Labor Day
I am a bit confused . . . which is no surprise to those of you who know me well . . . but I thought Labor Day was supposed to be a labor stoppage day in celebration of, well, labor. Then why am I working like this?? I guess since Macedonia does not have a Labor Day holiday, folks here are working like a regular day.
Many people here unfortunately do have a job and thus have no labor, at least the variety that produces income and a livelihood. We have an incredible unemployment rate (officially) at 37.7% for the whole country, but the ethnic minority communities suffer far worse levels. According to EU documents the Gypsy unemployment rate is an astounding 78.5%! These unemployment rates have steadily climbed over the last 30 years and show no sign of stopping. Even more critical than the unemployment rates, are the statistics that show 55.1% of the entire population live below the human poverty line. When the annual average income is less than $1800.00 per year, you can imagine what that really means.
Below is the most condemning visual you can imagine. It shows the world’s population by fifths, and how much of the world’s resources each fifth consumes. This balloon is a result of a “more for me” mentality that covers the West. Notice please that the poorest 3/5ths of the world’s population consumes only 6.6% of the world’s resources. That means almost 4 BILLION people live on 6.6% of the world’s resources . . . I am thankful for Labor Day and that I have labor to perform today. That I can have something for my family, but also for many other families. "For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.”
Many people here unfortunately do have a job and thus have no labor, at least the variety that produces income and a livelihood. We have an incredible unemployment rate (officially) at 37.7% for the whole country, but the ethnic minority communities suffer far worse levels. According to EU documents the Gypsy unemployment rate is an astounding 78.5%! These unemployment rates have steadily climbed over the last 30 years and show no sign of stopping. Even more critical than the unemployment rates, are the statistics that show 55.1% of the entire population live below the human poverty line. When the annual average income is less than $1800.00 per year, you can imagine what that really means.
Below is the most condemning visual you can imagine. It shows the world’s population by fifths, and how much of the world’s resources each fifth consumes. This balloon is a result of a “more for me” mentality that covers the West. Notice please that the poorest 3/5ths of the world’s population consumes only 6.6% of the world’s resources. That means almost 4 BILLION people live on 6.6% of the world’s resources . . . I am thankful for Labor Day and that I have labor to perform today. That I can have something for my family, but also for many other families. "For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.”
