Conversation topic for 13/09. Maternal health

T S, Sweden. PHOTOGRAPH BY MOA KARLBERG

See the images here: http://www.newyorker.com/culture/photo-booth/giving-birth-in-different-worlds

The photographs in the series “Hundred Times the Difference,” by the photographer Moa Karlberg, capture, in closeup, the faces of women in the final stages of giving birth. Across the images, there is a range of expressions: grit and sensuality, trepidation and expectation, pain and elation. But in their intimate perspective the photographs emphasize the women’s shared experience—the inward focus and physical determination in their final, transformative moments of becoming mothers.

 If you look closely, though, you’ll see signs—the sterile white backgrounds in some photos and patterned fabric in others; a single acupuncture pin in the center of a forehead—that the women in Karlberg’s photographs are having drastically different experiences of giving birth. Half of the pictures were taken in Sweden and half in Tanzania.In the former country, almost all births take place in hospitals, where women have access to supportive midwives who are backed by sophisticated medical technology when needed.In Tanzania, by contrast, only half of births take place in medical facilities, and those that do often occur in places that lack even the most basic amenities.

In a statement about the project, Karlberg, a native of Sweden who travelled to Tanzania in June, with support from the International Women’s Media Foundation, describes the disparity between the scenes she witnessed in the two places.In her home country,“The woman about to give birth is lying on the public hospital’s white sheets. . . . Next to her is her husband, stroking her back, talking to her supportively, helping her to focus on her breathing. Low music comes from the speakers.Water and VIEW FULL SCREEN helping her to focus on her breathing. Low music comes from the speakers.Water and juice is on the table next to the height-adjustable bed.The woman has her own room and her own bathroom with a tub. Painkillers are available upon request.”In Tanzania, “the woman about to give birth is lying on a bare, rusty bunk, covered in fabrics she brought with her.The water tap is not working, and even if it was, the water would not be drinkable.If she has to urinate there is a bucket on the floor.There is no family member by her side, but three other women, on similar bunks and in various stages of labor, share the room. As they moan, the nurses tell them to be quiet. Since there are no painkillers, the women need to save their strength for the pushing in the end.” As a result of these extreme disparities, and the corresponding difference in the ability to deal with medical complications, the risk of dying during childbirth in Tanzania is a hundred times higher than it is in Sweden.

But despite this cross-national chasm in maternal health, simple explanations of the West-as-best and modernization-as-cure are insufficient. As Karlberg hints in the photo shown in the final slide above—a woman originally from Uganda, giving birth in Sweden—Sweden has experienced a wave of immigrants over the past four decades, many of them refugees from conflict-torn places like Iraq, Eritrea, Somalia, and now Syria.Though Sweden has proved more welcoming than other European nations (http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/sweden-offers-shelter-denmark-tries-discouragerefugees/) in the current refugee crisis, the country’s government—influenced by the far-right Swedish Democrats, who received support from one out of every eight voters in the 2014 parliamentary elections—has grown more nativist and stingy about its welfare state.In Tanzania, meanwhile, maternal-mortality rates have improved slightly in recent years as the country has experienced impressive economic growth and extensive foreign aid, but the rates today are the same as they were sixty years ago.In both countries, birth attendants, who are almost all women, are underpaid and overworked.

In Karlberg’s stark photographs, these many inequities seem simultaneously highlighted and erased. Her stunning, unembellished mothers-to-be seem to triumph in ways independent of their immediate surroundings, and notwithstanding the obstacles to empowerment that extend across racial, ethnic, and national lines. Yet the obstacles remain.

Conversation topic for 21/4

Europe plans to ease online trade with a digital single market 

The formation of the European Union (E.U.) has brought residents and businesses many benefits, such as the freedom to pass from country to country without visas, and the free movement of goods, services, and capital. But there are still many barriers in place, especially relating to digital goods and services — and this is something theEuropean Commission is looking to fix.

During a meeting in Brussels, Belgium earlier today, the Commission laid the foundation for what it hopes will create a more unified E.U.-wide digital economy. The so-called “digital single market strategy” will tackle key facets of cross-border trading, communications, entertainment, and more.

For example, geoblocking — the process of preventing Internet users in a specific location from accessing certain digital services — is prevalent across the E.U., with available services varying between countries. “Too many Europeans cannot use online services that are available in other EU countries, often without any justification; or they are re-routed to a local store with different prices. Such discrimination cannot exist in a Single Market,” the Commission said in a press release.

Feeding into this will be things like encouraging consumers to buy from other E.U. countries, considering that only 15 percent of Europeans currently purchase goods online from other E.U. nations. This will include a more “harmonized” pricing for parcel delivery services, to solve the existing problem of the cost of posting a package often being higher than the value of the item itself. Moreover, the complexities of different value added tax (VAT) rates from country to country can often preclude smaller firms from tackling cross-border trading, and as such the E.U. is seeking to simplify such arrangements.

