Poverty

Upon arrival in the St Lucia-Hluhluwe area (a prime tourism district) for research, I was certain that the beauty of the area had to be shared with family. I started mapping up the possibility of a future family trip back into this area; the accommodation, the feeding arrangements, and other activities offered by the tourist district. Just the basics added up to scaring figures, too big for my working class pocket – and certainly a fortune not any other working class and ordinary South African.

I was saddened to realize that tourism (as an intangible consumption) will for a long time remain a luxury, for which, the common man and woman is deliberately priced out (sounds like a conspiracy? ) – for greed and I am not sure what else. Firstly, are the exorbitant prices called for by the operators in the tourist district really called for? Is this the best way to run and grow the tourism industry?

All the talk about the tourism industry being an economic sector that could spearhead rural development and reduce poverty in under-privileged communities will remain just that – a talk, until such a time when the pricing issue is resolved. As it stands, South Africa’s tourism industry has it all wrong, suffocating its own potential for growth through the greed of a few operators. The pricing regimes of the prime tourism district are obviously meant for the international tourist coming from countries that enjoy a higher currency exchange rate.

The logic is to make a killer out of these visitors. In due course, local tourism is highly inhibited and discouraged. It is also very likely that the lower earners from the targeted countries are also denied entry into these high price zones. By so doing, the tourist district creates a muzzle on its potential to grow. It is like clipping a bird’s wings for it to fly faster. It is a pity that this kind of logic holds the tourist industry hostage to the whims of a few profiteering individuals and agencies. There is power in numbers.

The thousands if not millions of potential tourists who will not visit would calculate to much more profit, more jobs created, and even initiate the growth, vertically and horizontally of other sectors of the economies of the tourist district. At the moment, as a result of restrained demand – the potential for huge demand that necessitates local industrialization and a construction boom as well as expanding the service industry is limited. There are very few visitors, and more so, the numbers fluctuate seasonally.

All talks about developing a culture of touring among local people will remain but a pipe dream if the attitude of operators does not change. One operator tried to explain the logic to me; “lets face it, it is better to deal with smaller groups of people who pay good money and act in a civilized manner than groups of low paying, over-excited bunches who end up fighting and breaking property. As racist as it may sound, my experience with local black visitors – especially those coming in groups have been very rough.

When they go – a lot of things must be prepared. ” I sympathise but obviously I am not convinced, as this behaviour might be a way of resistance. Probably it is too much to expect that the operators will regulate themselves and reform – the intervention of relevant authorities is therefore called for. The Consumer Council might need to investigate these issues. Besides the denied access to the tourist district, the poor workers and traders trying to earn a living in these areas suffer daily from these chronically high prices.

It is actually a blight – that should be remedied, otherwise these ridiculous pricing regimes hold the economy at ransom. Any item from a tooth pick, to whatever is sold gets infected with high prices when it enters this area. Poor people who earn very little to shield the profit margins of operators have to suffer financial erosion from this cancerous pricing regime. The alternative for the poor people trying make a living in this district is to take taxi rides to close towns such as Mtubatuba and Richards Bay, themselves not the cheapest around.

More money and time is spent on traveling to buy what one could buy in their own backyard. These people will never taste the cuisines that harass their nose and the children of these people will only but gaze at the children of the privileged riding in cycle tracks, enjoying boat rides and so forth. They are treated to the air, sound and environmental pollution from these activities. There is not need to restrain myself from pointing out that the riding children are white, and those pumping in the dirty dust are black kids.

It is a pity that the Black Economic Empowerment train is eluding many black people in the communities in these areas. Black people’s involvement is still in the very margins of the industry, even the high sounding Protected Areas Act and Biodiversity Act, as well as the Integrated Management Plan recently promulgated to balance conservation and poverty reduction, will remain a pipe dream if black communities are not put in the mainstream.

The so-called community involvement in the sector is in the areas of cultural or ethnic tourism, as well as trekking. Really, the money in the tourism business is not in performing Zulu dancing and story telling. Where the money is in the cottage or accommodation provision, safari tourism, wildlife tourism, of this sector, I did not see any convincing community or individual black entrepreneur’s involvement.

When our country goes into a recession and Jobs have to get cut that is out of the individuals control. It isn’t their fault a company has to lay people off due to lack of money. Also you see things like the cost of living and healthcare which are very expensive for people to afford right now. A lot of people have a Job and work hard and still can’t afford healthcare or a a decent home. That Is my understanding of the public Issues. Things that happen in the country that Is a bad break for people. My understanding of personal Issues is things that happen to certain individuals such as n Injury or Illness, another thing out of their control.

