Blog Post #7

Sex Trafficking and Sex Slavery in Nepal

Sex trafficking and sex slavery are two epidemics that are plaguing countries around the world. In Nepal, sex trafficking and sex slavery are two of the most common illegal criminal in the country and other surrounding areas. According to World Politics Review, “The United Nations defines human trafficking as the recruitment, transfer or harboring of persons through force or deception for the purpose of exploitation. No comprehensive figures exist for the number of Nepalese women and girls trafficked across the border into India. The border is nearly 1,100 miles long and very porous, with only 14 checkpoints” (Weinert, 2018). Due to the open border, human traffickers have found transporting girls and women much easier in to India. Human traffickers usually ask whether or not the girl is being accompanied or not, and through this, decide if they want to take her captive. Not all incidences like this result in girls and women being exploited for sex, some of them are used as slaves and forced to do domestic work in Indian homes, where the environment is anything but tolerable, and highly damaging for girls and women to live in. A anti-trafficking charity called 3 Angels Nepal, estimates that on average. 30,000 girls and young women, between the ages of 12 and 25, some as young as 8 years old, are smuggled from Nepal to India each year. On the other end, not all victims of sex trafficking and slavery are female, young boys and men between the ages of 7 and 19 are also trafficked and made into slaves for sexual and domestic work. Luckily, over the years, Nepal’s government, and other NGO’s have done an effective job by host large campaigns to heighten awareness of sex trafficking, and solutions to ensure this issue comes to an end.

(Retrieved from: https://www.grida.no/resources/8306)

Sustainable Development Goals and Human Trafficking

According to the article Born Free, SDG’s seek to stress the importance of human rights, and explicitly states goals that seek to end human trafficking. Goal five states, “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”. Goal eight also advocates in ending human trafficking, it states, “promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all”. Lastly, goal 16, which says, “promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels”. Overall, the SGDs main goal is to help large populations experiencing terrible epidemics such as sex trafficking, poverty, sex slavery, and much more. There is also no limit to their target group, if someone is in need, SDGs are there to help and protect them. So what needs to be done to combat human trafficking? I think addressing what makes sex trafficking prone to happening if the first big step to help this epidemic cease to exist. Bringing awareness to pressing issues such as “gender inequalities, underemployment, family conflicts” (Blackwell, 2015), would help to put in places laws and policies that would make these elements less vulnerable to trafficking. Responding quickly to incidences of human trafficking instead of adding it to the pile and neglecting the issue would raise urgency in trying to rescue victims of trafficking, and make perpetrators feel threatened by their weakened system.

Sustainable Development Goals (retrieved from: imp.org)

Artificial Intelligence Diversity

What is AI? “It is the science and engineering of making intelligent machines, especially intelligent computer programs. It is related to the similar task of using computers to understand human intelligence, but AI does not have to confine itself to methods that are biologically observable” (McCarthy). AI has grown expeditiously in the past ten years and can be seen on all type of technology that an average person uses on a daily basis, such as home speaker devices (Google home, Amazon Alexa, etc), as well as phone devices like Apple iPhones (Face ID technology, Siri, etc.). However, a lack of diversity can be seen heavily in AI, and needs to be addressed. “The AI field, which is overwhelmingly white and male, is at risk of replicating or perpetuating historical biases and power imbalances, the report said. Examples cited include image recognition services making offensive classifications of minorities, chatbots adopting hate speech, and Amazon technology failing to recognize users with darker skin colors. The biases of systems built by the AI industry can be largely attributed to the lack of diversity within the field itself, the report said” (Paul, 2019). According to the website diversity.ai, actions to fix the diversity problem in AI is being discussed and AI companies have takes step to perform reports and studies that allow them to collect enough data to integrate into AI technology. I also think hiring a more diverse population in the AI industry would be helpful too because it would change the environment and present perspectives from actual diverse people to input into the technology.

References

https://missouri.instructure.com/courses/18212/pages/born-free-on-trafficking?module_item_id=1103983

https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/25630/the-danger-of-human-trafficking-is-no-secret-in-nepal-why-is-it-still-so-common

https://www.grida.no/resources/8306

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/01/3-steps-stop-human-trafficking/

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/apr/16/artificial-intelligence-lack-diversity-new-york-university-study

http://jmc.stanford.edu/artificial-intelligence/what-is-ai/index.html

http://diversity.ai

Blog post #6

What are the principle concerns Linda Polman, raises in her book?

