Colombia

The Plight of Afro-Colombians

Afro-Colombians traditionally occupied North-Western Colombia, or rather the coastal region. They are descends of the African slaves brought to colonial Columbia to make up for a dwindling indigenous population. They were used for all sorts of labor. Even today, most of the population remains relatively poor and discriminated against. 

Recently, Afro-Colombians have been forced out of their homes by paramilitaries. They have had to move to the bigger cities. And they are not happy about it. First of all, they are a people used to living in close-knit communities by the coast, surrounded by lush vegetation. They do not feel like they belong in cities as they are out of their element and because they are not treated as part of the population. They are in great need of both financial aid, but also a program to help them relocate and readjust to a new place. 

There is also another issue associated with the displacement of Afro-Colombians. Much deforestation is occuring in North-Western Colombia. Many environmental and human rights organizations have already taken notice and have spoken out against this. The paramilitaries are also suspected of being associated with large biofuel corporations that want the Afro-Colombians forced out of the region.

A designer is much needed to help ease the plight of the Afro-Colombians. Some programs are already in place, but they address the fundamentals such as food and shelter. With design, these people could be helped to preserve their heritage and to function within a larger world. Also, the mass deforestation must be stopped at all costs. 

By Anja M.

Lampedusa - Travel for Necessity

A tiny island located 205km from Sicily and 113km from Tunisia, Lampedusa politically belongs to Italy but geographically belongs to Africa (since the sea between the lands is less than 120m deep). The landscape on this island is completely arid and resembles the environment of North Africa in many ways.

Lampedusa, in spite of its size and climate, has had a very interesting and colorful past. It was the landing place and a maritime base for the ancient Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans and Arabs. It was only in 1860 the island became part of the new Kingdom of Italy. During World War II, the island was captured by British forces in Operation Corkscrew. The western part of the island became a U.S. Coast Guard transmitter in 1972.

Currently on the island, there is a severe problem of illegal immigration that has attracted global attention and media in the recent past. Since this city is so conveniently located between Italy and Africa, it is known as being the gateway from Europe to Africa. It is a prime transit site for illegal immigrants hoping to enter Europe from Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

On a typical weekend, aid workers and Italian officials expect about 1500 refugees to arrive in Lampedusa. The immigrants usually pay Libyan smugglers for transit. Since the holding camps on the island can hold only a few hundred people at a time, the Italian government transfers them to detention camps in mainland Italy. They are eventually released and their deportation is not strictly enforced.

An article in a British daily sums up the situation very aptly:
British National Party- Aug 1, 2008
"The Italian government’s decision to declare a state of emergency over the immigration invasion being suffered by that country has been proven correct with the news that a tiny Italian island has been brought to its knees after more than 800 illegal immigrants arrived by boat from Africa within a space of 24 hrs.
The migrants, all from Africa, arrived on Lampedusa, south of Sicily, pushing its services to breaking point. Government officials said the huge influx underlined the need to issue a state of emergency over the problem of illegal immigration which has become a key concern of the new Italian government".

These are some other countries where illegal immigration is currently a huge problem, listed in no particular order:
Angola
Argentina
Bhutan
Chile
China
European Union
Greece
India
Iran

Immigration, having become one of the biggest problems countries all over the world are facing, is one of the best examples where people travel for necessity in order to escape their oppressors or their living situations.

--Preethi Chethan

Mandatory Evacuation

Emergency evacuations are the movement of people from a dangerous place due to the threat of a disastrous event, such as a bomb threat or fire in a building, floods, or hurricanes. In 2005 when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, about 1.2 million residents of the Gulf Coast were ordered to evacuate. This of course does not mean that all of them did, but this is a situation when traveling was absolutely necessary. It seemed as though all of the South was in danger and the only way to escape the effects of the natural disaster were to flee from home. Even those who did not evacuate when told to, later needed to leave New Orleans due to the fact that Katrina wiped out everything. Losing your home, your cars, your schools and stores, are not one's ideal reasons for traveling, but there are certain times when it is necessary to just pick up and leave. The act of actual evacuating is not much easier than convincing yourself that you should. The traffic jams and accidents caused from entire towns and cities trying to escape all at once is a nightmare.

