Samasource works with entrepreneurs in developing countries like Jon Grosier in Kenya. Photo: Appfrica (flickr)

Students around the world face a particular paradox these days: what's the good of an education if there's no work to be found afterward?

Samasource — a small non-governmental organization based in San Francisco, California — is hoping to change this. They are partnering with U.S. companies and connecting them with people looking for work in places like Kenya and Pakistan using a several different methods, among them crowd sourcing website called CrowdFlower through which workers are paid small amounts for tiny increments of work (such as a few cents for filling in one blank in a spreadsheet).

As Samasource tells it, it’s a win-win situation: the cheap labor allows U.S. firms to cut costs, while providing higher wages for their 500 or so beneficiaries than they would likely have earned otherwise. So far, Samasource has focused on work in developing countries like Kenya (where the organization works with Somali refugees), Zambia and Pakistan — but also plans to expand into Mississippi, the poorest state in the U.S., notes the web magazine Reality Sandwich.

In all cases, Samasource's efforts hinge on the idea that work — not handouts — is what changes lives. "When you look at what the developing world really needs, it's a connection to markets," says Janah on the blog "Boing Boing." Markets provide an outlet for skills like English and computer literacy that students around the world have worked hard to obtain, and a livelihood for those who can put them to use.

The Indus River has the potential to provide hydroelectric power to millions - who will hold power over that power is what's causing a logjam. Photo: Michael Foley (flickr)

India and Pakistan have both vowed to build hydroelectric dams along an upper branch of the Indus river, only 70 kilometers apart from each other. Two new hydroelectric power sources would seem like good news for these energy-hungry economies, but there's a catch. According to the terms of the 1960 Indus Water Treaty between the two countries, there's only space for one hydroelectric plant in this part of the long-disputed Jammu and Kashmir valley —
and that's the plant that's completed first.

As the race heats up — India has forecast completion for 2016, and Pakistan one year later — Pakistan hopes to edge past India's projected finish line by hiring on Chinese companies to speed up progress.

So what else is at stake in this standoff? Experts, on the condition of anonymity, recently told The Rising Kashmir Daily Newspaper that Pakistan is reaching out to China to give them an edge over India and compensate for their geographical disadvantage, saying,

Pakistan, being the lower riparian state, faces geographical disadvantage. It fears that India's Kishenganga project will have a devastating effect on its hydro-power plans, besides adversely affecting 1,33,209 hectares of agricultural land in Pakistan administered Kashmir. To stem these fears it has signed up with Chinese companies to complete the project and secure priority rights for the river.

A recent Ground Report article regarding SAAMA News correspondent Ibrahim Malick’s report that at least 20 different UN bodies concur that India and Pakistan are the two likeliest combatants for any near-future water war further illuminates what's at stake in the ongoing Indo-Pak water disputes. Ground Report is quick to point out that these two countries are both nuclear-armed, making the situation, and the potential global consequences, all the more serious.

Telltale precursors to this potential water war are already abundant on both sides of the border, including the unambiguous recommendation by the Pakistani Urdu press for war as a solution to the problem. India, in a more circuitous approach, is enforcing "punishment through water"on Pakistan for their lack of action regarding the recent terrorism attacks in India. Clearly, the prospect for a quick, effective resolution is grim.

As Indus water commissioners from India and Pakistan continue to meet in hopes of resolving issues relating to water resources and hydroelectric power generation in the region, the true losers in the South Asian water wars may end up being the forgotten residents of the very valleys the Indus River and its tributaries flow through.

According to The Bombay News,"electricity remains a distant dream for the residents of the Gurez valley of Jammu and Kashmir despite ample water resources existing in the region." Even though the Kishenganga hydroelectric plant is being built in the Gurez valley, the power from the plant will be transmitted to other, more populous and politically influential Indian states such as Himchal Pradesh, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh.

Shazia Tabasum, a student and Gurez valley resident, told The Bombay News, "[t]here is so much water here. The government has to take steps to put an end to the power crisis. The electricity is supplied through diesel generators. As long as diesel is there we get electricity, but if the diesel goes out of stock, we live in dark and have to wait for fifteen days to one month for the next stock to reach our place."

