This week I located an article titled “Russian controversial gay law raises alarm among Olympic sponsors.” This article discussed some Olympic sponsors being worried about Russia’s current law forbidding anyone to discuss homosexuality in front of or in the presence of minors. This law forbids spreading information on homosexuality to minors and has been seen to be discriminatory. The community as well as Olympic sponsors are unsure of what the repercussions will be for an Olympic athlete or guest that chooses to use the Olympic platform to discuss their sexuality. According to another article titled “Vladimir Putin says no discrimination of gays in Russia” states, “The new Russian law imposes fines of up to 5,000 rubles ($150) for individuals and 1 million rubles ($30,000) for organizations, plus stiffer penalties for propaganda on the Web or in the media. Foreigners who violate the law are also subject to fines, plus prison sentences of up to 15 days, deportation and denial of re-entry into Russia.” With this new law, I believe that these sponsors have every right to be worried when it seems like a celebrity is “coming out” a lot more than before.
However, it’s very hard for me to form an opinion on this article because I can see where both parties are coming from. While discrimination is wrong no matter what the cause (race, gender, sexuality, religion), this law does not forbid homosexuality, it only states that spreading information to minors about homosexuality is illegal. I would like to think that this law was enacted to protect Russia’s youth from unwholesome talk. However, I’m also almost certain that this can be debated fairly easily.
On the other hand, I can also see how this can be seen as the beginning steps to making homosexuality illegal and only adds fuel to the individuals who believe that this law is discriminatory. If I were in their position, I believe I too would feel like this was discrimination. It’s as if the government is telling them that their sexual orientation is unacceptable and shouldn’t be heard by anyone under the age of eighteen. Forbidding the spreading of information about homosexuality is discrimination in my opinion. However, in this case it’s only forbidden when it involves minor and for that reason I am torn.
In our previous chapter reading (Social Work Practice for Social Justice) we read about heterosexual privilege which is much like white privilege, but involves a person’s sexual orientation rather than race. It went on to say that heterosexual privilege is an even bigger taboo than race privilege. I believe that this could have played a huge part in this law. Heterosexual privilege gives individuals power, approval, and acceptance that homosexuals don’t receive and I believe that this law is one way that this thought proves to be true.
I do hope that clarification and explanation is given before the world is watching at the Winter Olympics.
Jonnecia, although it would be my hopes, as you stated, that this law is to prevent minors from hearing “unwholesome” talk as you put it, I to doubt that is that case. I had heard something about this law briefly on the news one day while at work but never heard any more about it. I can see why sponsors of the 2014 Winter Olympics would be concerned. This is just the type of thing that could turn into a major riot. However, I doubt the concern is so much on any possibility of discrimination as it is how this could affect their pocketbooks. This law being discussed at such an “inopportune” time, right before the Olympics are scheduled to be hosted in Russia, has the possibility of majorly affect other sponsors, and people who might opt out of coming to come see the Winter Olympics because of their disagreement with the new law Russia proposes.
Great article to show how discrimination still exists, Jonnecia! Although homosexuality is a very controversial issue, I still cannot believe Russia places such strict laws and punishments if the issue is discussed in the presences of a minor. I feel as though these types of laws and punishments will cause great conflict during the Sochi Olympics due to others wanting to promote homosexuality. I agree with Yvonne in saying, I cannot believe this type of discrimination still exists all over the world; however, I can relate to the issue as I am from Eastern Kentucky and my grandparents will not even discuss homosexuality (they believe it is a horrible sin and should never be talked about).
Great blog Jonnecia. Homosexuality to a very controverisal subject in numerous cultures and ethnicities. People tend to be afraid to discuss this topic with pure openess and honesty for fear of backlack from those who appear to "accept" it. I find it hard to believe, although I know that it clearly does, that this sort of discrimination still exists. I believe the venue of the Olympics may be a great arena for this discussion to begin again on the World level. It is a topic, like most, that gets attention for a moment, then fades from the spotlight. The Olympics is suppose to represent all peoples from all over the world, all races, all ethnicities, all sexes, everyone. I too agree with you that the topic of homosexuality being dicussed amongst minors is controversial, but I think that talking about all subjects of this nature should begin at an early age. Great job.
I found the article, Young Tunisian girls head to Syria for ‘sexual ‘jihad’ disturbing; I cannot imagine what these young girls faced when forced to travel to Syria as a religious practice to perform sexual jihad. Not only were the young girls forced to have sex with 20, 30, even 100 strangers but they also came home pregnant. The article reports, sexual jihad refers to the phenomenon of females offering sexual services to their male counterparts so they remain motivated to continue the struggle for their cause.
The former Grand Mufti of Tunisia, Sheikh Othman Battikh reported at least 13 Tunisian teenage girls were fooled into traveling to Syria to have sex with Islamist rebels. In March, 2013 Saudi preacher, Sheikh Mohammad Al Arifi tweeted “I, Sheikh Muhammad Al Arifi call upon Muslim women to permit fighters in Syria to perform jihad through sex for few hours,” The Tunisian government fired back to Al Arifi’s tweet and stood up for the young girls. Battkah and the Tunisian Government are now working towards ensuring other young Tunisian women are prevented from sexual jihad. Ben Jeddou reported 6,000 young women have been prevented from going to Syria since March. Tunisian Government has also issued a security alert for young girls. Members of the National Constituent Assembly have responded to the criminalization of human trafficking for young girls whom are targeted by terrorist groups.
This article ties into the book, Not for Sale, as it is a clear example of how human trafficking exists. I was shocked to read about the Saudi preacher who promoted these actions; however, I was also shocked when I read, Not for Sale and how authorities of higher statuses and law enforcement ignored and even promoted human trafficking. Not for Sale and articles such as this show how “real” human trafficking is; it sickens me to think of these poor, innocent girls being raped. I am glad to see the Tunisian government is attempting to prevent further acts in happening.
Although this article did not tie into the topic of “environmental issues” I feel as though it is a good example of how every environment can determine an individual’s beliefs, religion, income, ect. Just as the different beliefs of Syria and Tunisian in using young women for jihad.
Kasey, What shocked me the most about this article and your post was the fact that these girls were having sex with as many as 100 men before they come home pregnant. I worry of not only the health of these young girls at the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS but what about their babies? I am glad that 6,000 have been prevented from going but there seems to be a pattern among tragedy in the world and that is it has to be considered a huge problem before something is done. I believe when one child is trafficked into sex, something should be done then. Why do we have to wait and hear of 13? Why does it have to happen at all? It's time to put a stop to this pattern and do something. I know that with culture, morals are different but if the UN feels as though this is wrong why are we pushing this evil aside. We must come together as a world and make a change!
Yvonne Walters Topic: Gendercide 09/22/23 at 6:06pm http://www.economist.com/news/europe/21586617-son-preference-once-suppressed-reviving-alarmingly-gendercide-caucasus
"There is a large pent-up demand for sex selection"(Gendercide in the Caucasus). That seems to be the running theme in many countries. It is thought that selecting the sex of your unborn child was mostly heard and thought of in Asian countries. On the contrary, as I continue to look for articles, it seems it is in demand in numerous countries. Caucasus, located at the borders of Europe and Asia, is just another one. According to the article, Caucasus has revived the mission of sex selection amongst its citizens. The deficit of female births in comparison to male births is that of 115/120 males to that of 100 females, states Marc Michael of New York University’s Abu Dhabi campus. In Armenia, there are 138 males born to every 100 females in second births. It is preferred by Caucasus families that the first born child be male. Although the article does not refer to specific stories about abortion and/or murder of fetuses, it indirectly speaks of sex selection through ultrasound that rose sharply in 1991. I continue to find this subject a very difficult one to research and read about. For me personally, it is unbelievably cruel to end the life of a child based solely on the fact it is a female.
This article did not surprise me at all, but I agree very much with you that it is cruel to end a life based solely on the fact of a gender. I think it is hard for us to understand the idea behind it though. Because we can have multiple kids, many families do end up with a son. These other families do not have that option and so they see a female baby as worthless. It is terrible to think about but it also isn't our normal. When looking at the chart it made me wonder what it may look like in 10 more years. Although Americans may not be guilty for killing their female children, most families do express a desire to have at least one son.
