What Country in the World is the Riskiest Place to Live?

[Kojo Douglas]

Yep. I can't even imagine what it must be like to be in Syria right now. Absolutely horrifying.

 

[JonT]

When I lived in the Cook Islands I found some old papers written by their former Prime Minister (a truly extraordinary figure - a medical doctor, a NASA scientist, an explorer, a poet, politician and a philosopher). He claimed that rising sea levels are not a huge problem for many Pacific islands as the growth of their coral should keep pace with the slowly rising sea levels (and by "slowly" he meant the kind of increase anticipated by the climate change experts). Some tiny, sandy islands might be at risk, but many of them have always been at risk due to erosion etc. Islands like Rarotonga or Mangaia should be absolutely fine, according to him. I am no expert in these matters, so no idea if it makes any sense..

For a lot of these places the risk of sea level rise comes from increasing the "base state" upon which a storm acts. A storm which didn't flood your house 20 years ago, might flood your house now. And by "house" of course it could mean entire neighbourhoods, or even cities.
However, I have been concerned during travels around the Pacific that climate change is definitely in-vogue in developmental circles at the moment. I think somewhere like Kiribati (Tarawa especially) should be more concerned about immediate threats like complete depletion of the groundwater, inability to grow enough food to support themselves, poor quality of housing and disease. But they are definitely less glamorous issues than climate change.
I do think that learning to deal with severe weather is important though because it acts in both the short term and long term. In the short term, all currently existing problems are added to, and become just that bit worse. In the long term, dealing with severe weather is similar to dealing with climate change.

I think a country like India is completely underreported in the global news. India is more like a universe to itself. The amount of "bad shit" that's happening every day in India could fill the global news headlines. Thousands of people die in heatwaves, routinely. Various natural disasters cause countless deaths. In some cases, they really are countless. Witness the Uttarakhand floods in 2013. Daily life is attritional in both rural and urban areas. Then there's insurgencies (usually "Maoist") that we never even hear about in the rest of the world.

 

[TheKavaSociety]

I think a country like India is completely underreported in the global news. India is more like a universe to itself. The amount of "bad shit" that's happening every day in India could fill the global news headlines. Thousands of people die in heatwaves, routinely. Various natural disasters cause countless deaths. In some cases, they really are countless. Witness the Uttarakhand floods in 2013. Daily life is attritional in both rural and urban areas. Then there's insurgencies (usually "Maoist") that we never even hear about in the rest of the world.

Most people feel they have absolutely no connection to India. I think many people feel that it's a massive place that might be interesting, but they wouldn't even notice it if it disappeared one day. Few people have any connection to the South Pacific, but at least these these islands have a romantic appeal ("paradise on Earth") and lots of people fantasize about visiting them. When it comes to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh or sub-Saharan Africa, these places appear to be of absolutely no interest or relevance to ordinary people. Plus there is this stereotype that both sub-saharan Africa and South Asia are basically hopeless places full of conflicts, poverty and health problems. No bad news coming form these places is seen as surprising or shocking.

 

[verticity]

Most people feel they have absolutely no connection to India. I think many people feel that it's a massive place that might be interesting, but they wouldn't even notice it if it disappeared one day. Few people have any connection to the South Pacific, but at least these these islands have a romantic appeal ("paradise on Earth") and lots of people fantasize about visiting them. When it comes to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh or sub-Saharan Africa, these places appear to be of absolutely no interest or relevance to ordinary people. Plus there is this stereotype that both sub-saharan Africa and South Asia are basically hopeless places full of conflicts, poverty and health problems. No bad news coming form these places is seen as surprising or shocking.

In Computer Science and IT circles (in the US at least) there is a perception that Indian people are highly educated, but willing to work for less pay than Americans, and there is a quite a bit of resentment that they are "stealing our jerbs"
It is also very commonplace for doctors here to be Indian, to the point where the "Indian doctor" has become kind of a comical stereotype. Note, their medical skills are generally respected, but the "joke" is that everyone in India is a doctor, which is surely not the case, but a stereotype based on the small number of educated Indians who are able to immigrate here.