Unless the Indian government responds to pleas like these from local residents, they'll have to continue getting by with two to three hours of diesel-generated electricity a day. And by the looks of it, the government has its hands full making the power available in the first place.

Displaced Swat Valley citizens await food and water in a refugee camp. Photo: bbcworldservice (Flickr)

As the Pakistani Army continues to defend the Swat Valley against Taliban insurgents, some of the millions of displaced residents are beginning to return home.

NPR's Julie McCarthy and Junaid Kahn report mixed feelings from those interviewed at the sweltering Jalozai camp. Some are excited to leave, looking forward to returning home with family and friends. The sister of Shaukat Ali, to modest to give her real name, is among those elated to settle back in Swat. She has "not spent a single contented day... Life here is nothing but helplessness."

But the majority of refugees aren't quite as elated to leave the relative security of the camp for the chaotic welcome they could to receive upon returning to their villages, reports the BBC. Earlier today I spoke with Holden Basch, Mercy Corps' Emergency Response leader in Pakistan, who reported that that in Buner, a district in the Northwest Frontier Province of Pakistan, police officers and government officials aren't back to work yet.

Others aren't leaving until they receive their $300 check, a government stipend promised to all camp residents. Akhtar Muhammad is among those waiting for the money. He told NPR reporters that "If the government hasn't given us the resources here where the situation is normal, how can I expect them to give it to us in the middle of that confusion back home?"

The future of these refugees is still unknown — the Taliban that are reportedly still in hiding in the Swat are unhappy with the families who fled the area. According to the BBC, security outside of the central city of Mingora is uncertain, with potential for guerrilla attacks by the Taliban. But for some, home is preferable to cramped quarters, extreme heat, and limited food at the refugee camp, and so those who are ready board buses for an uncertain home in Swat Valley.

Picture of a refugee camp for Swat Valley civilians. Photo: Al Jazeera English (flickr)

Pakistan’s Swat Valley is currently at the epicenter of an armed conflict between the Pakistani military and the Taliban insurgents. While the Pakistani government predicts victory is imminent, the economic and humanitarian impact of this violence is likely to be felt for years to come.

Refugees from Pakistan’s Swat Valley have been leaving the embattled North West Frontier Province for many months. The situation reached a breaking point last December when Pakistani forces lost control of the region to Taliban fighters. Approximately 2.4 million are currently displaced, numbers that prompted the UN to warn that the situation is becoming "the world's most dramatic displacement crisis since the Rwandan genocide of 1994."

Such a massive human exodus has served to compound the already growing economic trouble in Pakistan. Inflation rates jumped from 7.7 percent in 2007 to 24.4 percent in 2008, paralleled by a shrinking rate of economic growth. (It's projected to be 2.5 percent in 2009, compared to about 6 percent for each of the last four years.)

The Swat Valley itself accounts for nearly 10 percent of Pakistan’s economy, stemming mainly from its large mining industry and the notoriously beautiful region’s tourist attractions. Since the conflict exploded last winter, tourism in the region has stopped altogether and industry has almost completely shut down. In addition, the China Post reports that instability in the region has led to a substantial decrease in small-business lending over the last few years because of the region’s instability.

The Swat Valley also borders the Sindh and Punjab provinces — the two most important revenue sources for the Pakistani government. In order to protect these areas, the government has placed nearly 70 percent of their military around their borders with the North Western Frontier Province, where the Swat Valley is located.

The Wall Street Journal notes that the armed conflict has already cost Pakistan about $35 billion. And the UN High Commission for Refugees estimates that at least $543 million is needed to maintain minimum health standards for those currently displaced.

TIME notes that when the humanitarian costs are tallied up with the costs of weapons, ammunition and the economic toll the conflict has taken on business and tax revenue, the hill Pakistan has to climb is incredibly steep.

