Chinese Women’s Progress Stalls on Many Fronts

If you are a women, would you stand up for your own rights? If you are a men, would you support women’s rights? The article I read was Chinese Women’s Progress Stalls on Many Fronts, by Didi Kirsten Tatlow. This article is about women in China who have been fighting for their right. Although they stood up for themselves and protested, but they become heavily monitored by the government and physically attacked in their own community.

In the article, it is obvious that there are people who don’t approve women rights. I think an important message that the article is telling us is everything is all based on our own spirit. Protesting for your own rights, doesn’t matter how other harasses you or give you a hard time, it’s your faith that will keep you moving forward. As a female, I felt very proud, Mrs. Liu have became a campaigner who seizes women rights from a little factory worker. She have been stating her strong opinions toward women’s rights, being in the same ethnic group as her, I think this really matters to all of us. How can we be looking at the news, commenting on her actions, while we don’t even try?

I noticed that Mrs. Liu as an individual does not have enough power to fight over women’s rights, and that’s is our responsible as a community, because it is our community we all have to contribute before we receive. Mrs. Liu have showed her opinions, stood up for herself, she made a good start. But will she be able to succeed and earn respect for every single women in China? If you don’t think she is capable, that is when we all need to step in and let our voice to be heard. The same applies to everything, because we need to work as a whole to make the world better.

BP Oil Spill Aftermath: Eyeless Shrimp, Clawless Crabs and Fish with Oozing Sores

After reading the article, BP Oil Spill Aftermath: Eyeless Shrimp, Clawless Crabs and Fish with Oozing Sores, by Casey Chan I was surprised and worried. I noticed that the fishes are deformed and had serious deformities such as having tumors in their head, eyeless fish, or crabs that are dying. In order to clean up oil spill they use dispersants, which harms human beings, it can also affect growth. I was pretty shocked that the whole cycle of oil spill is harmful, and how it impacts our environment and us negatively.

Do the company still sell the deformed seafood to the customers? I was wondering about it while reading, I thought people might get sick because of the deformed seafood. What if people got sick and doctors couldn’t find out the reason? If that is actually happening, I hope this will be a good message to carry to the companies, and maybe this problem should come to an end. Not only the companies, but this is a message for us as well. This is our environment, so we should be involved and take care of it. How can we farm and grow crops when our environment is damaged, and how will we live without food? Therefore, I think the author have brought up a great point where we should start caring about our environment, and shouldn’t damage our environment by our regardless acts.

I think BP company should take responsibility of this situation, no matter the fish are safe now or not than before, they did cause this problem. Fish were caught with deformities, BP might not notice, but maybe this problem have caused more of a damage to the environment than they think. As the article states, “According to various fishermen, brown shrimp catch has dropped by two-thirds, white shrimp have been wiped out and some fishermen’s seafood catch are ten percent of what they normally are.” this clearly shows how serious the consequence of the BP oil spill, it’s over half the seafood are wiped out. I’m worried about what have been happening lately, I hope people will be more aware of the problem, because a good environments will provide all of us a better living.

Dhaka Slum Dwellers Live Under Threat of Eviction

What if you are evicted from your own house? In the article, Dhaka Slum Dwellers Live Under Threat of Eviction by Syed Zain Al-Mahmood,  I noticed slum dwellers were forced to move out of their own house. The government demolished their homes without providing them another shelter and ordered the slum to get out; the government even reclaimed the land more then what they have announced. The slum dwellers have been living in open and with lacking supplies for days. Can you imagine living with the remnants of your homes?

In humanities, we are learning about human rights, I feel concerned with this issue since the government didn’t show any bit of respect nor did they offer these people the rights to decide whether or not to move out from their homes. Even though they are slum dwellers, they are only a group of people who tries hard to live. As Mofizul Islams stated, “We are not criminals, but people working hard to earn a living and provide for our families,” I think it’s true, it doesn’t matter whether you are poor or rich, have education or not; they are just trying hard to live and raise their kids to support their family. I think no one should look down on them or deprive their opportunity and spirit to live through each day. Personally, I disagree with the forced eviction by the government, but I think this eviction can be illegal and legal from different perspectives. From the government’s perspective, this eviction will be legal, because for them, slum dwellers are just wasting land without bringing any profits to the country. So, they want to remove these structures to build other buildings that would benefit the government. Though, from the slum dwellers and human law perspective, this eviction is illegal, since in the modern world, humans are mostly equal, I believe the slum dwellers have the rights to defend themselves and their homes.

However, I think children will have a positive impact from this situation, no matter children around the world or who have endured this. I’m sure the children will see the reality of the world, how society is unfair and how we still need to live when we face a challenge. If I were a slum dweller, I think I will feel strong hatred towards the world, and the hatred will make me want to live until I have the ability to protest and go against the government; though, it sounds immature but I think that it is just a true, and raw feeling if I really were involved in the situation. As a member of the community, I think we really need to be attentive to the group of people who are in poverty. People like us, who are lucky enough to live with plenty of supplies, should speak out and sustain them for a better living. Maybe we aren’t billionaires who can absolutely change their lives and provide them infinity of supplies, but how do you feel when you’re in school while some other children are begging for food? Overall, I think we should pay more attention to the world, and be willing to help others.