The core concerns Linda Polman raises in her book, The Crisis Caravan, is whether or not aid organizations are really helping those countries they claim to be assisting. She addresses the discussion of whether or not these organization are using money to fund terrorist groups, and if they are doing more bad and than good. Polman does a good job by giving examples in reference to the Rwanda genocide, where the Tutsi’s citizens were killed under the hands of people apart of the Hutu’s tribe. She explains that $1 billion dollars was given in order to place aid in Rwanda to help the people experiencing this tragedy. However, the aid that should’ve been used to help the Tutsi citizens seek refuge from the Hutu’s, as well as medical aid, turned into aid organizations helping the Hutu’s recover from a disease called, “cholera”. Aid organizations set camps near the city Goma and gave relief to the perpetrators of the Rwanda genocide. Polman then goes on to explain how the campsite turned into a huge foundation of different aid organizations promoting and marketing in order to compete with other aid organizations placed near Goma, in efforts to receive more funding. Coming from the standpoint of a Tutsi citizen who has just loss thousands of her people, I would be in a place of heartache and confusion too. Polman explains through her research that the fed up Tutsi people warned aid organizations that if they did not receive help soon, they would strike, and ultimately, in the end, they kept their word.

The Rwandan Genocide (retrieved from: http://endgenocide.org/learn/past-genocides/the-rwandan-genocide/)

Why does she say “Aid organizations are businesses dressed up like Mother Teresa” (p. 177)?

Mother Teresa was one of the greatest humanitarians in history, dedicating her life to giving back to others by helping the poor. When Linda Polman says “aid organizations are businesses dressed up like Mother Teresa”, she is insinuating that aid organizations publicly perceive themselves to be helping those in need, but are really wanting to make a profit off of the work that they do. Aid organizations are known to pay top dollar for good coverage, if it means making their organization look like heroes, but what relief are they actually giving to those in need? And is it benefiting victims in effective ways? These are the discussion Polman brings up in this section of her book, and she makes interesting points when noting the suspicious intention of these organizations.

What do journalists, the public, governments have to do to make humanitarian aid successful?

Polman stresses that in order for journalists, the public, and governments to make humanitarian aid successful, we have to present skepticism to these organizations and investigate explicitly whether or not they are doing the aid for the right reasons. Polman points out that journalists fail at asking important questions to these aid organizations. Questions like, “where does your funding go? what benefits, if any, are you receiving from proving this aid? are you collaborating with any local warlords in exchange for money?”. These types of questions would force the spotlight on these aid organizations, giving us the informations and answers we need to see if they are acting in a corrupt manner or not. Linda Polman also points out the need to ask people what type of aid are they seeking? If a country is in desperate need for clean water, any type of aid that comes to them should not only be providing medicine for AIDS, or any other type of disease, instead of the clean water. They should be offering people help that will ultimately resolve the issue, allowing the problem to fixed. Otherwise, aid organizations are wasting time and resources.

References

Linda Polman, The Crisis Caravan and Aid as a Weapon of War

Blog Post #5

Human rights is the declaration that was founded in 1948 by the United Nations, that declared all humans are entitled to basic rights and freedoms. Without having human rights, people would not be able to have free access to the things that human deserve, such as food, water, housing, a right to education, and so on. Implementing human rights into society as allowed it to function somewhat peacefully, and put in place a solid structure for humans to live by. These rights give humans the ability to have access to resources that were made for them and by them. In saying this, climate change is also a component that goes hand in hand with human rights. Humans are entitled to clean air, clean water, livable conditions, edible food, and so on. If the environment is suffering poorly and causing a negative impact on climate change, what rights are humans losing in that?

HR Climate Change (Retrieved from: https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/HRAndClimateChange/Pages/HRClimateChangeIndex.aspx)

Climate change poses a serious threat to the rights entitled to humans. If effects not only the environment, but the overall quality of living, in turn, effecting humans as a result. The rise of severe weather conditions and the frequency of floods, heat waves, droughts, water shortage etc., has major impact on the overall environment which ultimately affects everyone globally. “These phenomena directly and indirectly threaten the full and effective enjoyment of a range of human rights by people throughout the world, including the rights to life, water and sanitation, food, health, housing, self-determination, culture and development” (OHCHR, 2016). If climate change doesn’t improve, it would be difficult, especially countries who already have a lack of resources, to maintain their fundamental rights in regards to climate change and control.

Human Rights and Climate Change in Nepal

In recent years, climate change has drastically hit Nepal in negative ways, due to the increase in natural disasters, specifically, severe floods and winter droughts. These major incidences have caused people to lose housing, water, and farming land, causing a major shortage in basic human rights in Nepal. The air quality of Nepal has not been the best either. Kathmandu specifically is known to have some of the most toxic air in the world. In order to improve quality, due to the air index reaching well above a 200 index, they’ve installed air quality monitors to oversee the continuous state of the air.

