uic
OneWorld
Dear OneWorld Readers, It is with great honor and privilege that we present to you the 2009-2010 issue of OneWorld magazine at the University of Illinois at Chicago. In this Honors College publication, we hope to present articles that embody social injustices and issues that individuals may previously be unaware of, but nevertheless concern us all as citizens of the world. We also hope that you will take the initiative to read these articles and will want to impact the world community. As a result, we have attached several possible courses of action after every piece. Furthermore, we have also incorporated an objective perspective into this magazine, as such an outlook has been an utmost priority throughout the history of this publication (with this issue being no exception). Consequently, we have confidence that although our articles highlight many controversial issues, they will not have spin or any sort of bias – which is crucial to understand the central premise behind each issue. We consider the undertaking of this task is a huge challenge, but thankfully the UIC community (writers, editors, directors, etc.) has collaborated to bring this publication forth. Thank you, and we hope you enjoy the product of our collective efforts. Sincerely, UIC OneWorld Executive Board
UIC OneWorld Volume 4, 2010 Printed in the USA UIC OneWorld 828 South Halsted M/C 204 Chicago, IL 60607 www.uic.edu/honors oneworld.uic@gmail.com
President Sarung Kashyap Vice President Ryan Tabor Editor-In-Chief Pankaj Malhotra Hemanth Sirandas Layout Editors Philip Kuo Krupa Patel Shama Patel Art Directors Krupa Patel Jessica Grant Terri Davis
Publisher UIC Publications Faculty Advisor Professor Norma Moruzzi
Distribution & Publicity Annie Neahring Pasinee Bhavilai
Editors Amee Patel Annie Neahring Dalia Al-Ramahi Gregory Pratt Radhika Desai Sojung Choi Shama Patel Special Thanks to . . . Undergraduate Student Government Chicago Organization Fund Asian American Studies Program African American Cultural Center The Department of Anthropology
Darfur,The Dark Road Ahead: The Darfur Genocide occurring
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ran Yoo Sophomore Biological Sciences Major, English Minor who plans on pursuing medical school post undergrad.
Braile Now: Use of assistive technology in place of literacy
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alia Al-Rahami
since 2003
Disability Rights: Making the world aware of the Disabled community
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Dedicated to my dear friend Annie Hopkins who passed away in January 2009.
hom O’Connor V Senior majoring in English and Latin American Studies who wants to teach english abroad and travel the world.
Sophomore Sociology major with an interest in nursing. Hopes to serve in Doctors without Borders and spent some time working with blind/ low vision students at the DRC.
A Secret Weapon of War:
Rebel groups in Africa kidnapping children to use them as child soldiers idm Yi Senior English major who wants to pursue some sort of career in journalism.
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ydney Mayer Freshman Political Science Major and French Minor who wants to go into Law.
Gaza Criss 2008: Information about Gaza conflict 12/2008
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ana Al-Khaled Freshman Psychology major planning on going into medicine.
Let Them Eat Cake: A brief look
Haitian Disaster: The disaster and
rfan Hussain Sophmore Psychology Major who wants to pursue a career in medicine, especially in underserved areas.
ydney Mayer Freshman Political Science Major and French Minor who wants to go into Law.
at Zimbabwe’s dire situation
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clean-up of Haiti
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Hip Hop - Past & Present: The necessity of change in Hip Hop
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aran Thakkar Freshman Neuroscience major who plans to pursue medicine.
Human Trifficking: Human trafficking - the what, who, where
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onika Darji
Junior Biological Sciences and Psychology major who is pre-med.
2009 Iran Election: Debate about the authenticity of elections in Iran
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ayna Afifa
Sophmore Accounting major who wants to pursue a career in accounting
Paradise Lost: Kashmir ‘Paradise’ is “Disappearing’
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abiya Ghani
Sophmore Biological Sciences major who wants to become pediatrics oncologist.
International Adoptions: Illegal adoptions all over the world
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hama Patel Sophmore Neuroscience major who wants to go to Medical School.
Mexico’s Drug War: Interested because of my Hispanic background
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arco Martinez Freshman Biological Sciences major with a minor in Spanish who wants to go to Medical School.
Sri Lanka’s Tamil Ache: Recently concluded Sri Lankan war
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idya Govind-Thomas
Freshman Biological Sciences major who wants to spend many, many more years of school for medicine
Striving Harder: The stories of undocumented students at UIC
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aniel Schneider Senior Anthropology major who will pursue a Ph.D in Anthropology, studying social movements and activism.
Perceptions of Wealth: UIC students and the global economy
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nnie Neahring
Senior English/Anthropology major who plans to work and travel for a year or two before persueing a graduate degree
Poverty in India: Growing awareness of widespread poverty in India
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arth Shah
Freshman Neuroscience Major who wants to become a doctor
Crisis Revealed: Investigation into France’s social problems
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acob Cayia
Sophmore English major who plans on going to graduate school
Population of India: Insight into India’s population crisis; possible resolutions
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inod Sehgal
Junior Neuroscience major with a minor in Economics who plans on a career in medicine to better the lives of others
Transgender Outreach and Support: Discusses the importance of
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the transgender communities essi Grant
Sophomore Undecided major who wants to travel the world and explore how art can be used to educate and empower others
Human Rights Watch in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Wom-
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en Get Raped and Children Witness it eepali Darji
Sophomore Biological Sciences major with a psychology minor who wants to get into a challenging Graduate or Medical Program
Cheap at a High Cost: MardiGras beads their cheap labor production
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arija J. Bulatovic
Sophomore Biological Sciences and Spanish major with a minor in French who wants to pursue either Dental School or International Business
the
Focolare Movement
By: Aran Yoo
The Focolare Movement, founded by Chiara Lubich in Italy, is a Catholic lay movement focused on world unity with “Jesus in the midst.” Today this Movement is world-wide, influencing many people of diverse backgrounds. Unlike standard religions, which are exclusive to those that refuse to adhere to a specific identity such as “Christian,” “Muslim” etc, the Focolare Movement accepts all that want to contribute to their world unity mission.