Elsewhere, telecoms and media regulations will also be analyzed, and issues such as the availability and consistency of 4G technology will be on the agenda.

The ramifications of this proposed sea change will extend far beyond Europe too. The European Commission has previously revealed its plans for a single digital market, and a number of Silicon Valley companies have already given their backing, including Google. A common complaint from the U.S. has been that there are simply too many rules and regulations on a local, national, and Europe-wide level.

“Europe cannot be at the forefront of the digital revolution with a patchwork of 28 different rules for telecommunications services, copyright, IT security and data protection,” explained Günther H. Oettinger, the European Commission’s commissioner for the digital economy and society. “We need a European market, which allows new business models to flourish, startups to grow, and the industry to take advantage of the Internet of things. And people have to invest too — in their IT skills, be it in their job or their leisure time.”

The full and final digital single market strategy will be published in May. 

Source: http://venturebeat.com/2015/03/25/europe-plans-to-ease-online-trade-with-a-digital-single-market/

Conversation topic for 21/04

When You Travel Alone, You Belong to Everyone 

If traveling solo sounds terrifying, that’s because you haven’t realized why it can be the best way to go.

By Cyrena Lee for Fathom 

I don’t really have an excuse to travel alone anymore, and I miss it
.

I miss the times when I’d check in for a flight and let my eyes wander around the waiting area at the gate, trying to guess who my seat-mate would be. I always hoped I’d make a friend, yet still asked for a window seat, so I could stare out the window instead of having an unwanted conversation if my neighbor turned out to be a dud, which is what usually happened. I always got paired with the most unappealing partner, one whose body mass — or, worse, smell — would expand over the arm rest into my territory. Even then, it was something to write about, to chuckle 0ver silently.

The best conversation always turns out to be the dialogue you have with yourself.

When you’re alone, every moment is an opportunity for something exciting to happen. There’s nearly always room for one more, but usually not for two.

The first time I traveled alone, I flew to London and took the Eurostar to Paris, where I was studying abroad. It was a transformative two-hour train ride because when I woke up, it was suddenly snowing and everyone was speaking French. When I ran my belongings through security at Gare du Nord, I unknowingly dropped my passport, only to have a stranger pick it up for me. The kindness of strangers shines through when you’re freed from a set tribe of friends, marking you as one of their own. When you’re alone, you belong to everyone.

There are other perks of being a party of one. Like stopping to take a photograph without making anyone wait. Creating your own itinerary on your own whim. Eating wherever and whatever you’d like without a debate. You can walk away any loneliness and realize that sometimes it’s nice to keep quiet and just observe.

Who am I, undefined in this foreign environment? Maybe I’m a tourist. Maybe I’m a mysterious passerby. Or maybe I’m just another person searching for connection. Just like everybody else.

The second time I flew solo, I went to Hong Kong with a duffel bag and checked into the Geo-Home Holiday hostel. My room was the size of a jail cell, but it had everything I needed. I was free to go and come as I pleased. I wandered the city alone and I felt like I was trapped in someone’s dream, or in a movie, or in a universe where I was invisible.

The next morning, I woke up, got my hair washed, and ate fried shrimp balls on a stick with spicy sauce — all for less than two dollars. I spent the rest of the day wandering around Lan Kwai Fong, stopping to eat delicious bubble tea, then an egg tart, then street-style shark fin soup with a BBQ chicken leg. I went to Modern Toilet for dinner and thought about the Mary Douglas book, Purity and Danger, wondering why anyone (myself included) would want to eat in a restaurant that had a bathroom theme. Curiosity, I guess, is what lured me in.

Afterwards, I continued to wear down my summer sandals, my eyes growing weary from the flashing neon lights of the city at night. When I returned to my tiny quarter, I found the owner of the hostel, a bug-eyed woman named Miss Kitty, waiting up to tell me with concern that my mother had called. I thanked her and went to my room. When I started to dial home, I realized that a few more hours of worrying until a morning call wouldn’t kill my mother. I slept more soundly that night than ever.

Traveling alone is so underrated. Is it because we are so desperate to stay connected, afraid to be on our own and make our own decisions? Do we need other people to validate our good times?

We shouldn’t. We — and by “we” I mean “I” — should book that ticket to that city or island or country that we always wanted to visit. I shouldn’t wait for anyone. I won’t wait for anyone to tell me that it’s okay or that they want to go too or that they have a place for me to stay. I’ll just go. 

Source: https://medium.com/the-fathom-collection/when-you-travel-alone-you-belong-to-everyone-9fdf733db42a