Would man go as far as to slowly and painstakingly
destroy more than 700 lives in the name of profit? Apparently, yes. In
a land reeking with disease, coupled with poverty, the survival of the
people of Kamukhaan merely hangs by a thread. Through relating their observations
and what they have endured throughout the years, they are actually crying
for help. Too deeply mired in their state of sickness, poverty and hopelessness,
maybe it is the only thing that they can do. Perhaps we can help in lifting
themselves up from the place that profit-hungry corporations had put them
into, and once more give them a glimpse of the life that they once had
and deserve. It is in far-flung villages like Kamukhaan where the picture
of globalization and human greed is most clearly depicted. Unfortunately,
few ever seem to take notice, and even fewer who choose not to ignore and
succumb to apathy. The victims of suffering and injustice have knocked
on our doors. They have presented to us their plight, which clearly, in
black and white, reveals the grave impact pesticides use has on people’s
lives, how it caused the degeneration of Kamukhaan from a natural paradise
to that of a living hell. The damage created by tyrant companies can only
be undone with the aid of people, who unlike them value the intrinsic worth
of human life over any amount of money or profit. Perhaps by working hand
in hand with the people of Kamukhaan in rebuilding their homes and lives,
we may be one in our hope in transforming this world nearer to the paradise
we want for ourselves, for our children, and for the future. For as long
as villages like Kamukhaan exist, the battle against injustice, human greed
and oppression is never won.
