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As I waited at the traffic lights in three wheeler Auto-Rickshaw Taxi in the heart of New Delhi last week on a business trip first to China then India, I saw first-hand how tough life can be. That little girl standing a few feet from me was probably not more than four years of age, wearing a brightly coloured “chemise” (top) and matching “salwar” (loose leggings), her face tarnished with the grime of the streets... |
She had a sort of hoola-hoop and danced around it, passing it through her body like an expert, skipping so quickly that it seemed she was floating on air. It was an impressive show. I immediately noticed her lovely face, cute features and angelic eyes, even through the veil of dark patches on her light ebony skin caused by the pollution that she endures day after day. Then she came over to me with an open hand and asked in Hindi, which I understood clearly..”please kind man give me money to eat..” and I gave her the only small change I had in my pocket, a ten Rupee note, equivalent to about 17 Euro cents and enough for her to eat well for the whole day. She smiled at me and let out a sweet laugh, momentarily reminding me of my own daughter and at that moment, the full gravity of her predicament hit me. What a disparity, a massive imbalance there is in the World, between the poor and the more fortunate of us in society. I contemplated this just as the taxi driver shouted at her to go away and warned me against paying “these criminal beggars” as he claimed that many of them were part of organised gangs, run by dangerous criminals who gave them guaranteed protection, food and shelter in return for their daily “charity income”. I learned later on how this did indeed happen and shockingly, how criminal gangs pay for the amputation of beggars so that they are able to generate more sympathy and make more money. Apparently, secret filming obtained by the BBC recently, proved this to be a fact.
It showed a doctor, who worked in a government hospital on the outskirts of Delhi, examining a street beggar, and offering to amputate his leg. "Where do you want to cut it?" he is heard asking on the secret recording. "From anywhere," the beggar replies. The doctor suggests amputation below the knee to make it easier to fit an artificial limb. He says he will induce gangrene by restricting the flow of blood so that the operation appears to be necessary, and he asks for 10,000 Rupees, about 170 Euros. The statistics portray a ghastly picture: over 50% living in poverty with two hundred million in extreme poverty (must earn during the day to eat). In our World of stark contrasts, the richest 1% receives as much as the bottom 57%. Some 85% of all charitable donations never reach the people for whom they are intended, instead being swallowed by corruption and distribution costs along the way, so think of this the next time you make a donation! The list goes on.. Why is our World like this and can we change things? I believe that there are two main reasons for this Global Imbalance; Government policy, or lack of it and the influence of Western Culture, not just in India, but everywhere. I’ve spoken about this “Political Competence” issue before and that we really can change things and make a difference, just by making ourselves heard and voting accordingly. On the subject of the negative influence of Western Culture, let’s look at China as an example. Only about fifteen years ago, there were four items most Chinese people aspired to: a bicycle, a small transistor radio, a wristwatch and a foot-powered sewing machine. Now, in many urban areas, the middle-class Chinese own their apartments, have a car, a colour television, DVDs and even go on foreign holidays. So what? You might ask. Well, this trend for material consumption has widened the gap between the poor and self-sufficient and more importantly has had a hugely negative effect on the core culture and traditional way of life of the people. As an aside, did you know that the suicide rate in China increased by over 200% in the twelve year period 1990-2002? Of course this does not mean that the adoption of a consumer-led lifestyle is depressing, but as we all know from our own US and European experience, the results are depressing. For example, getting into debt, becoming overweight, leading increasingly busy and unhealthy lives revolving around work with less and less time for ourselves has been bad for us, our children and our environment. There is a wonderful song by Kate Melua called “Nine Million Bicycles” in Beijing, but the not-so-wonderful trend is that the Chinese are dumping their bikes in favour of gas guzzling vehicles and by 2020 will be one of the Worlds foremost planetary polluters. And so, most unfortunately, the commendable and sterling efforts of Green minded people around the World with their wind farms, organic vegetable gardens, solar panels, pedal transport and geo-thermal energy installations will be of legible effect against the colossal increase in greenhouse gas emissions from the emerging industries of China, India and Brazil, if current trends continue unabated. To add to these problems, the anti-health conglomerate McDonalds continues its World domination and has announced it intends to double its outlets in China to 1,000 restaurants by the time the 2008 Beijing Olympics arrives.
The fast food company also plans to sponsor the 2006 Winter Games, the 2010 Winter Games and the 2012 Summer Games. The big question here is why on Earth is a restaurant chain that sells arguably the World’s most unhealthiest foods sponsoring events that should be all about health and physical fitness? As junk food expands in China and other similar Countries, there's little doubt that our Western lifestyle continues to invade the World and will result in rising rates of the very same diseases and economic problems we see in the United States and Europe. It is said that if just 25% of the World’s population changed to a more balanced and eco-friendly way of life, we could reverse the damage we are causing, so it is high time for all of us to think about the Global Imbalance we have created.
Jas Kalsi, BSc(Eng)Hons, MBA is a Management Consultant and former President of the Ennis Chamber of Commerce.
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