“Little by little, many followers of the great world religions, as well as people with no religious affiliation, have become part of the Movement. This adhesion to the Movement is without syncretism and encourages all to maintain full faith in their own identity. What all these people have in common is the commitment to live, in one way or another, love and unity, which are written in the DNA of every human person” The Movement believes that love is created by Jesus - by the realization of Jesus’ death on the cross and the sacrifices required for such an action, human desire for love is satisfied. Following the quench for love, arrives the desire to love and be responsible for all others out of humility and reverence of God – this process is what the Focolare Movement is based upon. Lubich founded this movement in order to improve ties among people of different faiths and also based on the belief that lay people among a Catholic faith can lead full religious lives. The Movement is not a religion - it is a movement, a way of living or a mindset. Love and its advocacy is the central focus of the Movement and uses this focus to unite all. These individuals, by the example of Jesus, yearn to help others and dedicate their lives to this mission. The movement encourches conversation within one’s own church, amongst different churches, with Jewish people, amongst the world faiths and also amongst those with no faith is encouraged to promote harmony. They also promote a new lifestyle by the way of little towns that serve as models of a new society. There are 35 little towns in the world; these towns have houses, school, businesses and places of worship that promote unity. In addition to little towns, there are 63 Mariapolis centers which serve as permanent schools of formation for the Movement. The Focolare are not simply members of a church that worship together. On the contrary, these people invest in each others’ lives as family members. Together, they work together to help others and unite people around the world. For more information on the Movement, contact Arturo Aguirre at: aaguir9@uic.edu or visit (http://www.focolare.org/)
BF N raille
or centuries, educators have explored a number of creative methods to find the ideal script for blind literacy. In 1745 Valentin Haüy, a skilled linguist who spoke 10 languages, realized that the sense of touch could prove to be extremely useful in teaching the blind how to read. He taught his 17 yearold student to read using wooden blocks, and eventually developed the technology to create embossed books. Blind pianist prodigy Maria Theresia von Paradis, of the same era, developed her own writing system of pinpricks. Christian Niesen, a dedicated tutor, used a bent-wire alphabet and tactile maps made from silk embroidered onto cardboard. Best known and most widely used today, though, is Braille: a system in which a tangible six-dot code represents letters and characters. Braille is taught in thousands of institutions worldwide today. In the United States, however, there is a surprising decline in Braille usage. In 1960, fifty percent of all legally blind school-age children were able to read Braille. Today, only ten percent of blind school-age children use Braille as their primary method of reading. There are a number of explanations for this occurrence; one argument, perhaps universal for all specialized learning techniques, is that there is a lack of funding for Braille programs, resulting in limited access for blind students. The other, more controversial explanation is a proliferating lack of faith in Braille. A single page of printed text
ow
tening to a novel, the student would either have the tone predetermined for them, or hear the text with no tone at all, as most screen readers are limited in terms of voice inflection. Most sighted people have, over their years of reading, trained to subconsciously determine the tone of a passage. This is just one of many skills potentially lost in a strictly auditory learning approach. Modern education rests on the importance of acknowledging and investing in all of the various learning styles students utilize. There are visual learners, those who retain information best through experience, and those who are auditory learners. Eliminating Braille as an option limits blind students to a single learning style; they would, then, either have to be auditory learners, or not learners at all. Braille is in fact a form of visual learning. “I consider myself a visual learner,” Peter points out. “Even though I can’t see the stuff, for something like math and geography, even if you can’t see it you have to be able to lay it out in your mind.” Though the controversy creates strong feelings on both sides, Roxana Stupp, director of the Disability Resource Center at UIC, points out one important factor: whether or not to regularly utilize Braille is a personal choice. Just because the process of converting material into Braille may not be the most convenient one right now, does not mean society can stamp out Braille as an option. Regardless of whether or not we equate Braille use to literacy, the number of additional options Braille and tactile methods create for blind learners is a valuable, irreplaceable reality.
can translate to anywhere from three to six pages in Braille. Thus, a chapter of a textbook can turn out to be multiple volumes of Braille. Converting text is a long and expensive process. A college textbook can cost thousands of dollars to convert into Braille, and often seems like a wasted effort because many universities upgrade to newer editions of textbooks every few semesters, making it impossible to reuse already brailed material. This is the primary reason an overwhelming majority of high school and college students do not have access to Braille textbooks, and resort to audio formats. Hence, Braille’s top competitor has been the computer; students now have the option of accessing text using screen readers, or listening to audio books when available. Though highly practical, the prevailing use of computers brings forth a very large issue. If computers do one day replace Braille, will blind users someday be considered illiterate? Many of those against the decline in Braille think so. “If someone is unable to physically read something, they are illiterate,” says Peter Tucic, a sophomore at UIC. Peter was born with a visual impairment and began reading Braille at the age of three. “Being able to comprehend something through listening doesn’t constitute actually reading something. It doesn’t in any way give you the ability to spell or write correctly.” An auditory learning style forces certain qualities on the information it presents. For example, when lis-
-Dalia Al-Ramahi
A Secret By: Midm Yi
S
ounds of explosions, the cries of women from fear, the shouts from commanders, and the thumps of guns blasting away only barely scratch the surface of an environment unfamiliar to many people around the world. Or, at least, not known to the more fortunate. Constant fear of death or worry about just outliving the night becomes an agenda for the people who live this reality. In the early 1980s, in the enormous continent known as Africa, a new method of warfare emerged with swift popularity: the invention of child soldiers. Children under the age of 18 become the perfect creation for killing machines for many rebel groups in Africa. Commanders of these rebel groups realize the advantages of using children as soldiers because they’re naïve, extremely loyal, fearless, easily manipulated, and, one of the most important reasons, in enormous abundance. Over 100,000 children are captured and forced to join the rebel groups. Taking advantage of this combination of characteristics in children, rebel groups can easily gather and form a massive army of brainwashed kids who are taught that killing is the only way of life. Solely based on this fact, these children, who grow up within communities where violence becomes a part of everyday life, can potentially grow more prone to death and violence. They become killing machines.
Countries such as Uganda, Mozambique, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo are a few of many other countries where powerful rebel groups abduct children from various villages susceptible to attacks. The government and rebel groups have
training except the brain washing techniques from commanders and warlords. These children must suddenly and immediately adapt to different roles in order to avoid death from their superiors. With the abundance of child participants, the rebel groups see chil-
Foundations like The Invisible Chdren bring awareness of this issue to countries around the world, with hopes of ending the madness related to child soldiers that is spreading throughout Africa. Although foundations like Invisible Children make attempts to bring
been constantly fighting for a little over twenty years. Unfortunately, Africa’s longest running wars between the government and rebel groups have brought dangerous, terrifying days in the lives of civilians subject to these conflicts. This eventually leads to the act of child abduction to expand rebel forces. Kids as young as eight years old are often kidnapped and they are immediately thrown into violent, torturous situations. Within the rebel confines, warlords order the children to directly begin participating in armed conflicts. Atrocities become the primary method to influence and manipulate the children. Under the influence of drugs or alcohol, physical abuse, or the constant exposure to a pervasive culture, the children’s minds are exposed to concept of death, killing, and violence. The abducted children can take up several positions. Beginning with children from age seven-eight, they often take on roles like messengers or spies. They fill these roles until they are physically strong enough to handle roles with larger weapons. Once they reach a level where they are able to bear arms, the children are forced to manage weapons like assault rifles or semiautomatics. There is no proper military
dren as dispensable commodities. At times, some children are instantly placed on the frontlines. Because of their level of immaturity, children jump on excessive risks, doing things a mature adult would unlikely to attempt. This provides endless opportunities for rebel groups drafting military strategies. Rebel groups such the Lord’s Resistance Army prominently in Uganda (LRA), abduct children daily for the expanse of their armies. The LRA exercise grotesque systematic methods to train the minds of children. In one case, a young girl was ordered to shoot her friend, but she missed the first time. A commander forced her to take another shot and the girl killed, and eventually buried her friend. Afterwards, the children are taught to never cry while engaging in combat or performing deeds such as execution. Children are taught to witness and soak in these executions and if a drop tear leaves an eye, the individual can receive severe penalty or even death. Once the children enter this world, the chance of escape becomes nearly nonexistent.
peace, the governments of powerful nations have not been called to action. Support systems are few and many governments like Uganda and Rwanda are ineffective in protecting the children. Peace talks with rebel armies like the LRA have come and go without any progress towards peace. Africa’s longest running wars continue to rage on as thousands of human beings are killed while children are abducted to become killers. As the battles persist and the motives of the rebel armies grow more horrific, people will continue to perish. Rebel armies have discovered the perfect weapon for the most horrendous war.
