I’m going topical for this blog post. Partly because in world of journalism you don’t just have to write down all the random thoughts in your head, at some point you will actually have to write about something relevant, but mostly because this issue is something that I do in fact feel quite passionate about.
The Commonwealth games are hitting Delhi this year and tomorrow (3rd of October) it all begins. As a fan of athletics I am excited, just like I am every time a major Athletics event invades our television screens. I always have, and probably always will, love this type of sporting event (I’m blaming indoctrination from a very early age) but this year I am somewhat conflicted.
We all know India is country riddle by poverty, slums and child labour, but how many of us are aware of exactly how bad it is there? I have been on Google and on Wikipedia and have found some basic facts that have not only shocked me, but also opened my eyes to exactly how terrible the situation is in India.
- The nation is estimated to have a third of the world's poor, with 42% of India falling below the international poverty line of $1.25 a day
- The number of people living in slums in India has more than doubled in the past two decades and now exceeds the entire population of Britain.
- The number of people living in slums is projected to rise to 93 million in 2011 or 7.75 percent of the total population, almost double the population of Britain.
- India has the largest number of children under the age of 15 in work in the world. Some estimates put the figure at 100 million children. In some cases, young children are forced to work for long hours for low pay and in dangerous conditions.
This is just the result of ten minutes of searching, I’m sure there is plenty more to be found out there. Of course poverty, slums and child labour are not unique to India, and there are countries and populations that have it worse. However, what astounds me is how India can justify spending $6.51 billion (making this year’s games the most expensive in history) on a sporting event when that money could be put to so much better use helping the people of their country. And they can’t use the excuse “its ok, the situation is improving” because it isn’t. It’s getting worse. Slum populations are increasing, which means the number of people living in poverty is increasing. 100 million children have to work instead of getting an education, enjoying their childhood and living without the responsibilities of an adult. They are being forced to grow up and are deprived of something they should have a basic right to.
While the country is busy shelling out billions for the games, Comic Relief has been spending the money to help the people of India. This year Comic Relief donated a total of £1,728,707 to five different charities whose aims are to do their best for the people, particularly the children, of India. This in itself is brilliant and is the result of lots of hard fund raising and charity events, but if you put that figure alongside the figure of $6.51 billion you can hardly compare them, such is the extravagance of the sum needed to make the games happen. So much good could have been done and so many people helped with $6.51 billion.
This leaves me with the knowledge that as I watch the Commonwealth games this year, in the back of my mind I’ll have that nagging thought of “who could have benefitted if the money have been spent of something other than a brand new stadium?” And “why is it left to charities like Comic Relief, rather than the government, to do some good in a country obviously crying out for help?”
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