Tutsis were killed by the ethnic majority of Hutus during a three month killing spree. The following was fatal plane downing of President (Habyarimana). This left the people waiting for justice for the brutal genocide. A couple named Alain and Dafroza Gautherier (Dafroza) have been looking for justice for over a decade. Dafroza is a 59 year ethnic Tutsis who fled to France in the 1970’s due to the simmering Tutsis violence. Dafroza’s mother was killed in the genocide. In the 1970s Alain and Dafroza married. The Gautherier ‘s couple did not feel like they could ignore the genocide therefore they went to Rwanda and began to dig for information from the survivors to begin the process of justice. The Gautherier ‘s have filed over 20 legal complaints which resulted in four years of judicial investigation for the first case to come to the courts in France. Now almost twenty years after the genocide, France is in the process of the first trial of a 53-year-old former soldier accused of arming and guiding the killers. Before the genocide, France had been the main Western backer for Rwanda. Since the genocide the relationship has crumpled. Rwanda has accused France of training and arming the Hutu militias, Paris has always denied this accusation. In 2006 a French judge accused a Rwanda rebel leader (Kagame) of the killing of President Juvenal Habyarimana, which he denies. The accusation resulted in cut ties between France and Rwanda. In 2004, The European Court of Human Rights fined France for their tardiness. France’s change of heart could be based on justice or it could be based on economics. France longs to have better exports and imports with Rwanda since Rwanda is viewed to be a lucrative hotspot. Rwanda is viewed as an essential piece of maintaining the African Great Lakes. If Rwanda is pleased with the outcome maybe Rwanda will open up locked dormant commercial ties. As it is, France has only exported 16.1 million euros last year, while France imported goods from Rwanda worth just 3.6 million euros. Finally, in 2009 the ties were resorted when France finally admitted to making “errors” in the country. Kagame made his first visit to Paris in 2011, with the purpose of moving on and starting again with France. In 2012, France began its first special genocides investigation unit. The justice process will also show if Rwanda can move forward with France. The concern is that there will be a short sentence or acquittal which could result in the Rwandans being unhappy. The Rwandans are also marking the 20th anniversary of the genocide and activists believe that it will provide a better understanding of the slaughter to France. They also expect Paris will respect the anniversary of the genocide by sending a high-ranking official. France states they want to be there and be there in a supportive way. As for the Gauthiers couple the pending trials will offer closure on a personal level and from the diplomatic perspective as well.
France’s wanting to find harmony with Rwanda reminds me of many things we talked about it class. For example, how one country can not do many things without the support of another country. This week while working on our Icon project I learned that a country can not only research and decide what is best for them, they must also research what it best for the other countries. My group is attempting to find out how our country Syria can make a successful micro business and we began researching our country’s resources, but we must also research what other countries needs are to know if the countries will support our business. If countries do not support each other it limits their globalization and ultimately affects their success of their own country. It seems to me that France has decided to pursue justice twenty years too late, because they have realized the impact on their own country if they do not please Rwanda
Article Date: September 14, 2013 Article Title: Humanising Poverty September 14, 2013 - 3:25am Brian Tucker This article, from a Nigerian Newspaper, is about a documentary that took place in Nigeria, around the Niger Delta region. The article relates to poverty as it describes the horrific lives of women and how they are treated in Nigeria. The documentary was funded by a German embassy, and was filmed by 9 amateur female filmmakers. This article, along with the documentary, displays how women live in the poorest and most devastated parts of the region. The women in the Niger Delta region, per the article, who become widowed are not allowed to inherit the land, property, house, of their deceased husband. They instead have to give up all possessions they owned while married and move with their children back into their fathers’ homes. Women who become widows are also not permitted to be married again. These women are then forced to fend for their families and often do so by fishing in polluted waters to feed them and their children. Men, however, who are in widowhood can remarry, and are able to keep all that they have, including any part that was of their deceased wives. Also, Nigeria is what is considered to be traditional, which means that men are the head of the household, and are providers for food, and women are left to care for their children and to care for the home. In the poverty stricken Niger Delta region, women often marry before they reach age 20, and per DIFD research, this accounts for 47% of the women in this region. The article also discussed educational differences between men and women, with men being chosen first to receive education, and women left to work in the homes. UNICEF provides a clearer picture for this, as evidenced by their study showing the literacy rate for women at 56% and for men at 72%. Women who are fortunate enough to receive and education, per the article, are taught how to perform hygiene and healthcare for mothers and children. However, with this gap, the mortality rates are often higher for women and children in poverty. Another example of how poverty is affecting women in Nigeria is through sexual harassment. The article discusses how women who are in school are sometimes harassed by professors, to exchange sexual favors to get better grades. Sexual harassment is also, per the article, condoned in order for women to receive any political agendas, financial assistance or monetary gains, as well as personal gains. Women who attempt to seek assistance from others due to sexual harassment are often ignored and no action is taken. One might think that this article is about women rights, and rightfully so, but it also shows how poverty relates to how women are treated. The more impoverished a woman is, the more likely for her to be treated as a person in bondage. When reading Sernau, our assignment from this past week, that discusses the gender gap, one can clearly see this “gap” or more of an abyss in my opinion, between men and women in Nigeria. Men in the poverty stricken areas still have a better chance of survival and more ways to escape poverty. Women on the other hand, are basically forced to remain in poverty, and if they are given the precious opportunity of getting an education, then they are viewed upon as objects. When reading this, I saw so many basic rights, that we in America feel we are entitled to, that these women are robbed of daily; they are harassed sexually with no voice and no one or nothing to turn to for help, if they are widowed then they have to forsake all they have, and education is not seen as priority. I hope that posting this article, I have not overstepped onto someone’s subject, but I found this article under the poverty search in Nigeria and had to post it.
Brian, I really liked the article you posted this week, and after reading our not for sale book it saddens me that I am not suprised that women around the world are subject to this type of treatment. The first line of the article is empowering within itself " One woman’s story of pain, abandonment, renewed hope and survival can be the story of a million others." In this class and in social work in general we have come to understand that these types of incidents occur all over the world, and that we can never mangage to cure all of the heartache and wrongdoing, but we all have to start somewhere to make a difference! Just like those women who published the documentary; they shown stories from many women just like Hannah and put into perspective for the whole world to see what others go through on a daily basis. You were right when you said that so many rights were taken away from these ladies. The article itself talks about how Hannah left school at the age of 15 to get married. Her advisor had even offered to give her a high grade if she slept with him. While she thought she went to all of the right people to help her, the school officals looked the other way claiming that sexual harrassment is considered a "private arrangement." Can you imagine someone saying this to you? Needless to say Hannah took the lower grade. It really struck home that Hannah had given birth to 11 children, while only 6 survived. Being with child now and feeling like my pregnancy is taking forever, I could not imagine going through this process 11 times and to only be able to love and nurtue only 6 of those children. The loss is unimagineable. I don't understand how these countries think that they are helping themselves by putting all of their energy into the males of their families over the females. How awful would it feel to be the only child like Hannah, and almost be tossed away and looked at as not being good enough just because you were born a woman. I commend you for taking the time and writing about an article for women, it is comforting to see male figures caring as much as women do about their inequalties and human rights. Great article, now I want to see the documentary!
What is behind the fighting in the Philippines' Zamboanga? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-24079198 Michaela Vaillant, September 15, 2013, 12.24 am After having read article after article about terrorist activities linked to Islamic insurgents, I was curious what is going on in Asia as to not to be partial or biased. However, wherever I turn, the majority of articles relates to insurgent activities of Islamic extremist factions. The current article expounds on current fights in Zamboanga, Mindanao, the sixth largest city in the Philippines and of major importance for the southern economy. The Philippine’s army is engaged for a week now in an armed conflict with insurgents of the MNLF, the Moro National Liberation Front, although no clarity could be established who authorized the attacks. The MNLF was founded in the early 1970’s by Misuari, who pursued in armed conflicts an independent Islamic state for the Moro People (Muslims living in the southern Philippines). Peace talks initiated by Misuari in 1996 granted him governing authority of the Mindanao Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), but he lost his position as chairman after 5 years due to alleged “poor leadership and corruption”. Despite several armed attempts to regain authority, Misuari’s authority decreased and the central government turned to another faction, the MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front) for negotiation purposes. The MILF is a large faction, among others, that split in 1978 from the MNLF, and recognized as a “tough opponent” by the central government. Differing only in their strategic approach and level of violence, all factions are ultimately pursuing one goal – the establishment of an independent Islamic state. Terrorism here is the major vehicle of an ethnic group (cultural entity with different ideological beliefs as the motherland – Midgley, p. 4/5) pursuing a national identity and state. Yet this is not new. Since the 19th century, different facets of the liberation movement have long spread worldwide, just like here. Considering the aspect of communality in their social identity pursuit in regard to other Islamic nations, and witnessing similar developments globally through media access and social networks, extremist Muslims might certainly feel encouraged, empowered and justified in whichever country or region they reside. While self-determination and the preservation of cultural and racial identity cannot be denied to any ethnic group, the approach how it is achieved might project the nature of future global relations. The political and economic implications here pose an important underlying angle. The Philippines is a predominantly Christian nation, only 5 % are Muslims, women appear to constitute the majority of the population and hold 22 % of parliamentary seats (CIA World Factbook). How will the different religious views, for example the woman’s role, affect negotiation talks, and the social power balance between the two states when the Moro gain independence? How will the different worldviews color the relationships? What kind of back up can they expect from other countries? (think of the parents-children model talked about in class) I’m not sure if Muslims were oppressed in the South or allowed to live out their cultural identity. Yet given the current global current of Islamic extremist activities and the core idea that non-Muslims are “infidels” and need to be either subdued or put to death, and considering how the trajectory of the Islamic nation state pursuit has been mostly fueled by violent activity, there is a concern about the impact on the political climate. How will this affect economics, for example access to trade routes for import & export, considering the South constitutes a major economic port? What kind of impact will this have on the international development, for example in the area of human rights? Will it escalate even more? The global impact has manifold ramifications, whichever way the decision goes
China’s Rapidly Aging Population By Michael Pettis
This article informed the readers about demographic changes within China over the last several decades and the impact it will feel in the future decades. At the end of the Chinese Civil War in the 1949 was a major baby boom. Many Chinese people were born in the 1950’s and 1960’s. By the 1970’s there was so many young people in China that its workforce only compromised of 52% of its population; everyone else was too young to work.
During the late 1970’s Beijing enforced its one child rule. With this rule in effect meant families can only have one child. This rule helped decline births within China. As a result along with poor healthcare and famines, China’s aging population grew slowly. As of 2013, China’s workforce is 72% which is good for the economy. The economy has increase due to trade; however, China is still considered a poor country. In the near future the demographics will change. As the one child rule is still enforced throughout China there will not be enough young children to go into the workforce to take care of the future baby boomers. As these baby boomers reach retirement age, China will have one of the oldest populations.
Pettis, the author, mention that no other country has been in the predicament where China will be in the next several decades. As its working population will shrink 1% a year, they have to address issues such as taking care of an aging population as well as how can they keep up with their current workforce and the income its producing within the country.
Relating this article to my topic (Aging) and class material, I will start off by talking about the North and South countries. Learning how countries in the North are more developed than to its counterparts in the South. China lies within the North and the South. Although it’s being considered a world power due to its growing economy, it is still considered a poor country. I believe this to be true when you take into consideration of their billion plus population and when you do the GNI (Gross National Income) it does not put many people above poverty. The article talked about the one child per family law, this is an infringement on human rights as stated in the UN (United Nations). This law is in direct violation with Article 1, 3, 5, 12, 25, and 30 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
After reading this article, I wonder how China supports their elderly now. Based on cultural expectations, I know that the children care for their aging; however, just as a baby boom affects the economy, the number of elderly in China also creates a social problem. The conversation we had in class regarding a huge economic surge and a poor infrastructure not being able to support and/or sustain the economy so that there is not an economic crisis. This is a prime example of how a decision made decades ago will impact the future productivity of a country. Just as you mentioned it being a Northern country but still is categorized as a poor country, shows the ramifications that this decision has had on the livelihood of a country. I am curious to see how this will play out and what China will do to combat this problem. It is obvious that a viable work force is essential for the sustainability for its people and I believe it is a country’s responsibility to take care of the young and the elderly.
After reading the article I considered the one-child law and how it has been enforced through the years. You stated examples for how the one child law violates human rights. The enforcement of the law is also out of compliance in human rights as well since female infanticide and abortion have also been practiced to enforce the law. Also, regarding the topic of aging, how will China care for its massive aging population? Will they use the same logic as they did with the female infant? That logic violates human rights and I wonder if the government will humanely care for that burdensome group who is vulnerable do to their age (and possibly gender) as well. Certainly, the family values would be to care for the aged, but I am considering the potential programs the government will place to help the problem. I hope the aged are better cared for than the undesired child and that families will still be able to make the decision to care for their aged family member.
I found this particular article very interesting. When I think of China and their One Child Policy, the only thing I thought about was the amount of abortions taken place, along with the complications. I never thought about the aging population and how that was going to effect them as well. I do agree that this does violate the population's human rights as well as harms not only their economy today but for many generations to come. As an undergrad I studied the Chinese population as a diversity assignment, and to think of all of their strict rules regarding the elderly makes it hard to imagine what they will do when a majority of the population will be elderly. Who will run the shops? Who will work the farms? If you only have 1 child, how are they going to take care of BOTH parents, maybe grandparents and their own family and maintain employment? I would really like to know what policy makers were thinking (or not thinking) when passing this law.
When searching for an article this week, I wanted to an article that did not have so many negative side effects. Just like local news, it’s difficult to find positive occurrences globally as well. If one were to create a word web using immigration/migration, I suspect there would be more negative associations than positive ones. This week’s article, Business and Education immigration rules relaxed, discussed how the UK will be more lenient with immigration rules so that businesses, business auditors, visitors, interpreters, athletic participants, coaches, and international students will be able to stay and partake in trainings and highly skilled graduate entrepreneurs can obtain positions in businesses that will utilize the skills learned in one of their world class universities. In addition to attracting business and educational growth, arts are being targeted as well; UK has also set up visas that would allow those to participate in training courses in topics such as English and other leisure activities. Immigration Minister, Mark Harper reported that this is a positive step in the right direction because it shows that UK is open for business to attract the best and brightest as well as be an example in promoting global interest and steady growth. In last week’s reading, we read and briefly discussed the human capital theory. The idea behind this theory is that education is an investment and can better one’s life. Sernau highlights an important factor, “for education to become a true investment in human capital that will offer a return in productivity, it must be connected to a viable means of application” (p. 111). It is critical to not only provide the opportunity to access education, but if there is no infrastructure in place to support those coming out with degrees to enter into the economy in a field in which they studied, then financial strain looms over creating another social problem. Many times, international students who travel abroad to get an education often have plans to go back to their home country and use their newly acquired skills to improve their country. I had the pleasure of experiencing this phenomenon first hand when I obtained my Bachelor’s Degree from Berea College. The demographics of the student body were divided among Appalachian, African American, Caucasian, and International students. I realized quickly how sheltered and naive I was when I was in an Economics class primarily comprised of International students. Despite the idea of white privilege, I was definitely the minority in more than just ethnic status. I took so much for granted regarding rights, access to education, and family. I couldn’t imagine being in another country where I did not have family close by or others with whom I could readily identify with. It reiterates the importance of cultural competence and identifying values and becoming knowledgeable about global issues because these issues are literally in our back yard. In order to be equitable with resources and power, we need other countries to take risks and be creative with ways to improve and sustain their economy to attract the right kind of attention. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23989305
Ideally, I would love for the world to be open to everyone!!! I know how silly this sounds but I hate how we have taken ownership over land etc. For example, you can't go here unless you have this etc. I love how the UK is becoming more open and I hope that not too many people are seeing this as a negative. I wish that I could have conversations with people in the US about how great immigration could be. It would be great to collaborate with everyone's/ every countries strengths and work on the all the global negatives of society. I understand that to article focuses more on education and business ventures/ goals, but the whole idea could be so expansive and positive. The quote, "the UK is open for business. We are building an immigration system that works in the national interest and supports growth," really sums up what immigration should be about! Thanks for sharing :)
Sarah Yates Almost a quarter of men 'admit to rape in parts of Asia' http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-24021573?print=true September 16, 2013 12:45 pm
Yes, you read that right. The sad part, is that it gets worse. In the first study of its kind ten thousand men from six different countries participated in a UN report looking at violence against women. Some of the countries surveyed included: Asia, New Guinea, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Cambodia. Amoung the results of the survey were: Rape was very common in relationships, 1 in 10 men said they had raped a women whom they were not in a relationship with(under half of the men who admitted to this also admitted that they had done so on multiple occasions leaving the door open to having many victims). The results varied from country to country, while the severity from one country to another was quite shocking. In New Guinea, more than 6 out of 10 men admitted to rape. 3/4 of the men who had raped a women did so for sexual entitlement. This is something that we have seen in so many cases in our Not for Sale book. Men are considered inferior to women, therefore women should do whatever it takes (and are almost expected to enjoy it) to please a man because it is their "duty" In chapter three of our book, we learn about Margaret, who was "promoted" to the position of being an LRA commanders wife. When she refused him sex on the first night of being his wife, she was threatened with her life. The threatening officer told her "No one refuses sex to an LRA commander. You will do anything that pleases your husband, do I make myself clear?" From that moment until her rescue Margaret's life was a living hell. This is why such statistics such as men raped because of sexual entitlement is so powerful, because you can begin to understand the mindset of so many countries that promote this type of behavior. A second motivator for rape was simply because the men needed entertainment and were "bored." The third motivator was using rape as a form of punishment. While it should be noted that the countries surveyed, the statistics are not conclusive for the region or country as a whole, it's statistics do coincide with areas where a civil conflict has erupted or there is a crumbling government. This makes sense to me, because in areas where everyone is trying to gain control, who would be the easiest target population? Women! Once they are coerced and controlled, men feel a sense of power and authority unlike no other. This is a huge health concern for all of the people involved. If protection is not being used, sexually transmitted diseases are going from one to another like wildfire. Some of these causing infertility if left untreated. Can you imagine being married to someone who raped another woman who had an STD and then you contracted it as well? Imagine becoming infertile because your spouse viewed sex as his right no matter who with, and your physical well being meant nothing. Ahhh it angers me so much! There are a lot of Margaret's out there who are subject to rape on a daily basis all around the world. With all of the documentaries around the world, I hope that some can reach out to the right people who see what they have undergone, and fight for what is right and that what they are going through is inhumane.