Weapon of War “Children under the age of 18 become the perfect creation for killing machines for many rebel groups in Africa”
Coming Soon to UIC! Starting in the Fall of 2010 Mark Chiang Kevin Kumashiro Gayatri Reddy Helen Jun Anna Guevarra Rama Mantena Mary Anne Mohanraj Karen Su Corinne Kodama
The Asian American Studies Program and Minor in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Asian American Studies
explores the histories, identities, cultures,
United States--including but not limited to those from East Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. The Asian American Studies Program communities and politics of people of
Asian
ancestry in the
seeks to provide students with the skills and knowledge to achieve a critical understanding of the place of
Asian Americans
not just in
American society, but in the world. As an interdisciplinary program, ASAM includes faculty and courses in literature, history, sociology, anthropology, education, communication, and gender studies For
more information or to inquire about becoming a minor, see
Asian American Studies (MC 231) 809 University Hall 601 S. Morgan Street Chicago, IL 60607-7115
http://www.uic.edu/las/asam
Mark Chiang, Associate Professor ASAM Coordinator 803 UH (312) 413-0463 mchiang@uic.edu
or visit our office:
Bill Gallaga Assistant to the Coordinator (312) 355-3448 gallaga@uic.edu
Let them eat cake: How Zimbabwe’s dictatorial leader has devastated his country
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imbabwe has had a tumultuous political history. Since independence in 1980, Robert Mugabe has been, in one form or another, the head of state of Zimbabwe. He was famous for having been a political prisoner for a decade prior to independence. As prime minister he has advocated and implemented a program of social services, increased wages, and education reform. For these acts he was initially hailed as a visionary African leader and awarded several honorary titles and law degrees. All that glitters, however, is not gold. Since the 1990s, Mugabe has led the country to ruin through political malfeasance, economic mismanagement,
and flagrant violations of human rights. Most of his titles and honorary degrees have been revoked in recent years. In 1983, tensions between Mugabe’s ZANU (Zimbabwe African National Union) party and the rival ZAPU (Zimbabwe African People’s Union) party came to a head. Mugabe had previously tried to involve the ZAPU in his government, going as far as to appoint Joshua Nkomo, the ZAPU leader, to a cabinet position. Mugabe eventually yielded to pressure from his Shona tribe majority ZANU loyalists in the north, who expected him to continue with his fast pace of social reforms with or without
the support of the ZAPU, which represented the minority Ndebele tribe in the south. Mugabe’s decision to fire Nkomo from his cabinet incensed the Ndebele people and sparked an armed uprising in the southern part of the country. After several years of conflict and an estimated twenty thousand deaths, the two parties were merged into the ZANU-PF (Zimbabwe African National Union – Political Front) party, which has been in power since 1987 with Mugabe as president. With Mugabe now in charge of a one-party government, he was able to pursue a number of policies that have since earned him
widespread international condemnation. Despite an economic crisis at home, he delved into foreign affairs and lent extensive military and economic support to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to fight rebels that posed no threat to Zimbabwe itself. This measure, widely unpopular at home, mobilized several thousand Zimbabwean troops and cost several million dollars. In 1999, he gave himself, his cabinet, and members of parliament 200 to 300% pay raises, whereas civil servants were denied a 20% cost of living allowance earlier that year. In 2000, he instituted a “fast-track” forced land redistribution policy intended to seize farmland from the minority white population and redistribute it to poor black Zimbabweans. The entire process took place in contravention of international law, without judicial supervision, and under a commonplace atmosphere of violence and intimidation. At the end of 2002, much of the 11.5 million hectares (28.4 million acres) of land that were seized from white commercial farmers ended up not with poor black Zimbabwean farmers, as was intended, but in the hands of high-ranking government officials. These people, of course, were not well-versed in farming, and so Zimbabwe’s predominantly agriculture-based economy has since collapsed. The country was once a formidable net
exporter of agricultural products; now, most Zimbabweans survive on food aid. The Mugabe administration’s poor management of pressing public health issues has also led to a flourishing cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe. There have been over four thousand deaths so far due to the outbreak. In a bizarre turn of events, Mugabe tried to absolve himself of responsibility by declaring the cholera outbreak as biological warfare from the British, their former colonizers, in an alleged attempt to retake the country. Soon
afterward, in spite of the fact that the cholera outbreak was and is still happening, he simply declared the epidemic to be over and thanked the WHO (World Health Organization) for their assistance. The WHO disagreed with this assertion but Zimbabwe went as far as to block access to epidemiologists and other public health officials to prevent them from assisting with an outbreak that supposedly no longer exists. Zimbabwe’s own best and brightest, the very people the country needs the most, have
already left the worsening conditions, leaving a dearth of specialists and other health care professionals in Zimbabwe. The lethality of both the cholera and the ever-present AIDS epidemic in Zimbabwe has been intensified by widespread malnutrition, a direct consequence of the crippling land redistribution program and the failure of the economy. Economically, as of July 2009, unemployment in Zimbabwe is at 94% and irresponsible fiscal policies, including an infantile policy of covering deficits by simply printing more money, have driven inflation to 231 million percent. Zimbabwe is ranked number one in the world for public debt, at a whopping 259.4% of the GDP (gross domestic product). The real GDP growth rate, -14.10%, is the lowest in the world. (Latvia is second-to-last with a much higher -4.60%.) The discrepancy between the nominal and real currency values have forced the government to drop the Zimbabwean dollar altogether and adopt the US dollar for its official transactions. These irresponsible policies are partly responsible for current food shortages; although now slowly starting to recover, many store shelves still remain empty. In a telling disconnect between reality and the world Mugabe creates for himself, party officials hosted
Mugabe a lavish party for his 85th birthday, replete with an enormous 85kg (187 lb.) birthday cake. Mugabe enjoyed his cake while his people suffered – and continue to suffer – under severe food shortages and economic woes his policies created. Zimbabwe has democratic elections, but through intimidation, violence, and blatant vote-rigging, Mugabe always remains in power. At each election, Mugabe and his party execute a well-organized campaign of violence and scare tactics to keep supporters of opposition parties away from the polls. One recent election was in 2005, where Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the MDC (Movement for Democratic Change) political party, went up against Mugabe and his established ZANU-PF. Astoundingly, even with the violence and evidence of vote-rigging, the ZANU-PF lost its majority in parliament for the first time. In retaliation, the government carried out Operation Murambatsvina, or Operation Drive Out Trash, in an effort to clear out slum areas in the cities. Under the guise of an initiative against illegal housing and areas that breed disease, this program has destroyed many shantytowns and displaced 2.4 million of the urban poor to rural areas. Many of these people voted for the opposition party in the recent election and are now being punished as a result. To add insult to injury, an additional seven hundred thousand have also been unable to get to work, as a day’s bus fare costs $10 million Zimbabwean (about a week’s worth of pay) and, aside from the lucky ones who are able to walk several miles to and from work daily, they are now also de facto unemployed. In yet another example of heavy-
handedness, presidential election results in 2008, widely expected to topple Mugabe, were delayed for several weeks, feeding fears of egregious vote manipulation. When the tallies were finally released, they gave a very slight edge to Mugabe, prompting a runoff election. Leading up to this runoff, however, a military-designed and executed campaign of violence called CIBD (Coercion, Intimidation, Beating, and Displacement) was in full force and harmed both MDC officials and their supporters. In fact, Tsvangirai and his party dropped out of the runoff elections completely, citing widespread violence and the resignation that the final tally would only show whatever result Mugabe desired. In a rare move, however, Mugabe agreed to a tentative power-sharing deal between the two rival political parties since February and this agreement seems to be holding for now. Under the terms of the deal, Mugabe of ZANU-PF remains president while Tsvangirai of MDC becomes the prime minister. However, this fragile arrangement appears to be a farce because the intimidation and bullying tactics continue. The
ZANU-PF has arranged for the arrest of several MDC nominees for appointed positions on phony charges of terrorism, and the arrest of a senior aide of Tsvangirai recently prompted a temporary boycott of MDC from the administration of the shaky unity government. Despite early appearances of conciliation, Mugabe is still acting independently and there seems little hope for any changes in his policies that have caused extensive economic, social, and political suffering in Zimbabwe.
