Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

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NPR Makes a T-Shirt

NPR Makes a T-Shirt
Take a look at the shirt you’re wearing. Odds are it’s better traveled than you are.

National Public Radio’s (NPR) Planet Money recently published a multimedia series on the making of a T-shirt and its extraordinary journey through the world economy.

Believe it or not, your shirt and others like it are a wonder of the modern world.

The five part series follows a T-shirt from cottonseed to ink print. It would seem like a simple process, but the Planet Money special reveals the hidden complexity of a global enterprise.

Behind each of these cheaply produced shirts are multinational corporations and complex trade deals between nations — but, most of all, people’s lives. While the series takes a look at the entire process, it is the human connection that it seems most poised to drive home.

Although the chapters are mostly delivered through a dispassionate reportage, the deleterious effects of the garment industry in the developing world are likely to ignite the passions of most viewers.

Perhaps the most illuminating of these stories is that of Jasmine in Bangladesh.

More than 4 million people like Jasmine work in the garment industry in Bangladesh. Many of these people work for less than 35 cents an hour.

Cramped living and working environments, the absence of electricity and running water as well as disease make life extremely difficult. Jasmine, herself, lives in a small group home without running water and sends most of her earnings to her parents.

However, these hardships pale in comparison to the risk many of these workers face.

For instance, while the Planet Money team was filming, a major garment building in Bangladesh collapsed killing over one thousand workers. The online series shows difficult images of bodies tangled in the framework of the building.

Tragically, without the garment industry, NPR argues, Bangladesh would be worse off still.

In the end, the shirt they made traveled thousands of miles by air, by land and by sea. Even so, it’s total production cost just over 12 dollars. The cost in time, travel and human toil, however, is something a bit larger.

It is a complicated process with complicated results but for people in developing nations that make the goods that the developed world buys, the garment industry’s work is a double bind.

On the one hand, it sustains their entire nation and on the other, it does not sufficiently provide for, or protect, its workers. If nothing else, NPR has created a series that does not shy away from presenting a complex image of an industry, its products and its people.

– Chase Colton

Sources: NPR, Al Jazeera
Photo: Giphy.com

African Mistrust of Chinese Investment

African_Distrust_of_Chinese_Investment
In 2009, China surpassed the United States as Africa’s largest trading partner. Its investments on the African continent have seen astronomical growth in a relatively short period of time — going from $10 billion in 2000 to $200 billion in 2013.

Because of this trading relationship, Africa has experienced an explosion of infrastructure projects and cheap Chinese goods supporting Africa’s consumer market. In exchange, Africa trades valuable minerals and oil, which supports China’s ever growing manufacturing sector.

Mostly, this relationship has been stable but recent shifts in African attitudes toward its biggest investor have caused tension. Some claim that China is no different from the colonial powers that dominated the continent in the past.

Many Africans point to China’s crusade for minerals as evidence of a one-sided relationship that mostly benefits the Chinese. Jobs are scarce in the region with 80% of Africans in “vulnerable employment.” Some claim Africans are missing out on potential jobs, due to the fact that minerals are exported to China in their raw form instead of being processed prior to export. These processing jobs are lost on the African people.

Another example of disappearing jobs can be found in the agricultural sector. For example, many peanut processing plants face extinction simply because China buys the crop and immediately exports it home, forgoing the processing in Africa.

Even the credit that China supplies to Africa comes with hefty strings attached. The money loaned is only to be spent on Chinese goods and Chinese infrastructure. Many of the infrastructure projects are built exclusively using Chinese workers instead of locals.

A sense of losing out on lucrative business opportunities, and the suspicion of colonial intentions, has ultimately boiled over into violence against Chinese workers. Recently, residents of Ghana attacked Chinese miners, blaming them for taking jobs usually reserved for Africans. The miners were mercilessly beaten — up to 200 were eventually deported.

African citizens are not the only ones bearing mistrust for Chinese investment; government officials have been involved in blocking Chinese oil production in multiple countries.

The Niger government has been erasing various parts of a Chinese oil contract that it deems threatening. It commissioned an auditor to review business expenses by the Chinese National Petroleum Corporation and found instances of price gouging and charges that seem less than fair.

In Gabon, an oil field permit was revoked from the Chinese company Sinopec. It was then awarded to a national company.

Many see Africa leveraging its resources as an attempt to prevent wealth from leaving the continent. This is due to the fact that despite numerous mineral deposits and a lucrative trading relationship with China, millions of Africans still suffer in extreme poverty.

