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Far from Tourist Interests: Pakistan
According to United Nations statistics, the yearly recorded income of the world population is about $30 trillion and $24 trillion of this belongs to 16 percent of the world population.
The remaining $6 trillion is shared by 84 percent of the world population. The national income per capita in Switzerland is $40,000, whereas this amount falls to $90 in Mozambique. It is worth reminding that the income of the richest 358 families equals that of one third of the world population. Again, according to UN statistics, the number of children dying every year due to water pollution and other reasons related to water is three million. The yearly endorsement of pet food sales in Europe is $17 billion. The money allocated for all projects in the world to prevent water shortage is $8 billion. When the money spent by Europeans for dog food is transformed into water investment, the lives of three million children will be saved.
Do not think that we have an eye on the money spent by the modern individual who needs to keep a pet in order to rediscover the inner balance in him. The point is that the modern individual, who seeks to enliven his heart with love of an animal, has become so insensitive that he can explain the deaths of people with Darwin's thesis of natural selection. He takes in animals whose original abode is the natural environment to his bed while he considers the deaths of children who require a warm home normal. Countries that suffer from hunger today were once lands that could stand on their own feet before they were subject to plundering and looting of high-standard countries, before their balances were spoilt by modernized lifestyles caused by all kinds of imperialism. There is almost nobody who wants to remember this. Yet that is another story.
What strikes me today is that the UN, which presents all sorts of sad statistics to the world every year, has to design a computer game in order to encourage the people to help the hungry.
The game is called Food Force; its target is to take various relief packages to those in need in an imaginary country. While the players are conveying the relief, they win points according to their ability of making a decision. Their tasks also include real life situations such as invigorating the economy of an imaginary country or dropping food packages from aircrafts. The players can also see other players' scores on the Food Force internet site.
We have a cliché of "teaching while entertaining" in Turkey. We see that there is also "feeling by entertaining". Neither the statistics nor the figures satisfy anybody. Once you are weak, once you deserve being eliminated you die and the number of people who die has no importance. The only way of motivating the consciences that the principle of "survival of the fittest" works is to present it in the form of a game. At this point, the fact that the sternest consciences are those of the young is another tragic aspect.
"Competing in doing a favor" is a psychological motivation that is also used in the religious terminology. However, "winning" and the calculation of the bonuses earned are in the initiative of the high will power. In a world perception where high will power is not recognized and the consciousness of the "other world" is weakened, it is possible to help a person or save his life only if this action gives pleasure to the doer. If a game that will satisfy the desire of helping, which exists a little in the genetic codes, is in the market, the price will be checked, its cost and rate of satisfaction will be compared with the cost and pleasure of a real help and it is probable that the choice will be in favor of the game. Additional money and efforts are needed in order to animate these consciences, this imagination.
UN announces again: If relief does not come within a month, 10,000 Pakistani children will die! The world gives no reaction. Because the humanity wants to know at what cost he will give a reaction. But, there should be no need for a daily pleasure, the "memory of the past pleasures" should be enough. Those memories were enough to show more reaction to Pukhet and to Ache. However, Pakistan does not have a geography that hosts such a shining tourist interest with secret shy adventures once experienced.
Don't you think it is a shame?
(For help: Is Bank Cankaya Branch, Branch code B4238 Account no: 550 000-for Turkish liras)
October 27, 2005
29.10.2005
NIHAL B. KARACA
http://www.zaman.com/?bl=columnists&alt=&hn=25878 | 
