Awake!, December 8, 1992

Awake! — December 8, 1992

Source: jw.org

Contents

Page Two

Resolved to Help the Children

Children in Crisis

A Bright Future for Children

How Can I Deal With My Parents’ Criticisms?

Fuelwood—Is the Future Going Up in Smoke?

Those Beautiful Orchids!

“An Answer to My Prayer”

Look at the Places We Call Home

To the Top of Europe by Rail

“Our Daily Bread”

Why Profanity Is Not for Christians

Watching the World

Grateful for “Awake!”

Page Two

What Future for the Children? 3-9

Thousands of children die every day from disease or malnutrition. What hope is there that more children can lead a happy, secure life in the future?

Those Beautiful Orchids! 16

Orchids have fascinated humans for a long time. This article takes a closer look at this beautiful creation.

To the Top of Europe by Rail 24

Building a railway to one of the highest mountains in Switzerland was a colossal task. How was it done?

[Picture Credit Line on page 2]

Photo: Courtesy of Jardinería Juan Bourguignon, Madrid, Spain

Resolved to Help the Children

YESTERDAY 40,000 children under the age of five died in developing countries. Another 40,000 will die today. Another 40,000 tomorrow. Most of these deaths could be prevented.

For years this situation has been called the “silent emergency” or the “quiet catastrophe,” meaning that it has largely escaped world attention. “If 40,000 spotted owls were dying every day, there would be outrage. But 40,000 children are dying, and it’s hardly noticed,” lamented Peter Teeley, a U.S. spokesman at the UN World Summit for Children held at UN headquarters in New York in 1990.

The summit, some feel, may eventually change all of that. Top officials, including 71 heads of State, attended from 159 countries. Together they represented 99 percent of the world’s population. The mood was summed up by Mikhail Gorbachev, who said: “Mankind can no longer put up with the fact that millions of children die every year.”

In the days leading up to the summit, the world showed its support. Literally hundreds of national and community meetings, seminars, workshops, and debates focused on the plight of children. Over a million people in 80 countries lit candles to symbolize their hope that despite the problems and dangers ahead, the world could be made a better place.

The final day of the summit was hailed by UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) as “perhaps the most momentous day ever for children around the world.” Why such enthusiasm? Because world leaders had adopted a concrete “Plan of Action” to reduce the suffering and death of youngsters throughout the earth.

Admittedly, the history of conference diplomacy is rife with broken promises. Yet, many sensed a new spirit of sincerity and cooperation as a result of the end of the Cold War. James Grant, UNICEF’s executive director, enthusiastically stated: “The heads of State and Government took, in effect, the first step toward establishing the well-being of all people—of ‘grown-up children’ as well as children—as the central objective of development in a new world order.”

Indeed, within a year following the summit, most nations had already drawn up national plans to implement the summit resolutions. This prompted Director Grant to say: “We now see a very realistic prospect that health for all children will be achieved by the year 2000.”

But just what is the plight of the children, the world’s shameful family secret, that has been exposed by the international media? Is there now, in the post-Cold War atmosphere of international cooperation, sound reason to believe that the United Nations will spearhead a marvelous new world order? Can we realistically hope for a bright future for our children? The next two articles will consider these questions.

Children in Crisis

A boy, age 12, toils 11 hours a day breaking rocks in a quarry in India. He earns 85 cents (U.S.) a day.

A girl, ten, sells her body in a Bangkok brothel. She is not there because she wants to be. Her father sold her for $400.

A young soldier, ten, helps to man a roadblock in an African country. A machine gun hangs from his shoulder; he passes time smoking marijuana.

SUCH situations are all too common in the developing nations. Children in crisis number into the millions. Seven million languish in refugee camps; 30 million wander the streets homeless; 80 million between the ages of 10 and 14 labor at jobs that cripple their normal development; well over 100 million face death in this decade for want of food, clean water, and health care.

Consider just a few of the problems facing children around the globe.

Disease

About 8,000 children die each day because they have not been vaccinated against such diseases as measles and whooping cough. An additional 7,000 die daily because their parents do not know how to deal with the dehydration that results from diarrhea. Every day another 7,000 children die because they are not given a dollar’s worth of antibiotics to fight against respiratory infections.

For years medicines and therapies have been available to prevent or cure many of the illnesses that have long scourged the human family. But they have not reached millions who need them. As a result, during the past two decades, about a hundred million children perished from diarrheic and respiratory diseases alone. “It is as if a cure had finally been found for cancer but then little used for 20 years,” bemoaned UNICEF’s State of the World’s Children 1990.

Despite the grim situation, progress has been made. For example, UNICEF and WHO (World Health Organization) have pursued a vigorous campaign of immunization. In 1991 it was announced that 80 percent of the world’s children had been immunized against the six vaccine-preventable diseases—measles, tetanus, diphtheria, polio, tuberculosis, and whooping cough. Together with parallel efforts in the control of diarrheic diseases, this has resulted in the saving of several million young lives each year.

But in recent years another disease—AIDS—has emerged to threaten and possibly even reverse all the progress made in African child survival over the past decade. During the decade of the 90’s, as many as 2.7 million youngsters may die from AIDS in Africa alone. By the year 2000, an additional three million to five million children in Central and East Africa may be orphaned because their parents died of AIDS.

Malnutrition

All of us are painfully familiar with the tragic pictures of starving children with skeletonlike bodies, bloated bellies, and dull eyes staring at nothing. Those pathetic youngsters represent just the tip of the iceberg of malnutrition. Throughout the developing world, about 177 million children—1 in 3—go to bed hungry. And their number is increasing.

Persistent malnutrition prevents children from reaching their full mental and physical potential. Most malnourished children are frail, listless, lackluster-eyed, and apathetic. They play less and learn slower than well-fed children. They are also more susceptible to infection, a major factor that contributes to about a third of the 14 million child deaths in developing countries every year.

Just as modern science has produced medicines to fight disease, so it has also made it possible to produce and deliver more than enough food to feed everyone on earth. But there are no quick fixes for malnutrition. It cannot be eliminated by food shipments and vitamin pills. Its roots lie in relentless poverty, widespread ignorance, unclean water, unsanitary conditions, and lack of farmland in poverty-stricken areas.

