For someone growing up in an oil producing state, the problem faced is environmental pollution in various forms but especially air and water pollution. This was the case of someone I know. She grew up in the riverine part of town in a state where oil exploration was taking place. Due to frequent oil spillages and combustion of oil, the rivers close to her home were destroyed and inaccessible. This was attributed to the thick slurry that covered the entire water surface. As a child, she was limited on the types of activities that she could do. Even though playing by the riverbank had been a lifelong tradition for the people there, she could not partake in it. People that live in such areas were originally fishermen but have had to look for other means of livelihood because all the fishes were either dead or non consumable.
This sadly had an effect on her childhood because she could not explore her surroundings and therefore had minimal experiences. On the other hand, it also affected the finances in her home seeing as her parents could no longer earn an income in ways they knew how to.
According to her, her family managed to leave their hometown and moved to the city where they did odd jobs to survive. She obtained scholarships for her studies and today she is a good writer who was able to break the cycle of poverty.
VIOLENCE
In Mexico, the rate of collective violence and this includes: shootings, murders, kidnapping has increased over the years and its effects go beyond the physical injuries. It also affects people psychologically especially in children as Bahrman et al., 2004 work states (as cited in Quiroga et al., 2015).
The exposure to collective violence has caused an increase in the rate of depression cases in childhood as stated in Kleve's 2012 work (as cited in Quiroga et al., 2015). There are various symptoms of depression such as sadness, loss of speed, feelings of shame and guilt. All of this affects a child's academic abilities because they are usually less likely to interact with their classmates. They are also less likely to focus on their studies as explained in Soutullo and Mardomingo's, 2010 work (as cited in Quiroga et al., 2015).
A study carried out showed that even though collective violence causes depression, social family support was able to reduce childhood depression because of its positive effect on a child's well-being (Quiroga et al., 2015)
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Mexico is a beautiful place to visit but the violence is scary. I recently heard they were hesitant about cruises going to Mexico. It's sad how much negative exposure kids experience. Depression for kids is hard. I hope there is some type of treatment available.
ReplyDeleteHi Adiele,
ReplyDeleteMexico is a place that is currently a place that is being ravished with violence on many different levels. I can not imagine being a child growing up with all the violence occurring all around. This is a poverty-stricken place that depends on the drug market to survive. It's unfortunate that the children have to live through these type of conditions.
Ashley, it is really tough on the children especially those that are being exploited by the drug cartels in exchange for money or protection for their families.
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