Are natural disasters increasing? Yes. Natural disasters are unpreventable occurrences that take place, ranging from mild to absolutely destructive. In recent years, it may seem as if these storms have increased from prior decades.
Natural Disasters: An Upward Trend
According to recent studies, it is true: the number of natural and geophysical disasters taking place each year is noticeably skyrocketing.
Geophysical disasters include earthquakes, volcanoes, dry rock-falls, landslides and avalanches. Climatic disasters are classified as floods, storms, tropical cyclones, local storms, heat/cold waves, droughts and wildfires.
In 1970, the average of natural disasters that were reported was 78; in 2004, this number jumped to 348. According to AccuWeather, since 1990, natural disasters have affected 217 million people every single year.
From 1980 to 2009 there was an 80 percent increase in the growth of climate-related disasters. Between 2001 and 2010, more than $1.2 trillion was lost to the increased rates of natural disasters. This was a dramatic rise, which between 1981 and 1990 had been roughly $528 billion.
With storms such as Typhoon Yolanda/Haiyan, Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Irene, as well as the tsunamis and earthquakes that plagued Japan, a trend is apparent. But what is the cause of the horrific increase in disasters?
Scientists have concluded that the surges in climatic disasters is due to both man-made and natural elements. Contrary to popular belief, the sole cause of the increase is not attributed to global warming.
However, global warming has been increasing the temperatures of the Earth’s oceans and atmosphere. This contributes to the severity of the various types of storm rates rising – as the metaphysical makeup alters, so does the intensity.
Urbanization in regions that are prone to flooding has steadily increased the likelihood that more flash floods and coastal floods will take place. These floods result in mudslides and various injuries that add to the climbing statistics.
But how are humans helping to create typhoons, hurricanes, and earthquakes?
Human Contributions to Natural Disasters
A swell in population plays a large part in natural disasters. Some scientists theorize that natural disasters are not just necessarily increasing, but our methods of tracking them are improving.
With the ability to keep record of these disasters, scientists notice them more frequently than in the past. Limited means of keeping track of the natural disasters meant that the average could not be compared to previous accounts.
Through increasing population, more injuries or deaths occur, even with minor storms. Generally, tropical vacation areas are hot spots for climate tragedies. With hundreds to thousands of individuals clustered in one region, storms can wipe out more surface area in a shorter period of time.
Corresponding with the World Bank’s “Natural Disaster Hotspots: A Global Risk Analysis” reports show that over 160 countries hold more than one-fourth of their populations in regions of high mortality risks from one or more natural disasters.
Although natural disasters themselves have increased, the positive side is that deaths from these catastrophes have declined significantly. The advancement of technology has allowed for the predictions of climate-related disasters to better protect those in harm’s way.
– Samaria Garrett
Sources: Live Science, AccuWeather, Washington Post
Photo: Izi Smile
Cholera Outbreak in Burundi Refugee Camp
The Burundian political sphere was rattled in late April when President Pierre Nkurunziza was nominated by the CNDD-FDD party to serve a third term, which his political opponents believe to be unconstitutional. As a result of the debate, Bujumbura was flooded with protests in the following weeks, culminating in a short-lived coup d’état on May 13.
Despite the coup d’état ceasing within 24 hours, violence continued into the rural regions, threatening a large majority of rural Burundian people. The Imbonerakure tribe ravaged towns by marking red paint on the houses of those who they intended to kill, causing thousands of families to flee the country.
UNHCR correspondent Adrian Edwards reported, “Many of these [people] have crossed into Rwanda (25,004), but over the last week we have also seen a sharp increase in people seeking asylum in Tanzania (17,696) after entry restrictions there were lifted. In addition, almost 8,000 people have crossed into South Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In all these cases, women and children, including a large number of unaccompanied children, are in the majority.”
The reported number of 17,000 seeking refuge in Tanzania has since increased to over 70,000. A large majority of those traveling to Tanzania have landed in Kagunga, a border village on the shore of Lake Tanganyika. This small village can only be reached by boat, due to a treacherous mountain range surrounding the village on the Tanzanian side.
This small village quickly reached its maximum capacity, and the Burundian people have been crammed into short-stocked refugee camps, without adequate sleeping space, food or sanitation. These refugee camps are overwhelmed by the rapid out-pour of people. As a result, a recent cholera outbreak has infiltrated the water supply, killing as many as 31 refugees in the past few weeks and causing acute diarrhea in 3,000 more.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is working to open re-hydration checkpoints and cholera treatment centers in both Kagunga and Kigoma. Refugees are currently being fast-tracked to Kigoma, where there have been no reported cases of cholera. The transfer of pregnant women, children, the elderly and the sick is a top priority.
