Okay - so first of all, I loved the graphic novel Kampung Boy, which is based on the author's childhood from birth until secondary school age. The drawings are energetic, funny and full of life, and the narrative is simple but feels fresh and honest. I had never read much of anything by a Malaysian author before, especially not about day-to-day life in Malaysia, and I found it informative and fascinating.
At the same time, I found myself wondering how much childhood has changed for rural Malaysian children in the 50+ years since Lat's first experiences. My previous research on Malaysia indicated that a lot of areas on the peninsula are continuing to be developed as mines to take advantage of huge tin deposits. Urbanization has also increased at a fast rate. For a lot of Malaysians, and for the Malaysian economy as a whole, this has been a good thing.
But financial well-being is not the only indicator of quality of life. The author of Kampung Boy obviously felt that his childhood was magical and fun-filled. I wonder how different his experiences would have been if he'd grown up entirely in an urban setting, and whether his family's financial status would have been more of an issue to him, more keenly felt.
As a kid who grew up far below the poverty level, I didn't really experience the feeling of being poor until we moved to the city of Denver (from a small rural farm) when I was 6 years old. That's when I met other poor kids, like me, who were more aware of what they didn't have, because there was in fact so much they didn't have access to in the middle of the city. Kids who had never sat under a tree to listen to the wind, had never seen a goat, let alone wild deer, ducks or rabbits, had never gone fishing or picked food from a garden. Living in Denver, I felt poor for the first time, not only because I met children who felt their low economic status, but because I no longer had access to the kinds of activities I had loved. Backyards and sidewalks weren't enough. Maybe I was worse off because I knew what I was missing.
To most contemporary Americans, Kampung Boy isn't exactly a story of prosperity. But I don't think the author felt in any way deprived as a child. Would contemporary Malaysian children in the same situation feel as if they were missing out on wealth, as if they didn't have enough? Has globalization changed the world enough in the last several decades that quality of life no longer means the same thing? I think it has. And I think that's sad.
Obviously issues like clean water, sufficient food, good schooling and adequate housing are important. But if those needs are being met, no matter how differently they might appear from our (wide range of) American experiences, is that a life still lacking? So what about media access, cash money, disposable income, and involvement in a larger global community?
I guess I don't think those things are important. Yes, they are on a national level; yes, they are bound up in economic processes. But what is more valuable: to have more national wealth, or to have the resource and experience of a close community, the availability of natural resources, to know and experience diverse and healthy flora and fauna? I feel that development can accomplish some good things. But there's always a price. Prosperity doesn't benefit everyone; often it leaves already poor people completely impoverished, while destroying vast areas of natural resources and ancestral homesites, leading to cultural breakdown and community schisms. Problems like alcoholism, domestic violence, and childhood malnutrition rise noticeably in areas all over the world where poorer communities are heavily impacted by industrial development.
As some of the world's primary consumers, we need to be aware of these impacts. We need to know the environmental and social ramifications of industry not just in the global South, but within our own national borders. Undoubtedly kids in Malaysia still get to experience many of the same adventures Lat did. But how fast is that changing? And what does that mean to us?
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