What really is third world?
by Pinky Khanna 
In the early 1900s there was a large gap between the different countries around the globe.
And of course there was dominance of the English, who ruled over many colonies like Africa and India.
England, the United States and many other western nations were looking ahead and were developing new abilities of success during and post-war periods.
While at the same time, there were countries like South Africa and India that were struggling just to have an independent identity in the world. And then there were those nations like Australia and New Zealand that, also under the British influence, were looking at increasing their populations as the countries are situated at the very bottom end of the world.
The First World
But as time progressed and newer and better information and communication technologies were discovered by mankind, these gaps between the nations started to get smaller and smaller.
In today’s world, the USA and UK have developed so much interest and recognition that it is now difficult for them to survive without becoming the centre of attraction; not just amongst the global media, but also some extremist groups that reside thousands of miles away.
Countries like Australia and New Zealand have also gained some recognition in the world for various reasons like tourism, culture and other political reasons. These are some of the countries that are recognised as First World.
The Third World
Then there are countries like China and India who are commonly recognised as third world. Why? Because these nations have the highest number of population and are constantly blamed for increasing the risk of global warming.
Yes their economies are boosting up every second of the day, the nations are producing doctors and engineers in bulk numbers each year, but they are still place in the “third world” category.
Who is to blame?
I would like to blame mainly two groups in the western societies for such misleading recognition of these countries.
Firstly, the media is to be blamed. In New Zealand, for example, we often watch, read or hear on the news about how many people in India, China or South Africa are living in poverty; or a lot of times there are random stories about some domestic violence incident in a (never heard of) village/town in India that caused the death of some people.
China is blamed for being the main culprit of global warming. Why?
Because the country is trying to industrialise today, just like a lot of western countries did in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Secondly, I blame social groups that continuously promote poverty in the rural “third world”, making these nations look like they are in desperate need of help from the western world. But as a matter of fact they are not.
When the devastating 2005 tsunami hit various nations around the world, India was the one to reject any foreign help as the country has more than enough facilities to help its people.
Another very interesting fact that was exposed to the world around the same time was the status of the people in the so-called “most developed nation in the world” - United States of America. When the nation was hit by Katrina, its victims had to desperately await help for days before it could reach them. A lot of foreign help was also provided.
Statistics show that in 2005/06, 36.5 million of the American population lived in poverty. While 13 million people in the UK were living in households below the low income threshold, which is around a fifth of the population.
But do we see advertisements with famous Kiwis sitting next to a poor little kid, who resides in the United States or UK, and asking us to “give generously”? No we don’t, because it is assumed that these nations are the “developed nations” that have too much to give to other countries around the world; so why would their people ever need help. After all, they are the “First World”.
But as a matter of fact, they do still need help when trouble strikes. And it is the “developing nations” that step forward and offer to help.