In Kigoma, local aid has assembled a sort of “pit stop” location where refugees can stay a few days while being registered and receiving medical care before being transferred to another refugee camp called Nyarugusu. With the help of UNHCR and other contributors, more than 18,000 refugees have been safely moved to Nyarugusu so far.
Regarding the Cholera outbreak, MSF stated, “Epidemics tend to occur where living conditions are poor: where there is overcrowding, inadequate access to safe drinking water or proper latrines and insufficient rubbish collection. Improved hygiene practices and treatment are important components of the cholera response. The provision of safe water and effective sanitation remain essential during all outbreaks.”
– Hanna Darroll
Sources: MSF, UNHCRInternational Business Times
Sources: BBC, MSF
Photo: The Guardian
Poverty in Essen, Germany: A Growing Dilemma
The World Socialist Web Site (WSWS) highlights that “at the end of August, while 14.7 percent of the population were poor in Germany’s 15 largest cities in 2005, by 2012 the rate had risen to 15.2 percent.”
The gap between rich and poor has been widening from gap, to gulf, to chasm since the 1980s, and Germany is no exception.
This rise in wealth inequality is particularly concrete in Essen, Germany. In Essen, the wealth gap is conveniently shown through geography. According to the article by WSWS, the northern parts of Essen are becoming poorer while the southern regions are becoming richer. Specifically, the site says that in the Southern part of the city, the number of millionaires is growing.
When looking at the travel site Rough Guides, the South is described as the place to go for food and sightseeing, while the “gritty north” in contrast, “preserves reminders of the city’s industrial greatness.” This indicates, perhaps, that development is exclusive to the southern region of the city.
In addition to the geographic economic segregation, Essen has one of the highest unemployment rates in Germany. According to Zeit Online, in February of 2015, the unemployment rate in Essen was 12.5 percent. At the same time, the average unemployment rate in Germany was 6.9 percent.
Essen is located in the Ruhr region of Germany, a region that, overall, is facing heightened poverty. Businesses in the Ruhr, such as the Steel Plant, are closing, while the German government is simultaneously cutting social welfare programs. Cutting these programs inevitably leads to the unemployment of the people who previously worked in this sector.
Why is the German government cutting programs essential to so many citizens’ survival?
Perhaps the government is trying to redistribute wealth, but the wealth is not going in the direction it needs to go. In the coming year, Germany needs to bring back the programs it has cut and find a new solution to many of its cities’ growing debts. While paying the homeless in cigarettes and alcohol to clean the streets may clean the streets of the homeless, it is not a solution to poverty. Rather than cutting programs that aid its people, Germany needs to recreate programs that bring jobs. Job creation equals wealth creation, which becomes a contribution to local city and national economies. Finally, Essen needs to stop spending its money on cigarettes and alcohol, and, instead, put it towards lasting change to the lives of its homeless.
– Clare Holtzman
Sources: NBC, Rough Guides, WSWS, Zeit Onlin
Photo: Needpix
10 Facts About the 150 Account
The federal budget has many functions, and thus accounts, that deal with different areas of spending. The 150 Account, in particular, outlines U.S. funding for international affairs. Below are some basic facts about the 150 Account, international assistance and foreign aid.
More awareness of the 150 Account, international affairs budget and foreign aid functions can help influence policy and change in the United States and abroad.
– Ella Cady
Sources: House of Representatives Budget Committee, Center for Global Development, FAS, Global Humanitarian Assistance, U.S. Global Leadership Coalition
Photo: Flickr
What Is A Third World Country?
“Third World country” is a phrase used all the time in discussions of impoverished/under-developed nations, but what does this designation actually mean? Many of those who reference a supposed third world country have no conception of the origin of the phrase and unknowingly use it incorrectly.
The term was first coined during the Cold War era and referred to the nations that were aligned with neither the U.S. nor the U.S.S.R. Most often, these were the developing nations of Africa, Asia and South America.
The “First World” was made up of the democratic-industrial nations within the sphere of American influence. These countries were capitalist and came out of World War II with similar political and economic interests; examples include Japan, Australia and the countries of Western Europe.
