Everytime I devour a galaxy bar, I keep thinking about the underpriviledged children who don't even get a bite to eat everyday. They're deprived of education and forced to work in tanneries.
In Ambur district, India, tens of thousands of children are presently working in tanneries. The output of that production goes into exports - mostly to Germany. Just like the adults, the children are unprotected against the aggressive chemical agents used in tanning the raw hides, the toxic vapors and the dust. The tanneries, where sometimes more than 150 different chemicals are used, are the worst. At times, working here can be fatal.
They toil hard to make leather shoes, which the rich people don with flamboyance.
India is not the only country that is plagued with poverty. Take Cambodia, for instance. Poverty in Cambodia is characterized by low income and consumption, poor nutritional status, low educational attainment, less access to public services including school and health services, less access to economic opportunities, vulnerability to external shocks, and exclusion from economic, social and political processes. The relatively high prevalence of HIV/Aids in Cambodia is an additional challenge to the current human development situation.
There are a plethora of NGOs and organizations striving towards eradicating poverty. Having adopted various approaches, ranging from equal distribution of income and wealth to providing employment opportunities, the poverty should have reduced by now, at least to a certain degree.
But it hasn't happened.
Could there be a flaw in the plan? Are the money, donations, and charity really reaching the poor people? Are they really being helped, and if so, to what extent? Are they being given employment opportunities? Are the children being educated in a condusive environment with good infrastructure? Are the ailing people being provided with proper medical treatment for free?
It's time for someone to ask file a Right to Information Act and ask the government to disclose information pertaining to the amount of funds the government recieves, and what percentage of it is being used effectively towards eradicationof poverty, and what does the government do with the remaining funds. The RTI Act is, I must say, one of the few benefits granted by the Constitution of India to the citizens. It'a an Act to provide for setting out the practical regime of right to information for citizens to secure access to information under the control of public authorities, in order to promote transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority, the constitution of a Central Information Commission and State Information Commissions and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
It's time for the people to wake up, and raise their voices, otherwise the plight of our economy will continue to disintegrade.
We have to open our eyes to what's happening around us and really look.
Unless the condition improves, I don't think I'll ever be able to enjoy a bar of chocolate.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
The Blues
My brain feels jumbled.
Head hurts.
Eyes sting from lack of sleep.
Everything is just a blurry haze.
I'm blinking at my textbooks, eyes wide with confusion, trying to figure out how many more hours of this do I have to go through.
I've not slept in 48 hours.
I'm hungry. All the time.
It's these bloody exams. They're not getting over anytime soon. They're going to pull on forever.
But I have to make it.
I have to.
And when it's over, finally, I'll get drunk, do drugs and get laid.
Or maybe I'll just sleep till eternity.
Head hurts.
Eyes sting from lack of sleep.
Everything is just a blurry haze.
I'm blinking at my textbooks, eyes wide with confusion, trying to figure out how many more hours of this do I have to go through.
I've not slept in 48 hours.
I'm hungry. All the time.
It's these bloody exams. They're not getting over anytime soon. They're going to pull on forever.
But I have to make it.
I have to.
And when it's over, finally, I'll get drunk, do drugs and get laid.
Or maybe I'll just sleep till eternity.
Monday, January 7, 2008
The catastrophe in my mind
When I slipped into a contemplative phase as I was poring through a particularly boring chapter in my Business Studies textbook, I just realized that woman are still subjected to injustice, much as the world claims to have taken a step towards gender equity. Gender discrimination still prevails. Women still continue to remain preys of the society, victims of brute and slaves of man.
Even after the society has become 'modernized' in action and ethics, certain orthodox beliefs still continue, pushing women into a soft cocoon, shielding herself from the harshness that engulfs the rest of the world.
Women have been subjected to the most cruel injustices, right from when man became civilised. Starting from Sati, female infanticide, rape, deprivation of education, donning corsets to achieve an unrealistic figure (that constricted the breathing, cut off blood circulation and resulted in the death of many) to the abuse that still continues to persist in rural pockets of India, women have been tormented.
Even today, a man with several girlfriends is referred to as a 'charming playboy', whilst a woman who as much as dates two different men, would be a labelled a 'slut'.
It is acceptable for men to drown their sorrows in alcohol.
If a woman did that, she would be taunted and considered 'unethical and immoral'.
A man is allowed to eat to his hearts' content.
