MARK HILL - writer guy
Help takes a holiday
Originally published in
The Ottawa Citizen & The Montreal Gazette
Help takes a holiday
by Mark Hill
Did you make a donation to the Asian tsunami relief effort? Did you make another a little while later? Maybe a third one that you couldn't really afford a few days after that?
It's frustrating, isn't it? The pictures and stories come back and you devour every image and every word. And if you're like a lot of people, you're now walking around with this burning urge to do something. Not just write a check, hand over a credit card or fill in an online form, but actually do something. But all the experts say collecting and sending in food and blankets and whatnot is inefficient, prohibitively expensive to transport and really more trouble than it's worth. And all the aid agency websites have polite, but firm, messages saying thanks for your interest in volunteering, but unless you're skilled specialist with a dozen years of field experience, you'd just get in the way so please stay home and send money.
It's hard to know what to do. But I think I've got an answer — take a vacation. I'm serious. If you really want to help, start planning your next holiday. And make southeast Asia your destination.
There's an old saying that the best social program is a decent job. It's true for individuals and it's just as true for countries and regions. Now, I'm not here to slag the relief effort. It's doing, and will continue to do, good things. In the short term, people will be clothed, fed, given safe water, offered medical attention and provided with shelter. But if the people of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and elsewhere are to truly rebuild their lives and recapture some of what they have lost, there needs to be a functioning market economy in the area. And in the normally sunny and picturesque region devastated by the disaster of Dec. 26, the single most important driver of economic activity is tourism.
I was in the area exactly one month to the day before the tsunami struck (staying at a beach bungalow near Krabi and diving off Phi Phi island — a close call, huh?) and can attest to the fact that the people of that area are all fed, clothed, housed, educated and cared for by tourism. From the poorest of the poor who spend 15-hour days selling cold drinks out of a cooler, to entire families running a restaurant, internet cafe or guesthouse, all are as dependent on tourism as we are on whatever local industry keeps us going.
Once the immediate survival needs are taken care of and some of the public infrastructure rebuilt, the long-term challenge will be the reconstruction of the local economy. We can all help. And it's easy — just spend, spend, spend.
Here's how:
Spend early: Late winter is a good time to make plans and bookings for your fall vacation. If you're a package tour kinda person, book early. If you're an independent traveller, reserve your air tickets. These sorts of things are tracked by tourism agencies and provide people in the trade with a good predictor of coming business. By making plans early you'll help send a message that things are set to pick up. You'll not only instil hope with area workers, you'll get local investors pouring cash into tourist infrastructure projects. And that means real jobs for a lot of people.
Spend locally: Those huge resorts operated by international conglomerates do employ locals. But not as many as you'd think and at pretty poor wages. But you can find a great selection of comfortable facilities owned and operated by local people all over the region. Turn up with a decent guidebook and a sense of adventure and you'll do just fine. On the other hand, if planning ahead is your thing, you'll be amazed by how much you can accomplish over the Internet.
Spend a lot: Ask the boss for an extra week's vacation. Add a star to your normal style of hotel and stay somewhere a little more fancy. Eat out every day. Have that extra beer or two. Take the boat tour. Hire a guide. Consider leaving your old clothes at home and buying a whole new vacation wardrobe once you arrive. How about genuine, hand-crafted, southeast Asian Christmas gifts for everybody on your list? Remember, you're not just shopping, you're creating a viable market.
It's not often that life presents you with a chance to help millions of people rebuild their economy and get their lives and communities back to normal by taking time off work, travelling to an exotic locale halfway around the globe, kicking back and relaxing amidst some of the world's most spectacular scenery, and spending money like a drunken sailor on shore leave.
Don't let this opportunity pass you by.
— 30 --
Mark Hill is an Ottawa writer.
The Ottawa Citizen & The Montreal Gazette
Help takes a holiday
by Mark Hill
Did you make a donation to the Asian tsunami relief effort? Did you make another a little while later? Maybe a third one that you couldn't really afford a few days after that?
It's frustrating, isn't it? The pictures and stories come back and you devour every image and every word. And if you're like a lot of people, you're now walking around with this burning urge to do something. Not just write a check, hand over a credit card or fill in an online form, but actually do something. But all the experts say collecting and sending in food and blankets and whatnot is inefficient, prohibitively expensive to transport and really more trouble than it's worth. And all the aid agency websites have polite, but firm, messages saying thanks for your interest in volunteering, but unless you're skilled specialist with a dozen years of field experience, you'd just get in the way so please stay home and send money.
It's hard to know what to do. But I think I've got an answer — take a vacation. I'm serious. If you really want to help, start planning your next holiday. And make southeast Asia your destination.
There's an old saying that the best social program is a decent job. It's true for individuals and it's just as true for countries and regions. Now, I'm not here to slag the relief effort. It's doing, and will continue to do, good things. In the short term, people will be clothed, fed, given safe water, offered medical attention and provided with shelter. But if the people of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and elsewhere are to truly rebuild their lives and recapture some of what they have lost, there needs to be a functioning market economy in the area. And in the normally sunny and picturesque region devastated by the disaster of Dec. 26, the single most important driver of economic activity is tourism.
I was in the area exactly one month to the day before the tsunami struck (staying at a beach bungalow near Krabi and diving off Phi Phi island — a close call, huh?) and can attest to the fact that the people of that area are all fed, clothed, housed, educated and cared for by tourism. From the poorest of the poor who spend 15-hour days selling cold drinks out of a cooler, to entire families running a restaurant, internet cafe or guesthouse, all are as dependent on tourism as we are on whatever local industry keeps us going.
Once the immediate survival needs are taken care of and some of the public infrastructure rebuilt, the long-term challenge will be the reconstruction of the local economy. We can all help. And it's easy — just spend, spend, spend.
Here's how:
Spend early: Late winter is a good time to make plans and bookings for your fall vacation. If you're a package tour kinda person, book early. If you're an independent traveller, reserve your air tickets. These sorts of things are tracked by tourism agencies and provide people in the trade with a good predictor of coming business. By making plans early you'll help send a message that things are set to pick up. You'll not only instil hope with area workers, you'll get local investors pouring cash into tourist infrastructure projects. And that means real jobs for a lot of people.
Spend locally: Those huge resorts operated by international conglomerates do employ locals. But not as many as you'd think and at pretty poor wages. But you can find a great selection of comfortable facilities owned and operated by local people all over the region. Turn up with a decent guidebook and a sense of adventure and you'll do just fine. On the other hand, if planning ahead is your thing, you'll be amazed by how much you can accomplish over the Internet.
Spend a lot: Ask the boss for an extra week's vacation. Add a star to your normal style of hotel and stay somewhere a little more fancy. Eat out every day. Have that extra beer or two. Take the boat tour. Hire a guide. Consider leaving your old clothes at home and buying a whole new vacation wardrobe once you arrive. How about genuine, hand-crafted, southeast Asian Christmas gifts for everybody on your list? Remember, you're not just shopping, you're creating a viable market.
It's not often that life presents you with a chance to help millions of people rebuild their economy and get their lives and communities back to normal by taking time off work, travelling to an exotic locale halfway around the globe, kicking back and relaxing amidst some of the world's most spectacular scenery, and spending money like a drunken sailor on shore leave.
Don't let this opportunity pass you by.
— 30 --
Mark Hill is an Ottawa writer.