People get hurt and can’t work and that results In a lower standard of living for them and their family. Also some personal issues can be controlled such as when someone wants to get another job or quit their job. Some get fired for not performing well, this is something they could have controlled and as a result are now in poverty. It goes both ways there are way people get into poverty that are Just out of their control and some ways some of these people could have prevented. In many ways “personal troubles” and “public issues” go hand in hand when it comes to poverty.

Often times public issues can cause personal troubles. For example, a factory closing In a small town is a public Issue, affecting the city government and citizens of the town. The closing of a factory will cause personal troubles for the workers who are now unemployed. Personal troubles and public Issues can both lead to poverty. Factors that lead to poverty that can be controlled by an individual could be how they spend/save the money that they earn. A person that makes a argue income, for example, might not be good at investing their money into the needs of their family and waste it instead, bringing them into poverty.

On the other hand, a family with a lesser income who save and spend wisely may be considered “middle-class”. Factors that are beyond an individual’s control might include war, the country’s economy, no available Jobs, and catastrophes (hurricanes, earthquakes, etc. ). Sociological Imagination Is the link between “personal troubles” and “public Issues”. To understand this you must understand the connection between the two Issues. Personal troubles describes the character of an Individual and what social Issues are affecting him or her directly.

Public issues are matters that can’t be controlled by the contribute to poverty that an individual can control are; controlling spending tendencies, get an education to help get Jobs, and living in an affordable area. Factors that are beyond the individuals control are; prices of necessary life demands such as food, clothing shelter, and taxes. Both of these factors contribute to poverty because the personal troubles of one person will eventually lead to public issues. An example loud be a individual who gets fired for not having the appropriate skills brings up the societies unemployment rate.

After thoroughly learning about Sociological Imagination it is clear that you must understand what public issues is and personal troubles is. Public issues are problems that come up that you can’t control. And it does not only affect you as an individual but the society as a whole. Personal troubles are problems that society creates that affect you as an individual. Many times public issues and personal troubles are linked together. In response to Poverty in the US there are many resistances where the public issues create personal troubles on an individual.

For example, if a company goes out of business and goes bankrupt then everyone in that company is now unemployed. That is something they had no control over and now it’s a personal trouble for them. I think that a personal problem pertaining to poverty could be someone who doesn’t manage or invest his or her income well. If an injury were to happen and they don’t have enough money to cover it, I think that would be something they could have prevented. You can prevent an injury and you can also learn how to deal with your money better.

Its infamy impacts tourism and trade, despite Colombia being the second largest producer of coffee in the world. The unemployment, especially among the youth, acts like fuel to the fire with regards to Colombians economic uncertainty. The country Itself does have the potential to have a stable economy and at least the minimum acceptable level of public welfare. It will be Interest to analyze why the country Is embroiled In warfare Instead of welfare, which Is why I have chosen It to be the topic of my research. 2. Relationships between selected economic concern and country?

Economy/other variables (40 points): According to the US Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) World Fact Book, Colombia had a total work force of about 21. 27 million (2010 estimates). For a country whose population stood at 44,725,543 (2011 CIA estimates this figure is abysmal. The unemployment rate is at 11. 8% (2010 estimates). It is also important to note that nearly half of the country population (45. 5% – 2010 estimates) lives below the poverty line. According to a SEPAL (United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean) 1 7% of these are homeless.

It Is obvious that when a errors remains unemployed for a long time, he or she cannot provide the bare necessities of life for their families. However, the high level of poverty In Colombia Is not just attributed to unemployment alone but to the quality of work that those who are employed have. Nearly 32% of those who state themselves to be employed do not have a formal work contract or access to a healthcare system while 48% hold informal jobs such as street vendors and garbage recyclers (SEPAL). So not only is the population of Colombia plagued with unemployment but those who are employed ark in very low paying jobs.

When a person is unable to support his or her family by legal means, they find themselves to be helpless and turn towards illegal trades to earn a living. This applies especially to the youth, who find themselves without an education, without a job and without a bright future prospect. They tend to get Involved in the local drug mafia In one way or the other. Those who are considered Incapable of violence or physical brutality, find work on cocaine farms while the others get Involved In more dangerous aspects of the trade.

This draining of possible working populace towards an Illegal sector Tanat Is causing more nary than good to ten overall progress AT ten nature takes its toll on the economy. High unemployment has also led to an increase in the economic class divide among the population. The upper class, which accounts for 20% of the population, accounts for about 75% to 80% of the Gross National Product (GNP). The rest of the 20% GNP is shared between the remaining 80% of the population. Being far richer than the masses, the elite class has access to education, healthcare and security.