I find it difficult to comprehend too, Yvonne. But this subject does continue to be one of interest for me, especially because of my Christian faith. I also see it as part of a social worker's responsibility to advocate for those who are at a disadvantage and who are vulnerable. Who can be more vulnerable than a helpless baby in its mothers womb who has no capacity or control to make a decision on his/her own behalf or to even attempt an escape of danger? I understand that this is a controversial subject and I respect the right of others' beliefs, but surely most agree that an unborn baby meets the description of vulnerable. As to the information in the article, it was vague on the description of abortion as a means of gender selection, but I would assume it is a method used since ultra sound is used to determine the sex of a fetus already in the womb. In looking at the distinct differences in the chart in the article (Georgia's 138/100 ratio of males/females "born" ) it also makes me wonder if other technological advances like fertility drugs are being misused and abused for the purpose of creating more multiple embryonic pregnancies so that there are more embryos to choose from. It is something to think about
The article that I chose this week discusses the Southeast Asian nation Myanmar or Burma as it may be called by some. Myanmar as you will see in the article has one of the highest presences of child labor in the world alongside or even higher than North Korea or Somalia. In this country child labor is not just a mere “cultural problem” it is a culturally known and accepted pattern. The article calls child labor in this nation a “Pillar of the economy”. I though this article had several interesting point as it discusses how even our nation that we typically don’t associate with any child labor problems had the opportunity to build their economies on the backs of children without foreign commerce while Myanmar will not have that chance. I do not believe that this article is indicating support for child labor, not at all. I do believe it is pointing out the fact that this nation is struggling and it challenges us to take a look at what is the right answer and for whom is it right? At one point around the 1990’s many businesses pulled away their companies because of child labor issues in this nation however Myanmar has seen a turn of events and suddenly many businesses are coming back to try to reach a new population of consumers. Both Coke and Pepsi are beginning to infiltrate the country with their ads in hopes to bring their business to a new nation that is not yet hooked on pops. But I am interested to learn how these large companies will go about insuring that these young workers are not the one serving up the “real taste”. In week two we read about Education around the Globe, one topic we covered was savage inequalities at home and abroad, a crystal clear example of this is Myanmar’s current issue. As we read a major theme of this article was Education or rather the lack of. These working children are not going to school. They often feel like school is a waste. This is because they are not seeing the long term benefits of an education. When they go to school they suffer now, not being worth as much money as they would be if they were working. However, some teachers, the ones who manage to hang around, try and stress that remaining in school will pay off more in the long run. Are text discussed how social class was a major attribute to education. We read how those in Myanmar with the means could send their children abroad to school but the rest were left to send their children out into more often than not hazardous work enviournment in order to provide basic needs for their families. Myanmar seems to be another country like we discussed in class, whether they are prepared for it or not they are becoming a globalized nation, now the rest of the world has to decide how they will respond to the epidemic in this nation.
Great article Miss Kayla!! I especially loved that you chose our group's country to write about as well. In the article I found it a tad bit humorous when it stated that the United States and the United Kingdom built there economies on the backs of children and that Myanmar wouldn't have the luxury. It put things in perspective in how the United States tends to operate. Our country can do cruel or unreasonable things, but the first time another county starts we're ready to go public about how we don't agree with their practices. It saddens me that these children feel like school is a waste and that their living the "good life" as a child labor. School is and will be so important to these children if they ever want to do more with their lives. I would have to agree that they are not seeing the long term benefits of an education.
Kayla, Good job on this article. I think it is very sad that this children have to skip their entire childhood and move straight to adulthood. Little King became the caretaker of his mother and siblings and gave up his desires to provide for them. Education is so important for a country's growth and over 1/3 of Myanmar's children are not receiving an education and are working.
According to the article, two Canadians were killed in Kenya on Saturday, September 21st, 2013 and went on into Sunday, September 23rd after a terrorist attack took place at Westgate Mall in Nairobi. The two Canadians were Diplomat Annemarie Desloges and Vancouver businessman Nagiub Damji. Along with the two, 68 more civilians were killed and 175 injured. There were 10 to 15 terrorists who were responsible for the attack and were a part of Somalia’s radical rebel group called al-Shabab. The group said that they will not negotiate. Since the attack, police have said that 49 people have been reported missing. Canada offers support for what happened on Saturday and Sunday and said that would help Kenya recover from the attack and were “prepared to do more”. Foreign Affairs Minister spoke out saying that because of the different nationalities that were killed in this attack, terrorism is a struggle for our generation and that we must work together in fighting against this.
When hearing about this terroristic act that has taken place in Kenya, it does not surprise me to hear that Canada sends support with hopes of doing more in the recovery of this event after two of their own civilians were among the many victims killed. In relation to our class discussion this past week, I think that it’s amazing that Canada is supporting Kenya because when tragedy strikes our world, it should be our duty to help. However, just like our discussion with human trafficking in class, terrorism isn’t a new topic. It’s happening daily in our world, we just don’t recognize it until it affects our own country. Although I think it’s great that Canada is supporting Kenya, I am wondering if they would support them had their own two citizens not been among the 68 killed. Regardless of whether or not our citizens are not victims in a terrorist attack or any other tragedy our mission, as a world, should be to support each country when tragedy strikes. It is sad to me that tragedy has to become larger than life for it to be noticed. Along with human trafficking, terrorism is real and it’s affecting more countries than we know daily with evidence from my previous posts so why haven’t we made a move yet. Also, I feel like Canada along with the U.S. and other countries should take Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird’s comment into consideration and send their condolences out to Kenya saying “What can we do to help?” and “What can we do so this doesn’t happen again”.
MaKayla, Great article, summarization, and relation to class discussions. This article raises many questions, including the ones you pointed out. Did anyone else notice that the article referred to the Westgate Mall several times as an "upscale mall?" Would that mean that mainly higher level officials, upper-class individuals, and foreigners would be the prime customers in the mall? If the Kenyan government knew that al-Shabab was a threat, wouldn't they put likely targets under heightened security? Furthermore, you are right that Canada is only involved because they lost some of their own. Where are the rest of the UN? Where do we (the US) stand? If Somalia is such a threat, harboring al quaida type terrorists, genocidal tyrants, and pirates that raid the African coast, shouldn't the rest of the "civilized" world take action against it to correct these problems and prevent further future atrocities such as this?
This article actually popped up when I was looking for an article for this weeks blog. When reading I thought the same exact thing you stated in your summary, " I never thought of this happening in other countries." I also thought to myself whether or not Canada would be supporting Kenya if their citizens had not been killed or injured. I mean what does it take for other countries to see the injustice happening all around the world to step in and take action? In this case I guess it takes some of your own to be injured or even worse killed. There is no doubt that this has been publicized because if you read the caption under one of the pictures it stated that "Twitter suspended the account used by the Somali militants on Friday, Jan. 25, 2013, after the insurgents used the micro-blogging site to post a hostage video and death threat."So this is not a secret it is a publicized story and other powerful countries and the UN must step in to stop terrorism.
Aging in Asia Morgan Williams 9/23/13 at 2:20 http://www.cnbc.com/id/101045746 This article brought an interesting perspective on the continent of Asia, and the issues they are facing with their aging population. The main idea of the article was that there is a continental divide between counties. In southeast Asia, the working population is growing; in the northeast the working population is shrinking. The article talks about how this is due to northeast Asia experiencing an elderly population boom, and therefore a smaller working population. This has been happening in Japan for quite a while, but now other countries such as China, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Thailand are also experiencing the same population shift. Indonesia and the Philippines are experiencing a working population boom. This divide of the population in Asia is causing several problems. The Asian countries experiencing an aging population boom do not know how to deal with their aging population, and lack resources for these individuals; the countries experiencing a working population boom do not have have demand to meet the supply. While reading the article I thought about how in class we discussed industrialized nations compared to developing countries. Indonesia and The Philippines are countries that supply westernized counties with products. Although these countries produce enough products to meet the demand of the world, the leaders of these countries are worried that there will soon be too many workers producing too many products, exceeding the demands. The Economies of these countries will also change, which will change Asia as a whole as well. There will need to be an increase in products for the elderly, as well as an increase in jobs for the working population. According to one link in the article, Japan will sell more adult diapers next year than infant diapers. This is just one example of how this changing population will affect the countries and their economies.
