Term 3 Week 2 (Blogging Assignment)

Water is the essence of life. Without it, life cannot be sustained. Over 70% of the Earth’s surface is covered by water, however only 3% of it constituents the life-giving resource that people need. This limited amount should be distributed out evenly so that the countries can sustain themselves, but this is hardly the case. Wealthy countries have the money and the resources to buy as much water as they want. On the other hand, poorer countries who do not have the money cannot afford water, thus leading to water-shortages. The presence of droughts in some of these areas aggravates the problem. This leads to the issue of whether water should be treated as a human right or a commodity.

Undoubtedly, water is necessary for all living things. It has been proven that the average human cannot survive without water for more than 3 days. Since water is so vital for human survival, shouldn’t every person get what they need? Water as a human right means that water can be distributed to anybody who requires it, regardless of wealth, social status and power. However, water as a commodity means that only those who can afford to purchase it at its market value can get it, while the rest are doomed to die of thirst. Unlike commodities like soft drinks that we consume for pleasure, water is the fuel that keeps us alive.

There is much debate on this issue. Many think that water should be a human right, because the millions of people who can’t afford it would die otherwise. Humans NEED water, without it life cannot be sustained. However, others argue that water should be a commodity, because they believe that such a precious resource should not be given freely, and only to those who have actually EARNED it. Personally, I feel that water should be a human right, but hey, I’m a kid. What do I know?

Term 3 Week 1 (Blogging Assignment)

Maids come to Singapore to earn more money to support their families back home, who are not as fortunate as us in terms of finance. Hence, they tend to work harder. For these maids, I think that a weekly day off is fair because they are working 7 days a week, everyday working from morning to night. Personally, my maid cooks most of my meals, does the laundry, and cleans the house. Because she has done so much, I think that she deserves the day off. However, other Singapore employers may think that their maid has done a sloppy job, and is not happy to give them a day off every week. I think that they would be dissatisfied if the weekly day off policy is legislated. Hence, this is a very debatable subject. On one side are those maids who earned their day off, and the other side is the maids who do a slipshod job and take the day off. Hence, I think that if the policy is to be implemented, employers should have a choice to appeal to the agency to take away this privilege if the maid seems like she does not deserve it. Another suggestion that I have is to change the policy to a day off every 2-4 weeks, depending on the employer. The employer has to give a day off at least once a month, and can choose to give more if the maid deserves it.