{ issue }

Problems of today

Jacy Meyer (USA)

Did you oversleep today? Did you forget to do your homework or fail a test? Those can seem like big problems in our lives, but people around the world often deal with bigger issues, such as illiteracy, disease, hunger and war.

countries like Iran are often accused of not granting rights to women and countries with an indigenous population like Australia often have conflicts over the rights of the natives versus non-natives. Countries that have problems with human rights include North Korea, Sudan and China.

What are some of the problems facing people in other countries? Third World, or developing nations, is a term we use to describe countries that aren’t as developed as those in Europe, the United States, Canada, etc. These countries share characteristics of widespread poverty , high birth rates , and undeveloped industry. Other problems include disease, hunger, lack of education, and human rights issues .

Poverty

Poverty is a worldwide problem that is the result of, and produces, many other problems. Countries with a poor educational system often have poorer residents. People living in poverty often commit crimes to support themselves or their families, which leads to unsafe cities. Poor people don’t often have enough to eat, which leads to malnutrition (getting sick from not eating

Human rights

Human rights are basic “privileges” that everyone should receive. Not being discriminated against because of your race , gender or religion, and living free from torture are a few basic human rights. Primarily Muslim

Wars

Jacy Meyer
(USA)

Conflicts are happening around the world. We are all familiar with the problems in Afghanistan and Iraq. Fighting between the government and militias is occurring in Somalia and innocent civilians are being killed in the fighting or are forced to leave their homes for safer areas. This past summer we saw fighting between Israel and Lebanon in the Middle East, the area constantly troubled by the longterm Israeli-Palestinian conflict. There are different reasons for war: sometimes two groups are fighting for control of a country and sometimes their dispute is based on their religions. We’ve seen a rise in terrorist acts committed by people who believe they are defending their religion. The attacks in the US in September 2001 and in Britain in July 2005 are two examples – but people in Indonesia, Spain, Israel and the Palestinian territories also have suffered from terrorism.

the right types of food) and starvation . Poor countries also may not have a good health care system , which leads to a population that is ill and has many diseases. We see these problems in many African countries like Chad and Nigeria, as well as in Central American countries like Guatemala, South American countries like Brazil, Asian countries like Nepal, and countries closer to home like Romania.

environment

Environmental issues are a concern for everyone . Global warming is becoming a huge problem, and those in the developed nations are contributing to , and will be greatly affected by , climate change. Cutting down trees,

Climate change can lead to more frequent floods as well as catastrophic droughts.

18 Bridge 06/2006–2007

Problems at home

too many cars on the roads, companies that pollute the air and water with chemicals, a consumer society that produces too much waste, and the destruction of the ozone layer – all of this is of concern for people, animals and plants – and could soon affect the way we live. The destruction of many forests, especially in South and Central American countries like Brazil and Costa Rica, means many animals and insects are becoming extinct .

What about some problems closer to home? All these issues can be seen here in the Czech Republic, but on a smaller level. Air pollution is a concern in Prague and land pollution left over from mining in the northern regions is an ongoing problem. No more mining also means no more jobs for many people, so unemployment is a huge problem in many areas of the country. Air pollution causes health problems, but we also contribute to our own health problems by eating bad food, not exercising, and drinking too much alcohol. We also see racial prejudice and discrimination in the Czech Republic, especially against the Roma population and people from Eastern European countries. Education could also become a problem if the government does not support higher education resources for all students.

Pollution is a major difficulty in many large cities around the world, such as Los Angeles, California; Beijing, China; Mexico City, Mexico, and New Delhi, India. The Ivory Coast is currently figuring out how to clean up toxic waste that was illegally dumped near its capital city.

The United Nations says 2006 was the sixth warmest year on record and weather changes can create devastating natural disasters like tornados and hurricanes.

Recent years have seen wars all around the world, for example in the Middle East, Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia.

Although everyone knows that water is the most precious natural resource on our planet (it covers about 70% of the Earth surface and life on Earth wouldn’t exist without it), we ignore this fact by polluting our rivers, lakes, and oceans. The pollution of rivers and streams with chemical contaminants has become one of the most serious environmental problems of the past century.

Can we help?

good decisions that could affect your future. Take care of yourself by exercising and eating right. Treat everyone with respect, and you’ll respect yourself more too! You can also support organizations that assist countries around the world. Greenpeace deals with ecological matters; Amnesty International with human rights; the World Health Organization helps people stay healthy, and the World Food Program works to stop hunger.

So who is going to solve all these problems? There is something all of us can do. Help the environment by recycling and walking instead of driving a car. Take an interest in what the government is doing to make sure they make

Another problem troubling the Czech Republic is bribery, the practice of offering something (usually money) in order to gain some advantage. It affects many spheres of public life – from politics to everyday situations. Transparency International is an organization which tries to monitor and fight corruption in the CR and around the world.

Y Vocabulary

rise [raIz] - nárůst are a concern for everyone [k@n”s@:n] - jsou předmětem zájmu každého to contribute to [k@n”trIbju:t]

to oversleep [@Uv@“sli:p] - zaspat illiteracy [I”lIt(@)r@si] - negramotnost widespread [“waIdsprEd] - velmi rozšířený poverty [“pQv@ti] - chudoba birth rate [b@:T reIt] - porodnost lack of [l&k] - nedostatek (něčeho) issue [“ISu:] - záležitost, otázka race [reIs] - rasa gender [“dZEnd@] - pohlaví torture [“tO:tS@] - týrání to accuse of [@“kju:z] - obvinit z indigenous population [In”dIdZIn@s pQpjU”leIS(@)n] - domorodé obyvatelstvo to commit [k@“mIt] - spáchat to lead [li:d] - vést starvation [stA:“veIS(@)n] - hladovění health care system - systém zdravotní péče militia [mI”lIS@] - milice, domobrana to occur [@“k@:] - odehrávat se, dojít dispute [dI”spju:t]- spor

• přispět k (něčemu), mit podíl na to be affected by [“fEktId] - být ovlivněn (něčím) to pollute [p@“lu:t] - znečisťovat consumer society [k@n”sju:m@ s@“saIti] - konzumní společnost ozone layer [“@Uz@Un “leI@] - ozonová vrstva extinct [Ik”stINkt] - vyhynulý is currently figuring out [“kVr(@)ntli “fIg@rIN] - momentálně řeší to dump [dVmp] - složit, vysypat on record - který byl kdy zaznamenán left over from mining [“maInIN] - která zůstala po těžbě ongoing [“Qng@UIN] - trvalý prejudice [“prEdZUdIs] - předpojatost, předsudek to treat (sb.) [tri:t] - chovat se (k někomu)

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