The “Second World” was the Eastern bloc of communist-socialist, industrial states in the territory of the U.S.S.R. Today this descriptor would apply to Russia, Eastern Europe (i.e. Poland), some of the Turk states and China.
The three-quarters of the global population that was left over became known as the “Third World.” The countries are not a very cohesive group, including capitalist and communist economies like Venezuela and North Korea, as well as rich and poor countries like Saudi Arabia and Mali.
History of the Third World Country
The exact origin of the terminology “third world” is unclear. In 1952, a French demographer named Alfred Sauvy wrote an article in a French magazine, L’Observateur, that ended by comparing the Third World with the Third Estate of pre-revolutionary France. Sauvy may have been the first to use the phrase, remarking “this ignored Third World, exploited, scorned like the Third Estate.”
The modern descriptor has moved away from its original definition. Today, various indicators, which are have nothing to do with Cold War alliances, are used to classify “Third World” countries. These include political rights and civil liberties, Gross National Income (GNI), Human Development (HDI), as well as the freedom of information within a country. The concept of the “third world” has evolved to describe countries that suffer from high infant mortality, low economic development, high levels of poverty and little to no ability to utilize natural resources.
“Third World” nations tend to have economies dependent on the economic prosperity of the developed countries and, as a result, tend to have a large foreign debt. A common factor is the lack of a middle class — “third world” income distribution is made up of impoverished millions and a very small elite upper class controlling the country’s wealth and resources. Because their economies are lacking, these countries generally cannot support their high levels of population growth. The nations of the “Third World” often have unstable governments and are pervaded by illiteracy and disease.
Although useful as a descriptor for a select group of countries, many exceptions make the geopolitical term seem hugely outdated. For example, Saudi Arabia, as previously noted, is technically a “Third World” country, but it obviously does not meet the qualifications mentioned above. The three worlds additionally do not take into account the emerging economies of countries like Brazil and India. The phrase has expanded to describe sections of affluent countries that are impoverished compared to richer areas but maybe not so destitute with regard to levels of global poverty.
The world of the 21st century is much more complex than it was during the Cold War period; First World countries have third world qualities and vice versa. Calling countries developing nations versus non-developing nations might be a better option, but it is unclear what the exact distinction here is either. Very real modern global problems are not well-served by wishy-washy generalizations.
– Katie Pickle
Sources: Nations Online, Policy.Mic
Photo: Funding Gates
The 50-Day War: One Year Later in Gaza
July 8 marks one year since Israel launched an offensive against the Islamist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The resulting 50 days of conflict left 2,200 Palestinians and 73 Israelis dead.
The fighting particularly devastated civilian areas. Israeli airstrikes in Gaza reduced 18,000 homes to rubble and left hundreds of thousands in need of emergency assistance.
Now, almost a year later, life in the Gaza Strip has improved little, if at all. Over 100,000 people are still displaced. On May 21, the World Bank released a statement addressing the current situation in Gaza, which it termed, “unsustainable.”
Since Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007, the Egyptian and Israeli governments have sealed their borders with Gaza in an attempt to stop the transfer of weapons to extremist groups. However, these blockades have also severely limited the Gazan people’s access to recovery supplies.
Both the blockades and the 2014 war have shrunk Gaza’s economy by close to half a billion dollars. The World Bank reports that Gaza has been “reduced to a fraction of its estimated potential.”
With the economy essentially cut off from the outside world, the well-educated population of Gaza has nowhere to turn for jobs. Gaza now has the highest unemployment rate in the world, with an overwhelming 43 percent of residents out of work. At the end of 2014, youth unemployment surpassed 60%.
About 1.8 million Gazans are restricted to a region smaller in area than the city of Washington D.C. They cannot leave without permits, and many supplies cannot pass through the blockade.
One Gazan woman lost her five-month-old grandson to exposure in the winter following the conflict. As of Feburary, she lived in the remains of a house destroyed by the war, where she feared for herself and the rest of her family. “This house isn’t adequate. We’re scared it’s going to collapse on us,” she explained in an interview with Vice News.
After last summer’s conflict, the international community pledged $3.5 billion for recovery efforts in the Strip. A year later, little more than a quarter of that money has been dispersed.
The remaining $2.5 billion are desperately needed. Nearly 40% of Gaza’s citizens live below the poverty line. Neighborhoods still lay in ruins, and an overwhelming majority of the population lacks access to electricity and clean water. Nickolay Mladenov, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, recently noted, “No human being who visits can remain untouched by the terrible devastation that one sees here in Gaza.”