Environmental Problems

As the global environmental crisis deepens, it is children who are most vulnerable. Consider air pollution. Under age three a child at rest inhales proportionally twice as much air, and with it twice as much pollution, as does a resting adult. And since children do not yet have fully developed kidneys, livers, and enzyme systems, they are not able to process pollutants as efficiently as adults can.

Children thus suffer more harm than adults do from lead additives in gasoline and from gases such as carbon monoxide, nitric oxides, and sulfur dioxide. This vulnerability contributes directly to the death of the more than 4.2 million children under five years of age who die of respiratory infections each year in developing countries. Many of the survivors grow up with respiratory diseases that plague them for the rest of their lives.

Since they are still growing physically, children are also more vulnerable to the effects of improper diet than are adults. In country after country, children are the big losers as forests shrink, deserts grow, and overworked farmland erodes, becomes tired, and produces less and less food. In Africa alone about 39 million children have had their growth stunted because of poor nutrition.

Adding to the problem is the severe shortage of good water. Throughout the developing world, only half of the children have access to clean drinking water, and even fewer have access to sanitary waste-disposal facilities.

War

In times past, most war victims were soldiers. No longer. Since the second world war, 80 percent of the 20 million killed and 60 million wounded in various conflicts have been civilians—mostly women and children. At one stage during the 1980’s, 25 children in Africa were dying every hour as a result of such conflicts! Countless numbers of children have been killed, wounded, abandoned, orphaned, or taken hostage.

The millions of children who are now growing up in refugee camps are often deprived of identity and nationality as well as of adequate food, health care, and education. Many find it impossible to acquire skills that will earn them a place in society.

But children are not merely victims of wars; they are also fighters of wars. In recent years 200,000 youngsters under 15 years of age have been recruited, armed, and trained to kill. Among them were those who lost life or limbs as they obeyed orders to open pathways through fields of land mines.

Child Exploitation

Throughout the developing world, poverty causes parents to sell their children for next to nothing in order to stave off hunger or to pay their debts. What happens to these youngsters? Some are forced into prostitution or into slavery in squalid sweatshops. Others are resold for up to $10,000 by middlemen or Western-based adoption agencies.

Indications show that child prostitution is on the increase and involves ever younger children, both boys and girls. In Brazil alone, there are thought to be as many as 500,000 teenage prostitutes. Child pornography is also thriving and has been given a boost by easily available video equipment.

Priorities

It is difficult to comprehend the pain and the anguish behind the statistics. Mercifully, we cannot grasp suffering by the millions or by the thousands. Yet, many of us are aware of how terrible it is to observe the suffering or the death of just one child—a person with his or her own unique personality, a soul precious to God, an individual with just as much right to live and thrive as anyone else.

Without spending much time considering the unpleasant question of why the situation of children is in its present state, the delegates to the World Summit for Children spoke confidently about the future and vowed to tolerate the situation no longer. Their “Plan of Action” resolved, among other things, to achieve the following goals by the year 2000:

□ To reduce the under-five child mortality rates of the year 1990 by one third.

□ To reduce severe and moderate malnutrition among under-five children to one half of 1990 levels.

□ To provide universal access to safe drinking water and to sanitary means of excreta disposal.

□ To protect children in especially difficult circumstances, particularly in situations of armed conflict.

The additional cost of programs to bring about the goals that could prevent the deaths of 50 million children in the 1990’s has been estimated at $2.5 billion per year.

That is not big money in global terms. In one year American companies spend $2.5 billion on cigarette advertisements. In one day the world spends $2.5 billion on the military.

Presently, military expenditures—conservatively estimated by the United Nations to be over $1 trillion annually—exceed the combined annual incomes of the poorest half of humanity. The diversion of even 5 percent of this vast sum would be enough to speed up progress toward reaching the summit goals. For example, the price tag of a single F/A-18 fighter jet (over $30 million) is equal to the cost of enough vaccines to protect 400 million children against killer diseases.

The nations are able to meet the ambitious goals set out at the summit. They have the knowledge, the technology, and the money. The question remains, Will they?

[Box/Picture on page 6]

Combating Malnutrition

Six Points Parents Should Know

1. Breast milk alone is the best possible food for the first four to six months of a child’s life. It provides complete nutrition and immunizes the child against common infections.

2. By the age of four to six months, the child needs other foods. Introducing solid foods earlier increases the risk of infection; introducing them later leads to malnutrition.

3. A child under three years of age needs to be fed twice as often as an adult, with smaller amounts of more energy-rich food.

4. Food and drink should not be withheld when a child is ill or has diarrhea.

5. After an illness, a child needs an extra meal a day for a week to catch up on the growth lost.

6. At least two years between births is essential for the nutritional health of both mother and child.

[Credit Lines]

Source: United Nations Children Fund

UNICEF/C/91/ Roger Lemoyne

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Only half the developing world’s children have access to clean drinking water

[Credit Line]

UNICEF/3893/89/ Maggie Murray-Lee

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Each child, with it’s unique personality, is precious to God and has as much right to thrive as anyone else

[Credit Line]

Photo: Cristina Solé/Godo-Foto

A Bright Future for Children

AT THE World Summit for Children, many world leaders spoke confidently about the future. They predicted “a new era” for children, “a new dedication to the needs of the child.” They spoke of “‘a new solidarity’ giving ‘life to a united and determined world coalition’” to help the children.

Those are noble words. But just how far the nations will go toward achieving their goals remains to be seen. It is worth noting that within five months of the summit, the nations fought in the Persian Gulf a war that proved to be one of the most expensive—$61 billion—and environmentally destructive ever. In its aftermath hundreds of thousands of people in Iraq and Kuwait were displaced. Thousands perished—at one stage hundreds of people every day—from starvation, exposure, malnutrition, and disease. About 8 in 10 were women and children.

Woes Foretold

Students of God’s Word are aware that the problems afflicting the world’s children were foretold nearly two thousand years ago. The Bible prophesied of these “last days”:

□ “There will be . . . pestilences.” —Luke 21:11.

□ “There will be food shortages.” —Matthew 24:7.

□ “[Men will be] ruining the earth.”—Revelation 11:18.

□ “Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom.”—Mark 13:8.

□ “Critical times hard to deal with will be here. For men will be lovers of themselves, . . . having no natural affection.”—2 Timothy 3:1-3.