Wow... This article brings on a lot of emotions. While I was completely horrified reading your summary and the article itself, there were several things that I found interesting. The first thing I thought was interesting was that rape was especially common in relationships. For some reason, this reminded me of a class discussion we had about arranged marriages and it was brought up that the husbands would say that they did not necessarily love their wives. I wonder how many of the countries investigated support arranged marriages and if there is any correlation. Another thing I found interesting was that alcohol was not an overwhelming contributing factor in most rapes. This is actually scary to think that men were admitting that they did not even need the influence of alcohol to rape. Lastly, I found it disturbing and yet strangely encouraging that more than half of non-partner perps had their first occurrence as adolescents. This is disturbing for obvious reasons. And I do not say it is encouraging because of the age, I find encouragement in the fact that it was determined that because of age, it became clear that targeting the younger generations will be extremely important in launching rape prevention for women and adolescent girls.
Sarah, I was so mad when reading this article. The title alone should catch anyone's attention. How awful that so many men have admitted to committing such acts AND MORE THAN ONCE! That is so wrong! I cannot even imagine to be raped by the person you are married to. That takes me back to the part in the "Not for Sale" book on the story with Margaret, which you also mentioned. How awful it must be to be a LRA wife who also has others wives, and be mistreated like she did. Reading this story and reading the stories in the book makes me wonder how many other stories are out there and what we don't know. Stuff like this is how we can help prevent it and to talk about what goes on.
Those statistics really are shocking! Just like you stated and is in our readings, women are especially targeted in impoverished regions. I noticed that the article brought up the global outrage about the student in New Dehli that was gang raped. It seems India is making a statement with the recent sentencing to death of four of these men responsible. An article and a video can be found here:
With statistical data like the one in your article, combined with other media attention on a global scale, hopefully we as world citizens can change attitudes and prevent such ongoing atrocities.
A very alarming article which comes at a time when we are reading about these atrocities in 'Not for Sale'. While reading about Margaret and others involved in forced sex or sex traffiking in Thailand etc., I could not help relating my own life to these stories. My daughter just turned 9 and some of the girls in the brothels are the same age. I could feel the rage building over thoughts of her being subjected to such mental and physical abuse. It is truly horrifying. Thinking about my five year old son taken from me and forced to kill others to remain alive is so hard for me to comprehend, I can't think about it very long without becoming overwhelmed with emotions for those that are subjected to this reality daily. It does not seem enough to know we are fairly safe from these circumstances, but my primal instincts want to kick in and be a savior to those young girls or the young boys in the LRA. The reality is I probably would not last long in Albania or Uganda if i decided to confront traffikers or LRA members.
War Crime in Syria Article Date: September 16, 2013 Sara Gilpin
The article I read this week was about rockets containing sarin gas being launched in Syria that resulted in many casualties. Government officials are calling this a “despicable crime.” The article stated that the UN had confirmed that chemical weapons were in fact used in Syria. The chemical used in these rockets is lethal. According to the article, those that survived reported having numerous health problems after the attack. The secretary reported that 85% of the blood samples that had been taken tested positive for sarin gas. It was a M14 artillery rocket that actually launched the attack. One of the things I found most interesting about this article is that the secretary also stated that this was “the most significant confirmed use of chemical weapons against civilians since Saddam Hussein in 1988.” In my mind, it seems like it would take a large amount of any kind of chemical or gas to kill that many people.
The Chairman of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria said that he believed that the Syrian President’s government was responsible for the war crimes. This whole thing just blows my mind. I cannot see how using chemical warfare is going to solve anything. Of course I do not know who is really to blame, but if it really was the president’s own government what does that say for their government? The whole time I was reading the article I just kept asking myself “why?” Many other countries are wanting Syria to face serious consequences if they are not forced to hand over their weapons. The article stated that the UN is expected to draft a resolution in the next few days. There will be a lot of unhappy government officials, and even civilians, if the UN decides to favor with Syria.
We talked in class how Syria is like Russia’s baby and that if the United States starts a war with Syria how quickly Russia will then become involved. The article stated that the US believed that government is what led to the threat of military actions and then the US and Russia wanted Syria to make safe its chemical arms. Just as we discussed in class though, I think that if the United Stated had done anything to Syria that Russia would have fought back 10 times harder. I would be anxious to see what the UN report says next Monday to see who gets blamed for the current war crime in Syria. This was a very interesting article, many times I do not think of chemical weapons when someone mentions crime or war. Obviously, it is an issue, one that needs to be controlled.
I really do wish that other countries would have become involved in this civil war sooner, not in a physical way but in a responsive way to help citizens under attack. This investigation only confirms what we knew to be true. An unjust government attacking citizens with chemicals seems so unreal. It makes you wonder what lead to so much destruction and to so many actions that clearly show a lack of dignity for human life. To imagine that this had been going on without intervention is devastating. I am actually thankful for the UN in the aspect that powerhouse nations do not hold all the cards when it comes to matters of war. Yes, Russia and the US are the main ones we will all be watching until the final decision is made, but luckily the weight of making such a heavy decision is not just on them. I have heard of the US 'tapping' Syria many times to stop the destruction of the country and its people. I have yet to hear of Russia getting on to their' baby' much at all until the US wanted to intervene in a more obvious approach. It makes you wonder if Russia really cared? I am glad advances have been made and I would really like to see Syria change their ways and give up their weapons, but how likely is it that that will solve everything? Intervention from more power countries (UN) is so necessary at this point so Syria knows we will all be watching from this point on. Human right can not be a joke... all of the countries need to care and respond when injustices are made, especially when its government vs. citizens.
Yemeni minister seeks law to end child marriage Topic: Religion Link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24083127
Reports have been made that last week in Yemen an eight year old little girl died from internal bleeding. On the surface, one would assume that this child must have been in some sort of accident which damaged her internal organs. However, much controversy has risen since her death occurred on the night she wed a forty year old man. A source has reported that on her wedding night she was taken to medics after intercourse with her new husband whom was five times her age. The medics were unable to save the child and she died from bleeding and uterine rupture.
An aide to the Yemeni Prime Minister claims that the government is taking the allegations of the child's death very seriously. They also stated that those responsible will be brought to justice.
It is not an uncommon occurrence for poor Yemeni families to accept money for their young daughters to be married. Since the reported death of this eight year old girl, pressure has intensified for parliament to set a minimum age for marriage which would ban the practice of child marriage. There are however, many in Yemen who claim that setting a minimum age would interfere with Yemen tradition, culture and religion. Not all Yemen religious clerics agree with this, there are some who support the proposal.
This article provides evidence that Yemen is abusing all three points of Article 16 in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 16 states that men and women of FULL AGE have the right to marry; that marriage is to be entered into only with the "free and full consent of the intending spouses"; and that the family is "entitled to protection by society and the State." These children being married off to older men are clearly not of full age, are not consenting, and are not protected by their society and/or State.
This article also reminds me of the discussion we had in class about women's advancement and rights. I remember it being said in discussion that while the US and other Northern countries have made huge advancements in women's rights, in some Southern countries, women are still viewed as property. It is clearly displayed in this article that, unfortunately, female children are viewed this way in Yemen.
This article infuriates me, how can a 40 year old man find a 8 year old girl sexually attractive. I know that this kind of thing happens all over the world, I just have a difficult time rapping my head around it. I understand that that by setting a minimum age for marriage could possible interfere with the Yemen tradition, culture and religion, however I hope that an age is established because this custom is defying little girls. How could we not consider this human trafficking, these young girls are considered property. Yemeni families are selling their young daughters to be married to men 4 times their age and they are to perform sexual acts against their wills. They do not even know what they are doing. Again, I hope the Yemen minister the age limit set for an appropriate age.
Im with Tammy, I cant figure out just why men who are this old would even think about having sex with an 8 year old little girl! When reading the article and your article I believe the Yemeni government should have raised this issue a long time ago, because this is considered child abuse. This might be their custom/culture but it is so aggravating just knowing that a child is being sexually abused and these people think its ok. I am right there with you about article 16, this child was not of full age, because according to the main article the government has not even set an appropriate age for girls to get married, so how could they say she was at the full age?. I believe your article was well chosen, and it was interesting but sad at the same time, plus you made a lot of good points that I agreed with in your own blog!.
Scottish Independence: No referendum impact on business
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) conducts a yearly survey and it found that nine-tenths of companies were unfazed by the referendum. Various questions were asked to 2,000 businesses across the UK about orders and sales, employment intentions or investment in plant and premises. The questions resulted in 14% of firms reporting no impact, not having enough information on the referendum, 17% reporting it was too early to tell how the referendum would affect their business and 68% of businesses reporting no impact report the majority of their trade was done outside Scotland.
The referendum had an effect already on approximately one in 20 businesses; however they report positive impacts in approximately one in 100 respondents.
The BCC requested additional research to draw firmer conclusions. John Longworth, BCC director general, reports before Scotland goes to the polls, the businesses are unfazed by the Scottish independence referendum. Longworth also reported monitoring of the impact of the independence on business will continue, because this could change drastically both in Scotland and in the United Kingdom. ‘Financial Levers’
Steward Hosie MP, SNP Treasury spokesman reports that the myths about the anti-independence campaigns that the referendum is hurting businesses, which businesses themselves indicate nonsense. They are afraid of inward investment and roaming charges.
Hosie reports Scotland has over 340,000 businesses. Supporting them with good infrastructure skilled workforce, sensible/stable business taxes to encourage investment and growth is SNP’s job
By voting ‘yes’ next September is the best way to do this, so Scotland’s economy can create jobs and increase opportunities .
Would leaving the UK have a negative impact on business, questioned a Scotland Office spokesman. However he points out that independence would put new burdens on businesses and create a new border where none currently exist and also cause regulations to multiply with which firms operate the UK would have to comply.
This article ties together what we read in Global Problems and what we learned in class about economic development. I think that Scotland will be able to have more opportunities by having a referendum because they will be able to vote and choice what is best for their business. I also think that the referendum advocates for the business in Scotland. The referendum is providing them opportunities to voice their needs and desires.
Rachel Moran Drivers Driven to Fuel Price Desperation says AA http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23983820
“Driven to debt” gives a new meaning when it comes to pawning possessions for fuel money. The UK has been fighting to pay for fuel prices that they are willing to do anything they can to afford them. According to the article, fuel prices have increased 3p a litre since June. People are now paying 134.6p for the average cost of unleaded petrol and 137.5p for diesel per litre. I think the way that people have shown that they will pawn possessions for money is a perfect example of how we have talked about exchanging goods from other countries. The mindset of these people is they want what that person has and they will do anything and give up anything to get fuel. It sounds a lot like how we exchange from other countries and we have the mindset of “we want what you have”. I think this article just shows how different the United States is compared to other countries. In the article people can borrow money from friends and family and in the US some people are quick to judge when others ask to borrow money. I have a hard enough time paying for gas right now as it is; I cannot even imagine prices increasing so high that I have to pawn possessions to afford gas prices. It has to cause lots of emotional debt as well to have financial debt added onto your life. Especially the stress and the emotion that people feel for those who are low of savings or who have to pawn expensive possessions and they will never see those again. I just feel heartbroken for the people that have to go to drastic measures such as this in order to pay off debt or to afford certain things a little as gas.
While looking for an article that discussed a food/water concern for this week’s topic, I came across an article titled “Healthy Italian diet suffers as economic crisis bites.” The article discussed that Italians have to switch from their healthy Mediterranean diet full of fruits and vegetables, to a diet filled with cheaper less healthy foods. This is due to the economic crisis. Many Italians have to make cut backs concerning their diets because of this. Some of the places that are hurting from these cutbacks are the local bread and pizza shops. Many Italians are turning to making their own breads and pizzas to save money at home. Because of this about 20% of the small bakeries around the capital of Rome have had to shut down.
Though some people may not see this as a social problem since these individuals are still getting some food to eat, this is absolutely a problem due to the risk of obesity. According to the article one in three young Italians are obese and over 20 million Italian adults are overweight. One reason for this is due to the calorie rich prepackaged foods that the Italians have to substitute their meals with. The article mentions that Italians are eating more rice and pasta than ever before. This is due to the fact that these items are cheap to purchase and fill you up quicker than lean meats, fruits, and vegetables. According to the article, the Italians are also having to reduce their intake of meat especially fish due to the rising cost.
One way that this article can be tied to our class discussions is found in chapter three of Sernau. Chapter three discusses how that successful men were told to use their advantages to be good providers for their families. These men were known as business men. The downside to this is that many business men were not able to be successful due to the economy and were not able to take care of their families like they wanted to. This is happening to the business men in Italy. Because of the families cutting back, many of the small bakeries have had to shut down keeping the families from being successful. The families running these bakeries have been forced to take care of their families the best way that they can, but unfortunately it is not how they want and this is causing their diets to suffer.