The World Bank report calls for an easing of the blockade to allow reconstruction materials to reach residents. It also says that the Palestinian Authority must strengthen its leadership to rebuild a Gazan economy that is “on the verge of collapse.”
– Caitlin Harrison
Sources: The Guardian, The World Bank BBC Vice News UN News Centre
Photo: Daily Mail
Poverty in Chengdu, China
The meteoric rise of the Chinese economy has captured worldwide attention in recent years. But in the city of Chengdu, further progress is threatened by poverty and corruption.
Located in southwest China, Chengdu serves as the capital of Sichuan province. It’s an important city in the region with rapid economic growth, but poverty in Chengdu still exists.
Hundreds of Fortune 500 companies have set up local branches and the city hosts a booming technology industry. It also hosts the world’s largest building, the New Century Global Center, a megaproject which was completed in 2014. A symbol of the region’s economic progress, the hulking structure has enough space to fit 20 Sydney Opera Houses.
Like many newly prosperous cities, however, Chengdu struggles with problems associated with migrant labor and corruption.
According to SOS Children’s Villages, an NGO dedicated to protecting the rights of children, migrant workers are struggling in Chengdu. The economic growth of the city attracts many workers from the surrounding countryside. When these workers fail to find jobs, their families find themselves in trouble. They have little access to essential services because, as migrants, their rights are limited. Economic prospects are dim and many children are forced onto the streets to find work.
Corruption is another concern for residents. Chengdu made world news in 2012 when a government official, Wang Lijun, fled to the American embassy in Chengdu amid a major corruption scandal.
Construction of the enormous Global Center was also mired in controversy, leading to the arrests of dozens of local officials. Deng Hong, a billionaire behind its construction, is under investigation by the Chinese government for corruption.
After nearly 40 years of aggressive market reforms, China’s economy is now the fastest growing on earth and roughly 500 million people have been lifted out of poverty. There is no doubt that Chengdu, like many Chinese cities, has benefitted from the nation’s skyrocketing economic prospects. The breathtaking pace of China’s economic growth is well-known.
In 2014, China surpassed the United States in purchasing power parity, a measure which examines national GDP relative to the cost of living. In absolute terms, the Chinese economy is likely to overcome its American counterpart in the coming decades.
For this growth to be sustainable, however, China must contend with urban poverty and local corruption.
– Kevin Mclaughlin
Sources: SOS Children’s Villages, The TelegraphWorld Bank
Are Natural Disasters Increasing?
Are natural disasters increasing? Yes. Natural disasters are unpreventable occurrences that take place, ranging from mild to absolutely destructive. In recent years, it may seem as if these storms have increased from prior decades.
Natural Disasters: An Upward Trend
According to recent studies, it is true: the number of natural and geophysical disasters taking place each year is noticeably skyrocketing.
Geophysical disasters include earthquakes, volcanoes, dry rock-falls, landslides and avalanches. Climatic disasters are classified as floods, storms, tropical cyclones, local storms, heat/cold waves, droughts and wildfires.
In 1970, the average of natural disasters that were reported was 78; in 2004, this number jumped to 348. According to AccuWeather, since 1990, natural disasters have affected 217 million people every single year.
From 1980 to 2009 there was an 80 percent increase in the growth of climate-related disasters. Between 2001 and 2010, more than $1.2 trillion was lost to the increased rates of natural disasters. This was a dramatic rise, which between 1981 and 1990 had been roughly $528 billion.
With storms such as Typhoon Yolanda/Haiyan, Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Irene, as well as the tsunamis and earthquakes that plagued Japan, a trend is apparent. But what is the cause of the horrific increase in disasters?
Scientists have concluded that the surges in climatic disasters is due to both man-made and natural elements. Contrary to popular belief, the sole cause of the increase is not attributed to global warming.
However, global warming has been increasing the temperatures of the Earth’s oceans and atmosphere. This contributes to the severity of the various types of storm rates rising – as the metaphysical makeup alters, so does the intensity.
Urbanization in regions that are prone to flooding has steadily increased the likelihood that more flash floods and coastal floods will take place. These floods result in mudslides and various injuries that add to the climbing statistics.
But how are humans helping to create typhoons, hurricanes, and earthquakes?
Human Contributions to Natural Disasters
A swell in population plays a large part in natural disasters. Some scientists theorize that natural disasters are not just necessarily increasing, but our methods of tracking them are improving.