The Bible also foretold that the time is soon coming when the nations will think they are making enough headway in patching up mankind’s problems that they will proclaim: “Peace and security!”—1 Thessalonians 5:3.

A Bright Future

That proclamation, however, will actually signal the time for God’s intervention in the affairs of mankind. By means of his heavenly Kingdom, God will remove this present system of things and usher in a new world of true peace and lasting security, for children as well as for adults.—Proverbs 2:21, 22; Daniel 2:44; Matthew 6:10.

Under God’s magnificent Kingdom arrangement, “no resident will say: ‘I am sick.’” (Isaiah 33:24) Malnutrition will be a thing of the past: “There will come to be plenty of grain on the earth; on the top of the mountains there will be an overflow.” (Psalm 72:16) Even war will be no more, for the Bible promises: “[Jehovah] is making wars to cease to the extremity of the earth.”—Psalm 46:9.

But what of all the children—and others—who have already died from malnutrition, disease, or other causes? God’s inspired Word declares: “There is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.”—Acts 24:15.

When he was on earth, Jesus Christ demonstrated that the resurrection to life on earth in God’s new world would include young ones. For example, when a girl about 12 years old died, “people were all weeping and beating themselves in grief for her.” But then, taking the hand of the youngster, Jesus said to her: “Girl, get up!” The historical account relates: “She rose instantly, and he ordered something to be given her to eat.” What was the reaction of her parents? The Bible reports: “They were beside themselves with great ecstasy.”—Luke 8:40-42, 49-56; Mark 5:42.

On another occasion, Jesus met a funeral procession involving a widow whose only-begotten son had died. Jesus “approached and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still, and he said: ‘Young man, I say to you, Get up!’ And the dead man sat up and started to speak, and he [Jesus] gave him to his mother.” Those who were nearby “began to glorify God.”—Luke 7:11-16.

Thus, under the righteous rulership of God’s Kingdom government, children, including those resurrected, will have the brightest future possible. They will be able to grow up in a world of righteousness and peace so beautiful, so secure, so prosperous, that Jesus quite aptly calls it “Paradise.”—Luke 23:43.

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In God’s new world, children will grow up secure, healthy, and happy

How Can I Deal With My Parents’ Criticisms?

Young People Ask . . .

How Can I Deal With My Parents’ Criticisms?

“MANY parents believe the best way for them to help their children improve is by criticizing what they do wrong.” So wrote Clayton Barbeau in his book How to Raise Parents.

No doubt about it, if you are a young person, you probably get corrected by your parents almost as regularly as you get fed. As irritating as this may be at times, such criticism is not necessarily a bad thing.a All of us need correction from time to time; constructive criticism can be healthy, beneficial.

On the other hand, parents do sometimes go overboard, nagging their children to the point of despair. (Colossians 3:21) Or they may let their emotions get the best of them and berate and humiliate their youngsters over minor blunders. Regardless of the manner in which the criticism is rendered, though, it is possible to benefit from it. After all, your parents likely have your best interests at heart. As the Bible said long ago, “the wounds inflicted by a lover are faithful.” (Proverbs 27:6) True, because your parents are so close to you, their faultfinding can hurt deeply. But if you learn to respond wisely to criticism, you can minimize the pain and maximize the gain.

The Wrong Way

Consider young Stephanie’s experience: “When my mother came home from work,” Stephanie relates, “she started nagging about the fact that I didn’t clean the house or throw out the garbage yet. She said, ‘You can’t do anything right around here, but when it comes to going out, you do that right.’ I said, ‘When it comes to nagging, you do that right.’ She started screaming at me and I walked away and closed the door to my room to shut out her voice. She burst in wildly, yelling that I was going to be punished.”—My Parents Are Driving Me Crazy, by Dr. Joyce L. Vedral.

Sound familiar? Then you know how much it hurts to be told that “you can’t do anything right.” Nevertheless, what did Stephanie accomplish by blowing up at her mother? Whining, yelling, or rebelling may only bring out the worst in a parent. What little satisfaction gained by blowing off steam will likely pale in comparison with the punishment that is sure to come. Furthermore, a Christian youth who speaks disrespectfully to a parent suffers some spiritual harm—and risks God’s displeasure.—Proverbs 30:17; Ephesians 6:1, 2.

Stephanie’s mother may not have handled matters in the best way. But isn’t it likely there was more than a grain of truth in her complaints about Stephanie? So by resisting criticism, Stephanie not only made life more difficult for herself but also missed out on a chance to make needed improvements.

The Value of Listening

The Bible gives this advice: “Listen to counsel and accept discipline, in order that you may become wise in your future.” (Proverbs 19:20) Yes, squelch the urge to justify yourself, whine, or fire back some criticisms of your own, and focus on what exactly is being said. ’Teen magazine put it this way: “Listen to criticism with your head and not your emotions.”

Doing so helps you avoid magnifying or exaggerating what your parent is saying. Is your parent really calling you worthless or a complete failure, or is he or she simply saying you did a sloppy job of painting the garage or of cleaning the stove? If the latter is true, why overreact? “There is no one on earth who does what is right all the time and never makes a mistake,” says the Bible. (Ecclesiastes 7:20, Today’s English Version) And even if you did fail at some particular task, it hardly means that you are a failure at life itself. So remind yourself that you have other strengths and virtues.

Keeping Cool Under Fire

“Every time he does something stupid,” confessed one father, “I say, ‘You jerk.’” What if your parent likewise resorts to name-calling or other verbal abuse? First, get hold of your emotions! “Anyone holding back his sayings is possessed of knowledge, and a man of discernment is cool of spirit.”—Proverbs 17:27.

Don’t focus on the supposed injustice of what is being said; that will just get you angrier. Focus, instead, on the areas in which you need to improve. Remind yourself that your parents love you and that they are probably not being malicious. (The father quoted above admitted: “I shouldn’t be calling him a jerk all the time. Soon he’ll believe it.”) Give them the benefit of the doubt if they appear to be tired or stressed-out from work. “The insight of a man certainly slows down his anger, and it is beauty on his part to pass over transgression.”—Proverbs 19:11.b

While a counterattack would be inappropriate, you may be able to take some of the steam out of the assault. For example, try rephrasing your parent’s words, refocusing them on the problem. If your father calls you a jerk because he doesn’t like the way you waxed the family car, try responding: “You’re upset because I did a poor job of waxing the car.” Or you might simply agree with the criticism. (“You’re right, Dad. I should have done a better job.”) Or try asking for specific ways to make improvement. Says Proverbs 15:1: “An answer, when mild, turns away rage, but a word causing pain makes anger to come up.”

