Restoring the importance of the way we live
As individuals, we often manage to disregard our attitudes to the way we live. How do we live? Yet we go on to question our misfortune when we inevitably gain a little more weight or get just that little bit less in an exam. Little actions like picking McDonalds over the home cooked food or soda over water contribute to the momentous change that is inevitable. This is simply not a misfortune! We must learn to claim responsibility for our actions and the impact they have on us. Our actions determine our own future, so it is time to claim our future by changing the way we live; changing our bad habits. The ones that impact us all.
What would happen if we did not change? Simple really. Epidemic followed by epidemic. The obesity crisis would become a larger, world-wide issue as people skip exercise and substitute healthy food for junk food. Issues that we currently face would grow substantially and would quickly overwhelm society with their consequences. We may believe that small actions – unnoticeable to the naked eye and often seeming irrelevant – do not contribute to the scale of the problem. However, we fail to realize that this starts on an individual basis that grows as we collectively fail in our responsibility. The damage will inevitably become gargantuan if no action is taken. Shouldn’t we be more aware of our habits then? Or live to see the ultimate price we will pay in the future.
What would happen if we changed? Firstly, nothing. Contradictory to expectations but change requires constant effort or one of my favorite words, discipline. Even if habits are changed simultaneously on a large scale. The rewards that we will reap, however, could be greater than anyone can predict, making society seem like a utopia. Firstly, health. People would exercise sufficiently and constantly to an extent that mental health would improve in society whilst weight problems would be regulated. There are too many positive personal impacts that exercise brings but unfortunately, we are too eager for the rewards that we often quit before seeing change. So be disciplined and it will help on a personal scale. Then, we can improve our communities and help collectively improve our quality of life. Go help a community center, pick up dropped litter and recycle when possible. So be disciplined and it will help on a community scale. Now envision if everyone embraced positive change. Wouldn’t it be easier to tackle world-wide issues like environmental degradation or war? It would be if everyone contributed. So, stay disciplined and it can help on a global scale. It starts with the little actions. It starts with you.
Healthline, a company focused on informing people on how to improve their lives, states that their research concludes that daily exercise is crucial in the prevention of chronic diseases. It describes helpful habits like a healthy diet, the abstinence of smoking and alcohol consumption from your life can add up to 14 years to a person’s life expectancy. Who would decline another 14 years to their lifetime? It is only agreeable that positive change in habits leads to good outcomes and rewards. So, what is stopping you?
I have recently started to run around 12km daily in preparation for the upcoming football season. Now, you may portray me as sporty and therefore have a good relation and experience with exercise but dear reader, this is far from the truth. Until 11 years old, my BMI meant that I was classified as obese which seeing other people around me playing football and being athletically better, it shattered both mine and my parent’s hearts. Even when I went to go train at my local club, no fitness training could get me into the shape I wanted; that being fit and not round. So, I decided to change. Now that I look back, the largest factor for me was my diet. I can only believe that I have a slower metabolism than most because I put on weight fast but that did not deter, only motivate me. Throughout these past years, I have only seen positive changes in my fitness levels, and I would go as far as saying that I have saved my own life. Now I look to chase my dream of becoming professional and only have myself to thank and myself to keep going. My dear reader, change is achievable. The discipline you must have to achieve this may scare and intimidate you but when you look back on your past, you will have nothing but positive pride in yourself.
So, what can you do about this? Your first thought is imperative to start your change. Motivation will only get you so far until the cold hard discipline is what you require to keep going on your own personal journey. So, some advice. It is better to start changing your habits now. Now is the time to salvage your success. Take it at your own pace and with time, the rewards will be right there as promised. You will have to remember that these will come with time. We can make the world a better place, but it starts with you. So, as my favorite influencer says, “stay hard”
Carlitos
What is environmental degradation and why is it important to you?
Environmental degradation can affect and will affect a large part of our day-to-day lives. It is an issue that will also greatly influence and shape our future that ignores our differences in appearance, ability and other factors that determineour own individuality. So, what is environmental degradation and why should it matter to you?
Environmental degradation refers to the deterioration of natural resources and ecosystems that affects the lives of us but also nature. We must be alarmed. Although the connotations of “degradation” seem grave when talking about the environment, be assured that this is the future we head to. Humans rely on nature just as nature relies on us so why should we harm it knowing eventually it will come back to bite us harder? Shouldn’t this be common sense? Then why do we do it? Since the neanderthals, nature has always supplemented us with everything we needed such as fruit, food through prey or providing shelter; it has always been with us.
However, it doesn’t have to be this way. We have a choice to save our future, to save our environment. Unfortunately, through history and recent times too, it seems all we do is harm instead of help. For example, industrialization and urbanization. During the 1800s, Europe with the Uk being the prime example underwent through the industrial revolution. Whilst innovative technologies help society develop, we discard the harm it causes and any help to mitigate harm done. The grim reality is that from this and urbanization – people moving into the city from the countryside and land being used up to house a larger city population – 80% of the world’s forests have felt the pain which has undoubtedly harmed the environment and ecosystems around the affected forests.