Kathmandu capital of Nepal (retrieved from:https://handluggageonly.co.uk/2018/09/02/10-of-the-best-things-to-do-in-kathmandu-nepal/)

Endangered cultures in Nepal

Endangered cultures are are cultures that are on the verge of being extinct. Becoming endangered causes a huge threat to those apart of said culture, ultimately causing the loss of the makeup of that culture. Languages that were created through a certain culture begin to not be spoken anymore, the area that a culture may have owned is now loss, traditions are no longer celebrated, and in all, the culture and its deep-rooted history, become lost and forgotten overtime. Nepal is no stranger to endangered cultures, as of April 2019, Nepal is home to over 100 endangered languages and/or cultures on the verge of being vulnerable to being endangered. A quote from the case study on endangered cultures in Nepal by Mark Turin, goes into depth by explaining the reasoning for these increasing endangered languages and cultures.

“More prosaic, if far more influential, reasons for the decline in usage of Nepal’s
mother tongues, include decades of state neglect towards poor, rural ethno-linguistic
communities, and the effectiveness of the Nepali language media in cultivating a sense
of national Nepali identity at linguistic, religious, and cultural levels. While state policy
makers may speak of ‘language shift’, for example, from a minority mother tongue to
the national language, members of the affected community may interpret this rather
as encroaching ‘linguicide’. The value judgement lies in the frame of reference and
perspective. Changes to linguistic forms and decreased competence in mother tongues
are thorny and political issues” (Turin, 2007).

Customs and culture in Nepal (retrieved from: http://www.himalayanadventuretrekking.com/customs-and-culture/)

Eurocentrism

As we shift the discussion, Farish Noor describes eurocentrism as, ““the emerging perception within the European cultural, historical experience of European identity as good and all other forms as less good or less advanced.” More or less, the perspective that is biased towards western civilization. In Nepal, eurocentrism plays a large role when it comes to tourism. According to The Wire, tourist activity in Nepal is “not only threatening indigenous lifestyles, but also eliminating local cultures and histories” (Tewa, 2019). The government is rapidly taking over Nepalese land in order to accomodate tourist activity, ultimately effecting the socio-culture, politics, and economics in Nepal.

References

https://www.pri.org/stories/2017-04-06/nepal-s-air-pollution-threatens-humans-and-glaciers

https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/HRAndClimateChange/Pages/HRClimateChangeIndex.aspx

Click to access Talking_Points.pdf

https://thewire.in/south-asia/nepal-tourism-foreign-eurocentrism

Blog Post #4

What improvements can be made

It’s no secret that the current climate of the world is deteriorating at increasing speeds. In order to sustain the quality of the environment, it’s important for everyone to take the necessary steps to protect the future of the world and prevent any major disasters from occurring. On a smaller scale, there are steps an average citizen can take in order to make a difference in the state of our environment. These steps may include but are not limited to recycling, reducing use of water and electricity, decreasing the amount of meat you may consume, reuse items such as plastic bags, straws, etc and so much more. Although these actions sound insignificant, any effort whether big or small, makes a substantial difference in the environment.

(Retrieved from:https://www.epa.ohio.gov/ocapp/recycling)

The image above shows a great example of what recycling can do for the environment and the results that can be seen because of it. Although major improvement is needed to recover the current condition of the world, over the decades, we’ve definitely been more environmentally aware and have made the necessary advances to ensure sustainability is actively implemented into society. According to the National Geographic, since the 1900’s, in the U.S alone, we’ve managed to pass effective bills such as the Clean Water act, and also begin new initiatives like Green Building, and Biodiversity. Though just a few of many great environmental victories, they’ve shaped the way we think about sustainability over the years, and have influenced people globally to take better care of the Earth. On the other end, it’s going to take more than just your average citizen to speak up and make others get involved. It’s up to world leaders who have the platform to transform the way the world thinks about environmental sustainability. When researching what world leaders have made some of the greatest impact when it comes to climate change, it was no surprise that President Barack Obama was at the top of the list. During his presidency, he introduced reforms for climate change and highlighted the importance of discussing global warming, and also worked to find solutions to fix it. According to the website climate reality project, without Barack Obama, we wouldn’t have been introduced to his “broad-based Climate Action Plan. First announced in the summer of 2013, the plan has three key objectives: to cut carbon pollution in America, to prepare the US for the impacts of the climate crisis, and for the US to lead international efforts to combat global climate change” (CRP, 2016). This intiative alone was major for his presidency, and was one of the first in awhile to have real promise to it.