I thought that this article was very interesting. I compared it to the Baby Boomers in the US. Their age group is coming to an age of retirement, and their work ethics are often a lot stronger than the work ethics of the young adults in the work field these days. I think that this article shows that there is a difference in the way societies today work. People often take the easy road, and are supported by the government instead of working. I think it would be interesting to compare the US to these Asian countries in future years.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/22/world/asia/pakistan-attack/index.html?hpt=wo_c2 Many Christians go to church on the Sabbath day (Sunday) which is a day of rest and reflection for them. Christian’s in Pakistan attended a church service on Sunday where more than five hundred people were in attendance. This day of rest and reflection turned tragic when two suicide bombers walked into the church’s courtyard. The bombers detonated the bombs as soon as the church was releasing from their services. The majority of the people killed and injured were the women from the choir and the children who were in Sunday school. 81 people lost their life in this explosion, and hundreds were also severely and critically injured. The church was built in 1883, and was built to resemble a mosque in order to fit in with the other temples and mosques around it. The resemblance of the church was also to show unity with the others around it. When people from neighboring communities heard of the blast they rushed to the city streets in protest. As a minority the Christians felt that they were being singled out. The protestors asked for protection from future acts of violence. Although the Prime Minister stood behind the Christian with his words, it was not enough to comfort those injured in the attacks and their families.
A splinter group from the Taliban is claiming responsibility for these actions. Since Christians make up less than 3% of the population, the Christians are taking this personally as a threat toward them. This strike against Christians is similar to the Kenyan Westgate Mall Attack. A spokesman from the TTP-Jandullah stated that they will continue to strike out against non-Muslims. In Kenya all Muslims were released from the mall, and people from minority groups were targeted. This attack is one of the deadliest in the Pakistani area, and it comes a day after discussions of peace talks were made. The Muslim faith in both of these attacks were lifted out of the tragedy, and the minorities were the ones targeted.
Ashley Ware Topic: Genocide Time: September 23, 2013 11:39 P.M. Article: “Breaking News Genocide in Totolamo Village, Ethiopia”
A small village in Ethiopia is in mourning after eleven of its citizens were killed in cold murder by the genocidal Tigre People Liberation Front/TPLF federal police commandos on August 3rd 2013. The ages of those killed ranged from a five year old to elderly. The number of citizens that were wounded during the attack is unknown. Several hundred refugees hid inside a mosque that got surrounded by federal police; their fate is unknown. Many others were held in the nearby town Kofele’s police station by men from the TPLF in police uniforms.
This horrible attack happened on the villagers when they were unarmed and when they were gathered for their routine prayer meeting. This is when the commandos started to pour into the village and unleash their mayhem. The ruling Junta have practiced genocide for 22 years, but the Tololamo massacre was Assefa Abiyo’s first mass murder. Abiyo is the newly appointed federal police commander and is supposed to be more ruthless and ferocious than his predecessor. According to a Facebook post from Minilik Salsawi whom is an Ethiopian Activist blogger, some of the federal police commandos are also among the dead found in the attack. The citizens tried to defend themselves by throwing stones at the attackers followed by machinegun fire.
In class we talked about the book we read Not For Sale. This news article reminded me about a few of the stories where small armies would raid villages and kill innocent people. But in those stories they told why the killings happened. Most of the time it was to gather children for their child armies, to steal young girls to make them sex slaves, to make them laborers against their will, or because they thought the village took some them from them and owed them. There was not a real spoken reason why these killings happened. After reading this article though I started to read some of the comments that others had left about the article, which was very eye opening as well. This led me to have a couple of questions. Was it religion that started this war? Why was there not an updated story on this? Like we had discussed in class the Not For Sale book is a great book for Social Workers to read. It is hard to think outside our little world when it is not affecting us personally. To read the book and to hear the stories of others who have lived such a tragedy makes you want to take action and help. That book is a link to the blogs because not only did we read stories of a few people and how it affected them but we read news articles of tragedies that are happening around the world for many who no longer have a voice to cry for help.
Erica Stevens Date: 9/24/13 Time: 6:05am Topic: Poverty Title: Joseph Rowntree Foundation: ‘More poverty in working households in Wales’ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-24146012
James Williams describes in this article the effects of a low wage low skill economy on Wales. It is more likely for a family in Wales to be in poverty if they are employed then if the family was not employed. Job opportunities are scarce and most families who are employed are employed part time. Once the family is employed they lose a lot of benefits that would have been received if they remained unemployed. In Wales, 285,000 adults are employed but living in poverty compared to 275,000 not working but living in poverty. Between 2009-2010 and 2011-2012, 23% of Wales was living in poverty. This is approximately 690,000 people. According to this article 1/3 of Wales children are living in homes considered to be living in poverty. The mother in the video described her desire for her children to receive an education and move away to find the jobs that can keep them out of poverty. Wales does not have the job opportunities to support their growing families. Both adults in this family are working but are not provided with enough hours to support their family. They cannot afford the oil to have heat and hot water in their home and have to heat water over the wood stove to wash dishes. This family, like many others in Wales, is trapped in poverty. Most of the time when I think of poverty I think of single mothers who are not able to work because they cannot afford daycare, individuals with disabilities in which they are cannot work, and homeless individuals who do not work. I do not think about families with two working adults who just do not make enough to pay the bills. The jobs provided to families in Wales does not allow families to get out of poverty. It makes me wonder if human trafficking is prevalent in Wales due to the many families struggling to provide for their families.
Erica as I read this article, I couldn't help but wonder about how similar this situation is to ours in the United States. I do not know our statistics here; and I doubt they are that high, but I do know that they are high. It is so interesting and odd that the working class is poorer than those who do not work. I had an undergraduate class on the culture of poverty, and it is so interesting to see the cycles and cultures poverty is in, and how sad it is when there seems to be no escape. If you are working, one would hope to be out of poverty, but that isn't always the case, as we see in this article.
Alison Lee Date: 9/24/13 Time: 10:19am Topic: Religion Article: “Pakistan Christians Issue Call for Protection” http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/24/world/asia/pakistan-christians-demand-protection-after-church-bombing.html?_r=0
Yesterday a bombing took place at a historical church in Pakistan, where the death toll has rose to 85. Christians were the target. This is considered to be the most deadly attack of Pakistani Christians, and now they are seeking refuge from the political leaders. From the article, it talks about how the leader, Mr.Khan is not involving himself much in the situation other than condemning those who were apart of the attack. This led Christians to then mock him at the hospital where the victims were being cared for. Yesterday on breaking news on Fox’s channel, I saw a woman holding a sign telling the UN to “wake up.” I think this sign speaks volumes about how it seems we have been quick to take action when there is more than human lives at stake, but when it comes to Syria and now Pakistan, we hesitate to make moves. This goes back to what we talked about in class with how even though many countries are involved in the UN, there are the “big players” and the “little kids” and how if the country doesn’t have enough pull, their opinion is unlikely to be heard or at least taken into consideration. It is hard for me to comprehend the fear these Christians have to live in, especially now after this recent attack. We live in a country where for the most part, we do feel very safe, and our concern for safety is normally not the first thing on our mind because we expect it. Shouldn’t these Pakistan Christians be able to expect safety, or some type of rectifications to those who threaten their safety?
This news article about the global issue of HIV/AIDS describes a goal held by the United Nations set to “stop and reverse” the AIDS epidemic around the world by the year 2015. According to Mazumdar’s research on the subject and the information given by UNAIDS, the world is closing the gap on that goal which is good news. There have been huge improvements since 2005 when the global death rate from the AIDS epidemic hit an all-time high at over 2 million people. In 2012, those same numbers had fallen to just over 1.5 million people. The improvement is thought to be largely due to improved access to treatment throughout the world as there were about 10 million people diagnose d with HIV/AIDS in low income countries receiving treatment by the end of 2012.
