Joseph Stalin once said,
“The death of one person is a tragedy, but the death of a million persons is a
statistic.” As an American citizen, the tragedies of the world can often seem
like just another news story. A lost plane in Malaysia with almost 300
passengers, conflict in Ukraine that may lead to a terrible war, or millions of
children dying from curable malaria, these are all stories that flood my Internet
home screen every time I get on the computer, but are these statistics or
people? When the stories and oppression of these people are confined to a
screen, it is easy to become numb to their suffering. Their tears do not land
on my shoulder, their fearful faces do not send me look of desperation, and as
easy as that, they fade into the back of my mind. I, like many other consumed Americans, take a moment of silence,
recognize that something is gravely wrong in this world, but with an
over-whelming and unsettling feeling in my gut, move on with my daily schedule.
After spending two
months in the Dominican Republic, I have realized the horrific consequences of
this submissive and uninformed lifestyle. Every cheek I turn, every blind eye,
allows injustice to spread, grow, and conquer. This does not mean, however,
that I am expected to end terrorism and world hunger, or that we as Americans
are solely responsible for the suffering in the world. It does, however, give
us the opportunity to become informed citizens of the world who make conscious
decisions to fight injustice. The stories of hijacked planes and terrible wars,
although unjust and unacceptable, are not the only cruel realties that are
often under acknowledged. Basic human rights such as access to water, and fair
wages are also statistics that many people struggle to understand and relate to
in a deeper way. The smallest decision, however, like what candy bar you buy at
the supermarket, can be a choice between a just or corrupt world, and can
forever change the life of one of the “nameless sufferers.”
Meet
Santos Constanzo (Niño). He is a local cocoa farmer in the Dominican Republic. Every
time that a consumer chooses to buy a fairly traded cocoa product his life is
greatly improved, but how is this possible? Niño is one of the many lucky farmers
who are involved in the CONACADO Fair Trade Cocoa Co-Operative. The goal of CONACADO
is to significantly improve the small-scale cocoa producers’ income, and
consequently, the living conditions of the farmers and their families. Through
the fair trade, the Co-Op farmers are guaranteed a certain trade price, even if
the international market drops, so they have a stable and just income at all
times. The blocks, or designated work areas, are composed of farmers that work
together to make a quota. Along with receiving their just pay, they also
receive some funding bonuses that they use together to better their
communities. These bonuses have been used to improve the infrastructures at
local schools and build meeting halls where the community works on
strengthening their relationships with CONACADO and the fair trade industry.
COCACADO
not only works hard to insure just wages, but they also make sure that all of
their farmers use environmentally sustainable farming techniques. Their
products and farming methods are organically certified (Biosuisse and NOP
certification) and in accordance with the fair/alternative market prices (FLO).
This also means that their farming
practices are safe, and ban dangerous child labor.
The
simple message I hope to get across is that conscious consumers can make a
larger impact on this world than one might think. Hearing tragedy after tragedy
on the news, it is easy to become overwhelmed and numb to all the people
suffering in the world. Especially when there is no face to put with the
struggle and pain, oppression can become a distant and un-relatable emotion.
Now that you have heard an individual story, I hope Michael Himes’ words ring
true, “Now they are not the abstract “people”; they are “those people,” and so
we mobilize to assist them.” Something as simple as buying fairly traded
chocolate bars instead of a Hershey’s bar, can mean three warm meals a day for Niño
and his family instead of one. So look for this symbol when you are shopping
for groceries. It may not solve world hunger, or stop the spread of disease in
the world, but every act of kindness makes a difference in someone’s life and
brings us one step closer to a just world.
