Oscar

Having two small children, the movies I have recently seen are mainly kid’s movies, “The Incredibles” and the like. So, I had no idea which movies were nominated for Oscars this year, or what they were about, and, aside from a short section at the end, I missed the Oscar’s ceremony on TV.

yesterday I heard an interview with the Oscar winner in the Documentary Film category, Zana Briski who had made the documentary about the children born in Brothels in Calcutta. The interview made me want to see the film which is about how much a little hope, a little love, a little attention can do to pull these kids out of the cycle of misery and despair that they are caught up in. How little money and resources it takes to make a huge difference in their lives.

It reminded me of a recent report I read about special schools that are created for child laborers in Iran. On a shoestring budget, a non governmental organization has created a school for kids who can not attend regular school because they are working during the day as manual laborers, peddlers, etc.

How many of these children could be pulled out of poverty with the billions of dollars spent on military and senseless wars? Will people come to realize that the idea that capitalism is the system of opportunities and you just need to be smart or hard-working to succeed, implying that the poor are either dumb or lazy, is a falsehood?