We Are the World

Over the past few weeks, it is easy to get caught up in all the tragedy and struggles of the world and be at dismay. It is easy to feel hopelessness for humanity and it is easy to feel guilt and sadness. Once reading Beverly Bell's Fault Lines and seeing the Haiti aftermath documentary, I felt nauseous that there are people living in such health hazards and disgusting conditions. The earthquake struck Haiti six years ago. SIX years have passed and there are still people starving and living under tarps without running water.

As an American, every day I see new unnecessary construction, people making unnecessary purchases, and indulging in unnecessary luxuries and goods. After reading Bell's descriptions of life in Haiti after the earthquake and better yet putting a visual image to the catastrophe after watching the documentary in class, I have a new sickness in my stomach that we are oppressing our world's hurt and struggles. Just because these problems are not directly affecting us, we are not doing anything to help it.

Throughout finding the world's harsh realities every day, I continue to ask myself: what can I do? How can I make a difference in the lives of people who need me like the people reaping the consequences of natural disaster in Haiti? The only answer I can seem to find is that I cannot do it alone. No one can do it alone. Together, we need to unite to help our fellow humans in need. We cannot continue to oppress reality and the struggles of our peers in Haiti. WE are the world and WE are the children. Together, we can accomplish anything.

The funds that are not being accessible in Haiti need to be investigated.

New shelter needs to be provided and tent drives need to be help. We do fundraisers all the time for our own good, why can't we do it for others' good? Something needs to be done for these people in their time of need. When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, together as a nation we stood to meet their needs. The people of Haiti do not have this kind of assistance and we need to be of that assistance.

From thousands of miles away, I feel the hurt of these people. I want to help and I can.
What can you do to make a difference?

Haiti's Gift Economy

"The same solidarity and gift economy is what has kept this resourceful people alive for centuries" (Bell, 21). To me, this quote rings true as a common theme for Haiti and shows just how strong the people are.

The Haitian Revolution was the only slave uprising that ended in a free state that was ruled by former slaves and not their captives. This uprising rocked many Western people's worlds because they believed in the myth that slaves were "happy" and "took pride in their work" which is why they would do it for free. The organization and ability to work cohesively under pressure is was what made the difference between life away from the French, or a slow death under their oppression. And the same cohesion and organization is what helped them endure life after the earthquake.

While reading Fault Lines I was overwhelmed by the amounts of community that showed through especially in the minutes, hours, and days directly after the earthquake. Bell talks about how there was essentially no government the second after the ground started to shake, and after that it was up to the citizens to take care of each other and their country. The stories and stories of people with cars that are miraculously still running that people volunteer to use so they could rush people to the makeshift hospital, and people sharing their last piece of bread so that someone else can eat truly makes my heart warm. But Bell also states that tragedy is when the opportunists come out and many times the people without a voice are taken advantage of by anyone from petty theives to organizations that are meant to help with disaster relief ended up not coming through. According to the Borgen Project only half the money foreign governments promised to pay has been paid, and half of the money American donors have spent on relief hasn't been spent and is instead being kept by the Red Cross as "long term projects". From private donations alone that's about 150 million dollars unspent to help the Haitian people. Because so many of the Haitian's own resources have been spent on relief, they are having a hard time getting back on their feet because recovery seems never ending.

Because Haiti was so impoverished before the earthquake and is predominantly black I do have to wonder if the foreign relief is slower because they aren't a "built up", white, wealthy society. If that's the case then I am ashamed to be a part of a system that places a hierarchy on human life, when death this long after the disaster could be so easily preventable.

