[wsfii-discuss] disasters and telecom

[Arun Mehta]

Saul Albert wrote:

>On Sat, Oct 15, 2005 at 06:02:02PM +0100, vortex wrote:
>  
>
>>and all your .... will help  
>>human suffering how?
>>
>It's a good question, for any occasion! :) I was wondering about that
>too: how do the dream systems that the people who came to limehouse
>actually impact on the people passing by on the A13 in their cars, in
>Limehouse area generally, in Greater London - or anywhere in the very
>different places that people have been and travelled from to get there.
>  
>
I am by now reconciled to discussing this on every single list that has 
anything to do with development. We really should do a faq, since these 
are questions that anyone who approaches funders, or NGOs, must be 
prepared to address.

1. The example I already gave: if the people who first saw the tsunami 
had been able to warn other coastal areas, many lives would have been saved.
2. Simple GSM transmission detectors could help find people buried under 
rubble. Tiny robots might be able to reach where people cannot.
3. That there is poverty and illiteracy in the world in such large 
percentages, is a conspiracy. The middle and upper classes are quite 
happy with the state of affairs, and since they decide how money is 
allocated, guess what it is spent on. The per capita spending on 
education and health for a child in a rural area in India is far lower 
than equivalent amounts for middle class kids. The only way, IMO, for 
this to change, is for the poor to have access to information, the 
ability to find others in the same condition, to organise, and to 
attract international attention through media. For that, they need 
access to technologies that facilitate the gathering, processing and 
dissemination of information.
4. Once, computing was centralized, you had mainframe computers. The 
introduction of personal computing brought about many benefits, not 
least the growth of the Internet. Is there a need to discuss whether the 
Internet is useful or not? In telecom, we all carry 
transmitter/receivers, that cannot talk to each other except via a 
central switch, for which we have to pay rent (as we did for time on a 
mainframe once). This is because the system is closed. Our effort is to 
open up all these areas.
5. Does anyone need convincing with regard to the usefulness of maps? An 
example would be the tracking of encroachments on public spaces by 
government, religious bodies, private interests. Maps are still highly 
restricted in countries such as India. Open maps are therefore highly 
significant.

I could go on: bottom line, information is power, and the more open 
information is, the harder it becomes for the powerful to make a mockery 
of democracy.

Arun


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