Do you remember Judge Gideon? The Bible says that he led the nation of Israel to a dramatic victory over the enemy nation of Midian. Gideon then sent messengers to the prominent tribe of Ephraim and asked them to block the escape of the defeated Midianites. The Ephraimites responded, capturing two of Midian’s princes. But then the proud tribesmen “vehemently tried to pick a quarrel” with Gideon! They were offended that they had not been invited to participate in the battle earlier on.—Judges 8:1.

This verbal attack was clearly unjustified. And had Gideon been the impulsive type, he might have given the Ephraimites a piece of his mind—and precipitated civil war. Instead, he replied: “What now have I done in comparison with you? Are not the gleanings of Ephraim better than the grape gathering of Abi-ezer?” (Judges 8:2) Gideon’s reply meant that in capturing the Midianite princes, the Ephraimites had accomplished more than had Gideon himself. Gideon’s mild and humble reply thus deflected the unfair criticism and maintained peace.

The lesson? Avoid overreacting when your parents criticize you. Staying calm can prevent you from saying or doing something you’ll later regret.—Compare Ecclesiastes 10:4.

Taking Action

Kind words are not enough, however. Take action! Remember, “the wisdom from above is . . . ready to obey.” (James 3:17) Start cleaning that room, polishing the car, cutting your hair, changing your wardrobe, or making whatever adjustments your parents want you to make. This is the best way to halt further faultfinding.

On the other hand, you may honestly disagree with the criticism. After all, even the best of parents are not infallible. But rather than trying to resolve matters in a storm of shouting, wait for the “right time,” then talk with your parents. (Proverbs 15:23) “With those consulting together there is wisdom,” says Proverbs 13:10. Present your grievances in a calm, grown-up way, giving your parents specific reasons as to why you disagree. Perhaps you can persuade them to see things your way. If not, you may simply have to bow to their authority as parents.—Proverbs 6:20.

In the long run, though, yielding to their discipline can benefit you. Why, even the perfect man Jesus “learned obedience from the things he suffered.” (Hebrews 5:8) You too have many valuable lessons to learn. You already have to cope with criticism from teachers. In the future, you could have employers to deal with. Learn now to handle criticism.

In time you may even come to appreciate your parents’ point of view. A young man named James says of his parents: “They were firm with me in areas such as school, congregation, and chores. Sometimes I couldn’t even take a break! But as I got older, I came to appreciate that excellence requires hard work.” Was that not a lesson worth learning? And you will learn similar valuable lessons yourself by learning to handle criticism.

[Footnotes]

See the article “Why Is Nothing I Do Ever Good Enough?” in the November 22, 1992, issue of Awake!

We are not speaking of verbal or physical abuse by parents who clearly suffer from emotional problems or have problems with alcoholism or drug abuse. Such ones may need professional help.

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Yelling, whining, or justifying yourself usually brings out the worst in a parent

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Asking your parent for specifics on how you can improve may take the sting out of criticism

Fuelwood—Is the Future Going Up in Smoke?

By Awake! correspondent in Nigeria

THE sun descends and reddens the African sky. Sampa cooks rice for her husband and their children. She dips water from a pail and pours it into a smoke-blackened aluminum pot. Beneath the pot crackles a small fire, fueled by three thick sticks.

Heaped nearby is more wood. Sampa buys it from the men who truck it from the mountains. The wood is essential. Without wood there can be no fire. Without fire you can’t cook rice.

Sampa’s eldest son says: “When we don’t have wood, we don’t eat.” He gestures toward the homes of the rich on the hill. “In those houses, there is electricity. There are stoves that work with electricity and other stoves that work with gas.” He turns to the fire, shrugs, and says: “We use wood.”

In this, Sampa’s family has plenty of company. Out of every 4 people in the developing world, 3 depend on wood as their only source of fuel for cooking and heating. But there is a desperate shortage of wood.

According to FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), the extent of the fuelwood crisis is truly staggering. About one billion people in developing countries are facing fuelwood shortages. If present trends continue, this number could easily double by the end of the century. A representative of FAO stated: “It is of little value to provide food for the hungry of the world if they lack the means by which to cook it.”

Why a Shortage?

From earliest times, mankind has used wood for fuel. The reason? Wood is so convenient. You don’t need expensive equipment or sophisticated technology to gather it. Unless it is overexploited, the supply can be sustained by the growth of new trees. Cooking and heating with wood doesn’t call for stoves and heaters. And ideally, wood is free and as available as the nearest tree. It has only been within the past two hundred years that the world’s richer nations have switched to other fuels, such as gas, coal, and oil. The rest have stayed with wood.

Some experts say that the core of the problem today is dramatic population growth. As people increase in number, forests are cleared to expand settlements, extend agriculture, and provide timber for industry as well as for fuel. Rapid deforestation occurs in the development of almost every country. North America and Europe went through such a phase.

But today’s population is growing at an alarming rate. Already, there are some five and a half billion people on this planet. In developing nations, populations double every 20 to 30 years. As the number of people increases, so does the demand for wood. It is as if the population has become a giant, forest-eating beast with an insatiable appetite, a beast that grows bigger and hungrier every day. The supply of fuelwood is thus eaten up before it can be replaced. According to FAO, over a hundred million people in 26 countries are already unable to obtain enough fuelwood to care for even their most basic needs.

Yet, not all who live in lands of acute scarcity are affected equally. Those who can afford to do so merely switch to other fuels, such as kerosene or bottled gas. The fuelwood crisis is a crisis of the poor, who are growing in number.

The Impact on People

In recent years the cost of wood has doubled, tripled, and in some places quadrupled. Today, prices continue to rise as areas around cities are stripped bare. Many cities in Asia and Africa are now surrounded by areas of almost total deforestation. Some cities must bring in wood from distances of over a hundred miles [160 km].

