Lesson 3, ex.3d

The Doomed Island

Tuwalu is a small island nation halfway between Hawaii and Australia in the tropical Pacific. It is practically the definition of ‘island paradise’ except for the fact that the country lies only 15 feet above the sea level, which is the size of an NBA player standing on his own shoulders.

Hot weather, high humidity and heavy rainfall make this island prone to floods. Floods cause water pollution. Cyclones, earthquakes and tsunamis make the people of Tuvalu vulnerable. Damage done by natural disasters is always serious. Together with beaches erosion and deforestation, all these factors lead to people leaving the islands. But nothing compares to global warming, which results in sea level rise. Tuvalu is going to disappear completely under the Pacific Ocean. The consequences of climate change for Tuvalu will be devastating.

Some people say that the solution to the problem must lie at the national level. This is absurd: the national level may be under water. Tuvaluans say it will be very hard to accept they are no longer on the map.

Tatou ne Tuvalu Katoa – We are all Tuvaluans – is often used in Tuvalu to bring people together in the collective interests of their tiny and very vulnerable country. It is also used by some environmentalists who understand that global warming and sea level rise are dangerous not only for the Tuvaluans; they are dangerous for us all.

Lesson 5, Ex.1

Africa  by Regis Auffray, Canada

My sister

Africa

I have heard much about you

We all come from you

We are all part of you

Your beauty

Your mystery

Your history

All this is within me

I know you are hurting

in parts

I wish I could ignore

as most now seem to do

I am lost in the magnitude

of trying to understand you

and what goes on within

my soul

is uneasy

I am insignificant

I am ignorant

I am sorry

I feel helpless

to help

Africa's pain is my pain by Ayanle Isak

Africa, dear Africa, Your children are lonely and depressed. Africa, dear Africa, Your children are at war with each other. Africa, dear Africa, Your children are killing each other. Africa, dear Africa, Your children are starving. Africa, dear Africa, Your essence is pure but you are suffering. Africa, dear Africa, your pain is my pain, So I sit here crying. Lesson 5, Ex.2b)

The world produces enough food for everyone. But over 800 million people remain chronically hungry. That's more than the populations of USA, Canada, Europe and Japan.

Hunger and malnutrition claim 10 million lives every year, 25,000 lives every day or one life every five seconds.

Lack of Vitamin A kills a million kids a year.

Drought is the main cause of food shortages in poor countries. Crops can get 4 times as big after irrigation.

Everyone needs 2,350 calories each day. 54 nations do not produce enough to feed their people.

Lesson 5, ex.4a,b

I: What countries have you visited so far? What disasters do they suffer from?

LK: I’ve been to Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Peru, Darfur in Sudan, many other African countries. In each of them the situation is dramatic in its own way. In Bangladesh, the rainy season causes floods which destroy crops and villages. In Afghanistan, 70% of the population is hungry through lack of food. Severe droughts and a never-ending war kill crops and make it difficult for aid agencies to help people. In Peru terrible snowfalls and frosts kill animals used for food and destroy crops. We also know that The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has got serious problems with food production. Due to a series of natural disasters including hailstorms, flooding, droughts and tropical storms only 18% of the land is available for farming. The people are poor and can’t afford to buy all they need for farming. Unfortunately, the government will not accept aid from the West.

I: I know you think that Africa is especially vulnerable in this respect.

LK: In Darfur, Sudan, many villages have been burnt during a war between different groups of people in Sudan. Over 2 million homeless people have been moved into refugee camps. During the rainy season or monsoon the land is flooded, making it difficult to get emergency food to people in need. With rain comes poor sanitation. This means more people are likely to suffer from serious epidemics such as cholera and malaria.

I: What are the main causes of famine in Africa?

LK: Sometimes there isn’t enough rain for several years, which leads to droughts, which in their turn result in massive shortages of food. But when it does rain, it can cause floods that also destroy crops. And some countries suffer tornadoes, hailstorms and even frost.

I: But these extreme weather conditions are called natural disasters – acts of God. So, there is no one to blame.

LK: Yes and no. Many scientists say that all these extreme weather conditions are the result of man-made climate change. The pollution from cars and factories causes global warming- a rise in temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere.

I: Some people say that global warming is a myth. Well, millions of people are starving in Africa and it’s a reality.

LK: Yes, they are, and among them – millions of children. They want to go to school, but they don’t have enough money. Even children who go to school have to walk for hours to get there. They have to walk several miles to get drinking water. The countries hit by worst famines are Malawi, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Angola and Ethiopia. Millions of children live on one meal a day; many of them have to eat grass and roots to survive.

I: What about the man-made disasters they have to suffer from?

LK: Millions of African children grow up surrounded by wars and fighting. They are sometimes made to become child soldiers and fight – even when they don’t understand what the war is about. It’s so hard seeing all these scared, starving children and then coming back to our country, where we have so much food, so much of everything, and thinking that they’re still there in their poor homes trying to get enough to eat at least once a day. It’s very hard. Nothing can prepare you for actually meeting them.