Global citizenship on racism and poverty

Jingfeng

What exactly is a global citizen? While reading through some of the students’ work, I came across many different definitions. Someone described it as one who is aware of others’ cultures, practices, beliefs and understanding their way of life while another feels that a global citizen should promote and contribute to global peace and prosperity. Does global citizenship eradicates poverty thus leading to global equality where there is no poor country and no need for aid and welfare? Does being a global citizen gives you the right to have a say as to what goes on in the world?

One particular description caught my attention -being a global citizen is not a slogan but a commitment to a safe and pleasant abode for our race. Indeed, irregardless of background or religion, everyone is entitled to the citizenship. With the world as home and humans as equal members of the family, each and every one of us has the responsibility for the world. To me, only when you are able to respect others and their values as well as promote social equality then did you fulfill your responsibility as a global citizen.

Amongst the many threads in the online forum is that of the link between racism and global citizenship. One student describes racism as damaging the individuals by destroying their self-confidence. He goes on to say that racism also causes social injustice thereby resulting in a less productive country but a more divided community. I could not agree more. Racism as we all know could go to the extent of denying educational opportunities thus preventing people from realizing their full potential. From The Burakumins in Japan to The Dalits in India as well as The Holocaust in World War II, racism only proves that it is disruptive to our peaceful life.

Sure we all know that to attain global equality, we have to eradicate racism. The question is how many of us are actually willing to put these empty talks into action? As I had mentioned earlier, to promote social equality is part of the responsibility of a global citizen. I believe if everyone is willing to do their part by treating every being on Earth as an equal member of the family, the Earth would be a much better place to live in.

The issue of poverty was also widely discussed in the forum. In the discussions, the causes of poverty were debated in great lengths and some of these include corruption, social backwardness and religious and cultural beliefs.

There were also several points raised that I thought was worth thinking about. Firstly, with the world focusing on terrorism and nuclear threats issues, is the problem of poverty being overlooked? Secondly, is exploitation the main cause of the poor being trapped in the vicious cycle and thus arriving at the dog-eat-dog situation? Lastly, are the other countries saying everything and not doing anything or even simply ignoring the problem so as to save them the hassle to solve it?

My answer to all the questions is probably. I believe that the problem of poverty, be it the cause, the effects or the way to tackle it varies from country to country. The point is Man has to abandon his selfish nature and join forces to fight for a better life for their fellow kind. To achieve that, education on the graveness of the problem of poverty has to be conducted at a global level. In addition, experienced countries should also share their knowledge of development with the suffering countries. However, as the saying goes –give a man a fish, he can live for a day. Teach the man to fish; he can live for a lifetime. Aid and advice should only be given at an adequate level for the main point is to have the suffering countries to be independent and not dependent on others.

A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. If everyone is willing to take these many tiny steps forward, it will constitute to a huge step in providing a better life for the world.