Comments on: 6 Billion Others

By: Justin Miller

Justin Miller — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 00:49:28 +0000

I can’t imagine having to do what these workers did. I couldn’t imagine leaving my family and everyone I know to go and work in a factory. In a way it’s like college. You leave everything you know and start a new life, live in a dorm, and go to school. The difference is that we’re going to college, and for many of us it’s easy to go home and visit. Additionally, we’re in college, not stuck working in a factory. It would be an incredibly hard sacrifice to make, and I know many of the people are doing it to benefit their families.

I also really liked the article about the factory girls. I think that it would be a very good book to read that would provide a good perspective to what the individual experiences that these people have. I think it would be extremely difficult to go from moving away from home, to working in a factory, and then back to visit your home town. The experiences that you would have while away would change your experience of your former life and I think it would be hard to transition back to that life if you decided you didn’t want to work in a factory anymore.

By: Matt Eves

Matt Eves — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 20:59:23 +0000

It is amazing what technology has afforded us today. We can listen to stories from people from all over the world and be blown away by the differences between the situations of others and our own. Taking the time to listen to someone else’s story, anybody’s story, forces you to step outside of your own little world into the lives of others.

I have seen some attempts at sites like this: jaudible.com -stories of people from all over the world. 6 Billion others is the best I’ve seen and one I plan to frequent. We have it good here, and we need to be reminded all the time.

By: Andrew Welborn

Andrew Welborn — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 23:04:51 +0000

The interview with Jia Yi Yang was very moving. She is obviously happy to have a job where she can progress, but is very emotional about her family and what they gave to her. She has large aspirations for her future, which many of her fellow workers also must have, making those goals difficult to attain. She knows what she wants and she seems determined to get it and lift her family out of poverty. There must be millions of people with stories similar to her. These interviews really put a face to the shifts that are occurring in China and show what these people are truly made of. With widespread formal education, China will be a major force to contend with in the near future.

My parents never went to college, but are comfortable in their current situation. They have been so supportive of my journey, but it pales in comparison to anything that these young men and women endure. The appreciation for her parents providing her with food really grounded me in the reality of their situation. Any complaint I have would be a blessing for Jia Yi Yang, which is even more reason to have the no whining policy, because we truly have nothing to complain about.

By: Alex vanDalen

Alex vanDalen — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 21:41:36 +0000

I like stories like this. It one of the primary reasons I like to travel to dirty and poor areas. There is something extremely powerful and inspiring in the raw power that comes to people through necessity. I am reminded of the cliché mother who, in a moment of desperation, is able to lift the car from on top of her child. I never feel more alive, or life around me, than when I am in the middle of a ghetto, except for perhaps the middle of nowhere. Perhaps it is because they are both areas that are wild and untamed.

I want to learn from people who have this type of mindset, partly because I believe that they have a certain advantage over me. They are very tough; I can scarcely imagine being so tough no matter how I try. But I want to try and I want to learn. I hope on our trip we can at times shy away from the boardrooms and outlets of western multinationals to see the face of struggle and poverty and talk to the people who experience it first hand. They will not give up their hard won secrets easily, if at all, but there is likely much that we can learn just from the experience.

By: Scotty Hayes

Scotty Hayes — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 21:10:20 +0000

What a powerful story. Don’t tell anybody, but it brought a tear to my eye. I have said it before, but I will say it again, all of us are fortunate in so many different ways. Please don’t take any freedom that we have for granted because there are billions of people around the world fighting everyday for those very same freedoms.

Not until recently did I really see and understand the sacrifices that my parents gave to my life. I think we all owe our parents that letter Morgan mentioned earlier.

By: Xiaofei Song

Xiaofei Song — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 20:56:28 +0000

I always like to know the different perspective of people about their lives. This website shows people from all over the world talking about their import section in their lives, which is very amazing!

By watching these videos, I always compare my life with them. I was very shocked by the section of fear, since it shows the most differentiation of how people think about their lives. Some people care about their family and some people just hope there will be no war in the world. After watching the video, I feel that it is very selfish to just care about my own feeling. People should care more about others emotion; try to understand more about other people. There might be something we can do that changes their life.

I really feel that my life is good and I am very lucky!

By: Victoria Rodriguez

Victoria Rodriguez — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 19:35:07 +0000

The young woman’s story as has been said is inspirational and makes me want to push forward as she does each day.

I enjoyed the profile of the man from Nepal. His entire essence throughout the interview was positive with a love of life and people. Maybe he had a drink beforehand, or living in Nepal is the reason, or maybe he is just one of those inspirational people. After this quarter, I really needed this, and maybe I should have watched this video in the middle of the quarter.

By: Jamie Hastings

Jamie Hastings — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 22:42:41 +0000

Jia Yi Ying’s story is pretty neat and very humbling. I, like so many others have stated, take a lot for granted. It is very humbling to see what simple things can bring so much happiness into so many people’s lives that go unnoticed in our own.

Some of the dreams and aspirations of the people on this site really put things in perspective. It kind of makes you think, that if you have every thought you had it hard, there are millions of others out there that have had it tougher for their entire lives. We are some of the luckiest people on earth to be able to do what we are doing right now.

By: David Caldwell

David Caldwell — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 04:30:54 +0000

I really enjoyed listening to Jia Yi Ying’s story - this website really seems to have a human touch. I think that just listening to people talk about their lives and watching their mannerisms works wonders in helping me to understand where they come from - something I just can’t get out of the CIA World Factbook.

Child labor is basically a social taboo today, but it seems perfectly reasonable to expect it in undeveloped societies - having many children the old days wasn’t just “another mouth to feed,” it was another hand in the field; it increased a family’s productivity and was a sign of honor. As the “lemonade stand” article indicates, market forces and new technology were the primary forces for removing children from the workforce. This makes me think that there are more solutions besides government regulation for solving our social problems.

By: Logan J Travis

Logan J Travis — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 18:50:06 +0000

That was a little potent for me; I closed the page when she began to sing. I’m especially ashamed that I will probably never feel the degree of gratitude for my parents that she does for hers everyday… Ugh, that is a bad way to start a considered response.

I want to ask the group: “How many of you see yourselves working to repay the support of your parents?”

I love my family (my irritating younger brother included). But I’ve never felt it as my duty to give back their aide in monetary terms. They certainly provided me a better springboard than most, and I do feel I owe them…