I'm the 1% and That's Okay

Working Man - Rita MacNeil

Rita MacNeil released this tribute to coal miners in 1990 remembering too many who die not just on the job but as a result of the job. She has gone now to sing with the choirs of angels. RIP Rita (April 16, 2013)

The horrific building collapse in Bangladesh on Thursday April 25, 2013, which has thus far claimed hundreds of innocent lives is very sad. Anytime someone leaves their home to go to work, it is with the expectation that they will come home at the end of the day. But that expectation is not always a reality, just ask the family of Toronto Police Department Sergeant Ryan Russell about their experience. In the quest to serve and protect, he was run down and killed and never went home again. Each year an average of 68 teenagers die on the job in Canada. Each day at least 5 Canadians die on the job. Granted that doesn't compare with the catastrophic numbers accumulated in one instance in Bangladesh, but the point is that it is a global tragedy not a "one of". 

The reason the whole issue has become blog fodder is the media response to the situation. Close up images of clothing labels that were destined for the Canadian market led to calls for the companies to do something. My question is why? The companies approached garment factories with fair market offers to provide jobs. Nowhere is it said that workers in other countries are eligible for the benefits and standards of Canadians. Employee wages and benefits are not the responsibility of the company doing the outsourcing. In this case, it was the building that was substandard. The owner knew it had structural flaws and chose to ignore it. Should the Canadian company start a process of building inspection and then do they have the authority to send workers home (with pay?) when a crack in the foundation is detected? If I am indirectly going to pay for these expenses, then I would like the option to return these jobs to my neighbourhood instead.

Compassion is a wonderful thing and something I like to ascribe my own life and values to, but I can't be financially or morally responsible for everyone in the world. Disasters (both natural and man-made) happen. California has spent ungodly amounts of money ensuring that buildings will withstand earthquakes as much as possible. Some other earthquake prone areas in the world have not done the same. So when an earthquake occurs, globally we rush to do what we can for the survivors. Should we have been there before shelling out billions of dollars to make the buildings more stable? The country itself needs to take some responsibility for its citizens also. As does Bangladesh with it's presumably deplorable working conditions for its' factory workers. As soon as you make the Canadian company responsible, I become financially responsible with every subsequent purchase. The standards in working conditions and pay that we enjoy in this country, did not come by expecting handouts from other countries. Our ancestors fought the system and paid a price to have what we have here. Workers rights, womens rights...none of it comes easy or free. 

In my small community there are many people I know personally who are living at or below the poverty level. No one in Bangladesh (for example) is going to be assisting them to have a better life. As long as there is one person living on the streets of my country because they can no longer afford to survive, my charitable dollars need to be here. It may not be a building collapse (although that did happen in Eliot Lake Ontario), but it can be a flood, explosion, tornado or other natural disaster or even God forbid, the after effects of a terrorist attack. People in my backyard need help. The injured innocent of Boston Massachusetts bombing who have the sudden unexpected expense of prosthetic limbs and extended hospital stay, loss of income - because of the selfishness of zealots. The generosity afforded those heathens is evident with their admittance into the country. That needs to stop too!

The 8-storey building collapsed in Bangladesh housed several business including what we would consider to be sweat-shop clothing factories. Some reports suggest that as many as 2000 people were in the building at the time, the last report I saw had the death toll count up to nearly 350** and the search was continuing. But the search has widened beyond the crumbled walls of the building. The owner and several family members are also being sought, for they ignored warnings of critical structural flaws. I don't know the age of the building or if shoddy workmanship in the initial construction of the building played any part in the disaster, but I can attest to the quality of workmanship in some of the garments I have purchased labeled "Made in Bangladesh". You get what you pay for. And sometimes that is okay.

With apologies, I find that the compassion and empathy I once had for society in general is waning in leaps and bounds with each new threat of terror or terrorist act perpetrated against the innocent. I don't want to live in fear and I resent every person with a gun or a grudge who lash out in the name of religion or their skewed view of justice. ENOUGH! 

**final death toll as of May 13, 2013 is 1127. Miraculously 1 survivor after 17 days in the makeshift concrete tomb.