Throughout history, food shortages have led to civil unrest. Most notably in recent history, the Global Food Crisis of 2008 spurred an outbreak of food riots around the world. Now, with food prices increasing at the highest rate since 2008, political leaders are concerned that a similar outbreak of food riots may be on its way.
In the beginning of 2014, international food prices rose 4 percent. In the time between January and April, food prices spiked to a level just short of their all-time high in August 2012. The rapid increase is similar to the surge in food prices in 2007 and 2008 that led to so many food riots.
If history repeats itself, the recent food price hikes give government officials adequate reason to worry.
The difficulty with monitoring food riots is that the term is loosely defined. In broad terms, a food riot is some sort of public disturbance raised in response to food’s availability. Interpretations of this definition, however, are as varied as the riots themselves, leading to a great deal of confusion surrounding the topic of food riots.
How severe must the disturbance be to earn the title of a riot? A food riot is generally a violent protest. Participants have been known to harm other citizens or police forces. In return, police forces respond with brutality to control the situation. Some news articles will only cite occasions that have resulted in casualties as food riots.
Other news sources believe that any public response to food-related issues falls in this category. They report even the most peaceful demonstrations as food riots.
Where is the proper balance? How can the media successfully educate the public on these world events without an accepted definition of a riot?
In the wake of recent food pricing inclines, The World Bank has developed a widely accepted definition to guide examinations of these conflicts. Their 2014 Food Price Watch defines a food riot as “a violent, collective unrest leading to a loss of control, bodily harm or damage to property.”
The definition has helped The World Bank determine which episodes in the recent past were actually food riots. A database of food riots between 2007 and 2014 has since been collected, revealing that 51 riots have taken place in 37 countries.
The cause of food riots also prompts confusion. Increasing food prices are not the only cause of riots. In Vietnam, decreasing prices of coffee have resulted in violent outbreaks in the past. A decline in value of major exports can have just as strong of an impact on a nation as unavailability of food and other resources.
The World Bank has also established guidelines for the causes of food riots, saying that they are “motivated by a lack of food availability, accessibility or affordability,” whether directed at the government or other groups.
There are two types of food riots. In a Type 1 incident, the riots are directed at the government. Distress takes its form in public protests outside of government buildings, often in response to rising food prices. It is the most common form of food riot reported in the media because their causes often have international implications.
In a Type 2 episode, rioters demonstrate near food suppliers because they are not politically driven. They attack supply trucks, stores or refugee camps. These riots are more locally focused and occur during times of drastic food shortages.
Defining food riots helps aid organizations determine how to best help areas experiencing food shortages to prevent violent outbreaks. Government officials know how to respond to rising food prices by studying food riots of the past. By alleviating causes of global hunger, aid organizations and government officials can increase peace in underprivileged nations.
– Emily Walthouse
Sources: Food Price Watch, Global Issues, Slate, The World Bank
Photo: NPR
Remembrance for the Human Rights Movement in America
Too often we forget that America has not always enjoyed its position as a human rights watchdog. Only a few generations ago, Americans were legally segregated with women and African-Americans barred from the voting booth. And looking back a few more generations, America was engaged in one of the most devastating slave trades the world has ever known.
As a nation, we have come a long way since then. But that is no excuse for forgetting our history. Remembrance for that arduous journey and reverence for the great men and women who led the way is in order.
The year 2014 gives us a unique opportunity to reflect on the long road to freedom that Americans have endured.
One hundred fifty years ago, the city of Atlanta was ravaged in one of the final battles of the Civil War. The Battle of Atlanta sealed the fate for the war-torn South, and it paved the way for the important, yet only marginally successful Civil Rights Amendments: the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments. Combined, those amendments to the U.S. Constitution made slavery illegal, guaranteed equal rights for all and made it unconstitutional to deny a voter on the basis of color.
Sixty years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that separate did not mean equal. The ruling deemed segregation of schooling facilities to be unconstitutional.
The basis for the ruling was the 14th amendment, which was added to the Constitution nearly a decade prior to the decision. Progress for the human rights movement in America was by no means swift.
This month also marks the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Along with the Voting Rights Act of 1965, these laws were able to finally instantiate the ideals set forth in the 14th amendment.
