I remember being at school and not wanting to eat my lunch, either because I wasn’t hungry, or I didn’t like what Mum gave me. The teacher would always say, “There are starving children in Africa. They would do just about anything to be able to have that sandwich.” Even I have said the same thing to my former affluent asian students in Bangkok, but with them I used to say, “There are starving children in…in…your own country and would love to have the food you’re turning your nose up at!” We have been pledging money, sponsoring children, and donating everything we have for decades now, but Africa still starves. Yet again we see, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a humanitarian crisis, like in Sudan. Why are we so helpless? The blame lies squarely at the foot of those in charge.
Corrupt governments and rogue militia teams with a score to settle continue to affect this part of the world. Until something positive happens, hell breaks loose with stories coming out of Congo showing Congolese refugees leaving refugee camps to brave the conditions back home because they haven’t eaten. Braving the conditions back home means trying to avoid things like being raped, or at the very worst, being shot dead or seeing this happen to their loved ones.
We have seen this happen in Sudan. Liberians suffered at the hands of former President Charles Taylor. Zimbabwe goes without saying, Kenya has had some issues, and over in the Carribean state of Haiti, chaos and dysfunction are the norm. Add to this the latest building collapse in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince which has killed at least 50, and you have a country that might as well call the ball game off, close the roller door at the front of the shop and declare itself out of business.
Absolute power corrupts absolutely. It is an old, somewhat tired saying. The citizens of these countries, and many others that we could add to it, show that if you have the wrong people in power, or if power becomes just too damn nice, the general population will suffer. How do we stop them? The saddest thing is there is not much any of us can do. Oh yes, we can have Mia Farrow, Angelina Jolie, Madonna, and any other celebrity we like doing the ‘humanitarian thing’, but it needs a concerted effort from good, solid governments all around the world, to have a ‘collective conscience’ and see the world’s citizens as everyone’s responsibility.
As a teacher, I see this ‘collective responsibility’ as vitally important. I may have direct responsibility for one set of students. But I look out for, and help to guide all the other students at the school. The other teachers do the same. The student in my class isn’t just my responsibility. He or she is belongs to us as a teaching staff.
The election of Barack Obama will hopefully set the tone for other countries to follow. Under President Bill Clinton, the Northern Ireland peace process moved tremendously, and it is where it is now largely due to Clinton, Tony Blair, and ex-Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern. It technically had nothing to do with Clinton, but he made it his business to put some weight behind it.
I am not saying Barack Obama’s responsibility is to take on the political business of the entire world, but the more the rest of the world sees his leadership and his successes, the more they may want to learn from it. We have good people in charge around the world at the moment. Sarkozy of France, Merkel of Germany, Brown of the UK, Rudd of Australia, Yuduyono of Indonesia, and so many more. Obama’s line in his election night acceptance speech, “This is our moment”, should be the line for all countries. A line for leaders worldwide to stop at and think about where they want to go from this point on. Anything is possible. Just take a look at the last few amazing days.
In the tiny Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan, change has also come. The former King Jigme Singye Wangchuck has handed over the kingdom to his son, 28-year-old Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, making him the youngest reigning monarch in the world. King Jigme Singye decided to abandon absolute monarchy 2 years ago, and set up a democracy, with democratic elections held a short while ago. He believed that with a new direction for the country politically, should come a new face to the monarchy, thereby appointing his son to be the new king.
What this shows is a ruler who has not let absolute power corrupt him. He has seized the moment to make a statement. Even though Bhutan is a tiny enclave of 600,000 people, it may well be a model for others to follow. The former king obviously saw the effects of a corrupt monarch in neighbouring Nepal, where King Gayanendra and the entire royal family have been removed from the constitutional makeup. Former King Jigme Singye did not want that for his country.
With these two amazingly positive events in the histories of one of the largest nations on earth to one of the smallest, let us hope that continents like Africa, South America, and parts of the Middle East can look at themselves, do some soul searching, and see what their actions are doing to their people.
November 8, 2008
It’s time to turn the page.