She then goes on to say hat “religious dogma crushes our efforts to translate good data into good HIVE prevention. ” (Pl 88, Plans) In the book It goes on to say that power follows religion, and then money follows power and everyone follows money. To me I feel as If religion would be a good way to slow down the HIVE epidemic because, at a younger age if you’re told about how sex and how it can cause HIVE which can cause death it would scare a lot of kids. If kids are learning about sex in a religious manner I feel as if adolescents would follow it more. If I was growing up with this I would be abstinent till marriage.

George W. Bush thought the same way that the only way to avoid HIVE Is to teach our children to be abstinent. Yes Plans brings In the argument of sperm between women and men and how they need sex, but there’s always ways around that like religion, and being taught to control that urge. She then goes on to say the increase of premarital sex and the decrease of prostitution would ultimately cut the risk of HIVE. She goes on to bring out an example of Thailand saying that they have taught us that with fewer men paying for sex from prostitutes lowers the risk for HIVE Infection. Also with that, there would be a larger condom use.

I would have to disagree with this because if there was an Increase of premarital sex, it would just be a whole bunch of uneducated teenagers just going around having sex all the time. The only difference would be is that the men wouldn’t have to be paying for this. She claims that condom use would be a lot higher, but if your increasing premarital sex, condoms defiantly would not be used and the HIVE epidemic would be still be around. Yes I agree that the numbers would go down, but I feel It wouldn’t go down that much to make this a great development. The teenagers would have to be educated about HIVE and educated about safe sex.

One of Aphasia’s quotes had been “there’s enough HIVE for everyone”, but in this little island of East Timer, there’s actually wasn’t enough HIVE for everyone. On this island there were many different HIVE organizations working on this island with not that many documented infected people. On this island there were only about seven people with HIVE. From Plane’s conclusion she thought poverty, street children and joblessness does not make an HIVE epidemic In this society. Just because there wasn’t enough prostitution or drug injection HIVE couldn’t be high and all this money going onto this country about HIVE prevention wouldn’t matter.

In a society, I feel like poverty could cause HIVE because sooner or later people in the society will be selling there bodies for money. From what I understand, is that not everyone on this island is educated enough to get an HIVE test, because they are not educated about what HIVE Is. There should be different programs In this country to educate the people of east Limbo sot at n HIVE does not spread around Ana It stays ten same . Inure snout programs on safe sex using condoms, programs on not doing drugs and even prostitution.

From reading this novel, the most interesting of points that caught my eye is the battle between how AIDS and HIVE is spread throughout the world. Is it spread through sex and drugs? Or is it spread over poverty and ? Pisa believes that sex and drugs is the main dilemma when it comes to the HIVE epidemic. Pisa brings up the point with Africa because 2/3 of the people infected in the world live in the countries around Africa. She brings out a good quote that caught my eye, “A schoolgirl in South Africa is thirteen times more likely to be infected with HIVE than a woman who sells sex for a living in China. Pl 24-125, Pisa) Ultimately, I would have to agree with Meads that poverty and gender inequality causes HIVE in poorer countries. In Africa, there is a humongous gap between the rich minority and the poor minority. With gender inequality, if men in a specific region are more literate then women HIVE will spread or of the population of a city is more males than women then HIVE will spread. Education is the biggest for me, where there is poverty, there are more uneducated people, and if those people don’t know about safe sex, and diseases, then people will be infected.

Where there is a society of poverty and uneducated people, both women and males will sell there bodies to make money and HIVE will be spread because unprotected sex would be taking place. On the other hand I do agree with Pisa but in another circumstance. I believe sex and drugs does cause HIVE and AIDS but only in high industrial countries like the United States or France. When the HIVE epidemic came into place in the United States, it was said that it was spread through party drugs and also sex with gay men. In a poorer country, like Africa poverty and gender inequality spreads aids because of the structural violence.

It is easy for people to shut their eyes to things they do not witness, like bigotry, racism, and the cruelty of South Africa. According to Blob Kiwanis “It has been nearly a decade and a half after the end of apartheid” and South Africans are finally realizing there Is a problem with racism (Swank, 2008). This realization occurred after white students from the university of the Free State, made a racist video. This video showed the students degrading and humiliating four black workers. The racism portrayed by these students was said to be deep-seated.