As far as the environmental climate in Nepal, the country is dealing with issues revolving around pollution, deforestation, overpopulation, habitat degradation, and unsustainable harvesting. In recent years, pollution has been the most expanded issue out of all, and has been a major threat to the safety of citizens in Nepal and surrounding areas. “Nepal, especially Kathmandu, in the current situation, is observing rapid urbanization and various infrastructure development projects. As a result, these sorts of human activities have been responsible for increasing air pollution in an enormous rate inside Kathmandu Valley” (Saud and Paudel, 2018). Due to this increased amount of pollution, cases of lung disease, heart disease, and cancer have been growing medical issues seen in citizens breathing in the air in this area.

(Retrieved from: https://www.earths-edge.com/pollution-in-nepal/)

Environmental Initiatives in Nepal

In recent years, Nepal has made an effort to introduce new initiatives that push the urgency for environmental reform. They’ve focused closely on trying to “Make Nepal Green” by creating organizations and projects that support sustainability. Sustain Nepal is one of many organizations dedicated to making environmental changes in Nepal and have presented many projects that encourage the community to be mindful how much energy and water is being used. According the website, UN environment, “in 2013, Nepal adopted a national policy known as the Environmentally Friendly Local Governance Framework with the support of UN Environment, UNDP and other development partners. The ambitious policy was an attempt to green Nepal – from household doorsteps to the corridors of power. Across Nepal, citizens were incentivized to install solar panels, manage water and sanitation, practice organic farming, prepare for disasters, among other environmentally friendly initiatives” (UN environment, 2018). This is just one of many actions Nepal has taken to improve the quality of their environment, and since have taken transforming strides to continue making change.

References

49 environmental victories since the first Earth Day. (2019, April 22). Retrieved from https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/04/160422-earth-day-46-facts-environment/

Environmental Issues and pollution in Nepal – Earth’s Edge. (2018, November 19). Retrieved from https://www.earths-edge.com/pollution-in-nepal/

Nepal goes green with a genial grin. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/story/nepal-goes-green-genial-grinSaud, Paudel, & Govinda. (2018, July 10). T

he Threat of Ambient Air Pollution in Kathmandu, Nepal. Retrieved from https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jeph/2018/1504591/

Three top world leaders fighting the climate crisis. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/three-top-world-leaders-fighting-climate-change

Blog Post #3

Nationalism

According to the dictionary, nationalism is “the identification with one’s own nation and support for its interest, especially to the exclusion and detriment of the interests of other nations”. Although nationalism is advocating for one’s country as far as the culture, governance, and also languages spoken there, it should not be confused for patriotism, which is having complete devotion and admiration for one’s country. Fareed Zakaria’s view on nationalism offers a perspective that highlights the dangers of what nationalism may bring. Zakaria believes that nationalism can present tension between nations as people may believe their country is better than any other, allowing no willingness to learn about other countries and their beliefs and values.

The video below gives an a more in-depth outlook on the dangers that nationalism can have.

Nationalism: A Dangerous Culture | Somi Jun

Rise of Nationalism in Nepal

Currently, Nepal is not a nation-state, but a sovereign country consisting of many ethnicities. However, the majority of Nepal speaks Nepali which in today’s society could qualify them to become a nation-state. Nationalism in Nepal

Blog Post #2

Languages Spoken in Nepal

Nepal has a diverse range of languages spoken in their country. Due to the vast differences amongst various cultures in Nepal, the languages spoken there come from individual ethnic groups that have been founded in Nepal. According to the Census Bureau of Statistics, there are ten top mother tongue languages spoken in Nepal. These languages include; Urdu, Doteli, Magar, Bajjika, Newar, Tamang, Tharu, Bhojpuri, Maithili, and Nepali. Even those these langauges are the most popular in Nepal, there are of 126 other languages spoken in the country (Languages of Nepal). However, despite the various languages spoken in Nepal, Nepali is the official language of the country. The Nepali language was previously known as the, “Parbate Bhasa” or “Gorkhali”. This language can also be seen spoken in parts of Northern India. The Nepali language is also the official language of the Indian state of Sikkim (World Atlas). As far as the indigenous languages spoken in Nepal, historically, they have been known to have undergone major discrimination and “systematic government coercion” (Oli, 2006). Indigenous languages like ” Dura”, formerly spoken in the Lamjung District have already gone extinct. However, in order to prevent more use of mother languages spoken in Nepal, the government made provisions to their 1990 Constitution, allowing the right to preserve and promote different mother languages through scripture and education.