Despite Bans, Child Labor Prevalent in Nigeria This article involved enforcement of child labor laws in Nigeria. In the town of Kaduna, there are millions of children illegally employed in labor. This type of child labor was banned ten years ago, but the law is not enforced. Many Nigerian children work much younger than fourteen years old. The type of labor the children are often employed regards cooking, gardening, babysitting, and cleaning house without payment. Child labor is diverse in Nigeria, but it is very hard on the orphan. The article sited the situation of Amina, a 13 year old female, whose widowed mother gave her away when she could not care for her child. Amina ‘s life is a ritual of early rising to get water and prepare children for school and later cook and clean for the family during the day. She is allowed to shop, but she is physically and verbally abused for any mistake. She longs for educational opportunity. Although Amina is a city worker, there are still others toiling in the rural parts of the country on farms. Still other children report they beg for money and have been raped as well. Groups advocate for these children to improve their quality of life. The Nigeria-based League of Democratic Women actively promote the end of child labor. They report Nigerian children who fall under illicit labor practices are vulnerable to their master’s whims, with little or no opportunity for education and are physically, sexually, and psychologically abused. They recommend improved parenting to help with the problem. Nigeria complied in 2003 with the United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of the Child by passing a Child’s Rights Law. This law says children will be protected from all types of neglect, cruelty, and exploitation and will be protected from employment until a reasonable minimum age. This serves also to protect the child for beneficial physical, mental and moral development. Not all of Nigeria’s states comply with this law. Twelve states, in areas highest in child labor incidentce, are yet to sign the law. This exemplifies how slow positive change for human rights is. The fact that states are permitted to choose to approve the anti-child labor law opens the arena for political corruption. Oddly enough a state’s right is also preventing the rights of its children. Additionally, this article relates to the class readings in a variety of ways. Not all children have secure rights to education and safety in Nigeria, which is sought in Human Rights. The article also is easily connected to Not for Sale. This book has several incidents that describe similar descriptions of child labor in Africa. Children, especially the poor and orphaned who fall in servitude to people in Africa, are discussed in the book. These children were also subjugated to all forms of abuse and described being beaten cruelly with no regard to their humanity. Interestingly, Amina from the article says her masters would beat her like an animal and speak to her just as cruelly like a child described in the book. Amina and children in the book state the desire to learn, but are denied this resource. Class discussion and readings have further discussed how children subjected to unfair, illegal labor are further oppressed and robbed of their human capital. These are examples of what it is like to be a member of world poverty. Their testimony reflects deficits in money, education, health, and capital access and shows increases in risk and vulnerability. http://www.voanews.com/content/child-labor-still-common-in-parts-of-nigeria/1747147.html
“Analysis: How to make disasters less deadly for the disabled”
This article focuses on what is currently being done around the world to serve the needs of disabled individuals when a disaster happens through specialized disaster risk reduction programs (DRR). The report uses the example of how the current use of warning horns and flags would not help those with vision or hearing impairments. The article asserts that this most vulnerable population is often unprepared to be served due to the lack of knowledge about the locations of disabled persons and the type of disability they have. It also cites a lack of information distributed to those with disabilities as a major barrier in emergency preparedness and risk reduction.
The article examines the Information Resource Centre on Disability (IRCD) database that includes locations of disabled individuals that will need help in a disaster situation. The IRCD was established nationally in Pakistan in 2009 after a major earthquake in 2005 exposed the vulnerability of the disabled in their country. The article claims that activists including disabled people’s organizations (DPOS) pushed for the development of this database to better serve these individuals. Although this database is seen as a great step in the right direction, one of the major critiques of such databases is that they do not contain enough information about the type of disability a person has, which may leave an aide worker unprepared in meeting the specific needs of each affected individual in a time-sensitive manner.
The article explains that getting information out to disabled people and the communities that they live in is another goal of disaster risk reduction. Often times those with disabilities are very isolated from sources of information. One statistic cited from the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) claims that 98% of children with disabilities in developing countries are not in school! This further prevents dissemination of needed information to these families. In addition to having workers participate in face to face information sharing activities, text warnings and gathering information via the internet are also being utilized in Pakistan.
Reading the book “Not for Sale” this week reminded me of how we must continually strive to be aware of those most vulnerable in both our community and abroad. It is this awareness of those individuals susceptible to dangers in society that leads us to decisions on how we will respond in both protection, and in prevention. As social workers we must work to educate, advocate and take action when needed.
I think this issue within your article closely relates and goes hand in hand with international development that we learned last week, in a sense that we are striving to increase the well-beings of persons medically. We need to be persistent in advocating social justice and change for disabled people just as much as HIV/AIDS infected people, slave victims, and other oppressed people groups. I think sometimes we overlook issues in our own backyard. Like in the “Not For Sale” book about human trafficking. He talked about how his favorite Indian restaurant was an establishment of slaves, in California (in our “America). In our America we have natural disasters like tornadoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, and floods that affect our disabled citizens as well. This is why I agree with you that we have to advocate and take action when needed.
Civil Wars/Conflicts Shawn Lanham During civil wars and conflicts we typically hear about the events leading up to the death and destruction, but it is often uncommon we hear about the environmental, mental and physical toll of the struggle on the civilians and economy that lingers for years. This article profiles Dr.Brolsane, the only working psychiatrist in Chad. The article was brief but synthesized many current activities and lectures in two current classes, World Problems (Not for Sale) and Psychopathology. The article describes the misunderstandings and skepticism many Chadians hold regarding mental health. Dr. Brolsane stated, "A country of 12 million people which has lived through many years of civil war has enormous need for psychiatric help". Their civil war began in the early 1980’s and only recently ended within the last couple of years. This area has endured a war zone for approximately 30 years. The toll of this war on economies in the region, displaced civilian workers, broken families, abuse, kidnapping and human trafficking/suffering are unthinkable. How could anyone maintain a sense of normal mental health when subjected to the horrors of war for so long? Dr. Brolsane talks about the lack of education and employment in a country ranked fourth from the bottom on the U.N. Human Development Index. This relates to alienated and displaced workers and additional hardships placed on mothers as discussed in our Global Problems textbook. He faces monetary challenges as well as misinformed and uneducated residents that believe mental health is attributed to possession and spiritual entities. These perceptions create an ongoing battle to see and treat the people of Chad, which are skeptical of mental health professionals and culturally do not speak of their mental health issues. “Dr. Bolsane said one of the biggest obstacles to changing attitudes to mental health - and getting people to understand that it is an illness and not possession - is lack of education”. Substance abuse, schizophrenia and paranoia are the most commonly reported issues plaguing Chad. War zones are also areas with high levels of stress contributing to these issues and compounding other family and work problems. Not only are they recovering slowly from the effects of war, they also battle problems such as malaria, polio, measles, and high infant mortality rates. It is interesting to note the observations made by Dr. Brolsane regarding the economic impact of a rich oil country that has been earning over 1 billion dollars a year from their newly found resource, yet health issues abound and hospitals remain under funded. The war took its toll on the civilians and they continue to struggle, while the rich resources are now funding ????? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-24037696
This week’s education post was hard to decide on. I saw several articles that pointed out issues that we could relate to what we have been learning about in class. However, this article pulled at my heart strings because not only does it deal with educational oppression, it also deals with disabled children and mistreatment of them as a whole. I found the statistics relating to the lack of education for these individuals to be extreme. According to Chinese data, more than a quarter of children with disabilities lack even the basic type of education. Clear into adulthood, an even more staggering amount are illiterate and living on the meekest amount of money. To me this represents the tug and pull that the disabled have to go through. They were turned away from education, so therefore they cannot take meaningful jobs in society because they are not qualified. This in turn, throws them into poverty where they will need assistance. Next, I was appalled that a student was turned away because he had ADHD and what was considered an “intellectual disability”. This is ludicrous. If we turned away every student with ADHD in this country, several schools would have low enrollment. It is an even more common phenomenon now days so I can only imagine how much worse this problem will get in China as more students receive similar diagnoses. It is especially baffling that China has laws in place to oppose just this, yet at the same time other guidelines allow schools to turn away handicapped students. To me, that says that they created legislation to look as if they are combating the problem, but really they are turning a blind eye to the issue. Then, it came as no surprise that when disabled students are able to attend school, they are left with the “bottom of the barrel” options. They may have a teacher that is not properly trained, thus no support system while at school. Then they might face transportation issues that arise because China allows their disabled children to be herded like cattle and separated on buses by their disability. If you are unlucky enough to have a disability that does not qualify as “mainstream” then transportation is not available to you and you are forced to stay home. They are also taught in separate schools which are designated by their disability too. This left me wondering which school a student would go to if they were both disabled and blind.
All of the issues that are plaguing this population are enormous. Based on our readings, it is clear that they are both victims of prejudice, discrimination, and oppression. It is clear that Chinese culture is prejudiced towards its disabled children. They have some notion that their disability might hinder others when in reality that is not the case at all. They have clearly formed an opinion on misguided information. Then, they are discriminated against on a variety of levels. Our text states that discrimination is “a differential or harmful effect on members of a group that leads to separation, exclusion, and devaluation” (Garcia and Soest, 2006). This could not be a more perfect definition of what is happening. The kids are separated from other students, even those with similar disabilities. They are left to be outcasts of their society. They are excluded from all of the pleasures and activities that other school children receive, not to mention what else they may be excluded from in their communities. Additionally, these two things combined have left an impact on this population that tells them that they are not of value. It says that they are not even worthy of a free education because they are disabled. If one cannot enjoy the privilege of nine years of free education, what else are they being denied? Finally, I found that this article correlated with our text, specifically chapter four, which covered education around the world. It is no secret that children in various countries, depending on their social class, either receive more or less attention when it comes to education. Those who come from poorer or working class families get a substantial different education than those who are more privileged (Sernau, 2012). It is this chapter that further discusses how far the world must come to ensure that every child’s needs are met, especially in regards to education. While the article points out that China has a long way to go, it does not specify what their plans are to fix this problem in their society. Perhaps they should take note from the United Nations. According to the U.N. Rights of the Child document, “The child is entitled to receive education, which shall be free and compulsory, at least in the elementary stages. He shall be given an education which will promote his general culture and enable him, on a basis of equal opportunity, to develop his abilities, his individual judgment, and his sense of moral and social responsibility, and to become a useful member of society” (United Nations, 1959). Considering this applies to countries worldwide, China should not be exempt from following this document and allowing disabled students access to education.
Garcia, B., & Van Soest, D. (2006). Social work practice for social jusice. (p. 68). Alexandria, VA: CWE Press. Sernau, S. (2012). Global problems. (3 ed., p. 115). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. United Nations. (1959). Declaration of the rights of the child. Retrieved from website: http://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/humanrights/resources/child.asp Wang, M. (2013, September 17). Chinese children with disabilities denied access to education. South china morning post. Retrieved from http://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1310977/chinese-children-disabilities-denied-access-education
The HIV/AIDS virus is an epidemic that has conquered the lives of people around the globe. In the country of Africa the people of Uganda have been attacked with this virus. Uganda is an example of a country where international development has taken place. The goal of international development with Uganda is to increase the quality of life for it citizens medically. HIV/AIDS is not only effecting Uganda but other countries as well medically, financially, and morally. Statistics shows that on average 400 people are infected daily with the virus. This is a sad but true statistic and there are many efforts that are being made to lower the numbers. Recently, the US Food and Drug Administration approved the protocol for uninfected people to receive pre-exposure medications. Pre-exposure prophylaxis is to be given to those are in heterosexual, homosexual, and transgender relationships with infected partners in hopes of reducing their chances of being infected.
Many people feel uneasy with the thought of the citizens of Uganda being treated with this medication. Program manager Alex Ario is against the medication because it could encourage “reckless sex.” He also believes that it is morally unfit to put uninfected people on treatment. When there are infected people who need treatment. Many people believe that the best protocol for Uganda would be to focus on the ABC’s. The ABC’s are: Abstinence, Be faithful, and Correct and Consistent Condom use. In our reading, “Not For Sale,” in chapter three about Uganda it stated that soldiers with AIDS would rape the girls, and those pregnant they would cut open their stomachs and tear out the fetus. This is one of the many examples of reckless sexual acts committed that Alex Ario fears.
Activists are protesting daily against the treatment of infected patients. The counties activists believe that the government needs to revamp its decision due to the statistic. In the past five years HIV prevalence has risen from 6.4 percent to 7.3 percent. If Uganda continues in the same direction studies have shown that within five years by more than 780,000 people will be infected. Along with 25,000 babies will be born annually with the disease. “This rising number of infections exceeds the annual number of patients enrolled on anti-retroviral treatment (ART) by two-fold.” The rise of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in other countries mirrors that of Uganda.
Protocols and procedures do not always work, but I believe Uganda’s ABC’s are a great start to defeating the HIV/AIDS epidemic. If everyone applied Uganda’s ABC’s to their lives, could you imagine the drastic change we would see about HIV/AIDS in counties around the world?
Contrast between U.S and Norway in solving global debts issue. Junghyun Lee. Sep 17, 2013 Recently, I read two different articles that might be compared to treat the global debt problem. The first article was about a recent US appeals court’s decision that harmed global sovereign-debt markets because it made it impossible for the indebted counties to restructure their debts by binding them under the standard debt contracts. According to this article, this was not the first decision that the U.S made. After Argentina overcame a sovereign-debt crisis successfully 12 years ago by restructuring debts condition, George Bush’s administration refused proposals to make a system for indebted countries to restructure sovereign-debts. In contrast to the U.S, Norway was praised by anti-poverty campaigners, because for the first time, it released an external audit of outstanding public debts that is owed by developing countries. Auditors of Norway have examined since the 1970’s in detail all of the contracts made between Norway and indebted countries to find out if they have been made justly and fairly by using the principles that made by a UNCTAD in April 2012. The investigation showed that developing countries pay back more than four times of money than they borrowed annually because most of the old debt agreements were made under unfavorable and uncertain economic, social and political conditions. The seriousness of debt burdens indicates the importance of transparent debt audits because it protects in-debt nations from hidden unfavorable contracts and makes possible the cancelation of illegitimate debts. Its goal is to protect both through developing responsibility and accountability of two parties. This article gives me an assurance of the importance of transparency in economic systems. When each business owner releases information publically relating to how to run it, it develops trust and builds a healthy economic environment in society. In relationships between indebted nations and creditors, transparency takes a same kind of important role to build responsibility and accountability. This transparent audit system not only helps relationships between nations but it helps relationships between governments and their citizens. When each one of us knew how much our government owe or lend the money to other countries, which kind of sanction will be done when agreements are not conducted, what kind of old debts agreements were illegitimately made, we can respond to the issues with more clear conscience and responsible attitude and take concrete action to solve the problem in individual or social levels. I heard many stories about corruption of the nations and companies that invest or deposit capital in other countries or foreign banks illegitimately in hidden ways and it always causes more poverty and many side effects. But corruptions never end throughout the history because human being’s self- seeking tendency. It is remarkable that Norway decided to practice honesty in this corrupted world and I hope that it becomes the cornerstone on which all other nations follow the same example of Norway. http://news.google.com 1. BusinessDay BDbelieve 2. The Guardian
Ireland is a place that I have always dreamed of visiting but after reading this story of human trafficking I am thinking otherwise. The story of the woman that is being interviewed is heart breaking, and I cannot imagine going through the pain and suffering that she went through. I chose this article because it breaks down what these women are forced to do that are bought, traded, and trafficked by these gangs. Hearing statistics about trafficking and reading about upcoming laws is eye opening enough but I think to really understand it you need to see it from a survivor’s point of view. The lady stated that she was only allowed to sleep for 2 hours at a time, this is a ridiculous amount, it can not only cause you problems mentally but your body can literally shut down physically without an adequate amount of sleep. She went on to say how she wasn’t allowed to wear any clothes at any time no matter who was around. This is just inhumane, plain and simple. People are taught to be respectful and modest of their selves and this includes covering up your body parts. Being naked also makes people feel vulnerable and with everything else going on in captivity you wouldn’t want to feel as though you deserved this or you weren’t worthy enough for clothes. She also talks about the fact that she was denied food and this causes severe physical problems as well as mental problems, and it’s not just temporary when and if they survive this and get out they will have detrimental issues regarding healthy eating habits. The worse aspect of her daily life while being held captive I feel was the beatings. She was beaten every day and sometimes placed on a thin sheet and dragged to another room. This is just terrible; these women are treated as pieces of meat. Taken wherever the owner chooses, eating what the owner allows, and doing what the owner says just hoping that one day they will get out alive. This article made me think of how some people view human trafficking, some people believe that people just buy and trade humans for work related things, and maybe some sex slaves but they don’t realize what a person who has been trafficked does on a daily basis. They don’t know the harsh realities of it because “it is not happening in their backyard.” This ties in to the book that I am reading for class, Not for Sale, the story starts off talking about how they don’t feel as though it happens in their back yard but it did. A restaurant where the author frequently ate at was caught trafficking young women and forcing them to work long days with little to no pay. I think everyone has that mentality because when I think about my dream trip to Ireland I don’t think of the people who may be waiting on me at a restaurant, or the workers at my hotel. I think that everyone in the world deserves to get compensation for the work that they do, and that everyone gets treated fairly with respect and dignity. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-24060041
http:///www.lifenews.com/2013/09/04/gendercide-one-woman-dies-every-hour-in-india-ov.... Titerriell Macklin 9/17/2013 6:00 p.m. Gendercide The article by Steven Ertelt talked about how a woman dies every hour over in India. The women are dying over dowries. The family of the bride may feel as if the dowry is not enough. What I found to be amazing was the fact that the Indian Law does not allow giving or receiving of a dowry, however, the custom still exist and is practiced. This makes me wonder how is this possible? How are the Indians getting away with this crime? In reading this article, I also learned that the demands for dowry go on for years after the wedding. Every year thousands of women are burned to death. Gasoline is poured on them due to not enough dowry. Last year alone according to The National Crime Records Bureau, there were 8,233 women killed due to inadequate dowry. Wow!! This blows me away. I would never want to get married in India. It would feel like a death sentence. Who is to determine what is enough dowry? Are there no set standards? Does the husband and his family get to make up the rules? There are definately some loop holes in the dowry prevention laws in India. The people that are involved with these crimes are not getting a harsh enough punishment. If any punishment at all. Who made the groom and his family the judge and jury. It is hard for me to believe that this is going on. I am shocked! I am very blessed that I do not live over in India. This article ties into what we discussed in class. The day we all went outside with the yarn, how all social problems connect is some way. I know this has to affect the United States some way. Just like in class how we learned that Israel is United States baby and Syria is Russia's, who is India's parent? It makes me wonder what can be done to stop gendercide in India? If the United States can not do anything to help stop it, what about another country or nation?