 

[JonT]

Most people feel they have absolutely no connection to India. I think many people feel that it's a massive place that might be interesting, but they wouldn't even notice it if it disappeared one day. Few people have any connection to the South Pacific, but at least these these islands have a romantic appeal ("paradise on Earth") and lots of people fantasize about visiting them. When it comes to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh or sub-Saharan Africa, these places appear to be of absolutely no interest or relevance to ordinary people. Plus there is this stereotype that both sub-saharan Africa and South Asia are basically hopeless places full of conflicts, poverty and health problems. No bad news coming form these places is seen as surprising or shocking.

I think you're right and I'm being unrealistic to expect anything different. The news cannot just be a litany of all the terrible things happening everywhere right now, even though it seems more just for it to be that way. I think that we (and when I say we in this post, I mean "we") are kind of limited in the extant of our empathy. For example, we will NOT forget the Bataclan, and a large part of that will be because we will not be allowed to forget the Bataclan by the media that we consume. But we will forget (and indeed have forgotten, if we were even aware of it to begin with) the park bombing in Lahore, stadium bombing in Iraq, and so on.
Is it because we are naturally less empathetic towards those that we see as very different and living in areas that we "expect" terrible news to come from? Or is our empathy shaped by the media? Or, a bit of both, with the media just echoing our pre-existing tendencies?

 

[Kojo Douglas]

Well, I can assure you that there are a lot of positive things happening in Africa right now. It is an exciting place full of vision and hope. Whether you are talking about progressive democracy in Ghana, some of the highest economic growth rates in the world in countries like Ethiopia, and the whole swath of emerging economies with good land, exceptional rainfall, and relatively low populations. The only reason "ordinary people" don't know much about them is because "ordinary people" are a dull and incurious kind.

 

[verticity]

In the case of Sub-Saharan Africa the stereotype is pretty much as you describe though: impoverished "basket-case" countries. I'm not saying that is true; I have never visited Africa so I don't know what it is like--just that that is what the stereotype is.

 

[Kojo Douglas]

On the whole, Africa has less conflict than most continents. Currently, South Sudan (momentarily at peace) and the Eastern DR Congo are the only places where there are active wars (Libya is really a part of the Middle East, hence the term "sub-Saharan Africa"). When it comes to stereotypes, well, what can I say? If you know something is a stereotype then it's best to ignore it and inquire. Of course, there is only so much a person can focus on or be interested in - so I'm certainly not condemning people who don't know much about sub-Saharan Africa. I just always feel the need to defend it, since it has been my home for a third of my life and my wife and children are African (my kids were both born and mostly raised in Ghana, at least up to this point).

 

[verticity]

On the whole, Africa has less conflict than most continents. Currently, South Sudan (momentarily at peace) and the Eastern DR Congo are the only places where there are active wars (Libya is really a part of the Middle East, hence the term "sub-Saharan Africa"). When it comes to stereotypes, well, what can I say? If you know something is a stereotype then it's best to ignore it and inquire. Of course, there is only so much a person can focus on or be interested in - so I'm certainly not condemning people who don't know much about sub-Saharan Africa. I just always feel the need to defend it, since it has been my home for a third of my life and my wife and children are African (my kids were both born and mostly raised in Ghana, at least up to this point).

That makes sense. Obviously Asia and South America have a lot of conflicts going on. Then there is the bloody US-Canadian War in North America. Europe is still echoing loudly from past conflicts, so I think that counts. And of course, there is the UFO war in Antarctica
http://exopolitics.org/ufo-war-in-antarctica-fact-or-fiction/

But seriously, I appreciate you sharing your experience in Africa with us to help bust those stereotypes.

 

[Groggy]

Well, it's not something I like to talk about much. But it's important to know that people who work in humanitarian emergency contexts go through a lot, and often come back with similar problems as veterans. The only difference is that we don't participate in the violence. In that sense, it can be worse. Because we have to witness things that we can't intervene on. I want to emphasize here that South Sudan is the only place where I have worked where I had to be witness to such things. Most of Africa is remarkably peaceful and friendly.