A woman has to always watch her figure. If she as much as succumbs to the occassional craving and happens to gain a pound or two, the society immediately comments on how 'fat' she has become.
Men are allowed to go in for the grunge and looked incorrigible, but will still be considered sexy.
A woman can never have unwaxed legs, lest she be looked upon as a hairy ape.
Men can be as repulsive as they want.
Women have got to appear demure and docile.
Men are judged by their intellect.
A woman is rarely judged by her intellect. She's first viewed as a sex-symbol, a toy in the hands of man. Intellect is secondary.
Men get away with a pitiable facade.
The woman is always the scapegoat.
Men have only their jobs to handle.
Women have to not only juggle their career and work, but also whip up a delicious meal, do all the household chores, manage the house, take care of the brat of the kids, and emerge looking like a million dollars at the end of it all.
In rural areas, women toil hard as labourers and servants, whilst their unemployed husbands squander her hard-earned money on liquor and prostitutes, and then abuse her if she as much as utters a word.
You see, this injustice will always continue, as long as women allow themselves to be victims of the society. Gender equity will never be completely achieved--at least not for another century or two.
But then again, who am I to speak of justice? There is not an element of justice in this world that is torn by strife, and there probably never will be. If there was justice, there wouldn't be a thick line between the rich and the poor, the fit and the handicapped, the fortunate and the destitute. While one half of the population live in marble mansions and eat elaborate four-course meals, the other half is in penury, with hardly a morsel of food to eat.
We just have to accept it. Justice is not something that can ever be accomplished. And I realized it, probably a tad too late.
Even after the society has become 'modernized' in action and ethics, certain orthodox beliefs still continue, pushing women into a soft cocoon, shielding herself from the harshness that engulfs the rest of the world.
Women have been subjected to the most cruel injustices, right from when man became civilised. Starting from Sati, female infanticide, rape, deprivation of education, donning corsets to achieve an unrealistic figure (that constricted the breathing, cut off blood circulation and resulted in the death of many) to the abuse that still continues to persist in rural pockets of India, women have been tormented.
Even today, a man with several girlfriends is referred to as a 'charming playboy', whilst a woman who as much as dates two different men, would be a labelled a 'slut'.
It is acceptable for men to drown their sorrows in alcohol.
If a woman did that, she would be taunted and considered 'unethical and immoral'.
A man is allowed to eat to his hearts' content.
A woman has to always watch her figure. If she as much as succumbs to the occassional craving and happens to gain a pound or two, the society immediately comments on how 'fat' she has become.
Men are allowed to go in for the grunge and looked incorrigible, but will still be considered sexy.
A woman can never have unwaxed legs, lest she be looked upon as a hairy ape.
Men can be as repulsive as they want.
Women have got to appear demure and docile.
Men are judged by their intellect.
A woman is rarely judged by her intellect. She's first viewed as a sex-symbol, a toy in the hands of man. Intellect is secondary.
Men get away with a pitiable facade.
The woman is always the scapegoat.
Men have only their jobs to handle.
Women have to not only juggle their career and work, but also whip up a delicious meal, do all the household chores, manage the house, take care of the brat of the kids, and emerge looking like a million dollars at the end of it all.
In rural areas, women toil hard as labourers and servants, whilst their unemployed husbands squander her hard-earned money on liquor and prostitutes, and then abuse her if she as much as utters a word.
You see, this injustice will always continue, as long as women allow themselves to be victims of the society. Gender equity will never be completely achieved--at least not for another century or two.
But then again, who am I to speak of justice? There is not an element of justice in this world that is torn by strife, and there probably never will be. If there was justice, there wouldn't be a thick line between the rich and the poor, the fit and the handicapped, the fortunate and the destitute. While one half of the population live in marble mansions and eat elaborate four-course meals, the other half is in penury, with hardly a morsel of food to eat.
We just have to accept it. Justice is not something that can ever be accomplished. And I realized it, probably a tad too late.
Friday, January 4, 2008
..............
the rains continue to pelt around the place, and I continue to stare glumly at the Accounts book in front of me, trying to tally a balance sheet (none of my balance sheets have ever tallied in the 2 years of Accounts I have done), inhaling the redolence of wet mud and thinking why the hell did I have to grow up so fast. Couldn't I just be a kid again and eat chocolate for lunch and watch Powerpuff Girls on TV? I could read Enid Blyton and paint pictures and write fantasy stories about elves and fairies, rather than incredibly boring, realistic 'ficiton' about career, life, romance...blah blah.
