Wednesday 29th April 2009
by Nussaïbah RajaOne man’s gain is equal to another man’s loss.
This might be one of the oldest theories in Economics; there can never be two winners, one always has to lose. However, it’s unbelievable how the contrary cannot be applied to all the cases. Someone’s loss might result in another’s loss or gain; it’s a 50-50 risk that one might have to take sometimes. While most economists seek for a balance in such an imperfect world, one cannot help but feel the imbalance that threatens to attach itself to the future generations; the widening gap between prosperous countries and the poverty-stricken others being the most noticeable of all.
What comes to mind when one think about the gloomy destinies of poor countries? Hunger: they are flagged with that one word, the picture of several skinny children coming to mind, and staying what they are, a picture… soon to be discarded for the frivolous and materialistic desires that we harbour and which might not be important. How many times have we thought of the plight of these dying nations, then instantly forgotten about it all because “we had better things to do”? I’m not asking for answer, just trying to make you see the darkest corners of human beings: to always think about us first. Yet, it is the fate of us, privileged beings of society, to complain about our comforts when others lack the very basic needs required to survive in our merciless world.
It’s not our fault for being so selfish; we simply are not aware of the pain and torture some people go through everyday, just because they live in those parts of the globe where even finding one grain of rice is considered to be a miracle. How many of you have ever spent days without eating or even having a single drop to drink? No one, I believe. While some go hungry deliberately to get the perfect body or simply because they ‘forgot’ to eat, others have no choice but bear the unpleasant feeling of the stomach growling and seeking for food everyday because they cannot afford to buy food.
Such a picture can bring tears to the most hardhearted of us, for simply imagining how it would feel pains the heart. And of course, regarding such matters, our imaginations tend to be quite limited. I’m not suggesting that you go on a hunger-strike just to be able to brag you didn’t eat anything for days, there’s no point to it. I was simply wondering if it were too much to ask to give those people a little thought and act on that. The whole objective of this post was to create awareness among internauts, and maybe indirectly help end this crisis of world hunger which has been prevailing since the beginning of times. I asked myself, will this article really help to that?
I had doubts, and I still have them. Some may consider this to be just a good read: “Yeah, yet another idealist, as if we didn’t have enough”. Others might just ignore the whole point and forget about it the second they close the page. Or worst, it might get lost among the thousands posts being written on the subject today. However, I’m still writing it, for even a small contribution might tilt the flow of this crisis. Just like a small action from you might be the reason for the change in these people’s fortune.
Standing for something isn’t just about writing it down. It’s about believing it and living it.
Which I believe I will, in a few months, given the field of study I chose…
Tags: Bloggers Unite, Hunger, Poverty, World
[...] Ode to My Tainted Dreams [...]
[...] Ode to My Tainted Dreams [...]
@ Sayuka
Unbelievable how we so easily put them last on our lists when they should be the priority…
@ Lillie
Reaching out to the hearts of others might be the most difficult thing ever
@ Timi
With the rise of unemployment, hard to think of those who had the luxury of having a job…
I sense some great case study behind that
@ Randi
Really painful to see that one side, those who are wasting food because they have too much and on the other side, those who have none…
@ morinn
We should start where we can, why go look at other countries when people are dying of hunger in our own country.
@ UTP
I sure hope I never experience that…
@ Lisa
There’s always next year
@ Freya and Dr Reddy
Thanks
good initiative to raise awareness. keep it up. Always ready to help the poor and the hungry.
Very well written! I’m afraid it’s a subject many of want to bury our heads to. I don’t like to think about hungry people out, not by choice, but because they have no choice. I’m sorry I missed this important subject/date.
but writing it down is a great start…
have you ever imagined what it would be to die of hunger or thirst…? What would it feel like…unfortunately i have had such dreams…
its a nightmare…
we tend to forget and be helpful to others thats why war happens we should be more aware of what’s happening to our world and to its people
“However, I’m still writing it, for even a small contribution might tilt the flow of this crisis.”
Well I think you are totally right about this. I think each and every one of us should act upon this and in our own way combat this crisis. I guess the time has come for people to leave their selfishness behind and to adopt a more humanitarian attitude, as you have said. It might start with doing small things like contributing to combat poverty in our own localities for example.
We can never have enough idealists. They are always either acting or spurring others on to action. The sad thing is that there IS enough food to go around. Some just aren’t getting their share. It’s heart wrenching, and I thank you for your contributions here today.
This post was most certainly a very ‘Good Read’, but beyond that, it also does highlight the ever widening global disparity between the developed countries and those less fortunate in the historical race of industrialisation.
As the world enters ever deeper into a global economic recession, people are far less inclined to look out for others, especially when stories of our own falling wages and lost jobs replaces that of far-away countries in desperate need of our help. In a pure liberal society centred around the free market, charity is favoured against direct aid, but people are often too short-sighted to look beyond the horizon that they alone can see.
Hopefully the message will not fall on deaf ears; as a united voice, it is possible to achieve so much
Even if your post is one among thousands, you have helped raised awareness. Thank you for reminding us how selfish we humans tend to be and encouraging us to think of others.
Well, I may well be among those people who will say this post was “a good read”. But that is not the only thing that occurred to me on reading it. I think you achieved well your objective of creating a sense of awareness among internauts: you gave us a straight-to-the-point post, without wasting times on useless facts, going directly to the message you wished to pass.
Well, I agree with you that the situation of poor countries is the least of our concerns today. Today’s world is one where the race towards fortune kills any hopes for humanistic feelings; it’s a world where materialism has become the prime ‘value’. This view might well be idealistic, your post might be too, but I believe without a small dose of idealism in us, we couldn’t hope to make a difference in this crisis…