Probably the worst thing I ever witnessed was South Sudanese soldiers get drunk and crush a beggar child's legs for fun. It was at an outside bar under a mango tree. The kid went from table to table begging for money. When he got to their table, they grabbed and held him down and pounded his kneecaps with rocks, laughing and looking around while the rest of the people at the bar just stared at the ground. I put my money on the table for my drink, vomited, and left.

This is fucking terrible, I had to comment, it makes me think of a different reality for me, along time ago, I have never witnessed something like that, but had the knowledge at 12 years old of some crazy possibility where I grew up. Just brought back memories.

 

[Kojo Douglas]

That makes sense. Obviously Asia and South America have a lot of conflicts going on. Then there is the bloody US-Canadian War in North America. Europe is still echoing loudly from past conflicts, so I think that counts. And of course, there is the UFO war in Antarctica
http://exopolitics.org/ufo-war-in-antarctica-fact-or-fiction/

But seriously, I appreciate you sharing your experience in Africa with us to help bust those stereotypes.

Well, on a more serious note there are major upheavals all over southern North America. Honduras is one of the most violent countries in the world. Mexico is still controlled by cartels in many areas, and Tijuana and Juarez were at one point more dangerous than Baghdad a few years ago. Colombia and Venezuela are mired in some nasty conflicts in South America. Europe is dealing with a refugee crisis, rising anti-Semitism and Islamophobic nationalism. The Middle East is part of Asia, where the Korean War essentially still wages on as China builds the world's biggest military. From Pakistan through India to Southeast Asia there are all kinds of crazy conflicts. I guess Australia is probably the only place where things are going well (if you are a white non-immigrant). The Pacific Islands seem to be doing okay, despite the violence in the Solomons back in 2006 and Fiji shortly before that. Antarctica, well, nothing to say there except that people can't wait for the ice to melt so they can drill baby drill.....

 

[verticity]

Well, on a more serious note there are major upheavals all over southern North America. Honduras is one of the most violent countries in the world. Mexico is still controlled by cartels in many areas, and Tijuana and Juarez were at one point more dangerous than Baghdad a few years ago. Colombia and Venezuela are mired in some nasty conflicts in South America. Europe is dealing with a refugee crisis, rising anti-Semitism and Islamophobic nationalism. The Middle East is part of Asia, where the Korean War essentially still wages on as China builds the world's biggest military. From Pakistan through India to Southeast Asia there are all kinds of crazy conflicts. I guess Australia is probably the only place where things are going well (if you are a white non-immigrant). The Pacific Islands seem to be doing okay, despite the violence in the Solomons back in 2006 and Fiji shortly before that. Antarctica, well, nothing to say there except that people can't wait for the ice to melt so they can drill baby drill.....

Oh, right, I forgot to mention the Maoist kangaroo revolution in Australia.

 

[verticity]

Well, on a more serious note there are major upheavals all over southern North America. Honduras is one of the most violent countries in the world. Mexico is still controlled by cartels in many areas, and Tijuana and Juarez were at one point more dangerous than Baghdad a few years ago. Colombia and Venezuela are mired in some nasty conflicts in South America. Europe is dealing with a refugee crisis, rising anti-Semitism and Islamophobic nationalism. The Middle East is part of Asia, where the Korean War essentially still wages on as China builds the world's biggest military. From Pakistan through India to Southeast Asia there are all kinds of crazy conflicts. I guess Australia is probably the only place where things are going well (if you are a white non-immigrant). The Pacific Islands seem to be doing okay, despite the violence in the Solomons back in 2006 and Fiji shortly before that. Antarctica, well, nothing to say there except that people can't wait for the ice to melt so they can drill baby drill.....

Right, well technically Mexico and Central America are part of North America. I tend to forget about that. Yes I am an ignorant USian.

 

[Jerome]

Most people feel they have absolutely no connection to India. I think many people feel that it's a massive place that might be interesting, but they wouldn't even notice it if it disappeared one day. Few people have any connection to the South Pacific, but at least these these islands have a romantic appeal ("paradise on Earth") and lots of people fantasize about visiting them. When it comes to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh or sub-Saharan Africa, these places appear to be of absolutely no interest or relevance to ordinary people. Plus there is this stereotype that both sub-saharan Africa and South Asia are basically hopeless places full of conflicts, poverty and health problems. No bad news coming form these places is seen as surprising or shocking.

