At times like this, my mum would flip into the “You boys are spoilt and need to learn how to work” mode and refuse to employ any extra hand. This was complete nonsense. We didn’t need to learn how to work. We already knew how. A reminder wasn’t necessary either. Sadly, my mum disagreed. Sadly, my mum was in charge. Mutiny was not an option. Her word was law. Thus, we suffered this injustice numerous times when I was a teenager. We once lasted two months with no maid. It sucked beyond anything I can describe. The work was bad enough; but the real issue was that someone always had to be at home. We hardly ever left the house empty, for security reasons. That meant my evening drive about town became a luxury. I loved that drive. I needed that drive.

My little brother was usually home; but, being a weirdo, he always locked himself in his room. This was no good when you needed someone to answer the gate. At least he worked. He fed the chickens. I hated doing that more than anything else; and he did it without moaning. I always thought he felt a kinship with them; stuck in those cages, laying eggs for ungrateful masters who would butcher and eat you when you couldn’t do the laying anymore. I have mentioned he was strange.

It was in one of these cases that I saw first hand what could happen when one’s back is pushed against the wall. There was no maid. The poultry was at full capacity and we had an extremely vicious dog to contend with. I had to remember to buy chicken feed, because they wouldn’t lay eggs if they hadn’t eaten properly. We sold some of the eggs that were laid. My mother would be ticked off if there weren’t enough eggs, especially if it was my fault. Needless to say, I made sure they were fed.

The turkeys were a different matter. All they did was stuff their faces and stroll around leisurely. I think I just envied them. At any rate, the alpha male type character was quite antagonistic. He thought he was a king. No, really. I nicknamed him Big Poppa because of this fact. He led the entire troupe around like they were gods or something. He even attacked me a couple of times. They didn’t serve any purpose at that stage. Yes, I knew they would make for a tasty meal somewhere down the line, but in the meantime they were a pain. So, I forgot to buy their feed. I was going to, but I kept putting it off. So, it ran out. The turkeys were starving. It so happened that someone made some beans that didn’t turn out so good at that time. I thought it might be an idea to feed this to the turkeys, so I did. They ignored it. I thought, fine…you’re obviously not really hungry. Cruel, perhaps; but I was still nursing a bruise on my leg where Big Poppa had drop-kicked me. I felt justified.

I wandered outside later on and, lo and behold, the bean cocktail was gone; all of it; and all the dirt around where it had been put. So I didn’t bother buying feed that day either. The next day, I put the dog’s meal out for it. Rex (the dog) was so aggressive that I couldn’t go near him while he was dining. He would actually try to attack me. He forgot that I was the boss, and that sometime later on that day we would play tag, a game which I would let him win. The point was that he had to be restrained. You put out the food and took cover before he went into mad mode. Well, on this day, after the food was put out, Big Poppa arrived on the scene with his henchmen. They were scared silly by that dog. There had been one or two incidents when Rex had managed to get free when the turkeys were out for their daily stroll. It never killed any, but there was still chaos.

Imagine how this leader felt; his family was starving; there was food right there, within reach. The only problem was the vile creature with sharp teeth that laid claim to the grub. Something had to be done. No guts, no glory. It happened fast. All fourteen turkeys made their move at the same time. Rex never stood a chance. At first he tried to grab one with his teeth (ever the nice guy, he didn’t want to kill it, just to hold on to it and scare it off or something). The bird flapped its wings so hard that the he was dazed. I tried to help, but the crazy dog lunged at me in its food-fuelled madness. He was playing nice to the turkeys but thought nothing of ripping me to bits. I left him to his fate. It was over in about ten seconds. They each pecked at the dish about twice each, or something like that. All the food was gone. Then they took off…into the sunset, as it were. That marked a major change in their relationship with Rex. I might be wrong, but I believe in my heart that all further attempts he made to free himself were solely so he could have another one-on-one with Big Poppa and the rest of the crew. Thankfully for them, he never succeeded.

