As I've travelled around the world, and around more remote parts of Canada over the past few years, it has occured to me that Westerners seem to complain alot about litter.
I cannot count how many white-folk I heard complaining about the garbage in India. In Vietnam I was even "lucky" enough to listen to an 18 year-old Australian girl conduct a twenty-minute monologue on how horrible the litter is, and how the Vietnamese should make a law where they can shoot anyone who litters (this young girl clearly thought she was on to something!).
The same holds true for First Nations reserves in Canada - when I visit these communities, I invariably find myself enduring some snide comments from various (non-Native) nurses who are "appalled" by all of the litter. "If only they kept it clean..." they say, in a judgemental colonial tone.
Forget the fact that the average Torontonian creates 365 kg of garbage per year (that's 1 kg per person per day!). And how about the reality that the average North American eco-footprint is at least 7 times higher than the people from "those poor, dirty countries" that we enjoy chastising and feeling sorry for.
No, we're not any better at "keeping it clean" - we're just better at hiding our mess!
Breaking Down Barriers in Sexual and Reproductive Health Reporting in Africa
-
*This is a guest post by Humphrey Nabimanya, founder of Reach a Hand
Uganda. *
[image: 2016-04-15-1460736651-1435623-huffpo1.jpg]*Journalists and bloggers...
1 comment:
Excellent point re: the hidden mess!
Post a Comment