Thursday, March 26, 2009
North vs South?
To start from the beginning, our "global south" is suffering from disadvantages they simply do not and cannot have any control over. The majority of the world's land mass is located above the equator within the northern hemisphere, alond with the majority of the world's wealth. This has resulted in countless examples of exploitation of the south by the north, ultimately resulting in death and disparity in these countries. It is incredible how large northern (and in most cases Western) powerhouses choose to go to these developing countries in the south to exploit resources. These people have so little to begin with, not even enough to feed and water their own citizens without these large corporations walking in and taking even more of these precious life resources. Currently there is a crisis with water within the global south, so much so that water has become one of the most valuable resources in the world. Blue gold! people are calling it, and right now countries in the global south have chosen to put a price tag on water. In some cases even privatising water, putting it far out of the reach of the people living there. How can you justify making something so scarce already even more difficult to get your hands on for these people? Privatising water is a joke. Water should be a right not a privilege. In saying so the right to water should be added to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights because we can no longer allow for these people in the Global South to suffer anymore.
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I agree and think it is absurd that multinational corporations have the ability to intrude and privatize the water of many of the world’s poorest nations. The film Flow captured the severity of water privatization. A gentlemen in the film said that whoever owns the water owns our survival and our livelihood. It is ridiculous to think that someone has a recourse that can dictate whether you live or die. The privatization of water goes against basic human rights and I agree that Article 31 is necessary and should be implemented. Or the future could be bleak; will we privatize the air next?
ReplyDeleteThe idea that we can own water is a foreign one, what is next that we will privatize air? That each person will be able to buy bottled oxygen? This is a slippery slope that we are walking down. I can understand a need to regulate water supplies, and to pay for an at-cost water processing facility, but to force people to pay what they cannot afford for water is immoral. As a Norther nation we have the resources to buy bottled water if we should so choose, but those who live in the South cannot afford clean water so how can we demand that they pay for this essential service. The right to water is something that we all need and deserve it cannot be taken away from anyone.
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