Stefanie P

Hotel Rwanda depicted the genocide in 1994 as a brutal civil war between the Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups. In the beginning, locals were convinced the conflict between the groups would die down, but instead it only escalated when the President's plane was shot down. Hutus began hunting Tutsis like it was their job; they literally stopped working just to kill the other ethnic group, and made it their goal to wipe out all Tutsis. They used household items and gardening tools to murder almost a million Tutsis. This was the brutal genocide that many nations had overlooked, especially after failing to send in military aid that would have saved the lives of thousands. In fact, in the Overview of 1994 Rwandan Genocide article we received in class, "...President Clinton stated that his decision to avoid ... read more

Barbie Sweatshops (2005) I think that multinational corporations like Mattel subcontract other companies to manufacture products for them in Third World nations because it means cheap labor. Since Third World nations are developing, they have people who need money. These people will work long hours in order to take care of themselves and their families, and the multinational corporations know that. Because they're in such great need for money, the corporations get away with paying them low amounts since it means more profit for them. Workers' rights and protections are so weak in developing nations like Thailand because of the government. In Thailand, for example, although people are suffering from horrible health problems and terrible working conditions, the government doesn't want to act upon it because they're afraid they'd drive the m... read more

The "Behind the Swoosh" documentary really opened my eyes to sweatshops in other countries. I always knew products made in other countries were less expensive because of cheaper labor, but I didn't realize how much cheaper the labor was! The fact that peoples salaries are as low as $1.10 per day in Indonesia when the final product is sold for an obnoxiously high amount is absolutely ridiculous. The Nike company always seems to set their prices a little high, but I thought it was because they sell good quality products. Instead, however, they are mostly looking to make a profit. Multinational corporations such as Nike are indeed contributing to the poverty in underdeveloped countries such as Indonesia. They take advantage of the desperation most families are in and force them to work long hours for little ... read more

The natural resource curse is the "paradox" of wealth in natural resources combined with crushing poverty. Two factors that contribute to this curse are "the income from these resources is often misappropriated by corrupt leaders instead of being used to support growth and development." According to the case study, Botswana has ecaped the effects of the natural resource curse by creating good government policies, strong political leadership, and a sound long-term development plan. Because of these techniques, Botswana has been able to provide "quality public services such as education and health care to its citizens." Furthermore, anti-corruption laws and high civil engagement has made it harder for government officials to lie about where the country's money is going. In contrast, Cote D'Ivoire is a country in Africa who has quite the opposite situation. Until 1999, Cote ... read more

The corruption going on in Cameroon is one of the worst in the world, if not the worst altogether. Because its government is terribly corrupt, the nation hasn't progressed since the 1980s. Since then, there has been a lot of catching up to do. President Biya hasn't given much thought to repairing the road system in Cameroon because he was too focused on keeping most of the money for himself. In fact, the only reason he remains in office today is because he spends the country's money to pay off vote counters and other influential people to vote for him during elections. Transportation is difficult to carry out, and many roadblocks of drunk soldiers and needy people who are willing to do anything for money only make it harder. When these travelers are faced with corrupt ... read more