Eating dirt in Haiti

Today I read about one extreme effect of rising food prices. In Haiti, ‘mud cakes’ have become a staple for some poor families. These ‘cakes’ are made of dried clay, water, salt and vegetable shortening or margarine. They are eaten simply to fill stomachs.

This problem is not about a shortage of food, from the Guardian –
According to the UN, two-thirds of Haitians live on less than 50p a day and half are undernourished. “Food is available but people cannot afford to buy it. If the situation gets worse we could have starvation in the next six to 12 months,” said Prospery Raymond, country director of the UK-based aid agency Christian Aid.

A country that is starving cannot function. A country cannot develop when there are children are too hungry to concentrate in class. This is discussed in the same Guardian article, which heartbreakingly quotes a teacher in Port-au-Prince saying, “I use jokes to try to stimulate my students, to wake them up.”

The problem is increased by Haiti’s dependence on food imports. In the 1980s tariffs were lifted. This meant that Haitian consumers were able to buy cheaper goods, but has created a vulnerability. Haiti can produce very little itself if need be, although there is a little hope in the form of some growth in the dairy industry of Haiti.

This is inequality beyond our wildest nightmares or understanding. Any system that allows children to eat dirt while spare food exists must be challenged. This situation shows that the conception of human security and flourishment is not satisfied by insisting upon profit and nations at all costs. Those of us lucky enough to live in developed countries, to study at universities, to use the internet, to choose what to have for dinner, owe these people our help.

Some statistics:

1. According to the United Nations Development Programme, Human Development Report 2007/2008 2.6 billion, 40% of the world’s population, live on less than US$2 a day, around 28% of all children in developing countries are estimated to be underweight or stunted with round 10 million under-fives dying each year, most from poverty and malnutrition.
2. “The 40 percent of the world’s population living on less than US$2 a day accounts for 5 percent of global income. The richest 20 percent accounts for three-quarters of world income.”
3. “The GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of the 41 Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (567 million people) is less than the wealth of the world’s 7 richest people combined.”
4. “Income inequality is also rising within countries. Income distribution influences the rate at which economic growth translates into poverty reduction. More than 80 percent of the world’s population lives in countries where income differentials are widening.”

1, 2 + 4: United Nations Development Programme, Human Development Report 2007/2008: Fighting climate change, Human Solidarity in a Divided World

3:http://www.globalissues.org/TradeRelated/Facts.asp

Women who kick ass 1. Buffy Summers

Thinking about feminism and women today has inspired me to start a series of blog posts on women who kick serious ass in their field, whether it be politics, music, science or anything else. The reason I want to write these posts is that I feel that young women, myself included, are inspired by successful women they see around them. It’s important to recognise the work women do, but also to show the next generation that their choices shouldn’t be limited by their sex.

However, having just written a blog post, and as a BTVS geek, I’m going to start it light.

Buffy Summers the feminist.
 She rejects established authority figures. Unlike the slayers before her she first partially accepts, and later totally rejects, the patriarchal hierarchy of the Watcher’s Council that exists to give her orders.
 She is not a lone hero. She needs the support of her friends (her surrogate family) and her biological family. She realises that strength does not necessarily mean fighting alone.
 She is intelligent, resourceful and brave, though of course not always.
 There is a debate as to whether Buffy is a feminist icon or not. Some point out that Sarah Michelle Gellar does conform rather closely to the stereotype of appropriate woman. She is skinny, blonde and beautiful. She also likes shoes. However, I disagree with this analysis. The essential values that feminists should hold are equality and diversity. Some feminists like shoes. Some feminists hate shoes. Rather than creating a new stereotype for women, serious and plain, feminists should aim to enable self-realisation for all women and men, free from stereotype.

The ‘f’ word Part 1

What need is there for feminism today?

The entry for ‘feminism’ from one online dictionary shows two parts to its definition. It is both a belief that women deserve equality with men, and it is the movement which fights to realise this goal. Although the word ‘feminist’ has been used to describe a narrow group of women who are sexist in favour of themselves, in reality it should and must be used to describe a wider group. If you believe that a woman is equal in worth to a man, and that any situation counter to this is unjust, then you are a feminist. And you should be proud of it.

Having, perhaps as recently as a few seconds ago, discovered that you are a feminist, and that this is a great thing, you may well ask what place there is for a feminist movement in 2008. Surely, at least in the UK (my place of writing), men and women are equal?

