Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere with a UNDP national poverty index ranking of 68th. The country is also home to one of the world’s most populated cities without a centralized sewage system – Port-Au-Prince. Although the developing country is vibrant, Haiti is still struggling. Since the initial destruction that the 7.0 magnitude earthquake in 2010 brought, cholera and HIV have ravaged the nation. However, as a direct result of the CDC intervention in Haiti, the nation has not fallen. The CDC has provided financial and technical assistance to the Government of Haiti (GOH) since 2002. In the 2010 earthquake’s aftermath, the CDC refocused on both immediate health necessities and public health systems within days of the U.N.’s arrival. CDC intervention in Haiti assisted the GOH in developing disease surveillance systems and establishing a competent public health force aimed to aid Haiti in developing a proper disease outbreak response.
This past decade, Haiti has not seen much progress due to reform efforts growing stagnant. Subsequently, the changes the country has seen thus far have turned out to be unsustainable and/or have been ill-fitted solutions to Haiti’s unique predicament. Fortunately, CDC intervention in Haiti has been critical to the continued survival of many, and the number of people saved will hopefully continue to grow.
Haiti’s Cholera Epidemic and the CDC
The GOH and the CDC have also been collaborating to devise a longterm plan to eliminate cholera. CDC intervention in Haiti has increased patient case surveillance, laboratory capacity, oral cholera vaccine (OCV) administration and clean water and sanitation access in efforts to curb cholera’s spread.
One of these efforts includes the Haitian Ministry of Health (MOH) building the National Cholera Surveillance System (NCSS) in conjunction with the CDC support. The platform is a rapid identifier of concentrated outbreaks, providing critical guidance to further prevent future outbreaks. Thanks to these efforts, along with others, incidence rates dropped from 112 cases per every 100,000 in 2017 to 25.5 cases for every 100,000 in 2018.
The CDC’s “Foot-Soldiers” in the Battle Against Cholera
Through the design of training programs, protocols and supplemental assistance, the CDC has created an entirely new workforce titled TEPACs or officially the Techniciens en Eau Potable et Assainissement pour les Communes. Having been key in Haiti’s disease prevention, these “foot-soldiers” ensure the safety of water sources, improve sanitation standards and routinely assess communal water systems and sources for free chlorine. They also performed Haiti’s first inventory of those sources; inventory of resources provide valuable information to donation/volunteering groups. Alongside the efforts of the CDC, TEPACs has launched the WASH initiative – coordinated work in the area of water, sanitation and hygiene – in a supplemental effort to eradicate cholera from Haiti.
CDC Impact On the AIDS Crisis
It is estimated that 150,000 people living in Haiti have HIV/AIDS. CDC intervention in Haiti is achieving more control over the AIDS epidemic. Outlining the concern of the epidemic and the impact of CDC support, 98 percent of all pregnant women and 100 percent of TB patients that CDC clinics saw received tests for HIV. Further, all TB patients that tested positive for HIV also received antiretroviral therapy (ART) in 2018.
The CDC and the President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) have sought to better medical treatment, fortify health care systems, improve laboratory information networks and cover medical fees. The development of information-sharing systems to track data of HIV patients has saved countless lives.
CDC Provides Household Water Treatment and Storage
The CDC also implemented household water treatment and storage (HWTS) to support adequate sanitary conditions for Haitians. HWTS has the potential to provide safe drinking water in primarily rural households. CDC intervention in Haiti has offered HWTS product certification developmental protocols and a national strategy for HWTS programs and product evaluation. The Direction Nationale de l’Eau Potable et de l’Assainissement (DINEPA) intends these programs to support disease prevention and treatment in Haiti.
A Solution to the Underlying Sanitation Problem
While recovery has been slow, CDC intervention in Haiti has been an immensely influential factor in public health. One aspect of public sanitation the CDC does not have a direct influence on is the waste that litters Haiti.
Today, the capital, Port-Au-Prince, is still without central sewage. With every rainfall, a potentially lethal flood of human fecal matter, urine and other harmful substances accompany the water.
The country is in dire need of infrastructure reforms specifically for the needs of Haiti and its people. The CDC has dedicated itself to controlling and minimizing epidemics, but it has yet to address flooding latrines and a lack of proper sewage disposal systems despite their inflammatory influence on disease.