Kasey Gray 09/17/2013 Kenya gets water! While reading this article or even seeing the title and pictures makes me so happy for the people of Kenya, and it makes me so much more appreciative to have clean water in the United States. The article states “last year scientists released a map detailing the vast reservoirs which lie under much of Africa”. I could not even begin to imagine how thrilled and excited the people of Kenya probably were when they heard the news! Especially the family’s with small children. The article also states “the aquifers are said to hold 250bn cubic meters of water…and Kenya currently uses around 3bn cubic meters per year”. Based upon that statement of measurements, that is enough water to make due for over 80 years in Kenya. Just thinking that before aquifers were discovered the people of Kenya were insecure of their water supply (as the article states). This brings me to a part of our text book. When reading about a world of rich and poor in our text, it shows international comparisons in income and well-being, Kenya is in one of the lowest categories that were named. Kenya people also have a life expectancy of age 55, and on average only seven years of schooling. (Sernau, 2012. Pg-18). In my opinion these are very shocking statistics! I try to look at this in a view point as if this were my life. Just try to imagine if this were you or your family member, or even your children! It’s heart breaking to even think that my children would only get seven years of schooling, and to even think that almost Kenya’s whole population is this way. Even in this day and time in the United States most people receive a high school diploma or GED, and are at least able to find descent employment. It is very sad to me that the people of Kenya are losing out on their education. I believe most children probably have to quit school to help support their big family’s, and while quitting school is probably the best for the family because that brings in extra income into the house hold, it’s not necessarily good on the child in the long run. Basically this brings me back to the environmental part of this article, if children are not getting more than seven years of schooling then how will they ever know how to discover new sources of water, or how to boil water to make it sterile enough to drink and cook with?. I strongly believe these aquifers that have been found under Africa will help many families out who are in desperate need of clean water. I think it is sad and disturbing that people all around the world do not seem to have equal rights to the same things, and that brings me to an article in the universal declaration of human rights. Number 25, “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, and housing and medical care and necessary social services…”. This article reminds me of the water that has been found in Kenya, these people deserve to have clean water to drink and cook with, just like we have here in the United States. This is my article http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24049800
http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2013/09/13/222056713/no-deal-on-bangladesh-garment-factory-compensation-fund As already demonstrated in class, most of our garments are made in different countries. Bangladesh is an extremely poor country that has become a huge exporter of garments. As stated by the article "its low wages and light regulation make it an attractive destination for Western brands'. Over 1,000 people died in the fatal collapse of a garment factory called Rana Plaza. in April. Some of the biggest Western retailers (Wal-mart, Zara, Benetton, and J.C. Penny etc) had products coming from this factory. Even though the collapse of the factory occurred in April, families of the victims have yet to be compensated for the deaths. One company agreed to pay the families three months of wages of what the lost workers would have earned to hold them over. 11 out of 20 companies/ retailers did not even have a representative show up to the meetings based around the deaths and having compensation agreements drawn up. This event truly was a tragedy, not only because lives were lost but because it has shown the world that these huge Western retailers really DO NOT CARE about the HUMAN BEINGS they affect when they use poor countries/labors with insufficient wages and unsafe working conditions. The same reason why these companies use Bangladesh (for low wage and lax regulations) is the same reason why these individuals died and only a select few companies even made an effort to offer compensation. Even the companies that did offer compensation for them CAUSING these individuals to die (due to weak building regulations) only offered a couple months wages...mind you at the same low rate that the workers had been laboring for. If this happened in America people would care and if companies didn't really care, they would be forced to 'care' and pay a high cost for not having the proper standard for working conditions. But if you are working in Bangladesh, no one thinks you are a person. No one thinks you have needs or feelings. No one cares to protect you. You are good for one thing.... cheap labor so American's can have their favorite brands at Macy's. Think about how much these retailers bring in a year and out of 20 only ONE has offered any compensation for these deaths! As we touched on in class, many of the impoverished in these countries are single women who have children and have lost their husbands. Now, thanks to retailers taking advantage of these people, there are even more widows getting compensated a small amount of money to feed their children. What is next? Will she have to find work? Will the kids have to chose work over school? Will she have to sell her children to make sure they get fed every night? 1,000 deaths can impact so many people and has the possibility to connect to so many other social issues. Thank God all us Westerners can sleep guilt free in our comfy, imported Tommy Hilfiger pajamas as we think about what a shame it is that poor little Bangladeshians can barely find proper work. Whats even more shocking is that the article states, "consumers will be shocked that almost a half-year has passed since the Rana Plaza disaster with only one brand so far providing any compensation to the victim". But no... no customers are not shocked because half know that brands use countries all the time and we still buy from them and the other half just don't care. In reality, why should I be shocked that it has taken the companies half a year to offer compensation for these labors when it took me half a year to notice that this tragedy even occurred.
Yolonda Armstead
ReplyDeleteArticle Date Sep 10,2013
http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/337778/David-Attenborough-warns-about-overpopulation-saying-that-large-families-are-irresponsible
Sir David Attenborough warns about overpopulation saying that large families are irresponsible.
In his article Sir David warns that future generations will be less healthy and happy as the world becomes more crowded, and natural resources become scarce. Sir David goes further to mention in his article that he supports Chinas one-child policy claiming that the country would have to many people to feed if they did not enforce the brutal law. This brings up a vital point that was discussed in class today. Dr. Hansford stated that there is not away for our population to use or eat up the resources that the earth has. Earth has a renewable supply. We also discussed how in various countries there are times that they have to get rid of some of their surplus grain that they have stored up. So this actually goes against the statement that Sir David states regarding our natural resources would become scarce. Note not all natural resources would become scarce. I feel that Sir David’s statement is his opinion and he obviously did not take his own advice into consideration because he has two children himself. I find it interesting that the best solution that he could find on the topic of overpopulation was to ask that China’s policy be used. Which is the one-child policy of China that was introduced in 1978 it restricts urban couples from having more than one child. The Chinese authorities claim the policy has prevented 400 million births between 1979 to 2011. The article stated that a problem with this policy is that it brings about an increase in forced abortions and also leads to an imbalance in the number of men to women. I also see this as a violation of the peoples Human rights. If the people do not have a right to choose to have a family then their rights to life are being violated, especially if they are not in China.
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Delete• Yolonda, this article is truly a source for righteous indignation, because it is such a stereotype of white privilege mentality and behavior. Sir A.’s hypocritical remark (you state well he forgot to include himself in his advice) is scary because to me, he displays geno-and/or gendercidal inclinations considering his sympathy to China’s solution and despite him considering it “terrible”. I wonder how he would reconcile an abortion with his societal norms and human rights? Or with one of his children having to abort his grandchild (I assume the photo in the article represents his family). His argument is apparently applicable only within his own social identity framework (racial-group membership, Garcia, p. 110), based on a racial rather than social contract (Garcia, p. 10). Considering his elevation to Sir level into the elite Order of Merit, his racial identity is revolving around his commonality and favor with monarchy/nobility circles. Usually, a high or privileged education level (he is a former politician, naturalist and broadcaster), societal involvement in and favor within these circles is mostly preceding this bestowed honor, based on his white privileges. Although he appears well educated, his knowledge does not include (or acknowledge) such statistics that “The wealthiest 20% of the world’s population consumes 76.6% of the world’s goods while 80% of humanity gets the remainder” (class presentation). His comment that people will live “less happy and healthy” clashes also with our class presentation stats indicating that almost a third of the present world population is living in poverty or 1 billion suffering from chronic hunger. This does not sound to me that people now are generally living healthy and happy! And this is not because of scarce resources as he remarks ignorantly and you point out correctly, but because of inequities and inequalities in social, economic and political access to and distribution of resources, mostly based on a white social/racial contract. I consider his remark ignorant and blatantly racist based on an entitlement attitude (it’s ok to have 2 children for you but not for those less fortunate), but I would suspect that unfortunately many others are agreeing with his flow of thoughts. Again, social justice application can come from a grassroots effort, but it has to be in some manner forceful to get to the head. Exposure of his personal stance concerning the correlation between his family (especially his children and grandchildren) and his comment in a follow-up interview would be interesting. Your comments are right on spot.
DeleteThe first thing that struck me when I read this article was when he said “there’s no question it’s produced all kinds of personal tragedies.” He said he supported the one-child law, and like you stated, he also has children. What if one of his children would have had to have been killed? Would it have been a “personal tragedy?” This absolutely breaks my heart! I do not think that any child or human being in general, should ever be killed just because of overpopulation. Yes, overpopulation is a problem, but this is not the answer. As you stated in your blog, we talked in class how the earth has enough resources to feed EVERYONE! And still there are resources that are just thrown away. I read in your article that between 1979-2011 there were 400 million births that were prevented from occurring. That means 400 million people died! Just because that’s the law. In my mind, that is crazy. I like what you said about Sir David’s statement being his opinion. I completely agree; and his best advice was that China’s one-child policy be used. I also agree that this is a violation of human rights. People have the right to choose how children they want, and how large they wish their family to be.
DeleteSome 700 immigrants rescued off Italy over two days
ReplyDeleteWhile this article is relatively short in comparison to previous articles, it makes an impact. The title alone was intriguing enough for me to select this article for this week. The article describes that over 700 people were rescued from boats off the coast of Sicily in Italy over a two day period. These boats were carrying migrants and refugees from Syria, Egypt, Eritrea, Nigeria, and Ghana. Luckily, of those 700 people only one family of four needed medical treatment. With odds such as these, its no wonder that families attempt the dangerous escape from their impoverished or dangerous homeland. The article states that an increasing number of refugees and migrants are believed to be from Syria and Egypt as a result of the increasing violence in these countries. They also describe that many of these individuals are making the trek from North Africa in an attempt to get to Italy or Malta. The article states that, in European Union states, migrants and refugees are assessed to determine if they meet the requirements to be deemed to have genuine grounds for seeking asylum in Europe and Italy has asked other European Union countries to help in sharing the burdening of housing and re-homing these refugees and migrants.
The reason that this article was of particular interest to me is because it reminded me of Nadia from the Not For Sale book by David Batstone. In this book, she was being transported to Italy to be sold into the human trafficking trade. So as not to trudge on the grounds of whoever has human trafficking as a topic, I will just briefly mention that I wondered how many of those 700 rescued were being shipped to Italy for that very purpose. I then starting thinking about how many of these individuals’ human rights that we learned about in class were being infringed upon and how few they seemed to actually have, especially the refugees who seem to genuinely feel that they have no other choice but to make a dangerous journey with a remote possibility that they will be granted to privilege to live another day. I can not imagine picking up and leaving everything that I have established in order to start over from scratch, but then again, that has never been a life or death decision for me. I am beginning to feel an immense amount of empathy for these individuals who just want to survive another day. How can they plan for a future and think about how their actions affect others when they may very well have a fatalistic attitude and justifiably so?
Unknown Author (2013, September 7). Some 700 immigrants rescued over two days. BBC News: Europe. Retrieved from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24002586
Kristin,
DeleteSo many times I have heard people say things like, "people need to just stay in there own countries", or "I'm against immigration and we need to close our borders". I look at the picture on your article of those children and I think to myself, what if I was in such a desperate position that I felt the best choice was to risk my life and the lives of my children by traveling across the ocean in an open boat. I am beginning to realize just how ignorant I am in regard to activities taking place in other countries and the issue of immigration, migration, and refugees. I'm not sure what the answer is but I do recognize this is a major problem.
The article may have been short, but I thought it was powerful. The pictures was worth a thousand words and like Melissa stated in her reply I have also heard people say “people just need to stay in their country”. I wonder if everyone had to take social worker classes and read what we read if they would feel the same way. When I was finished reading your article I could not help but continue to think of the children and the parents and where they might be now. I am busy getting my 3 year old son birthday party ready and I wish that everyone could have the life that we do. I know as a parent that parents would do anything for their children’s safety and future and that it why the desperation results in them risking their lives to get in that boat for an attempt at a better future. It reminds me that I have to do more to help. Thanks for sharing.
DeleteYour article truly correlated with what we read in Not for Sale. I think that was an excellent reference point as it is so similar to Nadia. I too wondered immediately if several of the 700 were not misguided and promised something else on their "mission" to freedom. How many were going willingly and actually knew what their lives held once they arrived? The picture in the article shows what I assume to be an entire family, so I can't imagine the life they were leaving behind when they got into an open boat and set out on the open seas. They must have held a lot of faith that once they arrived in Italy things would be better. Then, I formed my own opinion about how some in Italy might feel about all of the refugees, simply because of how the last part of the article was worded. It stated that they requested help in shouldering the "burden" of the influx of refugees. I feel that burden is a word that can mean so many different things. What about the burdens that caused these people to make this trip in the first place. I can see where it can cause hardship on the countries that take everyone in, but the fact that everyone is trying to come there is proof enough that borders should not be closed. Finally, I was left wondering about those who do not get granted asylum. I cannot help but wonder if they get sent back, or if there is corruption and others meet another fate, like sexual slavery before being deported. Bastone really opened my eyes and I now have so much doubt about what happens to refugees in circumstances such as this.
DeleteThis article reminds me of the many heart breaking stories about the people who escaped from North Korea. Instead of taking boat in ocean, they walk many days in very cold weather taking a risk being killed when they were found by North Korea authorities. Even though they could successfully escape and crossed the boarder, there were no places that embrace them and protect them. When I learned that U.S helps many refugees and rescue those people in danger because of the war or other problems in their homeland, i was very impressed. I am not sure what I can help individually, but if I can do something, I would motivate more countries to accept refugees. If they cannot do this, at least not stand against those who desperately need safe places to protect their lives because we do not know when our positions can be changed. Countries that enjoy more freedom and safety need to open more to accept refugees or find ways to help them directly or indirectly. Certain regulations or agreements should be made to help refugees through international institutes or meetings in more systematic way.
DeleteMelissa McIntosh
ReplyDeleteTopic: Human Rights
Date: 9-14-13
Link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-24033310
During our World problems and advocacy course we have been given an assignment to read the book Not for Sale written by, David Batstone. This book is educational information about the very real problem of human trafficking on a global scale in our world today. Human Trafficking affects us all on some level. All too often people seem to hold the opinion that human trafficking is bad but there is nothing that can be done to prevent and stop it. Also I feel that many people conclude that if these heinous crimes are not taking place in our back yards, they are out of sight and out of mind. This course has really opened up my eyes to the problems of human rights violation involved with human trafficking. The question is raised within me, “what can we do to prevent, decrease, and eventually stop human trafficking all together?”
I came across this article and think that we could all take a cue from Scotland and what they are trying to do to combat the monster in the closet. The good news is Scotland is attempting to do something! A plan is being proposed there to fight against human trafficking. A bill has been proposed that will result in punishments not being imposed on victims of human trafficking that have been forced into criminal activity.
Every four days a victim of human trafficking is discovered in Scotland. Astonishingly there have reportedly only been five people ever convicted in Scotland for human rights offenses.
Jenny Marra, Labour MSP feels strongly that victims are being punished rather than the true criminals. For example, women forced into prostitution are ending up in jails while the people who forced the women to sell their bodies get off free. Dr. Anne Gallagher made the statement, “It would be the most innovative and comprehensive piece of anti-trafficking legislation in the world” in regard to the proposed legislation.
