Edition 6: Killing camels? people disappearing?

(This newsletter was sent to email subscribers on January 10, 2020.)

Happy Friday, muggles. While U.S.-Iranian tensions continue, this week we’re taking you to a few other places around the globe where trouble is brewing.

Australia plans to kill 10,000 camels for drinking too much water

Tues Jan 7

We’ve all heard about the devastating wildfires taking over Australia and celebrities donating upwards of millions of dollars to help save and preserve the wildlife affected. But did you know that, at the same time, Australia is planning to kill off 10,000 camels?

As it turns out, in northwest South Australia, camels and other wild animals are harassing local communities in a desperate search for water. Residents say that large herds have broken down fences just to drink the water leaking from their air conditioners. On Wednesday, several shooters were dispatched to eliminate up to 10,000 camels in the region.

While this number sounds high, it only accounts for 1% of Australia’s camel population. It also fails to address the larger threat at hand: Climate change. While the decision to curb the camel population protects citizens from future attacks … it may be an incredibly short-term solution.

Only 700 people speak this language … and 50 live in the same building

Tues Jan 7

An apartment building in Brooklyn has become a cultural haven for Nepal’s Seke-speaking population. A recent study estimates that there are only 700 speakers worldwide. One hundred live in New York … and half of them have congregated in the same building.

Seke, meaning the “golden language,” originates in the Mustang region of Nepal, and is spoken in only five villages. Since Seke has less than 10,000 speakers worldwide, it qualifies as an endangered language, so there is worry that it could disappear when this generation passes. The language is also unwritten, but some Seke-speakers in New York are working with the Endangered Language Alliance to create a dictionary.

Over 60,000 people have disappeared in Mexico’s decade-long drug war

Mon Jan 6

More than 60,000 people in Mexico have disappeared since 2006, likely taken or killed by drug traffickers. This new figure comes from an updated report that previously estimated the total number of disappearances to be closer to 40,000.

One analyst for the International Crisis group tweeted that this report was “a step toward needed recognition” of the dire nature of Mexico’s missing persons’ crisis, which had hardly been addressed by previous administrations. However, the analyst also criticized the government for failing to share any plans to reduce criminal activity. In fact, violence in Mexico seems to have increased, as a separate report found that 31,000 homicides had been reported last year, setting a new record for the country.

Other Notable Events

• An audit reveals that California failed to test 1.4 million toddlers (mostly from low-income families) for toxic lead exposure
• A new study shows that parts of Southeast Asian metropolises, such as Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City, might be underwater by 2050
• A 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck Puerto Rico on Tuesday, compelling many families to sleep outside out of fear that their houses will collapse on top of them
• A new wave of protests opposing Chile’s elitist education system forced 64 testing sites to suspend standardized exams for the third time since November 2019

Forecast

That’s all for this week. Have a magical weekend. ✨

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