Flaure Dubois has a potential solution to Haiti’s flood problem. Dubois proposes the Haitian government hire those working to clean latrines, called Bayakous, to create jobs for Haitian citizens. Officializing the Bayakou occupation would bring a wage increase and higher public esteem. If the GOH and the CDC work in conjunction with Bayakous to educate citizens about the dangers of raw sewage, people might be more willing to pay for Bayakou services. Further, it would encourage the sewage shipment to treatment plants, rather than it going into canals. A larger influx of latrine waste enables Haiti’s one functional plant to operate at peak performance and support economic growth in the sanitation sector.
Government-funded Bayakous provide a basis to expand Haiti’s waste-management industry, eventually increasing aptitudes for efficient waste treatment/disposal methods. Expansion of this industry could result in a higher degree of sanitation and a lower rate of disease transmission.
The GOH or the CDC’s involvement in waste management would lead to superior safety and higher circulation of information for Haitian citizens and workers in the sanitation industry. Employing Bayakous has the potential to sponsor the country’s most important pillar in ensuring safe water sources and sanitation. By offering better equipment, methods and working conditions CDC intervention in Haiti can support sustaining health improvements. Haiti needs a sustainable solution to the root of its sanitation problem before it can begin to have lasting-recovery.
– Hana Burson
Photo: Pixabay
The Reality of Vietnamese Mail-Order Brides
The term mail-order bride is an uncomfortable term for many. The idea of ordering one’s spouse through the internet certainly goes against the established romantic norm that many people adhere to. However, the mail-order bride market is an international industry that one cannot ignore. Men and women, mainly in South East Asia, East Asia and Eastern Europe, employ the services of numerous matchmaking agencies and marriage brokers to search for their special someone. In South Korea, for example, some bachelors utilize these services because they are unable to find romantic relationships and partners in their country. Women from Vietnam, the Philippines, Russia and Ukraine constitute the majority of the brides in these services. These women often come to these international matchmaking agencies because they are trying to escape the poor economic realities of their home countries, such as being in danger of sexual and economic exploitation. This article will highlight the reality of Vietnamese mail-order brides in particular.
Is it legal?
Perhaps this is the first question that comes to mind when one hears the term mail-order brides. The answer is that it is legal so long as all parties involved are going through the proper channels. This is part of the reason why many international matchmaking agencies shun the term mail-order brides. Despite what the term might suggest, no one is ordering another human being for shipment to their doorsteps. Instead, many clients of these matchmaking agencies have to work with international marriage brokers (IMBs) to connect and meet their potential spouses.
Accusations Against the Industry
There are certainly many accusations that people make against the mail-order bride industry. Critics accuse the industry of being another form of human trafficking for three main reasons. First, many women who become mail-order brides come from countries with limited economic access for women. Second, some marriage brokers and agencies in the business are more concerned with profit than they are about the well-being of the women they claim to help find love and new life. Lastly, people do not hold IMBs responsible for the safety of the mail-order brides they introduce their clients to, leaving many mail-order brides in danger of violence and exploitation from their spouses.
When looking at the language that IMBs use to describe their brides, the critics’ concerns toward IMBs are understandable. In The Atlantic’s report on Vietnamese mail-order brides, there is a picture of a poster in Ho Chi Minh City which advertises a marriage broker’s service. The poster reads, “She is a virgin, she will be yours in only three months, fixed price, if she escapes in the first year, guaranteed to be replaced.” This kind of attitude toward women, which treats them as commodities, is also prevalent in online mail-order bride services. Bestasianbrides.com, one of the biggest online IMBs, highlights the submissiveness of the Vietnamese mail-order brides. Under “Reason 2: Submissiveness,” the website writes, “There are literally millions of Vietnamese singles, and almost each of them will easily remind you what a real woman is. A womanly woman, you know, feminine.”
About the Women
The majority of the women who sign up with matchmaking agencies do so voluntarily. For these women, marrying a foreign man is one of the sure-fire ways to escape poverty in their country. This, however, does not eliminate the possibility of these women receiving false information about their future husbands. This could lead to further exploitation and violence once these Vietnamese brides arrive in their husbands’ home country. In 2010, for example, a South Korean man murdered his Vietnamese bride after eight days of marriage. The husband did not disclose his schizophrenia when he met his bride through a matchmaking agency. In the BBC’s 2019 report, it reported on a South Korean man who physically abused his Vietnamese wife. Many Vietnamese wives in South Korea sometimes find themselves at the mercy of their husbands because their immigration status depends on them.
