Olympics vs. Sichuan Earthquake "News&Opinion"

by djermano | July 23, 2008 at 07:49 pm | 416 views | 9 comments

by djermano

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"Beijing 2008" & "bg08"

The International Institute of Nonviolence

By: Rev. Jermano

Everywhere in Beijing you can see the slogan One World One Dream, but we as people know how really untrue that is. The recent Sichuan Earthquake devastated families in China, who were not well off to begin with, are in competition with funds from the Government who are torn between giving a world showcase performance while burying the unsightly reminders of the Sichuan earthquake.

The damage in Sichuan is costing over billions in yuan to recover and those recovery efforts will take at least a decade to even come near meeting their past impoverished life style. The government has erected these quick matchbox long houses and given people a 200 yuan a month allowence as some sort of grand relief effort appropriation, while they spend billions on the Olympics and getting people set to make huge profits when the Olympics finally opens on Aug 8th.

I would like to know how the suffering the Sichuan people can really have happy faces as Chinese athletes and investors rake in enormous profits? It is said hotel rooms are going for over 2,000 rmb per night in Beijing. Where is the One World here? Seems to me if the Olympics Committee dedicated the Olympics to the Sichuan victims it would be closer to a real meaning toward Olympics and its purpose.

Why does Olympics now encompass professional athletes these days. The Olympics use to be only for nonprofessional athletes. It is clear the Olympics has become not a meeting to friendly sport competition with nonprofessionals, but has become a big economic centerpiece to countries economies. They are called Professional Athletes because they make money for playing thier sport.

If the Olympic Committee donated say at least 25% of the profits to help the impoverished and disaster relief efforts in Sichuan, I think that we could see how the money earned by these professionals is used for the betterment of society to have One Wolrd One Dream. If not they should get another slogan such as One World for the Rich, and One Dream for the Poor. Right?

I have seen some pretty bad things unfold here in China recently with seeing poor students struggle to live....having 20 people in one dorm room, and a bathroom facilities that I wouldn't take my dog into. Perhaps China Authorities should have some real plan for helping the people such as using the Olympics to help all its people. If not we the People are planning the NonProfessional Olympics in competition to the Professional Olympics as a means to adjust the injustices and inability of the government to care for its real people.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=5431874&page=1

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Paschen

at 21:01 on July 23rd, 2008

good stuff:

djermano, I like this story. It's good stuff.

Yes there is a World for the Rich and one dream for the Poor djermano and the gap is getting wider and wider between the two!

Barry Artiste

at 23:13 on July 23rd, 2008

good stuff:

djermano, I like this story. It's good stuff. The Sichuan earthquake was devastating overshadowed by the Olympics which should assist in any way possible

Caoimhin1

at 01:04 on July 24th, 2008

good stuff:

djermano, I like this story. It's good stuff.

Paschen

at 02:43 on July 24th, 2008

This is another spam here!

Sanjay Jha

at 03:53 on July 24th, 2008

Deleted, Thanks for letting us know, Cheers

Nick Kozak (not verified)

at 07:05 on July 24th, 2008

well. I just had to comment on this. I came across it during my research of the Sichuan earthquake area. I'm in Chengdu now, have returned for the 2nd time now since the earthquake. My first trip was a few days after the disaster. I came to photograph, I'm a student of photojournalism in Dalian, northeastern China. I'm here again, this time to photograph for one of my MA projects on the course.

I'm quite disappointed by this post. It seems quite misinformed. Now, I'll start off by saying that I am the last person to 'protect' China. People around me will know how much I complain about how things are done in this country, how the system totally pisses me off. Having said that I cannot agree with this post and feel the need to defend this time.

Have you actually been to the earthquake zone? Have you seen how massive this disaster really is? Yet how well the Chinese authorities are dealing with it? Have you seen the thousands and thousands of soldiers and volunteers working in the area? I did and I was very impressed, this was just days after the quake had happened.

Since going back to Dalian I have followed the news about Sichuan and I see that work in the area has been relentless, soldiers have only now started pulling out of the area after 2 months of working day in and day out. Most people have been relocated into temporary housing, that is a massive feat seeing as an estimated 5 million people were left homeless.