As I read this story I do recognize a potential problem with this legislation in that it could be used as a loophole by criminals. Criminals who were caught in some criminal acts could state that they were being forced by others to commit the acts. In order to restrict this type of misuse of this new legislation, determinations would need to be made on a case by case basis and full investigations would need to be completed. If this legislation was paired with stricter punishments and accountability for those who enslave others in human trafficking as well as those who feed the value of the market I believe that changes could be made. I think the entire problem needs to be looked at from all angles in order to move toward a solution. Not only do the victims needs to be free from punishment, but there should be greater punishment from the “slave drivers”, and those who participate in activities such as buying sex from those being trafficked.
We all have an accountability piece in this major problem. As we all know our clothing and other materials often come from foreign countries and are sometimes produced by organizations that use human trafficking to make and distribute a product. It is important that we educate our selves on these issues and begin to investigate where our products are coming from, the companies that distribute them and if they have been caught in the act of using child labor or human trafficking activity of any kind. We can also help by purchasing products such as jewelry from night light as described in the book. This helps the victims of human trafficking to find a sense of purpose and income source. This problem is larger than all of us so we must work together to begin to make a difference. Education in key so tell someone else about the global problem of human trafficking today, and what we can begin to do to combat it.
Melissa- I really liked your response to this article. My topic for the group project is also on human trafficking and it is amazing to me how many acts can be classified under this broad title. As you stated, women and children are especially vulnerable and it saddens me to think that women who have been forced into prostitution are then jailed and punished for committing a crime that literally in some cases, kept them alive. As I begin to uncover more information I am overwhelmed with the work that needs to be done to bring attention to this issue. Even beyond sexual trafficking there are so many women and children that are forced to work for 12-14 hour days for what basically amounts to pocket change. They are too young to protest or too scared to rebel. I am the first person to admit that I don't even consider where something is made before I buy it. If there was a picture of an 8 year old enslaved child on the tag it would certainly be a quick way to make someone think twice about purchasing goods that are manufactured in these conditions! I also strongly agree with your statement that people don't believe that enslavement like this is taking place so close to home and "out of sight" really is "out of mind" in this case because it's so terrible to think about.
DeleteThis article is inspiring, in such a way that Scotland is looking at tightening human trafficking laws. I really liked the part that victims would no longer be punished under the law, and instead would be offered assistance and hopefully much needed therapy due to what they have been through. Like the article indicates, if this law is put into effect, it could change the world by leading the way to stop human trafficking. This topic is a HOT topic right now in the world, and there are so many people, mostly women and children, who are bound and thrown into the slave trade, it is really sickening to think about. We buy things in this country that is most likely made from one of these persons. I really hope this legislation passes, to assist those taken in slavery. This impact should be huge. When women are taken and forced into, say prostitution, they are most likely threatened and beaten if they try to escape, or threats are made on their families. I am so pleased to see an article about a country finally doing something to fight this issue. Thanks for your post. I really am starting to look at what I buy from now on, and where it is made, that first night of class was really an eye opener when only one person in the class had on an article made in the USA; hopefully not by a person taken in bondage.
DeleteMelissa - I completely agree with your sentiment that something needs to be done about human trafficking. Your article highlights how backwards our justice system is in that we punish the indidivual being trafficked and NOT the traffickers themselves. It said only five people have been held accountable for human trafficking in Scotland. That seems incredibly low compared to the thousands that are forced into being trafficked. I am not sure if you have read this far in the Not For Sale book yet or not but the disconnect between these two is described in the book. The missing link, so to speak, is government corruption. There are government officials that have a vested interest in the humman trafficking trade which is why our justice system appears so backward. So, how do we correct government corruption, espeically when nobody will readily admit that may be what is happening in these countries?
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteBrazil’s universities take affirmative action
ReplyDeleteTopic: Discrimination
Submitted by: Lisa Norton
9/14/13
The topic of discrimination is so broad and there are millions of articles out there which could qualify for this blog discussion. This week I chose to focus on racial & economic discrimination as it relates to educational opportunities since our entire Chapter 4 reading (Sernau) discussed what it meant in different parts of the world for both men and women to receive a formal education (or lack thereof) and the direct impact it has on society.
Brazil recently passed a law that reserves 50% of its spots in federal universities for students coming from public schools, low-income families and who are of African or indigenous decent. In years prior to this ruling, the public universities were comprised of mostly white students from private schools and those falling within Brazil’s upper class population. There were very few spots available to black or mixed race students who were most likely to have attended public school. The push for equality began ten years ago as affirmative action gradually began being accepted at state and private universities. A university degree is one of the only ways to guarantee a better living condition and higher paying job for the future. While all of this sounds very progressive, it’s not without an underlying air of resentment from the other prominent university students. As with any position, the more qualified candidates that apply, the lesser chance you have of getting selected. The racial quota that is currently being imposed has many people worried that students who are not qualified to attend university will be admitted simply to make the numbers balance. The quality of students (and their earned degrees) may suffer because the candidates in question may have had a less than adequate preparatory education.
In Chapter 4 of our textbook, the author states that “the type of education a student receives and the quality of that education varies greatly depending on that student’s position in society”. This article claims that Brazil is ready to redefine that stereotype by offering broader opportunities to minorities and those in the lower half of the socioeconomic divide. In class we discussed “human capital” as a way of investing in people, teaching them skills that would in turn help them better their community. I think Brazil has the right idea but it is going to take some time to see a true measure of the affirmative action law and how it affects the workforce. You can educate the poorer population but getting companies to hire them may be another story. I believe it will take time to see a change in the professional workforce. However, if the universities are embracing this idea of equality, hopefully the employers were follow suit and realize that the more minorities that emerge with degrees the greater the impact will be on their communities and families.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23862676?print=true
I really enjoyed reading this article. I have seen firsthand the mixture of races down in Brazil. I have family in Brazil due to migrating there from Portugal. There national language is Portuguese and my last name (Monteiro) is Portuguese which means mountain. Within our family, we have a mixture of skin colors. We have family members that are the fairest of skin to family that have the darkest pigmentation. Not only do they discriminate first by what you look like down there, they take into consideration wealth. My family owned slaves off of the west coast of Africa which is what is currently known as Cabo Verde (Cape Verde) and Portugal. Migrating to Brazil 40 years ago; they have a lot of land there and continue to thrive. I think just like the USA many countries that were colonized by France and Great Britain that allowed slavery. It will continue to take years for people of color to earn their place in education and business. One thing that was mentioned in the article was the fact that a gentlemen stated that it has to start early in getting a proper education. Affirmative action is only a starting point but it goes much deeper as inequalities from the rich and poor.
DeleteI am glad that you chose this article I really learned interesting facts regarding Brazil. I am really in ‘awe’ at the fact that a college education in Brazil is free!! Along with the fact, that half of Brazil’s population is of African or Indigenous descent. I find it sad that if half of a countries population is persons of color, the ‘so called elite class’ still feels the need to not allow those persons to obtain quality jobs and an college education to obtain the quality of self-sufficiency that they need so that they are not struggling financially. I understand that Brazil feels that enacting on affirmative action is taking a stance, but I see it as Brazil needs to be willing to invest in their people of colors education prior to time for the students going to college. This would eliminate them having to worry about the workforce having employees that are not competent. But of course the purpose of the segregation of the races is to keep the White as the elite and the African and persons of Indigenous descent to feel beneath the white race. So really this is just a band aid when in fact surgery is needed to remove the cancer.
DeleteLisa I enjoyed reading this article. First of all I never knew that Brazil had so many minorities. I actually learned something reading this article. I think that it is great affirmative action was brought about ten years ago to give underprivileged Brazilians better chances of getting free higher education. First of all education is your freedom. It is your power. I thought it was sad that these free universities only benefited those that were well to do. The chances of a minority getting the competitive places were slim. I think that it was a great plan to make it mandatory for all 59 Brazilian federal universities to reserve half of their positions for affirmative action by 2016. It saddens me to see how it appears that modern day slavery is going on there. It is accepted. The low mentality for blacks was just heart breaking. A comment was made that since the blacks will get into these universities then Brazil will not grow in the areas needed. Blacks were expected to get low paying jobs. Sad, Sad, Sad.
DeleteLisa good article, keep up the good work. Very interesting.
Genocide
ReplyDelete9-14-2013
http://news.yahoo.com/rwandan-ties-stake-frances-genocide-hunters-seek-justice-185354964.html
Religious and ethnic diversity has a large amount of power to fuel violence. History is full of stories of one ethnic’s group attempt to dominate another (Sernau, 2012). An example of this is Rwanda, where two ethnic groups the Hutus and the Tutsis shared land. Under European colonial administration in the 1900’s, this favored the Tutsis, at the loss of the Hutus. In 1992 Rwanda gained independence, then followed a group of fiery Hutu leaders to begin the initiated the attacks. The International world was slow to respond and brushed the attacks off as “ancient hatred” (Sernau, 2012, p. 210)
In Rwanda 1994 there an estimated 800, 000 people mostly minority Tutsis were killed by the ethnic majority of Hutus during a three month killing spree. The following was fatal plane downing of President (Habyarimana). This left the people waiting for justice for the brutal genocide.
A couple named Alain and Dafroza Gautherier (Dafroza) have been looking for justice for over a decade. Dafroza is a 59 year ethnic Tutsis who fled to France in the 1970’s due to the simmering Tutsis violence. Dafroza’s mother was killed in the genocide. In the 1970s Alain and Dafroza married. The Gautherier ‘s couple did not feel like they could ignore the genocide therefore they went to Rwanda and began to dig for information from the survivors to begin the process of justice. The Gautherier ‘s have filed over 20 legal complaints which resulted in four years of judicial investigation for the first case to come to the courts in France. Now almost twenty years after the genocide, France is in the process of the first trial of a 53-year-old former soldier accused of arming and guiding the killers.
Before the genocide, France had been the main Western backer for Rwanda. Since the genocide the relationship has crumpled. Rwanda has accused France of training and arming the Hutu militias, Paris has always denied this accusation. In 2006 a French judge accused a Rwanda rebel leader (Kagame) of the killing of President Juvenal Habyarimana, which he denies. The accusation resulted in cut ties between France and Rwanda. In 2004, The European Court of Human Rights fined France for their tardiness.
France’s change of heart could be based on justice or it could be based on economics. France longs to have better exports and imports with Rwanda since Rwanda is viewed to be a lucrative hotspot. Rwanda is viewed as an essential piece of maintaining the African Great Lakes. If Rwanda is pleased with the outcome maybe Rwanda will open up locked dormant commercial ties. As it is, France has only exported 16.1 million euros last year, while France imported goods from Rwanda worth just 3.6 million euros. Finally, in 2009 the ties were resorted when France finally admitted to making “errors” in the country. Kagame made his first visit to Paris in 2011, with the purpose of moving on and starting again with France.
In 2012, France began its first special genocides investigation unit. The justice process will also show if Rwanda can move forward with France. The concern is that there will be a short sentence or acquittal which could result in the Rwandans being unhappy. The Rwandans are also marking the 20th anniversary of the genocide and activists believe that it will provide a better understanding of the slaughter to France. They also expect Paris will respect the anniversary of the genocide by sending a high-ranking official. France states they want to be there and be there in a supportive way. As for the Gauthiers couple the pending trials will offer closure on a personal level and from the diplomatic perspective as well.
Addendum (I accidently left this out)
ReplyDeleteFrance’s wanting to find harmony with Rwanda reminds me of many things we talked about it class. For example, how one country can not do many things without the support of another country. This week while working on our Icon project I learned that a country can not only research and decide what is best for them, they must also research what it best for the other countries. My group is attempting to find out how our country Syria can make a successful micro business and we began researching our country’s resources, but we must also research what other countries needs are to know if the countries will support our business. If countries do not support each other it limits their globalization and ultimately affects their success of their own country. It seems to me that France has decided to pursue justice twenty years too late, because they have realized the impact on their own country if they do not please Rwanda
Article Date: September 14, 2013
ReplyDeleteArticle Title: Humanising Poverty September 14, 2013 - 3:25am
Brian Tucker
This article, from a Nigerian Newspaper, is about a documentary that took place in Nigeria, around the Niger Delta region. The article relates to poverty as it describes the horrific lives of women and how they are treated in Nigeria. The documentary was funded by a German embassy, and was filmed by 9 amateur female filmmakers. This article, along with the documentary, displays how women live in the poorest and most devastated parts of the region.
The women in the Niger Delta region, per the article, who become widowed are not allowed to inherit the land, property, house, of their deceased husband. They instead have to give up all possessions they owned while married and move with their children back into their fathers’ homes. Women who become widows are also not permitted to be married again. These women are then forced to fend for their families and often do so by fishing in polluted waters to feed them and their children. Men, however, who are in widowhood can remarry, and are able to keep all that they have, including any part that was of their deceased wives.
Also, Nigeria is what is considered to be traditional, which means that men are the head of the household, and are providers for food, and women are left to care for their children and to care for the home. In the poverty stricken Niger Delta region, women often marry before they reach age 20, and per DIFD research, this accounts for 47% of the women in this region. The article also discussed educational differences between men and women, with men being chosen first to receive education, and women left to work in the homes. UNICEF provides a clearer picture for this, as evidenced by their study showing the literacy rate for women at 56% and for men at 72%. Women who are fortunate enough to receive and education, per the article, are taught how to perform hygiene and healthcare for mothers and children. However, with this gap, the mortality rates are often higher for women and children in poverty.
Another example of how poverty is affecting women in Nigeria is through sexual harassment. The article discusses how women who are in school are sometimes harassed by professors, to exchange sexual favors to get better grades. Sexual harassment is also, per the article, condoned in order for women to receive any political agendas, financial assistance or monetary gains, as well as personal gains. Women who attempt to seek assistance from others due to sexual harassment are often ignored and no action is taken.
One might think that this article is about women rights, and rightfully so, but it also shows how poverty relates to how women are treated. The more impoverished a woman is, the more likely for her to be treated as a person in bondage. When reading Sernau, our assignment from this past week, that discusses the gender gap, one can clearly see this “gap” or more of an abyss in my opinion, between men and women in Nigeria. Men in the poverty stricken areas still have a better chance of survival and more ways to escape poverty. Women on the other hand, are basically forced to remain in poverty, and if they are given the precious opportunity of getting an education, then they are viewed upon as objects. When reading this, I saw so many basic rights, that we in America feel we are entitled to, that these women are robbed of daily; they are harassed sexually with no voice and no one or nothing to turn to for help, if they are widowed then they have to forsake all they have, and education is not seen as priority. I hope that posting this article, I have not overstepped onto someone’s subject, but I found this article under the poverty search in Nigeria and had to post it.
http://leadershipeditors.com/news/140913/humanising-povertythe-daughters-niger-delta
Brian, I really liked the article you posted this week, and after reading our not for sale book it saddens me that I am not suprised that women around the world are subject to this type of treatment. The first line of the article is empowering within itself " One woman’s story of pain, abandonment, renewed hope and survival can be the story of a million others." In this class and in social work in general we have come to understand that these types of incidents occur all over the world, and that we can never mangage to cure all of the heartache and wrongdoing, but we all have to start somewhere to make a difference! Just like those women who published the documentary; they shown stories from many women just like Hannah and put into perspective for the whole world to see what others go through on a daily basis. You were right when you said that so many rights were taken away from these ladies. The article itself talks about how Hannah left school at the age of 15 to get married. Her advisor had even offered to give her a high grade if she slept with him. While she thought she went to all of the right people to help her, the school officals looked the other way claiming that sexual harrassment is considered a "private arrangement." Can you imagine someone saying this to you? Needless to say Hannah took the lower grade. It really struck home that Hannah had given birth to 11 children, while only 6 survived. Being with child now and feeling like my pregnancy is taking forever, I could not imagine going through this process 11 times and to only be able to love and nurtue only 6 of those children. The loss is unimagineable. I don't understand how these countries think that they are helping themselves by putting all of their energy into the males of their families over the females. How awful would it feel to be the only child like Hannah, and almost be tossed away and looked at as not being good enough just because you were born a woman. I commend you for taking the time and writing about an article for women, it is comforting to see male figures caring as much as women do about their inequalties and human rights. Great article, now I want to see the documentary!