Improving the Brides’ Safety
South Korea, the U.S. and Vietnam are taking measures to improve the safety of these brides. South Korea requires all IMBs to register with the state and provide background checks and criminal history of their clients. If the IMBs do not comply, it revokes their licenses. In the U.S., the International Marriage Broker Regulation Act (IMBRA) regulates international marriage services. This protects foreign women marrying American men by requiring the husband to disclose their prior marital, financial and criminal history in order to obtain consent for marriage from their spouses. Meanwhile, Vietnam has entirely outlawed IMBs.
The mail-order brides industry certainly paints a very ambiguous picture. On one hand, there are men and women who are desperately looking for their special someone. These men and women, driven by their desire to start a family, climbing the socio-economic ladder or simply finding love, turn to many international matchmaking agencies to find their special someone. There are certainly some heartwarming love stories that came out of these mail-order bride marriages. This still does not change the fact that there are people who treat Vietnamese women like tradable commodities. This attitude puts many Vietnamese women in danger of violence, exploitation and abuse. Countries such as South Korea, the U.S. and Vietnam are making efforts in improving the conditions of these Vietnamese mail-order brides.
– YongJin Yi
Photo: Flickr
The Progress of CDC Intervention in Haiti
Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere with a UNDP national poverty index ranking of 68th. The country is also home to one of the world’s most populated cities without a centralized sewage system – Port-Au-Prince. Although the developing country is vibrant, Haiti is still struggling. Since the initial destruction that the 7.0 magnitude earthquake in 2010 brought, cholera and HIV have ravaged the nation. However, as a direct result of the CDC intervention in Haiti, the nation has not fallen. The CDC has provided financial and technical assistance to the Government of Haiti (GOH) since 2002. In the 2010 earthquake’s aftermath, the CDC refocused on both immediate health necessities and public health systems within days of the U.N.’s arrival. CDC intervention in Haiti assisted the GOH in developing disease surveillance systems and establishing a competent public health force aimed to aid Haiti in developing a proper disease outbreak response.
This past decade, Haiti has not seen much progress due to reform efforts growing stagnant. Subsequently, the changes the country has seen thus far have turned out to be unsustainable and/or have been ill-fitted solutions to Haiti’s unique predicament. Fortunately, CDC intervention in Haiti has been critical to the continued survival of many, and the number of people saved will hopefully continue to grow.
Haiti’s Cholera Epidemic and the CDC
The GOH and the CDC have also been collaborating to devise a longterm plan to eliminate cholera. CDC intervention in Haiti has increased patient case surveillance, laboratory capacity, oral cholera vaccine (OCV) administration and clean water and sanitation access in efforts to curb cholera’s spread.
One of these efforts includes the Haitian Ministry of Health (MOH) building the National Cholera Surveillance System (NCSS) in conjunction with the CDC support. The platform is a rapid identifier of concentrated outbreaks, providing critical guidance to further prevent future outbreaks. Thanks to these efforts, along with others, incidence rates dropped from 112 cases per every 100,000 in 2017 to 25.5 cases for every 100,000 in 2018.
The CDC’s “Foot-Soldiers” in the Battle Against Cholera
Through the design of training programs, protocols and supplemental assistance, the CDC has created an entirely new workforce titled TEPACs or officially the Techniciens en Eau Potable et Assainissement pour les Communes. Having been key in Haiti’s disease prevention, these “foot-soldiers” ensure the safety of water sources, improve sanitation standards and routinely assess communal water systems and sources for free chlorine. They also performed Haiti’s first inventory of those sources; inventory of resources provide valuable information to donation/volunteering groups. Alongside the efforts of the CDC, TEPACs has launched the WASH initiative – coordinated work in the area of water, sanitation and hygiene – in a supplemental effort to eradicate cholera from Haiti.
CDC Impact On the AIDS Crisis
It is estimated that 150,000 people living in Haiti have HIV/AIDS. CDC intervention in Haiti is achieving more control over the AIDS epidemic. Outlining the concern of the epidemic and the impact of CDC support, 98 percent of all pregnant women and 100 percent of TB patients that CDC clinics saw received tests for HIV. Further, all TB patients that tested positive for HIV also received antiretroviral therapy (ART) in 2018.
The CDC and the President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) have sought to better medical treatment, fortify health care systems, improve laboratory information networks and cover medical fees. The development of information-sharing systems to track data of HIV patients has saved countless lives.