With the ability to keep record of these disasters, scientists notice them more frequently than in the past. Limited means of keeping track of the natural disasters meant that the average could not be compared to previous accounts.
Through increasing population, more injuries or deaths occur, even with minor storms. Generally, tropical vacation areas are hot spots for climate tragedies. With hundreds to thousands of individuals clustered in one region, storms can wipe out more surface area in a shorter period of time.
Corresponding with the World Bank’s “Natural Disaster Hotspots: A Global Risk Analysis” reports show that over 160 countries hold more than one-fourth of their populations in regions of high mortality risks from one or more natural disasters.
Although natural disasters themselves have increased, the positive side is that deaths from these catastrophes have declined significantly. The advancement of technology has allowed for the predictions of climate-related disasters to better protect those in harm’s way.
– Samaria Garrett
Sources: Live Science, AccuWeather, Washington Post
Photo: Izi Smile
5 Republican Views on World Poverty and Global Health
When voting for your congressional leaders, it is important to know where they stand on certain issues. By knowing their stance, voters are able to make informed decisions when they flock to the polls. Being aware of both Democratic and Republican views also provides a certain amount of accountability to the politicians.
Often times when politicians campaign, they include a lot on their platforms that will get them elected. However, if constituents continually call, email and write their politicians about issues that concern them, they ensure a certain amount of accountability to those who got them elected.
Here are five quotes from Republican political leaders that highlight their views on world poverty and global health.
“We face very real and immediate challenges with malaria, air pollution, and HIV/AIDS today. For me, the health effects of climate change are inextricably intertwined with poverty. What we do today to provide clean water, clean energy, and public health infrastructure in the developing world will reduce poverty, combat the health problems that many face today, and will lessen any potential future health effects that may come about because of climate change.”
-Michael B Enzi, Senator of Wyoming
“An important part of protecting Americans here at home involves strengthening our relationships around the globe. America has an interest in helping raise people out of poverty around the globe, so that developing nations can become trade partners with us and mutually realize the benefits of economic freedom and commerce.”
-Terri Lynn Land of Michigan
“Issues like global health and reducing poverty in developing nations have an impact on Americans right here at home. The most recent example is the spread of the Ebola virus. We should be providing humanitarian aid to assist with disease treatment and prevention strategies in nations suffering from the Ebola outbreak. By doing so, we can improve our ability to control and treat diseases in a way that helps stabilize populations there while also protecting our citizens here in the United States. Also, by helping to enable developing nations and communities in Africa to engage in global and regional trade, the United States gains potential new partners to explore mutual economic growth interests with, meaning more jobs for West Virginia families.”
Shelly Moore Capito, Senator of West Virginia
“America’s leadership around the world is rooted by the generosity of our people, the strength of our economy, and the power of our ideas. We have the greatest workforce in the world. We have the most stable institutions. We have the best innovators and free-market economy. We have a Constitution that ensures liberty and justice for all. These are the many reasons millions around the world look to the United States of America for a greater level of hope, freedom, and economic prosperity in their own countries. As the next Senator from Georgia, I will promote economic growth and free trade because the best way for a nation to lift itself out of poverty is to partner with the United States in the free enterprise system.”
-David Perdue, Senator of Georgia
“Extreme poverty and preventable disease are issues that transcend our nation’s borders and must be addressed. I believe the United States must work to reduce global poverty while providing the resources to create growth and opportunity. As Iowa’s next U.S. Senator, I will work to ensure that our great nation has the capacity to provide aid and assistance in international health issues and crises.”
-Joni Ernst, Senator of Iowa
— Erin Logan
Sources: One, U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions
Photo: Flickr
Projects For Social Change as a High School Senior
Graduation season is in full swing and high school seniors around the nation are getting ready to accept their diplomas. . . . as well as finish their senior projects! With the high stress of leaving high school and becoming increasingly independent, graduating seniors often hurry to finalize their end-of-the-year, self-directed projects. What better way to leave a legacy behind than to use a senior project to help change the world? Here are four project ideas that inspire social change:
1. Host a presentation about U.S. foreign aid statistics.
There are many myths in public opinion that hurt positive policy making and social change. For example, contrary to popular belief, the U.S. actually spends 2 percent of its budget on foreign aid and not 25-30 percent. Sending foreign aid to nations with high rates of corruption does not make them more corrupt, and the U.S. actually does receive positive returns when we increase our foreign aid. These social myths make social change harder to achieve.