SOWETO, Johannesburg, South Africa

Soweto, the most highly populated black urban residential area in Africa, which according to Census 2001 puts its population at 896, 995, is the most metropolitan township in the country due to its close proximity to Johannesburg. Since its inception, the perpetual problems of Soweto have included overcrowded housing conditions, inadequate infrastructure as well as an extremely high unemployment rate. The township itself was a product of segregationist planning during the apartheid.
In 1904, Klipspruit, the oldest of a cluster of townships that make up Soweto, was established to house mainly black laborers, who worked in mines and other industries in the city, away from the city center due to the fact that the inner city was reserved for white occupation only.

It was not until a four-year public competition was held to come up with an appropriate name for the sprawling township. The winner, SOWETO, an acronym for SOuth WEstern TOwnship, was adopted as the official name for the area in 1963.

marriage tour

“More and more South Korean men are finding wives outside of South Korea, where a surplus of bachelors, a lack of marriageable Korean partners and the rising social status of women have combined to shrink the domestic market for the marriage-minded male. Bachelors in China, India and other Asian nations, where the traditional preference for sons has created a disproportionate number of men now fighting over a smaller pool of women, are facing the same problem. . . .

Now, that industry is seizing on an increasingly globalized marriage market and sending comparatively affluent Korean bachelors searching for brides in the poorer corners of China and Southeast and Central Asia. The marriage tours are fueling an explosive growth in marriages to foreigners in South Korea, a country whose ethnic homogeneity lies at the core of its self-identity. In 2005, marriages to foreigners accounted for 14 percent of all marriages in South Korea, up from 4 percent in 2000. . . .”

(International Herald Tribune, Published: February 21, 2007)
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/02/21/news/brides.php


In Vietnam, an increasing number of young women are marrying foreigners through marriage brokers. Last year, more than 10,000 Vietnamese women married men from South Korea alone. For now, Vietnam remains a popular source of brides, second only to China. More South Korean men have been using marriage brokers to find wives in Vietnam- they travel to Vietnam to pick out their wife, marry and honeymoon there, then return with their new wife to Korea. Some say that the business demeans and takes advantage of poor women but brokers say they are merely matching the needs of Korean men and foreign women seeking better lives.

Mecca, Saudi Arabia

When we think of traveling for necessity we can usually assume that this is not travel for pleasure.  Necessary travel could occur for medical reasons or to escape war or poverty.  I would like to discuss travel that is necessary for religion.  To the best of my understanding a basis of Islam is the Five Pillars of Islam.  The five pillars are (1) the faith or belief in the oneness of God and the finality of the prophethood of Muhammad, (2) establishment of the daily prayers, (3) concern for and almsgiving to the needy, (4) self-purification through fasting, and (5) the pilgrimage to Makkah (Mecca) for those who are able[1].  As part of their religion, Muslims take a necessary pilgrimage or hajj to Mecca at least once in their lifetime.  In 1999, approximately two million Muslims made pilgrimage to Mecca with about one million coming from Saudi Arabia and approximately 6,000 coming from the United States[2].  This trip is not for fun or sightseeing, but is a necessary part of being a Muslim.  Before, during, and after the pilgrimage there are necessary rights that are performed to complete the experience.  Before the pilgrimage Muslims enter a state of spiritual purity called ihram.  Once they reach Mecca the pilgrims enter the mosque and after that they perform prayers while circling the ka'aba (the cube-shaped stone building)[3].  The pilgrimage itself begins on the eighth day of the twelfth month of the Muslim lunar calendar[4].