In South Sudan, Girls Are Given Away to Settle Family Feuds

Did you know little girls are compensations for the mistakes that a male family member makes in Sudan? I felt so fortunate, yet sad for the children that were traded to other families, after reading the article, In South Sudan, Girls Are Given Away to Settle Family Feuds, by Tom Rhodes. In my opinion, the reason why this situation still survives in their culture is because the concept of men being equal to women isn’t well known in Sudan; maybe Sudan is just at a initial developing point of their country and their opinions. Since they still think women are in a lower social class than men, they simply trade females to solve the conflicts between other families. Even though they might think women are unequal to men, in human law, if you did anything wrong, it’s your responsibility to suffer the consequences. It doesn’t matter if you’re a man or woman, because when someone else pays back for what you did, you won’t learn from your mistakes, and you will not be able to improve as a person. Therefore, you won’t ever understand how your crime or mistake has caused your family members a cruel life, and abuse they have gone through.

“Amos Gudo, an elder chief who presides over a traditional court in an Eastern Equatoria village called Kiyala, says the practice of giving away girls must continue, as a way of solving conflicts between community members.” states the article. I strongly disagree with his opinion, because in his point of view, I don’t think he ever cared about the victims feelings. How would Atia, the girl who was traded feel, if she hears this? Why does an innocent girl have to pay back for whatever her brother did? Handing over a family member might be a possible solution to solve conflicts between the two families, but if crime continues happening, how many victims will there need to be? Amos Gudo should certainly stand in a victim’s point of view to view this situation, or else I believe female population will decrease due to the amount of suicides of girls, and the families in the village might protest over his words.

Throughout the article, I think their culture plays a big role in what they are doing, and their culture will definitely need to change in order to solve this problem. If their idea of men having more rights than women alters, this situation may be dispelled because they would start to think that women are not supposed to clean up the trash than men throw. In order to change their ideas, a leader will be required, the leader needs to convince them of how this is unfair treatment for women, and why they should stop this from going on. After knowing Atia and Igitu’s story, I would love to spread this idea over and help them; I also hope that Victor Bulla, who is a staff of the women’s group will definitely put her words into action, and give help the ones who need it.

Letters: Anti-government groups aren’t above the law

After reading the article, Letters: Anti-government groups aren’t above the law by Jay Pasachoff, I noticed racism is still happening. Like how Trayvon Martin who got shot since he was black. Why does skin color and ethnicity matter so much? I’ve been seriously thinking about this problem , and recalled how I was racist over Koreans and orphans. Though, I don’t know why I was like that, it’s just like a natural wall between people, I don’t find any specific reasons why a group of people will look down upon others, but it just happens. Since there is no specific reason, we should avoid this happening; and to allow everyone to feel their quality of living in the community.

In order to stop racism, we should start changing ourselves. I would start looking at myself; from now on if there is someone who has a different ethnicity than me, different skin color, or any major differences between us, I will accept them. Not only to accept,  but we have to respect them too. We should respect everyone’s appearances, cultures, and opinions. There are so many countries in the world, if there is no respect between each nation, racism will always exist. Maybe we can’t change the world as a whole, but we should start changing from ourselves, then as a family, as a community, on and on. Therefore, I believe racism will be changed and hopefully there won’t be another Trayvon Martin.

‘Bully’ Documentary: Weinstein Company Loses Appeal Over R-Rating

If you were bullied, do you want people to know? If you were a bully, did you learned your lesson by now? I used to get bullied by people often, then I became a big bully. From the article, ‘Bully’ Documentary: Weinstein Company Loses Appeal Over R-Rating, by Gary Susman, I noticed that there is a movie about bully coming out, but they’re still fighting over the movie ratings. I want it to come out as PG-13 because I was deeply hooked by the trailer, and I also think this movie will give us a majority of positive impacts, so we should all be able to watch them. In my point of view, it’s important to allow teachers, parents and students to watch this movie because it’s a situation that mostly happens around these three characters, through this movie we will truly understand how bullying have been happening around these days, and rather receiving lectures from adults, we can learn more by seeing the real life experience and consequences.  There might be profanity in it, but why does it matter? In order to know how serious bullying can be, students should see the worse side of it. If the movie came out as R or NC-17 ratings, how much of the students population will be able to watch this movie?

Personally, I don’t understand why will anyone defend the movie by putting R or NC-17 for the ratings, because sex and profanity or any inappropriate issue that is presented in the movie are something that we will all most likely be going through in a certain stage of life. Then why hide it? Will it matter to know earlier or later? Maybe understanding it in an early age can be an advantage, children will be taught in a right attitude now, and be more mature over sex and profanity in future life. However, I’m looking forward to the movie, and I hope it will bring us some great changes due to bullying.

