Globalization

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet."
Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2)

NYT has an article on how globalization is bringing in rose growers in Kenya much needed jobs and money.

Look at the global economy one way and Buyaki earns the equivalent of seven bunches of roses for a month's labor. That smacks of exploitation. Look at it another and she has a job she'd never have had until globalization came along.

The article ends on sad point - given the recent violence in Kenya:

But life has been hard recently. Kenya's many tribes have long flocked to the Rift Valley for economic opportunity. So when a disputed election sparked ethnic violence, the local toll was heavy.

Longonot was shut down; Luo employees fled to the west and have not returned; a camp down the road houses about 1,300 refugee Luos in tents.

This violence reflects many things, among them how critical African job-creation is. "These clashes are really about poverty. If people have money, they care less who's ruling," Julius Njuguna, a manager, told me.

Think again: roses, refugees and righting African wrongs are linked. A rose that's a social tool can smell as sweet.