-Irfan Hussain
D A
The Dark Road Ahead
arfur
nother year has passed in the Sudanese region of Darfur, another year of senseless murder and genocide, and another year of the world working to enforce peace upon a country on the brink of genocide. Ever since its independence from Britain was declared on January 1st, 1956, the Sudan has been at war with itself. Civil wars between the North and South Sudan have been vicious and bloody and are all rooted back to ethnicity. The first of the two civil wars came from the predominantly Christian southern Sudan fearing the domination of the Arab and Muslim north taking power after the independence from the English. These ethnic differences continue to divide the country and are part of the problem within Darfur today. The Sudanese government is still one of the most
By: Sydney Elizabeth Meyer
corrupt in the world: number eleven according to the Forbes.com poll. After orchestrating a military coup against the former Prime Minister of the Sudan, the current president of Sudan, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, seized power in 1989 and claimed the presidency in 1993. Since then, the conflict has continued between Darfur and in the rest of the Sudan. In 2003, the conflict began as two groups opposing the Sudanese government, the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) launched an attack upon the government that had oppressed them. As a response to the violence against the al-Bashir regime, a government militia was formed, now known as the Janjaweed, and was sent out to attack villages and groups they believed to be supportive of the rebel’s movement. Any opposition to the government and its beliefs or by just being associated with any resistance was met with the rage of the Janjaweed; it is estimated that more than 900,000 have been killed. Since the conflict began, the United Nations (UN) and African Union (AU) have tried to negotiate with the conflicting groups within Darfur and the Sudan and have deployed as many troops as they could collect to aid the displaced citizens and create peace. Yet today, Darfur remains riddled with death and destruction despite the efforts of major peacekeeping organizations.
As Darfur citizens wait impatiently for a resolution, the UN and AU have been working jointly to create some semblance of peace within the region. After three years of war, the Darfur Peace Agreement was signed by the SLA in an effort to try and settle the tension and help the nearly 2.3 million Sudanese people displaced throughout the country and in Chad. The agreement has been mildly successful in that some armed groups in Darfur have signed in accord with the document, but the signature and agreement from the largest militant group, JEM, is needed for a major change to truly occur. In that same year, the UN attempted to send upward of 17,000 peacekeeping troops to the region, but the aid workers were rejected by the Sudanese government. A major development occurred in 2008 when president Omar al-Bashir was indicted by International Criminal Court (ICC) and according to the New York Times was charged “with five counts of crimes against humanity, including murder, extermination, forcible transfer, torture and rape.” The chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo made a statement to the New York Times that al-Bashir “‘masterminded and implemented” a plan to destroy three main ethnic groups in Darfur: the Fur, the Masalit and the Zaghawa… killing 35,000.” The controversy with this decision is that some believe that the removal of al-Bashir from his presidency would ruin the little improvement that has been made in Darfur through the UN and AU’s aid workers. The indictment of the president could then cause more harm than good and could complicate the efforts of the aid groups in Darfur. Therefore, despite the fact that citizens of Darfur are supportive of this condemnation, it is unlikely that President al-Bashir will be arrested by the ICC at the present time. In addition, the recent election of United States president, Barack Obama has sparked an international interest in what will happen next. During his campaign Obama pledged to “create a path for long-term peace and stability in the Sudan.” However, his pledge of relieving the Sudan and Darfur of its bloody conflict may not be fulfilled in the near future as his administration is faced with more pressing and present issues such as the decision on the War in Iraq and the healthcare reform. All that Darfur and the Sudan can hope for right now is that the promises made by leaders around the world will one day come to fruition.
HIP HOP PAST AND PRESENT H
ip Hop is alive. Perhaps if we started putting those kinds of impressions in our newspapers, magazines, and other publications in place of things like “Hip Hop is dead” along with “Who killed Hip Hop?”, people would think differently. The media has always shaped the way the Hip Hop community thinks and acts. From auspicious beginnings with the influence of Rock & Roll, to the unpredictable genre it has become today, Hip Hop changes every day. Hip Hop originated in the Bronx in New York City during the 1970’s. It all started when DJs took old records and created “breaks”. By combining these breaks with the sound of an MC rapping, the new trend caught on with its innovative sound. This new sound made its way from coast-to-coast and helped bring about not only a different sound but also a new kind of lifestyle. Fanatics threw lavish block parties for scratching, rapping, break-dancing and, graffiti. From the 1970’s through the latest 1980’s Hip Hop lyrics told stories and explained hardships of the average poor person. As trends changed, lyrics focused more on the glamorous, lavish lifestyles lived by rap heavyweights. The 90’s (those “prosperous” years) were perhaps Hip Hop’s most defining years. Tim Mosely, more commonly known as Timbaland, com-
by Karan Thakkar
pletely revolutionized the way Hip Hop production could look like by incorporating other styles of music and instruments, such as Indian drums and flutes. His new imagination broadened normal perceptions of what hip-hop should sound like and encouraged the development and expansion of musicality in its production.
Hip Hop is meant to change and if you ask any rapper/artist of today, it has. Today, there is a sect of Hip Hop that enthralls an entire generation of people with its “simple but catchy” style of production. Artists such as Soulja Boy and Young Joc, started using instrumentals consisting of simple synths and drum loops giving rise to the “simple but catchy” sound with chart-topping records such as “Crank Dat” and “It’s Goin’ Down”. While many have criticized this style because of its variance from the original sound of “Bronx Hip Hop”, it has received several accolades from artists such as Kanye West for being out
B&W left to right: Tupac, Afrika Bambaataa, Lauryn Hill, De la Soul Colored top to bottom: Pharrell, Kanye West, Lil’ Wayne, M.I.A.
of the ordinary. Kanye West, on the other hand, took a different route at modernizing the sound of Hip Hop. He samples famous tracks such as “Mystery of Iniquity” by Lauren Hill for his song “All Falls Down” and tracks such as “Maybe It’s The Power Of Love” by Blackjack for his song “Never Let Me Down”. Hip Hop is meant to change and if you ask any rapper/artist of today, it has. The reason for this is that Hip Hop was founded on the premise that changing the style of modern mainstream music is quintessential to the creation of a new music. This reason is why many criticize Hip Hop for becoming too mainstream and different from its roots. This, however, is a major misconception with the evolution of music. Many genres change over time and this is actually the factor that keeps new music relevant. If Hip Hop were to remain the same, it would lose its flame and wouldn’t be Hip Hop because change is an essential ingredient to its style. As previously implied, Hip Hop breeds change. So if this change were to never take place in the first place, today’s “Hip Hop” would be a completely different genre.
