Short Story About Jakarta Life

It has been about 25 days I life in Jakarta. There's so many things that I have received, and of course tima after time I have able to adapted in this situation, custom and environment that over all almost different with my past hometown. From the one side we can imagine that Jakarta is an fantastic town, which every thing is seems to modern and available. Jakarta also the center of goverment, business area in Indonesia. But the positive image is not always follow it. Indonesia citizen certainly can see and argue that Jakarta is a 'cruel city'. Which if we not able to stiff and strong we can get many trouble in living there.

I remember when I want to go here. Many of my friends talked to me that 'do not too innocent, do not too kind if you in Jakarta, because if you stay like this you will be oppressed'. The argument and suggestion of my friends make me thinks hard. I do not believe if I have to follow their suggestion. And I am sure It was not like they thought. Not all of people there have a cruel heart, although perhaps there are many of them who like that. I also affirm my self when many of people said that I will change in next periode after living there, through my life style and minded. I want to be a ussual girl who still stay simple, not over, and kind...

Now it almost one month I living here. Jakarta life is begin to change my mind. Not because I have to follow the style of this metro town, or I have to half with many people. But how the way I have to do a flexible performance in the middle of this life.

Fortunately I stay in my cousin house who really care and give me many of new thought. She teach me to leaving here, adapted with this city, and preare my self if oneday I get job interview. She also often ask me to the shopping center. At a first time perhaps I feel annoyed with her mind. Although She is rich people but She shouldnt to spend money to buy a high class clothes, or shoes, or bag. But when She talked to me that all of these is a must to living here, I begin to think twice. She talked to me that if we do not use an expensive things when I walk in the center of town, or when I working, it is sure that many people will not be respect to us, and will override us.

It have happened in me when I visit Pondok Indah mall, Taman Anggrek Mall, Grand Indonesia mall. When my cousin asked me to visit a counter which sell an international brand, sometimes I feel uncomfortable with my self. And perhaps it is true which what she said to me that we make up our selves for the confidence and in order to will not be override by somebody else.

My cousins is like my mom now. She is really care of me. She always think to change my self. She also often to bought me all of everthing that I should have.

Now I become ussual to buy good branded clothes, bag with quite expensive prices which I never done before. My cousins also often bought me. She never hard to spend much money for me, and it is make me feel to do something more for her.

I cant think wisely with my self today. Should I have to follow this or I have to stay the same? here I should to be more individual because of the culture here force me to do this, and once again I think should I gonna be like this.

My beloved readers, perhaps it is a ussual things that you often experienced ehen you stay in Metro city. But for me it is a new things that should be chosed. But over all I enjoy living here which give me much experience.

HIV AIDS and Pharmaceutical Corporations

After Blood Diamond Movie, an interesting movie that shows about the bad condition of Sierra Leone, and its natural resources (Diamond), once again I want to review an issues that is ever depicted and taken from a good movie. This special movie is I have seen at least one year ago, and once again describe about the bad experience of Africa continent.
Perhaps all of you ever seen "the Constant Gardener Movie". If I am not wrong, this movie is played by talented actor and actress, Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weizsh. The essential of this story is tells about the the role of Tessa (Rachel Weish) as an activist in Africa who running up against a drug corporation exercising its power to both ignore the easily treated diseases of the third world and use African population for unofficial research and development.
Somethings new and important that I can achieve from this movie is a lesson about the existence of power and politics of pharmaceutical corporation for the poor African and the role of those corporation in using them as a trial for its drugs development.

Well,AIDS and HIV has reached epidemic proportions in many developing countries. It is serious enough where in some nations has had a large impact on mortality rates and the economy. Some 80% of deaths for 2007 were in Sub-Saharan Africa, a region that also has over two-thirds of adult HIV cases and some 90% of all children living with HIV. Breaking that down further.

In the developed countries, we can see many adverts by large transnational pharmaceutical companies such as Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merck, Pfizer and many others. We see a lot of emphasis on health alerts or sections on the news. However, as is becoming increasingly apparentand concerningis how the emphasis on the new drugs and cures being developed fit a class distinction, where the research is on problems that affect the wealthier people who can afford the cures.

Profit from Suffering

Pharmaeutical corporations using a controversial methods to operate in many developing countries, indeed they often to do sell products in developing countries that are withdrawn in the West; use their influence to try to prevent national drug policies; sell their products by persuasive and misleading advertising and promotion; cause the poor to divert money away from essential items, such as foodstuffs, to paying for expensive, patented medicines, thereby adding to problems of malnutrition.

Many of pharmaceutical corporation also often used a methods by testing drugs to the poor and human without permission. Like in this movie, many Africans become a trial of those drugs. In Africa also tobe one of the world’s biggest drug companies experimented on children without their parents’ knowledge or consent. Another example are experienced by many of Indian society. Many pharmaceutical corporation test drugs on Indian's poor by by using India’s cheaper, but highly skilled workforce to conduct drugs trials there, rather than in industrialized countries, thus saving significantly on the costs.

Furthermore, many drugs are being developed for markets in industrialized countries. Yet, using incentives such as $100 for participation (even though patients may not be fully aware of all the issues, which poses other ethical issues) in effect, poor people in other countries are being used for testing drugs on, while the potential benefits would be for people elsewhere. Wired News cited an assitant professor of medical history and bioethics, Srirupa Prasad, who said, “Third World lives are worth much less than the European lives. That is what colonialism was all about.

