# Which country is the most backwater godforsaken hell-hole on earth? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 31, 2010, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393 "2010-05-31T16:10:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393/101 "2010-06-06T00:52:29Z")
> [@Desert\_Nomad](#): > > I agree that the south Asian labourers are poorly treated in many cases. But they all came voluntarily… open up a Sri Lankan newspaper and half of it is ads to go work in the Gulf. It’s illegal to take their passports, but some employers do. Their Embassies however, usually do not provide any assistance. If it is so bad, why do they keep coming? Oh shit yo, I recently did a major research project on human trafficking in the Philippines, which included taking a trip to the Philippines and interviewing NGOs and government authorities, and while you’re right that people do come voluntarily, a lot of people are in fact misled about what they’re going to be doing and how much they’re going to be paid for it. They have their passports stolen and women, in particular, are subject to sexual abuse. And that does count as human trafficking, by the way - if someone goes somewhere voluntarily under false pretenses and is in a situation where they can’t leave, that’s still considered trafficking. Why do people keep coming? I don’t know about every country, but in the Philippines, working overseas is highly encouraged by the government. Approximately 10% of Filipinos are overseas workers. Working overseas is considered a goal for many people because you can make a lot of money and support your family. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393/102 "2010-06-06T19:48:48Z")
> [@Desert\_Nomad](#): > > It is true that a North Korean owning a car is about like an American owning a small airplane. There are almost no cars. In Pyongyang you can cross most any road and have to wait for only a few cars to clear a path. Outside Pyongyang, you need not bother looking both ways. 😉 All those roads, lots of huge parking lots…and on Google maps I was able to find 13 cars, all parked. Why did they build the roads and parking lots? ---
**Author:** ![Sinisterniik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/51bf81/32.png) [@Sinisterniik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinisterniik)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393/103 "2010-06-06T20:10:05Z")
> [@kittenblue](#): > > All those roads, lots of huge parking lots…and on Google maps I was able to find 13 cars, all parked. Why did they build the roads and parking lots? I’m sure someone with more knowledge than me can elaborate, but essentially it is all an easily visible facade that is put up to portray North Korea as being a first world nation despite its crippling economic and political problems. The [Washington Post](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/05/AR2009030503613.html) revealed quite a few indicators of their malnutrition crisis. And there’s this [survey](http://www.hrwf.net/reports/ext/defectors_survey.pdf) conducted of former North Koreans living in South Korea that shows 100% of those surveyed were tortured (presumably substantially higher than the rate of all North Koreans, but revealing nonetheless). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393.md?page=5)