A
Disability Rights
disability is defined as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. Just under twenty percent of Americans are considered disabled. That means about one out of five people are disabled. Chances are that someone close to you is disabled and you may not even know it. The disabled community is often viewed in a different light by mainstream society. It is a common misconception that able-bodied people should feel any differently towards the disabled. This is simply not the case. What the disabled wants more than anything is to be treated just like able-bodied people. Disabilities can be both mental and physical. In addition to the structural problems they face, such as riding public transportation, crowded sidewalk cafes, unreachable merchandise, inaccessible public buildings, such as post offices and libraries, buildings without adequate signs to access points and Ill placed store equipment and displays they also have to deal with negative stereotypes placed on them by society.
anytime in their life. With such a large group it is unfortunate that they face so many social injustices. The disability rights movement began in the 1970s but it still has a long way to go. All people have the right to “Independent Living.” Yet for many it is still unattainable. The government provides money to the disabled so they can hire personal assistants to assist them with their day to day tasks. The problem with this is that the money is often not enough. Some members of the disabled community need twenty-four hour assistance and the money provided by the government is simply not enough to cover the costs. This often times puts a huge financial strain on the individual and the families as well. Many disabled people are forced to live with their parents their whole life because their parents are the only people willing to take care of them. There are many charities throughout the world that help raise money for the welfare of the disabled community. Once can donate to many groups such as the Leonard Cheshire Disability Foundation, based in the UK or Motivation a charity that focuses on the disabled Since most of us are not in charge of buildings, stores in low-income communities. Charities, such as these, and government buildings we cannot personally make fight for laws throughout the world that would cheapen the changes. What we all can do is take notice of things the cost of medical care for the disabled community. that would inhibit the disabled and let the proper people know. If we notice a box blocking an isle in a store we In 1990 Congress passed the Americans with Disabilishould take the time to clear it out of the way. If an ties Act or the ADA. Similar to the civil rights moveelevator is out of service we should immediately no- ment it outlaws discrimination against people with tify a building attendant. The problem must be fixed disabilities in employment and public accommodaright away because those with physical disabilities will tions. This means that all places of business must pronot be able to access things. Imagine being stuck on vide access for the disabled otherwise they will face a the first floor of the Daley Library. One would not get harsh fine. Still this is not enough to combat prejudices much done because most of the books are upstairs. A against the disabled. The best things that society can former employee for UICs disability services often do are become educated about disabilities and embrace complained about how long it took to repair things for the differences. One of the things that can be done is to people with physical disabilities. Society as a whole remember that these people do lead normal lives. As a must realize the inconvenient that are created when an society we must learn to look past a person’s disability elevator breaks down. If having trouble finding an el- and look at their abilities. Today attitudes are changing evator it would also be a good idea to let the building in a positive way towards people with disabilities. Most authorities know that it is hard to find. Encourage signs universities provide some sort of aid and now buildings to be posted so it is easier for those after you to find it. are legally required to have entrance ramps to provide access to everyone. Do to the problems with healthcare Disabled people make up the world’s largest minority however; US society still has a long way to go in guargroup yet their voices go largely unheard. It is also the anteeing that the disabled can live just as happily as most diverse group. The disabled include, men, women, anyone else. After all, the right to pursue happiness is people of any sexual orientation, all ages, religions and meant for all US citizens not just the able-bodied comeconomic levels, and race are all included as well. It is munity. also the only group that one can become a member of at -Tom O’Connor
The Visiting Artists Series AFRICAN-AMERICAN CULTURAL CENTER
Solo Art Exhibit
“Visages de Femme” Exhibitor: Maty Niang Using ink, oils, acrylics, often mixed with photography, Maty Niang’s exhibit, “Visages de Femmes,” captures the radiant mysteries and complexities of African womanhood, mixing representation, impressionism, expressionism, and abstract portrayals of female faces, forms, and culture.
Maty Niang received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Interior Design from the International Academy of Design and Technology, Chicago. She was born in Senegal, West Africa, and received a Bachelor’s “Seynabou” 1996 Degree in Fine Arts from the Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts in Dakar, Senegal. Ms. Niang also received a Certificate of Theatrical Décor from the Ecole D’ Arts Visuels de La Cambre, Brussels, Belgium. She has exhibited at the Delfina Studio, London, at Gallery Guichard, Chicago, and in a group exhibition in Chicago’s Hyde Park. Ms. Niang has contributed to the design settings of two Senegalese movies in her native country.
1–31 MARCH 2010 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Monday through Friday Room 207, Addams Hall 830 South Halsted Street
5 MARCH 2010 Reception Lecture Lecturer Discussion Hors d’oeuvres
5:00–8:00 p.m. 6:00–6:40 p.m. “Visages de Femme” Maty Niang 6:40–7:00 p.m. 5:00–6:00 p.m. and 7:00–8:00 p.m.
