On exploring my path
or choice of studies.
As I read through
some of the reading materials in both this course Development and
Underdevelopment and Sustainable Development, I am still wondering if this is
the right pathway for me. Sometimes
reading the materials – I get the feeling “that fits .. that’s what I want to
do.” And yet at other times, I wonder
“this is so far out of what I thought this would be, and I am not sure if these
things inspire (are right for) me.”
In the Administration Guide for both the courses, it was
suggested that we (as students – though I prefer the word learners maybe
because student makes me sound so young .. haha) should be cognizant of what we
want from this course, and that we should check to see if our personal goals
are aligned with the goals of the instructors.
If there are large discrepancies or differences, then we should discuss
that with our lecturers/instructors. So, let me now explore a little into what
I want to achieve from this course. To be very honest, I haven’t done any kind
of sit-down and put on paper type goal setting or planning for this course.
Some of the issues I am interested in (or had tugged at my
heart at one point or another):
- The “Boat People” crisis in 2015
- Refugees in Malaysia (I read about a group of Myanmar/Vietnamese kids) in KL (maybe in 2009/2010)
- The Homeless in KL (2014 – orders from the
Federal Territory Minister to kick out homeless people from KL)
a. Who should be responsible for them? NGOs, Government, Private Sectors?
b. Soup kitchens/NGOs, do they help or do they exacerbate the problem?
c. What’s left of the dignity of the people?
d. Do we follow Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and care first for the basic survival needs?
Every time I come across these real life human stories, I am
deeply moved and saddened. I want to
help, but how do I do that? I know so many people feel similarly and most will
quite quickly dig into their pockets to offer a donation of cash or kind. What
else can I do besides the usual “just give some money and my conscience is
clear” attitude/response? I don’t think plain charity as we see is the
answer. That’s not to say people
shouldn’t give. But giving cash/kind
alone is insufficient – in my opinion.
It’s like the “give a fish” solution.
Give them a fish, and you feed them for a day. Teach them to fish, and
you feed them for life.
I have been involved with Corporate Social Responsibility
type events for a number of years. Most
of the time, it feels like companies just want to give to show that they have
given. Often times, it is more of a
public relations activity than actually making a difference of helping those in
need. Over the years, we have moved from community service to community engagement. But is this only in our language? We talk the talk, but do we walk the
walk? Do most people even understand the
difference? Do CSRs really work? If not,
where do we go from here? How do we make a difference?
But how do we go about teaching the people in need to be
independent, to be self-reliant? How do
we educate the private sectors (and everyone really) to know that we all have a
part to play in this development process? How do we ensure it is sustainable
development?
And when I am able to do this (go out to impact a change in
the world) – how do I do it without the hassle of “bureaucracy.” At this
juncture, I think there is no way around this and the bureaucracy is a
necessary evil .. but that’s not what I am interested in. I merely want to go out and make a
difference. So, I guess I am hoping to
see if I can learn to manage the two.
I am also interested in Affirmative Action policies (or the
NEP – National Economic Plan idea/initiative in Malaysia). On the one hand, I
do believe they are necessary – but the key is in planning and implementation.
We need to keep in mind that these type policies:
- Create a non-level playing field (rather than a level playing field)
- Can engender a victim mentality
- Can conversely bring about a “superiority complex” or a “it is my right” type mind set
- Ultimately lead to tension-violence in a society (is this is an inevitability?)
How do we find a peaceful solution to these conflicts
sometimes seen as racial/religious conflicts (but really underlying that is
also the sense of separation between the haves and have-nots)? It is rarely I
think a conflict of religion or race or ethnicity – but a disparity in
socio-economic status which also leads to a sense of victimization and
injustice on both sides.
These are my thoughts and the reason why I am here. I am still not sure if this is the right path
– though my heart (my principles and philosophies) tells me “I am where I need
to be for a reason – a purpose greater than me.” For now they do not seem to
jive with my other philosophies – that we should pursue what our heart finds
passionate about; that we should not confine ourselves to such limiting
structure (as one would find in strict academia – with need to write reports
and do research); where our voice is to be heard by only other academicians
rather than the rest of the world (which I dare say is a much larger audience);
and that it is in “action” (doing the work of application and making a difference)
rather than reading books and journals and arguing semantics, and history and
theories.
But above all these – at least for NOW – the loudest voice
in me still repeats:
“I am where I need to
be for a reason – a purpose greater than me. Trust in the journey. Trust that I
am here because I have to be. There is something to learn here. I must not give
up at the first sight of an obstacle or obstruction.”
Peace
Syl
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