Illustration of languages “spoken as mother tongue by total % of population” (Census Bureau of Statistic, 2011)

Membership of Nepal in the WTO

Nepal has been a member of the WTO (World Trade Organization) since April 23, 2004. Their role in the WTO has transformed the climate of the country drastically. The intention of this change was to move forward with the overall global economic development in the country. However, is was not necessarily a choice Nepal was able to make but rather a necessity and requirement to ensure their economy and trade flow was running more smoothly. This change has effected the society in Nepal when it comes to their traditional customs and educational outlook. As far as the GINI coeffeciency, “which measures the extent to which distribution of income (or, in some cases, consumption expenditure) among individuals or households within an economy deviates from a perfectly equal distribution” (World Bank), the most recent report in 2010 from World Back indicated that the index was at 32.800%. Depending on interpretation, this means that there is an unequal distribution of income and wealth in Nepal. This issue could be caused by various different outlets, but overall comes down to the lack of modernization in the country and change of political climate over the years. The current GDP (Gross Domestic Product) ranking in Nepal is expected to be 25.10 billion by the end of 2019, having reached 6% since last year.

Major Concern in Nepal

On Monday, February 4th, a Nepalese woman died due to the harsh conditions of being forced to reside in a “menstrual hut”. According to Al Jazeera, the 21 year old woman, Parbati Bogati, suffocated from the fire she initiated in order to keep her body warm. The banishing of women into menstrual huts is a Hindu tradition that was banned in Nepal in 2015. This tradition was started on the idea that women are undesirable when going through their menstruation and after childbirth (Al Jazeera, 2019). Despite this law becoming illegal, it is still being practiced in the Western region of Nepal. Government legislators came together after the incident to report the urgent need in emphasizing banned laws and a change of the societal norms in Nepal.

Sources

Dahal, K. (2008). Nepalese woman dies after banishment to shed during menstruation. Bmj,337(Nov14 2). doi:10.1136/bmj.a2520Languages of Nepal: How many languages are spoken in Nepal? (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.expeditionsnepal.com/languages-of-nepal/

Nepal Monitor: The National Online Journal. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.nepalmonitor.com/2006/08/preserving_the_indigenous_lang.html

Rajbhandari, S. (2005). Figure 2f from: Irimia R, Gottschling M (2016) Taxonomic revision of Rochefortia Sw. (Ehretiaceae, Boraginales). Biodiversity Data Journal 4: E7720. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.4.e7720. Inequality of Income and Wealth in Nepal,39-46. doi:10.3897/bdj.4.e7720.figure2f

Thapa, & Bikash. (2010, June 07). World Trade Organization and its Impact to Nepal. Retrieved from https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1621756

Blog post #1

Introduction of Nepal

Nepal is a landlocked country located in South Asia with a population of 29.3 million people. It is located mainly in the Himalaya’s but has integrated parts of the Indo-Gangetic plain as well. Nepal’s history began among the Kathmandu valley, which is now the capital of the country as well.

Current Affairs in Nepal

The state of Nepal currently is to focus on rebuilding the infrastructure, implementing new policies directed towards gender equality, economic improvement, and educational rights. According to World Report of Nepal in 2018, their hope for the year of 2019 for the country was “transitional justice and accountability”, which focuses on the indolence and freedom rights of citizens living in Nepal, and more collaboration on the issue with the government. Some other goals for 2019 was “earthquake reconstruction, new criminal code, migrant workers, disability rights, women and girls rights, and key international actors”. Nepal has already made strides this year in order to build the economy back by signing trade agreements with places like China, relieving them from the bounds they’ve been financially held to by India. “Nepal now has been given access to four Chinese ports, ending the Indian monopoly on transit. Though symbolic for now, this is of monumental significance for Nepal since it is now no more India-locked” (Panday, 2019).

Foreign Policy & Affairs in Nepal

“The foreign policy of Nepal is guided by the abiding faith in the United Nations and policy of nonalignment. The basic principles guiding the foreign policy of the country include: Mutual respect for each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty; Non-interference in each other’s internal affairs” (NFP, 2015). Currently, Nepal is experiencing restoration in their economic sector, but in order for it to have successful development, it needs more foreign investment. Nepal is used to relying on China and India for funding but China and India are no longer able to fulfill that need, and because of this, Nepal is looking to expand their economic diplomacy in other countries.

Retrieved

https://thediplomat.com/2018/12/nepal-finally-looks-beyond-india-and-china/