The turkeys explored this change in diet further over the next week. The next day, I noticed them moving with the same single-mindedness that they had when they attacked Rex’s food. It was a monitor lizard; a poor un-suspecting monitor lizard. These reptiles exist in large quantities around where I lived. They had no reason to expect to be attacked by turkeys; cats, maybe, but definitely not turkeys. It had never happened before. It was fundamentally wrong; unnatural even. Nevertheless, a couple of pecks later and he was gone. We didn’t have a lizard problem for months. Only the cats did a better job. The turkeys also tried corn-on-the-cob and some authentic African cuisine, including stewed chicken, before it was over. I eventually bought the feed, and things went back to normal. They kept attacking the lizards though. I guess they tasted good.

I learnt a valuable lesson from this. All it takes is motivation, and you can do anything.

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In any case, it’s come to the fore of my mind now because I have been reading about the potentially damaging effect it could have on affordable HIV treatment in the third world. “How?” you ask, a slightly perplexed look on your face. Once again, the devil is not in the idea; it’s in the execution…Free Trade Agreements. I shall return to this in a bit, so stay with me.

When I discovered this issue, I decided to really dig in and find out what I could about this Free Trade concept. I wanted to understand what it was all about, and how it could turn out to be negative. So, I put my excellent research skills to work (RE: Google) and came up trumps. Basically, Free Trade is a system that levels the playing field for anybody wanting to produce/trade a given product. At its core is the principle of making pricing a true reflection of supply and demand. This applies to domestic companies, international companies…everyone, regardless of country or location. Pretty simple.

It’s funny…I have always imagined this is how the world works, mostly. You put effort into producing something – time, money, etc – then you charge a certain price to reflect that. If said item is difficult to produce or rare, and in demand, you can charge more, within reason. I was right. This is how it does work…but only within a given bubble. A bubble, say, like the United States. Any given bubble will have rules in place to protect its “integrity”. The system functions to ensure that any external force that breaches it doesn’t easily cause harm to those inside. Usually, that means that if you are a producer in a given industry within, a producer in the same industry from outside cannot expect to come in and compete without some forced handicap (high taxes for them, tax cuts/subsidies for you etc).

The idea of Free Trade is to make the bubble irrelevant, or at least reduce it’s effectiveness drastically. No Government helping the locals out and making life more difficult for the outsiders. Like I said, a level playing field. It seems to have a whiff of fairness about it, afterall we all end up with a true reflection of prices, and the competition is fair. However, the world as we know it is way too complicated to allow such a principle be applied on a grand scale. Well, at least that’s what I think.

Most of the basis of Free Trade rests on the idea of Specialization, which is one I readily identify with, having run a business in the past (so what if it was a web development company when I was at University…it still counts). Basically, everybody is much more effective if they concentrate on things they are best at (even if you are capable of doing all things reasonably well) and leaving the other bits to people who are better suited. In an ideal scenario, a new web designer could hire a new accountant instead trying to do her taxes herself; and the new accountant could hire the new web designer to manage his website. They can both spend their time doing what they are best at. The system benefits from two people at their highest productivity level, who are also able to trade effectively with each other. Win-win.

The problem here is that societies today are not at a template level. They are filled with multiple examples of our web designer and accountant at multiple levels of complexity. Let’s say, for instance, that the land of Narnia is better at Wheat farming than Hogwarts. Let’s say that it is also cheaper to do it there than in Hogwarts. Now, let’s also say that the reverse is true for the manufacture of…I don’t know…Hawaiian shirts. The idea would be for Hogwarts to leave the wheat to Narnia, and stick with the shirts, and trade with the Narnians for wheat. Even though both Nations can do both, perhaps effectively, this is the optimum arrangement.

Now, in implementing this, the Narnian Government might remove protections in place for its local wheat growers…deregulation, really. These locals would quickly have to get creative in order to survive in this new landscape of “openness”. They would have to find a way to cut prices and compete with the potentially more effective foreign companies…or go out of business. There is more innovation, more co-operation between the nations; it’s all good…for consumers and the whole system at large. But there is a cost. A large chunk of locals who are in this industry will possibly be left without any livelihood. Also, any others who were working towards entering said industry would have to divert their efforts into something else.

So, clearly, trying get this to work on a large scale is difficult. That is why there are Free Trade Agreements (e.g. NAFTA). They basically lay down rules that must be followed by all parties to the agreement. They make sure that everything is set up correctly so things are fair, so all parties are treated equal. It’s deal-making, and someone always loses, at least in the short term. For instance, to “facilitate” this process, subsidies might actually be given to the foreign companies instead of local ones. If these locals are unable or unwilling to deal in the new environment, then it’s often tough luck for them.

