The Starfish

FYS – Half the Sky: Kristof Talk/Chapter Two

“A man goes out on the beach and sees that it is covered with starfish that have washed up in the tide. A little boy is walking along, picking them up and throwing them back in the water.

            “What are you doing, son?” the man asks. “You see how many starfish there are? You’ll never make a difference.”

            The boy paused thoughtfully, and picked up another starfish and threw it in the ocean.

            “It sure made a difference to that one,” he said.” (Kristof, WuDunn Page 45)

Last Monday, the class attended a talk held by the author of the novel Half the Sky, Nicholas Kristof. His brilliant speech didn’t hold anything back as he discussed the ways in which women are being held against their own will in foreign countries. He explained the ways in which he strived to help others, and how much the world needs to make a difference. One of the most important and correlating facts between the most recently read chapter (2) and the talk was the idea of helping the individual. Sometimes, starting small may be the only way to make a difference at all.

This issue of human trafficking should not be focused on by only a select group of people; the entire world should be involved: this is as much a gender issue as it is a class issue, as we discussed in class. Unfortunately, we faced an ultimate reality check as we discussed the Indian police encounter in the beginning of Chapter 2.

Why is it that in other countries, the police force is so inadequate?

As we talked about this, we decided that there needs to be a way to cause the police in other countries to be more inclined to stop human trafficking rather than simply look for pirated DVDs or other illegal items. Despite this, we did realize one important fact, the U.S. has a huge impact on our surrounding world. Why hasn’t the U.S. stepped in to aid with the trafficking and support the police monitoring system? There’s one simple answer: greed. The U.S. cares more about the pirated DVDs than the women because that gives us additional revenue that we somehow cannot live without. We are acting as if prostitution is inevitable; as addressed in the novel, what are men supposed to do between the ages of 18 and 30 if there is not prostitution?

This needs to change.

One of the more heavy topics we discussed was the idea of legalization or prohibition of prostitution in order to alleviate the problem. Kristof discussed this in his speech as well, which correlates perfectly with this chapter. The class came to a more general consensus as we realized that the best decision for a country is more based on the country itself, its surroundings and the internal governmental structure. As the Netherlands legalized prostitution and Sweden prohibited it, the result was quite clear: Sweden had the biggest decrease in prostitution.

Why?

Well, it’s simple. In Sweden, the demand for prostitution decreased as more and more Johns were arrested. In the Netherlands, it almost became easier to find a prostitute.

Despite this, an interesting point brought up by one of the students in class was the idea that “women are in charge of themselves” and for this reason, it should be legalized and regulated from there. Both countries attempted to change the outcome of forced prostitution but as said in class, “no matter what, there will be a black market for prostitution regardless of how they try to change  it”. Each theory poses strong evidence as to why it would work, but the fact is that without enforcement of the particular resolution, nothing will change. Nothing will change unless action is actually taken.

Here is an interesting website that compares both the pros and cons of legalization if you would like to read more: http://prostitution.procon.org/view.answers.php?questionID=000243

Another point brought up by one of the students was the need to educate men and raise awareness across all borders. This is definitely supported by Kristof as the quote on the top of this page clearly illustrates. This shouldn’t and wouldn’t be difficult. The world just needs to work together to fix a problem that is clearly prevalent. This modern-day slavery is something that cannot be ignored any longer.

Interestingly enough, even though the United States seems to be above all of this, this modern slavery is prevalent within the states. Attached below is an interesting documentary by National Geographic in North Carolina that shows the extent to wish we know so little about our own world. Clearly, education and awareness needs to be raised even in such highly developed countries as our own.

Moreover, a funny yet surprising fact brought up by the Kristof talk and within our discussion was the idea that after Kristof bought two girls, he received receipts for them. As a joke, someone said “he needed it for the write-off”, but really, we don’t know why receipts happen. The women were kidnapped and then sold, as if they were property. Receipts make such little sense. And even saving these women does not always mean that they will be safe again. We discovered as a class that girls are afraid to come home: sometimes, their families reject them because of their past work in a brothel. The brutality of social structure in these countries is what makes the problem difficult to combat.

The social framework in these other countries is highly influenced by the domineering patriarchal system, but of course, we can change it. The leaders of the presentation used this interesting video, titled Girl Rising, to show us what happens in countries like Nepal.

The actions of one woman can lead to a chain reaction and help save more women from the abusive lifestyles they lead without their own will. As with Suma, the cycle of poverty without education leads to a world of unending bonding. Again, it’s almost more beneficial to help the individual rather than attempt to restructure the government completely.

As class closed, we discussed how the novel is influencing us right now. Personally, it made me want to sponsor a woman in another country and see how helping one impoverished woman could have a domino effect.

Kristof brought up the idea that donating locally has a huge influence, but most of the other students in class saw more prevalence in donating to women in another country. Some specific groups brought up were:

Heifer International: http://www.heifer.org/

            For this group, one of the most astounding features of donation is the idea of giving livestock to families in dire need. This livestock, such as cows, goats or chickens can provide food and monetary support for the family. They work from the ground up.

Kiva: http://www.kiva.org/

            Kiva works through a series of microloans that achieve a bottom-up economic structure. This system helps the individual and the surrounding area prosper as mom and pop shops finally have some support.

One that was not brought up in class, but I found through research is the World Women Global Council: http://www.worldwomenglobalcouncil.org/get-involved/sponsor-a-woman/

            This particular organization lets you sponsor an individual or a talent fund and lists all of the ways that your dollar makes an impact. The multicultural staff speaks over thirty languages which means most people can find a way to donate.

These organizations work for the betterment of the world as a whole. We have the resources to make sure that abuse and other acts of slavery are stopped, we just need to implement them.

In simple terms: helping the individual first can save the world.

Let’s start now.