Buddhist monks receive rice from a woman standing on a dirt road in Southern Laos, where currently, rice is a precious commodity .
Photo © John Brown All Rights Reserved - Follow Me On Twitter
According to an article written by Hayley Jarvis for SOS Children, "Tens of thousands of families face desperate food shortages after tropical storm Ketsana battered Laos. Twenty-eight people were killed and more than 200,000 others affected when the extreme weather hit the country’s south in late September, causing an estimated £56 million worth of damage."
Food shortages in Laos are nothing new. They arrive each Spring because the government fails to stockpile and distribute rice to the needy. In a country where, according to The World Bank, one-half of Laotian citizens live below the poverty line, rice grown by rural farmers in small villages is divided into thirds, the first third going to the Communist government. Instead of being able to sell this rice and keep the profits for themselves, the government procures it and administers the proceeds. Additional thirds go to the village rice collective as well as the growers and their individual families.
Unfortunately, Tropical Storm Ketsana exacerbated this annual problem.
"These people don't have enough rice to eat for the next year. They need over 3,000 tons for 2010 because they will not be able to grow rice again on the hillsides and rice fields until they first clear the land," said Samouy Deputy Governor Vilaysack Phomphakdy.
Just last month, the 25th edition of the Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) was held in Laos. An expensive new stadium was built prior to the spectacle where participants from 11 Southeast Asian nations took part in a regional sporting event.
Perhaps it's time for the Communist Lao government to start thinking more along the lines of Abraham Maslow. Didn't he say:
"Food...clothing...shelter...sports stadiums?"
Maybe the Lao government should allow slash and burn subsistence farmers who spend their days cutting and burning the forest to prepare the soil for planting, earning only $15 USD to $30 USD per month, to keep the rice they harvest. Just a thought.
Please read more about the circumstances thousands of Laotians face.
Photo © John Brown All Rights Reserved - Follow Me On Twitter
According to an article written by Hayley Jarvis for SOS Children, "Tens of thousands of families face desperate food shortages after tropical storm Ketsana battered Laos. Twenty-eight people were killed and more than 200,000 others affected when the extreme weather hit the country’s south in late September, causing an estimated £56 million worth of damage."
Food shortages in Laos are nothing new. They arrive each Spring because the government fails to stockpile and distribute rice to the needy. In a country where, according to The World Bank, one-half of Laotian citizens live below the poverty line, rice grown by rural farmers in small villages is divided into thirds, the first third going to the Communist government. Instead of being able to sell this rice and keep the profits for themselves, the government procures it and administers the proceeds. Additional thirds go to the village rice collective as well as the growers and their individual families.
Unfortunately, Tropical Storm Ketsana exacerbated this annual problem.
"These people don't have enough rice to eat for the next year. They need over 3,000 tons for 2010 because they will not be able to grow rice again on the hillsides and rice fields until they first clear the land," said Samouy Deputy Governor Vilaysack Phomphakdy.
Just last month, the 25th edition of the Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) was held in Laos. An expensive new stadium was built prior to the spectacle where participants from 11 Southeast Asian nations took part in a regional sporting event.
Perhaps it's time for the Communist Lao government to start thinking more along the lines of Abraham Maslow. Didn't he say:
"Food...clothing...shelter...sports stadiums?"
Maybe the Lao government should allow slash and burn subsistence farmers who spend their days cutting and burning the forest to prepare the soil for planting, earning only $15 USD to $30 USD per month, to keep the rice they harvest. Just a thought.
Please read more about the circumstances thousands of Laotians face.
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