iPhone Resale

Apple is allowing iPhone users to sell their current iPhone to get a newer and more current version of the iPhones. iPhone owners are selling their iPhone 4 and iPhone 4s back to the Apple stores and are trading it for the new iPhone 5C. Through the Apple Recycle Program, Apple ships the old used phones for resale at other countries that are underserved of Apple's pricier models. For example, some of the phones are sent to India, Brazil, Indonesia, and other countries. It is unknown how many phones Apple will acquire through this method, but it is expected for millions of customers to take advantage of this opportunity of getting the newer iPhone model. This is an example of how large companies reuse unwanted commerce and turn it into something more profitable. Apple is creating this insatiable need in its customers that promotes them to continue longing for the newer versions of of their iPhones. People have unlimited wants and needs, but they don't keep in mind what is truly important and necessary. iPhones are not a need, but rather a want, yet people claim to highly depend on them and consider them absolutely necessary and useful. It is true that they are useful: they contain thousands of apps that make people's lives easier, but they also seem to have an influence on the economy. iPhones are pricey, but that doesn't stop people from longing for one. In order to obtain it, people have to choose what they are not going to buy in exchange for the iPhone. Consumers are faced with the following questions: What am I going to buy? Can I afford it? If I buy this, what would I have to give up? For some, the decision is between the iPhone and a new pair of shoes, but for others, the decision is between the phone and food for dinner. Another thing to keep in mind is that Apple is selling the older versions of the iPhones to less developed countries. They are getting double the profit when the iPhone 5C is bought in America and an iPhone 4 is sold in India. Reselling the products may soon make the company much more influential economically than what it is in America and other countries. As the product increases popularity in America and the other countries that it plans to make a profit at, more and more consumers are available.

Yemen Girls Exchanged for Money?

Yemen's human rights minister wants child marriage to be outlawed after an eight year old girl died. She died within days after her marriage with a forty year old man. Rawan, the girl, is said to have died due to internal injuries that she suffered while having sexual intercourse with her husband. The intercourse tore her uterus and other internal organs. Local officials deny the occurrence, but Yemen's human rights minister, Hooria Mashhour, declares that enough damage has been done. He seeks to end the cruel practice and make things right. Many child marriage cases have occurred prior to this case, and the minister wants to focus on those cases as well. When Mashhour talked to the human rights coordinator, the coordinator reported that people would deny the story and hide information on purpose, probably due to fear. People who spoke anonymously said that they were ordered not to talk about the case to the media. They think officials are trying to make the case seem less serious. Others say that nobody is talking about it because it is the poor who are vulnerable. Many of Yemen's people claim that they are forced to sell their daughters to richer men. The head of the police department claims that the reports are not backed up with proof. Child rights advocates are trying to investigate the case, but Rawan's father refuses to be questioned and denies the case. The government denies the investigators the right to see the girl, who is supposedly alive and in her family's custody. Local sources say otherwise and claim that the girl was secretly buried.

Rawan's case brings three things to light: 1. The government is ignoring the suffering of the young female girls. 2. There is a serious issue at Yemen concerning the selling of the hand of female children. 3. People who allow child marriage in their families are being suppressed financially. It is mentioned that people keep silent about the issue and allow the practice because poverty cripples them. Parents sell the girls to wealthier men in exchange for money. What does this say about their economy? To what level of poverty must they be facing that causes them to make such a decision that gravely affects their little girls? Apparently, the government allows girls to be viewed as merchandise that can be sold to anyone who can afford it. It is a really harsh reality, the rich are oppressing the poor, and the poor are the ones who end up damaged. It is possible that Rawan's father refused to be questioned because a rich authority who has power over him forbids it, but it is unknown.

Those thoughts aside, why isn't the government doing anything for the girls? They could create a program that helps the needy families with their financial problems which in turn would stop the need to sell their daughters. Yet, even after so many child marriages, not much has been done.