[1] http://www.islam101.com/dawah/pillars.html

[2] http://www.religioustolerance.org/isla1.htm

[3] http://www.religioustolerance.org/isla1.htm

[4] http://www.religioustolerance.org/isla1.htm

Mogadishu, Somalia

In northern Africa, the country of Somalia is torn with war and in the hands of an extremely unstable government. This has created huge amount of people being displaced and having to move to over locations every day. They are a country whose hopes for peace are often raised and then crush time and time again. The people of Somalia are taking the main impact of war and with in its refugee camps a new type/quality of "life" is emerging. In Mogadishu, Somalia for example old abandoned war ravaged buildings are now no longer stand vacant, but are houses for many displaced/homeless people. While at the same time the camps are full of people trying to create homes. The living structures that these people have created to act as a shelter show greatly of design with necessity and what is truly needed. They use what ever they can find and often times does not hold up to the elements or to time. As designers we should look to what they have created and how they are living so that we can design to aid people in this type of situation. The situation in Mogadishu is not unlike what is happening all over the world is war torn and poverty stricken areas. The need for shelter is a basic human need, unfortunately for the people being displaced because of war thy have no choice but to move and start over with what ever they can to created a new life for right now and for the future.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/29/world/africa/29somalia.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

To Flee Communism and Starvation

In 1990s 3,000,000 North Koreans are reported dead from starvation. People from North Korea escape their communist country to seek for better life. Although geographically South Korea is the closest country, for the separation of one country to two there is a very strict military-only area which makes it almost impossible to cross. Therefore the escapees often go to China. The Chinese government failed in counting the exact numbers of the escapees from North Korea, but it has been reported to be about 100,000-200,000 according to UN.


The escapees from North Korea who enter the Chinese land become illegal residents. The Chinese government has made secret agreement with the North Korean government, first in 1960s, then made it official in 1986, on forcefully repatriating North Korean escapees. Even the ones who manage to avoid the eye of the government either work under cruel conditions with no pay. In case of women escapees, most often they get married with a Chinese man or are sold for prostitution.

It is understandable that both Chinese and South Korean government cannot be ‘pro-escapees’ for political burdens and issues -situation in overwhelming number of escapees or aggravation of relationship between two countries. However, South Korea has been more ‘sympathetic’ towards the escapees since they are dreaming of the reunification of North and South. Those few who make to South Korea either from China or from North Korea do qualify for special protection under the South Korean government. The escapees who enter the South Korean land go through series of investigation by the National Intelligence Service, then are educated for three months at Hanawon, the education facility for domiciliation. When they graduate, the escapees can start a ‘normal’ life as they are offered a leased housing in the area they choose. They are also given about government aids of about $30,000 per person for housing and domiciliation, and are guaranteed identity protection for 6 months.

This issue might seem like a political, social and economical one, but what can a designer contribute to make the situation better? First step was made in late 2004, five years since it opened; barbed wire entanglements which were surrounding Hanawon, the facility for domiciliation were removed and replaced with securities cameras. Although the barbed wires were for the protection for the escapees, the image depicted was an asylum. The result was praised Hanawon felt more welcoming for escapees and it would help them to feel more comfortable for their new domiciliation.

But what more can be done?

Image 1: Escapees held in China

Image 2: Hanawon

Climate Change Produces Environmental Refugees: Shishmaref, Alaska

Throughout history, social injustice and political unrest necessitates migratory movement as social communities relocate within their own country or flee to neighboring countries in search of safety. For those persons “forced to leave their country because of persecution or armed conflict,” the Office of UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) grants them refugee status to secure their safe entry onto foreign soil.[1] While the UNHCR traditionally deals with such refugee cases, the past few decades present the UNHCR with a different type of refugee—an “environmental refugee.”