Although there have been great strides in the fight to combat the devastating effects of HIV/AIDS, there is still plenty of room left for improvement. Admittedly, one population group of people that is difficult to get services to is that of IV drug users. In my opinion, this might be due to the fact that this is a high risk population and the virus is spreading faster than efforts can contain it. It was also refreshing to see that this article was not shying away from the fact that violence against women, like trafficking ,needs more attention in the area of those who are being violated are at risk of contracting HIV. Like the article says, it would be good to strive to go even beyond the global goal set that AIDS not be an epidemic by 2015. For this to happen, or even come close to happening, strategies such as those discussed in the article “Clinical Social Workers: Advocates for Social Justice” by Anne Marie McLaughlin need to be put in to place. The research that was conducted in that reading points to the need for educational and practical advocacy to take place for population groups to be served effectively, and even though some of that seems to have gone by the wayside, it appears that at least a part of that is being put into place where the global issue of HIV as an epidemic is concerned and that is encouraging. If the world were to work even harder and individuals would put all their might into educating and advocating for those already affected as well as putting prevention plans into place even more improvement could take place before the goal date and it can happen by implementing these advocacy strategies. But it really is “no time for complacency.” It is time for full, effective advocacy.
Heather, It is great that progress is being made in the fight against HIV/AIDS. I am glad to see that the article also discussed sex trafficking as an issue in the spread of this disease. I would like to see an advocacy plan on how to combat the disease in this area. Of course the best plan would be to stop all human trafficking, but as we learned in our recent clases this is a huge epidemic all of its own. Thank you for sharing this article.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/23/us-australia-asylum-idUSBRE98M08J20130923 Topic: Asylum S. Michelle Wright The article I found this week is titled: Australia clamps down on information about asylum seekers. Over the last couple of weeks I have been reading information about how Australia is no longer providing asylum instead sending them to detention centers in Nauru and Papua New Guinea. Immigration Minister Scott Morrison has reported that the government will no longer provide information concerning border protection incidents. Morrison states that this is to “safeguard and avoid alerting trafficking syndicates”. Since 2007 approximately 45,000 asylum seekers have arrived in Australia. In the last year about 400 boats arrived. This occurred when the former Labor government relaxed border policies. Newly elected Conservative Prime Minister Tony Abbott is making good on his election promise to tighten border policies and stop the influx of asylum seekers into Australia. It is reported that Abbott is having the Australian Navy turn Asylum seekers away at sea and buy up fishing boats to prevent them from being used for trafficking. This is an effort to stop human traffickers operating from Indonesian ports. Abbott’s efforts are being criticized by Indonesian lawmakers. In my opinion by turning these boats away at sea the lives of many innocent people are being risked by Abbott. It appears that Abbott wants to try and stop human trafficking across Australian borders. I think that Abbott’s idea is if they prevent the boats from arriving then asylum seekers will stop paying traffickers to transport them to Australia. The government will continue to provide information on the boats that arrive in Australia but would provide information on the boats that sink on a case-by-case basis. It is reported that hundreds of asylum seekers have drowned trying to reach Australia. According to the book “Not for Sale” the term human trafficker is used when a person is forced or coerced in this instance going to Australia. It doesn’t seem that the asylum seekers which are paying smugglers to get them into Australia meet the definition of human trafficking as Prime Minister Abbott refers to them. Some of the asylum seekers at this point are electing to return to their homeland. Many of them do not meet the criteria of seeking asylum because they do not fear persecution or political retaliation, but rather are immigrants. It seems that strict border policies might be needed to ensure only people in need of asylum are allowed into Australia due to massive amount of immigrants trying to enter the country under the asylum policies, but I do not think turning boats full of people in the sea is the appropriate action to take.
Michelle, I had no idea that Australia was having the same issues with illegal immigrants as the United States. I think Australia's prime minister is of the same mind set as those operating border patrols in Arizona & other states: we will allow immigration as long as it is done legally. I agree if people are paying smugglers to help them enter Australia they do not meet the criteria for being trafficked. I think Abbott was referring to human trafficking because those seeking asylum are often intercepted in route to Australia and forced into trafficking. Great article and insight!
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=82121 As I looked for suitable articles for this week’s blog I really wanted to find some correlation between human trafficking and natural disasters. I did not find any current articles that combined the topics, but I would ask that you bear with me as I connect the dots between the two. Natural disasters devastate the areas they occur in by killing people, destroying homes, and ruining economies. So, how do the people in these areas recover? Optimistically, we automatically think “rebuild” and “start over”, but how does one rebuild when they had very little before the natural disaster occurred? In previous articles I was struck by how the human spirit allowed people to continue even when they were living in squalor. In class last week it occurred to me that many times families feel they have little choice in whether or not they sell a child. They are already struggling to feed everyone and now a tsunami, earthquake, or other natural disaster has struck making it even harder to survive. NO, I do not agree with this thinking, but I have the luxury of sitting in my nice home with a fully stocked pantry and not having to make that decision. I cannot imagine the agony that is created when the decision is made to sell a child, or to borrow money from a rich man and indenture myself. For some selling a family member or selling oneself may make life a bit more bearable for the entire family. As I said earlier my article this week did not focus on the correlation of natural disasters and human trafficking as I could not find any current articles that combined these two topics. Instead, I am writing about Typhoon Usagi that hit China (a country that is known to traffic women and children) and relate some of what I thought about while I wrote this blog. Typhoon Usagi struck China over the weekend killing at least 25 people and displacing over 300,000 more. The article did not tell us if those 25 killed were women, men, or children. It did not tell us if they were trafficking victims, school children, housewives, husbands, or political figures. Nor did it tell us what will become of the more than 300,000 people who are without homes as I complete this blog. I can only wonder what will happen to these people. Will they be forced to borrow money that will result in trying to pay off that debt over years or generations? Will they be trafficked for sex? Or sold to factories to be used for virtually free labor until their ever growing debt is paid? More than likely those 300,000 people will be forced to consider one of the options I have mentioned because this natural disaster has placed them in dire straits. I hope as you have read this blog that you can see how natural disasters and human trafficking are connected. I also hope that you begin to ask yourself as I have: What can I do to help? How can I make a difference? Realistically, I do not know if I will ever be able to travel to China or any of the countries I have covered in my blog, but I may be able to help one person. Not for Sale urged each of us to become abolitionists in our own communities and to take note of the women (or anyone) who works at restaurants, or cleans houses, or simply seems to need help. I know I cannot change the lives of those 300,000 people in China who are displaced, but I may have the opportunity to change one life if I am observant, empathetic, and pro-active in noticing what goes on in my community.
This week I found a video on former child soldiers of the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army) . This video revealed a Northern Uganda charity that worked with the children so they will be able to better transition back into “normal day to day society. Just like we read about in the book “Not For Sale” the young man in this video has endured some horrific events. He talked about having to kill other children and then step over their bodies. The boy in this video was enrolled in a sixteen week therapy program. Sixteen weeks of therapy is definitely a step in the right direction, however this young man was abducted when he was twelve years old and was a part of the LRA for a total of thirteen years. So the therapy is just that, a step on a long road to recovery. I believe this charity is prepared to help this children travel down that long road however, funding is scarce and the center is in jeopardy of shutting down. This center has helped fifteen thousand children in the past and plans to help many more in the future, if possible. I am not sure if this is the same center that the book “ Not For Sale “ talks about but the center in both the book and video use art therapy and the children’s similar situations as healing.
Every week I am horrified by learning something new about the human trafficking world. This week it was refreshing to hear that in some of these tragedies, there are happy endings. Endings where families are reunited and children get their lives back. That is why it is so important that centers like the one in the video and the one in book stay open.
Jonnecia Bradford
ReplyDeleteDate: 9/22/13
Time: 12:35 a.m
Topic: Discrimination/Injustice
Title: Russian controversial gay law raises alarm among Olympic sponsors
Article: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-09-09/europe/41902474_1_sochi-olympics-sochi-winter-games-olympic-charter
Article: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-09-20/europe/42251816_1_nontraditional-sexual-relations-new-russian-law-2014-winter
This week I located an article titled “Russian controversial gay law raises alarm among Olympic sponsors.” This article discussed some Olympic sponsors being worried about Russia’s current law forbidding anyone to discuss homosexuality in front of or in the presence of minors. This law forbids spreading information on homosexuality to minors and has been seen to be discriminatory. The community as well as Olympic sponsors are unsure of what the repercussions will be for an Olympic athlete or guest that chooses to use the Olympic platform to discuss their sexuality. According to another article titled “Vladimir Putin says no discrimination of gays in Russia” states, “The new Russian law imposes fines of up to 5,000 rubles ($150) for individuals and 1 million rubles ($30,000) for organizations, plus stiffer penalties for propaganda on the Web or in the media. Foreigners who violate the law are also subject to fines, plus prison sentences of up to 15 days, deportation and denial of re-entry into Russia.” With this new law, I believe that these sponsors have every right to be worried when it seems like a celebrity is “coming out” a lot more than before.
