环球英语 — 788：Mobile Phones Changing Poverty
Voice 1
Hello and welcome to Spotlight. I'm Ruby Jones.
Voice 2
And I'm Marina Santee. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
It is very early morning. Veejay has been up for many hours. He has been fishing off the coast of Kerala, south India. Today has been a good day for him so far. He is pleased. He has caught a lot of sardine fish. Now, he needs to think. He needs to decide where to sell his fish. There are two possible places. He can try to sell them at the local seaside market. However, this may not be easy. He has had a good catch. This means that the other local fishermen may have also done well. They would also take their fish to sell at the market. Prices would be low. And Veejay may not be able to sell his fish at all.
Voice 2
So, he considers his other possibility. He could sail down the coast to another market. Maybe the fishermen in that area will not have caught so many fish. Then, he would get a better price for his fish. Veejay needs to think carefully. He does not want to do the wrong thing. Fuel is costly. He cannot sail up and down the coast. And even if he could, the markets are only open for two hours before sunrise. It takes that long for him to get his boat from one market to the next! If he cannot sell his fish that day, he will have to throw them back in the sea. They will not be good tomorrow. What should he do?
Voice 1
Veejay decides to go to his home market, as he usually does. It is easier. But sadly, when he gets there he sees that his fears are correct. Other local fishermen have also caught lots of fish that day. The market is oversupplied. He wishes he had travelled to the other market now. In the end, he and others have to throw their unsold fish back into the sea.
Voice 2
Before the late nineteen nineties, this was the situation for fishermen in Kerala. And it still is the situation for some fishing communities across the world. However, in many parts of the world, like northern Kerala, the industry has changed. This is all because of one small device. It has completely changed many local trades. What device is this? The mobile telephone!
Voice 1
If you live in a city, you probably cannot imagine life without your mobile phone now. However did you manage to meet people, talk to friends and family? For many people, it is a central part of their social life and business. However, for people in country areas, the mobile phone has a completely different purpose.
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The mobile phone first appeared in Kerala in the late nineteen nineties. Fishermen started to buy mobile phones to use at sea. Their mobile phone signals reach up to 25 kilometres from the coast. So while at sea, the fishermen can call different places to find the best price for their fish. Then they can travel there knowing that it is worth the trip.
Voice 1
Robert Jensen is a development economist at Harvard University. He studied the market situation in Kerala during the late nineteen nineties. He said that when fishermen were able to use mobile phones, far fewer fish were wasted. The mobile phone also brought in the ‘law of one price.' This means that goods should cost the same wherever they are for sale. This began happening along the coastal markets of northern Kerala. And so profits increased. And prices reduced. Mr Jensen said,
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‘Information makes markets work. And markets improve the people's well being.'
Voice 2
The mobile telephone has totally changed the way the local fishing community operates in northern Kerala. And this is just one example from one part of the world. Stories from the east coast of Tanzania show the influence of the mobile phone on the fishing industry there. One fisherman told a researcher how the mobile phone had changed his life completely:
Voice 1
Ahleem has been fishing for almost 20 years. And he is now in charge of a team of 14 people. Their boat and engine size permits them to stay at sea for up to seven days. The fish stay fresh because of the ice box on the boat. Before a trip, Ahleem orders the ice delivery on his mobile. Ahleem's manager owns the ship. He does not go fishing with them. He phones them to organise when the boat will leave. During the trip Ahleem's manager visits the local markets. He sends market information to Ahleem on his mobile phone. Ahleem tells him if they are catching many fish. His manager tells Ahleem if he should continue fishing, or return. It all depends on the market situation. During the trip Ahleem also communicates with other fishermen. They share information about where to find good catches of fish. Ahleem is also able to communicate with his family if he needs to. And if there is an emergency, he can telephone for help. This is much quicker than his old method - waving his shirt!
Voice 2
Abraham Maragua stands outside his home in Muruguru, central Kenya. Here he grows crops like beans, corn and coffee. He says that the mobile phone is very useful for business. He and other farmers receive text messages, telling them about local meetings. Abraham also uses his mobile phone to communicate with his 12 children who live around the country. He says,
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‘We used to write letters. It would take two or three weeks.'
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Abraham is 77 years old. He has seen much suffering in his country. But he says that life in his village is finally starting to improve. And, he says that mobile phones are part of that change.
Voice 1
Mobile telephones are changing poverty in a way that most people never imagined. They are empowering people through communication. In another Spotlight programme we will look at one of the men responsible for this. He is responsible for taking the mobile telephone to Africa. His name is Mo Ibrahim. But for now, we will leave you with a quote from the UK's International Development Magazine:
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‘Give a man a fish, and you will feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you will feed him for a lifetime. But give him a mobile phone, and you are really talking!'
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