"The economic growth in Asia over the past couple of years has been absolutely astonishing. What country does not want a piece of that financial powerhouse? That was my frame of mind when I left my hometown to go to Winnipeg, Manitoba, for the Asia Connects International Youth Conference this year.Oh, what an ignorant fool I was. Here it is, the end of the conference, and now I have more questions than answers. I come away with a sense of the enormity of the moral, political, and economical issues that must be addressed when evaluating the expansion of our connections with the Pacific Rim. I am overwhelmed, to say the least.
Canadian delegates had the opportunity to meet youth from across the globe, to listen to their opinions and ideals, and to experience parts of their cultures. I learned as much as I could about cultural diversity and similarity in a week. I had the briefest of glimpses into the lives of youth all over the world. And, however small that glimpse, it was more enlightening than a year’s worth of reading dry, impersonal textbooks.
When I considered trade with Asia, I faced the fact that human rights are quite poor by Canadian standards in certain countries. Would Canadians be helping to entrap laborers by supporting the industry that employs them? In some countries children are forced to work 18 hours a day and are denied education. How can we provide the income for the business that subjects employees to such atrocities?And yet, what if we did not trade with these nations? The company would go out of business, and the employee would be freed of such indignities. But where does he go? He has lost the small pay that his work offered him. How does he feed himself? Have Canadians, acting in the spirit of morality, forced this person into theft, prostitution, or starvation? And who are we to judge these nations? We hardly have a pristine history in respect to human rights. Who are we to deny other nations the right to evolve when we went through the same experiences in our past?
The benefits of this conference experience extend beyond simple fact gathering. I have met fascinating people from a wide variety of cultures and gained a more personal perspective on life in Asia from them. They have shown me that I have a good deal more to ponder about Asia Pacific, and I have focussed on important issues that were alien to me just a week ago. For me, I will be taking away a personal mission &endash; and a video documentary on the nation of Burma. It is my intention to inform as many people as I can of the dire situation of Burma and its people, and encourage Canadians to offer aid in any way they can."
--Laura Mac Isaac, Cape Breton
© 1997 - TG Magazine / The Students Commission
© 1997 le magazine TG / la Commission des Ètudiants