However, it’s very hard for me to form an opinion on this article because I can see where both parties are coming from. While discrimination is wrong no matter what the cause (race, gender, sexuality, religion), this law does not forbid homosexuality, it only states that spreading information to minors about homosexuality is illegal. I would like to think that this law was enacted to protect Russia’s youth from unwholesome talk. However, I’m also almost certain that this can be debated fairly easily.
On the other hand, I can also see how this can be seen as the beginning steps to making homosexuality illegal and only adds fuel to the individuals who believe that this law is discriminatory. If I were in their position, I believe I too would feel like this was discrimination. It’s as if the government is telling them that their sexual orientation is unacceptable and shouldn’t be heard by anyone under the age of eighteen. Forbidding the spreading of information about homosexuality is discrimination in my opinion. However, in this case it’s only forbidden when it involves minor and for that reason I am torn.
In our previous chapter reading (Social Work Practice for Social Justice) we read about heterosexual privilege which is much like white privilege, but involves a person’s sexual orientation rather than race. It went on to say that heterosexual privilege is an even bigger taboo than race privilege. I believe that this could have played a huge part in this law. Heterosexual privilege gives individuals power, approval, and acceptance that homosexuals don’t receive and I believe that this law is one way that this thought proves to be true.
I do hope that clarification and explanation is given before the world is watching at the Winter Olympics.
Jonnecia, although it would be my hopes, as you stated, that this law is to prevent minors from hearing “unwholesome” talk as you put it, I to doubt that is that case. I had heard something about this law briefly on the news one day while at work but never heard any more about it. I can see why sponsors of the 2014 Winter Olympics would be concerned. This is just the type of thing that could turn into a major riot. However, I doubt the concern is so much on any possibility of discrimination as it is how this could affect their pocketbooks. This law being discussed at such an “inopportune” time, right before the Olympics are scheduled to be hosted in Russia, has the possibility of majorly affect other sponsors, and people who might opt out of coming to come see the Winter Olympics because of their disagreement with the new law Russia proposes.
DeleteGreat article to show how discrimination still exists, Jonnecia! Although homosexuality is a very controversial issue, I still cannot believe Russia places such strict laws and punishments if the issue is discussed in the presences of a minor. I feel as though these types of laws and punishments will cause great conflict during the Sochi Olympics due to others wanting to promote homosexuality. I agree with Yvonne in saying, I cannot believe this type of discrimination still exists all over the world; however, I can relate to the issue as I am from Eastern Kentucky and my grandparents will not even discuss homosexuality (they believe it is a horrible sin and should never be talked about).
DeleteGreat blog Jonnecia. Homosexuality to a very controverisal subject in numerous cultures and ethnicities. People tend to be afraid to discuss this topic with pure openess and honesty for fear of backlack from those who appear to "accept" it. I find it hard to believe, although I know that it clearly does, that this sort of discrimination still exists. I believe the venue of the Olympics may be a great arena for this discussion to begin again on the World level. It is a topic, like most, that gets attention for a moment, then fades from the spotlight. The Olympics is suppose to represent all peoples from all over the world, all races, all ethnicities, all sexes, everyone. I too agree with you that the topic of homosexuality being dicussed amongst minors is controversial, but I think that talking about all subjects of this nature should begin at an early age. Great job.
ReplyDeleteName: Kasey Spicer
ReplyDeleteTopic: Environment
Title: Young Tunisian girls head to Syria for 'sexual jihad'
Date Published: September 21, 2013
http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/15594649-young-tunisian-girls-head-to-syria-for-sexual-jihad-
I found the article, Young Tunisian girls head to Syria for ‘sexual ‘jihad’ disturbing; I cannot imagine what these young girls faced when forced to travel to Syria as a religious practice to perform sexual jihad. Not only were the young girls forced to have sex with 20, 30, even 100 strangers but they also came home pregnant. The article reports, sexual jihad refers to the phenomenon of females offering sexual services to their male counterparts so they remain motivated to continue the struggle for their cause.
The former Grand Mufti of Tunisia, Sheikh Othman Battikh reported at least 13 Tunisian teenage girls were fooled into traveling to Syria to have sex with Islamist rebels. In March, 2013 Saudi preacher, Sheikh Mohammad Al Arifi tweeted “I, Sheikh Muhammad Al Arifi call upon Muslim women to permit fighters in Syria to perform jihad through sex for few hours,” The Tunisian government fired back to Al Arifi’s tweet and stood up for the young girls. Battkah and the Tunisian Government are now working towards ensuring other young Tunisian women are prevented from sexual jihad. Ben Jeddou reported 6,000 young women have been prevented from going to Syria since March. Tunisian Government has also issued a security alert for young girls. Members of the National Constituent Assembly have responded to the criminalization of human trafficking for young girls whom are targeted by terrorist groups.
This article ties into the book, Not for Sale, as it is a clear example of how human trafficking exists. I was shocked to read about the Saudi preacher who promoted these actions; however, I was also shocked when I read, Not for Sale and how authorities of higher statuses and law enforcement ignored and even promoted human trafficking. Not for Sale and articles such as this show how “real” human trafficking is; it sickens me to think of these poor, innocent girls being raped. I am glad to see the Tunisian government is attempting to prevent further acts in happening.
Although this article did not tie into the topic of “environmental issues” I feel as though it is a good example of how every environment can determine an individual’s beliefs, religion, income, ect. Just as the different beliefs of Syria and Tunisian in using young women for jihad.
Kasey,
DeleteWhat shocked me the most about this article and your post was the fact that these girls were having sex with as many as 100 men before they come home pregnant. I worry of not only the health of these young girls at the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS but what about their babies? I am glad that 6,000 have been prevented from going but there seems to be a pattern among tragedy in the world and that is it has to be considered a huge problem before something is done. I believe when one child is trafficked into sex, something should be done then. Why do we have to wait and hear of 13? Why does it have to happen at all? It's time to put a stop to this pattern and do something. I know that with culture, morals are different but if the UN feels as though this is wrong why are we pushing this evil aside. We must come together as a world and make a change!
Yvonne Walters
ReplyDeleteTopic: Gendercide
09/22/23 at 6:06pm
http://www.economist.com/news/europe/21586617-son-preference-once-suppressed-reviving-alarmingly-gendercide-caucasus
"There is a large pent-up demand for sex selection"(Gendercide in the Caucasus). That seems to be the running theme in many countries. It is thought that selecting the sex of your unborn child was mostly heard and thought of in Asian countries. On the contrary, as I continue to look for articles, it seems it is in demand in numerous countries. Caucasus, located at the borders of Europe and Asia, is just another one. According to the article, Caucasus has revived the mission of sex selection amongst its citizens. The deficit of female births in comparison to male births is that of 115/120 males to that of 100 females, states Marc Michael of New York University’s Abu Dhabi campus. In Armenia, there are 138 males born to every 100 females in second births. It is preferred by Caucasus families that the first born child be male. Although the article does not refer to specific stories about abortion and/or murder of fetuses, it indirectly speaks of sex selection through ultrasound that rose sharply in 1991. I continue to find this subject a very difficult one to research and read about. For me personally, it is unbelievably cruel to end the life of a child based solely on the fact it is a female.
This article did not surprise me at all, but I agree very much with you that it is cruel to end a life based solely on the fact of a gender. I think it is hard for us to understand the idea behind it though. Because we can have multiple kids, many families do end up with a son. These other families do not have that option and so they see a female baby as worthless. It is terrible to think about but it also isn't our normal. When looking at the chart it made me wonder what it may look like in 10 more years. Although Americans may not be guilty for killing their female children, most families do express a desire to have at least one son.
DeleteI find it difficult to comprehend too, Yvonne. But this subject does continue to be one of interest for me, especially because of my Christian faith. I also see it as part of a social worker's responsibility to advocate for those who are at a disadvantage and who are vulnerable. Who can be more vulnerable than a helpless baby in its mothers womb who has no capacity or control to make a decision on his/her own behalf or to even attempt an escape of danger? I understand that this is a controversial subject and I respect the right of others' beliefs, but surely most agree that an unborn baby meets the description of vulnerable.