CDC Provides Household Water Treatment and Storage
The CDC also implemented household water treatment and storage (HWTS) to support adequate sanitary conditions for Haitians. HWTS has the potential to provide safe drinking water in primarily rural households. CDC intervention in Haiti has offered HWTS product certification developmental protocols and a national strategy for HWTS programs and product evaluation. The Direction Nationale de l’Eau Potable et de l’Assainissement (DINEPA) intends these programs to support disease prevention and treatment in Haiti.
A Solution to the Underlying Sanitation Problem
While recovery has been slow, CDC intervention in Haiti has been an immensely influential factor in public health. One aspect of public sanitation the CDC does not have a direct influence on is the waste that litters Haiti.
Today, the capital, Port-Au-Prince, is still without central sewage. With every rainfall, a potentially lethal flood of human fecal matter, urine and other harmful substances accompany the water.
The country is in dire need of infrastructure reforms specifically for the needs of Haiti and its people. The CDC has dedicated itself to controlling and minimizing epidemics, but it has yet to address flooding latrines and a lack of proper sewage disposal systems despite their inflammatory influence on disease.
Flaure Dubois has a potential solution to Haiti’s flood problem. Dubois proposes the Haitian government hire those working to clean latrines, called Bayakous, to create jobs for Haitian citizens. Officializing the Bayakou occupation would bring a wage increase and higher public esteem. If the GOH and the CDC work in conjunction with Bayakous to educate citizens about the dangers of raw sewage, people might be more willing to pay for Bayakou services. Further, it would encourage the sewage shipment to treatment plants, rather than it going into canals. A larger influx of latrine waste enables Haiti’s one functional plant to operate at peak performance and support economic growth in the sanitation sector.
Government-funded Bayakous provide a basis to expand Haiti’s waste-management industry, eventually increasing aptitudes for efficient waste treatment/disposal methods. Expansion of this industry could result in a higher degree of sanitation and a lower rate of disease transmission.
The GOH or the CDC’s involvement in waste management would lead to superior safety and higher circulation of information for Haitian citizens and workers in the sanitation industry. Employing Bayakous has the potential to sponsor the country’s most important pillar in ensuring safe water sources and sanitation. By offering better equipment, methods and working conditions CDC intervention in Haiti can support sustaining health improvements. Haiti needs a sustainable solution to the root of its sanitation problem before it can begin to have lasting-recovery.
– Hana Burson
Photo: Pixabay
Everything to Know About the Protests in India
People in India gathered on December 19, 2019, to protest the government’s intensified religious discrimination. Around 25,000 people filled the streets of Mumbai and 10s of thousands more protested other major cities in India. On Dec. 11, the Indian government passed a new Citizenship Amendment Act. This act makes religion a qualification to gain citizenship. As the people continue to disagree with the actions of the state, here is everything that people should know about the protests in India.
Reasons for the Protests
The Citizenship Amendment Act promises to expedite the citizenship statuses of people of religious minorities in the countries neighboring India. This includes Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and many more, however, it excludes Muslims. Many of the protestors view the bill as an anti-Muslim sentiment in India, coming to a legislative light under Prime Minister Modi, even though Islam is the second-largest religion in India. It also sparks the fear that the 200 million Muslims with citizenship currently living in India could have their status called into question in the future.
Who are the Protestors?
Violence in the protest
The protests in India as a whole have resulted in the arrests of thousands of people, of which authorities arrested around 5,000 “preventatively” and 23 died. Six people alone died in Uttar Pradesh, a city in the north. However, the police chief of the area, Prakash Singh, claimed that the police did not fire any bullets and that they used only tear gas and batons on peaceful protestors. Despite these claims, the causes of death have yet to receive a public release. The most recent wave of peaceful protests in India has been in violation of an act temporarily preventing gatherings of more than four people at a time, heavily restricting the right to protest at a time of mass civil unrest.
Internet and Cellular Service Shut Downs
The internet and cellular services shut down in parts of the country, specifically the state of Uttar Pradesh. Prior to the cut, authorities arrested over 100 people. As of the end of 2019, there were inflammatory or inciting posts on social media regarding the CAA. Additionally, the police chief backs this move as a means to prevent the circulation of fake news and to stop the apparent fear-mongering of the CAA opposition.
The scale of the public outcry against the Citizenship Amendment Act shows that the fight to maintain India’s position as a secular state is far from over, although the authorities have stopped protestors. Protestors have had international support as well. On December 18, 2019, many people protested outside of the Indian consulate buildings in New York City, Chicago and San Francisco. As the protests in India rage on, the country remains torn over the discriminatory nature of this new law, and what it means for its democracy as a whole.
