"The visual impact of the gripping documentaries in the Life 5 series make them extremely powerful teaching tools." Dr Jeremy Sarkin, Visiting Professor of International Human Rights, Tufts University
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There have always been economic migrants - people who swap regions, countries, even continents - to find better wages to pay for a better life. One out of every ten people on the planet either sends or receives money from abroad. And unlike all other forms of financial aid that travels into developing countries, remittances go directly to the poor. Worldwide, it's estimated that amounts to a staggering two hundred billion dollars a year.
With the scent of serious money, some banks are getting involved. And that could lead to a reduction in costs, as well as a change in how remittances are transferred. Aiding the flow of money to poor rural areas may be the most important effect in the current transformation of the remittance market. What impact can this have on the fight against poverty? To find out more, Life travels to the United States and El Salvador to uncover this hidden economy.
The other titles in the series are:
1. Roma Rights - Breaking the cycle of Roma poverty and persecution.
2. School's Out! - Is the private school option better in a Lagos shantytown?
3. Srebrenica - Looking For Justice - Examines the massacre at Srebrenica on its 10th anniversary.
4. Killing Poverty - Has the corruption in Kenya lessened under its new president?
5. The Great Health Service Swindle - Reversing the brain drain in doctors and nurses from developing countries.
6. The Donor Circus - Zambia tries to change the conditions for international aid.
7. For Richer, For Poorer - In Brazil the gulf between the rich and the poor is one of the biggest in the world.
8. Kill Or Cure? - India's $4.5 billion dollar pharmaceutical industry that serves the world's poor is at a crossroads.
9. The Silent Crisis - The Central African Republic struggles to avoid economic and social chaos.
11. Back In Business? - After 11 years of civil war, can Sierra Leone expect tourism to improve the economy?.
12. Kosovo - A House Still Divided? - Resentment and property ownership issues remain as the UN Housing Property Directorate Mission ends.
13. Trouble In Paradise - Local inhabitants of the Maldives wait for promised tsunami aid.
Grade Level: 7-12, College, Adult
US Release Date: 2006
Copyright Date: 2005
DVD ISBN: 1-59458-595-4
VHS ISBN: 1-59458-594-6
Reviews
"The visual impact of the gripping documentaries in the Life 5 series make them extremely powerful teaching tools for university, and indeed, other classrooms. In succinct episodes they raise and contextualise some of the most critical issues in the world today. These episodes are produced in an extremely objective manner and allow an audience easily to come to grips with an array of complex problems. They ought to be an indispensable part of the teaching curriculum." Dr. Jeremy Sarkin, Visiting Professor of International Human Rights, Tufts University
"The importance of these films is that they are intended to raise awareness about global issues in young people, and can be used by anyone for this purpose. The quality of the films is excellent. They are documentaries about the U.N. Millennium Development Goals and include brief interviews with people who are actually involved in MDG programs, from various institutions and from the grassroots to executive level...The objective evidence about the current global crisis of insecurity, poverty, gender inequalities, environmental degradation, and lack of international cooperation is presented in a way that is both realistic and non-inflammatory.
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