For a senior project, create a slideshow correcting social myths. Take full advantage of an eager, energetic crowd of friends and family, and spread knowledge to educate and inspire people.
2. Volunteer at a nonprofit organization for a semester.
Volunteering: good for the soul and good for the community – and also good for the brain.
Volunteering at a nonprofit organization for a semester gives students the chance to learn the inner workings of the nonprofit industrial complex. Students can learn how resources are obtained and distributed, how politics play out in charity affairs and how a group of people with passionate ideas can become an organization in the first place. Learning this process and sharing it with classmates has invaluable domino effects of inspiration. Volunteering for a semester gives students the tools to build social change.
3. Collect garbage instead of throwing it away.
A senior project consisting of not throwing out the trash, sounds easy right? We often underestimate the amount of trash we produce. Storing full trash bags is more difficult than it sounds and produces a shock factor to any audience. Use a senior project to weigh the school’s waste and make people more aware of their waste. This will instigate social change as people will be inspired to use less and recycle more. The environment will appreciate it.
4. Host a graduation party to raise awareness.
Use this occasion to reflect not just upon personal successes but upon other successes in the world as well. Dedicate a party to raising awareness about a particular cause and spend the evening educating friends as well as celebrating them.
There are various ways to make a difference in the world. We are seldom given audiences as eager as those that attend high school senior project presentations. By spreading awareness among our friends and family about social issues, graduating high school seniors can help change the world – and maybe even an “A” along the way.
– Tanya Kureishi
Sources: Borgen Project, The Hill
Photo: Flickr
Poverty in Johannesburg, South Africa
As with many of South Africa’s social ills, poverty in Johannesburg is rooted in the legacy of apartheid. But decades before the downfall of apartheid, seismic shifts in the South African economy ensured that poverty will remain a pressing concern in Johannesburg for years to come. Facing unemployment of Great Depression levels, Johannesburg’s poor blame immigrants instead of apartheid for their enduring misery.
Until 1994, the apartheid system was the defining socioeconomic force in South African life. Termed “separate development” by its apologists, apartheid sought to segregate South Africa’s four principal racial groups—blacks (native Africans), whites, coloreds (of mixed black and white descent) and Indians—in all domains of public and private life. Though the governments that enforced apartheid—which were elected exclusively by white voters—characterized it as a policy of “good neighborliness” between discrete groups, the system extended rights and privileges to whites that no other group could access.
In Johannesburg, the apartheid system entailed the division of the metropolitan area into eleven local authorities—seven for whites, four for blacks. Given the disadvantaged position of blacks in apartheid-era South Africa, local authorities for blacks could afford annual spending of 100 rand per capita, while local authorities for whites boasted annual spending of 600 rand per capita. These sorts of systemic inequalities relegated most blacks in Johannesburg to atrocious levels of poverty throughout the apartheid era.
Though the apartheid system set the stage for contemporary poverty in the city, other factors contribute the prevalence of poverty in Johannesburg today. Economic forces originating in the apartheid era and continuing today play a significant role. During the late 20th century, the South African economy grew at a sluggish pace: GDP growth averaged 1.6 percent between 1980 and 1995, a disappointing pace for a developing nation.
As a result, population growth has vastly outpaced job creation. This sluggish growth coincided with the decline of manufacturing industries in and around Johannesburg, leaving semiskilled and unskilled workers with dwindling employment prospects. These twin forces have raised unemployment to 30 percent in Johannesburg and 25 percent nationwide. As under apartheid, blacks suffer more than any other race group from these phenomena: 72 percent of Johannesburg’s poor are black, according to city authorities.
Faced with unemployment and a legacy of discrimination, the poor of Johannesburg often vent their frustration at a more tangible scapegoat: immigrants. Accused of stealing jobs from native South Africans, both legal and illegal immigrants are the targets of riots by poor citizens in the country’s largest cities. Illegal immigrants face additional persecution for abusing social services—“allocated on the basis of legal populations,” according to the Johannesburg government— that would otherwise benefit the native South Africans among Johannesburg’s poor.
Though the deleterious effects of immigration on South Africa are disputed, poverty in Johannesburg remains grim and unabating. Rooted in mass unemployment and historic discrimination, poverty will continue to wrack Johannesburg in the coming years.
– Leo Zucker
Sources: University of Johannesburg, City of Johannesburg, Environment and Urbanization, CNN
Photo: The Record