Blog Action Day 2008

I'm laying in bed, getting ready to go to sleep.  But it's after midnight, and officially Blog Action Day.  I wanted to write before closing my eyes, because I feel that what I have decided to write about will bother me until I get it out.

Last year's topic for the day was the environment, and it really wasn't hard for me to think of something to post, since this is part of what the blog is all about.  If you are interested, you can go back and read last year's post here. 

However, this year the topic is poverty.  And I've been thinking for weeks about what I can say about poverty that wouldn't be repeating what everyone else is already saying.  What experiences have I had, that can speak to this issue?  Should I just talk about poverty in the United States?  Should I expand the topic to global poverty?  I wasn't sure if I wanted to define poverty from a Christian standpoint, or point out how the environment effects those who are poor the most.

And then it came to me.  When I was in India in January I witnessed poverty.  I didn't experience this in a depressing kind of way, it was troubling to see so many people in need, but at the same time inspiring to see how they used what little they had to live the best lives they could.  I fell in love with the people of India, watching them live their simple lives and making the most out of everything they worked for.

Part of my India experience included lectures about different aspects of India.  One lecture that I was particularly moved by was on the topic of globalization in India.  The professor made one simple statement in that lecture that has kept me thinking all of these months.  And while I am not going to write with great knowledge of the subject, or try to convince you to do something about it, I want you to acknowledge your emotions when you read this statement:

Farmers are committing suicide.

There are many aspects to this statement.  There are many reasons that have driven these farmers to do such an act.  Poverty is at the core of them all.  Farmers in India are losing their land to globalization and technology.  They are being forced into debt that they know they will never be able to pay back.  They are being taken advantage of by big corporations around the world who want farmers to use their products, and only their products.  They are being sold seeds that are genetically modified, requiring them to buy new seeds year after year instead of saving seeds from season to season.  

This epidemic makes me sad.  It makes me hurt for the farmer's families.  And it makes me angry that people with more power and more money take advantage of other people everyday.  

I could give you statistics about these farmers, or names of corporations who are the ones causing such a problem.  But honestly, I am so saddened by this, that the research is overwhelming.

What I want you to do is remember that as many as three farmers a day are drinking pesticides, or hanging themselves from a tree in order to end their lives.  And then the next time you have a free moment Google "indian farmer suicide."  It's hard not to be emotional when you read what you find.