Police in Reykjavik, Iceland after a violent protest turned into a riot on January 20. Photo: finnur.malmquist (flickr)

It’s a lot worse than just about everyone thought. By some estimates, the economic crisis could cost 50 million jobs worldwide. That's a catastrophic number, and even their potential loss is already fueling some discontent and sounding alarms.

Worried about the ripple effects of widespread unemployment, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency recently added the state of the economy to the agency's list of top security threats. Retired Admiral Dennis Blair, the U.S. Director of National Intelligence, warned that "economic crises increase the risk of regime-threatening instability if they persist over a one-to-two-year period."

On the international stage, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon voiced his concern: "If not handled, today’s financial crisis will become tomorrow’s human crisis. Social unrest and political instability will grow, exacerbating all other problems."

Violent flare-ups over the economic recession and resulting unemployment are already occurring all over the globe.

In Pakistan, chronic power outages have forced many textile factories to close down for hours at a time, triggering thousands of angry protesters to set fire to the state-owned power company's office. Government cuts in Lithuania’s social programs prompted protesters to pelt the parliament building with eggs and rocks ; at least 14 people were injured and 84 detained. Chinese police officers are now undergoing special training to deal with expected social unrest over factory closings that have left millions of migrant workers out of a job.

Iceland and Latvia serve as extreme examples of the devastating consequences from the declining state of the worldwide economy: both countries’ respective governments collapsed under the pressure of the economic crisis.

However, security experts are concerned about other forms of collateral damage that extend beyond protests. Bruno Tertrais, a strategic and security expert at the Foundation for Strategic Research in Paris tells Time Magazine that he believes the biggest threat to international security is "the collapse of regimes vital to maintaining international order." Tertrais cites Somalia as an example — a place where, after the collapse of its government, piracy has gained a foothold and severely disrupted shipping routes along the horn of Africa.

Extreme poverty has always posed a threat, especially in the world’s emerging economies. However, the breadth and force of the current global economic crisis poses a threat to all nations, whether rich or poor.

Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai during the recent terrorist attacks Photo: Stuti Sakhalkar (flickr)

India and Pakistan have a violent history since partition in 1947. Relations remained fragile even prior to last month's attacks in Mumbai. But they were getting better, at least on the economic front.

A year ago freight trains started to carry goods across their borders for the first time since partition. Bilateral trade had grown to $2 billion per year. And leaders had scheduled expanded trade talks in early 2009.

Now the question is whether the Mumbai bombings — thought to be the work of Pakistani militants — will ratchet up tensions high enough to overturn gains made in economic relations.

Jairam Ramesh, India’s Junior Minister for Commerce, told the The New York Times: “Four years of sincere and bold initiatives from both sides have been put on pause mode. The momentum is badly affected."

Photo: Michael Foley Photography (flickr)

Move over Italy. Developing countries are the up-and-coming leaders of the leather market, boasting cheaper production costs and fewer environmental regulations.

There is a good chance that your soccer ball, leather belt or aviator jacket was tanned in one of Pakistan’s 2,500 leather factories in the industrial centers of Karachi, Kasur, and Sialkot. The factories mostly employ poor people from neighboring areas, especially young children who will work for cheap wages. In one town alone, Kasur, more than 700 children worked in leather-tanning factories, according to the International Labor Organization.

NPR's Marketplace recently profiled a 17-year-old Pakistani boy, Mohmen, who's worked in the tanning industry since he was 13.

Like so many of Pakistan’s child workers, Mohmen has sacrificed his childhood to support his family. He has toiled in a hazardous leather tanning factory for four years. Six days a week Mohmen moves animal skins from a cart to a conveyor belt.

His heavy workload is not the only thing in the factory that will begin to take a toll on Mohmen. A 1996 Swedish study found that leather tannery workers experience an increased risk of cancer due to their exposure to toxic chemicals.

Mohmen would like to leave and go home to his family but he knows that he cannot. “How can I go home if I have to keep paying somebody? I keep paying what my family owes.” He is just a kid, but he is in an adult world where there is no rest from poverty's harsh realities.