Economics Effect on the Natural Balance of Life

Late posts are kind of becoming a thing for my section which I apologize for, but better late then never seems to cover my bases on that. Recently in class we covered the issue in video format of the economic struggle and prosperity of the Jamaican island. This brought my thinking to a level of economics and the effects it has on the physical and mental well being of the inhabitants. The thought is that importing and exporting is how many countries turn a profit for their cash crops and specialty commodities. Consider the clothing that many of us wear, along with a great portion of the goods that we use, many of them have a tag that reads "made in China", or "made in Taiwan". Now imagine the amount of other countries that use the wholesale value of the production of goods made in countries like those, then just take it all away. This would mean that all goods purchased in the country would be made from within the boundaries of said country, the cost of production to consumer would be around the same. Cost effectivity would plummet and many economies would struggle to stay afloat as the range of production to retail cost would not be as broad, meaning that the profit margin would be dramatically reduced causing stocks and abridge the gap between wealthy and well off. In Jamaica the production of American goods which technically never touchs ground on Jamaican soil and are produced in the "free zone" manufactured for minimal pay. The workers will make around $1,500 Jamaican dollars per paycheck, which is the equivalent of $30 U.S. dollars. The range of exchange for the compensation of work brings costs for the U.S. goods down while the average price of these is 60-70% more than what it took to produce them, leaving a giant profit margin for the company that has their brand written on them. How does this effect those who are actually making these goods and getting paid dirt for it? Whether men or woman it seems that the knowledge that all of those long days comprised of hard work and long hours, is going towards barley paying the bills as is can cause much stress to build up inside of someone. For instance my job pays well but nearing the end of a paycheck, I start to have tidbits of stress due to the fact I do not know how to spread the money to fit it all. Bills, Gas, food, and other daily necessities must come first. The question is which one needs to be given the most attention and safety. Now add a family to that equation and life has just sprouted horns and started to laugh in your face it seems.

The economic welfare of many major countries has seemed to compromise the import and export of others, and when the number one option becomes obsolete then tourists will pay the bills. We discussed the happy nature that many residents of Caribbean countries have as shown in commercials and such, yet most locals in these resort areas will warn you to not leave the resort area un-supervised as it is very dangerous for tourists to venture as they are either not well accepted by the locals, or are seen as easy targets for theft. When I went to Cabo for spring break last year, my friends and I got off the flight and while on the shuttle to the resort we were told that the locals do not take kindly to our kind as we Americans are viewed as very pompous and self-centered in demeanor. As well as pictured as over privileged "gringo" rich people. The exchange rates in this country are usually very high favoring the U.S. currency. meaning many who seem to make a decent wage in their nations currency are making less than the minimum wage here state side.

This past week, we’ve talked about neoliberalism and the global political economy. And after reading Jamaica Kincaid’s book, A Small Place and watching the film Life and Debt, I’ve learned one thing to be true: Power is everything. Before I get too far into any discussion I want to lay out a few definitions that were new to me…

Neoliberalism: The rule of the market- also the heart of capitalism. It has a great deal to do with Reagan’s theory of “trickle down economics.” It states that the best way to increase economic growth and to benefit all people is to have a completely unregulated market- free of government intervention.

Global political economy: brings together systems of power and basic economics (means of production, profit and the movement of capital). Basically it looks at the economy and investigates further the forces driving it and the motives behind those forces.

In class, Dr. Shoaff briefly mentioned the idea of metaphorical free zones- this thought really resonated with me. I like to think that I’ve had some great family vacations- most of which led us out to beaches out of the country. Our tour guide through the rain forest of Puerto Rico was great! As was our snorkeling instructor in Belize and the staff of our resort in the Bahamas. I fell into the trap of ignoring my privilege. My privilege permits ignorance. “And it will never occur to you that the people who inhabit this place in which you have just paused cannot stand you” (Kincaid, 17). It never occurred to me that my visits to these countries were simply touchdowns to a free zone. The only time we would leave the resort was on an excursion planned by said resort.

Now lets talk about free zones…

In the film Life and Debt that we watched in class, they interviewed individuals that work in free zones in Jamaica. Nothing seemed fair about their situation to me. (Which again goes back into the idea that not everyone starts on an even playing field and that fair does not really exist when it comes to class, but that’s a post for another day). I felt for them, $30 every two weeks? And their paychecks aren’t promised to come in on time? How awful. And although it is difficult to do, we need to force ourselves to think about the politics of it all. Who is exploited who here, and for what reason? It’s us. My dad wears Brooks Brothers on special occasion; I’ve shopped at Tommy Hilfiger. Because of my privilege, I am oblivious to the thought of the labor put into sewing those clothes together. Its sickening to think about really. And I think Kincaid’s book made a lot of us feel uncomfortable for the sake of enlightening us- forcing us to think about the politics behind this global economy that we support.