"Laos in danger of losing jobs and culture as Chinese pour in"
By: Ken Quimbach 1/24/16
http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/757862.shtml
Summary: Ken Quimbach tells of a story between him and his friend, a resident of Laos. He said that in a leisurely conversation the friend was interrupted by road work happening outside when they thought "Why are lao people doing that work". The road was being done by chinese road workers. This is an example of the simple jobs that could lower the unemployment rate of lao people, but instead are taken by out-of-country chinese workers. The relative location to china and other populous countries to Laos is very small. This leads to the blending of culture, and the sharing of workers. This article explains how chinese people blurring the lines between asian cultures is not good for the laos people and why they need to take action to get lao people the local jobs instead of foreigners.
My Thoughts/Opinions: I can relate to Ken's friend in this article. This same problem is what frustrates so many americans in politics today. While we have a much larger and more populous country, laos is much smaller and has less will. I have 2 laotian friends who pride their ethnicity greatly. When you walk into their houses it's as if you taken a portal to laos. I can see why losing culture to them is a tragedy. While american's may not see a great difference in culture from Laos to China and Korea. They can, and it means a lot for their culture to survive.
How this ties into the country: I think by looking at the struggles of laos and the fight to keep the culture alive, you see the significance of culture, family and pride in laos. While laos could very easily become a manufactured and modern country like its surrounding countries soon, you see a resistance by the citizens. Laos is an agricultural country, and they seem to like it that way. While life in Laos on the farms may not be our ideal, for them they like it that way, where they can connect with their faith, family and culture in solitude without electronics and such.
http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/757862.shtml
Summary: Ken Quimbach tells of a story between him and his friend, a resident of Laos. He said that in a leisurely conversation the friend was interrupted by road work happening outside when they thought "Why are lao people doing that work". The road was being done by chinese road workers. This is an example of the simple jobs that could lower the unemployment rate of lao people, but instead are taken by out-of-country chinese workers. The relative location to china and other populous countries to Laos is very small. This leads to the blending of culture, and the sharing of workers. This article explains how chinese people blurring the lines between asian cultures is not good for the laos people and why they need to take action to get lao people the local jobs instead of foreigners.
My Thoughts/Opinions: I can relate to Ken's friend in this article. This same problem is what frustrates so many americans in politics today. While we have a much larger and more populous country, laos is much smaller and has less will. I have 2 laotian friends who pride their ethnicity greatly. When you walk into their houses it's as if you taken a portal to laos. I can see why losing culture to them is a tragedy. While american's may not see a great difference in culture from Laos to China and Korea. They can, and it means a lot for their culture to survive.
How this ties into the country: I think by looking at the struggles of laos and the fight to keep the culture alive, you see the significance of culture, family and pride in laos. While laos could very easily become a manufactured and modern country like its surrounding countries soon, you see a resistance by the citizens. Laos is an agricultural country, and they seem to like it that way. While life in Laos on the farms may not be our ideal, for them they like it that way, where they can connect with their faith, family and culture in solitude without electronics and such.