But that was not the end for the human rights movement in America. True equality remains an elusive dream for the two aforementioned groups: women and African-Americans.
According to a 2012 Associated Press Poll, the majority of Americans — 51 percent — “now express explicit anti-black attitudes.”
Likewise, studies show that women earn somewhere between 77 and 84 percent of what their male counterparts earn.
Despite the great strides that we have made in the human rights movement, there is still much work to be done if we are to realize the full equality guaranteed to us by the First Amendment.
Even still, the progress that has yet to be made in America pales in comparison to the dismal condition of human rights globally.
Given our relative success in realizing human rights, and given our dominance on the global scale, America stands in a unique position where we can sacrifice a portion of our time and money to rectify human rights violations around the world.
If a superpower like the U.S. had existed in the midst of our earlier struggles, a helping hand would have dramatically expedited our social development process.
Human rights are being advanced around the world, but at a relatively sluggish rate. America stands in a position to help move that process along, both with our bountiful resources and our invaluable knowledge of how to successfully lead a human rights movement.
We learned from the American human rights movement that progress takes time. It takes a monumental struggle. It requires trial and error. And more than anything else, it takes sacrifice.
– Sam Hillestad
Sources: US Courts, Historynet, SaportaReport, Stanford, Pew Research, USA Today
Photo: Civil Rights Teaching
48 Years After Day of Affirmation Speech
June 6 is the 48th anniversary of Robert Kennedy’s “Ripple of Hope” speech. On this day Kennedy gave his speech at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. He called it a day of affirmation, defined by the freedom for which it stood. It was an incredible statement at the time to come to a third world country ruled by apartheid and express to the people that they are human beings, and that they do matter.
Senator Kennedy went on to talk of equality and its vital importance to progress and a better world. He noted the sad reality of discrimination, and that as a result, many never reached their full potential. As Kennedy notes, it is for this reason that we lost many great contributions to the world.
It was Senator Kennedy’s desire that equal opportunity exist for all and for the simplest of reasoning: “We must do [this] for the single and fundamental reason that it is the right thing to do.”
Where do we stand today? Have we eliminated discrimination and the poverty and suffering it brings with it?
Ideally, we would like to think we have, but there is much work still to be done. The best way to combat this ongoing struggle is to continue to create opportunity. We do this by empowering every man and woman on earth to lift themselves out of poverty so that they may realize their potential as well.
We have had many successes with eliminating poverty, including a reduction in extreme poverty by over half since 1981. However, with 1.2 billion people still living in extreme poverty, there is no doubt that there is much more potential to be realized.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, where Kennedy spoke 48 years ago, there lives more than one-third of the world’s extreme poor. That is the equivalent of more than 400,000,000 people living in extreme poverty. The average income of these individuals is 84 cents a day.
It is discouraging to realize that of all the wealth we have amassed, we still have not eliminated extreme poverty. A 2012 report by Oxfam showed that, in 2012 alone, the world’s 100 wealthiest individuals earned enough money to end extreme poverty four times over.
This distribution of wealth does not represent the equality that Kennedy and so many others sought. The term equality encompasses more than rights and protection. It encompasses access to resources, income equality and fairness in general.
However, it is too early to get discouraged. In 2010, the world achieved Millennium Development Goal One, which was to decrease poverty in developing countries by half. The number of those living in poverty is still declining and if we as an international community keep working toward this goal, then ending extreme poverty is possible in our lifetime.
In the words of Kennedy on this day 48 years ago, “they are hoping and they are gambling their progress and their stability on the chance that we will meet our responsibilities to them, to help them overcome their poverty.”
– Christopher Kolezynski
Sources: Day of Affirmation Speech, The Huffington Post, Policy Mic
Photo: NPR
Iranian Journalist Masih Alinejad Slandered
Masih Alinejad is a prominent Iranian journalist and activist who is currently in the news regarding some unfortunate circumstances. Last week, the Iranian TV personality Vahid Yaminpour reported a fake story that Alinejad was raped while on drugs in London, where she is living in exile, and subsequently called her a whore on his Facebook page.
This type of slander is despicable and some of the worst that Alinejad has had to endure. As an outspoken activist against the Iranian government, she understands that “they want to keep journalists silent.” However, she goes on to further explain that even though she’s been attacked many times in the past, “this was the most fabricated, most disgusting news about me.”
