Week 9 Post 3
This weeks learning was very frustrating! The ways that colonial influences still affect current and future generations is devastating and fascinating. Lifestyle medicine would tell you that this is epigenetics but really this made it look more direct. However, if we are discussing epigenetic, we could hypothesize that when this situation is resolved, the nest many generations of pacific island people will still be affected. In some historical cases, that means that the people become thinner but sometimes it means that chronic illness stays prevalent. Once the situation is solved, the natives will have to work on developing research to turn off these epigenetic tags and not inherit the devastating illnesses. It's very sad to me that children are so effected in every country and that they have no say over their overall health.
What can Nauru do to increase education for kids and better their resources? If Australia got better, would Nauru get better? If America improved, would Australia improve? Is it an international system? What is the pacific islands health care system like? Are they profiting off their citizens misfortune? What would it take for the islands agriculture to be restored?
What responsibilities do countries have to solve the problems they created during their colonial rule and time of influence? Any?
ReplyDeleteGosh! This has always been a hard question to answer because you don't want to perpetuate the role that they play. And in the instance of the Pacific Islands, it is especially difficult, because no matter what, they are going to rely on that food for survival. So, I guess I would start by offering complex health education programs and then making that healthy food cheaper for them. Really though, investing into their success and then leaving them be to make their own decisions free from colonial influence. The people of Nauru want to bring back those cultural foods and practices and given the resources and land, I believe that they would. Maybe if they could have space within New Zealand to grow their own food (which is where most of their imports come from).
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