Although tensions have flared within the Africa-China relationship, it is still an arrangement that most Africans prefer over the Western style of aid where business and infrastructure projects remain separate. Also, as opposed to aid provided by Western nations, China does not attach human rights or democratic reform requirements as a condition of receiving aid.

– Zack Lindberg

Sources: New York Times, Reuters, The Christian Science Monitor
Photo: The Guardian

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Economy Strong, Poverty in Israel

Poverty_in_Israel
Over the last several years, Israel has enjoyed economic growth and low unemployment. Unfortunately, that is not all good news. A report recently released by Israel’s National Insurance Institute and the Central Bureau of Statistics indicate that over 1.7 million people, or 23.5 percent of the population, live below the poverty line. Of the 1.7 million people living in poverty, 817,000 of them are children and 180,000 of them are elderly. In addition, one in five households is living at or below the poverty line.

In recent years, Israel has been seen as up and coming in the high-tech sector, drawing international attention. Even though Israel is seeing significant progress, The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released a statement saying, “Israel’s output growth remains relatively strong, unemployment is at historically low levels…However, average living standards remain well below those of top-ranking OECD countries, the rate of relative poverty is the highest in the OECD area.” The report also adds that the poverty problem is affecting some groups more than others, “Among Arabs and in the rapidly growing ultra-Orthodox Jewish community poverty is over one in two, mainly due to low employment rates among Arab women and ultra-Orthodox men”

The OECD indicated that Israel surpassed some of the average measures of other OCED members; it ranked far below average in similar social themed categories. These categories included housing, education and skills, social connections, work life balance, environment quality, personal security, and civic engagement. Fixing some of these social problems could help alleviate poverty in Israel. Action that should be taken should target groups that are endemic with poverty and other related problems such as Arabs and the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community.

The OECD did offer several options for different solutions that could help alleviate poverty in Israel. One major suggestion was to improve education, especially in areas with severe levels of poverty. Another suggestion was to begin the process of pension and welfare reform to ensure that it is capable of coping with an aging population. Finally, the OECD favored sales tax increases over income tax increases so the tax does not become more of a burden on already cash-strapped families.

– Colleen Eckvahl

Sources: Your Middle East, JTA
Photo: Ivarfjeld

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Profiles of Child Labor: Clarisse Kambire, 13

Clarisse_Kambire
Look past the tag on your cute cotton underwear – it says a lot more than, “Made with 20 percent organic fibers from Burkina Faso.”

Look closer and you will see a young girl drenched in sweat, picking cotton for hours on end, often while being whipped in sweltering heat that often breaks 100 degrees Fahrenheit. She has been beaten, malnourished, barred from education and abused on a daily basis. She is never paid for her back-breaking effort and sleeps on the floor of a tiny hut. This scenario is more than a nightmare.

It has a name: child labor – and it is a dark reality for 13-year-old foster child Clarisse Kambire.

The organic and fair-trade cotton program she works for is located in Burkina Faso, one of the poorest areas in West Africa. The poverty-stricken country relies on cotton as its chief export and, consequently, ropes many others like Kambire into child labor every day.

Subsistence farmers involved in the program say that they are unable to grow “ethically sourced” cotton without forcing children into their fields. The conditions in the fields, however, obviously do not support this claim. Workers as young as five years old are abused physically, mentally and emotionally. They are also never paid.

Though the circumstance may seem to be a foreign issue, that is not the case; Kambire’s cotton can be found quite close to home. In fact, you may be wearing it yourself. The fibers from the cotton program are ultimately used to make underwear for the popular American retailer known as Victoria’s Secret. After a revealing interview, the company’s ethical standards began to be regarded with much public suspicion.

Her parents separated when she was four years old. After that, the girl was tossed between relatives on her father’s side. An aunt then took Kambire to the village of Benvar in Burkina Faso and left her in the home of 30-year-old Victorien Kamboule, the man for whom she now works in the cotton fields. Though the two are cousins, Kambire is also considered to be Kamboule’s enfant confie, a French term meaning, “a child who can be vulnerable to exploitation.”

After being dumped at Kamboule’s house and forced into hard labor at the age of nine, Kambire’s only comfort was her makeshift mattress: a thin, faded plastic mat in a tiny mud hut.

Her bedroom doesn’t boast much–a slender wooden bench, a few hand-washed clothes drying on a line and nothing else. No toys, no photos, not even a toothbrush.

“Nothing,” she says.

At the same time Kambire is drowning in sweat and potentially deadly mosquito bites, Kamboule, his wife and their two children–a three-year-old girl and a one-year-old boy–sleep soundly underneath the safety of a mosquito net on a bed in an adjoining room.