Increasing prices add to the burden of those already desperately poor. Studies have shown that in parts of Central America and West Africa, working-class families pay as much as 30 percent of their total income for fuelwood. Everything else—food, clothing, housing, transportation, education—must be eked out of what is left. For them the saying is true that “what goes under the pot costs more than what goes into the pot.”

How do they manage? Where wood is scarce or expensive, people cut back on the number of hot meals they eat. They buy cheap foods or less food, resulting in a less balanced diet. They also cook their food less. Germs and parasites aren’t killed, and fewer nutrients are absorbed by the body. They fail to boil their drinking water. They scavenge for anything that will burn.

Millions of people have turned to low quality fuels, such as straw, stalks, or dry animal dung. Where wood is expensive and dung is not, it seems economically sensible to put dung on the fire rather than in the field. Often there is little choice. But the cost is that the soil is denied valuable organic materials. In time the soil loses fertility and dries out.

Although those living in rural areas usually do not have to pay for their wood, its scarcity adds greatly to the time spent gathering it. In parts of South America, women spend 10 percent of their day collecting wood. In some African lands, one full day’s collecting provides only three days’ supply. Sometimes families designate one child to work full-time scavenging for fuel.

All too often, the rural environment is sacrificed to meet the demands of the city. Wood is cut and sold much faster than it grows. So supplies dwindle, and families either move to the cities or spend more time collecting wood for themselves.

Thus, millions of people spend more time and money to meet their basic need for fuel. The alternatives? For the poor it means eating less, being cold, and living without light at night.

What Is Being Done

Some years ago the seriousness of the fuelwood crisis began to receive international attention. The World Bank and other agencies poured money into forestry projects. Though not all these projects were successful, much was learned. Experience showed that the solution to the fuelwood crisis was not simply a matter of planting more trees. One problem was that planners sometimes failed to consider the feelings of local people. Thus, in one West African country, villagers destroyed seedlings because they had been planted on traditional grazing grounds.

Another difficulty was that reforestation is a long-term affair. It may take up to 25 years before trees are able to produce fuelwood on a self-sustaining basis. This means a delay between investment and profit. It also means that planting does nothing to satisfy present demand.

Reforestation projects are under way in many countries. But will they satisfy future demands? Forestry experts say no. Trees are being cut down much faster than they are being replaced. A Worldwatch Institute researcher writes: “Unfortunately, the political will and commitment of resources needed to break the cycle fostered by deforestation is lacking in much of the tropical Third World. At present, only one acre of trees is planted for every ten acres cleared. The gap is greatest by far in Africa, where the ratio of tree clearing to planting is twenty-nine to one. Meeting the Third World’s projected fuelwood needs by [the year] 2000 would require a thirteenfold increase in the current rate of tree planting for nonindustrial uses.”

Future Prospects

Today many sincere people are actively involved in trying to solve the problem of fuelwood shortage. Yet, their projections for the future are often pessimistic. Earthscan researchers write in their book Fuelwood—The Energy Crisis That Won’t Go Away: “All such measures together [to combat the fuelwood crisis] cannot fully ease the burdens that fuel scarcity and rising wood prices will impose on the poor.” FAO’s teaching manual The Fuelwood Crisis and Population—Africa states: “Any initiative will have little chance of success until population growth is contained.” The same publication shows, however, that the population will continue to grow “because tomorrow’s parents are more numerous than today’s parents. Tomorrow’s parents are already born.”

In contrast with such gloomy forecasts, Bible prophecy clearly shows that Almighty God purposes nothing less than a complete restoration of Paradise to this earth. (Luke 23:43) The complex problems concerning fuelwood, population, and poverty are not beyond his ability to solve.—Isaiah 65:17-25.

Is the future going up in smoke? Not at all! Soon will be fulfilled the prophecy concerning our loving Creator: “You are opening your hand and satisfying the desire of every living thing.”—Psalm 145:16.

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‘It is of little value to provide food if they lack the means by which to cook it’

Those Beautiful Orchids!

“PAINT bamboo when you are angry; orchids when you are happy.” This Chinese saying reflects a two-thousand-year love affair between orchids and the Oriental gardeners and artists who have immortalized them.

Clearly, orchids are flowers that arouse passions. But their special charms were not appreciated in the West until quite recently. In fact, their cultivation began almost by accident.

In the early 1800’s, William Cattley, an importer of tropical plants, noticed some bulbous stems that were used as packing material. Out of curiosity he planted them in his greenhouse. Later that year he was rewarded with a magnificent lavender-colored bloom. Other European nurserymen were quick to see the commercial possibilities of such striking flowers.

Before long the hunt for these tropical treasures began in earnest. Jungles were scoured for rare orchids, many of which did not survive the long sea journey to Europe. Those that did fetched high prices. A sum of 1,150 guineas (about $100,000 at today’s prices) was paid at an auction in London in 1906 for just one specimen. Prices went down considerably with the advent of artificially grown hybrids. But even today a collector may pay as much as $25,000 for a new hybrid.

What makes orchids so special? Perhaps it is their endless variety of form and color. Or is it their subtle beauty? Or that exotic attraction so hard to define? Whatever the reasons, they are powerful enough to support a growing international trade in orchids.

Gardeners usually prefer to cultivate the more spectacular species from the tropics, but most orchids are humble flowers that pass unnoticed. Some are so small that the flower measures only 0.1 inch [2 mm] across.

Wild orchids are found in deserts, in swamps, and on mountain peaks, from the humid tropical forests to the barren wastes of the Arctic. Many grow on trees, although some even choose a cactus or a mangrove root as host. But orchids are not parasites; they just need the tree for support so that their aerial roots can absorb atmospheric moisture.

Apart from their variety, orchids are also distinguished by their unique methods of propagation. A single orchid seed-capsule—a marvel of packaging—may contain as many as two million tiny seeds, which can be carried far and wide by the wind. Unlike most seeds, they have no built-in food supply, and to germinate successfully they depend on finding the fungi that supply them with some of the necessary nutrients.

To produce seeds, the flower must first be pollinated, usually by an insect. What lures the insect to the flower? Orchids have no pollen to offer the visitor as food, nor do all species have nectar. The favorite enticements? Beauty, scent, and disguise.