All of this with constant fears of aftershocks and landslides in an area that is very rugged and access if difficult.

Now, I am also by now sick of this 'One World One Dream' bullcrap of a slogan. It does not represent the Chinese government's way at all. Just look at how they treat foreigners and how they're making it as difficult as possible for people to do anything in the country during the Olymipcs. Have you heard about the police in Beijing visiting popular foreigner bars and coercing owners not to serve Black or Mongolian customers? This kind of stuff enrages me and yes I think, they shouldn't even be allowed to host the Olympics.

Having said that, none of it has anything to do with Sichuan. Are we, individual people around the world, all donating 25% of our profits to disasters, to this disaster? Come on? That's totally unrealistic. This is how economics works and the Olympics is very much a part of Economics, we know that and we have to accept it and we can't expect everyone to drop 8 years of preparation and start unloading a quarter of the profits into Sichuan? The world just doesn't work that way, that's not China specific.

So, there you have it, I have said how I feel about the Chinese government in general but I find very little to throw at them in the case of the earthquake and how it relates to the Olympics.

Rev. Jermano (not verified)

at 19:29 on July 24th, 2008

Thanks for commenting Nick, and yes I am in China. My wife is from Sichuan, a long with the rest of her family. Of course I have seen the great effort in helping the people there, but the point is Olympics is about about making money period. It has no specific purpose that surrounds its objective. If we live only for the aspect of making money like betting on horses running around a track what good is it to real humanity? The Olympics is no longer about Amateur athletes, which was essentially their opportunity to enter the Professional Fields of their choice.

Now the Sichuan earthquake has occurred during a time of nearing the opening of the Olympics, and no one sees the diverging divide? No one sees the opportunity we have to make it better for all the people? No one sees the opportunity here that real winners are those who define our ambitions besides for the sake of money? The recent relief help said to be donated is not really donated, but is only lip service to make political scores and trap people into beleiving false beliefs. I am criticizing only the China government? No, it is a One World; right? Wouldn't it be great to have sports represent something other than simply for the sake of saying yea... I won a gold for running around a track? I find athletes who think they are great for making a basket against another strong athlete quite shallow. If our works are not for a real purpose in helping those who have real suffering, how can we not feel or sense the real happiness in giving someone life instead of a gold medal?

You said:

So, there you have it, I have said how I feel about the Chinese government in general but I find very little to throw at them in the case of the earthquake and how it relates to the Olympics.

It has everything to do with Sichuan Earthquake and other people who suffer from poverty. Sichuan was poor to begin with, so why give so much to Earthquake victims? The Athletes should be going to Sichuan instead of Beijing. If we are so great why don't we go and do the good things? Instead.....we spend millions in making dumbass signs One World Dream, no talking to foreigners about politics, or religions. As the rich get richer and close their circle off from other peoples participation with the fear of losing theirs, they setup divides and disparity in the world. Essentially the Olympics should in my reflection be an economic hub of activity where athletes compete not only for gold medals but for the efforts of their own country in bringing disaster relief revenues to their own peoples as well. When do we recognize that the rich has to help poor, and when the poor become well off, everthing gets better, to make the rich stronger than they were before. This life is about what we do for others not what we get for ourselves. If that is so unrealistic, might as well give a gun or bullet to every poor person so they can end the misery. You rich so called moral people take suffering animals and shoot them, such as down horses, but you allow people to continually suffer in not helping those who really need the help.

Who needs the help more; a person buried in rubble bed or the guy who lives in luxury spending 2,000 rmb a night in some Olympic hotel? I find no happiness in supporting an Olympics that has been working and planning for all these years who have forgotten the most important building block of all, and that is.....what is the purpose of the Olympics, besides winning a gold medal? The purpose is for relief of the poor, the helping of victims to natural disasters, the work toward ending wars. When do we get an Olympics that makes the poor happy, and the rich feel they truely are rich? Certainly leaders in our world don't address this, or talk about this. They have no idea, and have no plan. When do we get a real OLYMPICS instead of Rich people lining up soldiers to keep out the people they accuse of being terrorists simply because they are poor? I ask YOU!