I finished watching round 2 of Avatar The Last Air Bender series yesterday. Just as good as I remember, if not better. I definitely don't feel the same way that I did after the last time I watched it though. I think it's a culmination of a number of things. . .
I think my Canada World Youth exchange took a lot out of me. Before starting I was very confident and self-assured. I felt very connected to people and things and felt like I was really connected to the great one-ness of all things. . .I saw dualism in everything. . .could advocate on behalf of anything in the name of compassion. . .I realized fully that having hatred and disdain for even your worst enemy would not lead anywhere and would only cause more pain and suffering for yourself. To love your enemy and have compassion for them as well was much more powerful. . .and beneficial for everyone. This is still something I know.
But then in Honduras, and as a result of Canada World Youth I learned about the political coup that split the country in half ideologically speaking. Some believe the president was trying to make the country communist, some believe he was trying to give more power to the people and less to the corporations in the country (different ways of saying the same thing?). He was ousted by the Supreme court who were very much against his actions (in trying to "change the constitution" by proposing a survey to see if people would want him to remain in office for longer if it were an option). . .in any case, there was a lot of turmoil, many people decided not to vote in the following election. . .however, Canada and the USA were two of the first countries to recognize Honduras' new government after the coup.
Just politics and history, no big deal.
Until you find out about Gold corps and their mining exploits in Honduras. It becomes obvious that Canada and the US have vested interest in countries like Honduras. They are cheap places to attain natural resources that can make a lot of people rich (and secure a pension for the large number of citizens that will be expecting one when they retire). And Honduras isn't really in a position to argue. . .in 1998 after a giant hurricane devastated large parts of the country and economy it would understandably become easy to allow international corporations or countries offering some assistance to come in and help your people. . .So Canada and the US give Honduras 1% of their profits from gold and take the rest. . .fair, right?
It makes it hard to have a lot of faith in development efforts from these countries as well. Especially as a Canadian to hear that a lot of foreign aid is being cut and learning that CIDA has decided to focus on only 20 countries
Seeing all of this and understanding it on a deeper level took away a lot of my confidence. It is hard to argue for the good in this entire system. It is hard to see the situation in Honduras and know that a gold company is coming in and poisoning water, destroying environments and homes of innocent people who are impoverished and far away. Who aren't able to make enough noise for the majority of people to notice (not that this is in anyway their fault) and who may be disappeared or killed for trying. The same things happen all over the world, even in Canada . That paired with the selfishness I witnessed from others and that I know I am guilty of myself, that most people are not willing to make even small changes in their lives so that people can have their most basic human rights met. We are not willing to look at the gold in jewellery stores and say "Hey, you know what, I don't want something that is made at other people's expense". . .Most people are unwilling to give up even a bit of their comfortable lifestyle so that everyone can have a chance to live. It's disheartening and it's very hard to see these things as necessary and part of a unifying whole. . .
I've also noticed how it seems the more people have the more suspicious and fearful they become of others. . .
I think North American philosophy is in desperate and immediate need of revision.
another interesting article
I think my Canada World Youth exchange took a lot out of me. Before starting I was very confident and self-assured. I felt very connected to people and things and felt like I was really connected to the great one-ness of all things. . .I saw dualism in everything. . .could advocate on behalf of anything in the name of compassion. . .I realized fully that having hatred and disdain for even your worst enemy would not lead anywhere and would only cause more pain and suffering for yourself. To love your enemy and have compassion for them as well was much more powerful. . .and beneficial for everyone. This is still something I know.
But then in Honduras, and as a result of Canada World Youth I learned about the political coup that split the country in half ideologically speaking. Some believe the president was trying to make the country communist, some believe he was trying to give more power to the people and less to the corporations in the country (different ways of saying the same thing?). He was ousted by the Supreme court who were very much against his actions (in trying to "change the constitution" by proposing a survey to see if people would want him to remain in office for longer if it were an option). . .in any case, there was a lot of turmoil, many people decided not to vote in the following election. . .however, Canada and the USA were two of the first countries to recognize Honduras' new government after the coup.
Just politics and history, no big deal.
Until you find out about Gold corps and their mining exploits in Honduras. It becomes obvious that Canada and the US have vested interest in countries like Honduras. They are cheap places to attain natural resources that can make a lot of people rich (and secure a pension for the large number of citizens that will be expecting one when they retire). And Honduras isn't really in a position to argue. . .in 1998 after a giant hurricane devastated large parts of the country and economy it would understandably become easy to allow international corporations or countries offering some assistance to come in and help your people. . .So Canada and the US give Honduras 1% of their profits from gold and take the rest. . .fair, right?
It makes it hard to have a lot of faith in development efforts from these countries as well. Especially as a Canadian to hear that a lot of foreign aid is being cut and learning that CIDA has decided to focus on only 20 countries
In the CIDA release, the agency said the vast majority of Canada's bilateral aid money will go, in addition to the Caribbean and the West Bank/Gaza regions, to Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Colombia, Ethiopia, Ghana, Haiti, Honduras, Indonesia, Mali, Mozambique, Pakistan, Peru, Senegal, Sudan, Tanzania, Ukraine and Vietnam.One can't help but wonder if foreign aid might have ulterior motives or even, if it is maybe a retributive gesture, in exchange for gold (or other resource) excavation, that can "help repair the country in need" by giving more opportunities to western volunteers (a lot of the time). . .And I guess I do think that ultimately foreign aid is a band-aid solution for a system in crisis anyway but back to the original point. . .
Seeing all of this and understanding it on a deeper level took away a lot of my confidence. It is hard to argue for the good in this entire system. It is hard to see the situation in Honduras and know that a gold company is coming in and poisoning water, destroying environments and homes of innocent people who are impoverished and far away. Who aren't able to make enough noise for the majority of people to notice (not that this is in anyway their fault) and who may be disappeared or killed for trying. The same things happen all over the world, even in Canada . That paired with the selfishness I witnessed from others and that I know I am guilty of myself, that most people are not willing to make even small changes in their lives so that people can have their most basic human rights met. We are not willing to look at the gold in jewellery stores and say "Hey, you know what, I don't want something that is made at other people's expense". . .Most people are unwilling to give up even a bit of their comfortable lifestyle so that everyone can have a chance to live. It's disheartening and it's very hard to see these things as necessary and part of a unifying whole. . .
I've also noticed how it seems the more people have the more suspicious and fearful they become of others. . .
I think North American philosophy is in desperate and immediate need of revision.
another interesting article
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