been quite bugged about the issue of relative poverty in north america and africa ( yes, it's from the economist dec 24- jan 06. still trying to clear a backlog of readings) after i asked my tuition kid if she would be happier being a poor man in a rich country or a rich man in a poor one and she, not surprisingly, immediately said rich, simply because the idea of being rich was just more appealing than being poor.
so Mr B is the poor man in rich north america, "draws" 521 a month, it's some form of cash assistance and his sons and ex-wife get that too. gasp! he apparently split up from his wife so that they can draw more benefits, she still lives next door. and he laments that the govt deducts money because he won some money on the slot machines but dont keep track of the money he lost gambling. ok i think Mr B is exploiting the welfare system. i wouldnt want to pay taxes to support people like him.
Dr K, as head of emergency dep at the main hospital in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, earns only 250 a month. more work on private patients gets it upped to 600 or 700. Dr K also has to support an extended family of 12, gets robbed by soldiers now and then.
my tuition kid chose the latter because she doesnt know Dr K is relatively well-off in a country where most people grow their own food and hardly ever see a bank note, she doesnt know the lack of amenities and governance in that place. i like to think im truly altruistic, but it's just 'like to think'. as much as i always envisaged myself helping out in third world countries when i've the means, i doubt if i can live in Congo. sure it feels great to be treated with deference, and it's noble to commit my life to helping others, but i dont think i can tolerate living in a hut made of sticks, fetching water in jars and having an irregular power supply etc. well actually im not too sure, i might change my mind again in the future.
i wonder if Dr K is happy staying on serving his compatriots when his skills would allow him to emigrate. i also wonder if Mr B is happy living off hand-outs. where's the self-respect? ok but self-respect wouldnt be enough, that's why we dont see a massive influx of volunteers into africa.
and there's the interesting ending to this article - " then again, were americans not so incurably discontented with their lot, their great country would not be half as dynamic as it is" .
ponder. shove this article into the PM's face and tell him the govt needs to do more to increase our disgruntlement.
oh i like this too. it's in the executive focus -" the global fund actively encourages appropriately qualified people living with HIV to apply".
how clever. you get these people to work for you, it's akin to them fighting for their rights.
and virtual royalty exists. check out the kingdom of Talossa.
maybe one day when i feel like being Queen, i'll emulate Freedonia, try to acquire some land somewhere and mint my own currency, sells stamps and issue passports.