God, AIDS, Africa & HOPE

Reflections / Gedanken

Beyond understanding

Beyond understanding and inhumane – certainly not wise nor in the tradition of the great religions of this world: the way certain countries deal with the refugee crisis. Instead of realizing the magnitude and desperation of the situation, but also the historical challenge, politicians in the USA and Europe trying to hold on a world which has long gone and hold no water anymore for the dire human tragedy in the times of a digital revolution bringing the pictures of good or cruel deeds onto the surface of social media – and consequently into the homes of everybody. And the reaction can be so different:

There are those who grasp somehow the magnitude of the challenge, who see the tectonic shift in how the world moves combined with the plight of human creatures yearning for a decent life without war and unrest or economical hardship giving their kids no chance in life. And there are those who – by all means – try to keep a world view up which is long gone – but in desperation they support a white, male, European and North American dominance ruling the world with an economic system which pays lip service to real development while cementing superiority of a white macho- first-world mentality with a degree of variations.

Added to this is a “trump-ish”style of “me and my country first”attitude making landfall also in Europe – really believing that the structures of country boundaries and societies are set in stone and have to be protected by all means necessary. Amazingly even studied people like academics and journalists seem to fall for a static world view. Ad a fascist tendency in some countries or the call for a strong man – believing that a political messiah like Orban in Ungarn, Trump in the USA or Kurz in Austria can rescue the little world view a loud minority holds against a silent majority and the mess beyond understanding is ready to rule lives. Not to mention the resurrection of the brown mud represented by the AfD in Germany or there-likes in Europe.

No, as long as only the next election is eyed for and populism replaces real politics – as long as a world order favors those who have and disadvantages those having nothing anyhow – as long as we don’t tackle the problems jointly and understand that we are meanwhile a global village having to learn to understand each other and live with each other – the circle of violence and war, of unrest and power play, the circle of winners and losers and the rule of a Western white macho male society will continue to dominate daily lives. And this costs lives every day.

It is time to understand that the way the systems work will not hold water under the bridge any longer – and that the attempt to keep an old world order in place at any cost will not only cost lives, but it will simply not work at the end. The longer we wait to understand this, the longer the suffering of those who remain at the bottom of the old order.

Steps into a new world order are needed:
A new world order which recognizes the failures and mistakes of the past, which recognizes history,  which understand the inter-connectivity of all people of the one and only human race and which puts the environment as a top priority on the political to-do-list. A new world order balancing the need for stability with the acknowledgment that nothing is forever and development means always also movement to new shores.
For that we need politicians and leaders with a vision – not “Kurz-sichtigkeit” or a view limited to the next election date or – like in the case of Donald Trump, decisions only made looking to please those who have elected him – without any appreciation whether this hurts the rest of the world or not.

Filed under: Politics and Society, Reflection, Society and living environment, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Any difference between South Africa and the USA?

Food bank Somerville NJNew York  – a buzzing city which never sleeps and lots of people living obviously on the streets and in extreme poverty. The discrepancy between rich and poor is certainly as extreme as in South Africa.
Somerville – visit at one of the three food banks in the county. 850 people are regulars at this food bank, which is supported by church communities and private supporters. My question, whether they get expired food from the big supermarket chains is denied. The fear to be brought to court when somebody gets sick from expired food overrides any charity attempt.
I meet two women, mother and daughter who are living in their car: house gone, job gone – car and food bank keeps them going, at least they have a place to stay in the bitter cold winter nights of New Jersey.
The food bank is placed within an industrial zone – far away from the city center and I guess it’s too far for a lot of needy people. The city has no interest to have it close by – poverty should not be seen in the city center.
Watching TV in the evening – FOX news and others. The way, politics is presented and commented leaves me speechless. I am used to a lot of nonsense in South African politics – but the stupidity of comments on American TV leaves me often speechless. These are no news, that is indoctrination – Gupta news on a well advanced level. It is scary to think that something like this will emerge on that scale also in South Africa.

It seems to me, that the US and South Africa are not that far away on certain levels. The incomprehensible way of politics, the gap between rich and poor, the impact of poverty and unemployment on society, violence of all sorts. The USA is a country which combines first and third world as South Africa does – it is interesting that we perceive one as a world power and the other as an emerging country. How relative is our judgement?
Speaking to people on the ground and in the social services I realized how much we can share and work on together to create a better world for all, not for only those more fortune. And when it comes to HIV and AIDS, some areas of the US and some populations are as in the same bad shape as South Africa. It is amazing that we in South Africa achieved so much when it comes to treatment due to the assistance of the USA, a country which seems to struggle to get their own people on adequate treatment.

Well, of course they are major differences between the USA and South Africa. But at a closer look there are much more similarities and common ground then we usually think. This common ground gives chance to close cooperation and joint ventures looking eye to eye. Any attitude on any side would be wrong.

Filed under: General, HIV and AIDS, Networking, Politics and Society, Reflection, Society and living environment, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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