DeleteWhat is behind the fighting in the Philippines' Zamboanga? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-24079198 Michaela Vaillant, September 15, 2013, 12.24 am
ReplyDeleteAfter having read article after article about terrorist activities linked to Islamic insurgents, I was curious what is going on in Asia as to not to be partial or biased. However, wherever I turn, the majority of articles relates to insurgent activities of Islamic extremist factions. The current article expounds on current fights in Zamboanga, Mindanao, the sixth largest city in the Philippines and of major importance for the southern economy. The Philippine’s army is engaged for a week now in an armed conflict with insurgents of the MNLF, the Moro National Liberation Front, although no clarity could be established who authorized the attacks. The MNLF was founded in the early 1970’s by Misuari, who pursued in armed conflicts an independent Islamic state for the Moro People (Muslims living in the southern Philippines). Peace talks initiated by Misuari in 1996 granted him governing authority of the Mindanao Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), but he lost his position as chairman after 5 years due to alleged “poor leadership and corruption”. Despite several armed attempts to regain authority, Misuari’s authority decreased and the central government turned to another faction, the MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front) for negotiation purposes. The MILF is a large faction, among others, that split in 1978 from the MNLF, and recognized as a “tough opponent” by the central government. Differing only in their strategic approach and level of violence, all factions are ultimately pursuing one goal – the establishment of an independent Islamic state. Terrorism here is the major vehicle of an ethnic group (cultural entity with different ideological beliefs as the motherland – Midgley, p. 4/5) pursuing a national identity and state. Yet this is not new. Since the 19th century, different facets of the liberation movement have long spread worldwide, just like here. Considering the aspect of communality in their social identity pursuit in regard to other Islamic nations, and witnessing similar developments globally through media access and social networks, extremist Muslims might certainly feel encouraged, empowered and justified in whichever country or region they reside. While self-determination and the preservation of cultural and racial identity cannot be denied to any ethnic group, the approach how it is achieved might project the nature of future global relations. The political and economic implications here pose an important underlying angle. The Philippines is a predominantly Christian nation, only 5 % are Muslims, women appear to constitute the majority of the population and hold 22 % of parliamentary seats (CIA World Factbook). How will the different religious views, for example the woman’s role, affect negotiation talks, and the social power balance between the two states when the Moro gain independence? How will the different worldviews color the relationships? What kind of back up can they expect from other countries? (think of the parents-children model talked about in class) I’m not sure if Muslims were oppressed in the South or allowed to live out their cultural identity. Yet given the current global current of Islamic extremist activities and the core idea that non-Muslims are “infidels” and need to be either subdued or put to death, and considering how the trajectory of the Islamic nation state pursuit has been mostly fueled by violent activity, there is a concern about the impact on the political climate. How will this affect economics, for example access to trade routes for import & export, considering the South constitutes a major economic port? What kind of impact will this have on the international development, for example in the area of human rights? Will it escalate even more? The global impact has manifold ramifications, whichever way the decision goes
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletehttp://carnegieeurope.eu/strategiceurope/?fa=52309
ReplyDeleteChina’s Rapidly Aging Population
By Michael Pettis
This article informed the readers about demographic changes within China over the last several decades and the impact it will feel in the future decades. At the end of the Chinese Civil War in the 1949 was a major baby boom. Many Chinese people were born in the 1950’s and 1960’s. By the 1970’s there was so many young people in China that its workforce only compromised of 52% of its population; everyone else was too young to work.
During the late 1970’s Beijing enforced its one child rule. With this rule in effect meant families can only have one child. This rule helped decline births within China. As a result along with poor healthcare and famines, China’s aging population grew slowly. As of 2013, China’s workforce is 72% which is good for the economy. The economy has increase due to trade; however, China is still considered a poor country. In the near future the demographics will change. As the one child rule is still enforced throughout China there will not be enough young children to go into the workforce to take care of the future baby boomers. As these baby boomers reach retirement age, China will have one of the oldest populations.
Pettis, the author, mention that no other country has been in the predicament where China will be in the next several decades. As its working population will shrink 1% a year, they have to address issues such as taking care of an aging population as well as how can they keep up with their current workforce and the income its producing within the country.
Relating this article to my topic (Aging) and class material, I will start off by talking about the North and South countries. Learning how countries in the North are more developed than to its counterparts in the South. China lies within the North and the South. Although it’s being considered a world power due to its growing economy, it is still considered a poor country. I believe this to be true when you take into consideration of their billion plus population and when you do the GNI (Gross National Income) it does not put many people above poverty. The article talked about the one child per family law, this is an infringement on human rights as stated in the UN (United Nations). This law is in direct violation with Article 1, 3, 5, 12, 25, and 30 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
After reading this article, I wonder how China supports their elderly now. Based on cultural expectations, I know that the children care for their aging; however, just as a baby boom affects the economy, the number of elderly in China also creates a social problem. The conversation we had in class regarding a huge economic surge and a poor infrastructure not being able to support and/or sustain the economy so that there is not an economic crisis. This is a prime example of how a decision made decades ago will impact the future productivity of a country. Just as you mentioned it being a Northern country but still is categorized as a poor country, shows the ramifications that this decision has had on the livelihood of a country. I am curious to see how this will play out and what China will do to combat this problem. It is obvious that a viable work force is essential for the sustainability for its people and I believe it is a country’s responsibility to take care of the young and the elderly.
DeleteAfter reading the article I considered the one-child law and how it has been enforced through the years. You stated examples for how the one child law violates human rights. The enforcement of the law is also out of compliance in human rights as well since female infanticide and abortion have also been practiced to enforce the law. Also, regarding the topic of aging, how will China care for its massive aging population? Will they use the same logic as they did with the female infant? That logic violates human rights and I wonder if the government will humanely care for that burdensome group who is vulnerable do to their age (and possibly gender) as well. Certainly, the family values would be to care for the aged, but I am considering the potential programs the government will place to help the problem. I hope the aged are better cared for than the undesired child and that families will still be able to make the decision to care for their aged family member.
DeleteShianne,
DeleteI found this particular article very interesting. When I think of China and their One Child Policy, the only thing I thought about was the amount of abortions taken place, along with the complications. I never thought about the aging population and how that was going to effect them as well. I do agree that this does violate the population's human rights as well as harms not only their economy today but for many generations to come. As an undergrad I studied the Chinese population as a diversity assignment, and to think of all of their strict rules regarding the elderly makes it hard to imagine what they will do when a majority of the population will be elderly. Who will run the shops? Who will work the farms? If you only have 1 child, how are they going to take care of BOTH parents, maybe grandparents and their own family and maintain employment? I would really like to know what policy makers were thinking (or not thinking) when passing this law.
When searching for an article this week, I wanted to an article that did not have so many negative side effects. Just like local news, it’s difficult to find positive occurrences globally as well. If one were to create a word web using immigration/migration, I suspect there would be more negative associations than positive ones. This week’s article, Business and Education immigration rules relaxed, discussed how the UK will be more lenient with immigration rules so that businesses, business auditors, visitors, interpreters, athletic participants, coaches, and international students will be able to stay and partake in trainings and highly skilled graduate entrepreneurs can obtain positions in businesses that will utilize the skills learned in one of their world class universities. In addition to attracting business and educational growth, arts are being targeted as well; UK has also set up visas that would allow those to participate in training courses in topics such as English and other leisure activities. Immigration Minister, Mark Harper reported that this is a positive step in the right direction because it shows that UK is open for business to attract the best and brightest as well as be an example in promoting global interest and steady growth.
ReplyDeleteIn last week’s reading, we read and briefly discussed the human capital theory. The idea behind this theory is that education is an investment and can better one’s life. Sernau highlights an important factor, “for education to become a true investment in human capital that will offer a return in productivity, it must be connected to a viable means of application” (p. 111). It is critical to not only provide the opportunity to access education, but if there is no infrastructure in place to support those coming out with degrees to enter into the economy in a field in which they studied, then financial strain looms over creating another social problem. Many times, international students who travel abroad to get an education often have plans to go back to their home country and use their newly acquired skills to improve their country. I had the pleasure of experiencing this phenomenon first hand when I obtained my Bachelor’s Degree from Berea College. The demographics of the student body were divided among Appalachian, African American, Caucasian, and International students. I realized quickly how sheltered and naive I was when I was in an Economics class primarily comprised of International students. Despite the idea of white privilege, I was definitely the minority in more than just ethnic status. I took so much for granted regarding rights, access to education, and family. I couldn’t imagine being in another country where I did not have family close by or others with whom I could readily identify with. It reiterates the importance of cultural competence and identifying values and becoming knowledgeable about global issues because these issues are literally in our back yard. In order to be equitable with resources and power, we need other countries to take risks and be creative with ways to improve and sustain their economy to attract the right kind of attention.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23989305
Ideally, I would love for the world to be open to everyone!!! I know how silly this sounds but I hate how we have taken ownership over land etc. For example, you can't go here unless you have this etc. I love how the UK is becoming more open and I hope that not too many people are seeing this as a negative. I wish that I could have conversations with people in the US about how great immigration could be. It would be great to collaborate with everyone's/ every countries strengths and work on the all the global negatives of society. I understand that to article focuses more on education and business ventures/ goals, but the whole idea could be so expansive and positive. The quote, "the UK is open for business. We are building an immigration system that works in the national interest and supports growth," really sums up what immigration should be about! Thanks for sharing :)
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSarah Yates
ReplyDeleteAlmost a quarter of men 'admit to rape in parts of Asia'
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-24021573?print=true
September 16, 2013 12:45 pm
Yes, you read that right. The sad part, is that it gets worse. In the first study of its kind ten thousand men from six different countries participated in a UN report looking at violence against women. Some of the countries surveyed included: Asia, New Guinea, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Cambodia. Amoung the results of the survey were: Rape was very common in relationships, 1 in 10 men said they had raped a women whom they were not in a relationship with(under half of the men who admitted to this also admitted that they had done so on multiple occasions leaving the door open to having many victims). The results varied from country to country, while the severity from one country to another was quite shocking. In New Guinea, more than 6 out of 10 men admitted to rape. 3/4 of the men who had raped a women did so for sexual entitlement. This is something that we have seen in so many cases in our Not for Sale book. Men are considered inferior to women, therefore women should do whatever it takes (and are almost expected to enjoy it) to please a man because it is their "duty" In chapter three of our book, we learn about Margaret, who was "promoted" to the position of being an LRA commanders wife. When she refused him sex on the first night of being his wife, she was threatened with her life. The threatening officer told her "No one refuses sex to an LRA commander. You will do anything that pleases your husband, do I make myself clear?" From that moment until her rescue Margaret's life was a living hell. This is why such statistics such as men raped because of sexual entitlement is so powerful, because you can begin to understand the mindset of so many countries that promote this type of behavior. A second motivator for rape was simply because the men needed entertainment and were "bored." The third motivator was using rape as a form of punishment. While it should be noted that the countries surveyed, the statistics are not conclusive for the region or country as a whole, it's statistics do coincide with areas where a civil conflict has erupted or there is a crumbling government. This makes sense to me, because in areas where everyone is trying to gain control, who would be the easiest target population? Women! Once they are coerced and controlled, men feel a sense of power and authority unlike no other. This is a huge health concern for all of the people involved. If protection is not being used, sexually transmitted diseases are going from one to another like wildfire. Some of these causing infertility if left untreated. Can you imagine being married to someone who raped another woman who had an STD and then you contracted it as well? Imagine becoming infertile because your spouse viewed sex as his right no matter who with, and your physical well being meant nothing. Ahhh it angers me so much! There are a lot of Margaret's out there who are subject to rape on a daily basis all around the world. With all of the documentaries around the world, I hope that some can reach out to the right people who see what they have undergone, and fight for what is right and that what they are going through is inhumane.
Wow... This article brings on a lot of emotions. While I was completely horrified reading your summary and the article itself, there were several things that I found interesting. The first thing I thought was interesting was that rape was especially common in relationships. For some reason, this reminded me of a class discussion we had about arranged marriages and it was brought up that the husbands would say that they did not necessarily love their wives. I wonder how many of the countries investigated support arranged marriages and if there is any correlation. Another thing I found interesting was that alcohol was not an overwhelming contributing factor in most rapes. This is actually scary to think that men were admitting that they did not even need the influence of alcohol to rape. Lastly, I found it disturbing and yet strangely encouraging that more than half of non-partner perps had their first occurrence as adolescents. This is disturbing for obvious reasons. And I do not say it is encouraging because of the age, I find encouragement in the fact that it was determined that because of age, it became clear that targeting the younger generations will be extremely important in launching rape prevention for women and adolescent girls.
DeleteSarah,
DeleteI was so mad when reading this article. The title alone should catch anyone's attention. How awful that so many men have admitted to committing such acts AND MORE THAN ONCE! That is so wrong! I cannot even imagine to be raped by the person you are married to. That takes me back to the part in the "Not for Sale" book on the story with Margaret, which you also mentioned. How awful it must be to be a LRA wife who also has others wives, and be mistreated like she did. Reading this story and reading the stories in the book makes me wonder how many other stories are out there and what we don't know. Stuff like this is how we can help prevent it and to talk about what goes on.
Sarah,
DeleteThose statistics really are shocking! Just like you stated and is in our readings, women are especially targeted in impoverished regions. I noticed that the article brought up the global outrage about the student in New Dehli that was gang raped. It seems India is making a statement with the recent sentencing to death of four of these men responsible. An article and a video can be found here:
http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-09-13/world/42019604_1_death-sentence-death-penalty-bus-attack
With statistical data like the one in your article, combined with other media attention on a global scale, hopefully we as world citizens can change attitudes and prevent such ongoing atrocities.
A very alarming article which comes at a time when we are reading about these atrocities in 'Not for Sale'. While reading about Margaret and others involved in forced sex or sex traffiking in Thailand etc., I could not help relating my own life to these stories. My daughter just turned 9 and some of the girls in the brothels are the same age. I could feel the rage building over thoughts of her being subjected to such mental and physical abuse. It is truly horrifying. Thinking about my five year old son taken from me and forced to kill others to remain alive is so hard for me to comprehend, I can't think about it very long without becoming overwhelmed with emotions for those that are subjected to this reality daily. It does not seem enough to know we are fairly safe from these circumstances, but my primal instincts want to kick in and be a savior to those young girls or the young boys in the LRA. The reality is I probably would not last long in Albania or Uganda if i decided to confront traffikers or LRA members.
DeleteWar Crime in Syria
ReplyDeleteArticle Date: September 16, 2013
Sara Gilpin
The article I read this week was about rockets containing sarin gas being launched in Syria that resulted in many casualties. Government officials are calling this a “despicable crime.” The article stated that the UN had confirmed that chemical weapons were in fact used in Syria. The chemical used in these rockets is lethal. According to the article, those that survived reported having numerous health problems after the attack. The secretary reported that 85% of the blood samples that had been taken tested positive for sarin gas. It was a M14 artillery rocket that actually launched the attack. One of the things I found most interesting about this article is that the secretary also stated that this was “the most significant confirmed use of chemical weapons against civilians since Saddam Hussein in 1988.” In my mind, it seems like it would take a large amount of any kind of chemical or gas to kill that many people.
The Chairman of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria said that he believed that the Syrian President’s government was responsible for the war crimes. This whole thing just blows my mind. I cannot see how using chemical warfare is going to solve anything. Of course I do not know who is really to blame, but if it really was the president’s own government what does that say for their government? The whole time I was reading the article I just kept asking myself “why?” Many other countries are wanting Syria to face serious consequences if they are not forced to hand over their weapons. The article stated that the UN is expected to draft a resolution in the next few days. There will be a lot of unhappy government officials, and even civilians, if the UN decides to favor with Syria.
We talked in class how Syria is like Russia’s baby and that if the United States starts a war with Syria how quickly Russia will then become involved. The article stated that the US believed that government is what led to the threat of military actions and then the US and Russia wanted Syria to make safe its chemical arms. Just as we discussed in class though, I think that if the United Stated had done anything to Syria that Russia would have fought back 10 times harder. I would be anxious to see what the UN report says next Monday to see who gets blamed for the current war crime in Syria. This was a very interesting article, many times I do not think of chemical weapons when someone mentions crime or war. Obviously, it is an issue, one that needs to be controlled.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24113553
I really do wish that other countries would have become involved in this civil war sooner, not in a physical way but in a responsive way to help citizens under attack. This investigation only confirms what we knew to be true. An unjust government attacking citizens with chemicals seems so unreal. It makes you wonder what lead to so much destruction and to so many actions that clearly show a lack of dignity for human life. To imagine that this had been going on without intervention is devastating. I am actually thankful for the UN in the aspect that powerhouse nations do not hold all the cards when it comes to matters of war. Yes, Russia and the US are the main ones we will all be watching until the final decision is made, but luckily the weight of making such a heavy decision is not just on them. I have heard of the US 'tapping' Syria many times to stop the destruction of the country and its people. I have yet to hear of Russia getting on to their' baby' much at all until the US wanted to intervene in a more obvious approach. It makes you wonder if Russia really cared? I am glad advances have been made and I would really like to see Syria change their ways and give up their weapons, but how likely is it that that will solve everything? Intervention from more power countries (UN) is so necessary at this point so Syria knows we will all be watching from this point on. Human right can not be a joke... all of the countries need to care and respond when injustices are made, especially when its government vs. citizens.
