Blame Game

It’s a tough time to be an immigrant right now in the U.S. With news that that about 2 million jobs were lost already alone this year, people are becoming desperate, angry, and depressed. It seems that most of these emotions are targeted at the people in Washington and the Banks that put the economy in this situation, but I am hearing a tiny whisper which is growing louder and louder each day. Lately the anger and resentment for the bad economy has taken a new direction, Immigrants.

I was listening to the radio the other day and several callers called in. Many of them were livid! Immigrants were taking their jobs! Jobs were being shipped over seas! Immigrants are ruining the U.S healthcare! Immigrants don’t pay taxes!

Many of the callers wanted jobs to set priorities on who should be hired. Citizens should be considered first before everyone, then permanent residents or people who have a green card, and last but not least those who have authorization to work in the United States. Some of the callers didn’t want anyone who was not a citizen or permanent resident to even be considered for jobs.

It is very scary to think that maybe some employers hold the same view. With so much job loss, what jobs are immigrants going to get and how will they survive.

Also with several people flooding the job market, one’s who have recently lost their jobs and recent college graduates; one has to be more competitive. But with the hatred directed at immigrants it seems even if they are over qualified and are legal to work in the U.S, the citizens just might get the job before they do! This http://http//abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=2470131&page=1 article about how employers look at names on resumes is scary evidence of the changing mentality in the U.S.

This past Sunday, I watched 20/20 which featured a story about scams right now in the hard economic times. They spent half the show highlighting all the scams from people in Nigeria. They even played the infamous “I go chop your dollar” http://http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1nKR3gYRY8 video. To say that the Americans were angry is an understatement. The host of the show even called one of the men in Nigeria. The man promptly hung up after he heard the word “investigation.” A friend of mine had an experience when she told someone that she was from Nigeria, they automatically connected her and her heritage to scammers. Not Good!!!

Scammers are not only from Nigeria. There are several scammers here in the United States. The show spent about 20 minutes showing a white American man who was selling a car enhancement to people, the enhancement did not improve car quality, and he had been running from authorities in multiple states due to his scams. Recently Madoff, another American, took off with millions of dollars he had stolen from other Americans.

Jobs are not the only thing Americans are scared of. The recent drug warfare activity in Mexico has gotten more people riled up! Before, many were calling for a wall to separate Mexico from America, and to keep the immigrants out. Now with the violence going on, more people definitely want that wall up! They don’t want the drugs and violence to enter the U.S, which has its own share of drugs and violence.

More people are placing all immigrants, legal and not legal, under the same bad light.

What’s an immigrant to do?

Going Green

Africa is blessed with so many natural resources. She is blessed with abundant sunshine, wind, and water. This is the time, with so much technological advancement, to make sure that the people of Africa have lots of energy to generate electricity from the sun, wind, and water.

Not only would the switch from more fuel and coal based energy to solar, wind, and hydro-power be better for the enviroment, but also for our Afican countries. New jobs would be created. The money invested in these new green technologies would save consumers more money in the long run.

African Leaders

I think of Africa and I am at my wits end. What is wrong with our leaders in African countries? Are we happy to remain underdeveloped countries forever? Neither China nor Japan were not "developed" some years back, and now they are rubbing shoulders with other major economic powers, in particular America. On that note, for countries that were "third world" it certainly is ironic that China and Japan lend the United States of America so much money.

Here is a little bit about Japan according to UN estimates and Wikipedia: Japan has the world's second largest economy (after the United States!!!), it is a member of the United Nations, G8, OECD and APEC, with the world's fifth largest defense budget, it is also the world's fourth largest exporter and sixth largest importer, it is one of the leading nations in the fields of scientific research, it is a developed country with high living standards, and the longest life expectancy in the world. Can we say the same for any of our African nations?

Japan did not just become a major economic power over night. They too have suffered western imperialism (alothough not to the same extent as Africa), they too have struggled through economic crisis and poverty (most especially after WWII), they too at one point received aid from foreign nations. Rather than remain stagnant and underdeveloped, their leaders took action! Japan brought some T.V's, radios, cars, and closed their borders and got their scientists to dismantle these electronic equipments and figure out how they work. Now they manufacture and export T.V's, radios, and cars to other countries. Why doesn't Africa follow suit? Why have our leaders not taken action?

India, one of the world's most populous countries, has the world's twelfth largest economy and is the fourth largest in purchasing power. Although that country still suffers from extreme poverty, they are a fast growing economic nation that soon will achieve the same wealth and success as Japan. Their fast growing economy is because their leaders are takign action and have been implementing economic reforms since 1991. IIn particular, India exports a huge labour force (in particular I.T. and customer service representatives) generic drugs, textiles, machinery, software, and other hard commodities. What economic reforms have our own African leaders appointed?

African countries should stop being consumer countries and start manufacturing and exporting more hard commodities. Our leaders should draw up economic reforms and exectute them accordingly. Not until then will we stop being beggar nations.