Attracted by Beauty

Horticulturists have labored for over a century to develop hybrids from attractive species that occur in the wild. There are now upwards of 75,000 registered varieties.

Beauty is of practical benefit to the wild orchid. The attractive flower serves to lure the pollinators. The large central petal, or labellum—usually the most colorful—serves as an inviting landing platform for a winged guest.

Bright flowers attract bees, wasps, butterflies, and hummingbirds, and the parallel lines on many orchid petals serve as road signs pointing the visitor the way to the food, the nectar, in some species. But beauty is not everything in the insect world.

Irresistible Scent

An insect whose overall vision is not too sharp may pass beauty without noticing it. A heady scent, however, is irresistible. The scent may resemble that of a female insect. It is said that some orchids smell more like female wasps than the wasps themselves!

The scent isn’t always so subtle. Some orchids reek of decaying matter. This smell, though, is also effective. It is one that no self-respecting fly can ignore. And if scent alone isn’t enough, an effective disguise may be employed to enhance the olfactory deception.

Clever Mimicry

When orchids of the genus Oncidium are swaying gently in the wind, they look so like an insect adversary that the angry bee swoops at the orchid in an attempt to drive his “foe” away. In the process, he unwittingly collects a packet of pollen from the orchid.

On the other hand, bee orchids of the Ophrys genus look like friends rather than enemies. They smell like bees and look like bees. The male bee visits a flower, mistaking it for a consort, and by the time the hapless suitor discovers the deception, the pollinia (small masses of pollen) are stuck to his body. The next orchid that fools him (a bee can be fooled twice) will then be duly pollinated.

Tribute to a Creator

Such astounding variety and intricate mechanisms are living testimony to the wisdom of the Creator. Surely blind chance or mere necessity could not account for these marvels.

Jesus Christ spoke of another lesson to be learned from such floral beauty: “Think of the flowers growing in the fields,” he said. “I assure you that not even Solomon in all his royal robes was clothed like one of these. Now if that is how God clothes the wild flowers . . . , will he not much more look after you?”—Matthew 6:28-30, New Jerusalem Bible.

We can look forward to the time when man, in turn, will care for our planet’s priceless orchids. Thousands of tropical species are still awaiting discovery, and who knows what secrets and surprises they may hold! But whatever their color or form, no doubt they will further enhance our appreciation of creation’s beauty and variety.—Compare Isaiah 35:1, 2.

[Pictures on page 16-18]

1. Cattleya (hybrid)

2. Cattleya (hybrid)

3. Vanda (hybrid)

4. Phalaenopsis (hybrid)

5. Cattleya (hybrid)

6. Phalaenopsis (hybrid)

7. Vanda (hybrid)

8. Phalaenopsis

9. Phalaenopsis (hybrid)

10. Cattleya auriantiaca

[Credit Line]

Photos 1, 2, 4-6, 8-10: Courtesy of Jardinería Juan Bourguignon, Madrid, Spain

“An Answer to My Prayer”

Readers Respond to Series on Alcoholism

IT IS an expression that we have heard from readers from all over the world: “Jehovah has answered my prayers.” By this, readers referred to the series of articles that appeared in our May 22, 1992, issue entitled “Help for Alcoholics and Their Families.”

These Bible-based articles showed how alcoholism can engulf the entire family. Marriage mates and children often join the alcoholic in denying that he really has a drinking problem. They and others may use ineffective methods to try to change the alcoholic—but may only succeed in perpetuating his addiction. Family members must therefore understand the nature of alcoholism, and specific suggestions were given to help them break its destructive grip. Information was also directed toward adult children of alcoholics to help them identify—and heal—their emotional wounds. Little wonder, then, that these articles have triggered a dramatic response from our readers!

One woman wrote: “When I saw the front cover, chills ran through me. This past year and a half, I have been very ill. In December, I began having severe panic attacks and bouts of major depression. I was raised by an alcoholic father but felt it was foolish to bring up the past. When I received your magazine, I read it and read it again and again. For the first time, I understood myself.”

Dozens of readers have expressed similar sentiments. One 16-year-old with an alcoholic father called the articles the beginning of her healing process. Says another reader: “I have been reading Awake! since 1969, and never has the information had such a profound effect on me. After years of feeling like a failure, I felt I had failed even Jehovah. What was wrong with me? I had married into the same kind of pain and shame I thought I had left and brought five children into an alcoholic environment. I could not give them the emotional security they needed. The May 22 Awake! has opened the way for me! Thanks to Jehovah for helping me understand my handicap.”

Not surprisingly, the articles helped many readers spiritually. “For a long time, I have suffered because of my inability to apply Bible principles,” admits one woman from Japan. “I prayed to God to help me change my personality. A few days later, I received this magazine. It taught me the reasons for my behavior and gave me the courage to try to put things right.”

The articles helped some readers break through walls of denial. “I too am a victim of an alcoholic father,” says one Canadian woman. “But it was only after reading your article that it hit me like a ton of bricks what my problem was. I’ve grown up denying that there ever was a problem at home. Today I took a step toward healing by talking to a mature Christian sister. I was astounded to hear that her father too was an alcoholic.”

For others, the material dispelled feelings of isolation. “It was therapeutic for me to read these articles,” said one reader, “because I now feel there are Christian brothers and sisters of mine who share my feelings and who understand.”

Many readers shed tears as they read the articles. “As soon as I saw the title, I began to cry,” said one woman. “My father is an alcoholic, as was my husband. I hadn’t realized how large a part alcoholism played in ruining my childhood. It destroyed my marriage, and it nearly destroyed me. I’m crying because flickers of light have been shed on questions I have had all my life, such as, ‘Why do I always feel so worthless? Why am I so afraid to trust? What is this emptiness inside of me?’”

Others felt that the articles answered other nagging questions. One young man from Finland said: “I used to wonder about the feelings inside of me, as I was incapable of trusting people or showing warm feelings.” “The information was just what I needed,” agreed one woman. “Fellow Christians often commend us for setting a fine example as a family. Even our neighbors compliment us. Yet, with all this success, I have many times felt that, deep inside, there was something wrong with me. At times I struggled with feelings of guilt and low self-esteem, but I could never understand why. The articles have helped me to view many things in a more balanced way. My wounds have begun to heal.”