Waking up is not much better; Kamboule only screams at her to get out into the field. Kamboule’s cruelty extends to every area of the field, not just sleeping arrangements for the workers. Sluggishness due to exhaustion is an error punished by severe whipping with a tree branch.

The fear of this punishment leaves the girl with a daily sense of dread. Every morning frightens her more.

“I’m starting to think about how he will shout at me and beat me again,” she says. “At night, I dream and wonder what can happen to me in the cotton field. I feel that something bad could happen to me.”

Cotton picking is not her only task. The 13-year-old girl also prepares the field by helping to dig over 500 rows with only a hoe–something that could be done easily with an ox and plow. Unfortunately, that is just the thing that Kamboule is unable to afford, and so he makes up for his lack of monetary funds with Kambire’s tears and sweat.

“I dream that a day will come when I shall no longer be working on the farm, but rather be in a kind of work which would be more interesting for me,” Kambire says. “Any other work would make me feel better, except for the farm work. I want to take care of my own needs.”

– Samantha Davis

Sources: Child Labor Public Education Project, New York Daily News, Bloomberg
Photo: Bloomberg

 

10 Facts about Child Labor

 

 

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Okonjo-Iweala & Truth about Foreign Aid: It Works

foreign aid
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, as former Finance Minister of Nigeria and as a managing director of the World Bank, is no stranger to managing the correct use of funds.

Okonjo-Iweala combatted corruption in her home country of Nigeria by establishing economic reforms and facilitating government transparency. As a consequence, Nigeria became alluring to foreign investors. According to Forbes, “Nigeria is the third largest economy in Africa with nearly $50 billion in foreign reserves.”

In a 2007 Ted Talk, Okonjo-Iweala discussed the importance of correctly managing funds, in particular, that of foreign aid. And yet, aid alone is not enough; local participation brings about the necessary solutions to improve development.

Writing for The Guardian, Okonjo-Iweala sites the importance of the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria in reducing Malaria and Tuberculosis deaths as well as HIV infections.  The G8 supported endeavor resulted in 4.2 million people treated for HIV, 9.7 million for Tuberculosis and 310 bed nets for Malaria prevention.

The Global Fund was established in 2002 to fight and reduce Malaria, HIV/AIDS, and Tuberculosis infections and deaths. As a multilateral aid fund, originally conceived in a G8 summit in Okinawa, Japan, the Global Fund contributed to improving global health and development saving around 9 million lives.

In Nigeria specifically, 45 million bed nets and 8.1 treatments of artemisinin-based therapy prevents and treats Malaria.

The combination of foreign aid working alongside local actors echoes the hope that Okonjo-Iweala discussed in her Ted Conference. Similarly, the Global Fund mobilizes funds from donor countries, the private and philanthropic center, social enterprises and individuals themselves. It is with the collaboration of all sectors that aid can truly improve the situation in both short and long term.

– Miles Abadilla

Sources: Forbes, The Global Fund, TED, The Guardian, The Global Fund, TED
Photo: Giphy.com

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Broadway Success is Fleeting

Broadway
Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz had already solidified their fame and fortune in the acting world before their 2013 hit on Broadway.  The pair starred in Harold Pinter’s play ‘Betrayal,’ which earned an impressive $17.5 million in only 14 weeks.  Though the play itself was not fawned over by critics, the opportunity to see the married couple on stage drew so many individuals that the play became the year’s second highest grossing play on Broadway.  Nora Ephron’s play ‘Lucky Guy’ held the top position, garnering $23 million in 18 weeks.  The duo is known for its humanitarian work, so how does their recent gig stack up to their causes?

One of Weisz’s focuses is the World Food Programme, for whom she appears in a short promotional video.  The United Nations organization published a projection of 2013 needs for emergency programs, topping $1.45 billion.  The West African sector was projected to require just over $81 million for Ghana, Liberia, and regional refugees and displaced persons due to instability in Mali.  The play’s $17.5 million is just short of 25 percent of the entire projected need of West Africa.

Meanwhile, Craig supports the Afghanistan Relief Organization (ARO.)  The ARO works to provide direct assistance to Afghanis who need it, with a range of programs including Infant Care Kits, Teacher Training, and a Greenhouse Project that provides seeds to farmers and food to the hungry.  The organization’s 2006 total expenses were $189,629.  The Broadway play’s earnings could provide the ARO with 92 more years of services at the same cost, or exponentially increase the operating budget and thus provide more, and higher quality services to more people.

