Is Trade Really Free?

I was really inspired and delighted by the trip to Goshen and getting the chance to meet and talk with some wonderful people. Kudos and a big Thank-you for taking time out of their presumably busy schedule to talk to a bunch of students. I was really interested the fair trade talk. I must admit I was not totally abreast on the meaning of the word in it's entirety. It is funny how things are expressed differently in the city and I come here and there is an official word for just paying people what they are worth for the product in which they create. I was really interested in this talk on fair trade because for those who do not know I went to the Bahamas for Christmas, yes I had to say it again; however in light of our family vacation, my husband and I have been toying around with the idea of buying a home there to retire or possibly live there in the winters and spend our summers here in the states. This has been going on for the past 11 years in which we have visited. Did I say all this to give you insights to our visions and goals, quite the contrary! This particular visit, we made some monumental movements and steps towards really exploring this option. We sought out Realtors and car rental and traveled by bus throughout the island leaving the tourist part. Even as I write this I am really disheartened at some of the things in which we found. Once you leave Free port (tourist) and travel into the native settlements there is a really different landscape. I noticed that natives were walking and riding the bus for miles to set up these shops in order to sell their merchandise. The sense of oppression I saw has me repressing depression because it reminds me of slavery. It really hurt me to go to the grocery store and spend $10 for a gallon of milk because it is imported from the US and then taxed knowing if I was having reservations with paying it in the words of a native "how do you think we feel"? As a result of this whole EE introduction, I literally cried seeing the devastation of the island in the native settlements where they were clear cutting and degrading the land to make the tourist part look good. I found out that there is no plan for recycling, and green initiatives have yet to reach Free port ie trash. I wrestled with a feeling of helplessness realizing that yes I went there for fun and pleasure, yet there are people who live there and are suffering for my pleasure. Tourism is the number economic push followed by imports primarily of concrete. It is something when you look at the vast array of American business which have set up shop and then are really exploiting the natives because they can not afford to live in their own land, are working for these companies but are struggling. I agree with Myron when he referred to the economic dance requires that a decent wage for decent work in order to make a decent living.

Toxic Times

Growing up in a farming community that utilizes mass quantities of fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and various other -icides, when one actually takes the time to think about all aspects of the sprays and chemicals, aside from the advertised benefits for crop yield, there are many scary side effects that could and are happening from their usage. It is true that one application of Roundup may be beneficial for one farmer on a 40 acre field, but what about the other miscellaneous additives that are used on surrounding fields and the run-off that mixes them all together. Many citizens don't think about the long term ramifications of these harmful substances conglomerating underneath the surface, filtering into our drinking water. Agriculture in and of itself isn't bad; it is needed to sustain the tons of food that must be manufactured for our world. On the other hand, the synthetic chemicals and sprays that are utilized to reach new heights in crop production and yield should be thoroughly tested before allowed to be spread across vast acres of prime real estate. Obviously there are multiple other forms of toxic contaminants being infiltrated into the soil and air from other sources, and I cannot merely point the blame finger at other individuals. Each and every person has his/her impact on the planet, but there are sources of toxic chemcials that are blowing/leaking/pouring these harmful substances into the atmosphere, the soil, and the water that should look a little farther into the future and decide what kind of world they want to leave behind for their children.

Fish Kill Discussion -
As a Native American attending the town meeting, I would first of all consider it an honor to even be able to speak my opinion, especially since my tribe is considered a minority, though generations ago we were the first inhabitants before the white people made us move to the reservation. The fact that the owner of the paper mill was willing to made amends for the chlorine spill that killed vast amounts of our staple food source was surprising and reassuring. Other tribes throughout the area have not been as lucky. The treaty we signed with the white people six generations ago assured us that we could still fish in the river for our food sources, as well as our traditional ceremonies honoring the fish and the spirits that continually bring us our means of survival. As the years have progressed and the white people have become more dominant, the fish supply has significantly dwindled. Sometimes the fish taste a little different than they should, and some of our tribe have become sick, but this has only lasted for a little while. Now, with the fish kill, we are concerned that another kill of this magnitude could potentially threaten the very existence of our tribe. What would be do or where would we go if the fish become so contaminated that we cannot fish anymore? Much discussion, sitting around a campfire, smoking a peace pipe, and eating fish from the river with the white business people may make them more inclined to see things our way; the way of the world before we knew what chlorine and toxic substances were.