Adult children of alcoholic parents are often afflicted with guilt feelings. Note, though, what one reader from Japan wrote: “When my drunken father would beat up my mother, I would suffer mental stress and shock. I used to become nauseated and even vomit! He would say, ‘If you’ll quit the Bible, I’ll quit drinking.’ However, this article taught me that alcoholics try to dump the responsibility for their drinking on others and that we should not fall for it! I feel as if I have been set free.” From Brazil a reader wrote: “When my father drinks, he always blames us. Many times I have felt it was my fault. The articles made me see that it was neither my mother’s fault nor mine.”

Loving Christian elders can be an important avenue of help. (Isaiah 32:2) The articles on alcoholism were designed to help congregation overseers deal with such problems effectively. (Isaiah 50:4) One Christian woman recalls: “I have been on antidepressants for years; my doctor has begged me to seek professional counseling. But I don’t feel comfortable talking to a stranger about my problems. I called the elders, and by talking with them, along with my husband, I was able to release much of my fear, anger, frustration, and feelings of abandonment.”

Oftentimes professional help is needed to resolve the issues created by alcoholism. While the articles did not recommend any particular form of therapy, many readers related their personal experiences. “My husband entered an alcoholic treatment program,” relates one woman. “It was only the beginning of a three-year struggle for both of us. We began intense weekly therapy. There was no way we could have groped our way out of such emotional darkness on our own.” A German woman who works in a clinic for addictive disorders adds: “Many thanks for pointing out that persons who face up to problems and seek help are the strong ones—not those who suppress or trivialize matters. You showed clearly that a person does not lose face by seeking treatment.”

While it is gratifying to observe this fine response to the articles, we well know that healing the emotional scars of alcoholism is a long and often difficult process. Our prayers are with those who, with the help of Jehovah God, are dealing with these serious issues. One reader said: “I grew up with an alcoholic father. Even though I am happily serving Jehovah, emotional scars are still evident. With Jehovah’s help, I have recovered to a great extent, but I agree that total healing will come only in Jehovah’s new world.”—Isaiah 65:17.

Look at the Places We Call Home

“’Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam, Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home.”—John Howard Payne.

WHAT do you call home? A well-constructed house built by professional builders using modern materials? Or a house built by its owners using materials found in local surroundings? Let us take a quick look at places people call home around the world.

Our first stop is the country of El Salvador, where we meet Jorge and his parents in the small village of Texistepegue. As we tour Jorge’s home, we note that the floor is just the bare ground. The roof supports are made of tree trunks set in the earth. The adobe-brick walls are plastered with mud. The tile roof extends beyond the walls to provide shade and to protect the walls from rain. However, instead of tile, many people in El Salvador make the roof from long grass, piled six inches [15 cm] thick.

Some of the poor country people in Colombia live in somewhat similar homes. Between the corner poles that are set in the ground, split bamboo plastered with mud forms the walls. The roof consists of palm leaves that are placed on supporting poles.

In Tacuarembó, Uruguay, some houses are constructed of adobe bricks made from a mixture of horse manure, earth, and water. The mixture is poured into wooden molds that are left on a flat surface to dry in the sun. The hardened bricks are used for the walls, and a thatched roof rests on supporting roof poles. Instead of glass in the window openings, wooden shutters are used, and the floors are the plain earth.

Some poor families in the interior of Uruguay live in sod houses. Like adobe-brick houses, such dwellings are cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Sod blocks are laid in an interlocking pattern to form a wall two feet [0.6 m] thick and six feet [1.8 m] high. Reeds are fastened to roof supports to make a seven-inch-thick [18 cm] thatched roof. To give the outside walls a hard, smooth surface, some homeowners plaster them with a mixture of mud and cow dung. Partitions in the house are made of a frame of saplings covered with burlap bags that are sewed together. Sometimes mud is plastered over the burlap.

In areas close to streams and marshes, some Uruguayans in the interior of the country live in reed houses, framed with freshly cut tree limbs to which bundles of reeds are tightly fastened. How is this done? The reeds are cut into lengths of from five [1.5 m] to six feet [1.8 m] and are dried in the sun until they are free of moisture. Then they are bound into bundles about nine inches [23 cm] in diameter, and finally they are fastened to the framework to form the walls and roof of the house.

Floating Houses

Near the town of Iquitos, Peru, a person of limited means builds his house on the Amazon River. How, though, does he keep the house from drifting? He cuts large, lightweight logs from the jungle to form a raft, and he anchors it by poles set in the river bottom. After securing the raft to the poles, he builds his house on it—a one-room structure with bamboo siding and a thatched roof. The house has its own form of air-conditioning—air passing through the spaces between the pieces of bamboo siding. Often an entire wall is left off because of the intense tropical heat.

Sleeping accommodations usually consist of a wooden bed, hammocks, or mats on the floor. Although this house is primitive in comparison with the majority of the houses in Iquitos, it is home to the poorer folk.

On beautiful Lake Titicaca in Peru, reed houses are built on floating islands. The islands are also made of reeds and are of many different sizes, some as small as a tennis court. Reeds are abundant in this lake that is over 12,000 feet [3,800 m] above sea level.

The resourceful inhabitants tie bundles of reeds together to form the walls and roofs of their homes, which are constructed on the floating platform. Once a year the people renew the topmost layer of reeds of the platform, which compensates for the decay of the bottommost layer. The platform is about six feet [1.8 m] thick, and the bottom gradually rots away.

A different type of floating house, one that some Chinese call home, can be found in Hong Kong. It is not uncommon for a small water taxi that carries paying passengers in Hong Kong’s Aberdeen Harbor to serve also as the floating home of the family that operates the taxi. This is where the family cooks, eats, and sleeps. Other Chinese families spend their entire lives on fishing vessels called junks, which have become home to them.

In Europe there are many rivers and canals that are used by barges for transporting merchandise. Some of the families that operate these barges convert one end into living quarters, and thus the barge becomes their floating home.

Apartment Houses Borneo-Style

On the island of Borneo, the people known as Ibans, or Sea Dayaks, build longhouses that are their version of apartment buildings. These long, low structures, supported on numerous posts set in the ground, are located high up on terraced riverbanks. Each longhouse contains an entire community, a village under one roof.