– Anna Sarah Langlois
Photo: UN Multimedia
Vaccine Temperature Monitoring
Vaccines are a great way to help save lives and protect people against diseases. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), vaccines prevent roughly 2-3 million deaths a year, although the exact number is difficult to calculate. As vaccines become more available to the public, the eradication process of diseases begins to increase. For example, in 1977, vaccines eradicated smallpox. Vaccine temperature monitoring helps this trend keep going.
How Temperature Affects Vaccines
Medical professionals must handle vaccines properly in order to maintain their effectiveness against a virus and preserve their shelf life. The vials need to remain in a controlled temperature environment to avoid activation and lose their potency levels. Vaccines will no longer be viable and become ineffective in the protection against viruses if they experience certain temperatures. According to UNICEF, back in 2011, there was an estimate of around $1.5 million worth of vaccines that people had to discard due to temperature breaches. The storage temperature varies between 35°F and 46°F (2°C and 8°C), all depending on the type of vaccine and its activation setpoint. If the vaccines experience extreme temperatures, their potency reduces, which ultimately makes them inefficient for protecting individuals against deadly diseases or contagious viruses.
In countries like Africa and Asia, there are countless organizations that are in high demand for vaccines to protect their citizens from diseases. They depend on their vaccines to be active in order to be able to use them in men, women and children. These people are fighting against polio, malaria, Hepatitis B and cervical cancer to name a few. Although the demand for vaccines is very high, people are discarding about 50 percent of the vaccine supply due to exposure to heat because of the lack of power and equipment in foreign countries. This is why investing in ways to protect vaccine vials with temperature monitoring devices is so important for clinics and hospitals that are administering the vaccines to the public. By protecting the vaccines with temperature monitors, providers will be able to control the vials that are on hand and detect which vials they should administer first and which they should discard because of heat exposure.
TempTime Corporation
One of the leaders in the creation of vaccine temperature monitors is TempTime Corporation. TempTime has innovated sensors known as Vaccine Vial Monitors (VVM) that can detect the exposure of heat and cold temperatures as well as the time length of the exposure. The company has several types of monitors such as HEATmarkers, FREEZEmarkers and blood temperature indicators. These VVMs are able to detect if each vaccine vial has had exposure to extreme heat or freezing conditions for extended periods of time. Once the center square has reached its optimal color, the vial is no longer effective in protecting recipients from the virus and should be discarded.
The benefit of this innovation is that it provides administrators like nurses and doctors with peace of mind knowing that their product is still useful for adults and children, protecting them from many diseases. The CDC has estimated that it loses about $20 million worth of product per year due to improper storage. Health professionals must discard vaccines because of heat exposure, and if the vaccines experience heat during transportation, this could cost the organizations and companies thousands of dollars in products that they could have used to treat and prevent diseases. TempTime is continually improving ways of effectiveness for its products to promote global health by creating products that will also test the temperatures during the transportation process like digital devices that read the precise temperature of the monitors or VVMs that can last up to 250 days in monitoring temperatures.
The WHO has acknowledged that VVMs are beneficial to organizations like UNICEF and health care professionals in identifying vaccines that temperatures have compromised. One could deem the ability to detect if a vaccine experienced freezing temperatures as crucial because one could experience a burning sensation when they receive this vaccine. In this situation, institutions could lose patients and receive bad reputations by people sharing their experiences with others. Ultimately, this careless act could harm business as well as causing people to not receive the proper care they deserve, which is why vaccine temperature monitoring is so important.
– Paola Quezada
Photo: Flickr
10 Facts about Girls’ Education in Yemen
10 Facts About Girls’ Education in Yemen
Yemeni girls have many obstacles to attaining quality education. However, the ending of a drawn-out war and continued aid and support from organizations across the world is bettering the situation. These are small and steady steps, helping to ensure that the nation’s girls will lead lives full of learning and progression. These 10 facts about girls’ education in Yemen shed light on the issue of Yemen’s education system.
– Henry Schrandt
Photo: Flickr
History of Poverty in South Korea
While K-Pop and Korean culture has appeared in mainstream media, the looming presence of poverty in South Korea has not. According to the World Bank’s 2018 GDP rankings, the Republic of Korea stands as the world’s 12th largest economy, making it understandable that poverty in South Korea is not making global headlines. For the people of South Korea, a country roughly the size of the state of Illinois, this economic achievement is a massive source of national pride. As the “miracle of the Han River,” South Korea’s economic transformation from 1961 to 1997 strengthened the narrative of South Korea as an Asian economic powerhouse. Here is some information about the history of poverty in South Korea.