In the face of such adversity it is important to give support to Alinejad. She believes the reason for the fake report is in retaliation to a Facebook page she created last month which has garnered almost 500,000 likes. The page is called My Stealthy Freedom, and its main purpose is for Iranian women to post pictures of themselves in public without wearing the hijab.
Iran has a 35-year old law that forces women to wear the hijab. Many women protest this law because it denies them their freedom. Hundreds of women from Iran have written to Alinejad so their pictures can be posted on her Facebook page.
One woman sent a picture of her throwing her hijab while in the street with an accompanying text saying, “what I want is freedom of choice, not a meter of cloth! I’ll remove this piece of cloth! Look! I am still a human!”
Alinejad’s personal favorite photo is of women wearing the hijab but holding a sign that says, “I support and wear hijab but I am against compulsory hijab.” Although the page is mostly in Arabic, some of the pictures are truly moving and beautiful.
Alinejad sees the hijab as a form of control by hardliners in her country. They use it to remove any possible power or participation in society for women. Since Iranian media is controlled by the government, they have an easy time of shaping the citizens’ perceptions. Those in power want to keep women wearing the hijab.
Alinejad believes the fake report about her is an attempt to discredit her and her My Stealthy Freedom campaign. Her campaign challenges those in power and the status quo in Iran. Specifically, it challenges the hijab and promotes women’s rights to more freedom. As evident by her favorite photo on her page, its not that she is against the hijab itself, but what it represents: male domination over women.
– Eleni Marino
Sources: Facebook, Time, ABC
Photo: WordPress
What is the U.S. Climate Action Network?
In the fight against climate change, nothing is more important than mutual cooperation. Organizations like the U.S. Climate Action Network (USCAN) facilitate networks of NGOs who share the common goal of helping the environment. Such networks maximize the impact of individual organizations.
USCAN operates under a theory of change which includes three dimensions: relationships, process and results. The network provides the space to foster each. Relationships are built on the local, national and international levels between organizations with diverse approaches to climate change mitigation. USCAN facilitates the process of sharing information through issue briefings and coordination. Ultimately, these three dimensions serve to exponentially increase the impact of the organizations.
Members of USCAN have access to information, resources and services from a coalition of like-minded organizations. Members collaborate over policy recommendations for all levels of government, share information on campaign information such as IPCC reports and spread each other’s message.
To become a member an organization must share the vision that climate change must be fought by both mitigation and adaption. USCAN seeks to understand how climate processes and events affect communities, wildlife and businesses. It recognizes that these effects negatively impact not just the environment but the economy as well. This is why USCAN believes it is in the world’s best economic and environmental interest to fight climate change.
The Guardian highlights the importance of coalitions for affecting change and gives “13 tips on building a coalition to tackle climate change.” One tip is given by Robert Laubacher, the project director of MIT Climate CoLab. He writes that even a small level of collaboration can have a strong influence. Laubacher cautions against focusing too much on government progress, which is slow, and instead to see the virtue in small coalitions of non-governmental organizations — coalitions that USCAN helps to build.
Individual efforts to mitigate climate change are organized through societal organizations. USCAN, in turn, coordinates the efforts of the societal organizations, thus transforming the passion and desire of an individual into lasting change in the fight against climate change.
– Julianne O’Connor
Sources: The Guardian, USCAN
Photo: news.com.au
Countries with the Most Employee Benefits
It is difficult to consider that America has fallen behind in achieving a balance between family and workplace life. Most western nations, particularly in Europe, have a mandate for employees’ paid vacation time. The United States does not mandate these benefits, nor does it mandate paid maternity leave for mothers. Other countries that do not offer maternity leave are Papua New Guinea and Swaziland. These are the only three countries in the world that do not provide such benefits to employees. Although each and every country is distinct, several countries have advantages that make them better than others in terms of livelihood and work.
Germany holds a high standard of living and is one of the strongest and most powerful economic systems in the European Union. According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Germans work about 27 hours per week and still deliver a solid economy. Germans ranks 7th out of the 36 countries for time spent on leisure activities and are also the most traveled, with extra time to spare in other countries. Germany is high on the list for best countries to work in.
