Poorest of the poor
Starting tomorrow, I shall be in Haiti on work. I shall be visiting the rural province of Sodo, as well as the slums in St. Martin. This blog will not be receiving updates for the rest of the week.
Here is some food for thought. Haiti is on the same island as the Dominican Republic. The disparity is living conditions is as much as the distance between the Earth and the Catholic concept of heaven. This truly brings into focus, the importance of having a stable government (preferably a democracy, where the elected representatives are answerable to the people).
The US invaded Haiti in 1994. Even though the war wasn’t covered by embedded (pronounced in bed with) journalists, there is a fairly gripping account of all that took place.
The Immaculate Invasion
Starting tomorrow, I shall be in Haiti on work. I shall be visiting the rural province of Sodo, as well as the slums in St. Martin. This blog will not be receiving updates for the rest of the week.
Here is some food for thought. Haiti is on the same island as the Dominican Republic. The disparity is living conditions is as much as the distance between the Earth and the Catholic concept of heaven. This truly brings into focus, the importance of having a stable government (preferably a democracy, where the elected representatives are answerable to the people).
The US invaded Haiti in 1994. Even though the war wasn’t covered by embedded (pronounced in bed with) journalists, there is a fairly gripping account of all that took place.
The Immaculate Invasion
Slavery
While the world fights over chemical weapons, religion and the meaning of pi, millions of children around the world are languishing in slavery. The future of the next new world is either not free, or even if it is (free), it is bound to be cynical. These children could be involved in activities such as carpet weaving, beedi rolling or even prostitution.
Why do children enter into such situations?
Often they are forced to do so by their parents who have some debt to pay off. This debt could have been paid off many times over, but the lack of education and high interest rates keeps them and their children in this horrible state of slavery for years to come.
The biggest tragedy of course is that because the children have no education, they have very little personal equity. In times of change this could be life threatening. For example, consider a child has worked on a farm against his will all his life. A famine hits the land or newer and better farming techniques are introduced. In either case, this child is left with no recourse to earn money. On the other hand, if the child had learnt to read or say Excel or Power Point, then s/he could be raking it in by the buckets.
There has been a drastic increase in the number of children being sold as slaves (for as little as ten dollars) for cocoa farms in the Ivory Coast. On another portion of this website, there is a story that deals with the same.
Inspector Vinod in Mali
In addition to the good Inspector, some governments are fighting against child slavery in an effective manner. The Midday Feeding program in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu gives children free lunch at school. Parents send children to school - it is one less meal they have to worry about.
It is one child less the world has to worry about.
While the world fights over chemical weapons, religion and the meaning of pi, millions of children around the world are languishing in slavery. The future of the next new world is either not free, or even if it is (free), it is bound to be cynical. These children could be involved in activities such as carpet weaving, beedi rolling or even prostitution.
Why do children enter into such situations?
Often they are forced to do so by their parents who have some debt to pay off. This debt could have been paid off many times over, but the lack of education and high interest rates keeps them and their children in this horrible state of slavery for years to come.
The biggest tragedy of course is that because the children have no education, they have very little personal equity. In times of change this could be life threatening. For example, consider a child has worked on a farm against his will all his life. A famine hits the land or newer and better farming techniques are introduced. In either case, this child is left with no recourse to earn money. On the other hand, if the child had learnt to read or say Excel or Power Point, then s/he could be raking it in by the buckets.
There has been a drastic increase in the number of children being sold as slaves (for as little as ten dollars) for cocoa farms in the Ivory Coast. On another portion of this website, there is a story that deals with the same.
Inspector Vinod in Mali
In addition to the good Inspector, some governments are fighting against child slavery in an effective manner. The Midday Feeding program in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu gives children free lunch at school. Parents send children to school - it is one less meal they have to worry about.
It is one child less the world has to worry about.
<$BlogDateHeaderDate$>
