Last night my computer crashed. Bad timing, since I needed to write one more blog before Tuesday. But I didn’t panic, remembering the existence of pencil and paper. AND my globe. I made it spin around, closed my eyes and planted my finger somewhere on the surface of the tiny world in my hands.
I did this 10 times. 10 countries came out of it: China, Colombia, Russia, Somalia, Chile, Thailand, Afghanistan, Madagascar, Angola, and New-Zealand
According to the Human Development Index only one of the countries that I accidentally pointed out (New-Zealand) is very highly developed. Colombia, Russia and Chile are right ahead belonging to the highly developed countries (although I hadn’t expected that) and Angola, Afghanistan and Somalia are low developed ones. In between: China, Thailand and Madagascar.
It struck me how much luck you must be having to be living in an entirely developed country. A country we can call rich and prosperous. Only 1 out of 10 chances to have everything you need and desire, while having 60% chance to be born in a poor, underdeveloped part of the world, having to struggle to survive.
I know this is not a scientific approach, because the chance that your finger will end up in China and Russia is much higher than that it does in small countries like Belgium or Malta. But I never really liked the rigid and highly responsible approaches of science; my aim is just to find something to think about, whether it can be scientifically proven or not. How rebellious of me.
But what if this was true? Up until now, 1.2 billion people are living in regions classified as more developed; 5 times as much people reside in less developed ones.
Isn’t that a scary thought? That it is nothing but mere luck to be born in those parts of the world where you can purchase your dreams while having enough to eat?
Since I started blogging on this platform, reading everyone’s stories, this is the idea that got a hold on me. That the fact that I’m living here - in wealth and happiness - is not a privilege that was given to me nor something that was meant to be. Just… luck.
Hanna, since I joined this competition I have become really humble and every single day I thank for what I have got - which is plenty - water, food, health, home, family, freedom and I make decisions about my life.
Is it a luck? I don´t know, but I am grateful for that.
This understanding that everything is so relative is quite challenging to our convenient notions of taking things for granted. When some time ago I said this exact same thing (your two last sentences) to one person the reaction was “non-sense!” I guess it’s so much easier to convince oneself that for some weird and unknown reason we “deserve” what we have while others, at the same time, “deserve” what they have (or more often have not). For peace of mind, I suppose.
It takes some courage to admit that the fact that we are living in better conditions is not because we are better.
Maybe that person you’re talking about just lacks that courage, Giedre!