Showing posts with label Migrants. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Migrants. Show all posts

November 18, 2015

Refugee Crisis OR Something More Sinister And Deadly?

When presidential candidate, Donald Trump said, "I will build a big beautiful safe zone in Syria for the refugees"--many on the left were aghast. 

Then I got forwarded this video on what's happening in Europe or to Europe (and to a far more limited extent to America).

The basic question raised--are the throngs of people making their way from the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia to Europe (and to America):

1) REFUGEES: Is this diversity, multiculturalism, humanitarianism, and truly helping refugees in need?

OR

2) MIGRANTS: Is this the overrunning of a continent and society--driven by the desire for money, land, power, sex and religious domination--without anyone ever even firing a shot?

No one wants to think the worst--even when terror is happening around us and ISIS is claiming to be planting thousands of terrorists among the refugees (like a massive Trojan Horse)--we still want to believe that we are doing the right thing, doing good, and helping people in need by welcoming them in. 

Most of us or our families have been refugees at one time or another--seeking safety and a better life--so we know what it's like to need others and to need a chance--and we want to help others like others helped us. 

But watching the terror attacks, violence, rapes, and threats by some (or many, I don't really know) of the current waves of "refugees"--one wonders is this like prior refugees coming and needing genuine help or something we've never quite seen before? ;-)
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January 17, 2014

China's Dangerous Socioeconomic Malaise

Fascinating article in the Wall Street Journal today on China's "Left Behind Kids."

While we hear about China as the rising Asian economic powerhouse, we do not often contemplate the socioeconomic impact of what is occurring there on Chinese families. 

As China rises to economic superpower status, more than 250 million migrant workers pour from the poor rural parts of China to the cities to supply the  relatively cheap labor to keep manufacturing humming and the economy brimming with growth.

Those left behind are 61 million Chinese children, who are growing up without one or both parents. 

One in five Chinese children haven't seen their parent(s) for at least 3 months.

But laws in China prevent children from coming to the cities with their parents in order to stem the flow of migration from rural areas. 

Chinese parents are saying, "We'll go wherever we can get the highest pay,"

Children are saying, "What's the big deal of having no mother anyway? I can grow up without a mom."

So while smog and pollution is spoiling beautiful China cities and harming people's physical health, the greater concern is that children are missing out on the loving, bonding, caring, and guidance that comes with a regular parental presence and good sound parenting from them. 

Understanding that strong parent-child relationships are critical to the formation of mental, emotional, and spiritual health of the children, the numbers and severity of Chinese children that are missing out on this is of great concern. 

While some children may be okay under the care of able grandparents along with regular visits or calls by parents, many others children, who don't have this, could end up having serious mental and emotional problems.

Already "more than 70% of children in rural China show signs of mental health problems such as anxiety and depression."

And as is often the case, anxiety and depression turn into resentment and anger.

With tens of millions of left behind children being forced to fend for themselves and hundreds of millions of migrant parents living in "dormitories, tents, or bomb shelters" away from their families and homes, what we have here is a bonafide socioeconomic ticking time bomb. 

Political pundits often point to the concern of China's power elite that the people will rise up against them and the Communist Party,
but I think the far bigger concern is to those outside of the system altogether. 

In my mind, the destruction of the core family will ultimately result in a tsunami of frustration, anger, and a weakening of social values.

Moreover, this  could very well spillover and lead to a dangerous rise of militancy, where people do not want to lash out against their political system or leadership, but rather against everyone else who took the goods that left them economically richer, but poorer in just about every other way. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
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