Flint Michig Human Rights And The Environmental Racism

Flint Michigan originally got its water from Lake Huron in Detroit, but in April 2014 the emergency manager to cut costs and to save money by switching the water supply to the Flint River (Durando, How Water Crisis in Flint, Mich., Became Federal State of Emergency). Using this river as the water source of this town was a bad idea because it turned out to be highly corrosive and led to lead poisoning of many children. When residents complained about the color, smell, and the effects of the water on their bodies state officials told them that the water was safe for everyday use and that it was colored because of E. coli (Gupta, Our Mouths Were Ajar : Doctor s Fight to Expose Flint s Water Crisis). After numerous complaints about the†¦show more content†¦Access to clean water is a right not a privilege. The disregard of human rights can be seen in other countries like Africa and India where the people there are not guaranteed fresh water, but this is not covered by the media. Around the world 738 million people do not have access to clean, usable water, but that is also not covered in the media (UN Water, Facts and Figures). This is such a large issue is because it is happening in a first world country, but in reality it is history repeating itself. During colonial times, the conquering country was only worried about the monetary value that they could squeeze out of their colony not about the people that lived there. The people much like those in Flint are â€Å"treated as expendable resources† much like the indios during Spanish colonization (Peterson, 142). This is a concept that can be seen as continuity through out history, the conquered people were seen as just a means to get what the Eurocentric countries wanted and their basic rights were ignored. The ramifications of the disregard of human rights and looking at people as only a way to gain power or money is still there today affecting these countries now. The children of Flint much like the previously colonized countries have many obstacles to overcome in order to lead successful lives. Racism was also a factor in the Flint Water crisis; the residents in Flint were