Free! Open to the academic community and the public. Information (312) 996-9549 If you have a disability that needs accommodation in order to participate in this event, please call prior to the event. The African-American Cultural Center is serviced by the elevator in Burnham Hall. A ramp on the second floor connects the two buildings. Rev. 2/10 UIC Publications Services P10-00577
H U M A N HUMAN
TRAFFICKING C
hristina Elangwe from Cameroon, Africa was just a teenager when she was deceived by human traffickers and brought to the United States. When she was offered a job as a babysitter in the U.S., a young Christina quickly agreed. She thought if she came to the U.S. she would have the opportunity to get a good education. Christina thought that by taking the babysitting job and coming to the U.S. she would have the chance of a better life. Unfortunately, when Christina arrived to the U.S. she was forced to servitude. Christina became a domestic slave against her will and worked for up to twenty hours a day and seven days a week for the next five years. Christina is a victim of human trafficking which is also known as modern day slavery. Human trafficking is the “recruiting, harboring, or transport of people against their will for labor or sexual exploitation” . Human trafficking is the most rapidly growing criminal industry in the world and currently is the second largest criminal industry after drug trafficking. According to the International Labor Organization, it is estimated that human trafficking generates approximately 44.3 U.S. dollars in profit globally every year. What happened to Christina is not uncommon. Although it is difficult to determine the extent of human trafficking globally, the Global Report on Trafficking in Persons released by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) estimates that 12 to 27 million people in the world are currently enslaved. It is estimated that 700,000 to
by Monika Darji
900,000 people become victims to modern day slavery every year. Human trafficking has been reported to occur in at least 127 countries, including the U.S. Although it may be hard to believe that such “slavery” could exist in a highly developed and advanced country like the U.S., in fact, it does. Every year, 14,500 to 17,500 people like Christina are estimated to enter the U.S. as victims of human trafficking. According to the UNODC, human trafficking consists of three important parts: the act, the means, and the purpose. The act of human trafficking is the “recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of persons” . The means or how individuals are trafficked include “the use of threats, force, abduction, fraud, deception, and abuse of power or vulnerability” . The purpose of human trafficking is the exploitation of the individuals usually by means of forced labor or sexual exploitation. Individuals may be sold to domestic servitude like Christina or they may be forced to work in sweatshops, large corporations, or on farms. Individuals who are sexually exploited may be forced into prostitution or the pornography industry. The Global Report on Trafficking in Persons reports approximately 79% of human trafficking cases are forms of sexual exploitation while 18% of cases are due to forced labor. However, there may be statistical bias to this finding because it is believed the cases of sexual exploitation are reported more frequently than the forced labor cases are. In addition, it is important to note human trafficking is not the same thing as migrant smuggling. Migrant smuggling involves the individual paying someone else to help them illegally cross the border between two nations. Migrant smuggling involves the consent of the
lure the individuals in by giving them the promise of a good job or a better life. However, soon the individuals will learn it was all a ruse by the trafficker. Consider Christina’s case. Christina was given the promise of a job, an education, and a good life and so she agreed to go to the U.S. Once there, she was forced by her trafficker into domestic servitude. Human traffickers are often the friends, family members, acquaintances, and neighbors of the victim. According to the Polaris Project which is a large organization in the U.S. whose mission is to end modern day slavery in the world, human trafficking is driven by two essential factors: large profits and low prosecution risks. According to this organization, as long as human trafficking yields a big profit and most culprits do not get in trouble, human trafficking will continue. The UNODC has created anti-trafficking strategies and they are prevention, protection, and prosecution. People who are vulnerable because of poverty or individual. On the other hand, human trafficking does not involve the consent of individuals. Also, a case of human trafficking involves exploitation of the individual and it may or may not involve the transport of individuals across two nations. However, in some cases it may be difficult to distinguish between migrant smuggling and human trafficking. Human trafficking affects nearly every area of the world. Individuals can be trafficked within a country or they can be trafficked across borders. For example, individuals from Asia, Latin America, Africa, and Eastern Europe are often trafficked into the U.S. Once they are here, they are forced into labor or the commercial sex industry. What may be more troubling to believe are the cases of domestic trafficking in the U.S. Thousands of individuals are forced into the sex industry, may it be a strip club, an escort service, or streetbased prostitution. It is reported that the average age individuals enter prostitution in the U.S. is 12-13 years old. Other cases of domestic trafficking in the U.S. involve forced labor where individuals are forced to work in restaurants, small businesses, or the agricultural industry. Individuals may also be forced into begging or peddling. Around the world the victims of human trafficking are usually people who are vulnerable to poverty and conditions in which they live. The victims can be threatened or abducted by their traffickers, but sometimes they are tricked or deceived. The traffickers will
Every year, 14,500 to 17,500 people like Christina are estimated to enter the U.S. as victims of human trafficking. the conditions they live in often fall into the traps of traffickers. Therefore, if individuals were aware of things like what human trafficking is, the risks, how people are often misled by traffickers, and how to get help then perhaps there would be less cases of human trafficking. Currently, the prevention techniques include public service announcements, printed brochures available in many languages, and community led activities in high risk areas. The protection strategy includes tools to help police officers and social workers identify and protect victims of human trafficking. The tools include tips to help the victim reintegrate back into their lives. Support projects are also a part of the protection strategy. These projects offer emotional, health care, and emotional support. The prosecution strategy involves the creation of anti-trafficking legislation in every country and the training of law enforcers so they know how to deal with human trafficking cases. There are many organizations whose goal is to combat human trafficking. Some of them include the Polaris Project, the Not for Sale Campaign, and The Project to End Human Trafficking.
E
2009 iran
lection
T
he results of the 2009 Iranian elections have been disputed by multitudes, including Iranian citizens, foreign diplomats and even presidents. Following the Iranian electoral process, Barack Obama refrained from offering the customary congratulatory message to Mahmoud Ahmedinejad for winning the presidency in his country. Immediately after the election results were announced, the worldwide media burst into a frenzy of electoral fraud allegations. Ahmedinejad’s opponents, who claimed foul play was involved, further fueled the allegations of an unfair presidential selection. The candidates running for president were Mahmoud Ahme-
dinejad, MirHossein Mousavi, Mohsen Rezaee and Mehdi Karroubi. Incumbent Ahmedinejad’s main opponent was considered to be Mousavi. Counting the votes cast, results revealed that Ahmedinejad and Mousavi received 62.63% and 33.75% of the votes, respectively. Among Iranian elections, this one was unique for its intense campaigning, increased public awareness and heavier public involvement in the political process. Political rallies attracted huge crowds, a phenomenon unseen during previous elections. Voter turnout on Election Day was 85%. Iran does not have an independent body overseeing the electoral process. Elections are ad-
ministered by the Guardians Council (GC) and Ministry of Interior (MOI), which are partisan institutions. For this reason, it is difficult to know for certain whether the election was fraudulent. Critics of Iran’s electoral process use several events that took place leading up to the Iranian elections as evidence of duplicity in the elections. The first event is the widespread failure of the SMS network for about three weeks prior to voting day. SMS was widely used by Ahmedinejad’s opponents to organize and coordinate their activities. The second event took place on election day. Any of Mousavi’s supporters that stood in polling stations to observe the proceedings were
forced to leave. It has been suggested that voters were somehow influenced to vote for Ahmedinejad at the polling stations. The third reason to doubt the fairness of the Iranian elections arises after analyzing votes by province, specifically the province Mousavi hailed from and where Mousavi had broad support in the previous election. The votes did not seem to reflect any support for Mousavi in his province. However, the sudden change in support could be due to raising the voting
from a variety of backgrounds ranging from the lower class to the upper class and included people of ranging political views and ages. However, as time went on opponents of the election that took to the streets seemed to consist of mostly young, upper-middle class Tehranis. Speculation as to the sudden change in the make-up of the protestors reveals that the Iranian officials have been successful in either winning over or suppressing by fear the majority of the Iranian population. Iranian offi-
gas and other similar measures. The main reason for suspicion toward the elections is Iran’s refusal to establish an independent body to investigate the allegations of fraud. Many powerful political players both within and outside of Iran have called for such an investigation, but the Iranian regime refuses to heed the calls. If Iran is judged by the American tenet—innocent until proven guilty—Iran is at the currently innocent of election fraud due to lack of concrete evi-
age from 15 to 18 in early 2007, and so there was a change in the composition of the eligible voters. As a result, a direct comparison should not be drawn. When the results were announced, the country burst into protest. Initially the protestors came
cials may have won over the population by marketing the idea that protestors are linked with Iran’s enemies abroad. Iranian officials and riot police may have instilled sufficient fear in the common protestors to prevent them from coming out to protest through mass jailings, tear
dence. Therefore, many believe that Ahmedinejad’s status as president should be acknowledged until there is proof to indicate otherwise.