DeleteYemeni minister seeks law to end child marriage
ReplyDeleteTopic: Religion
Link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24083127
Reports have been made that last week in Yemen an eight year old little girl died from internal bleeding. On the surface, one would assume that this child must have been in some sort of accident which damaged her internal organs. However, much controversy has risen since her death occurred on the night she wed a forty year old man. A source has reported that on her wedding night she was taken to medics after intercourse with her new husband whom was five times her age. The medics were unable to save the child and she died from bleeding and uterine rupture.
An aide to the Yemeni Prime Minister claims that the government is taking the allegations of the child's death very seriously. They also stated that those responsible will be brought to justice.
It is not an uncommon occurrence for poor Yemeni families to accept money for their young daughters to be married. Since the reported death of this eight year old girl, pressure has intensified for parliament to set a minimum age for marriage which would ban the practice of child marriage. There are however, many in Yemen who claim that setting a minimum age would interfere with Yemen tradition, culture and religion. Not all Yemen religious clerics agree with this, there are some who support the proposal.
This article provides evidence that Yemen is abusing all three points of Article 16 in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 16 states that men and women of FULL AGE have the right to marry; that marriage is to be entered into only with the "free and full consent of the intending spouses"; and that the family is "entitled to protection by society and the State." These children being married off to older men are clearly not of full age, are not consenting, and are not protected by their society and/or State.
This article also reminds me of the discussion we had in class about women's advancement and rights. I remember it being said in discussion that while the US and other Northern countries have made huge advancements in women's rights, in some Southern countries, women are still viewed as property. It is clearly displayed in this article that, unfortunately, female children are viewed this way in Yemen.
This article infuriates me, how can a 40 year old man find a 8 year old girl sexually attractive. I know that this kind of thing happens all over the world, I just have a difficult time rapping my head around it. I understand that that by setting a minimum age for marriage could possible interfere with the Yemen tradition, culture and religion, however I hope that an age is established because this custom is defying little girls. How could we not consider this human trafficking, these young girls are considered property. Yemeni families are selling their young daughters to be married to men 4 times their age and they are to perform sexual acts against their wills. They do not even know what they are doing. Again, I hope the Yemen minister the age limit set for an appropriate age.
DeleteIm with Tammy, I cant figure out just why men who are this old would even think about having sex with an 8 year old little girl! When reading the article and your article I believe the Yemeni government should have raised this issue a long time ago, because this is considered child abuse. This might be their custom/culture but it is so aggravating just knowing that a child is being sexually abused and these people think its ok. I am right there with you about article 16, this child was not of full age, because according to the main article the government has not even set an appropriate age for girls to get married, so how could they say she was at the full age?. I believe your article was well chosen, and it was interesting but sad at the same time, plus you made a lot of good points that I agreed with in your own blog!.
DeleteScottish Independence: No referendum impact on business
ReplyDeleteThe British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) conducts a yearly survey and it found that nine-tenths of companies were unfazed by the referendum. Various questions were asked to 2,000 businesses across the UK about orders and sales, employment intentions or investment in plant and premises. The questions resulted in 14% of firms reporting no impact, not having enough information on the referendum, 17% reporting it was too early to tell how the referendum would affect their business and 68% of businesses reporting no impact report the majority of their trade was done outside Scotland.
The referendum had an effect already on approximately one in 20 businesses; however they report positive impacts in approximately one in 100 respondents.
The BCC requested additional research to draw firmer conclusions. John Longworth, BCC director general, reports before Scotland goes to the polls, the businesses are unfazed by the Scottish independence referendum. Longworth also reported monitoring of the impact of the independence on business will continue, because this could change drastically both in Scotland and in the United Kingdom.
‘Financial Levers’
Steward Hosie MP, SNP Treasury spokesman reports that the myths about the anti-independence campaigns that the referendum is hurting businesses, which businesses themselves indicate nonsense. They are afraid of inward investment and roaming charges.
Hosie reports Scotland has over 340,000 businesses. Supporting them with good infrastructure skilled workforce, sensible/stable business taxes to encourage investment and growth is SNP’s job
By voting ‘yes’ next September is the best way to do this, so Scotland’s economy can create jobs and increase opportunities .
Would leaving the UK have a negative impact on business, questioned a Scotland Office spokesman. However he points out that independence would put new burdens on businesses and create a new border where none currently exist and also cause regulations to multiply with which firms operate the UK would have to comply.
This article ties together what we read in Global Problems and what we learned in class about economic development. I think that Scotland will be able to have more opportunities by having a referendum because they will be able to vote and choice what is best for their business. I also think that the referendum advocates for the business in Scotland. The referendum is providing them opportunities to voice their needs and desires.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-24108273
DeleteRachel Moran
ReplyDeleteDrivers Driven to Fuel Price Desperation says AA
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23983820
“Driven to debt” gives a new meaning when it comes to pawning possessions for fuel money. The UK has been fighting to pay for fuel prices that they are willing to do anything they can to afford them. According to the article, fuel prices have increased 3p a litre since June. People are now paying 134.6p for the average cost of unleaded petrol and 137.5p for diesel per litre. I think the way that people have shown that they will pawn possessions for money is a perfect example of how we have talked about exchanging goods from other countries. The mindset of these people is they want what that person has and they will do anything and give up anything to get fuel. It sounds a lot like how we exchange from other countries and we have the mindset of “we want what you have”. I think this article just shows how different the United States is compared to other countries. In the article people can borrow money from friends and family and in the US some people are quick to judge when others ask to borrow money. I have a hard enough time paying for gas right now as it is; I cannot even imagine prices increasing so high that I have to pawn possessions to afford gas prices. It has to cause lots of emotional debt as well to have financial debt added onto your life. Especially the stress and the emotion that people feel for those who are low of savings or who have to pawn expensive possessions and they will never see those again. I just feel heartbroken for the people that have to go to drastic measures such as this in order to pay off debt or to afford certain things a little as gas.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24084705.
ReplyDeleteWhile looking for an article that discussed a food/water concern for this week’s topic, I came across an article titled “Healthy Italian diet suffers as economic crisis bites.” The article discussed that Italians have to switch from their healthy Mediterranean diet full of fruits and vegetables, to a diet filled with cheaper less healthy foods. This is due to the economic crisis. Many Italians have to make cut backs concerning their diets because of this. Some of the places that are hurting from these cutbacks are the local bread and pizza shops. Many Italians are turning to making their own breads and pizzas to save money at home. Because of this about 20% of the small bakeries around the capital of Rome have had to shut down.
Though some people may not see this as a social problem since these individuals are still getting some food to eat, this is absolutely a problem due to the risk of obesity. According to the article one in three young Italians are obese and over 20 million Italian adults are overweight. One reason for this is due to the calorie rich prepackaged foods that the Italians have to substitute their meals with. The article mentions that Italians are eating more rice and pasta than ever before. This is due to the fact that these items are cheap to purchase and fill you up quicker than lean meats, fruits, and vegetables. According to the article, the Italians are also having to reduce their intake of meat especially fish due to the rising cost.
One way that this article can be tied to our class discussions is found in chapter three of Sernau. Chapter three discusses how that successful men were told to use their advantages to be good providers for their families. These men were known as business men. The downside to this is that many business men were not able to be successful due to the economy and were not able to take care of their families like they wanted to. This is happening to the business men in Italy. Because of the families cutting back, many of the small bakeries have had to shut down keeping the families from being successful. The families running these bakeries have been forced to take care of their families the best way that they can, but unfortunately it is not how they want and this is causing their diets to suffer.
Despite Bans, Child Labor Prevalent in Nigeria
ReplyDeleteThis article involved enforcement of child labor laws in Nigeria. In the town of Kaduna, there are millions of children illegally employed in labor. This type of child labor was banned ten years ago, but the law is not enforced. Many Nigerian children work much younger than fourteen years old. The type of labor the children are often employed regards cooking, gardening, babysitting, and cleaning house without payment.
Child labor is diverse in Nigeria, but it is very hard on the orphan. The article sited the situation of Amina, a 13 year old female, whose widowed mother gave her away when she could not care for her child. Amina ‘s life is a ritual of early rising to get water and prepare children for school and later cook and clean for the family during the day. She is allowed to shop, but she is physically and verbally abused for any mistake. She longs for educational opportunity. Although Amina is a city worker, there are still others toiling in the rural parts of the country on farms. Still other children report they beg for money and have been raped as well.
Groups advocate for these children to improve their quality of life. The Nigeria-based League of Democratic Women actively promote the end of child labor. They report Nigerian children who fall under illicit labor practices are vulnerable to their master’s whims, with little or no opportunity for education and are physically, sexually, and psychologically abused. They recommend improved parenting to help with the problem.
Nigeria complied in 2003 with the United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of the Child by passing a Child’s Rights Law. This law says children will be protected from all types of neglect, cruelty, and exploitation and will be protected from employment until a reasonable minimum age. This serves also to protect the child for beneficial physical, mental and moral development. Not all of Nigeria’s states comply with this law. Twelve states, in areas highest in child labor incidentce, are yet to sign the law.
This exemplifies how slow positive change for human rights is. The fact that states are permitted to choose to approve the anti-child labor law opens the arena for political corruption. Oddly enough a state’s right is also preventing the rights of its children. Additionally, this article relates to the class readings in a variety of ways. Not all children have secure rights to education and safety in Nigeria, which is sought in Human Rights. The article also is easily connected to Not for Sale. This book has several incidents that describe similar descriptions of child labor in Africa. Children, especially the poor and orphaned who fall in servitude to people in Africa, are discussed in the book. These children were also subjugated to all forms of abuse and described being beaten cruelly with no regard to their humanity. Interestingly, Amina from the article says her masters would beat her like an animal and speak to her just as cruelly like a child described in the book. Amina and children in the book state the desire to learn, but are denied this resource. Class discussion and readings have further discussed how children subjected to unfair, illegal labor are further oppressed and robbed of their human capital. These are examples of what it is like to be a member of world poverty. Their testimony reflects deficits in money, education, health, and capital access and shows increases in risk and vulnerability.
http://www.voanews.com/content/child-labor-still-common-in-parts-of-nigeria/1747147.html
Marshall Allen
ReplyDeleteTopic: Natural Disasters
9/17/13
“Analysis: How to make disasters less deadly for the disabled”
This article focuses on what is currently being done around the world to serve the needs of disabled individuals when a disaster happens through specialized disaster risk reduction programs (DRR). The report uses the example of how the current use of warning horns and flags would not help those with vision or hearing impairments. The article asserts that this most vulnerable population is often unprepared to be served due to the lack of knowledge about the locations of disabled persons and the type of disability they have. It also cites a lack of information distributed to those with disabilities as a major barrier in emergency preparedness and risk reduction.
The article examines the Information Resource Centre on Disability (IRCD) database that includes locations of disabled individuals that will need help in a disaster situation. The IRCD was established nationally in Pakistan in 2009 after a major earthquake in 2005 exposed the vulnerability of the disabled in their country. The article claims that activists including disabled people’s organizations (DPOS) pushed for the development of this database to better serve these individuals. Although this database is seen as a great step in the right direction, one of the major critiques of such databases is that they do not contain enough information about the type of disability a person has, which may leave an aide worker unprepared in meeting the specific needs of each affected individual in a time-sensitive manner.
The article explains that getting information out to disabled people and the communities that they live in is another goal of disaster risk reduction. Often times those with disabilities are very isolated from sources of information. One statistic cited from the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) claims that 98% of children with disabilities in developing countries are not in school! This further prevents dissemination of needed information to these families. In addition to having workers participate in face to face information sharing activities, text warnings and gathering information via the internet are also being utilized in Pakistan.
Reading the book “Not for Sale” this week reminded me of how we must continually strive to be aware of those most vulnerable in both our community and abroad. It is this awareness of those individuals susceptible to dangers in society that leads us to decisions on how we will respond in both protection, and in prevention. As social workers we must work to educate, advocate and take action when needed.
http://www.irinnews.org/report/98758/
Leslie Carver
Delete9/17/13 5:45PM
I think this issue within your article closely relates and goes hand in hand with international development that we learned last week, in a sense that we are striving to increase the well-beings of persons medically. We need to be persistent in advocating social justice and change for disabled people just as much as HIV/AIDS infected people, slave victims, and other oppressed people groups. I think sometimes we overlook issues in our own backyard. Like in the “Not For Sale” book about human trafficking. He talked about how his favorite Indian restaurant was an establishment of slaves, in California (in our “America). In our America we have natural disasters like tornadoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, and floods that affect our disabled citizens as well. This is why I agree with you that we have to advocate and take action when needed.
Civil Wars/Conflicts
ReplyDeleteShawn Lanham
During civil wars and conflicts we typically hear about the events leading up to the death and destruction, but it is often uncommon we hear about the environmental, mental and physical toll of the struggle on the civilians and economy that lingers for years. This article profiles Dr.Brolsane, the only working psychiatrist in Chad. The article was brief but synthesized many current activities and lectures in two current classes, World Problems (Not for Sale) and Psychopathology.
The article describes the misunderstandings and skepticism many Chadians hold regarding mental health. Dr. Brolsane stated, "A country of 12 million people which has lived through many years of civil war has enormous need for psychiatric help". Their civil war began in the early 1980’s and only recently ended within the last couple of years. This area has endured a war zone for approximately 30 years. The toll of this war on economies in the region, displaced civilian workers, broken families, abuse, kidnapping and human trafficking/suffering are unthinkable. How could anyone maintain a sense of normal mental health when subjected to the horrors of war for so long?
Dr. Brolsane talks about the lack of education and employment in a country ranked fourth from the bottom on the U.N. Human Development Index. This relates to alienated and displaced workers and additional hardships placed on mothers as discussed in our Global Problems textbook. He faces monetary challenges as well as misinformed and uneducated residents that believe mental health is attributed to possession and spiritual entities. These perceptions create an ongoing battle to see and treat the people of Chad, which are skeptical of mental health professionals and culturally do not speak of their mental health issues. “Dr. Bolsane said one of the biggest obstacles to changing attitudes to mental health - and getting people to understand that it is an illness and not possession - is lack of education”.
Substance abuse, schizophrenia and paranoia are the most commonly reported issues plaguing Chad. War zones are also areas with high levels of stress contributing to these issues and compounding other family and work problems. Not only are they recovering slowly from the effects of war, they also battle problems such as malaria, polio, measles, and high infant mortality rates.
It is interesting to note the observations made by Dr. Brolsane regarding the economic impact of a rich oil country that has been earning over 1 billion dollars a year from their newly found resource, yet health issues abound and hospitals remain under funded. The war took its toll on the civilians and they continue to struggle, while the rich resources are now funding ?????
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-24037696
This week’s education post was hard to decide on. I saw several articles that pointed out issues that we could relate to what we have been learning about in class. However, this article pulled at my heart strings because not only does it deal with educational oppression, it also deals with disabled children and mistreatment of them as a whole. I found the statistics relating to the lack of education for these individuals to be extreme. According to Chinese data, more than a quarter of children with disabilities lack even the basic type of education. Clear into adulthood, an even more staggering amount are illiterate and living on the meekest amount of money. To me this represents the tug and pull that the disabled have to go through. They were turned away from education, so therefore they cannot take meaningful jobs in society because they are not qualified. This in turn, throws them into poverty where they will need assistance.