DeleteAs to the information in the article, it was vague on the description of abortion as a means of gender selection, but I would assume it is a method used since ultra sound is used to determine the sex of a fetus already in the womb. In looking at the distinct differences in the chart in the article (Georgia's 138/100 ratio of males/females "born" ) it also makes me wonder if other technological advances like fertility drugs are being misused and abused for the purpose of creating more multiple embryonic pregnancies so that there are more embryos to choose from. It is something to think about
Youth Interrupted: Myanmar's Underage, Illiterate Workers
ReplyDeletehttp://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2013/09/19/224075632/youth-interrupted-myanmars-underage-illiterate-workers
Kayla Hood
9/22/13
7:01 PM
Child Labor
The article that I chose this week discusses the Southeast Asian nation Myanmar or Burma as it may be called by some. Myanmar as you will see in the article has one of the highest presences of child labor in the world alongside or even higher than North Korea or Somalia. In this country child labor is not just a mere “cultural problem” it is a culturally known and accepted pattern. The article calls child labor in this nation a “Pillar of the economy”. I though this article had several interesting point as it discusses how even our nation that we typically don’t associate with any child labor problems had the opportunity to build their economies on the backs of children without foreign commerce while Myanmar will not have that chance. I do not believe that this article is indicating support for child labor, not at all. I do believe it is pointing out the fact that this nation is struggling and it challenges us to take a look at what is the right answer and for whom is it right? At one point around the 1990’s many businesses pulled away their companies because of child labor issues in this nation however Myanmar has seen a turn of events and suddenly many businesses are coming back to try to reach a new population of consumers. Both Coke and Pepsi are beginning to infiltrate the country with their ads in hopes to bring their business to a new nation that is not yet hooked on pops. But I am interested to learn how these large companies will go about insuring that these young workers are not the one serving up the “real taste”. In week two we read about Education around the Globe, one topic we covered was savage inequalities at home and abroad, a crystal clear example of this is Myanmar’s current issue. As we read a major theme of this article was Education or rather the lack of. These working children are not going to school. They often feel like school is a waste. This is because they are not seeing the long term benefits of an education. When they go to school they suffer now, not being worth as much money as they would be if they were working. However, some teachers, the ones who manage to hang around, try and stress that remaining in school will pay off more in the long run. Are text discussed how social class was a major attribute to education. We read how those in Myanmar with the means could send their children abroad to school but the rest were left to send their children out into more often than not hazardous work enviournment in order to provide basic needs for their families. Myanmar seems to be another country like we discussed in class, whether they are prepared for it or not they are becoming a globalized nation, now the rest of the world has to decide how they will respond to the epidemic in this nation.
Great article Miss Kayla!! I especially loved that you chose our group's country to write about as well. In the article I found it a tad bit humorous when it stated that the United States and the United Kingdom built there economies on the backs of children and that Myanmar wouldn't have the luxury. It put things in perspective in how the United States tends to operate. Our country can do cruel or unreasonable things, but the first time another county starts we're ready to go public about how we don't agree with their practices.
DeleteIt saddens me that these children feel like school is a waste and that their living the "good life" as a child labor. School is and will be so important to these children if they ever want to do more with their lives. I would have to agree that they are not seeing the long term benefits of an education.
Kayla,
DeleteGood job on this article. I think it is very sad that this children have to skip their entire childhood and move straight to adulthood. Little King became the caretaker of his mother and siblings and gave up his desires to provide for them. Education is so important for a country's growth and over 1/3 of Myanmar's children are not receiving an education and are working.
MaKayla Jessie
ReplyDelete9/22/2013
Time: 8:56 pm
Topic: Terrorism
According to the article, two Canadians were killed in Kenya on Saturday, September 21st, 2013 and went on into Sunday, September 23rd after a terrorist attack took place at Westgate Mall in Nairobi. The two Canadians were Diplomat Annemarie Desloges and Vancouver businessman Nagiub Damji. Along with the two, 68 more civilians were killed and 175 injured. There were 10 to 15 terrorists who were responsible for the attack and were a part of Somalia’s radical rebel group called al-Shabab. The group said that they will not negotiate. Since the attack, police have said that 49 people have been reported missing. Canada offers support for what happened on Saturday and Sunday and said that would help Kenya recover from the attack and were “prepared to do more”. Foreign Affairs Minister spoke out saying that because of the different nationalities that were killed in this attack, terrorism is a struggle for our generation and that we must work together in fighting against this.
When hearing about this terroristic act that has taken place in Kenya, it does not surprise me to hear that Canada sends support with hopes of doing more in the recovery of this event after two of their own civilians were among the many victims killed. In relation to our class discussion this past week, I think that it’s amazing that Canada is supporting Kenya because when tragedy strikes our world, it should be our duty to help. However, just like our discussion with human trafficking in class, terrorism isn’t a new topic. It’s happening daily in our world, we just don’t recognize it until it affects our own country. Although I think it’s great that Canada is supporting Kenya, I am wondering if they would support them had their own two citizens not been among the 68 killed. Regardless of whether or not our citizens are not victims in a terrorist attack or any other tragedy our mission, as a world, should be to support each country when tragedy strikes. It is sad to me that tragedy has to become larger than life for it to be noticed. Along with human trafficking, terrorism is real and it’s affecting more countries than we know daily with evidence from my previous posts so why haven’t we made a move yet. Also, I feel like Canada along with the U.S. and other countries should take Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird’s comment into consideration and send their condolences out to Kenya saying “What can we do to help?” and “What can we do so this doesn’t happen again”.
http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/09/22/harper-condemns-cowardly-act-of-terrorism-offers-to-help-kenya-recover-from-mall-attack-that-killed-two-canadians/
MaKayla,
DeleteGreat article, summarization, and relation to class discussions. This article raises many questions, including the ones you pointed out. Did anyone else notice that the article referred to the Westgate Mall several times as an "upscale mall?" Would that mean that mainly higher level officials, upper-class individuals, and foreigners would be the prime customers in the mall? If the Kenyan government knew that al-Shabab was a threat, wouldn't they put likely targets under heightened security? Furthermore, you are right that Canada is only involved because they lost some of their own. Where are the rest of the UN? Where do we (the US) stand? If Somalia is such a threat, harboring al quaida type terrorists, genocidal tyrants, and pirates that raid the African coast, shouldn't the rest of the "civilized" world take action against it to correct these problems and prevent further future atrocities such as this?
This article actually popped up when I was looking for an article for this weeks blog. When reading I thought the same exact thing you stated in your summary, " I never thought of this happening in other countries." I also thought to myself whether or not Canada would be supporting Kenya if their citizens had not been killed or injured. I mean what does it take for other countries to see the injustice happening all around the world to step in and take action? In this case I guess it takes some of your own to be injured or even worse killed. There is no doubt that this has been publicized because if you read the caption under one of the pictures it stated that "Twitter suspended the account used by the Somali militants on Friday, Jan. 25, 2013, after the insurgents used the micro-blogging site to post a hostage video and death threat."So this is not a secret it is a publicized story and other powerful countries and the UN must step in to stop terrorism.
DeleteAging in Asia
ReplyDeleteMorgan Williams
9/23/13 at 2:20
http://www.cnbc.com/id/101045746
This article brought an interesting perspective on the continent of Asia, and the issues they are facing with their aging population. The main idea of the article was that there is a continental divide between counties. In southeast Asia, the working population is growing; in the northeast the working population is shrinking. The article talks about how this is due to northeast Asia experiencing an elderly population boom, and therefore a smaller working population. This has been happening in Japan for quite a while, but now other countries such as China, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Thailand are also experiencing the same population shift. Indonesia and the Philippines are experiencing a working population boom.
This divide of the population in Asia is causing several problems. The Asian countries experiencing an aging population boom do not know how to deal with their aging population, and lack resources for these individuals; the countries experiencing a working population boom do not have have demand to meet the supply.
While reading the article I thought about how in class we discussed industrialized nations compared to developing countries. Indonesia and The Philippines are countries that supply westernized counties with products. Although these countries produce enough products to meet the demand of the world, the leaders of these countries are worried that there will soon be too many workers producing too many products, exceeding the demands.
