Krazy Krystal's Laboratory

Where is the "common" wealth ?!?!

The city of Melbourne is abuzz with the Commonwealth Games, and there are colour lift-outs in every newspaper available. Along with the medal tallys, interviews, predictions and highlights, there are also the heart-warming stories of athletes who have struggled to be here, who's rags to riches stories are meant to inspire us and fill us with warm fuzzy feelings over our cornflakes in the morning.

Personally it makes me feel a little ill. Look at the nations of the commonwealth... a staggering percentage of them are classified as developing countries. So I ask you where is the "common wealth" there? Teams from Malawi, Tanzania, .. some of the poorest nations on the planet, who have had to be sponsored by Victorian communities just to be able to afford team uniforms and equipment. Imagine if an equal amount of money was then spent on the poverty stricken communities in those nations.. how many goats could we buy? People could we educate and train? Children could we feed?

When faced with the contrast of the opulance and spectacular of the opening ceremony , versus the violence, poverty and oppression in countries like sierra leone, can you really blame the athletes for trying to defect...

When you look at the medal tally, it seems that the Games are slightly weighted in favour of certain nations. And when you look at the quality of life across the commonwealth, infant mortality, life expectancy, literacy and income and you'll see the scales are tipped even further.

So yes, I'm enjoying the free festivals, concerts and exhibitions... but the shiny glow of gold has been tainted a little for me...

posted by Dr Krystal @ 6:03 am