The play’s 14 weeks on Broadway earned more money than most individuals in the world will earn in their lifetimes, and more money than some humanitarian organizations will spend in their existence.  It is safe to say any of Weisz’s or Craig’s favorite humanitarian causes would be thrilled to receive $17.5 million to further their aims.

– Katey Baker-Smith

Sources: Afghan Relief, World Food Programme
Photo: SMS Gif

Migrant Workers in Qatar

Migrant Workers in Qatar
The skyline of Qatar’s capital, Doha, showcases gargantuan skyscrapers towering high into the sky. Being the site of the 2022 World Cup, Qatar is pursuing extensive infrastructure projects to prepare for the massive influx of rabid soccer fans eager to cheer on their favorite team.

Much of the infrastructure projects that are underway rely on migrant workers for completion. In recent months, several stories have broken regarding the terrible working conditions these workers face. Some assert that the working conditions are so bad it amounts to forced labor.

Many of these migrant workers hail from a variety of countries but the majority tend to be Nepalese. Facing poverty at home, they venture outside their borders, via recruiting agencies, in order to provide for their families.

Abigail Hauslohner, details the process by which these migrant workers become the victims of an international forced labor scheme in a recent Washington Post article. Many workers must pay recruitment agencies hundreds or even thousands of dollars to secure a job out of the country. Once the journey is made, workers claim their IDs and passports are confiscated upon arrival, making them illegal aliens.

The Guardian reports that many workers accrue massive loans to the recruitment agencies that, due to the lack of payment for their hard work, they are unable to repay. Some of the loans are reported to have interest rates of up to 36%.

The working conditions that many encounter on a day to day basis are deadly. This past summer, it was reported that an average of one Nepalese worker died per day. Over half died from heart attacks associated with heatstroke. The Nepalese embassy stationed in Doha has reported that 44 workers died between June 4 through August 8.

Lacking payment for their work, some workers are growing hungry, reports Amnesty International. 80 workers have revealed they have not been paid for over a year. The company employing them has recently ceased a monthly food stipend of 250 riyals, amounting to just $69. Luckily, a group of Doha residents have taken notice of their situation and began donating food to help.

Facing large debt, possessing no form of identification and an inability to leave the workplace has placed these migrant workers in a dire situation. Holding illegal alien status, without any way to recover their identification, leaves them with no legal protection under Qatari law. They are trapped in a cycle of forced labor.

Some hold out hope that the eventual 2022 World Cup will force a change. The Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee in charge of preparing for the games states they have taken notice of the problem. The committee insists they will introduce measures to improve labor standards.

Nasser al-Khater, spokesman for the committee, has stated they are in the midst of developing worker welfare standards that come into compliance with international best practices. Contractors will be forced to comply with these standards.

The dichotomy present in the richest per capita country in the world is stark. Qatari citizens enjoy free healthcare, education and electricity while the towering infrastructure is erected by migrant workers suffering under the injustice of forced labor.

– Zack Lindberg

Sources: Washington Post, The Guardian, Amnesty International
Photo: Vintage 3D

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Fear of Genocide in Central African Republic

Genocide_in_Central_African_Republic
In the Central African Republic (CAR) broils a sectarian conflict that has left 210,000 fleeing its capital and over 500 dead. Violent clashes between Muslim and Christian militias in the nation’s capital of Bangui have world leaders scrambling to avoid a possible genocide in the strife-ridden country.

In fear of the mass killings, kidnappings and rapes ravaging the capital, hundreds of refugees have risked boat rides across a branch of the Congo River to escape the violence while 40,000 have decided to camp outside the French-controlled Bangui airport, a place of stability and safety for the displaced Africans.

Half a century’s worth of political chaos has left the land-locked country easy pickings for its current rebel terrorists.

After the CAR gained freedom from France in 1960, it remained under despotic rulers for three decades. In 1993, the country began its first civilian rule, which fell a decade later to a military coup led by then rebel Francois Bozize. He instated himself as president and ruled uninterrupted until the rebel coalition Seleka, meaning “alliance” in the Sango language, overran the capital in March and ousted him.

Since the most recent coup, the country has fallen even further into disorder, with the dissembled rebel and Christian militias fighting one another. The reappointed Prime Minister Nicolas Tiangaye, a former human rights lawyer, expressed dismay at the deterioration of his country.

“It’s anarchy, a nonstate,” said Tiangaye. “Looting, arson, rape, massacres of the civilian population—they are sowing terrorism.”

France sent 1,600 troops to support the African Union-led forces on the ground, with hopes that other United Nations forces will help to restore order to the area. A visit by Samantha Power, the American ambassador to the United Nations, to CAR has reinforced her opinion that further action is necessary.