-Zayna Afifa
Paradise Lost
sweet, where men are strong, and women vie with the soil in fruitfulness” (Das 1). Yet despite this beauty, the history of Kashmir is both long and brutal. The “paraashmir is a beautiful place that has often been dise” is decreasing, and now the area is entrenched in characterized as paradise. In the words of one crisis to the point where some believe that there is no of the greatest of Sanskrit poets, Kalidas, Kashmir is “hope” for that “paradise” to return (even though many “more beautiful than the heaven and is the benefactor have tried to bring it back). Most notably, Kashmir is of supreme bliss and happiness.” Moreover, the 19th the favorite place for the territorial dispute between Incentury British historian Sir Walter Lawrence wrote dia and Pakistan, who are compared to estranged sibthat “The valley is an emerald set in pearls; a land of lings, for fifteen years. lakes, clear streams, green turf, magnificent trees and mighty mountains where the air is cool, and the water The chaos in Kashmir began after the end of British rule in 1947 when the king of Kashmir signed an accession pact with India (an action which enraged Pakistan because it felt that the areas with a Muslim majority should be under their control). As a result, war ensued. That war resulted in “Line of Control,” and each country claimed the territories of Kashmir. India controlled one-half, and Pakistan controlled one-third¸ but the dispute did not end there. There are still battles, suicide bombing, killings, and the “war” is unceasing.
K
Walking through the streets of Kashmir, one is confronted with a constant stream of brutality: bombs going off, dead bodies resting in the dirt road These images are ghastly and cause psychological problems such
as stress, depression, fear, etc… There is no stopping it. There is no calling for help in Kashmir. Misery, suffering, and living in fear of death are the daily emotions felt by Kashmir’s people. These sentiments are not limited to adults, for young children experience the trauma of the bombings and killings as well. Fayaz, a 12 year old boy, saw his father killed in crossfire; r and then refused to go to school for fear that he would be killed too. Fayaz has nothing to do with the Kashmir dispute, but he had to experience the effects of it nonetheless. The people of Kashmir have no choice, but to witness these horrors and try to stay alive. In another example, a young man, Imran, was shot by Indian militants, along with several other citizens of Kashmir just for no reason at all. Imagine yourself as Imran walking on the street. One moment you are alive, than the next moment you die. You never know when you will get shot by the militants, just because you are in the wrong place at the wrong time. But why did these innocent civilians have to die? There are sacrifices to be made. But there is another side of the story: the militants. The militants said that someone in the mob started the crossfire so they fired back. Two different sides of the story; the truth will never be discovered. The life of Kashmiri people is so different from others. They don’t live normally like us. They have to live in fear, they have to be cautious of their move and to make sure that they are alive. They see much more horrifying than us, they see the dead bodies, they hear the bombs, they hear the cries of the people. The children have to face the fact that they can not go to school due to constant danger. A young girl wants to write, but she can’t. A young man wants to go to college, but how can he walk in the middle of danger? Hate, violence, and death are in front of their eyes, and they are learning how to survive in the hard way. Women have to face the danger too. There are rape cases that cause the stir of the public, but will it stop? There was one case when thirty women were raped ranging from ages of 13 to 80 years old. Another incident was the raping a mother and daughter. Dr Maiti, a professor of political science at Rurdwa University of West Bengal, explains:
“Rape continues to be a major instrument of Indian oppression against the Kashmiri people while the majority of victims are civilians. This concept stands fortified by a report of ICRC dated March 6, 2001, where it has been mentioned that women are raped in order to humiliate, frighten and defeat the enemy ‘group’ to which they belong. Rape in a war is not merely a matter of chance; it is rather a question of power and control, which is ‘structured by male soldiers’ notions of their masculine privilege, by the strength of the military line of command and by class and ethnic inequalities among women.” These cases make it worse for women, causing them to live more in fear. They have to face humiliation and being shamed by their families because they were raped. There is no justice. “No man’s land” is the word to describe the Kashmir Valley. Tomorrow may never come, because they are not sure what will happen today. The scars will not be healed, it will be rooted. Outsiders of Kashmir do not understand their pain, their suffering, their sorrows, and their emotions along with their scars. The “paradise” of Kashmir Valley is disappearing, but the “hope” is still there, and when that will come? We will never know.
-Rabiya Ghani
International A d o p t i o n s
A
s the saying goes, when one door closes another opens. v For adoptive parents the process of adopting a new child into their family often allows them to fulfill a lifelong dream. People turn to adoption for a wide variety of reasons. Some individuals are unable to conceive, and some simply choose to extend their love to just one more child. A problem that arises is when the children who are adopted, are not without a home or loving family, but rather are torn away from families to turn a profit. This is not a phenomenon that is confined to one region of the world but rather it is an abundant feature of many countries all over the globe. A popular adoption location is China. A Canadian family was ecstatic to finally have the baby girl that they had dreamed of, but this feeling was soon replaced by feelings of doubt and anxiousness. Over the course of the past few years more and more information is being uncovered about how many corrupt adoptions officials have been tricking and coercing Chinese families into giving their children away and even as a last resort, kidnapping
them [2]. Both parties involved are not aware of what is occurring on the other end. The birth families do not know where the children are going and the adoptive families do not know where their children are from. The country of Ukraine has gained some attention after reports surfaced that there were organized baby smuggling rings that were taking babies directly from their hospital beds. They were then taken care of by paid accomplices while fake papers were
created before the babies could be adopted by foreigners [3]. In response to this, the Ukrainian government has currently put a ban on adoption by foreigners. Whether this will be lifted in the future is still up for debate. A local newspaper reports that between 1993 and 1995 one-hundred and four babies were sold to foreigners. The final example, but by no means the final occurrence in the world stage, is Tajikistan. The problem here stems from the idea that many people do not view selling babies as a bad thing. Nurses that work in Tajik hospitals
By: Shama Patel
even report witnessing situations where a women who gives birth loses her own child and the doctors helped her arrange to obtain a baby from a different hospital [1]. Some go so far as to say that cash for babies is a fact of life in Tajikistan. Although it seems like a clear distinction for us to make here in the West, in some of these regions the lines of what is considered right and wrong in the case of adoptions are blurred. Often times these women do not understand the longstanding emotional and psychological consequences of their decisions. These short anecdotes only give a brief glimpse into what is happening every single day all over the world. In a time and place where the adoption of these children has become a supply and demand type market, it is the children who lose the most. Those that truly need a home and loving parents fall to the wayside as middlemen looking to make a profit continue to vsteal children from loving families.
Mexico’s War on Drugs
A
lthough Mexico has been a center for drug production and shipment for decades, recently the country has become a site for an unprecedented amount of violence as law enforcement desperately tries to bring down the powerful drug cartels. Murders, bombings, and various means of terror are everyday occurrences in Mexico, particularly in cities where the drug cartels claim as bases such as Ciudad Juarez. For many, life has become a nightmare. Parents fear to send their children off to school. People are afraid to leave their homes. On December 11, 2006, not long after his inauguration, President Felipe Calderon began what has become known as the war on drug cartels – a frontal attack on the drug cartels responsible for supplying the majority of the methamphetamine, heroin, marijuana, and an estimated 90% of the cocaine entering the United States (CRS). Calderon began by sending 6,500 federal troops to his home state of Michoacán. In response to the government’s aggressive new approach to combating the drug trade, the drug cartels began to retaliate in ways unmatched and never before seen. Since the beginning of the war on drug cartels, the homicide rate has spiked to unimaginable levels, levels so high that many cities in Mexico have quickly become some of the deadliest in the world. Executions have become common happenings in many cities. In 2008, the death toll resulting from the drug war totaled 5,612, according to El Universal, and the total in 2009 is already set to surpass that of 2008.
