BONDED LABOUR

Slavery was abolished in the mid-19^th century all over the world, but now it has gotten a new name, modern slavery. One sort is bonded labo(u)r which is most widespread in South Asian countries such as India and Pakistan, but it can even appear in Britain. Any country can encounter this serious threat any time whether one is the west or not. It flourishes year by year due to the world’s poverty and discrimination in society. Especially limited access to education, justice and jobs for discriminated groups makes it difficult to get out of poverty. The need for cash for their survival forces people to work more in exchange for a loan.

Laws against bonded labor are not implemented properly, specifically in the poor countries. Indeed, there are several significant gaps in the protection of domestic workers. For instance, when people who are in debt want to leave the system, landlords or employers use /resort to  some coercion, violence or intimidation. Domestic workers are not safe  from this mistreatment.  In addition, it is also necessary to make a new rule  in order to  eradicate the new modern slavery. Since a person is forced to work to pay off a debt and a man who is the owner of the company deceives the person to work for little or no pay, with no control over their debt. New laws should enable them not to be  dependent on the owner and instead of  the government. Also, a controllable repayment system is necessary  for such people. By doing this, several problems would be solved easily.

Women and children are most vulnerable parts of the society. If the government encouraged children to enroll, regularly attend and remain at  school, they would learn about their social rights and achieve their own economic stability earlier. Thus, they could even work on their own to repay their debt and so wouldn’t have to be under the control of another person. Education is most important, if the government convinced women to know and use their legal employment rights, that would help break the cycle of bonded labor.

All in all, people are still facing this sort of slavery, bonded labor. To eradicate this problem, the government should undertake responsibility for  ruling and implementing new labo(u)r laws. In addition, people who suffer from this problem should learn about labo(u)r rights and educate themselves well to protect themselves from being controlled by anyone.

                                                                                  Raziye Yağız                                                                                                      

                                                             

THE DAMAGE DONE BY HEADPHONES

       There are many technologies and devices which can be dangerous as well if not properly used. In the modern world, many of us are wearing headphones all day, every day. Headphones and earbuds are everywhere, but that doesn’t mean they are safe for our ears. Using earbuds and headphones can cause damage to our hearing, if we aren’t careful and don’t learn how to keep ourselves safe.

     People usually have a smartphone in their pocket and a pair of headphones that connect it directly to their ears, unfortunately those same devices that make listening or talking on the phone so direct damage our ears.  According to a 2011 study published in the journal of the American Medical Association; the use of headphones and earbuds has led to a major increase in the prevalence off hearing loss in adolescents and young adults. As a result  of the study, it was also seen, the prevalence of hearing loss among a sample of US adolescents aged 12 to 19 years was greater in 2005-2006 compared with 1988-1994.  For this reason; hearing loss is a common sensory disorder, affecting 20 million  individuals, especially adolescents and of all ages, in Turkey.

       It is obvious  that headphones can lead to some adverse effects. When we wear the headphones, strong vibrations reach our ear, the problem deep inside the cochlea is the fragile hairs and they turn vibrations into sound messages and send them to the brain. But the loud sound damages the hair cells and the cochlea can’t relay the sound messages to the brain and also unlike the damage to other parts of the body, it can’t be cured. The world Health Organization estimates more than 1 billion young people are in danger of hearing loss from portable audio devices, including smartphones. For this reason, when the damage  starts, then we are really on an irreversible journey, we should protect our life from these devices.

       There are also some preventative measures  against the damage done by  headphones. Firstly, avoid using headphones when alone and choose the right headphones or select the one with good sound  allowing you to hear a clear audio, which leads you to listen at low volume because the right volume is  probably not going to damage the hearing process. Doctor Foy also said  follow the %60 rule in regards to percentage of maximum volume and duration of time. There are also some advertisements and companies claiming/ which claim that you need expensive headphones to protect your hearing. This is obviously a wrong idea; the price doesn’t really correlate with the sound quality or the protection.

     Technology is a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, it can make your life easier and more convenient. But on the other hand, it comes with a lot of side effects and drawbacks. Especially headphones are great, when we are traveling, working out and just want to relax, but there are some harmful effects we are likely going to experience, if we don’t use them correctly.

FIRAT AKKUŞ