These students even went so far as to allegedly, urinate in the four lack workers food (Kiwanis, 2008). In 1994 a man was fed up with his black worker, so the black man was fed to the lions (Kiwanis, 2008). This type of cruelty is not as common as it once was, but any act such as this should not be allowed to take place in the free world. Imagine living every day in fear, never knowing what the day is going to be like. What about tomorrow? This behavior is something most people never have to experience in their lifetime, but what about those that get to witness these events first hand?

The violence and hatred that has caused a country to live In ear, was said to be a symptom of globalization, by a country that calls Itself a “Rainbow Nation”, yet was not supposedly about racism at all (Perry, 2008). 3 It became apparent in 2008, when 42 black people were killed. These people were raped, neaten, eroded, Ana Turned alive. I Nils type AT loathing NAS lave a country (Perry, 2008). These types of incidents have diminished over time, but are still evident in the culture. The cultures in South Africa are many and most are still high in the masculine beliefs. Ethnicity is the differences in culture and is diverse in South

Africa. The many different tribes and people have similar yet different beliefs. Race refers to the social construction on the difference of skin color, or nationalities (South Africa and its Culture, 2011). Polygamy is still carried out and a dowry is still permitted in most of South Africans cultures. Cattle are a sign of wealth and also used as a symbol for sacrifice. The Zulu is one of the strongest surviving black culture in South Africa (South Africa and its Culture, 2011). Xhosa are also a strong presence in the South African culture, and are referred to as the red people.

The red people are called this because the red dye they use on their clothing, worn by most adults. The Indelible are related to the Red people, but live in the North-western corner of what now is called Mulligan, in vibrant painted homes (South Africa and its Culture, 2011). Then there are the Dutch settlers along with the British, these people are known as Afrikaners, and are the majority of the South African population (South Africa and its Culture, 2011). Surprisingly there is a large Jewish population that resides in South Africa; no doubt the survivors of Hitler and his brutal rein.

Brutality is not the only problem that has affected the people of South Africa. Because of this racism the poverty level has remained a problem. If a company only hires white people to work, how are people of color ever going to rise above poverty? The Jobs available to black people in South Africa are almost non-existent. If there are no Jobs then there is no money to be made. No money means no food, no shelter, and no means to support a family. This is another instance of the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. 4 Are people so blind and callused, as to not care how the actions and the words thrown out will affect others?

What about the future of innocent souls to come? Why is one color any better than another? Who gets to decide these types of things? If a person were to close their eyes and solely Judge another based on their personality, or the way they are treated by a person, our world would be a different place to live. Discrimination has kept the people of South Africa in poverty for way to long, it is time to break the chains of bigotry and learn to live together in a peaceful place. A place where color does not mean you are rejected for a Job, or for housing. A place where everyone is color blind seems ideal, does it not?

Education is a factor for the people of South Africa. People are more concerned with finding a Job; instead they are worrying about whether or not they can attend school. And the sad part about that is that in order to get a good Job or even a Job, education would be beneficial. This is one of the excuses for not hiring people with black skin, they are not as educated. This is one way companies get around race (Reuters, 2001). The companies use this as their reason for hiring the white person applying for the Job and not the black person. It is a vicious circle for the people of South Africa.

I have learnt many words by reading books. I have never enjoyed reading but if I find a book I like, I’ll read it. This is how I learn new words and hence, I have a better English education. Ever since I was a toddler I have never enjoyed reading books apart from when I choose them. I always chose the books with with loads of words on a page with hardly any pictures. Therefore, it has become a habit in my simple life as I was sailing in the pool of words since I was 6 years old. The favorite play that captivated me the most is called “Educating Rita”.

The play “Educating Rita” is written by Willy Russell. It is based on contrast as the main characters Rita and Frank have very different backgrounds. Frank is well educated (academic background) and he is a professor who teaches English in a university but Rita is a hair-dresser (working class background) who has not been well educated. Rita called herself a “freak” and “half caste”. She wants to be educated because she says “I wanna know”. She knows she is not ‘educated’ yet and dimly realizes what ‘education’ is. What Rita wants is to be out of her social class. For her, education is a means of achieving this and she is probably right. She instinctively knows she lacks something and thinks a university degree will fill the gaps in her life. Rita is eager to learn everything and she is energetic.

It affects me as it reflects the sharp contrast between the condition of poor as well as middle class and rich people. The reason why I thought in this way is because that’s what I see every day in the streets and my feelings.

In Hong Kong, poor people are living in a confined space. They are living in houses that are surrounded by tons of rubbish. Whenever I walk pass the area with this types of housing, I could always hear the “sizz….sizz…sizz” sound, and I am not sure if it comes rats or other insects. It has a foul smell too, and yet, people are living in this kind of environment. In contrast to the poor, the rich and middle class people are living in houses and mansions where rooms are air conditioned; it is clean and is relatively comfortable. At night the poor housing area is overwhelmed by darkness, but I know there are people living on the side of road and of that area.