History of the Korean Economy
Poverty in South Korea has always held a place in history. Korea received liberation from the Japanese empire’s 35-year colonial rule in 1945. When the Korean War broke out in 1950, the Korean economy was largely agrarian. By the time the War concluded in 1953, an estimated 5 million people died. Among the 5 million dead, half of the casualties were civilians and the nation’s economy suffered equal devastation. By the conclusion of the Korean War in 1953, the GDP of South Korea was only $40.9 million. In comparison, South Korea’s GDP in 2015 was $1,485 trillion.
Economic Growth Igniting in the 1960s
Korean historians note the 1960s as a time of rapid economic growth in South Korea. Initially, the South Korean economy still depended largely upon foreign aid, although South Korea went through rapid industrialization under President Park Jeong Hee, an army general who seized government control in 1961. The major challenge facing President Park Jeong Hee was the lack of natural and raw resources after the war. Most of the natural resources in the Korean peninsula were in North Korea; therefore, South Korea had limited products for export. In 1964, the South Korean government hatched a plan to start the export of wigs. South Korean women began selling hair to wig factories and by 1970, wigs accounted for 9.3% of South Korea’s overall exports.
Japanese Manufacturing to South Korea
In conjunction, many Japanese textile and electronics companies began moving labor-intensive assembly plants to South Korea. As companies hired Koreans as plant employees, they gained knowledge that eventually aided in the start of Korean-owned electronics corporations. Further, the South Korean government aided in funding business conglomerates, such as Samsung and LG, by providing substantial subsidies and loans. Despite this profound economic growth, poverty in South Korea was still present from the Korean War.
The poverty-stricken Korean assembly workers made the miracle of the Han River possible. During South Korea’s rapid growth, the government’s focus on cheap exports resulted in the repression of workers’ rights. For example, competing within the international market, Korean chaebols maintained a low labor cost, resulting in underpaid workers. Additionally, it was common for manufacturing workers to work 10-hour days every day of the week. Employers and the government often ignored safety regulations and concerns too. President Park Jeong Hee outlawed unionization, making it impossible for workers to fight for rights.
In a Washington Post 1977 report, the reality of Korean workers during the 1970s was clear. William Chapman shadowed a Korean woman, Miss Lee, and found, “[that] while Korea has gleaming new factories and a growing middle class, it remains a land of miserable poverty and Dickensian wage and employment conditions for the working class.” Chapman reports abuse such as low daily wage, long working hours and lack of workers’ bargaining powers. Chapman’s work reflected terrible working conditions and their implications on poverty in South Korea.
South Korean Poverty Today
While poverty rates have significantly decreased since the 1970s, poverty in South Korea is still present. Today, two major groups experience poverty in South Korea: the non-regular workers and the elderly.
The term non-regular workers refers to the fixed-term, part-time and dispatched workers who constitute one-third of employees in South Korea. In addition to a lack of job security, non-regular workers typically earn one-third less than regular workers. This income inequality is titled market dualism. Because of the income gap, non-regular workers have less access to insurance and company-based benefits.
Many of the South Korean elderly also live in poverty. Because of their high seniority-based wages and dated industry knowledge, most workers must leave their companies at around age 50. In 2017, the unemployment rate for the 55 to 64 age group was 67.5%, which is above the OECD average of 59.2%. Those who are employed usually find themselves in temporary employment with low wages. While South Korea has a national pension service, the recent rise in the elderly population is putting a strain on the system.
The history of poverty in South Korea comes from the country’s war-torn society. The rapid economic growth during the 1960s and the 1970s came at the cost of workers’ rights and exploitation, and ultimately, the poor in South Korea. In 2020, South Korea still struggles to make equitable working conditions for the elderly and non-regular workers.
– YongJin Yi
Photo: Flickr
Theater of the Oppressed and Social Change
Amidst all the papers, meetings and phone calls that make up nonprofit work, one can forget that drama and emotion are at the center of social justice work. Is tending to drama and emotion really necessary to push the social justice needle further towards progress, though? The Theater of the Oppressed argues that it is and it can be the fuel vital to creating change.
What is the Theater of the Oppressed?