The length of the house varies according to the size of the community, which may be from ten to one hundred people. As more families are formed through marriage, the longhouse is simply lengthened to accommodate them.

Each family has its own apartment. How do family members gain access to their dwelling? By means of an open gallery that runs the full length of the house. An overhanging thatched roof provides the gallery with shade and protection from the rain. When at home the residents spend most of their time in this gallery, visiting or working on handicrafts, such as basket making or sarong weaving.

Inside each apartment, the family cooks, eats, and sleeps. Above the apartments and the gallery is a loft that is used for storage of farm implements and rice. It also serves as the sleeping quarters for unmarried girls. Young unmarried men sleep on mats outside on the gallery floor.

Unlike the multistory apartments in Western cities, these longhouses have no bathrooms or toilets. Bathing is done in the nearby river, and waste matter is dropped through the slatted floor to the ground 12 feet [4 m] below where pigs and chickens help dispose of it.

Homes Belowground

During the 19th century, many of the pioneer settlers of the United States made houses of logs or sod, but some built their homes underground. They would dig a one-room dugout in the bank of a ravine, with the roof level with the bank. A stovepipe was put through the roof as a vent for smoke from the cooking and heating fires. True, these underground homes were dark, but they were also warm in the winter. And it was not uncommon for men living alone to share the dugout with their horses or oxen.

Today on Orchid Island near Taiwan, the Yamis still build traditional homes that are mostly belowground. Stones line the walls of the open pit, and a drain prevents it from filling with water during rainstorms. Wooden beams support the rafters and the thatched roof. Aboveground, each house has a small, separate wall-less structure with a slightly elevated platform covered by another thatched roof. This sheltered platform becomes the family’s cool tower, where they can escape the tropical heat at midday. There are other people, however, whose homes are entirely underground.

A few years ago, the idea of using caves as homes took on a new twist in a different part of the world. In the Loire Valley of France, cave living became fashionable among a number of wealthy families. There you could see a cave that was converted into a sitting room, dining room, and kitchen—a series of chambers one behind the other that extended deep into the cliff. Another home was designed with a number of caves side by side. Each cave had windows and a glass-paned door built into the opening of the cave, permitting light to enter. The families living in these caves went to considerable expense to modernize them with running water, electricity, and other conveniences, including forced-air ventilation in order to combat dampness and mildew.

The houses we have considered here may be different from yours. But to the people who live in these various parts of the world, it is “home, sweet home.”

To the Top of Europe by Rail

By Awake! correspondent in Switzerland

NINETEENTH-CENTURY man was in a mood to conquer nature. The Swiss Alps were a prime candidate. For centuries their forbidding peaks of jagged ice and rock had kept man at a respectful distance—but no more. Early in the 1800’s, mountaineers managed to climb the 13,642-foot [4,158 m] Jungfrau. While not the tallest, it is certainly among the most spectacular of the Alps.

By the late 1800’s, several enterprising men began to wonder how to make this peak accessible to more than just a handful of daring mountain climbers. Soon the idea of building a railway to the peak was born.

A Courageous Undertaking

Building a railway to such a lofty place was a colossal task, especially with the limited technology then available. The Swiss government considered several proposals on how it could be done and chose the plans of Adolphe Guyer-Zeller, a Zurich industrialist. He first had to organize a scientific expedition into the high Alps to prove that workmen and tourists could survive at those altitudes.

His plans made use of the Wengernalp railway, which already linked the alpine valleys of Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald below the Jungfrau. To extend the tracks up to the peak, Guyer-Zeller proposed building a 4.4-mile [7 km] tunnel upward through the inside of the Eiger and Mönch, the Jungfrau’s famous neighbor peaks. Thus, the tracks would be safe from the ferocious weather outside.

Work began in July 1896. It took two years to complete the first stage in the open air from Kleine Scheidegg to Eigergletscher Station, a distance of only 1.2 miles [2 km]. The next task was to start drilling through the Eiger. As the winter of 1898/99 approached, several hundred tunnel workers prepared to be completely cut off from the rest of the world by masses of snow.

The sleeping quarters for the workers and storage space for provisions formed quite a village. Thousands of pounds of foodstuffs, building materials, and fuel had to be stocked. The provisions had to last until the Wengernalp railway could run again, late in spring.

The workers drilled around the clock in three eight-hour shifts. But cutting through the rock had its price. Six workers were killed in a terrible mine accident. Still, the tunnelers reached the second stage, Eigerwand Station, on March 7, 1899. From the station windows, they could see Kleine Scheidegg, now 2.7 miles [4.3 km] behind them and, far below, the Lake of Thun.

Unexpected Obstacles

On April 3, 1899, the project was hit hard by the sudden death of Adolphe Guyer-Zeller. But under the direction of his sons, the next stage was completed, Eismeer Station, at an elevation of 10,367 feet [3,160 m]. It opened in July 1905.

Progress in the following years was slow. The grueling life in those inhospitable surroundings grated on the nerves and sapped the strength of the workers. Nevertheless, on February 21, 1912, the last hole was blasted through the rock on the Jungfraujoch (meaning “Yoke of the Jungfrau,” the saddle between the Mönch and the Jungfrau). A breathtaking panorama opened up—snow peaks and glaciers spanned by a deep blue sky, all bathed in glittering sunshine!

Europe’s highest railway station, Jungfraujoch, at 11,332 feet [3,454 m] and 5.8 miles [9.3 km] from the start of the line, was inaugurated on August 1, 1912. The original idea of reaching the very top of the Jungfrau (2,300 feet [700 m] higher) had to be dropped—mainly because of the expense and the lack of space up there for the throngs of visitors expected. Already, the project was five million Swiss francs over its budget of ten million. Instead of the projected 7 years, the project had taken 16.

If You Visit the Jungfraujoch

Do you plan to visit the Jungfraujoch? From Kleine Scheidegg, the Jungfrau railway can take you, in less than an hour, to the top of Europe. Short stops permit you to look from the windows at Eigerwand and Eismeer stations. Once you reach the top, the thin air at that altitude may oblige you to move about slowly at first as you visit the exhibition hall of the scientific research station or view the sculptures in the Ice Palace. By elevator, you reach the Sphinx Terrace overlooking the Aletsch Glacier. You may even try a ride on a dogsled!

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Awake!, December 8, 1992