I was doing relief work in Gujarat after the earthquake in 2001. I was flying to India to do some traveling anyways, and a day before I got there, I believe near the end of January, the earthquake occurred. As I recall at first they were reporting hundreds of thousands of deaths. I was blown away by what I'd seen. So I joined up with a medical relief team and spent a month in the dessert of distributing food and medical supplies.

If you've ever seen on the news or a movie, a massive group of desperate people chasing down NGO trucks for food and supplies, I was on the back of many of those trucks trying to give people fifty pound sacks of supplies.

I really miss that kind of work. I also spent a lot of time at the Katrina epicenter, which was like a war zone.

 

[Kojo Douglas]

I was doing relief work in Gujarat after the earthquake in 2001. I was flying to India to do some traveling anyways, and a day before I got there, I believe near the end of January, the earthquake occurred. As I recall at first they were reporting hundreds of thousands of deaths. I was blown away by what I'd seen. So I joined up with a medical relief team and spent a month in the dessert of distributing food and medical supplies.

If you've ever seen on the news or a movie, a massive group of desperate people chasing down NGO trucks for food and supplies, I was on the back of many of those trucks trying to give people fifty pound sacks of supplies.

I really miss that kind of work. I also spent a lot of time at the Katrina epicenter, which was like a war zone.

Hmmm. Well, I associate distributing food aid from the back of a truck with seeing South Sudanese military and police beat up and shoot at hungry people so they can loot it for their own benefit. So I don't miss that kind of work, partially because I have to relive it thanks to flashbacks.

What's really rewarding to me is doing capacity-building work, like training farmers how to produce more food in more innovative ways. I do realize that the two scenarios you are talking about are natural disaster responses, and not civil unrest emergencies.

 

[Jerome]

Hmmm. Well, I associate distributing food aid from the back of a truck with seeing South Sudanese military and police beat up and shoot at hungry people so they can loot it for their own benefit. So I don't miss that kind of work, partially because I have to relive it thanks to flashbacks.

What's really rewarding to me is doing capacity-building work, like training farmers how to produce more food in more innovative ways. I do realize that the two scenarios you are talking about are natural disaster responses, and not civil unrest emergencies.

That sounds satisfying. Sustainable change.

The Katrina epicenter became quite "unrested". I had national guardsmen pop out of a humvee to detain me since I was out past curfew. What had happened was since the power was out all over, it was too hot to sleep indoors, so I strung up a Hennessy Hammock down by the coast line, I was watching the water in the twilight and the humvee pulled up in front of me. We made friends real quick and they admitted they were bummed they couldn't rough me up.

Have you done anything with the moringa tree? Its a native asian plant that I had heard a lot of altruistically minded people brought to africa to help ease malnutrition in children due to its high nutritive qualities. It grows fantastically during florida summers and we eat quite a bit of it out of my back yard.

 

[Kojo Douglas]

Yeah, I love Moringa! I have promoted it in every country I have worked, with mixed success. The hardest thing is getting people to change or modify their diets. And Moringa is no exception. People tend to not be early adopters when it comes to new ingredients/foods.

 

[verticity]

...
The Katrina epicenter became quite "unrested". I had national guardsmen pop out of a humvee to detain me since I was out past curfew. ... We made friends real quick and they admitted they were bummed they couldn't rough me up....

Seriously? WTF? They were looking for people to "rough up"?? Why did you not qualify for "roughing up"? Skin color perhaps?

 

[Jerome]

Yeah, I love Moringa! I have promoted it in every country I have worked, with mixed success. The hardest thing is getting people to change or modify their diets. And Moringa is no exception. People tend to not be early adopters when it comes to new ingredients/foods.

Nice!

 

[Jerome]

Seriously? WTF? They were looking for people to "rough up"?? Why did you not qualify for "roughing up"? Skin color perhaps?

I didn't qualify for roughing up because I gave them cigarettes and told them I was cutting trees of houses with a crew. They were good enough guys. Just young and looking for excitement.