The Theater of the Oppressed is equal parts performance, activism practice and educational forum. It is a rising form of activism that refugees, homeless, minority groups and other populations are using to fight issues of oppression that can cause poverty. The Theater of the Oppressed is definitely not like a typical play or musical where the cast rehearses for weeks on end to create a perfect show. It is very improvisational and involves audience participation, thus transforming a passive audience into an active one.
The Theater of the Oppressed is an umbrella term for many different techniques such as forum theater, image theater and legislative theater. Brazilian visionary, Augusto Boyal, invented these techniques during the late 1950s. The application of these techniques initially happened with workers and peasant worker populations in Latin America. Forum theater is the most popular theater of the oppressed technique around the world. In the forum theater technique, a story plays out in front of an audience that discusses one of the issues of poverty and human rights at hand. After actors perform the story, they perform the story again. When the actors perform the story again, individual audience members can then say, “stop!” to interrupt the scene. Once someone has interrupted a scene, they can then replace an actor in the scene and improvise how they could change the situation in the story for the better.
Fighting for Human Rights
Combatants for Peace is an egalitarian, bi-national, grassroots organization in Israel and Palestine. It is also just one of the many nonprofits using the forum theater technique to fight for human rights. When it started in 2005, this theater group helped mitigate violence between Israeli and Palestinian civilians and it has performed in cities such as Tel Aviv. Israeli fighters and Palestinian freedom fighters decided that there was a better way to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict than violence, causing the organization’s start.
The forum theater includes stories such as those about mothers dealing with the despair of their sons living in war zones. Other stories include one from the Palestinian side about a 12-year-old little boy who formerly took part in the theater group. He and his friends were playing on the playground one day when some rock-throwing began suddenly in the background. Someone fired a shot and it accidentally hit the friend, causing his death. Through forum theater, audience members had a chance to interrupt these scenes after the actors performed them and were able to fill in for the actors to try and solve the issues in a more peaceful way.
The Jana Sanskriti Centre for Theatre of the Oppressed
The Jana Sanskriti Centre for Theater of the Oppressed is the longest-running forum theater company in world history. This group started in 1985 in the small village in Sunderbans, India. Now, the theater company has grown greatly and there are 36 satellite theater groups in districts such as West Bengal and New Delhi. Its theater teams reach many spectators every year and it has a bi-annual forum theater festival called Muktadhara, which has been going on since 2004, and noted Indian theater personalities visit.
Alongside forum theater, it uses image theater, where actors recreate images of their own reality through consensus. It views the reality objectively and analyzes it through “real image.” Actors proceed to make the image of a situation they desire (the ideal image) that does not include oppression. Participants then turn back to the “real image” and come up with different scenes to represent transitions from the “real image” to the “ideal image.” The image technique, like the forum technique, allows participants to introspect on how social change can happen.
In an interview with The Borgen Project on Jan 15, 2020, Theater of the Oppressed organizers like Ann Admon from Combatants for Peace discussed how these programs truly give people hope, something that can be hard to come by in war-torn zones. As she says, this form of activism “opens the door to have a glimpse into seeing that everybody’s a human being and everybody has a story and everybody is suffering,” amidst all the continual separation and stereotyping.
The Cardboard Citizen’s Theater Group
The Cardboard Citizen’s theater group, a London-based theater group working with homeless populations that is one of the leading practitioners of forum theater in the world, has helped empower the homeless through forum theater as well. Donovan, a participant of the group, stated that they “turned his life around” after he received a release from jail and lived in a hostel. The group helped him stay out of trouble by keeping him busy with going to drama practices and he has since become a member of the board of directors for the group.
Practices of Theater of the Oppressed show no signs of stopping any time soon. Continuing practices of this form of activism are sure to further strengthen communities at the grassroots level. Theater of the Oppressed brings to light how people are not alone in their oppression and can work as an empowered collective to spark the fire of change in a form like no other.
Photo: Pixabay
Top 10 Facts About Living Conditions in Nauru
Situated in the Pacific Ocean to the northeast of Australia, the Republic of Nauru is the smallest island nation in the world. Phosphate mining has rendered 80 percent of the island unhabitable and devoid of arable land. Phosphate deposits depleted in the 1980s and Nauru’s economy stagnated, transitioning the country from fiscally self-sustaining to externally dependent. The country’s history, economy and foreign relationships interlace with—and have shaped many aspects of—Nauruan life, as evidenced by the top 10 facts about living conditions in Nauru.