AoW For South Sudan Woman – A Harsh Life

“My life is a curse.”

Do you think your life is a curse? Probably not, but for someone who lost their loved ones will think that way. From the article, For South Sudan Woman, No Escape From Misery by Jeffery Gettleman, I noticed that how harsh life can be for a woman. “Her first husband was wounded in battle and died in her arms.” states the article. This sentence was heartbreaking, I felt sorry for her. I don’t have the same experience as Mrs. Ley, but I connected to a similar personal experience, which was when my best friend left to go back to her home country, I was extremely sad and I guess that was how Mrs. Ley felt but hundred times more. Even though she still had to live to raise her kids, from her attitude, I learned that no matter what difficulties we face, we shouldn’t complain because there are others around the world who have even harder lives.

Since there is enmity between South and North Sudan, southerners in the North have been living a harsh life, and as Mrs. Ley said, she has been put in jail for more than 10 times. Also, from the picture, I can infer that their living quality was really bad. Mrs. Ley and her four children have to stay in such a small shelter to live, and their supplies are just randomly placed which makes their space even smaller. Most likely, they don’t have enough foo, and clothes for their daily lives. From knowing about their life, I think we should cherish whatever we already have and don’t waste, or ask for any unneeded supplies. It would be pretty interesting if we had the chance to visit the middle east and poor families like Mrs. Ley, because we will probably understand how a cursed life really feels like.

Syria Under Seige

Can you imagine people dying from war against their own government in 2012? The Syria Under Seige photo essay by Alessio Romenzi made me feel guilty and sorrowful, because when I saw the pictures of children with their mothers’ hiding in dark shelters I felt sorry for them. Why do they have to go through this kind of life? The photo of two men injured, and another man who was looking cautious to his surroundings reminded me of action movies, but I can’t believe that it’s reality that is happening in Syria, I thought that the medication quality of Syria could be bad, because since the hospitals is ran by the government, they will focus on their fights but not on injured people. On another photo of three children and their mother hiding in the shelter, they looked exhausted, and seems like they haven’t been eating a proper meal for days. I can infer that their quality of living has been low  for a period of time, since they can’t even live in their houses with a bomb attack going on. Even when the bomb attacks come to an end, their house might have been destroyed already.

Based on the the photo essay, I think that the President and FSA are greedy, because they care more about themselves and the weapons but not their citizens. Maybe they’ve been fighting for their people, but then they wouldn’t put out a fight that would hurt them. Innocent people sacrifice themselves, and they have to suffer through something someone else cause. If they keep continue attacking each other, the living quality in Syria will get even worse, probably at last their won’t be much people left to even sacrifice. In conclusion, maybe both sides should find a solution to solve the problem because attacking each other won’t be a solution that can support them forever.

Remedy Action

Do you know about the harsh times the workers have been through in making modern iPads and iPhones we’re using today?  I felt guilty after reading the article, Apple Hit by Boycott Call Over Worker Abuses in China by Paul Harris, because people died from the explosion that occurred, and many injuries were caused by chemical substances. From my point of view, the consumers shouldn’t boycott Apple because I think we somehow built up this problem. Since a big population of the world is dependent on all kinds of Apple products, and they had to increase their production volume to meet our needs that caused death of workers and our boycott action will show our irresponsible acts by abandoning their products.  Maybe from another perspective, we might cause more death of workers but now this problem was published, workers will be more careful and hopefully Apple will take care of this issue sooner or later.  I think we shouldn’t boycott Apple but it’s not fully our fault or Apple’s because this is a problem caused by our  desire, and probably management errors of Apple and Foxconn, so we shouldn’t specifically blame it on anyone.

“It also mentioned disturbing events elsewhere in China among supplier firms, such as explosions at iPad factories that killed a total of four people and another incident in which 137 workers were injured after cleaning iPhone screens with a poisonous chemical.”, states the article. This sentence shocked me because I was very curious of what kind of poisonous chemical it was and how did it cause injuries? I think Apple can fix this problem by doing an experiment of knowing why the poisonous chemical is causing injuries, then they will be able to prevent it happening or maybe considering of changing this chemical to another chemical that it won’t be harmful. Another way they can fix this problem is communicating with Foxconn and make the contract clear about the workers, so they won’t be working overtime within bad condition.

1) The error that appeared most is plural forms, this happens throughout most of my writings, I always seem to be careless about plural forms. I remember that most of the time Mrs. Richert points it out to me in the rubric.

2) I think the best way to avoid this problem, is every time I have to read my post over and be cautious of every sentence, so if there is a noun I have to check it and make sure about the subject of the sentence.

3) I’m particular proud of the possible solution I thought about in the blog post, because I think I went to the highest level in bloom taxonomy, and for me it showed myself that I’ve understand the article.

Protest Against Civil Rights

                                                                                    Image of Martin Luther King from the article