Around the Globe, the issues are plentiful. For instance, NAFTA has been blamed for the loss of the United State’s manufacturing credibility (Mexico has grown their ability), while also being blamed for the difficulties local farmers face in Mexico (America wins here). When it happens between Developed countries and Developing countries, we start to see more problems. How much should Governments in less developed countries be allowed to influence prices to encourage entrepreneurship in their own economies while dealing with the much more advanced Companies from the Developed Countries? There’s a very thin line they have to walk.

Locals in Europe tend to have protections in place governing how many hours they can be made to work, how much they must be paid etc. I once worked – I use that term loosely…there was quite a bit of sleeping – for 24 hours straight as a Security “Officer” while I studied in England because the guy for the night shift didn’t show. My manager was extremely worried about all kinds of penalties the company might have to pay if it ever came to light. All of these protections are laughable on the farms and manufacturing plants in Developing countries. So, even though such conditions might not be created as part of any trade agreement, they already exist and are a major reason why business might be significant more expensive in Europe. How do European Governments factor that in when considering Free Trade?

I think that is where things start to get a bit sinister. Now, I am not a big conspiracy theorist – everyone knows the U.S. Government is covering up details of an imminent alien invasion – but my last point underscores part of this idea of framing arguments and deals as existing between Nations for the benefit of their peoples. From what I can see, that’s not the case. The parties that gain from all of these deals are companies, particularly the big boys. A company that would have had trouble being competitive in farming in Europe can move into farming in Jamaica because of a Trade Agreement or an “opening-up” of the markets. They are free of the constraints that would have existed on employee practices back home. At the same time they possess the clout and wealth to completely bamboozle – for lack of a better word – most other local companies. This idea of specialization benefiting even traders in that industry changes because some multinational firm is suddenly able to muscle their way into the game. Locals lose on both sides…the big companies win. I am having trouble seeing how this is good for everyone.

Global producers are…like…evil.

Now, back to how all of this affects affordable HIV treatment. This Article on GlobalIssues.org covers it in more detail, but the general idea is that Indian Companies have been able to make consistently cheaper versions of HIV treatment drugs because they only have to get patents for the “process” by which the product is made, not the “product” itself. That is going away as International Free Trade Agreement rules come into place. This could mean that international companies, attempting to make more money off these drugs, can bring Intellectual Property suits against the Indian Government around this issue. To stay out of trouble, Indian drug manufacturers in this area will have to be more careful. The potential result is a reduction in these sorts of drugs, and a potential increase in costs where available…because of “Free Trade”. Where do we draw the line?

Now, don’t get me wrong. I am not saying all multinationals are bad, or that globalization is wrong…or even that all of these agreements are wrong. It’s just that Free Trade could actually do more harm than good, particularly when looking at developing countries who just can’t operate at the same level as their peers from developed countries. Fair Trade has risen up in recent years to try to address the inbalance that can arise in these situations, but that idea has also been mostly usurped for profit as well.

I was hoping to find a solution when I started out on this path, but I have come up with nothing. At the end of the day, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all package that can be flogged to all parties. So, maybe in that lies the answer…I don’t think we can hope to apply the same principles (i.e. free and open trade) to all situations. We should consider the uniqueness of every situation, of every party involved; maybe even consider the positives of some protectionism. We also need to watch these globe-trotting companies because this is their show, mostly.

The offshoot of all of this might be a more complicated and drawn-out process; but whoever said life is supposed to be easy all the time?

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That’s what’s happening with older cultures and traditions…sort of. They just can’t keep up with the new world. It’s change. Change will come no matter what. It’s relentless and brutal in it’s sweeping away of the old. Globalization, the internet…it’s happening. And, like anything else, there are pluses and minuses (is that really a word?). On one side you have the keepers of tradition, who maintain that holding on to the older ways, at least in some form, not only helps to preserve the connection to something bigger than oneself, but also helps to enrich one’s everyday life. On the other side you have those that believe that we have to focus on the things that encourage unity and integration in our societies. I am sure there are other views that are neither here nor there, but you get the picture.