Posted by damob under Social commentaryLeave a Comment
I remember being at school and not wanting to eat my lunch, either because I wasn’t hungry, or I didn’t like what Mum gave me. The teacher would always say, “There are starving children in Africa. They would do just about anything to be able to have that sandwich.” Even I have said the same thing to my former affluent asian students in Bangkok, but with them I used to say, “There are starving children in…in…your own country and would love to have the food you’re turning your nose up at!” We have been pledging money, sponsoring children, and donating everything we have for decades now, but Africa still starves. Yet again we see, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a humanitarian crisis, like in Sudan. Why are we so helpless? The blame lies squarely at the foot of those in charge.
Corrupt governments and rogue militia teams with a score to settle continue to affect this part of the world. Until something positive happens, hell breaks loose with stories coming out of Congo showing Congolese refugees leaving refugee camps to brave the conditions back home because they haven’t eaten. Braving the conditions back home means trying to avoid things like being raped, or at the very worst, being shot dead or seeing this happen to their loved ones.
We have seen this happen in Sudan. Liberians suffered at the hands of former President Charles Taylor. Zimbabwe goes without saying, Kenya has had some issues, and over in the Carribean state of Haiti, chaos and dysfunction are the norm. Add to this the latest building collapse in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince which has killed at least 50, and you have a country that might as well call the ball game off, close the roller door at the front of the shop and declare itself out of business.
Absolute power corrupts absolutely. It is an old, somewhat tired saying. The citizens of these countries, and many others that we could add to it, show that if you have the wrong people in power, or if power becomes just too damn nice, the general population will suffer. How do we stop them? The saddest thing is there is not much any of us can do. Oh yes, we can have Mia Farrow, Angelina Jolie, Madonna, and any other celebrity we like doing the ‘humanitarian thing’, but it needs a concerted effort from good, solid governments all around the world, to have a ‘collective conscience’ and see the world’s citizens as everyone’s responsibility.
As a teacher, I see this ‘collective responsibility’ as vitally important. I may have direct responsibility for one set of students. But I look out for, and help to guide all the other students at the school. The other teachers do the same. The student in my class isn’t just my responsibility. He or she is belongs to us as a teaching staff.
The election of Barack Obama will hopefully set the tone for other countries to follow. Under President Bill Clinton, the Northern Ireland peace process moved tremendously, and it is where it is now largely due to Clinton, Tony Blair, and ex-Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern. It technically had nothing to do with Clinton, but he made it his business to put some weight behind it.
I am not saying Barack Obama’s responsibility is to take on the political business of the entire world, but the more the rest of the world sees his leadership and his successes, the more they may want to learn from it. We have good people in charge around the world at the moment. Sarkozy of France, Merkel of Germany, Brown of the UK, Rudd of Australia, Yuduyono of Indonesia, and so many more. Obama’s line in his election night acceptance speech, “This is our moment”, should be the line for all countries. A line for leaders worldwide to stop at and think about where they want to go from this point on. Anything is possible. Just take a look at the last few amazing days.
In the tiny Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan, change has also come. The former King Jigme Singye Wangchuck has handed over the kingdom to his son, 28-year-old Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, making him the youngest reigning monarch in the world. King Jigme Singye decided to abandon absolute monarchy 2 years ago, and set up a democracy, with democratic elections held a short while ago. He believed that with a new direction for the country politically, should come a new face to the monarchy, thereby appointing his son to be the new king.
What this shows is a ruler who has not let absolute power corrupt him. He has seized the moment to make a statement. Even though Bhutan is a tiny enclave of 600,000 people, it may well be a model for others to follow. The former king obviously saw the effects of a corrupt monarch in neighbouring Nepal, where King Gayanendra and the entire royal family have been removed from the constitutional makeup. Former King Jigme Singye did not want that for his country.
With these two amazingly positive events in the histories of one of the largest nations on earth to one of the smallest, let us hope that continents like Africa, South America, and parts of the Middle East can look at themselves, do some soul searching, and see what their actions are doing to their people.
Enjoy your day