The role of feminism today is a topic that is very important to me and I shall write about it many times. To discuss every issue related to the importance of feminism in this post would be impossible. Here I will briefly discuss one example, sexual harassment and assault, that should suggest the need for a feminist movement to change both attitudes and behaviour. I will come back to under-representation, sexist images in advertising and other issues in later posts.

Sexual harassment and assault:

The BBC recently reported on a survey that highlighted the extreme levels of sexual harassment in Egypt. According to the Egyptian Centre for Women’s Rights, sexual harassment is experienced by 98% of foreign women visitors and 83% of Egyptian women. 62% of Egyptian men admitted harassing women and 53% of Egyptian men blame women for ‘bringing it on’. These statistics clearly show the need for a movement to help women in these situations. The issue of sexual harassment also exists closer to home.

UK: New poll finds a third of people believe women who flirt partially responsible for being raped
Posted: 21 November 2005The poll, ‘Sexual Assault Research’, published today (21 November) as part of Amnesty International’s ‘Stop Violence Against Women’ campaign, shows that similar “blame culture” attitudes exist over clothing, drinking, perceived promiscuity, personal safety and whether a woman has clearly said “no” to the man. For instance, more than a quarter (26%) of those asked said that they thought a women was partially or totally responsible for being raped if she was wearing sexy or revealing clothing, and more than one in five (22%) held the same view if a woman had had many sexual partners.Around one in 12 people (8%) believed that a woman was totally responsible for being raped if she’d had many sexual partners. Similarly, more than a quarter of people (30%) said that a woman was partially or totally responsible for being raped if she was drunk, and more than a third (37%) held the same view if the woman had failed to clearly say “no” to the man.
http://www.amnesty.org.uk/news_details.asp?NewsID=16618

Women not only need strong legislative protection but there must also be a change in cultural attitudes towards sexual harassment and assault. A feminist movement is still needed, to demand an end to a culture that blames women for being victims of attacks that are, by definition, unwanted. This example is important because it shows how gender stereotypes, and stereotypes related to sexual violence apply to men too, as both perpetrators and victims, serve to legitimise aggressive and violent behaviour. Gender is a category that helps our understanding of behaviour and attitudes, therefore it is still important to call ourselves feminists, and to demand an end to gendered oppression, just as we demand an end to other types of oppression.

Raytheon 9

On August 9th, 2006 a group of peace activists entered the Raytheon offices in Derry, Northern Ireland and took documents and smashed equipment. The reason for this direct action was that Raytheon sold Israel weapons that were used against the Lebanon in the war in the summer of 2006. One example that particularly affected many of the Derry activists was the July 30th bombing of a residential building in Qana, southern Lebanon. Many were crushed to death in this attack; all civilians, many children. The building was attacked using a ‘bunker-buster’ weapon. Whatever the origin of this particular bunker-buster, the group knew that Raytheon was the biggest supplier of bunker-busters to Israel and that they had been used by Israel in Lebanon and elsewhere in the Middle East.

The particular significance of this action is that the Raytheon 9 won their case, and they won it on legal rather than moral grounds. They convinced their jury that they had a legal right to take this action, the basic principle being the right to commit a crime to prevent a greater crime. They compared their action to the action of someone breaking into their nextdoor neighbours’ house in order to prevent child abuse from continuing. The structure of the legal argument of the Raytheon 9 is hugely significant for activists everywhere and their legal argument provides some useful information for those planning similar actions.

• Firstly the Raytheon 9 had to show that Israel was committing war crimes in Lebanon.
• Secondly they needed to provide evidence to show that Raytheon had some responsibility in this, that they were involved in ‘aiding and abetting’ Israel’s actions, for example if they knew what their products were being used for.
• Thirdly they had to show the immediacy of the problem. It was vital to show that the greater crime which the action was taken to hinder or prevent was happening at the time and that it was believed that it would continue.
• Fourthly for this to be a legal action it had to be undertaken with the express aim of preventing the greater crime. For this condition to be satisfied it must be shown both that the particular branch of Raytheon was involved and that the activists believed that their action would make a difference in slowing down Raytheon’s activities in this area. This is very important for activists, it seems that a direct action is not legal if it is merely symbolic, it must actually aim to stop a greater crime.

The case of the Raytheon 9 offers inspiration to all people involved in the struggle against the arms trade specifically, and the destructive effects of capitalism more widely. It is significant because of the legal precedent that is set and the signal it sends, that arms companies should not simply be free to sell whatever states will buy.