Those, like my grandma, who fight to preserve “the old ways” can seem a bit out of touch with reality in their thinking sometimes, just like Snooki and the crew. They give many reasons to justify their proposition, but too often it comes down to something like “It’s been our way of life for generations” or “It’s part of who we are”. The younger, global-citizen types can simply scream back in unison “WE DON’T CARE!”. It’s been there for ages, so it should never pass away? I’m not convinced. The preservation of culture for culture’s sake just doesn’t cut it anymore. Sorry, grandma.

Still, while I might take issue with that argument, I do believe there is a lot for the old guard to fight for. When it comes to old ways, I think that the whole is definitely more than a sum of the parts. What makes up tradition? Shared ancestry, shared language, shared religion etc. All of these together are the building blocks for the structure of a given culture. The most important bit, in my humble opinion, is the “sharing”. Belonging to and living in accordance with these traditions is a communal way of life. It’s sharing with one-another; brotherhood. In other words, connection. I’d like to think that this connection is one of the big reasons people fight for tradition, even if that isn’t immediately obvious.

No question about it, shared tradition connects people – e.g. Apple Mac owners, for instance…stuffy bunch. Belonging to any club can add a “heaviness” to one’s social identity. It can give one’s life a grand purpose. This can also be true even when a member does not really believe in or subscribe to the core message of the group. Just being a member can make all the difference. Now, throw in family ties, history, time etc and you have a connection that is even more powerful. In a world that is getting increasingly impersonal, this is something that is important, at least to those who are aware of what would be lost if the group were to disintegrate i.e. grandma!

I was reading The hero with a thousand faces by Joseph Campbell, a fantastic book that explores the relevance of Mythology across a wide variety of peoples of the world. There’s so much about how these rituals and shared myth can shape individuals in a group. It is powerful stuff. In modern society, the idea of culture in some respects has been reduced to “character”, enlightenment (of the intellectual variety) and even infrastructure (See Capital of Culture). It has become more of a spectator sport or something of the mind, rather than something that one participates fully in, body and soul. That deep connection is missing.

Modern society therefore seems sterile in this respect. Everything seems to be based more on reason and logic. What about reverence for one’s ancestors? Where are the masquerades that chase kids all over the place? What about the rites of passage that chldren pass through to become adults? What about the periodical gatherings of the people to celebrate…I don’t know…the full moon?! In the absence of these acts that allowed people to develop deep bonds with each other, what are we left with…Facebook?

At the end of the day, there has to be a balance. I am unique as an individual, inasmuch as I am a member of a group. I can be part of the new world and still keep the useful stuff from my ancestral culture (though not the language. Once again, sorry grandma). In fact, I fear that one’s cultural identity can sometimes be used as an excuse for refusing to assimilate. It can be used as a wedge between oneself and one’s current environment and neighbors. So, it is important to see the bigger picture. What one loses in the way of bonds within a smaller group, one gains in the way of bonds to a much larger group. This sort of thing might not bode well for the survival of my little tribe, but it could be good for me, and perhaps the world, as long as I don’t lose myself.

I think a lot of these older cultures are going to become extinct. Even so, I still think that trying to pass on the core values of my culture to my children would be a worthwhile activity…if I knew what they were. Instead, I will pass on the lessons I have learnt in life. No doubt, some of those will be traceable back to my ancestors. So, in that sense, maybe I’ll be passing on my cultural identity to my kids afterall.

I can say this with some confidence…conditions in our world are changing; weather is getting more erratic; more rain in some places, less in others; more and more cases of extreme weather. Global Warming is happening and we all have to deal with it, one way or the other. It’s not a question of belief when there is talk of all the snow on Mount Kilimanjaro vanishing within 20 years. That’s the sort of knowledge you can sink your teeth into; the sort of knowledge that makes belief obsolete.

Sooner or later, it will catch up with everyone. Right now, for me here in New Jersey, it’s more of a minor inconvenience. Heck, the longer it takes for Winter to set in, the better. For folks in California, dealing with more fires sucks a bit more. Miami residents might also have some moaning to do with more storms to run way from. But, at least here in America, we are well equipped to handle these “spurts” of badly-behaved weather because of the infrastructure and the general better wellbeing of a relatively high amount of the citizens.

