The Blurb

Everyone was Staring at Me. . .

Have you ever gone to a foreign country and felt unwelcome or extremely awkward?  I recently went to Ecuador and felt both of those feelings. 

I noticed that people on the streets were living in poverty.  The poverty I witnessed was very disturbing.  Men were peeing on the streets, a huge pig that was recently slaughtered was being carried by several men through the streets and there were others staggering around who appeared to be very drunk. 

Also, I saw children walking around selling anything and everything they had.  I was devastated and I couldn't be more thankful for my life in America.

But I was also shocked because everyone seemed to be staring at me.

My trip really got me thinking.  Do you think the Ecuadorians were staring at us because they were being critical or just curious?  Perhaps they were wishing they could be like us?

Do you think that Americans can be selfish and sometimes forget how lucky they are to live in a developed country?  I noticed that there was income disparity in Ecuador.  Do you think that capitalism can help these people living in poverty and maybe change their lives?

Do you think Americans look at foreigners like they are different...or like they don't belong?

Signed,

The Horse Freak

Image retrieved from http://www.careinternational.org.uk/image.php?id=2232 on February 29, 2008.

The Real Live Jungle Book...

I personally believe that the most important current event that we have looked at in the past week took place in Colombia, where the indigenous Nukak Maku are being exterminated.  As the war between FARC and the government escalates, the hunter-gatherer society of the Nukak Maku have been caught in the crossfire.  Roughly 400 Nukak Maku remain. 

One reason for my belief is that FARC needs to be stopped.  FARC's drug selling is horrible and completely inhumane.  If FARC takes over the Nukak Maku's land, they will continue to grow.  Not only that, but if the Nukak Maku die off, their rare and unique society will disappear.  They are one of the few hunter-gatherer societies left.  Through them, modern humans can learn more about past civilizations in the hopes that we might have a brighter understanding of the past.

My most important reason, however, is that the Nukak are people too.  They aren't a bunch of mindless creatures that people can do whatever they want with.  They shouldn't be saved just because they are unique.  They should be saved because they have a right to live.

What do you think about the Nukak Maku?  Leave us a comment to share your thinking and join us again soon on The Blurb.

Signed,

Doink the Clown

Image retrieved from http://www.geocities.com/latrinchera2000/poblamiento/nukak/nukak1.jpg on May 24, 2007