Monday, October 22, 2012

Craig & Marc Kielburger: Just be thankful for our First World problems



Craig and Marc Kielburger are founders of the international charity and educational partner Free The Children . Its youth empowerment event, We Day, will be held at the Saddledome (in Calgary) on Wednesday Oct 24, 2012.

Just be thankful for our First World problems

By Craig & Marc Kielburger, 
Opinion
Calgary Herald
October 22, 2012

"I hate when my leather seats aren't heated," says a grinning boy, shrugging his shoulders and throwing his hands in the air in that traditional gesture of annoyance.

"When I leave my clothes in the washer so long, they start to smell," laments a girl who looks about 11, a few moments later.

However, the boy isn't sitting in a luxury car, he's perched atop a pile of gravel outside a cinder block building with no windows.

There's no washing machine behind the girl, only a narrow, muddy creek where women wash clothes by hand.
These are scenes from a short video called The First World Problems Anthem - a cheeky, teasing shot at us pampered First World dwellers featuring Haitians reciting a litany of complaints you're far more likely to hear at Second Cup than in a seedy slum. Juxtaposed against images of dire poverty, grumbles like "my house is so big I need two wireless routers" come across as more than a little whiny.

The anthem has become an epic viral sensation. The video has had more than 1.5 million views since it was released on YouTube on Oct. 3 by Water is Life, a small non-profit that distributes water filtration straws in developing communities.
 
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