The State of the World's Children 2006 In light of an interest on these boards in the treatment (or maltreatment, as it were) of children worldwide, UNICEF's extensive study on the state of the world's children is particularly relevant. The 2007 report (just issued) looks at a particular issue - the "double divide" of gender and the status of children - and argues that empowering women improves the lives of children. The 2006 report, which I linked here, is entitled "excluded and invisible." The 2005 report was particularly moving - Childhood under Threat. Lots of information. The main thing to take on this: no culture, and no religious group, has a monopoly on the maltreatment of children. And no culture, and no religious group, has the right to ignore the plight of children. It should be something on which we in this forum can agree.
cmon, Isy, you know that scarecrow, odessit and valanjak et al aren't really interested in the welfare of children, they're are simply interested in saying, over and over again, "jew good, muslim bad" "muslim good, jew bad" "Iran good, USA bad" "USA good, IRan bad" and so forth. This is precisely the reason why that this board particularly is an extremely sad commentary on the state of human relations on our planet today. No one wants to look honestly at all sides, no one wants to solve problems. Everyone just wants to blame.
And this post helps further that process how? I'd be happy to delete both of these posts if you wish.
there's certainly a lot of info on that website. Didn't know there are so much information and links on this site.
well you seemed to start this thread in response to scarecrow's "look how mean shiites are to their children" thread starter. And I think it's useful to say that too many people who claim to care about children in the world are only interested when they can use it as a vehicle to blame another tribe for the ills of the world. You disagree? Fine. Delete away if you wish.
actually, it probably has to do more with me starting a thread on sex-slavery among kids in 3rd world countries.
Children have no voice in this world and that’s why its important for adults to protect their rights . Today , unfortunately the biggest crimes against children are being committed in Africa and this never gets any news attention . Also even in the US children are sometimes victims which is the case in some poor families . I have personally seen kids as young as 5 or 6 years old in Iran selling news papers and flowers in the middle of traffic in Tehran and across cities in Iran , there are many Afghan kids in Iran who do this to survive. If world leaders respected each other and started spending resources on good causes such as buildings schools and hospitals instead of making bombs than we wouldn’t have so many children being victims .
Of course ignorance is showing its face again in that persons post. In the thread I started, I stated specifically that I give credit to Iran and Lebanon for BANNING that barbaric practice. I fail to see how anyone can condone cutting the head of a baby. Or a young child. It is abuse regardless of who does it or where. As for other instances where kids are abused, be it in Central America, the USA, China, they should all be met with the same scorn and everything should be done to change the situation so that these kids are protected and not abused. I have not had a chance to read that site yet, but I plan too tonight.
If you really want to make a difference for children, be a good parent, a good Aunt/Uncle, a good neighbor.
Who might you be talking about, pray tell? Except you served it in a back handed compliment, by saying this next: "Glad to see they realize that this is a crime." As if you are pleasantly surprised that people of the muslim faith might be anti-child abuse. Your lack of understanding of context is truly astounding. Of course, I suspect that that's not something they teach in the military, at least not to the grunts. But your lack of understanding that CNN (a media outlet I don't mind by the way, it's the parroting ignaramouses that can't read between the lines who take in CNN that I do mind) itself has an agenda in its editorial decisions is what really just makes me guffaw, then frown. Why do you continously start these arguments?
My cousin's husband became a big brother to an African kid whose parents were killed in Gabon, I believe. Both benefitted greatly. The things you cite are good things, but it's also important to be a conscientious citizen of the world, no? It's not enough to say, I'm a good parent, and I don't give a shit about the rest of the kids in the world.
I wish I could be optimistic about the goals stated in this report, but I can't. I agree with the goals and targets, I agree with the report's moral assertion that we all should work towards them (states, NGO's, individuals, etc). I just don't see enough practical measures proposed for achieving those goals. Just not enough realistic assessment of how to counter the powers and interests that will prevent the goals from being achieved. An example to illustrate: I heard a story on the radio show Marketplace about a Thai woman who sold her daughter into sexual slavery after being unable to pay her debts to a predatory lender. Apparently a common scenario in that country. Easy enough for us to deplore the woman's decision, but what else could she do when she was being threatened by the "lender"? Morality is a luxury she can't afford. And who has the power in this situation? Not the woman or her daughter or even the Thai authorities. The "lender" who suspected that the woman wouldn't be able to repay her debt and so he could bargain for the daughter and send her off to a brother in Taiwan or some place. I didn't read anything in the report that makes me optimistic UNICEF can stop this kind of sexual slavery.
Aren't the world's children just abunch of crying, whining babies who don't realize how good they have it? I mean, I bet there's grumbling in Thailand/Vietnam from the old folks, complaining that "Back in our day, we'd have to walk 6 miles uphill to the underage brothel, in the snow, just to ...... (both ways!)"
I'm just observing that the real imprint we have on the world is how we deal with those around us and whether or not we live up to our personal responsibilities.
I wouldn't be surprised if you have phony standards like most self-righteous blowhards. No offense. If most people followed these "low standards," there wouldn't be any need for this thread. Now go write a $100 check to UNICEF.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/africa/02/12/child.soldiers/index.html It is a sick sick world that we live in.
What I found shocking is that in the Unicef study of 21 industrialised countries, children are the worst off in the two richest countries in absolute terms (UK and US). Even the Czech Republic scored better than them. Proof of the fact that money isn't everything. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6359363.stm The British media are all over this story and clearly find it highly embarrassing, are the US media reporting on it at all?
I heard about this last night (or early this morning) on my way home from the airport. I have to admit, I'm a bit confused about this, and not just for "Merica Rules!" reasons, but here are few examples: Apparently not living with both parents is a bad thing. Granted, it isn't always a good thing, but can we just assume that having both parents present is always best? Having been all over the world, I find it hard to imagine there are more kids drinking, smoking, having sex, and using drugs in the US. In defense of the study, yes American kids are probably some of the fattest. Yup, they don't eat all that well. Our infant mortality is a ********ing joke. So I can see how we are a bit low. But I'm not sure if I understand how low we are.
I agree that these studies are always going to be subjective. But I read some of the questions which were pretty basic such as 'are there adults around that you can completely trust' and being a mother myself I find it genuinely painful that in some parts of the world the majority of kids feel they don't. Like I said in the parenting forum on the same subject, the countries with the biggest poor-rich divide (the UK and the US) score the lowest. I'm sure there's a partial explanation for your low ranking in that fact, and I'm not just referring to there comparatively being more poor kids in the UK and in the US than in the highest ranking countries. Does materialism make kids unhappy?
I think you've hit the nail on the head here. Here in America we've created a society in which stuff equals happy. You could have a kid living in a modest (but nice) house with two loving parents, healthy food, and all the basic things a kid needs. But that kid doesn't have the X-Box, the nicest clothes, the iPod, the cell phone, or any of the other crap that is supposed to make him happy. So you ask that kid if he/she is happy and the answer is no. I think that is the problem. It isn't that America is a wildly dangerous, crappy place for kids to grow up, its just that we've made it impossible for parents of modest means to make their kids "happy".