Testing Drugs in Many of Poor Society

Thats all at a glance my knowledge about pharmaceutical corporations in developing countries. Globalizaton not only has bring the spread of multi national corporation to operate in many areas over the world, but also has bring the deeper effect by commit a human rights abusive.The threat of health security especially AIDS not only enlarged by social economic condition and lack of handle, but also avarice and crime many of mutinational corporation in broaden their wings

Unemployment

I begin to feel uncomfortable when I have to write this Title 'Unemployment'. Perhaps because I prefer to write a positive things which happen and which I plan so far in my world, or because I rather like to write about the problem of securitization an human rights problem. But Unemployment it turn out become a good title which depict a domination of condition in my self today.
The choice to looking for a job is I have taken from many times ago. I do not have another choice to do something better beside that after graduation. Taking master degree is want I taking in next year if finally I failed in getting a fellowship. And now, I feel become someone who is not studying nor working. I am begin jobless.....
My father ever talk to me to give a time as long as 1 year to get a job. But I think It's so impossible, I want to working sooner. Perhaps I seems to impatient, but I really dont want to take a long time trapped in this condition. Now I feel I am getting a reduction in my brain, I feel I dont have a thought like when I was study, lack of motivation, and lack of capability, in my knowledge, in writing good and many more...I also feel getting reduction in thinking positively.
I am aware the world is occur a recession and crisis. Many of employer has out from many of corporation. Instead, here I try to looking for a job. It is really unproper conditon for fresh graduate student to looking for a Job. Many Job vacancy at news paper also decrease and less through and through....
Now, I think I should learn more. It is the only one thing that I have to do to achieve my dream and can through the competition. Department of foreign Affair give a difficult competition in getting its position. INGO also ask a competitive persons who have a master degree and good experience, and many of good instancies ask a briliant persons, beside its lucky. So I think it is my time to fight.
I do hope for my self.

Review of Global Food Crisis 2008

Perhaps we all know that 2008 is an era where Global food Crisis happens and therefore has created much of hunger and poverty in many areas around the globe. Yes, Food prices have been rising for a while. In some countries this has resulted in food riots and in the case of Haiti where food prices increased by 50-100%, the Prime Minister was forced out of office. Elsewhere people have been killed, and many more injured. While media reports have been concentrating on the immediate causes, the deeper issues and causes have not been discussed as much.

It is the new face of hunger. A perfect storm of food scarcity, global warming, rocketing oil prices and the world population explosion is plunging humanity into the biggest crisis of the 21st century by pushing up food prices and spreading hunger and poverty from rural areas into cities. Millions more of the world's most vulnerable people are facing starvation as food shortages loom and crop prices spiral ever upwards. And for the first time in history, the impact is spreading from the developing to the developed world.

Global Food Crisis: Has Spread during 2008 era

One of the obvious argument about the occurance of global food crisis is overpopulation. In the other hand, A lot of land has gone into producing products that could be considered unnecessary in their production (like tobacco, sugar, beef), and there is new fact that Some 80% of the world production is consumed by the wealthiest 20% on the world suggesting. An inequality in resource use due to social, economic and political reasons, and perhaps less because of Malthusian concerns about population sizes outstripping resource availability in most cases.

Beside of those arguments, there are some facts that become innediate factors of global food crisis, that is: Droughts in major wheat producing countries, Low, grain reserves, a doubling of per capita of meat consumption in developing countries, and the diversion of 5 % of the world cereals to agrofuels

In the other hand, many of richer nations has accused become the maker of food crisis. The dominance of the richer nations and companies in the internarional arena has had a tremendous impact on agriculture. which for many poor countries forms one of the main sources of income. A combination of unfair trade agreement, concentrated ownership of major food production, dominance (through control and influence in institutions such as the World Bank, IMF and the World Trade Organisation) has meant that poor countries have seen their ability to determine their own food security policies severely undermined.

The increase of poverty and inequality which fueled corruption making the proble even worse. Food dumping (aid) by wealth nations into poor countries, falling commodity prices, vast agricultural subsides in north America and Europe (outdoing the foreign aid they sent, many time over)have all combined to have various effects such as forcing farmers out of business and into city slums.

a new hope to prevent global food crisis in 2009

My beloved readers, This food crisis has worsening the poor condition especially in third world country, creating ineuality among nations. Hopefully it is become a reflection for us especially to do more attention of condition our environment. Perhaps it is not bring a great impact for us who live well, but it is become more danger and really influenced people who live in the povertu lines..

(Review from: globalissues.com, sundayherald.com, abc.net)

Love, Mama

New year is a really new for me, who commence a new life in Jakarta. Sometimes is feels so difficult for me in this beginning to through it all. A new culture, a new friends and family, a new habitual, and perhaps new thought and perspective. I think about my friends when I still study who have give me much love, and make me do a great changes. I do miss them; Irfan, the boy who always together with me so far, do not contact me again and perhaps dont want to contact me again. I dont know what happen with his mind; My previous life in Jember, And more than that is, my family......
In the last morning, my father, mother, and my sister have gone back to Jember after several days in Jakarta to accompany me...My mother looks so sad, and cried through and through. Indeed my mother never far from me so far, and now She feels so hard to release me.
My mother looks so sad when we should be separate in the Bus station. Me too but I attempt to hide my sad and try to not crying. Oh my God, I really sorry to look my mother.
Tonight is a first night that maybe feels so hard for me. Sometimes I become sad is not because I far from my mother, but because see her so sad. I love my mother, do love her more than I can say. I am swear To be a really really good person and make her happy.