In my grad class we’re talking about the term Third World, or the Developing World. Above is a picture taken in May, 2007 of a village on Boeng Kak Lake in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. However, this village is being buldozed because the government sold off the rights to the lake to a “development” company that kicked all of the residents out, and is filling it in to sell the land. This new development will create economic growth as construction companies build high rises to attract multinational corporations and mansions for the rich. The GNP of Cambodia will rise, and it follows that they are more developed, right?
3 responses so far ↓
trublwithnormal // September 27, 2007 at 12:02 am |
It’s funny but after seeing and reading your blog, I was thinking about how colonization works, (just the pure economics of the First/Third World relationship) and I was brought home to the stark realities of “development” locally grown, Canadian-style. The majority of our waste (pulp and paper, mining, etc.) is disposed of where middle-class white people can’t see it…most of it on Indian lands. When it gets so bad the people living there are radiating, we “re-locate” them. Over 50 % of reserves in Canada have water that is dangerous to drink. (The Lubicon have to drive over 200 km away from their homes to get clean water.) So, we basically kill the environment so they can’t sustain themselves, then provide bottled water and goods that are so overpriced by the time they get shipped back to the reserves, nobody can afford to buy it. It’s so First/Third world, I’m having a hard time digesting it. Send our First World-made waste into their lands (or give another mining company the rights to set up shop so they can exploit everything in sight, and not once consult the people who have to live with the consequences) then sell back to them, what they need (i.e. clean water) at inflated prices. It’s what Naomi Klein says…disaster capitalism! And we’ve been doing it for years….nothing new….
achs // September 29, 2007 at 3:42 am |
Chris your idea of Project Based Learning sounds very exciting….our school is beginning this discussion. I’ve enjoyed reading your blog…thanks for sharing!!
jnutini // October 17, 2007 at 8:50 am |
Chris: The experience of living and learning in another country is one of the most profound and rewarding experiences one can have.
You have awarded yourself with new skills, new experiences, new adaptations and new memories in what was a new country to you, nad now as you return to Canada, those experiences stay with you and are no longer new, but engrained into how you view and take in your world and they will shape and enrich the way you live your life, learn and teach here in Canada. I envy your experience.