Maina wa Njuguna
INTRODUCTION
Apart from the free breath of air we partake which is controlled by the automatic nervous system also known as the involuntary nervous system, most of other basic needs for life are increasingly getting out of reach to a significant percentage of the worlds populous.
Are you as worthy as you think you really are? While a healthy dose of self-worth is important, how worthy are you really??? How well do you stack up with the criterion that determines your economic and financial stamina?
One’s life’s worth is really pegged to a range of wealth’s spectrum, circumstances and opportunities. In other words, one’s life matters to the degree that it is valued by peers and its influence per the worlds measuring ‘insruments’.
GLOBAL PASSPORT RANKINGS
The world’s passport rankings give us a glimpse on how we measure compared to others. AEM prevously published a report on global passport rankings. https://africaequity.net/global-passport-rankings-2023/
The country one is born in or resides, fortunately or unfortunately, ranks the value of one’s life – all things constant. Citizens born and, or that reside in rich and affluent nations are generally ranked higher in life’s value chain than those who are born in poor, and impoverished ones.
If the passport of one’s country of birth and residence ranks higher, so does one’s life’s worth and the converse is true – if one’s country of birth and residence ranks low, so does one’s life’s worth.
The Henley Passport Index ranks 199 countries and 227 destinations around the world. Japanese 🇯🇵 who scored the highest can travel to most countries in the world visa free because they are likely to add value as business and tourist travelers to host countries and most likely to return home.
On the other hand, citizens of Afghanistan 🇦🇫 which ranked the lowest at 103 can only access only 27 nations visa free if they can first get a passport and afford the associated travelling costs at the very minimum.
For African countries, Seychelles 🇸🇨 ranked the highest at 24. Its citizens can access 155 countries visa free and are likely to be warmly welcomed for business and tourism purposes.
Somalia 🇸🇴 which ranked the lowest in Africa, her citizens can only travel to 35 nations visa free. That means that Somalians are likely to be seen as fleeing home, perceived as refugees, and very likely to be a public charge to the host countries.
MEDIA COVERAGE OF THE 100S THAT DIED WHEN BOAT CAPSIZED AT THE GREECE SHORES VS THE OCEANGATE TRAGEDY
While the world was preoccupied for days with the loss of 5 affluent voyagers who died when a deep-sea submersible failed under immense pressure in the deep waters near the Titanic wreckage estimated to be about 14,000 feet below the ocean, a few days earlier, about 500 migrants had died when their boat capsized off the Greek coast.
Early investigations by the Guardian newspaper and its media partners indicate that the Greece Coast Guard may have likely contributed to the loss of hundreds of migrants who died when the boat capsized last month.
Most of the migrants hailed from Egypt, Libya, Pakistan, and Syria. A few survivors testified that the Greece Coast Guard towing of the boat away from the coast very likely caused the boat flip over killing to the tune of up to five hundred of its occupants.
These were the ‘chaff’, the world’s scam that is infesting Europe and had to be stopped at all costs. The Greece Coast Guard’s alleged actions alluded to this so clearly.
Tens of thousands of migrants have been taking huge risks to escape poverty in parts of Africa and Asia to get to Europe. The little regard for life is not surprising, not at all. Have you noticed that this was just another episode and reported as such since these tragedies have become ‘normal’?
The push and pull factors are so immense that the rationale for potential risks such as hunger, kidnapping, rape, torture, and death pail in comparison to the current needs and adverse conditions of the subjects. Just think about that!
Think about how bad it must be to leave one’s country, ones country kinship to treck across hostile environs, endure adverse whether conditions, possibly encounter wildlife, deal with human traffickers and thugs along the way for months with nothing but hope?
Don’t forget where these migrants were headed to, they were not welcome and were very likely be at the bottom of the socio-economic hierarchy or should we say the food chain?
According to United Nations’ International Organization for Migration (IOM), just about 2000 migrants have perished this year alone while attempting to enter Europe via the Mediterranean sea.
Remember the five rich explorers that died in the OCEANGATE tradgedy? Our hearts go out to their loved ones and friends. Each of the explorer had paid to the tune of up to $250,000 for the one time trip to the depths of the ocean just to get a glimpse of the Titanic wreakage that capsized in 1912.
We know their names, we have seen their pictures and we know they came from affluent families. We know that because it was widely reported on all major media outlets as headlinenews. Some of my family members were glued to the television to get the latest updates. Indeed, the public interest was intense.
Think of how much was spend searching for this submersible? No official reports are available to answer that question yet, but preliminary estimations are that it over $6.5 million dollars in less than a week.
While the Greece authorities were working tirelesly to rid themselves off the boatload of hundreds of unwelcome migrants, the aftermath of this tragedy got little interest compared to the engulfing news of the Oceangate. We don’t know the names of the victims, they were faceless and an after thought wouldn’t seem too much of a stretch. It was just another tragic event. The world has moved on. Our deepest condolences go out to their loved ones and friends.
Life can be cruel, and it gets real pretty fast. How one is valued dictates the quality and even the span of life.
LIFE EXPECTANCY
Another way to assess life’s worth per country or continent is to look at life’s expectancy. People from affluent countries, or higher valued citizens live longer on average than those from improvished ones.
Life expectancy is a factor of gender, genetics, access to healthcare, diet, crime rates etc, etc. Weathier people have access to higher quality of healthcare, live in safer neigborhoods than poorer folk.
Lifespans of the richest countries in the world average over 80 years. According to Worldometer, Hon Kong, the average is 85.83 years, Macao 85.51 years, Japan 84.95, Switzerland 84.38 Singapore 84.27, Italy 84.20, South Korea 84.14, and Spain 84.05. You get the point.
How does Africa rank? It is the most endowed continent in terms of mineral wealth, has 65% of the world’s arable land, natural phenomenon and wildlife second to none and yet….
Africa is host to 10 countries with the shortest life expectancy. These countries include – Chad, Nigeria, Lesotho, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Somalia, Eswatini, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea and Mali. The average lifespan is just about 52.5 years.
What is common in these countries? Poverty which breads insecurity, violence and death. I often wonder how the most ‘religious’ and fanatical countries perform so poorly on major socio-economic metrics. Somebody help me out on this one, let me know your thoughts on this.
CLIMBING LIFE’S VALUATION LADDER
It is incumbent upon individuals, communities, and countries that find themselves on the lower side of the spectrum to improve and eventually reverse these negative trends.
Food for thoughts 🤔?
How can we get to the positive side as individuals, as communities, as countries and more in particular the African continent?
No solutions lie exclusively on the outside. Solutions, long lasting solutions will have to come from within, otherwise the price will continue to be very, very high and have very little to show for it.
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