Pictures of Dominican poverty

[Chirimoya]

There's a movie in which this real life event is featured, called The Bang Bang Club. The photographer ended up killing himself.

Since the 1980s many aid agencies have come to realise that while "starving baby pics" elicit instant public sympathy and donations, they are manipulative and degrading. Positive images are more effective in mobilising sustained support and changing paternalistic perceptions of recipients as just victims.

 

[jackichan]

lol, and this S-hole didn't even give the kid something to eat but he just took the picture!

Maybe so, but how many times have u walked past a genuine street kid with a stretched out arm ??

 

[Africaida]

There's a movie in which this real life event is featured, called The Bang Bang Club. The photographer ended up killing himself.

Since the 1980s many aid agencies have come to realise that while "starving baby pics" elicit instant public sympathy and donations, they are manipulative and degrading. Positive images are more effective in mobilising sustained support and changing paternalistic perceptions of recipients as just victims.

Hard to believe sometimes ! Here on late night TV here and I swear I ALWAYS see that naked African kid on a dirt floor in front of an empty plate, runny nose, fly in the right eye, tear in the left eye....with a voice explaining how I could change his life with 15 cents a day. I swear that kid is following me.

 

[greydread]

Hard to believe sometimes ! Here on late night TV here and I swear I ALWAYS see that naked African kid on a dirt floor in front of an empty plate, runny nose, fly in the right eye, tear in the left eye....with a voice explaining how I could change his life with 15 cents a day. I swear that kid is following me.

...and the narrator is always one or another failed, type cast sitcom star from the 70's.

They are selling the snake oil to treat the symptom and never touching the problem. Provide economic opportunity, not giveaway bowls of rice. The amount of poverty in some of the most resource wealthy places on the planet is obscene. Promote economic opportunity and poverty and all its symptoms (hunger, war, disease, ecological destruction, illiteracy, political dysfunction, etc) will start to get better immediately.

 

[jackichan]

Hard to believe sometimes ! Here on late night TV here and I swear I ALWAYS see that naked African kid on a dirt floor in front of an empty plate, runny nose, fly in the right eye, tear in the left eye....with a voice explaining how I could change his life with 15 cents a day. I swear that kid is following me.

Yeah a couple of churches are into that bandwagon as well using pictures of kids with a big belly stomach, sunken eyes, forearms stretching past knees etc. I help in my own capacity,. once in a while i buy fast-foods/ snacks to street kids, sometimes hand out 5/10 pesos to the windscreen cleaners on major traffic circles. Poverty is a very long endless topic of discussion

 

[Chirimoya]

Hard to believe sometimes ! Here on late night TV here and I swear I ALWAYS see that naked African kid on a dirt floor in front of an empty plate, runny nose, fly in the right eye, tear in the left eye....with a voice explaining how I could change his life with 15 cents a day. I swear that kid is following me.

Note that I said 'many' - not 'all'.

 

[Mariot]

... Promote economic opportunity and poverty and all its symptoms (hunger, war, disease, ecological destruction, illiteracy, political dysfunction, etc) will start to get better immediately.

unfortunately, things are not as simple. however, i think the best solution would be to stop meddeling in other countries affairs.

 

[rico.rico]

Maybe so, but how many times have u walked past a genuine street kid with a stretched out arm ??

where i come from we don't even have that going on.

 

[Big_Poppi2]

I know poverty affects and effects us all in some personal way, that is why we must be as successful as humanly possible so that we can provide as much as we can for others. There are a lot of people, not just children in the world that are depending on us to do as much and more than we think we can and thought was ever possible. God bless us all, because I see a lot of the time, DR is often forgotten by these charities. Even when they think of hati, or other countries in our region. Take care and I hope we can all achieve to the highest! God bless!!!
Biggs

 

[jackichan]

That is a pretty powerful picture for any parent to see, how could you not empty your bank after a few drinks!

Turns out the kid made it through alive

 

[greydread]

unfortunately, things are not as simple. however, i think the best solution would be to stop meddeling in other countries affairs.

You're right. We haven't proven to be very good at "exporting democracy". We should probably concentrate on exporting new technologies, goods and services instead. Many of the Dominican poor weren't that way until we helped them get "civilized" and provided them with the tools of death.

 

[Hlywud]

poverty is world wide

These forums deal only with DR content....

 

[greydread]

How many guns are manufactured in the Dominican Republic?

How much coca is grown there?

How independent could Dominican nationalist/ protectionist policies become before their northern "Tio Sam" sends somebody down there to straighten them out.

Tools of death I tell you.

 

[PeterInBrat]

This photo was taken about a block away from Hotel Europa in Sosua, down a side street. I think the Europa may even be in the background.

 

[PeterInBrat]

From what I hear, the government gives out the cinder blocks on the right of the building free but it's up the people living in the casitas have to build with them. Here, I think they have built one wall with the blocks on the right side. I've seen walls built with no mortar and space an inch or so apart to make them go farther.

The image url is:
http://i39.tinypic.com/2rw5bx2.jpg

 

[PeterInBrat]

Barrio toilet in Sosua. Hooked up to the local sewer system or maybe a drywell behind the house. Water works most of the time, but at very low pressure. To flush the toilet or take a shower, you fill up the 5 gallon bucket, which can take 5-10 minutes.

 

[PeterInBrat]

Barrio kitchen. No fridge in the house(note the leftovers under the plate.) The only other food in the house is what's in the plastic container, maybe a bottle of oil and a partial bag of rice.

 

[Mr_DR]

I hate seeing pictures like those in your link. I see worse conditions here in Afghanistan. It seems almost impossible to eliminate poverty. With all the money America and Nato has spent here for a decade; nothing seemed to have changed. Giving out material goods is a kind thing to do, but I think we need to switch our focus to education. Education is the easiest way out of poverty and without it people will go back to poverty. Give an uneducated poor person 1 million and he'll blow it on superficial things. Give a poor person that's educated a million and he'll start a business or invest it. If us more fortunate people give anything it should be schools in poor areas.

I think that what she is doing is good, plus I don't think she is providing these kids with a million dollar. I think some of the things that she may be providing could be stuff like shoes, clothes, pencils, notebooks, books, etc. She may not be able to fix their education issues but she is doing her part with some of their other need.

Care to cover the education part? Lol

 

[Chip]

Barrio kitchen. No fridge in the house(note the leftovers under the plate.) The only other food in the house is what's in the plastic container, maybe a bottle of oil and a partial bag of rice.

This kitchen looks better than the one in my parents in law and the bathroom is similar but used to be worst. They do have a fridge though. They finally added a tinaco so now they don't have to rely on rain water as much for washing clothes and bathing.

If you asked them if they were struggling or in abject poverty they would laugh. They have little but always have enough to eat and are thankful. My point being is that there are many poor here in the DR per Western standards but that doesn't mean they are lacking anything of substance.

 

[kimbjorkland]

I wish there was a button on the internet that I could press, that each time Lieonel in the news, or Pichardo on here speak about the great avanzas such as new shopping malls full of luis vuitton stores, we could bombard them with photos of real life poverty in this country.

Priorities.