Back to reality. The weather is too gloomy to put my brain in a turmoil and crack the intricacies of what appears to be a very simple Accounts sum. Or perhaps I am just too antsy at the moment and would rather prefer to run out into the streets, splash in the diry puddle, get wet, return home with a sheepish grin, and sip hot chocolate whilst I cuddle up in bed with A Secret Seven Mystery. Yes...I am absolutely passionate about The Secret Seven Mysteries. I've outgrown them long since, but they continue to remain my second favorite, after Grimms book of Fairy Tales.
I also enjoy stories by Hans Christian Anderson.
Another jolt...back to reality. I've got another 100 sums to go and an exam tomorrow and I can't believe I've slipped into my contemplative mood again. Will be a dutiful student and return to that un-tallied balance sheet now.
Back to reality. The weather is too gloomy to put my brain in a turmoil and crack the intricacies of what appears to be a very simple Accounts sum. Or perhaps I am just too antsy at the moment and would rather prefer to run out into the streets, splash in the diry puddle, get wet, return home with a sheepish grin, and sip hot chocolate whilst I cuddle up in bed with A Secret Seven Mystery. Yes...I am absolutely passionate about The Secret Seven Mysteries. I've outgrown them long since, but they continue to remain my second favorite, after Grimms book of Fairy Tales.
I also enjoy stories by Hans Christian Anderson.
Another jolt...back to reality. I've got another 100 sums to go and an exam tomorrow and I can't believe I've slipped into my contemplative mood again. Will be a dutiful student and return to that un-tallied balance sheet now.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Am i ready to face college?
It's absolutely mortifying to think that exactly three months from now, my school life will be officially over. True, I spent most of my final year of school buried under my books with an almost non-existent social-life, and I clearly wasn't the most idolized person among all my classmates, but the whole thought of entering a completely different place with not a single familiar or friendly face to look at is truly scary.
Even though I've been through a very rough patch this year, there are a few wonderful and memorable moments of my school life i won't ever forget. Especially all the classes we bunked in XI grade, all the food we guzzled down during exceptionally boring English classes, all the accounts sums we broke our heads over, hurling curses at the cruel Accounts pioneers of our class for their IQ of 500, not attending a single fashion studies class and then abusing the sewing machine and literally ripping it apart, late night conference calls, getting picked on by the teachers and then hating them for it, flunking in all the class tests and not feeling the least bit ashamed of it, misusing the school prefectorial position and bunking assembly, not coming to school in proper uniform and then being pulled up for it, the surprise cell-phone raids that threw us into utter panic and confusion as we tried to hastily stuff our cell-phones someplace where the CBI detectives dont unearth them.
You see, these are all the wonderful moments of school that I doubt I'll ever find in college. True, I am looking forward to a good change of ambience at the moment, but I just hope that I hang in there. It's going to be me, and me alone.
I'll have to learn to harden myself, stand up for myself and for what I believe in. I can't afford to bury myself in a stack of books and blend with the crowd, the way I've just managed to do this year.
Well, I definitely know that I'll live through college. That's all matters, I suppose.
Even though I've been through a very rough patch this year, there are a few wonderful and memorable moments of my school life i won't ever forget. Especially all the classes we bunked in XI grade, all the food we guzzled down during exceptionally boring English classes, all the accounts sums we broke our heads over, hurling curses at the cruel Accounts pioneers of our class for their IQ of 500, not attending a single fashion studies class and then abusing the sewing machine and literally ripping it apart, late night conference calls, getting picked on by the teachers and then hating them for it, flunking in all the class tests and not feeling the least bit ashamed of it, misusing the school prefectorial position and bunking assembly, not coming to school in proper uniform and then being pulled up for it, the surprise cell-phone raids that threw us into utter panic and confusion as we tried to hastily stuff our cell-phones someplace where the CBI detectives dont unearth them.
You see, these are all the wonderful moments of school that I doubt I'll ever find in college. True, I am looking forward to a good change of ambience at the moment, but I just hope that I hang in there. It's going to be me, and me alone.
I'll have to learn to harden myself, stand up for myself and for what I believe in. I can't afford to bury myself in a stack of books and blend with the crowd, the way I've just managed to do this year.
Well, I definitely know that I'll live through college. That's all matters, I suppose.
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