E. El Hinnawi initially coins the term “environmental refugee” in the 1970’s to describe “ ‘people who have been forced to leave their traditional habitat, temporarily or permanently, because of marked environmental disruption…that has jeopardized their existence and/or seriously compromised the quality of their life.’” By deeming such people as “refugees,” political debates challenge the term’s meaning because it implies the need for states to provide asylum for those given “refugee” status. While environmental catastrophes often displace communities both temporarily and permanently, the effects of global climate change arguably draw a clear distinction between environmental “migrants” and “refugees.”[2]

For the 570 Inupiaq people living on the Alaskan island, Shishmaref (located in the Chukchi Sea five miles from the Seward Peninsula coast and twenty miles from the Arctic Circle), rising sea levels and warmer temperatures[3] incite migratory displacement as the inevitable solution.[4] With ice forming over the sea later in the fall and dissipating earlier in the spring, the small island (only a quarter of a mile wide and three miles long) loses its only means of protection from violent storm surges, which destroyed 20 feet of the island’s northern edge in 2007 and produced twelve-foot waves in 2001. While compromising the narrow landmass only 22 feet above sea level, temperature increases also place their indigenous hunting industries at stake because animals are migrating northward in search of colder climates.”[5]

In addition to threatening their native cultural heritage that dates back four thousands years, the prospect of relocating the entire village to the mainland comes with a formidable price tag of an estimated 200 million dollars or 330,000 dollars per person. This number also applies to close to two hundred Arctic villages similar to Shishmaref. While the issue receives attention from federal to local levels of government, funding cannot accommodate the costly needs driven by landmass erosion. For the former nomadic natives, the issue of relocation would not pose significant challenges, but the island’s “school buildings, airstrips, roads, and washeterias keep once-nomadic people anchored in place.”[6] Due to the global scope of climate change, people across the world become “environmental refugees.” Failure to adequately address the problem could force a predicted 150 million people (by 2050) to leave their homes and traditions in search of safety and resources. Thus it becomes increasingly critical to address the chain reaction of “environmental scarcity [which] causes large population movements, which in turn causes group identity conflict [and] economic deprivation, and disrupts social institution, leading to ‘deprivation’ conflicts.”[7]

Posted by: Linnea Cook

[1] Antonio Guterres, "Millions Uprooted Saving Refugees and the Displaced," Foreign Affairs 87 (2008), Wilson Web,
Libproxy, New School. 24 Oct. 2008.
[2] "Environmental Refugees," In Immigration and Asylum from 1900 to Present, Ed. Mathew J. Gibney and Randall
Hansen, Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2005, Credo Reference, Libproxy, New School, 25 Oct. 2008.
[3] According to Alaska Climate Research Center temperatures have increased over the past 50 years by 3.5°F and
6.3°F in winter
[4] Lempinen, Edward W., ed, "In Arctic Alaska, Climate Warming Threatens a Village and Its Culture" Science 27 Oct.
2006, AAAS News and Notes, AAAS. 24 Oct. 2008 .
[5] Kolbert, Elizabeth, "The Climate of Man-I" New Yorker 81 (2005): 56-71, 4 Nov. 2005, Academic Search Premier,
New School, 6 Dec. 2007.
[6] Beth Bragg, "Villages Endangered by Global Warming," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 4 Nov. 2007: A-2.
[7] “Environmental Refugees.”

South Korea

There are many victims in countries who goes through human trafficking and suffer. South Korea is one of the countries. South Korean women and girls get trafficked for comercial sexual exploitation in the U.S and other countries. On the other side, women who gets trafficked from Russia, Ubekistan, Kaakhstan, P.R.C, Philippines, Thailand, and other Southeast Asian countries gets sent to South Korea for sexual and labor exploitation. Most of the victims come from people who looks for job opportunities in other countries.