“I come away from our time in CAR very concerned about the extent of the polarization, the tautness of the society and the temptation that families and communities that have been victimized have to take justice into their own hands,” said Power.

Power’s fears arise from concerns that the conditions in the CAR may engender genocide. With both Christians and Muslims facing casualties, a desire for revenge may drive civilians to join militias. The Security Council passed a resolution to send 6,000 African troops to help bolster the 1,600 French troops already stationed. Whether that will be enough to quell the rebels, CAR refugees can only wait and see.

– Emily Bajet

Sources: Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera, BBC, BBC, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times
Photo: The Washington Post

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BEHR Initiative Brings Hope to Kenyan Refugees

BEHR_kenyan_refugees
The Dadaab refugee camps in northern Kenya are now home to approximately 500,000 people, making them the largest refugee complex in the world.  Located closely to Somalia, where most of the refugees come from, Dadaab is occasionally a dangerous place.

Regardless of location or conditions there is access to primary and secondary education and now there will be access to tertiary education with the help of a new pilot program called Borderless Higher Education for Refugees, or BEHR. The United Nations refugee agency estimates less than one percent of refugees around the globe are enrolled in higher education. Now, fortunately 400 students in the Dadaab camps will be given that chance.

The first round of 400 students is made up of 17 percent female, but the hope is that the next round of students will be 40 percent female. These students will have the ability to earn accredited diplomas in teaching as well as a chance to earn university degrees in subjects including community health, development, business and natural sciences, according to the New York Times. The funding is currently in place for the second unit of students to start the program next August.

Despite the fact that Kenyan law does not allow refugees to have formal jobs within the camps, participants in BEHR are able to hold what are known as “incentive” positives in the camps for teaching and community health services. The New York Times also reports that the idea of bringing university education into refugee camps grew from a long-term scholarship program run by the World University Service of Canada, which has offered scholarships within Canadian universities to 1,350 refugees from around the world during the past 35 years.

In regards to BEHR, Wenona Giles, a professor at York University in Canada stated that, “We knew it would be big in terms of resources, organization and thinking. We are going to be offering degree programs and that had not been done before, so that took a lot of chutzpah.” She also highlighted that through the program it is possible for its graduates to not only be qualified as teachers, but also positioned to go on to advanced university degrees which are important for jobs in fields like community health and development.

The BEHR program gives the refugees in the Dadaab camp a chance to gain a new perspective on their lives, a chance to graduate from school and the hope as well as knowledge to be able to one day possibly go home to Somalia.

– Lindsey Lerner

Sources: UNHCR, New York Times

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Peace in Myanmar Threatened

peace_in_myanmar_threatened
In recent years, Myanmar has achieved a relative state of peace. The first civilian administration in 50 years has been marked by an array of golf courses, updated infrastructure, overall poverty reduction, and ethnic diversity.

Nearly twelve ethnic groups inhabit Myanmar, each with its own militia. Contrary to the suggestion of added security, the atmosphere is tense with potential violence between the various groups and drug operations in the region.

Opium production in the region has experienced an annual increase with a 26% increase between 2012 and 2013 alone. But eradication has proven impossible as each ethnic group maintains its own agenda and interest. While flare-ups between groups has decreased in the region, violence continues to erupt sporadically.

In addition, the illegal industry continues to gain profit as poor rural citizens lack means of legal financial gain. The majority of inhabitants on the country’s borders live on farms, earning income through opium cultivation. Government assistance in education and healthcare are lacking, inciting organizations like UNICEF to establish programs in the region.

Since declaring independence in 1948, Myanmar has benefited from UNICEF sponsored programs involving healthcare, nutrition, sanitation, education, and other child centered programs. The past five decades have seen increased enrollment in primary schools, longer life expediency from HIV infected women and children, an increase in literacy rates and a decrease in media censorship.

Despite the continued aid, the majority of its inhabitants continue to live in poverty in the new democratic state. Nearly 70% of rural inhabitants live in poverty while an estimated 26% of city dwellers struggle financially. Only 26% of the 59.1 million inhabitants have access to electricity, leaving many to rely on firewood.

But hope is not lost. The government hopes to reach a cease fire agreement between ethnic groups. Officials hope that peace will bring long term stability to the region and cooperation to all groups involved. With the participation of all parties, the administration aims to reach a general consensus on the future of the country and its people.

– Jasmine D. Smith

Sources: New York Times, UNICEF, UNDP
Photo: Girl Serves World