Around the globe, corruption impacts people's lives in a multitude of ways. In the worst cases, corruption costs lives. In countless other cases, it costs their freedom, health, or money.

Here are a few examples:

In May 2000, 950 people were injured and 22 killed, when a fireworks factory in Enschede, the Netherlands, burst into flames. The explosion reached such catastrophic levels because government regulators turned a blind eye to grave security breaches with regard to storing explosives on the factory premises. In return for remaining silent, the officials are said to have received free fireworks for years. Even an illegal enlargement of the factory was legalised by the authorities a posteriori. The local government official in charge of monitoring fireworks factories in the area admitted to not knowing the specific regulations on the storage of explosives. Though considered an expert, he hadn't read the relevant literature, nor had he taken part in any training seminars. He only followed the instructions of his superiors, one of whom was arrested on corruption charges two years ago.

A Swiss activist for the rights of the Penan, a nomadic people in the Malaysian rainforest, has been missing since May 2000, after he successfully drew international attention to the problem of the unscrupulous logging of Borneo's woods. Turning rainforest into palm plantations, the logging companies and government officials destroy the habitat of the indigenous rainforest nomads. In addition to threatening the lives of the Penan and those who fight for them, the excessive logging in Borneo contributes to the worldwide problem of deforestation, affecting the earth's climate. The corrupt co-operation between loggers and government also hurts the Malaysian people on the whole, as the money made by logging companies does not flow back into Malaysia's economy. A 1993 study showed that "log exports to Japan were under-declared by as much as 40 percent, thereby reducing the amount of export tax paid to the national treasury". (Sizer, Nigel: Practical Measures for Promoting Integrity and Curbing Corruption in the Forest Sector: A Contribution to the World Commission on Forests and Sustainable Development. Washington, D.C.: World Resources Institute, 1997.)

Other examples of the impact of corruption abound: take the residents of shanty towns, who need to pay off city officials so that the little bit of living space they have built does not get torn down; or citizens harassed by police in their daily activities, having to pay left and right only to go about their business. Some bureaucracies only work if they are enticed by additional "rewards".

In any case, grand and petty corruption is making life more difficult or outright threatens the lives of many people all over the world.

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