The Economies of these countries will also change, which will change Asia as a whole as well. There will need to be an increase in products for the elderly, as well as an increase in jobs for the working population. According to one link in the article, Japan will sell more adult diapers next year than infant diapers. This is just one example of how this changing population will affect the countries and their economies.
I thought that this article was very interesting. I compared it to the Baby Boomers in the US. Their age group is coming to an age of retirement, and their work ethics are often a lot stronger than the work ethics of the young adults in the work field these days. I think that this article shows that there is a difference in the way societies today work. People often take the easy road, and are supported by the government instead of working. I think it would be interesting to compare the US to these Asian countries in future years.
DeleteRebecca Wright
ReplyDeleteWeek 5- Crime Blog
http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/22/world/asia/pakistan-attack/index.html?hpt=wo_c2
Many Christians go to church on the Sabbath day (Sunday) which is a day of rest and reflection for them. Christian’s in Pakistan attended a church service on Sunday where more than five hundred people were in attendance. This day of rest and reflection turned tragic when two suicide bombers walked into the church’s courtyard. The bombers detonated the bombs as soon as the church was releasing from their services. The majority of the people killed and injured were the women from the choir and the children who were in Sunday school. 81 people lost their life in this explosion, and hundreds were also severely and critically injured.
The church was built in 1883, and was built to resemble a mosque in order to fit in with the other temples and mosques around it. The resemblance of the church was also to show unity with the others around it. When people from neighboring communities heard of the blast they rushed to the city streets in protest. As a minority the Christians felt that they were being singled out. The protestors asked for protection from future acts of violence. Although the Prime Minister stood behind the Christian with his words, it was not enough to comfort those injured in the attacks and their families.
A splinter group from the Taliban is claiming responsibility for these actions. Since Christians make up less than 3% of the population, the Christians are taking this personally as a threat toward them. This strike against Christians is similar to the Kenyan Westgate Mall Attack. A spokesman from the TTP-Jandullah stated that they will continue to strike out against non-Muslims. In Kenya all Muslims were released from the mall, and people from minority groups were targeted. This attack is one of the deadliest in the Pakistani area, and it comes a day after discussions of peace talks were made. The Muslim faith in both of these attacks were lifted out of the tragedy, and the minorities were the ones targeted.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAshley Ware
ReplyDeleteTopic: Genocide
Time: September 23, 2013 11:39 P.M.
Article: “Breaking News Genocide in Totolamo Village, Ethiopia”
A small village in Ethiopia is in mourning after eleven of its citizens were killed in cold murder by the genocidal Tigre People Liberation Front/TPLF federal police commandos on August 3rd 2013. The ages of those killed ranged from a five year old to elderly. The number of citizens that were wounded during the attack is unknown. Several hundred refugees hid inside a mosque that got surrounded by federal police; their fate is unknown. Many others were held in the nearby town Kofele’s police station by men from the TPLF in police uniforms.
This horrible attack happened on the villagers when they were unarmed and when they were gathered for their routine prayer meeting. This is when the commandos started to pour into the village and unleash their mayhem. The ruling Junta have practiced genocide for 22 years, but the Tololamo massacre was Assefa Abiyo’s first mass murder. Abiyo is the newly appointed federal police commander and is supposed to be more ruthless and ferocious than his predecessor. According to a Facebook post from Minilik Salsawi whom is an Ethiopian Activist blogger, some of the federal police commandos are also among the dead found in the attack. The citizens tried to defend themselves by throwing stones at the attackers followed by machinegun fire.
In class we talked about the book we read Not For Sale. This news article reminded me about a few of the stories where small armies would raid villages and kill innocent people. But in those stories they told why the killings happened. Most of the time it was to gather children for their child armies, to steal young girls to make them sex slaves, to make them laborers against their will, or because they thought the village took some them from them and owed them. There was not a real spoken reason why these killings happened. After reading this article though I started to read some of the comments that others had left about the article, which was very eye opening as well. This led me to have a couple of questions. Was it religion that started this war? Why was there not an updated story on this? Like we had discussed in class the Not For Sale book is a great book for Social Workers to read. It is hard to think outside our little world when it is not affecting us personally. To read the book and to hear the stories of others who have lived such a tragedy makes you want to take action and help. That book is a link to the blogs because not only did we read stories of a few people and how it affected them but we read news articles of tragedies that are happening around the world for many who no longer have a voice to cry for help.
http://ecadforum.com/2013/08/04/breaking-news-genocide-in-totolamo-village-ethiopia-2/
Erica Stevens
ReplyDeleteDate: 9/24/13
Time: 6:05am
Topic: Poverty
Title: Joseph Rowntree Foundation: ‘More poverty in working households in Wales’
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-24146012
James Williams describes in this article the effects of a low wage low skill economy on Wales. It is more likely for a family in Wales to be in poverty if they are employed then if the family was not employed. Job opportunities are scarce and most families who are employed are employed part time. Once the family is employed they lose a lot of benefits that would have been received if they remained unemployed. In Wales, 285,000 adults are employed but living in poverty compared to 275,000 not working but living in poverty. Between 2009-2010 and 2011-2012, 23% of Wales was living in poverty. This is approximately 690,000 people. According to this article 1/3 of Wales children are living in homes considered to be living in poverty.
The mother in the video described her desire for her children to receive an education and move away to find the jobs that can keep them out of poverty. Wales does not have the job opportunities to support their growing families. Both adults in this family are working but are not provided with enough hours to support their family. They cannot afford the oil to have heat and hot water in their home and have to heat water over the wood stove to wash dishes. This family, like many others in Wales, is trapped in poverty.
Most of the time when I think of poverty I think of single mothers who are not able to work because they cannot afford daycare, individuals with disabilities in which they are cannot work, and homeless individuals who do not work. I do not think about families with two working adults who just do not make enough to pay the bills. The jobs provided to families in Wales does not allow families to get out of poverty. It makes me wonder if human trafficking is prevalent in Wales due to the many families struggling to provide for their families.
Erica as I read this article, I couldn't help but wonder about how similar this situation is to ours in the United States. I do not know our statistics here; and I doubt they are that high, but I do know that they are high. It is so interesting and odd that the working class is poorer than those who do not work. I had an undergraduate class on the culture of poverty, and it is so interesting to see the cycles and cultures poverty is in, and how sad it is when there seems to be no escape. If you are working, one would hope to be out of poverty, but that isn't always the case, as we see in this article.
DeleteAlison Lee
ReplyDeleteDate: 9/24/13
Time: 10:19am
Topic: Religion
Article: “Pakistan Christians Issue Call for Protection” http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/24/world/asia/pakistan-christians-demand-protection-after-church-bombing.html?_r=0
Yesterday a bombing took place at a historical church in Pakistan, where the death toll has rose to 85. Christians were the target. This is considered to be the most deadly attack of Pakistani Christians, and now they are seeking refuge from the political leaders.
From the article, it talks about how the leader, Mr.Khan is not involving himself much in the situation other than condemning those who were apart of the attack. This led Christians to then mock him at the hospital where the victims were being cared for.
Yesterday on breaking news on Fox’s channel, I saw a woman holding a sign telling the UN to “wake up.” I think this sign speaks volumes about how it seems we have been quick to take action when there is more than human lives at stake, but when it comes to Syria and now Pakistan, we hesitate to make moves.
This goes back to what we talked about in class with how even though many countries are involved in the UN, there are the “big players” and the “little kids” and how if the country doesn’t have enough pull, their opinion is unlikely to be heard or at least taken into consideration.
It is hard for me to comprehend the fear these Christians have to live in, especially now after this recent attack. We live in a country where for the most part, we do feel very safe, and our concern for safety is normally not the first thing on our mind because we expect it. Shouldn’t these Pakistan Christians be able to expect safety, or some type of rectifications to those who threaten their safety?
Heather Keith
ReplyDelete9/24/13
Global Topic: HIV/AIDS
Time of Post:
“Dramatic” drop in global HIV infections
By Tulip Mazumdar BBC News
This news article about the global issue of HIV/AIDS describes a goal held by the United Nations set to “stop and reverse” the AIDS epidemic around the world by the year 2015. According to Mazumdar’s research on the subject and the information given by UNAIDS, the world is closing the gap on that goal which is good news. There have been huge improvements since 2005 when the global death rate from the AIDS epidemic hit an all-time high at over 2 million people. In 2012, those same numbers had fallen to just over 1.5 million people. The improvement is thought to be largely due to improved access to treatment throughout the world as there were about 10 million people diagnose d with HIV/AIDS in low income countries receiving treatment by the end of 2012.
