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Where Is Our Humanity?

May 14, 2014 | By

Once we as humans start feeling for global wellness, poverty will start getting reduced.

I love the social media. It educates me everyday. I see pictures of impoverished kids, of suffering aged, of dying animals. I see drought stricken families, kids eating scraps of food, flood ravaged homes, beggars on streets.

I see hundreds of ‘likes’, ‘re-tweets’, ’comments’ on them. People sitting in their own comforts are pasting these posters with a loud ‘1 like = 1 salute’ or ‘1 like = 1$’ or “money isn’t everything”.

Unfortunately, neither the likes, nor the salutes or the dollars are reaching the targets. The target has just been reduced to, just a target. DSLR-armed wannabe photographers are clicking them, laptop-savvy thinkers are quoting them and the email-proficient so-called “socially-conscious” people are forwarding them. Everyone is sympathizing with them but not many are helping them.

 
world poverty

If those ’likes’, ‘retweets’, ‘comments’ were to be converted to a dollar each, the world poverty percentage would have been a much reduced number than 50 percent. Yes, 50 percent of the world’s inhabitants survive at less than 2.5 USD per day, 80 percent of global population survive at less than 10 USD per day.

This, in the same world where one percent wealthiest are holding 75% of global wealth. Two centuries ago (data of 1820, to be exact) the ratio of poor to rich was 3:1; today in 2013, its 80:1.

But the rich don’t care. Deep inside they want the poor to be eliminated, so that they get share of their resources to splurge. Let the dying die fast. Well, this isn’t going to happen. The poorest of the poor are suffering, scratching, stinking, coughing, bleeding, sinking but not dying at the rate the rich would like to see them disappear.

In real life, no matter how much we hate them, despise them, shoo them away, abuse them, kick them, stay away from them or sanitize hands after accidentally touching them, when it comes to social media or club room discussions, we just love them and we are never short of big words of sympathy.

It’s the same with the media too. Celebrities, film stars, sportsmen, industrialists who have access to media, use it similarly – every two-hour-long charity trip has a one-hour-long press conference.

Truth be told, social media users don’t even need to part with their hard earned money to see a better world – if they save the electricity of their aircon; cut down on the ten extra lights inside their five star hotel rooms; save water instead of wasting it in bath tubs at different temperatures; stop food wastage; walk more and drive less; install solar panels; reduce the usage of printing paper; switch off electronics when not in use; donate unexpired medicines, used clothes and books, They would have made a start. There is so much one can do without denting one’s bank balance.

Unfortunately, we aren’t thinking or feeling much for the needy, nor for our future generations. When we are in doubt or feeling guilty of not doing anything much for society or we need to reduce illegal money, we donate. A donation helps, but your emotional connect helps much more. Once we as humans start feeling for global wellness, poverty will start getting reduced.

Data suggests that if all nations had spent one percent less on their defence resources over the past decade, every child would have been going to school, smiling. Just one percent reduction, that too, in defence and yet states don’t want to take that initiative.

If you ask any defence personnel, anywhere in the world to let go of one percent of his/her income to help manage this need, they may just willingly do so. Given a choice, they would rather be monitoring a school full of smiling poor kids, than staying awake night after night in a deserted border area, far away from their families.

Data suggests that if all nations had spent one percent less on their defence resources over the past decade, every child would have been going to school, smiling.

Data suggests that if all nations had spent one percent less on their defence resources over the past decade, every child would have been going to school, smiling.

As humans we can’t live without each other. The world needs a constantly chattering, smiling, munching, talking, jesting population. Everyone needs neighbours. You prefer walking into a crowded mall than into an absolutely deserted one. We like crowded streets, colours, styles, cultures, dresses.

Yet we let 80 percent of our population be missed out. Imagine in one equal world, you would end up having ten times more friends, followers, fans. Ten times more likes, comments, re-tweets. How cool!

So next time you see a post roaring to “get a life”, “undertake an adventure sport” or “living life”, try suggesting some ‘humane’ solutions to these problems. Yes, the rich do have problems too. They are struggling to figure out how best to live life with all their money.

Try consulting them. For them, maybe adopting a family will prove to be an unparalleled adventure sport; giving life to a dying patient would be a better version of living life; guiding or teaching a child to help develop a career would mean giving him/her a life worth living.

There are ways, there are means, there are some with intent also, but what most of us need is the HUMANITY to do it. So do it. Be an example to your kids. Be their torch bearer… in lighting up a brighter world for them.

Avijit Das Patnaik is a banker by profession, network marketeer by choice, frequent traveller by rule, mad about sports by religion, socially active, foodie, stand up comedian (even while sitting) and Moviemaniac by diet.
All Posts of Avijit Das Patnaik

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