Top 10 Facts About Living Conditions in Nauru
These top 10 facts about living conditions in Nauru reveal that its history is complex. The country’s remote location, limited economic opportunities and increasing dependence on foreign investment—usually politically contingent for all countries—continue to impact the Nauruan population. However, ongoing U.N. involvement and foreign relationships with countries like Australia and the ROC, are working to address Nauru’s long-term social issues.
Photo: Wikipedia Commons
Global Health Update: The 2019 Coronavirus
The 2019 coronavirus outbreak in China has infected thousands and killed hundreds of people in Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Germany, France, the United States and other countries. As a result, there are strict preventative measures, as currently, only supportive care exists – meaning there is no definitive cure. Understanding all relevant information about the virus itself and the reaction of the global health community is highly relevant, important and necessary.
The 2019 Coronavirus (2019-nCoV or COVID-19)
Originating in Wuhan, China, the 2019 coronavirus is a viral infection that causes breathing problems. The 2019 coronavirus is within the same family of viruses – but a different strand – that causes Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome. It transmits from human to human through coughing, sneezing and other moist bodily particles. Symptoms include breathing difficulty, fever and cough, similar to typical viral infections.
Treatment
People can use supportive care for symptom relief, such as fever relief with Tylenol. No one has developed an antiviral for the 2019 coronavirus yet, which would consist of suppression of further viral infection of host cells, rather than viral eradication.
Prevention
The CDC recommends avoiding crowds to reduce the chance of interacting with infected persons. People should also practice hand-washing and good hand-hygiene practices. These measures include avoiding touching eyes, nose and mouth, and covering the mouth and nose when sneezing. Moreover, people should disinfect surfaces frequently.
Monitoring
Those individual(s) who might have traveled on a plane or are concerned about becoming infected should monitor for symptoms. Symptoms are likely to occur between two to 14 days after traveling to China or interacting with individuals(s) who have traveled to China. Contact with the 2019 coronavirus can occur within six feet of a person and/or can occur directly when touching moist bodily particles. If symptoms occur, one should notify and visit a doctor’s office immediately.
Global Health Response
The WHO International Health Regulations Committee first met to advise the Director-General on disease control and prevention strategies. WHO then visited Wuhan, China in January 2020 to establish a plan with China’s President, Xi Jinping, in treating existing patients and containing the virus. Globally, WHO is currently conducting research to find a viable treatment for COVID-19; the U.S. is simultaneously conducting a vaccine trial to prevent further spread. WHO and various international health ministries are gathering up funding, projected to be about $675 million, to support the Strategies Preparedness and Response Plan. The plan outlines preparedness protocol for countries, in particular, those with limited health systems, to stop virus transmission, treat patients and collaborate between countries to carry out all necessary operations.
Global Response
Many countries and organizations, such as the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, Belarus, Brunei, Cambodia, Egypt, Iran, Japan and Pakistan among many others, are sending medical supplies and equipment to help China in addressing COVID-19 treatment needs. Doctors in China are administering care to patients in temporary treatment centers while other health officials are managing supplies and equipment to ensure appropriate use. Furthermore, various Chinese companies are investing in research; other organizations are fundraising to support disease control efforts. Chinese city locals and groups are also coming together to lend a hand in stopping the outbreak.
Globally, support is even coming in from philanthropists, international businesses and foreign aids. For example, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has donated $100 million. These efforts are all contributing to research, treatment and prevention funds. Foreign aid from the U.S. comes in the form of a medical advisory board going to China to work with its health officials while the European Union is providing $11 million USD for research on the virus.
Information regarding the 2019 coronavirus is emerging daily. Health organizations, governments, non-government organizations and businesses are pulling resources to contain the illness and its outbreak.
– Hung Le
Photo: Flickr
10 Facts About Girls’ Education in Bolivia
Since the early 1970s, education from ages 6 to 13 has been mandatory in Bolivia. However, nationwide education rates after primary school have decreased drastically, with less than a quarter of young adults attending. The infrastructure of Bolivia’s education system, particularly in rural areas, is very underdeveloped, making girls’ access to education bleaker. However, the country is making strides to improve the quality of its education system. Here are 10 facts about girls’ education in Bolivia and the implemented laws and programs in place to enhance it.
10 Facts About Girls’ Education in Bolivia
There are definitely ways to go in improving the quality of education for the marginalized population of Bolivia, particularly for its young girls. However, with Bolivia taking on different initiatives and its government prioritizing poverty reduction, there is a promise that Bolivia’s education system will develop a strong infrastructure and be inclusive of all ethnicities and genders.
– Shreya Chari
Photo: Flickr