We are staying in a cool area but they are suffering from heat from the sun. We sit on comfortable chair but they sit on the ground with germs. The contrast is a little uncomfortable for me. Thus, sometimes when I cannot sleep, I will start to wonder ‘what if I am one of them who live on the street? Will I survive?” People living in that area have no money. In addition, they have to fear and tolerate what might happen to them every day. Sometimes, I think the poor have more courage than I do. What could I do for them? Most of the time, I could only feel sad for them, and usually we will forget about them and live on with our own life.

It is vitally important to me because their experiences instill a certain fear in me. I told myself I don’t aspire to be a very rich person, but I am really afraid to be poor. I don’t think any amount of money is ever enough to help the poor who live below the poverty line but every penny counts! We must also accept the fact that corruptions has add on more problems to this major issue, but we must always tell ourselves “Can rescue how many are how many”. This is, we must always save as many lives as we could because every life counts.

The existence of poor and rich in the society is unavoidable, but the disparity and gap between them should be reduced as much as possible. The rich may have the right to spend as copiously as they like to live in comfort, but the poor should also have the right and means to keep the body and soul together.

Embracing the poor, engaging the rich.

I am writing to you in concern of the slave trade that you and other people around you are running. I think its appalling the way you treat the slaves. Interviewing some people who have been on the trip too Jamaica and witnessed the cruelty has told me plenty of terrible things.

When you actually arrived at the African countries, you would just snatch African people from there home villages. Families would lose the mother or children and never seeing them again. How would you like it if someone came and took you away from your family? After that you would tie up inside wooden cages and laugh at them.

They would be tormented and have racist comments shouted at them. This is a disgrace to mankind. You treated them like animals calling them monkeys because of the colour of their skin. There still humans. Once your sailors crammed the slaves into the boat they would be chained together. They would have to lie down for weeks.

From what I have heard you have been able to stuff up to four hundred and forty slaves in one ship. A doctor who had been on the boat said, “The floor of the boat was covered in blood and mucus resembling a slaughter house. After fifteen minutes I was so overcome by the heat, stench and foul air, I nearly fainted. With assistance I got back on deck”. When you said you fed them with healthy food, all you did was give a bowl of mashed rice and some vegetables per every ten slaves.

What’s worse is that they got a bucket to use as a toilet but most of them couldn’t reach it. One man commented on the revolting behaviour on board your boat,” On board, the common sailors are allowed to have intercourse with the black women slaves whose consent they can get even when they refuse”. I find this very inhumane and disgusting. Mr John Hammold told me about what you do with dead and sick slaves, “When a slave died on the ship, the sailors went down and unchained the body and dragged the dead out onto the deck and through the body overboard.

The ship captained by Mr. Slater got his worst slaves, which was over fifty. He ordered his men to get them onto the deck and throw them overboard too. Some of the slaves happily committed suicide by jumping over the edge because of the extremely harsh conditions they were in. All of this was because he thought he didn’t have enough water for the rest of the journey. But when we arrived it turned out that he had plenty of water left and claimed that the slaves was his cargo and that he could do what he pleased with it”. You think that these people are just like some cargo and that you can do what ever you want with it.

There not, they are ordinary people with human rights.

Mr. Smith who was watching the slaves come out of your boat told me that the slaves got branded. Twice! This is a type of torture! He said that you needed four of your men to stop them struggling. The screamed as the piercing pain hit them hard on the back. Then their new masters brand the slaves again. The slaves then get humiliated again by the public when they get sold at auctions. I personally saw people treating the Africans worse than animals by letting the public touch, poke and examine them. The crowd would then comment on the slave’s condition. Families would treat an auction as a “family day out” when taking there children to the auctions. Once the slaves have been bought they loose every part of their identity. Their names would taken and replaced with traditional English names. There religion

Is lost and they spend some of there free time at church on Sunday mornings. The punishments are dreadful. I have personally seen slaves being tied up by the hands and then whipped several times continuously. While the owner who thought he was a holy man did not want to be disturbed while reading!

The way you and other people treat slaves is outrageous. There shouldn’t even be slaves. Putting chains around their legs and treating them worse than animals. Making dirty money out of it all. The Africans you have kidnapped have committed suicide because they hate their lives so much. You call them second-class people when they are just as equal as you. They also have human rights. Slavery has got to stop and so have you and other people’s racism and total lack of respect to other people.