Not so for the third world. There, this Global Warming thingy takes on epic proportions. Of the top 20 impacted countries, 16 are African. The continent is 0.5 Celsius hotter than 100 years ago. Kenya alone is 3.5 Celsius hotter than just 20 years ago (hence the emotional appeal at the start of this article). 80% of Lake Chad in West Africa has gone up in smoke in the last 20 years. My personal favorite is River Semliki, which essentially serves as the line separating Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Melting polar ice caps have caused this river to alter it’s course several times since 1960, causing all kinds of confusion about the border between the countries.

The toll of this has been enormous. More disease (e.g. malaria) in the Rwandan highlands, starvation everywhere, whole habitats wiped out, extinction of animal/plant species. Most of the African economy is based on Agriculture, so one can imagine how much this sets everything back. Even when countries are able to sidestep some of the primary issues, there are other problems to contend with. For instance, during the Kenyan drought (Kenya is getting hit pretty hard) of the late 90′s, most of the GDP losses came because of reduced hydro-electric power. For a continent that is supposed to be taking confident economic strides – or working on it – into the future, this spells big trouble because the real fireworks haven’t even started yet.

So, whose fault is it? Well, this can be looked at from a couple of angles. The earth is changing. Like I said, weather will become more and more extreme until…well, let’s just say that we only have limited time here before conditions make it impossible for us to survive; or maybe we’ll all go to heaven or…gulp…hell. In any case, we are somewhat helpless in preventing the outcome. Humanity alone cannot create the conditions that will destroy this planet. That said, we contribute to it. How much we actually contribute is a subject of much argument (although most voices seem to lean to the “it’s mostly our fault” side).

The bottom line is that we must adjust our behavior to suit the circumstances so we can address our own contributions before it is too late.

This is where the unfairness that is sometime inherent in life comes in. You see, Africa and the rest of the third world…their contribution towards the “Green-House” gases that feed Global Warming is negligent. However, the consequences of Global Warming are felt the most in these places. The big boys who are responsible for most of it are much better able to handle the potential negative effects of climate change. We are just not all on equal footing.

The offshoot of this is that Africa can’t do much to fix the grand problem. What Africa can do is deal with the effects with innovation. More diverse cropping techniques, for instance to allow mangrove plants survive in salt-water. What Africa can do is ensure that, as it ramps up economic development, it initiates more “green” methods to ensure that the continent doesn’t fall in line with those who have gone before. There must be more awareness, and more education on the subject of Climate Change. The Victoria Institute of Science and Technology in Kisumu, Kenya is doing quite a bit to advance “green technology” for economic growth. More initiatives like these are needed. One can’t seem to talk about Africa without bringing up corruption, greed, war etc. The fight goes on against these problems.

As for the developed world, they must do more…both in reducing emissions and in helping the third world to weather the coming storm. They can help to build the green economies, help in providing technological know-how, in addition to aid. The developed countries have to commit to the required targets that have been established by “Kyoto” and others like that. The consequences are too great if they fail.

This problem, though not of the highest importance to them yet, will spread soon enough, so it must be addressed. This will not be easy. There just isn’t enough pain associated with Global Warming to force the drastic steps that have to be taken. It’s almost like something massive has to happen to really get people going…like Manhattan sinking (if it was somewhere in Jersey no one would care).

For others, “Green” practices would only slow them down. China and India are well on the way to becoming global powerhouses…

WORLD: “You need to slow down your industrial development and make your economy greener”

CHINA: “Why?”

WORLD: “Because of emissions and global warming and…stuff”

CHINA: “Why now…why not when others were on the way to the top?”

WORLD: “Er…er…because we didn’t know then. We know now”

CHINA: “Yeah…that’ll happen”

You get the picture. Sigh. There will be challenges. Everyone will have to take a hit, one way or the other. Better now than later though.

And for you and me…what can we do? I won’t pretend that I am particularly proactive about this in my daily life. Like most others, I have trouble seeing how li’l ol’ me can possibly impact the whole. It’s much easier to expect Governments and rich folks to chip in first. Still, I am working on it. Small things first, turning off lights, watching my fuel consumption, cutting down on waste in general etc. Small things. However, they add up.