In South Korea, some women were trafficked to become brides of the men in South Korea, and girls were trafficked for child sex tourism. Some victims become prostitutes and it's the same for children. Being trafficked for marriage seems to be intriguing to me than women trafficked for sexual and labor exploitation, since the women don't really get a choice to whom they get married to. South Korea is now trying to help those who gets trafficked, especially victims from other countries. South Korea is one of the countries where a lot of travelers go to, for tourism, and I think that a traveler or a designer should know about it or visit to see if any kind of design or anything can help the victims.

Necessity

Up to this point we have considered reasons to travel that could be called "motives of the traveling designer." This week, we contemplate the world in which the designer works and travels. The voluntary trip—to say nothing of the dream or luxury voyage—is just one kind of travel. Some people travel because they have to, to find work or freedom or to escape oppression. Some are forced into travel, or invited to travel and then held against their will.

Concluding a good trip, it is common to feel for a while as though the world has changed. Yet one could argue that far from being an exceptional experience, travel defines the world we live in. A study of the Grand Tour might examine its relationship to the slave trade between Europe, North America and Africa—and countless other paths or "flows" of people moving in, through, across, cultures in past times. If the freedom of a designer "on tour" contrasts with the necessities that govern many kinds of travel, to plan a trip is to approach a complex human landscape. What if we contemplate the various kinds of necessities that govern the flows of people that make up a culture—in contrast to the static entity a culture may be thought to be?

In the article we have as a resource this week, Arjun Appadurai aptly describes the world in terms of flows (i.e. the "ethnoscapes"). More important, he asserts that imagination—by filmmakers, writers, and other artists—plays a crucial role in defining the terms that draw people from one place to another, the way they see one place or another. And what about designers? A designer imagines. To think of the world as flows of people driven by imaginary images and mythical objects may be a good first step in overcoming the apparent helplessness of design in the face of inequality, suffering, poor distribution of resources, and other issues seemingly determined by social and political realities.

What can a designer contribute to a situation in which the movements of people are bound by necessities? Might there be specific places, like Lampedusa or Guantanamo Bay—or Dubai, or New York—in which design is entangled with politics and geography in a way that exposes the potential—or limits—of design? Where else would you go to explore these issues?

And in such a place, in what objects would you examine the designer's input: tents, shelters, boats, billboards, maps, bags, brochures ... ?

Senegal, Africa

Senegal is a small country in western Africa. Here, child trafficking is found at situations based upon tradition and greed. The day nine-year old boy, Coli, planned to run away was the day he woke up curled up on a dirty mat in the cold. He was pressed between tens of other sleeping children just like him, all lying next to one another on a concrete floor. It was still dark out when he and the other boys, a group of seven to nine-year olds, were directed to beg for money in between stopped cars on a freeway. They were all given empty tomato paste cans as begging bowls. Like these group of young boys, another 1.2 million children are involved in human trafficking for the benefit of those who make $15 billion annually for such services [according to the International Labor Organization]. It’s a popular business in Senegal. In the capital of Dakar, about 7,600 child beggars are ordered to work on the streets [according to a study by the ILO, the United Nations Children’s Fund and the World Bank]. These children collect an average of only 72 cents a day, where their keepers take in $2 million a year.

Under the cover of Islam, ninety percent of these boys are brought to beg with reasons including tradition and greed. Coli’s cover to be taken and work in Dakar was his family’s blessing to learn the holy book of Islam. With this, Coli’s days were spent with two hours of the day memorizing Quran verses and over nine hours begging to earn money for the one he called his teacher. Quranic boarding schools were once praised for their education purposes but most are growing into a business of child trafficking. More and more Quranic teachers are taking in as many students as possible to increase their daily flow of money. An Islamic scholar of Columbia University concludes, “If you do the math, you'll find that these people are earning more than a government functionary. It's why the phenomenon is so hard to eradicate."

It’s necessary for designers to learn of such problems existing within the underground realms of countries. Situations grow deeper and deeper into the depths of dirt when nothing is done in attempts to stop any of it. Design may not solve the problem completely, but it’s important to think of ways that can certainly help.

Catherine