G20 London Summit – Could it be the silver lining around the cloud?

“Yes Mrs Smith. Things have really got bad now. But there will surely be sunshine after the rain.”, said Trinity in a re-assuring voice.

“My dear child, the way things are progressing, I really wonder whether the sun will ever shine again. I had hoped to do good business with my ice cream parlour near this software company. I did see bright days initially too. There were so many young workers who would stop by for a chilled coffee or a sundae. But now, there are very few who come. Many of my regular customers are either jobless or are trying hard to make ends meet. There are a few students like you who still visit.”, explained a dejected Mrs Smith.

Trinity started sipping her chocolate milk. She was thinking over what the parlour owner had just told her. The woman was right. This rain seemed quite endless. It is not just the financial sector that is affected. Almost all aspects of human life have faced the wrath of the recession. Unemployment has increased. Crime rates are on an all time high. There is fear in everyone's heart. Even popular hang-outs like Mrs Smith's are seeing cloudy days.

The young student of journalism, was immersed in her thoughts, when the ring of her mobile phone snapped her back to reality. The call was from Theo, her classmate.

“Good morn...” Trinity could hardly complete her statement, when an excited Theo exclaimed, “Trinity, you have to check the news in 'World Today' immediately! Maybe we could create a small documentary or a study. Hurry! Got to hang up. Need to inform the others too.”

Theo had hung up before Trinity could say a word. Although a little puzzled, she nevertheless started browsing the internet using her smartphone for the 'news' that had excited Theo.

The front page of the 'World Today' bore the following headlines in bold letters “G20 London Summit – Will it cure the global economic downturn?”

On reading further Trinity learned that G20 is a group of 20 leaders from different countries of the world, representing almost 85% of the globe's economy, and who unitedly study, review and discuss matters pertaining to international finance. The countries involved are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, United Kingdom and United States. The 20th member is the European Union. The group had previously met in Washington, DC in November 2008. They are meeting again in April 2009 to address the current instability of the world's economy.

“Hey Mrs Smith.”, called out Trinity. “The incessant rain might end soon. The sun will then shine bright again!”, she chirped happily.

“What are you talking about?”, enquired a puzzled Mrs Smith.

“Look here.”, cried Trinity, holding her phone in front of the parlour owner's face.

With great interest, both women read the news about the G20 summit together.

The older lady was quite amused at how the little mobile phone worked like a computer, letting them surf the internet.

They smiled together when they read that world leaders like Barack Obama, Gordon Brown and others had put forth their ideas and opinions to fight the recession.

“Well that's really good news. These times definitely call for unity among all countries.”, said Mrs Smith with a twinkle in her eye.

“They plan to leave no stone unturned to help stabilise financial markets. Strengthening and reforming the world's economic system, increasing employment opportunities, reducing poverty is all on their agenda. They also plan to take appropriate measures to ensure that such a situation never arises again.”, explained Trinity, as she read through the news. “There seems to be some disagreement to the terms of the summit from the French and German representatives.”, she continued.

“Well, they must come to some conclusion.”, said Mrs Smith.

“Hopefully. And Oh! There's bad news too. There are a lot of protesters on the streets of  London. They hold the banks and the government responsible for the current crisis. Many of these protesters are the ones who had lost their jobs. There are some groups that are protesting peacefully, like the anti-war groups. But there are violent protesters as well. Many people have been injured badly. The police have arrested some others who were creating problems. It is like a war between the mob and the police.”, said Trinity in a sadly.

“They say that the noisiest child grabs the mother's attention first. That's the same thing happening here. People sometimes need to draw attention this way to voice their opinion.”, said Mrs Smith.

“But creating all that violence is only going to cause more destruction. Innocent people get hurt and killed. One cannot turn inhumane in order to draw attention.”, declared Trinity in a firm voice.

“You are absolutely right. But how do you think the common man's interest can be voiced without creating violence?”, asked Mrs Smith.

“There are many ways of doing that. First, people can always make peaceful protests. A silent rainbow definitely grabs attention. Doesn't it? The Media is another powerful tool that is universal and can convey public opinion without creating havoc. There are websites where people can contribute their thoughts, ideas and opinions.”, suggested Trinity. Then pointing to some pictures on the display of the high resolution camera mobile phone, she continued, “Look at these snaps for instance. They have been clicked using cell phones. They portray some banners which convey opinions of  protesters. Such pictures are sure to grab attention.”

“You're right. Hope the world leaders come out with solutions that are in the best interests of all nations.”

“Yes Mrs Smith. The sun must shine bright over the world again.”

Both women smiled as hope filled their hearts.