Although there have been great strides in the fight to combat the devastating effects of HIV/AIDS, there is still plenty of room left for improvement. Admittedly, one population group of people that is difficult to get services to is that of IV drug users. In my opinion, this might be due to the fact that this is a high risk population and the virus is spreading faster than efforts can contain it. It was also refreshing to see that this article was not shying away from the fact that violence against women, like trafficking ,needs more attention in the area of those who are being violated are at risk of contracting HIV. Like the article says, it would be good to strive to go even beyond the global goal set that AIDS not be an epidemic by 2015. For this to happen, or even come close to happening, strategies such as those discussed in the article “Clinical Social Workers: Advocates for Social Justice” by Anne Marie McLaughlin need to be put in to place. The research that was conducted in that reading points to the need for educational and practical advocacy to take place for population groups to be served effectively, and even though some of that seems to have gone by the wayside, it appears that at least a part of that is being put into place where the global issue of HIV as an epidemic is concerned and that is encouraging. If the world were to work even harder and individuals would put all their might into educating and advocating for those already affected as well as putting prevention plans into place even more improvement could take place before the goal date and it can happen by implementing these advocacy strategies. But it really is “no time for complacency.” It is time for full, effective advocacy.
Heather,
DeleteIt is great that progress is being made in the fight against HIV/AIDS. I am glad to see that the article also discussed sex trafficking as an issue in the spread of this disease. I would like to see an advocacy plan on how to combat the disease in this area. Of course the best plan would be to stop all human trafficking, but as we learned in our recent clases this is a huge epidemic all of its own. Thank you for sharing this article.
I am sorry I forgot to include the link to my article. Here it is:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-24208972
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/23/us-australia-asylum-idUSBRE98M08J20130923
ReplyDeleteTopic: Asylum
S. Michelle Wright
The article I found this week is titled: Australia clamps down on information about asylum seekers. Over the last couple of weeks I have been reading information about how Australia is no longer providing asylum instead sending them to detention centers in Nauru and Papua New Guinea. Immigration Minister Scott Morrison has reported that the government will no longer provide information concerning border protection incidents. Morrison states that this is to “safeguard and avoid alerting trafficking syndicates”. Since 2007 approximately 45,000 asylum seekers have arrived in Australia. In the last year about 400 boats arrived. This occurred when the former Labor government relaxed border policies. Newly elected Conservative Prime Minister Tony Abbott is making good on his election promise to tighten border policies and stop the influx of asylum seekers into Australia. It is reported that Abbott is having the Australian Navy turn Asylum seekers away at sea and buy up fishing boats to prevent them from being used for trafficking. This is an effort to stop human traffickers operating from Indonesian ports. Abbott’s efforts are being criticized by Indonesian lawmakers. In my opinion by turning these boats away at sea the lives of many innocent people are being risked by Abbott. It appears that Abbott wants to try and stop human trafficking across Australian borders. I think that Abbott’s idea is if they prevent the boats from arriving then asylum seekers will stop paying traffickers to transport them to Australia. The government will continue to provide information on the boats that arrive in Australia but would provide information on the boats that sink on a case-by-case basis. It is reported that hundreds of asylum seekers have drowned trying to reach Australia. According to the book “Not for Sale” the term human trafficker is used when a person is forced or coerced in this instance going to Australia. It doesn’t seem that the asylum seekers which are paying smugglers to get them into Australia meet the definition of human trafficking as Prime Minister Abbott refers to them. Some of the asylum seekers at this point are electing to return to their homeland. Many of them do not meet the criteria of seeking asylum because they do not fear persecution or political retaliation, but rather are immigrants. It seems that strict border policies might be needed to ensure only people in need of asylum are allowed into Australia due to massive amount of immigrants trying to enter the country under the asylum policies, but I do not think turning boats full of people in the sea is the appropriate action to take.
Michelle, I had no idea that Australia was having the same issues with illegal immigrants as the United States. I think Australia's prime minister is of the same mind set as those operating border patrols in Arizona & other states: we will allow immigration as long as it is done legally. I agree if people are paying smugglers to help them enter Australia they do not meet the criteria for being trafficked. I think Abbott was referring to human trafficking because those seeking asylum are often intercepted in route to Australia and forced into trafficking. Great article and insight!
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ReplyDeletehttp://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=82121
ReplyDeleteAs I looked for suitable articles for this week’s blog I really wanted to find some correlation between human trafficking and natural disasters. I did not find any current articles that combined the topics, but I would ask that you bear with me as I connect the dots between the two. Natural disasters devastate the areas they occur in by killing people, destroying homes, and ruining economies. So, how do the people in these areas recover? Optimistically, we automatically think “rebuild” and “start over”, but how does one rebuild when they had very little before the natural disaster occurred? In previous articles I was struck by how the human spirit allowed people to continue even when they were living in squalor. In class last week it occurred to me that many times families feel they have little choice in whether or not they sell a child. They are already struggling to feed everyone and now a tsunami, earthquake, or other natural disaster has struck making it even harder to survive. NO, I do not agree with this thinking, but I have the luxury of sitting in my nice home with a fully stocked pantry and not having to make that decision. I cannot imagine the agony that is created when the decision is made to sell a child, or to borrow money from a rich man and indenture myself. For some selling a family member or selling oneself may make life a bit more bearable for the entire family.
As I said earlier my article this week did not focus on the correlation of natural disasters and human trafficking as I could not find any current articles that combined these two topics. Instead, I am writing about Typhoon Usagi that hit China (a country that is known to traffic women and children) and relate some of what I thought about while I wrote this blog. Typhoon Usagi struck China over the weekend killing at least 25 people and displacing over 300,000 more. The article did not tell us if those 25 killed were women, men, or children. It did not tell us if they were trafficking victims, school children, housewives, husbands, or political figures. Nor did it tell us what will become of the more than 300,000 people who are without homes as I complete this blog. I can only wonder what will happen to these people. Will they be forced to borrow money that will result in trying to pay off that debt over years or generations? Will they be trafficked for sex? Or sold to factories to be used for virtually free labor until their ever growing debt is paid? More than likely those 300,000 people will be forced to consider one of the options I have mentioned because this natural disaster has placed them in dire straits. I hope as you have read this blog that you can see how natural disasters and human trafficking are connected. I also hope that you begin to ask yourself as I have: What can I do to help? How can I make a difference? Realistically, I do not know if I will ever be able to travel to China or any of the countries I have covered in my blog, but I may be able to help one person. Not for Sale urged each of us to become abolitionists in our own communities and to take note of the women (or anyone) who works at restaurants, or cleans houses, or simply seems to need help. I know I cannot change the lives of those 300,000 people in China who are displaced, but I may have the opportunity to change one life if I am observant, empathetic, and pro-active in noticing what goes on in my community.
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ReplyDeleteAmanda Goodlett
ReplyDeleteHuman Trafficking
7:50 pm
This week I found a video on former child soldiers of the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army) . This video revealed a Northern Uganda charity that worked with the children so they will be able to better transition back into “normal day to day society.
Just like we read about in the book “Not For Sale” the young man in this video has endured some horrific events. He talked about having to kill other children and then step over their bodies. The boy in this video was enrolled in a sixteen week therapy program. Sixteen weeks of therapy is definitely a step in the right direction, however this young man was abducted when he was twelve years old and was a part of the LRA for a total of thirteen years. So the therapy is just that, a step on a long road to recovery. I believe this charity is prepared to help this children travel down that long road however, funding is scarce and the center is in jeopardy of shutting down. This center has helped fifteen thousand children in the past and plans to help many more in the future, if possible. I am not sure if this is the same center that the book “ Not For Sale “ talks about but the center in both the book and video use art therapy and the children’s similar situations as healing.
Every week I am horrified by learning something new about the human trafficking world. This week it was refreshing to hear that in some of these tragedies, there are happy endings. Endings where families are reunited and children get their lives back. That is why it is so important that centers like the one in the video and the one in book stay open.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-23685366
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