Headline July 16, 2014

''' STUDENTS AND HISTORY : 

ALAS! POVERTY AND PROSPERITY "'

WHY, WHy, Why are some nations  poor  and others  rich??!

No matter where I go, whom I meet, this question keeps cropping up?! The answer is very simple:

"Because some polities develop more inclusive political institutions".

THE COTTON BOLLS start to open and are ready to be picked in early September,  at about the same time that children return to school.

The government issued orders to local governors to send cotton-delivery quotas to school.In early September, the schools are emptied of   2.7million  children  (2006 figures).

Teachers instead of being instructors, become labour recruiters.

Gulnaz, a mother of two of  these children, explained what happens:

At the beginning of each school year,  approximately at the beginning of September,  the classes are suspended and instead of classes children are sent to the cotton harvest.

Nobody asks for the consents of parents. They don't have weekend  holidays  -during the harvesting season-. If a child is for any reason left at home,  his teacher or class curator comes over and denounces the parents.

They assign a plan to each child,  from  20  to  60 kg per day depending on the child's age. If a child fails to fulfil his plan then next morning he is  ''lambasted'' in front of the whole class.

The harvest lasts for two months. Rural children/students lucky enough to be assigned to farms close to home can walk or are bused to work.

Children farther away or from urban areas have to sleep in the sheds or storehouses with the machinery and animals.

There are no toilets or kitchens. Children have to bring their own food for lunch.

The main beneficiaries from all this forced labour are the elite, political and all.

In 2006,  when the world price of cotton was around $1.40 per kilo, the students were paid  $0.03 for their daily quota of twenty to sixty kilos.

Probably 75% of the cotton harvest is now picked by students. In the spring, school is closed for compulsory hoeing, weeding and transplanting.

What country am I alluding too ? How did it all come to this? But here, let me enumerate another example:

The city of Nogales is cut in half by a fence. If you stand by it and look north, you'll see Nogales, Arizona, located in Santa Cruz County.

The income of the average household there is about $30,000 a year. Most teenagers are in school, and the majority of the adults are high school graduates.

Despite all the arguments people make about how deficient the U.S. health care system is, the population is relatively healthy, with high life expectancy by global standards.

Many of the residents are above age 65  and have access to Medicare. It's just one of the many services the government provides that most take for granted, such as:

Electricity, telephones, a sewage system, public health, a road network, and last but not least,   "law and order".

The people of Nogales, Arizona, can go about their daily activities without fear for life or safety and not constantly afraid of theft, expropriation, or other things that might jeopardize their investments in their business and houses.

LIFE south of the fence, just a few feet away, is rather different. While the residents of Nogales, Sonora, live in a relatively prosperous part of Mexico, the income of the average household there is about one-third in Nogales, Arizona.

Most adults in Nogale, Sonora, do not have a school degree, and many teenagers are not in school. Mothers have to worry about high rates of mortality. They also don't have access to many public amenities. Roads are in bad condition south of the fence.

Law and order is in worse condition. Crime is high, and opening a business is risky activity. Not only do you risk robbery, but getting all the permissions and greasing all the palms just to open is no easy endeavour. 

Residents of Nogales, Sonora, live with politicians' corruptions and ineptitude every day.

How could the two halves of what is essentially the same city be so different?

There is no difference in geography, climate, or the types of disease prevalent in the area, since germs do not face any restrictions crossing back and forth between the United States and Mexico.

Of course, health conditions are very different, but it has nothing to do with the disease environment; it is because the people south of the border live with inferior sanitary conditions and lack decent health care.

Here, on either side of the border, the two cities rose up. The inhabitant of Nogales, Arizona, and Nogales, Sonora, share ancestors, enjoy the same food and the same music, and one should hazard to say, have the same culture.

Of course, there is a very simple and obvious explanation for the differences between the two halves of Nogales that you've probably long since guessed:

The very border that defines the two halves.

Nogales, Arizona, is in the United States, which enables them to choose their occupations freely, acquire schooling and skills, and encourage their employers to invest in the best technology, which leads to higher wages for them.

These incentives created by different institutions of the two Nogaleses and the countries in which they are situated  are the main reason for the differences in economic prosperity on the two sides of the border.    

"The Honour and the Serving of this post will continue on regular basis for ever".    At least once a week!

Thank you for reading!

With most caring and respectful dedication to all the poor people in the world.

With respectful dedication to the Students, Professors and Teachers of the  Developing World and Worlds- See Ya all on !WOW!  -the World Students Society Computers-Internet-Wireless:

"' !Stop To Think Signs! "'

Good night and God bless!

SAM Daily Times - The Voice of the Voiceless