Stop global child abuse: Ralph Nader/In the Public Interest fwd
Tom Boland (wgcp@earthlink.net)
Thu, 22 Oct 1998 02:58:43 -0400
--============_-1303082962==_ma============
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
FWD http://www.sfbg.com/nader/30.html
San Francisco Bay Guardian - October 13, 1998
Ralph Nader/In the Public Interest
Stop global child abuse
We are living in a time marked by speeches entitled "Children First" and
"Family Values," but more children are currently suffering from disease,
poverty, and malnutrition than ever before.
Recently a statement on Children and Poverty by the Council of Bishops of
the United Methodist Church came to my attention. Its opening words ring
with unspeakable daily tragedies: "Malnutrition kills an estimated
thirty-five thousand children every day.
Approximately 10 million children die of poverty-related causes each year.
During the last decade alone, wars have slaughtered 2 million and disabled
between four and 5 million children. More than 5 million have been forced
into refugee camps, and at least 12 million have been left without homes.
More children than soldiers now die from war. Some 80 million children
between the ages of 10 and 14 work for low wages in often dangerous
conditions to supply inexpensive products for citizens of more affluent
nations."
On Oct. 6, 1998, the president of The World Bank, James D. Wolfensohn,
chided his fellow financiers to pay attention to how people are suffering:
"Today," he said, "while we talk of financial crisis -- across the world,
1.3 billion people live on less than $1 a day; 3 billion live on under $2 a
day; 1.3 billion have no access to clean water; 3 billion have no access to
sanitation; 2 billion have no access to power. We talk of financial crisis
while in Jakarta, in Moscow, in sub-Saharan Africa, in the slums of India,
and in the barrios of Latin America, the human pain of poverty is all
around us. We must address this human pain."
One might add still other outrageous instances of neglect to this list.
Consider the 1 million children in Africa who die from malaria every year.
That's equivalent to about seven Boeing 747 crashes each day!
All this is occurring as global capitalism sweeps across the planet. But,
oh, the imperfections. The giant drug companies don't bother to invest in
tuberculosis and malaria vaccine research because they claim it's not
profitable. In the meantime, six million people -- many of them children --
lose their lives to these diseases every year. Still, pharmaceutical
companies would rather develop drugs to curb baldness, overeating and
declining sexual potency for customers who can pay lots of money than help
the children.
What do we tell the children who suffer from these afflictions? That the
generation which brought them into this world has little time to alleviate
their pain?
We must overthrow the obstacles that undermine our compassion for the
plight of those who suffer. We must use all available knowledge and
resources -- both medical and economic -- to attack global hunger and
homelessness. We must demand that Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan
tell Congress that a U.S. economy that allows 25 percent of the children in
our country to grow up in poverty can never be described optimistically.
We need a fresh core of leaders within our communities and at the national
level to show our society that our children matter.
Those of you who would like to suggest such a leader should send their name
to one of the most successful children's advocates in our country -- law
professor and director of the Children's Advocacy Institute, Robert C.
Fellmeth -- 5998 Alcala Park, San Diego, CA 92110.
END FORWARD
** NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is
distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. **
HOMELESS PEOPLE'S NETWORK <http://aspin.asu.edu/hpn/> Home Page
ARCHIVES <http://aspin.asu.edu/hpn/archives.html> read posts to HPN
TO JOIN <http://aspin.asu.edu/hpn/join.html> or email Tom <wgcp@earthlink.net>
--============_-1303082962==_ma============
Content-Type: text/enriched; charset="us-ascii"
<fontfamily><param>Geneva</param><bigger>FWD
http://www.sfbg.com/nader/30.html
San Francisco Bay Guardian - October 13, 1998
Ralph Nader/In the Public Interest
<paraindent><param>right,left</param><bold>Stop global child abuse
</bold></paraindent><bold>
</bold>We are living in a time marked by speeches entitled "Children
First" and "Family Values," but more children are currently suffering
from disease, poverty, and malnutrition than ever before.
Recently a statement on Children and Poverty by the Council of Bishops
of the United Methodist Church came to my attention. Its opening words
ring with unspeakable daily tragedies: "Malnutrition kills an estimated
thirty-five thousand children every day.
Approximately 10 million children die of poverty-related causes each
year.
During the last decade alone, wars have slaughtered 2 million and
disabled between four and 5 million children. More than 5 million have
been forced into refugee camps, and at least 12 million have been left
without homes. More children than soldiers now die from war. Some 80
million children between the ages of 10 and 14 work for low wages in
often dangerous conditions to supply inexpensive products for citizens
of more affluent nations."
On Oct. 6, 1998, the president of The World Bank, James D. Wolfensohn,
chided his fellow financiers to pay attention to how people are
suffering: "Today," he said, "while we talk of financial crisis --
across the world, 1.3 billion people live on less than $1 a day; 3
billion live on under $2 a day; 1.3 billion have no access to clean
water; 3 billion have no access to sanitation; 2 billion have no access
to power. We talk of financial crisis while in Jakarta, in Moscow, in
sub-Saharan Africa, in the slums of India, and in the barrios of Latin
America, the human pain of poverty is all around us. We must address
this human pain."
One might add still other outrageous instances of neglect to this list.
Consider the 1 million children in Africa who die from malaria every
year. That's equivalent to about seven Boeing 747 crashes each day!
All this is occurring as global capitalism sweeps across the planet.
But, oh, the imperfections. The giant drug companies don't bother to
invest in tuberculosis and malaria vaccine research because they claim
it's not profitable. In the meantime, six million people -- many of
them children -- lose their lives to these diseases every year. Still,
pharmaceutical companies would rather develop drugs to curb baldness,
overeating and declining sexual potency for customers who can pay lots
of money than help the children.
What do we tell the children who suffer from these afflictions? That
the generation which brought them into this world has little time to
alleviate their pain?
We must overthrow the obstacles that undermine our compassion for the
plight of those who suffer. We must use all available knowledge and
resources -- both medical and economic -- to attack global hunger and
homelessness. We must demand that Federal Reserve Chairman Alan
Greenspan tell Congress that a U.S. economy that allows 25 percent of
the children in our country to grow up in poverty can never be
described optimistically.
We need a fresh core of leaders within our communities and at the
national level to show our society that our children matter.
Those of you who would like to suggest such a leader should send their
name to one of the most successful children's advocates in our country
-- law professor and director of the Children's Advocacy Institute,
Robert C. Fellmeth -- 5998 Alcala Park, San Diego, CA 92110.
END FORWARD </bigger></fontfamily>
** NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. **
HOMELESS PEOPLE'S NETWORK <<http://aspin.asu.edu/hpn/> Home Page
ARCHIVES <<http://aspin.asu.edu/hpn/archives.html> read posts to HPN
TO JOIN <<http://aspin.asu.edu/hpn/join.html> or email Tom <<wgcp@earthlink.net>
--============_-1303082962==_ma============--