Bulgaria is one of the best countries to start a family in while working. Bulgarians receive over 400 days of paid maternity leave with almost 100 percent of the mother’s salary. There are also paternity benefits offered to the father and even grandparents if necessary.
Finland offers 40 days of paid vacation to its employees, and on average, less than .04 percent work more than 50 hours a week. Finland ranks high on the happiness indicator because of these employee benefits.
The Netherlands has a healthy gross domestic product rating and high standard of living. The employees working in the Netherlands work the least compared to other countries, and the economy remains stronger than ever. Employees receive 28 paid vacation days per year, and 16 weeks of paid maternity leave with full salary. This high standard of living is reflected in high levels of childhood satisfaction and high literacy rates.
The U.S. ranks 33rd out of 36 countries for time spent on leisure activities. Currently, there is a severe lack of balance between work and family life in the states. The typical American spends 60 percent of the day on working, leaving a mere 14 percent for spending time with loved ones.
One way the U.S. can improve the livelihood of its citizens is by helping reduce working family poverty rates. This can be done by concentrating more on a child’s early years and providing both maternity and paternity leave. Such changes can often yield a better and stronger economy. The U.S. is one of the only nations that does not offer strong benefits to employees, and as a result, the country is falling behind economically with a low overall happiness rating.
– Rachel Cannon
Sources: Fast CoExist, Equal Times, OECD Better Life Index
Photo: Amsterdam Traveling.com
What are the Causes of Poverty?
What are the causes of poverty? There are many causes of poverty. The countries with extreme poverty have a lack of access to not only the proper foods, but health services and education as well. These countries also show a lack of inclusion, as many of the world’s poorest people do not receive any representation in the economy or in politics. The lack of education and representation creates an issue of mobility. People in developing countries do not possess the necessary means for maintaining life.
One factor that causes poverty is that many people in developing countries are willing to work, but are not given the chance to do so and therefore remain in poverty. The lack of access to education and the jobs that supply little or no wages continue to make rising from poverty very difficult to achieve. This restricts access to an income to support families and creates a barrier from the economy and other typical daily activities.
The lack of education and training for employment inhibits people living in developing nations from obtaining higher paying occupations. The problem is even greater when health education services are not obtainable. This causes high rates of teenage pregnancy and larger families. The larger the families become, the greater the risk of poverty because of the increased amount of resources needed to take care of the household.
Women are often at higher risk than men to suffer from poverty. Inequality is another cause of poverty as women are more likely to be paid lower wages than men performing the same line of work. Women are also expected to take on child raising and are restricted from seeking employment in these developing countries. This inequality creates a disadvantage for women and also prevents opportunity for more income for the household. Families with only one parent working are more likely to face poverty and they lack the opportunity to provide the proper education to their children.
There are also causes of poverty that cannot be prevented, such as drought and warfare. When drought occurs, families that rely on fruits and vegetables for harvest and income face poverty from this situation. These families can no longer provide for their families. At times, the crops can never be recovered due to lack of funds.
Another major cause of poverty is war, which can strain the economy, create safety issues and also require families to face food rations in some countries. These issues are more difficult to overcome because they can occur suddenly and can cause everlasting effects on the economy.
Alleviating the causes of poverty requires aid from developed nations, not only in the form of money, but also in the form of helping to mobilize access in these areas. Helping the education system in each developing nation can provide a better understanding of health and pregnancy. The proper training can introduce farmers to a better farming technique to survive a weather disaster. Also, a more inclusive economy and government system can bring more opportunity to the people in more rural developing areas. These developing nations can grow from poverty if given the right tools, such as access to education and the ability to participate in an economy to continue to develop and grow in the right directions. Read more about what causes poverty.
– Rachel Cannon
Sources: Global Issues
Photo: Relief Web
What is a Food Riot?
Throughout history, food shortages have led to civil unrest. Most notably in recent history, the Global Food Crisis of 2008 spurred an outbreak of food riots around the world. Now, with food prices increasing at the highest rate since 2008, political leaders are concerned that a similar outbreak of food riots may be on its way.
In the beginning of 2014, international food prices rose 4 percent. In the time between January and April, food prices spiked to a level just short of their all-time high in August 2012. The rapid increase is similar to the surge in food prices in 2007 and 2008 that led to so many food riots.
If history repeats itself, the recent food price hikes give government officials adequate reason to worry.
