There are many existing struggles between the Global North and the Global South, the exploitation of the South for the gain of the North. This week's presentation, film and readings illuminated the deep rooted inequalities, the aspects that are part of our taken for granted daily lives that people in other parts of the world are dying for. As noted in the film, water in the Global North is, for the most part, clean and accessible and populations expect that. However, the Global South is being denied access to their right to clean water.
Why does the Global North get to decide who has the right to clean water? As negative effects of Climate Change increase we see water supplies dwindling and as opposed to changing our behaviour, ensuring equal rights to clean water, corporations have begun to control water. The corporations use water as a commodity because water is a need, not a right, as perceived by the World Bank and United Nations. When something is deemed a need, it is viewed as a commodity.
As opposed to be regarded as a need, water has to be viewed as a basic right for all living beings, it is a part of our survival and it belongs to the nature that we, as humans, are a part of. Unfortunately, this is masked by the notion that humans, with the ability to reason and progress, are seperate from and better than nature, without recognizing our dependency on our environment and the human beings that are exploited. I strongly believe in Article 31, adding the Right to Water into the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
The most disturbing thing I found in the video (and you touched upon) was that the corporations viewed the “use water as a commodity because water is a need, not a right, as perceived by the World Bank and United Nations.” I guess I was naive to think all people had the right to safe and clean drinking water. As mentioned in the presentation, this is just a vicious cycle. It is not hard to understand all the frustrations the people in the Global South must fell on a daily basis. I think it is funny that these companies are trying to get money from the people who can not afford to pay them. This is yet another example of the deep rooted inequalities.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that water as a growing commodity is quite disturbing as well. Not only is this occuring in South America, as seen in the example of Bolivia, and India. Privatization of water is now seen as growing capital investment compared to being a necessity. As mentioned why do we deserve clean drinking water more than those living in the global south? The only answer that can be provided is the issue of capitalism. Although this may seem like an unfair justification, unless we change the ways in which we operate, these conditions will continue as time progreses!
ReplyDelete