So, what can we do to prevent this dystopia? We must first acknowledge that if this unsustainable way of living continues, the world will simply be unhabitable for humans, and we could cease to exist. Although scary, it is the first step in solving environmental degradation as without the awareness of consequences, it is likely that society may procrastinate action until it’s too late. There is no second planet so no second chance so we must learn to face and learn from current consequences to avoid any further damage. Then, the actions. It starts small on a personal scale. Recycle that bag instead of throwing it in the bin. Use reusable water bottles. Say no to plastics. Then to a community level. Help pick up litter in the streets. Support community centers by volunteering or donate to local or global charities focused on helping fix this problem. All these contribute. If everyone does this then environmental degradation can be history. It starts with you
Jose
The Modern Slave Market of Labor Human Trafficking
Written by: Maite Sastre
Thirteen-year-old Natalia lived her whole life in a village in Ghana with her parents and siblings. One day, an opportunity arose for her to move in with family friends in the U.S., where she would receive an education. The offer seemed like an answer to their prayers, as they were having trouble paying for her school fees.
Tragically, this was the furthest thing from a dream come true and as soon as the teen was alone in a new country, the abuse began. Natalia spent the next six years in domestic servitude, until she was finally able to escape with the help of a neighbor.
Natalia’s story is one of the many horror stories that come from labor trafficking. In fact, human trafficking can take various forms and it usually targets people who live in impoverished countries or living through poverty in general. In 2016 alone, The International Labor Organization and Walk Free Foundation estimated that there were 24.9 million people trapped in forced labor by both private and state-run actors. They also pointed out in their report that the labor acquired from these victims often resulted in products and services provided through legitimate channels, rather than the common perception that they are limited to illegal black markets.
For a situation to be considered forced labor, three elements need to be present. First, there needs to be recruitment and transportation of the person who is to perform the labor. Then, pernicious means by which the trafficker recruits the victim or keeps them in the undesirable situation – this can be through force, fraud or coercion. Coercion can come in an array of forms, such as debt manipulation, taking away identity documents (like a passport), forced addiction, and pay withholding. Lastly, the purpose of the trafficking must be to exploit the victim’s labor or services.
Domestic servitude and agricultural forced work are two common types of labor trafficking. Recently (March 2024), the EU took action in order to combat the latter, passing a regulation with the purpose of banning products linked to forced labor from their trading bloc, which is expected to affect many markets outside and inside member countries. Items that could possibly be banned include Brazilian beef, Ivorian cocoa, Indonesian palm oil, Chinese fish, Spanish strawberries, and other industries in Italy and Spain.
Polaris, an American organization combating human trafficking, lists a few signs that should sound alarm bells when it comes to recognizing labor trafficking: if an individual owes money to an employer and/or is not being paid; if an individual does not have control of his or her passport or any other identity document; if an individual is kept off the grid and has very little interaction with the outside world; if an individual appears to be monitored when interacting with others; if an individual is living under dangerous and/or inhumane conditions provided by the employer; and if an individual is working under dangerous and/or inhumane conditions.
The Human Trafficking Hotline suggests that two ways to combat this type of human traffic in one’s private life is by being aware of where the products one consumes the most come from and supporting fair salaries. Looking into even one of the thousands of companies a person buys goods and services from can seem like a daunting task in today’s information-filled world, but any effort towards the fight against modern slavery is a worthy effort.
Another way to help victims is by pushing for more attention from the justice system. Oftentimes, victims of labor trafficking choose not to file police reports against their traffickers after they are freed for fear of retaliation and/or deportation. In the book “The Slave Next Door: Human Trafficking and Slavery in America Today,” authors Bales and Soodalter point out that cases involving victims of labor trafficking who do not receive proper treatment from justice systems are “not unusual, and they all raise the question of why slaveholders are consistently given prison sentences far shorter than the time they held their victims in slavery.”
Works cited:
Bales, Kevin, and Ron Soodalter. The Slave Next Door: Human Trafficking and Slavery in America Today. 1st ed., University of California Press, 2009.
“Global Estimates of Modern Slavery.” International Labour Office, The International Labor Organization and Walk Free Foundation with partnership with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), 2017, www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@dgreports/@dcomm/documents/publication/wcms_575479.pdf.
“Labor Trafficking Stories.” United Way, 2015, www.unitedwaygmwc.org/UnitedWay/CID-Publications-Not-in-Toolkit/LaborTraffickingStory.pdf.
“Labor Trafficking.” National Human Trafficking Hotline, 2017, humantraffickinghotline.org/en/human-trafficking/labor-trafficking#:~:text=Labor%20trafficking%20is%20a%20form,labor%2C%20and%20involuntary%20child%20labor.
Manzanaro, Sofia Sanchez. “New EU Forced Labour Rules to Crack down on Exploitation in Agri-Food Supply Chains.” Euractiv, 5 Mar. 2024, www.euractiv.com/section/agriculture-food/news/new-eu-forced-labour-rules-to-crack-down-on-exploitation-in-agri-food-supply-chains/.
“Understanding Human Trafficking – United States Department of State.” U.S. Department of State, United States Government, 12 Dec. 2023, www.state.gov/what-is-trafficking-in-persons/.
Restorative Justice for All (RJ4All) International Institute
RJ4All Europe – Cyprus office