The difficulty with monitoring food riots is that the term is loosely defined. In broad terms, a food riot is some sort of public disturbance raised in response to food’s availability. Interpretations of this definition, however, are as varied as the riots themselves, leading to a great deal of confusion surrounding the topic of food riots.
How severe must the disturbance be to earn the title of a riot? A food riot is generally a violent protest. Participants have been known to harm other citizens or police forces. In return, police forces respond with brutality to control the situation. Some news articles will only cite occasions that have resulted in casualties as food riots.
Other news sources believe that any public response to food-related issues falls in this category. They report even the most peaceful demonstrations as food riots.
Where is the proper balance? How can the media successfully educate the public on these world events without an accepted definition of a riot?
In the wake of recent food pricing inclines, The World Bank has developed a widely accepted definition to guide examinations of these conflicts. Their 2014 Food Price Watch defines a food riot as “a violent, collective unrest leading to a loss of control, bodily harm or damage to property.”
The definition has helped The World Bank determine which episodes in the recent past were actually food riots. A database of food riots between 2007 and 2014 has since been collected, revealing that 51 riots have taken place in 37 countries.
The cause of food riots also prompts confusion. Increasing food prices are not the only cause of riots. In Vietnam, decreasing prices of coffee have resulted in violent outbreaks in the past. A decline in value of major exports can have just as strong of an impact on a nation as unavailability of food and other resources.
The World Bank has also established guidelines for the causes of food riots, saying that they are “motivated by a lack of food availability, accessibility or affordability,” whether directed at the government or other groups.
There are two types of food riots. In a Type 1 incident, the riots are directed at the government. Distress takes its form in public protests outside of government buildings, often in response to rising food prices. It is the most common form of food riot reported in the media because their causes often have international implications.
In a Type 2 episode, rioters demonstrate near food suppliers because they are not politically driven. They attack supply trucks, stores or refugee camps. These riots are more locally focused and occur during times of drastic food shortages.
Defining food riots helps aid organizations determine how to best help areas experiencing food shortages to prevent violent outbreaks. Government officials know how to respond to rising food prices by studying food riots of the past. By alleviating causes of global hunger, aid organizations and government officials can increase peace in underprivileged nations.
– Emily Walthouse
Sources: Food Price Watch, Global Issues, Slate, The World Bank
Photo: NPR
Child Labor in Afghanistan
Poverty forces children to work and sacrifice their chance at an education. Today, sadly, child labor in Afghanistan is a common occurrence. Estimates are difficult to come by but through various sources it can be stated that between 21 and 25 percent of Afghan children are part of the labor force. Children as young as 6 are often involved.
Cause and Effect: Child Labor in Afghanistan
Child labor is hard to overcome in Afghanistan because although it is illegal by law for anyone under the age of 14 to work, many families are so desperate that they need one of their children to work in order to survive. Employers are desperate for cheap labor as well. The government seems to be doing little to enforce this law.
A common job for Afghan children in Kabul is working in brick factories. They can work up to 12 hours for around $1.40 a day. Other potential jobs for these children are working in bakeries, weaving, selling toilet paper and shopping bags, mining, washing cars or farming. Some children even begin to beg.
It is important to look at the physiological affects of child labor. Childhood is a time when people are supposed to be able to play and avoid the stresses of life. This crucial time period allows them to develop into healthy adults. Research shows that, “75 percent of brain development occurs after birth. Play helps with that development by stimulating the brain through the formation of connections between nerve cells.” It is essential for children to play with their parents and with other children.
If Afghan children are working, they are missing out on this crucial developmental step. It is possible that a work environment would replace play and stimulate a child’s brain but it is not certain if they are gaining the right type of knowledge that a child would otherwise gain from play. The stress children endure when having to work will also cause other stunted developmental issues.
The main reason children are sent off to work is so that they can feed their families. This is due to a loss of a parent or both parents. A child might have to go to work because their father dies and their mother is unable to find work because of her gender. Poverty and gender bias seems to be two of the causes of child labor in Afghanistan.
Poverty in Afghanistan is caused by many factors, one being the fact that it has been in a state of almost perpetual war since 1979 when the Soviet Union invaded, followed by Taliban rule and the post 9/11 American invasion coupled with Taliban guerrilla warfare. But regardless of the reasons as to why poverty exists in Afghanistan, it is essential to raise people out of poverty so that child labor will cease.
