Being a citizen of Vancouver, looking at the world’s poverty, similarities are seen downtown every day. They may not be as drastic as those of third-world-countries but none the less the same. The homeless rate in Vancouver has significantly rose in the past couple years and it made me wonder why so?
I’ve noticed once your living on the street, it’s very hard to get off of it. Finding a job is even harder. Addictions sends people to the streets every day, they lose their family, friends everything. And the addiction grows. Help for them is there, but scarce.
The age differential is scattered, every age has been on the street and off, including ethnicity. In Canada, when it comes to homelessness, background of the individual isn’t known, but stereotyped. The addiction or the laziness is what is thought of.
Having a roof over my head, I cannot say that living on the streets is easy. I can only imagine the hardships they go through every day. The struggle for food, water, a dry place to sleep, even fighting an addiction is a boundary in everyday life.
It’s a step one, step two, step three repeat life for anyone without a permanent job or some in downtown Vancouver, thinking about what can be done my head fills with ideas. Thinking about how they can be done needs to be done.
With the last news report on the ” Highway Of Tears” in 2007, and no real progress with the 16 plus cases, what is to be said about what is being done. All over highway 16, between Prince George and Prince Rupert BC., women have been taken while hitching and never to be seen again. Some say due to the high number of native victims is the reason for the cases neglect. I can only hope that isnt the case.
http://www.missingpeople.net/home.html
The link above provides a picture list of missing women from the Highway.
Stereotypically in today’s modern word, the divide between women and men have leveled out in great ways, but some areas stay the same. In the business world, men used to “run the show”, but women have more than defiantly taken their route to become an equal part of every job and status opportunity in that section. Many times modernized families have the stay at home dads, while the wives are out working hard. The world is fluctuating every day, affecting everyone. More less we should stop worrying about who is the boss of whom or whose job it is to do whatever. The only reason boarders are up between man and women is the facts of the past, and my view looking back, progress still has to be made.
The rights of children all over the world are being thrown away, much like the future. After all children are the worlds future, so why are they being denied their rights? Their rights should madder just as much even more than our own. Stopping things like abuse, starvation and child soldiers is a top priority. The biggest issue is the fact that over 100 million children go without an education. The basic knowledge to survive is also strayed. With something as simple as giving them an education, stopping poverty and unstable economies will start fixing itself. We need to stand up for these children because they can’t stand up for themselves.
All over the world people’s basic right are being violated. Those who live in third world countries such as Africa are lacking basic necessities such as clean drinking water, food, proper shelter and even schools and hospitals. With the population growing like it is, the resources of food and water become even scarcer then before. People caught in-between living off the land and a drastically unstable economy results in wide spread poverty. Being caught in a civil war isn’t helping either. Helping these people, villages, courtiers would not be easy. As individuals we can do only little to help, but globally banding together everyone can work to the same goal. Beating poverty, slavery, everything; thinking ahead world peace could be involved. As a stable country we need to help others off their knees and onto their feet. Together we can prosper.
When i think about beliefs, i think about the many different religions in the world today. With over 20 religions in the world there is plenty of different ways to look at life and death and how to “spend” your beliefs. But your beliefs in life can have nothing to do with religion. Living life in the modern world it tough and drastically becoming more and more unstable. With the economy in the shape it’s in, people cant afford to believe in someone else’s values yet they look for it for guidence. Yes religion does cost money; Christianity has one of the biggest bases of believers in the world, with things like Christian school and constant charity functions. Beliefs are based on he good and bad in society, so whats good and whats bad? Social and Religious status can affect the views on right and wrong. If the president or the pope had control over the view of whats right or wrong would you follow them? Status in society shoulden’t determine who’s right and whats wrong. Demeaning someone of their beliefs due to the social status is also wrong, it may be happening in a good way, but it’s still wrong.
Ones beleifs should be looked down apon either, if your words are worth more then anothers, doesnt mean its not valueable.
SpennyJ
As the upcoming Vancouver 2010 Olympics comes closer to starting,
many SRO buildings have been closed down for upgrades. Just under
16 buildings have been closed and more then 400 units with it.
These once affordable living quarters which go for around 400 to 600
dollars a month will not stay at these rates after re-opening for the
2010 Olympic Winter Games, but skyrocket to keep them maintained,
and to attract the wealthy idividual who will have the privilage of
watching the games. These people who could only afford these SRO
will most likely start living on the street, increasing out homeless
problem even more. The promiss to keep this SRO’s affordable is a
weak, discouraging and will keep some on the street. Something
needs to be done to keep everyone off the streets.
~SpennyJ
Social Justice Committee asks for changes to Department of Finance and World Bank policy to comply with human rights requirements of Better Aid Bill
Montreal, January 07, 2009
The Social Justice Committee, a non-governmental human rights organization based in Montreal, is calling for changes in how the government assesses the World Bank’s approach to human rights, in compliance with the new Canadian Better Aid Bill. The launch of the web consultations by Department of Finance regarding its compliance with this Act is a good time to have a closer look how legal obligations are working in reality.
Last spring Parliament passed the Official Development Assistance Accountability Act to regulate the Canadian international aid. The new Act means that Canadian international aid can only be sent to organizations that adhere to appropriate human rights standards. This might be problematic for the Department of Finance, which annually sends approximately $440 million to the World Bank – 10% of all Canadian aid.
Is then the Better Aid Bill really responsible for better aid?
On paper, yes, but in practice there are doubts. Over the years, the World Bank has attracted a controversy for not paying enough attention to human rights when implementing its projects. Yet the Bank still does not have a policy of compliance with the international human rights standards, and does not have a will to implement one.
On the other hand, Department of Finance has neither a policy on human rights nor a mechanism that would make evaluation of the World Bank’s projects possible. Considering the Bank’s poor human rights record and the lack of a policy framework on human rights, the Department of Finance can not live up to Canada’s new standards.
This is why the Social Justice Committee is pushing the Canadian government to seek long-overdue reforms of the World Bank’s approach to human rights. The new law requires that the government must find a way to promote a global financial system that achieves the law’s three main objectives, and thus works to reduce poverty, consider the perspectives of the poor, and promote human rights.
A Department of Finance web consultation will be held until the end of December. This short time period, interrupted by the Christmas holidays, is the first opportunity for civil society organizations, governments and international agencies to express opinions about the Department of Finance’s policy and its human rights obligations.
www.s-j-c.net
Quote
The World Bank believes that creating the conditions for the attainment of human rights is a central and irreducible goal of development. By placing the dignity of every human being – especially the poorest – at the very foundation of its approach to development, the Bank helps people in every part of the world build lives of purpose and hope.http://www.worldbank.org/html/extdr/rights/
SpennyJ – The World Bank has said to be helping the econmy of many struggling countried buy giving them incredibly large loans to get themselves, out of poverty in some cases. Due to the intrest on these loans, the World Bank only cripples these countries more, leaving them owing even more then before.
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