The Suffering of Peoples... France's Protests as an Example

A Useful Summary

Most of the world’s peoples are suffering from severe crises and hardships. To illustrate, the Philippines endures misery, with 7,641 islands struck by approximately 22 typhoons annually, alongside active volcanoes. People in Haiti, an island near Cuba, were forced to make mud cakes, shaped like cookies and laid out on the ground to dry. The poor then consume them because food prices are high, accepting to eat mud as it fills their hunger. In Guatemala, it has become dangerous for students to go to school, and the situation in West Africa has deteriorated due to armed terrorist groups.

In Iran, economic pressures have caused its currency to collapse, meaning the standard of living for Iranians has declined. In Australia, retirees often do not have enough money to buy a car, and half of the world’s population lives on less than two dollars a day.

Poverty exists even in wealthy countries. Among the German population, 12.5 million people are poor. In the United States, one in six Americans lives in poverty, with many Americans homeless on the streets, and the same applies to Britain. In Latin America, Colombia is notorious for drug production and trafficking. The situation there has become so dangerous that judges now fear assassination, and indeed, assassinations have occurred.

In India, some people commit suicide when the land fails to produce agricultural crops. The Indian rupee was once highly valued, but its price has depreciated more than 65 times against the dollar over 70 years. In Central America, a famine occurred in Nicaragua, and its government asked its people to eat lizards.

North Korea endures a miserable life due to its political system. Its leader executes officials for the slightest reasons; nearly 70 officials were executed by 2015, and a minister was executed for dozing off during a meeting. Poor Japanese people hide their financial situation from others, as it is considered shameful according to Japanese traditions. A Japanese family died in their home because they could not afford heating. There are also millions of poor Russians, alongside a general deterioration of the Arab situation. The examples mentioned above are just that—examples.

Hardly any country is free from livelihood problems, even in developed nations. France is currently experiencing its worst wave of internal unrest. What began as protests by some high school students over teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms, and dilapidated school buildings due to budget cuts, has turned into widespread street protests against rising prices. Diesel and gasoline prices, as well as food prices, have increased. Stores have been looted and vandalized, and fires have engulfed historic buildings dating back to the 19th century. The anger has spread to other European countries.

It is well known that Africans, Arabs, Afghans, and others entered Europe in 2015 and afterward, fleeing the deteriorating conditions in their home countries. Terrorist acts occurred in some countries, perhaps to falsely blame them. Consequently, France, and even European right-wing parties, have become xenophobic against immigrants, gaining popular support. The current unrest engulfing France benefits the far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, who exploits the chaos in France to present herself as a prospective presidential leader in the upcoming elections. Writer Matthew Hennessey, writing in the "Wall Street Journal," insulted Muslims, stating: "The days of anger in France seem to be a migrant revolution, a strange alliance between Muslim youth and communist students, and the common denominator among them all is unemployment."

As President Trump said about the protests in France: “What is happening there concerns immigrants, not schools. I told President Macron: Close your borders, or you will find nothing but trouble, and now they are facing it.” We say: How strange that a refugee, who has been granted the right to reside in Europe along with financial assistance, would stage protests against the country that gave him shelter?