And we can all help raise more awareness around this issue. After all, this planet is home to us all.

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I have realized that, up until now, my attitude towards this has been to ignore it where possible. Of course it has never seemed that way to me when it occurs, but I can see now that that is what it was…is. I don’t want it to be there; I don’t wish it on anyone; however, I can’t be arsed to do anything about it, so I change the channel after a customary sigh of sadness and yada, yada, yada…wonder what’s on TV today?

I was raised around poverty. There were poor folks everywhere. That was the way it was…is. We weren’t though, as with most of my friends. The deprived people around…well, they were just a fact of life, you know? I was sure they were fine. Not really my problem. I had my own life to live. It’s funny how life can be. I remember hearing on CNN in my mid-teens that 70% of Nigerians were below the poverty line. I was genuinely shocked. Things couldn’t really be that bad, could they? Foreigners were mistaken. They were looking at things from one perspective. There were clearly large amounts of wealth in Nigeria. What were they going on about?

Over the years that view of my home country has pretty much been the same. Everytime I watch some news or documentary highlighting Nigeria, it always seems to highlight so much negativity (forget the emails…that’s not what I am talking about here. Focus!). I want to say “That’s not the way it is. That’s not the way it is. That’s just not the way it is…”. It’s almost like if I say it enough times, people will realize that I am speaking the truth. However, that is false. The truth is that things ARE bad. If 70% of a the population of a country live under the poverty line (if the statistics still apply…though I can’t imagine them being much different from that), then that reflects the state of the country. That is what matters. It’s no use harping on about the other 30% who are doing well if so many have sucky lives. That means the country is failing. Now that’s something that we who are in a better position in some way, form or manner have to take some responsibility for.

The view that my country is a craphole, true or false, has a number of knock-on effects on my life. There is an instant impulse to disprove any preconceptions people may have about me, because…”not all of us are like that!”. No matter where I go in the world, I will have to answer in some way for being Nigerian. There’s the other problem as well; the voice in my head that whispers to me when I go to sleep at night in the privacy of my home (or hotel room, or in-law’s sofa…don’t ask). The voice says “what have you done about it?”. Up until now I have been fine answering that. I try to live my life to fairly high standards…ish. I try to to do the…right thing. You know what I mean, living a good life and all of that. I could always say “I have done right, so sod off”.

The problem now (aside, of course, for the voices in my head, which I should clearly get therapy for) is that I can now see how selfish that perspective is. It’s always been about me, first. While fixing yourself is fair, there comes a time when extending that sphere around yourself to include others becomes paramount. The idea is that after you are done addressing yourself, you try to contribute to the greater good. You give something of yourself; time, money etc. You do it because you can see more of the bigger picture. You can see that you are part of a whole. You can no longer separate yourself completely. If everything goes to hell, it’s only a matter of time before your little cocoon is punctured as well. So, you try to help out in some way…to do your part, to fix the situation so you can stop defending yourself repeatedly in public! Or you do it to allay your guilt for moving on to better things and abandoning others to face a crap fate; the guilt for not trying to do anything about it. You do it because you are now in the position to. At least that’s the idea.

So, where does one start now that one has been unfortunate enough to be have a conscience suddenly bestowed upon them? What can one do? The body and soul are now ready (sort of) to do something. However, the mind has no clue what direction to head. Well, I don’t think it’s necessary to quit your job and go off with the Red Cross to a warzone to help victims, though you can if that’s your cup of tea. It’s just that lack of sleep bothers me, as do flies, and long periods in tropical climates; plus my missus would kill me. I am joking about these (aside from my wife, she really would kill me), but there is a point. Our lives are full of stuff. Too much to sacrifice to do the big things, so we do nothing. The answer, perhaps, is to start small. Find a cause that you can identify with, then find someone who is doing something with it and join them. For someone like me, that’s easy. There is much to fix in my home country. I can do something about that, and I can start now.

I met up with one of the guys who started this: PovertyStopsHere.org. These are people who are ACTUALLY doing something. No rhetoric, just good, old-fashioned action. I have always thought I was a reasonable person. I imagined that when it came down to it, I could look out for others when required. Well, after this week, I know now that I have much to do if I am to live up to this vision of myself.

So act! Find your cause today. You’ll feel better for it.

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