The task of raising the Afghan people out of poverty is certainly not an easy one. There are a range of problems arising from misallocation of USAID funds by the Afghan government, the inability of U.S. officials to better Afghan government institutions and just general distrust and confusion between the two countries.
A possible solution to this would be for the U.S. to give money to more grassroots NGOs and intergovernmental organizations who are currently working in Afghanistan. This would get the aid directly to the most vulnerable people in Afghanistan, specifically children. Organizations like the World Food Programme have operations already in place. Activities like school meals, food for training, Food-for-Work, nutrition programs and flour fortification are being carried out in Afghanistan today. They also support programs that try to close the gender gap.
Imagine if the U.S. gave more money to these programs instead of fighting with the Afghan government over misallocated funds? These programs are already helping thousands of Afghan people, why not help even more? Child labor in Afghanistan is increasing, and with poverty as its main cause, the U.S. government should put more of its aid money toward proven, successful poverty alleviation programs.
– Eleni Marino
Sources: Global Post, Los Angeles Times, Montana State University, The New York Times, UN Data, WFP
Photo: CRI English
Child Labor Facts
The existence of child labor is a prominent human rights issue in today’s world. The United Nations defines child labor as any work completed by children who have not yet reached the minimum legal age required for either a specific kind of work or any work that is generally viewed as unacceptable for children. Unacceptable work usually involves potential harm, dangerous conditions or physical strain unsuitable for underage youth.
To combat this issue, it is important to understand pertinent child labor facts. This knowledge will allow people to fully realize how many young workers never have the chance to be children:
Even though there has been a significant decline in the number of child workers, this is only a moderate decrease compared to the total number of children who are forced to work. As demonstrated by the facts above, this issue is still very present today, and perpetuates the cycle of poverty in developing countries.
– Meghan Orner
Sources: The United Nations, Free the Children, The International Labor Organization, The History Channel
Photo: Flickr
Save the Children
Save the Children helps children in over 120 countries, including the United States, gain access to health services and education while keeping them out of harm’s way. This organization was founded by Eglantyne Jebb in England in 1919. She aimed at helping children recover after World War I in central Europe. Eglantine dedicated her life to advancing human rights and the well-being of all children. Jebb believed that the world as a whole was entirely responsible for their welfare.
Eglantyne Jebb once said, “The only international language in the world is a child’s cry,”–words which have forever changed how the world views saving the children.
Save the Children’s theory of change creates noticeable impacts on children’s lives by investing in the impact of children by forming together to meet the demanding changes of the world we exist in. This notion is broken down into four pillars of impact.
The first pillar consists of being the voice for the world’s children. The focus is working toward policy reforms to help promote better child rights, particularly in areas of poverty. This will ensure that no child’s voice will go unheard.
The second pillar is the Save the Children foundation becomes the pioneer for innovation. This pillar will show the world that there is proof for solutions to helping these children and that it can be done.
The third pillar states that building partnerships and collaborating with other organizations of the same interest can help meet these goals faster by getting the word spread to a larger audience.
The fourth pillar is the final step. This is the achieved results of policy reforms and also the best patterns possible for implementing the right steps to follow through with, making life better for kids.
The Save the Children foundation has changed the lives of over 125 million people and this number continues to grow. An example of the success of the foundation is shown with children living in Kenya. The drought in Kenya has taken a toll on areas suffering from poverty because the land for livestock becomes unusable. This produced a regional wide shortage of milk, causing many of the children to become severely malnourished.
Save the Children has provided over 30,000 children and families with milk through their milk voucher program. A few months after the program began, children received over a 10 percent weight increase because of the program’s success.
Over the past several years, the Save the Children foundation has educated over 9 million children and will be continuing to do so in the future. Save the Children is working to ensure that children around the world survive threats like newborn complications, and preventable or treatable illnesses like malaria, through the use of vaccines. The Save the Children foundation aims to offer valuable evidence to increase government funding and influence global policies. Save the Children is working with governments, schools and nonprofit partners to improve the available access and the role of quality health and nutrition programs.
– Rachel Cannon
Sources: Charity Watch, Save the Children
Photo: Marketing Magazine