ReplyDeleteNext, I was appalled that a student was turned away because he had ADHD and what was considered an “intellectual disability”. This is ludicrous. If we turned away every student with ADHD in this country, several schools would have low enrollment. It is an even more common phenomenon now days so I can only imagine how much worse this problem will get in China as more students receive similar diagnoses. It is especially baffling that China has laws in place to oppose just this, yet at the same time other guidelines allow schools to turn away handicapped students. To me, that says that they created legislation to look as if they are combating the problem, but really they are turning a blind eye to the issue.
Then, it came as no surprise that when disabled students are able to attend school, they are left with the “bottom of the barrel” options. They may have a teacher that is not properly trained, thus no support system while at school. Then they might face transportation issues that arise because China allows their disabled children to be herded like cattle and separated on buses by their disability. If you are unlucky enough to have a disability that does not qualify as “mainstream” then transportation is not available to you and you are forced to stay home. They are also taught in separate schools which are designated by their disability too. This left me wondering which school a student would go to if they were both disabled and blind.
All of the issues that are plaguing this population are enormous. Based on our readings, it is clear that they are both victims of prejudice, discrimination, and oppression. It is clear that Chinese culture is prejudiced towards its disabled children. They have some notion that their disability might hinder others when in reality that is not the case at all. They have clearly formed an opinion on misguided information. Then, they are discriminated against on a variety of levels. Our text states that discrimination is “a differential or harmful effect on members of a group that leads to separation, exclusion, and devaluation” (Garcia and Soest, 2006). This could not be a more perfect definition of what is happening. The kids are separated from other students, even those with similar disabilities. They are left to be outcasts of their society. They are excluded from all of the pleasures and activities that other school children receive, not to mention what else they may be excluded from in their communities. Additionally, these two things combined have left an impact on this population that tells them that they are not of value. It says that they are not even worthy of a free education because they are disabled. If one cannot enjoy the privilege of nine years of free education, what else are they being denied?
ReplyDeleteFinally, I found that this article correlated with our text, specifically chapter four, which covered education around the world. It is no secret that children in various countries, depending on their social class, either receive more or less attention when it comes to education. Those who come from poorer or working class families get a substantial different education than those who are more privileged (Sernau, 2012). It is this chapter that further discusses how far the world must come to ensure that every child’s needs are met, especially in regards to education. While the article points out that China has a long way to go, it does not specify what their plans are to fix this problem in their society. Perhaps they should take note from the United Nations. According to the U.N. Rights of the Child document, “The child is entitled to receive education, which shall be free and compulsory, at least in the elementary stages. He shall be given an education which will promote his general culture and enable him, on a basis of equal opportunity, to develop his abilities, his individual judgment, and his sense of moral and social responsibility, and to become a useful member of society” (United Nations, 1959). Considering this applies to countries worldwide, China should not be exempt from following this document and allowing disabled students access to education.
Garcia, B., & Van Soest, D. (2006). Social work practice for social jusice. (p. 68). Alexandria, VA: CWE Press.
Sernau, S. (2012). Global problems. (3 ed., p. 115). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
United Nations. (1959). Declaration of the rights of the child. Retrieved from website: http://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/humanrights/resources/child.asp
Wang, M. (2013, September 17). Chinese children with disabilities denied access to education. South china morning post. Retrieved from http://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1310977/chinese-children-disabilities-denied-access-education
mine was too hard to cut down any further to get all my points in so it is in 2 fields.. here is the info for my article as well
DeleteChinese children with disabilities denied access to education
http://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1310977/chinese-children-disabilities-denied-access-education
September 17, 2013
ABC’s of Uganda
ReplyDeleteLeslie Carver
9/17/13 5:30PM
The HIV/AIDS virus is an epidemic that has conquered the lives of people around the globe. In the country of Africa the people of Uganda have been attacked with this virus. Uganda is an example of a country where international development has taken place. The goal of international development with Uganda is to increase the quality of life for it citizens medically. HIV/AIDS is not only effecting Uganda but other countries as well medically, financially, and morally. Statistics shows that on average 400 people are infected daily with the virus. This is a sad but true statistic and there are many efforts that are being made to lower the numbers. Recently, the US Food and Drug Administration approved the protocol for uninfected people to receive pre-exposure medications. Pre-exposure prophylaxis is to be given to those are in heterosexual, homosexual, and transgender relationships with infected partners in hopes of reducing their chances of being infected.
Many people feel uneasy with the thought of the citizens of Uganda being treated with this medication. Program manager Alex Ario is against the medication because it could encourage “reckless sex.” He also believes that it is morally unfit to put uninfected people on treatment. When there are infected people who need treatment. Many people believe that the best protocol for Uganda would be to focus on the ABC’s. The ABC’s are: Abstinence, Be faithful, and Correct and Consistent Condom use. In our reading, “Not For Sale,” in chapter three about Uganda it stated that soldiers with AIDS would rape the girls, and those pregnant they would cut open their stomachs and tear out the fetus. This is one of the many examples of reckless sexual acts committed that Alex Ario fears.
Activists are protesting daily against the treatment of infected patients. The counties activists believe that the government needs to revamp its decision due to the statistic. In the past five years HIV prevalence has risen from 6.4 percent to 7.3 percent. If Uganda continues in the same direction studies have shown that within five years by more than 780,000 people will be infected. Along with 25,000 babies will be born annually with the disease. “This rising number of infections exceeds the annual number of patients enrolled on anti-retroviral treatment (ART) by two-fold.” The rise of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in other countries mirrors that of Uganda.
Protocols and procedures do not always work, but I believe Uganda’s ABC’s are a great start to defeating the HIV/AIDS epidemic. If everyone applied Uganda’s ABC’s to their lives, could you imagine the drastic change we would see about HIV/AIDS in counties around the world?
http://www.irinnews.org/report/98690/uganda-rejects-hiv-prevention-tool-on-moral-grounds
Contrast between U.S and Norway in solving global debts issue.
ReplyDeleteJunghyun Lee. Sep 17, 2013
Recently, I read two different articles that might be compared to treat the global debt problem. The first article was about a recent US appeals court’s decision that harmed global sovereign-debt markets because it made it impossible for the indebted counties to restructure their debts by binding them under the standard debt contracts. According to this article, this was not the first decision that the U.S made. After Argentina overcame a sovereign-debt crisis successfully 12 years ago by restructuring debts condition, George Bush’s administration refused proposals to make a system for indebted countries to restructure sovereign-debts. In contrast to the U.S, Norway was praised by anti-poverty campaigners, because for the first time, it released an external audit of outstanding public debts that is owed by developing countries. Auditors of Norway have examined since the 1970’s in detail all of the contracts made between Norway and indebted countries to find out if they have been made justly and fairly by using the principles that made by a UNCTAD in April 2012. The investigation showed that developing countries pay back more than four times of money than they borrowed annually because most of the old debt agreements were made under unfavorable and uncertain economic, social and political conditions. The seriousness of debt burdens indicates the importance of transparent debt audits because it protects in-debt nations from hidden unfavorable contracts and makes possible the cancelation of illegitimate debts. Its goal is to protect both through developing responsibility and accountability of two parties.
This article gives me an assurance of the importance of transparency in economic systems. When each business owner releases information publically relating to how to run it, it develops trust and builds a healthy economic environment in society. In relationships between indebted nations and creditors, transparency takes a same kind of important role to build responsibility and accountability. This transparent audit system not only helps relationships between nations but it helps relationships between governments and their citizens. When each one of us knew how much our government owe or lend the money to other countries, which kind of sanction will be done when agreements are not conducted, what kind of old debts agreements were illegitimately made, we can respond to the issues with more clear conscience and responsible attitude and take concrete action to solve the problem in individual or social levels. I heard many stories about corruption of the nations and companies that invest or deposit capital in other countries or foreign banks illegitimately in hidden ways and it always causes more poverty and many side effects. But corruptions never end throughout the history because human being’s self- seeking tendency. It is remarkable that Norway decided to practice honesty in this corrupted world and I hope that it becomes the cornerstone on which all other nations follow the same example of Norway.
http://news.google.com
1. BusinessDay BDbelieve
2. The Guardian
Trafficked victim kept naked and beaten regularly
ReplyDelete9/17/13
Debra Smith--Human Trafficking
Ireland is a place that I have always dreamed of visiting but after reading this story of human trafficking I am thinking otherwise. The story of the woman that is being interviewed is heart breaking, and I cannot imagine going through the pain and suffering that she went through. I chose this article because it breaks down what these women are forced to do that are bought, traded, and trafficked by these gangs. Hearing statistics about trafficking and reading about upcoming laws is eye opening enough but I think to really understand it you need to see it from a survivor’s point of view. The lady stated that she was only allowed to sleep for 2 hours at a time, this is a ridiculous amount, it can not only cause you problems mentally but your body can literally shut down physically without an adequate amount of sleep. She went on to say how she wasn’t allowed to wear any clothes at any time no matter who was around. This is just inhumane, plain and simple. People are taught to be respectful and modest of their selves and this includes covering up your body parts. Being naked also makes people feel vulnerable and with everything else going on in captivity you wouldn’t want to feel as though you deserved this or you weren’t worthy enough for clothes. She also talks about the fact that she was denied food and this causes severe physical problems as well as mental problems, and it’s not just temporary when and if they survive this and get out they will have detrimental issues regarding healthy eating habits. The worse aspect of her daily life while being held captive I feel was the beatings. She was beaten every day and sometimes placed on a thin sheet and dragged to another room. This is just terrible; these women are treated as pieces of meat. Taken wherever the owner chooses, eating what the owner allows, and doing what the owner says just hoping that one day they will get out alive. This article made me think of how some people view human trafficking, some people believe that people just buy and trade humans for work related things, and maybe some sex slaves but they don’t realize what a person who has been trafficked does on a daily basis. They don’t know the harsh realities of it because “it is not happening in their backyard.” This ties in to the book that I am reading for class, Not for Sale, the story starts off talking about how they don’t feel as though it happens in their back yard but it did. A restaurant where the author frequently ate at was caught trafficking young women and forcing them to work long days with little to no pay. I think everyone has that mentality because when I think about my dream trip to Ireland I don’t think of the people who may be waiting on me at a restaurant, or the workers at my hotel. I think that everyone in the world deserves to get compensation for the work that they do, and that everyone gets treated fairly with respect and dignity.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-24060041
http:///www.lifenews.com/2013/09/04/gendercide-one-woman-dies-every-hour-in-india-ov....
ReplyDeleteTiterriell Macklin
9/17/2013 6:00 p.m.
Gendercide
The article by Steven Ertelt talked about how a woman dies every hour over in India. The women are dying over dowries. The family of the bride may feel as if the dowry is not enough. What I found to be amazing was the fact that the Indian Law does not allow giving or receiving of a dowry, however, the custom still exist and is practiced. This makes me wonder how is this possible? How are the Indians getting away with this crime?
In reading this article, I also learned that the demands for dowry go on for years after the wedding. Every year thousands of women are burned to death. Gasoline is poured on them due to not enough dowry.
Last year alone according to The National Crime Records Bureau, there were 8,233 women killed due to inadequate dowry. Wow!! This blows me away. I would never want to get married in India. It would feel like a death sentence. Who is to determine what is enough dowry? Are there no set standards? Does the husband and his family get to make up the rules? There are definately some loop holes in the dowry prevention laws in India.
The people that are involved with these crimes are not getting a harsh enough punishment. If any punishment at all. Who made the groom and his family the judge and jury. It is hard for me to believe that this is going on. I am shocked! I am very blessed that I do not live over in India.
This article ties into what we discussed in class. The day we all went outside with the yarn, how all social problems connect is some way. I know this has to affect the United States some way. Just like in class how we learned that Israel is United States baby and Syria is Russia's, who is India's parent?
It makes me wonder what can be done to stop gendercide in India? If the United States can not do anything to help stop it, what about another country or nation?
Kasey Gray 09/17/2013
ReplyDeleteKenya gets water!
While reading this article or even seeing the title and pictures makes me so happy for the people of Kenya, and it makes me so much more appreciative to have clean water in the United States. The article states “last year scientists released a map detailing the vast reservoirs which lie under much of Africa”. I could not even begin to imagine how thrilled and excited the people of Kenya probably were when they heard the news! Especially the family’s with small children. The article also states “the aquifers are said to hold 250bn cubic meters of water…and Kenya currently uses around 3bn cubic meters per year”. Based upon that statement of measurements, that is enough water to make due for over 80 years in Kenya.
Just thinking that before aquifers were discovered the people of Kenya were insecure of their water supply (as the article states). This brings me to a part of our text book. When reading about a world of rich and poor in our text, it shows international comparisons in income and well-being, Kenya is in one of the lowest categories that were named. Kenya people also have a life expectancy of age 55, and on average only seven years of schooling. (Sernau, 2012. Pg-18). In my opinion these are very shocking statistics! I try to look at this in a view point as if this were my life. Just try to imagine if this were you or your family member, or even your children! It’s heart breaking to even think that my children would only get seven years of schooling, and to even think that almost Kenya’s whole population is this way. Even in this day and time in the United States most people receive a high school diploma or GED, and are at least able to find descent employment.
It is very sad to me that the people of Kenya are losing out on their education. I believe most children probably have to quit school to help support their big family’s, and while quitting school is probably the best for the family because that brings in extra income into the house hold, it’s not necessarily good on the child in the long run. Basically this brings me back to the environmental part of this article, if children are not getting more than seven years of schooling then how will they ever know how to discover new sources of water, or how to boil water to make it sterile enough to drink and cook with?. I strongly believe these aquifers that have been found under Africa will help many families out who are in desperate need of clean water. I think it is sad and disturbing that people all around the world do not seem to have equal rights to the same things, and that brings me to an article in the universal declaration of human rights. Number 25, “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, and housing and medical care and necessary social services…”. This article reminds me of the water that has been found in Kenya, these people deserve to have clean water to drink and cook with, just like we have here in the United States.
This is my article http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24049800
http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2013/09/13/222056713/no-deal-on-bangladesh-garment-factory-compensation-fund
ReplyDeleteAs already demonstrated in class, most of our garments are made in different countries. Bangladesh is an extremely poor country that has become a huge exporter of garments. As stated by the article "its low wages and light regulation make it an attractive destination for Western brands'. Over 1,000 people died in the fatal collapse of a garment factory called Rana Plaza. in April. Some of the biggest Western retailers (Wal-mart, Zara, Benetton, and J.C. Penny etc) had products coming from this factory. Even though the collapse of the factory occurred in April, families of the victims have yet to be compensated for the deaths. One company agreed to pay the families three months of wages of what the lost workers would have earned to hold them over. 11 out of 20 companies/ retailers did not even have a representative show up to the meetings based around the deaths and having compensation agreements drawn up.
This event truly was a tragedy, not only because lives were lost but because it has shown the world that these huge Western retailers really DO NOT CARE about the HUMAN BEINGS they affect when they use poor countries/labors with insufficient wages and unsafe working conditions. The same reason why these companies use Bangladesh (for low wage and lax regulations) is the same reason why these individuals died and only a select few companies even made an effort to offer compensation. Even the companies that did offer compensation for them CAUSING these individuals to die (due to weak building regulations) only offered a couple months wages...mind you at the same low rate that the workers had been laboring for. If this happened in America people would care and if companies didn't really care, they would be forced to 'care' and pay a high cost for not having the proper standard for working conditions. But if you are working in Bangladesh, no one thinks you are a person. No one thinks you have needs or feelings. No one cares to protect you. You are good for one thing.... cheap labor so American's can have their favorite brands at Macy's. Think about how much these retailers bring in a year and out of 20 only ONE has offered any compensation for these deaths!
As we touched on in class, many of the impoverished in these countries are single women who have children and have lost their husbands. Now, thanks to retailers taking advantage of these people, there are even more widows getting compensated a small amount of money to feed their children. What is next? Will she have to find work? Will the kids have to chose work over school? Will she have to sell her children to make sure they get fed every night? 1,000 deaths can impact so many people and has the possibility to connect to so many other social issues. Thank God all us Westerners can sleep guilt free in our comfy, imported Tommy Hilfiger pajamas as we think about what a shame it is that poor little Bangladeshians can barely find proper work. Whats even more shocking is that the article states, "consumers will be shocked that almost a half-year has passed since the Rana Plaza disaster with only one brand so far providing any compensation to the victim". But no... no customers are not shocked because half know that brands use countries all the time and we still buy from them and the other half just don't care. In reality, why should I be shocked that it has taken the companies half a year to offer compensation for these labors when it took me half a year to notice that this tragedy even occurred.