Living in the Age of Information, attempting to be in the loop about world events and trying to comprehend the ramifications of what is going on, can become quite overwhelming. Whether it’s a controversial measure out of Congress or a new group threatening the world order, people seem unwilling to try and play catch-up as the world keeps turning. While the attitude of “that doesn’t affect me” certainly has a part to play in this behavior, I put some stock in humanity and believe that the general population can’t be bear to follow one terrible story after another. In an effort to try and remedy the stresses associated with gathering accurate news, I have prepared a humble list of topics that one should follow and why they are important.
Refugee Crisis: It’s not news to Americans that the situation in the Middle East and Central Asia is one of the most unfortunate circumstances in the world today. The growing power of fundamentalist Islam in the region, paired with the remaining tensions from the Arab Spring, has resulted in wide-scale violence and instability. ISIS, or the Islamic State, continues to hold ground despite coalition forces’ attempts to halt the group’s progress. Despite the deaths of multiple leaders, ISIS has managed to hold onto its holdings in Syria and has actually gained more territory in the Anbar Province of Iraq. Only within the last few months ISIS was within miles of Baghdad, a threat that could have meant the destruction of the Iraqi state. Most Americans are aware of the atrocities, deaths, and international violence the group has inspired, but there is also a greater issue that has remained unsolved until now.
Widespread violence and famine forced millions of nationals from these regions to flee their countries in search of some kind of safety. Initially, most people were fleeing into Jordan to take shelter in the UN refugee camps. They endured a harsh winter with rationed supplies, disease and, worst of all, little attention from the international community. So little attention was given to the issue that the 193 countries in the UN did not manage to pool enough resources together to at least ensure these refugees would be fed. Refusing to endure the harsh camps, and with nowhere in their countries left to hide, families began the perilous journey to Europe.
Many made the long trek stowed away in cargo trucks across the porous borders of Libya, a country in North Africa which recently deposed a dictator, and sought out vessels to carry them across the Mediterranean. Once again, the international community failed to act in at least transporting these refugees to safety. Instead, families packed into overcrowded vessels and embarked toward Malta and Italy to make their way into Europe. Countless vessels capsized, killing entire families, but thousands more continue to pour across the sea seeking asylum. Italy and Malta used their Coast Guards to attempt search and rescue missions but with the sheer volume of people coming over, it proved to be a fruitless endeavor.
This is where the current issue arises. Now that thousands of refugees have managed to make their way into the Balkans and Western Europe, countries are struggling to figure out how to deal with the influx of people. It is estimated that some 5,000 refugees were stopped at the Hungarian border waiting to gain entry into the country. Hungary’s response was to once again put them into camps and refusing to run any trains in or out of the country. Domestically, the country passed legislation that effectively sealed the country’s borders. Outraged and exhausted, thousands of refugees decided to walk across Europe in search of any kind of solace. The images that emerged from yet another forced journey shocked the world and kick started other countries to step up their game and deal with the problem. Germany has agreed to take in 800,000 refugees and the UK has announced it will begin getting Syrians out of the camps so they do not have to continue to make the perilous journey to Europe. Millions are expected to make the journey out of Iraq and Syria. This continues to be a volatile situation and the flow of refugees could soon affect the United States.
The Presidential Election: The next stage of the nation’s choice for the next President is the second Republican debate which will be taking place on September 16th. Regardless of how one aligns politically, it is important to take in the entire playing field of candidates and in this round there are certainly more than a few. With Donald Trump using up most of the media airtime, it could be enlightening for many to see what some of the other Republican candidates think about issues that are important to them. As voters, we do ourselves an injustice when we are not informed about important issues and what our leaders think about them.
The Global Economy: Recent shocks to Asian markets has hit the global economy hard in recent weeks. China specifically, even with its policy of currency manipulation, saw one of the sharpest losses in its market’s recent history. While the reasoning for this crash is fairly complicated, the premise was that a bubble of inflated stock finally popped. Investors flooded the market with stocks that were designed to serve as a source of money-lending. Because the rate of growth on these stocks was greater than what the economy and involved businesses growth was, investors were faced with margin calls and pulled out of the market. The removal of substantial funds for money-lending in Chinese markets affected worldwide business and precipitated a crash in the United States comparable to recession levels. How investors and economists plan on avoiding the Chinese market’s collapse, and the domino effect in the global market, remains to be seen and is important to follow no matter what corner of the world one lives in.
In an effort to sift through fluff stories and bias in media, I will try and provide pieces such as this relatively often. If readers would like me to provide them with fair and honest takes on these issues from reputable media outlets, I would be quite pleased to provide what information I can. Leaving a comment on the article’s main page with some kind of contact information and perhaps a story you would like to see discussed or debated is always welcomed.