One may ask why seemingly so little progress has been made in bringing down the drug trade? One huge factor that still stands is corruption. Bribery and extortion run rampant throughout the government. Drug cartels in many areas have law enforcement officials look the other way as they conduct their business, or the cartels have complete control of them implementing them in their operations. For example, certain police task forces that deal with kidnappings have reportedly been kidnapping for local cartels. In addition to corruption, the cartels themselves were greatly underestimated. Once small operations, these cartels have grown incredibly powerful and very well organized. The amount of influence these organizations hold in their respective communities also lends to their power. The cartels are now very well armed as well. Confiscated weapons include assault rifles, grenade launchers, and even anti-tank rockets. Nearly all of the weapons originate from the United States, which are easily smuggled across the border. The military-grade weaponry used by the cartels comes from the great surplus of American arms used in Latin American wars. The fact that the weapons used by the cartels are supplied by the United States as well as the fact that it is the demand for narcotics in the United States that fuels the drug war have been used to gain greater American intervention in this war. One may ask why seemingly so little progress has been made in bringing down the drug trade? One huge factor that still stands is corruption. Bribery and extortion run rampant throughout the government. Drug cartels in many areas have
law enforcement officials look the other way as they conduct their business, or the cartels have complete control of them implementing them in their operations. For example, certain police task forces that deal with kidnappings have reportedly been kidnapping for local cartels. In addition to corruption, the cartels themselves were greatly underestimated. Once small operations, these cartels have grown incredibly powerful and very well organized. The amount of influence these organizations hold in their respective communities also lends to their power. The cartels are now very well armed as well. Confiscated weapons include assault rifles, grenade launchers, and even antitank rockets. Nearly all of the weapons originate from the United States, which are easily smuggled across the border. The military-grade weaponry used by the cartels comes from the great surplus of American arms used in Latin American wars. The fact that the weapons used by the cartels are supplied by the United States as well as the fact that it is the demand for narcotics in the United States that fuels the drug war have been used to gain greater American intervention in this war.
-Marco Martinez
UIC Anthropology www.uic.edu/depts/anth (312) 413-3570 anth@uic.edu
SRI LANKA’S
TAMIL ACHE W
hat started as an act of linguistic pride can be viewed as the catalyst for a war that claimed the lives of over 70,000 people. In 1956, the Sri Lankan government passed the “Sinhala Only Act”, making Sinhalese the main language of the island country. While this allowed the Sinhala citizens to feel even greater national pride after gaining independence from the British, it left the Tamil-speaking minority feeling oppressed and ignored. Riots soon broke out. Soon, the Tamil people were demanding a nation of their own, to be called Tamil Eelam. When their requests were not met, rebel groups sprouted up in hopes of taking matters into their own hands. The most notable of these groups was the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, also known as the LTTE or Tamil Tigers. With foundations rooted deeply in racist ideologies and the leadership of the ruthless Velupillai Prabhakaran (who, incidentally, found inspiration in Clint Eastwood’s movie persona), the Tamil Tigers grew quickly in size and number. They won a majority vote for legislative chairs in 1977, but President JR
by Vidya Govind-Thomas
Jayewardene quickly passed legislation that prevented them from taking power. While the government eventually, albeit hesitantly, granted educational rights to the Tamil people, the Tigers viewed the move as too little and much too late. They began a murderous campaign, targeting anyone they believed to be communicating with the government against their people, including Tamil legislators. In response, the national army was ordered to massacre hundreds of Tamil people in Colombo. This massacre is viewed by many as the official start of the Sri Lankan Civil War. Intense fighting continued within the country with no end in sight. Foreign countries attempted to get involved, but eventually left as the risks greatly outweighed the benefits of staying. Civilians suffered the greatest toll, as they were casually used as weapons of war being displaced, kidnapped, raped, or murdered. These horrendous acts occurred frequently during the civil war, and it is only recently that some form of ceasefire has been achieved. In May of 2009, the Sri
Previous page: A bomb destroys a bus and all of its passengers. Right: Tamil-speaking Sri Lankans trapped in a refugee camp.
Lankan government announced that it had defeated the Tamil Tigers after over 25 years of fighting. While the end of the civil war is certainly something to be viewed as a victory, it has left an astounding number of people living in conditions no better than those available during wartime. An estimated 280,000 people have been displaced across the northern part of the country. Their final destinations are not pleasant, either.
An estimated 280,000 people have been displaced across the northern part of the country. Their final destinations are not pleasant, either. All Tamil-speaking people have been placed in refugee camps by the government. All Tamil-speaking people have been placed in refugee camps by the government. Why? They are all assumed to be possible future Tamil Tigers members, and the Sri Lankan government believes it is taking preemptive measures to assure there are no future LTTE uprisings. The result has been disastrous. The people within these camps are, quite literally, trapped. The parameters of the camps are marked by barbed wire fences, and the refugees within are constantly watched by military soldiers. The overpopulation and lack of sanitation facilities support the swift spread of disease, an added bonus to the severe lack of food and water available to the people. For example, in the Menik Farm refugee camp in northern Sri Lanka is
“home� to 74,000 people. It is reported that this land is suitable for supporting less than half that number of occupants. One would assume that the government would allow NGOs and aid agencies to enter the camps and provide the necessary supplies and support to their citizens. On the contrary, only a handful are allowed in and even these organizations struggle to comprehend the situations within the camps. Children go without proper nutrition, clothing, and shelter, of course without educational options. As the monsoon season approaches, flooding has become a highly likely option, which, coupled with the heat, will surely exacerbate disease situations. These people are being held against their will. Many have been separated from their families and are forced to live in deplorable conditions. Many people believe that they have no other options but to make the most with what they’ve got, which is hardly anything at this point. The women and children being held within these camps were never LTTE members, and it is highly unlikely that they will become gun-toting rebels anytime soon. After surviving such a brutal war for so many years, they deserve to be united with their families under the roofs of their own homes. The Sri Lankan government must allow aid agencies to help them create sustainable jobs and credit systems so that they can slowly cultivate prosperous livelihoods. More immediately, these people must be allowed to return back to their homes.
STRIVING
HARDER
The Experiences of Undocumented Students in Chicago by Daniel Schneider
O
n September 9th, 2009 President Obama gave a speech to a joint session of Congress that was televised nationally. His agenda was to appeal to Congress and the American people concerning the necessity and urgency of healthcare reform in the United States. President Obama made it clear that “the reforms I’m posing would not apply to those who are here illegally.” Immediately, Representative Joe Wilson of South Carolina shouted, “You lie!” The atmosphere in Congress went into an uproar that spread to the media in a concert of chatter and criticism. The most astonishing aspect of the media response, however, was that everyone seemed to ignore the substance of President Obama’s comment and focused on the outburst of Representative Wilson. Few seemed to care that President Obama was making a proposal that would leave 12 million people living in the United States of America without access to healthcare. In this article I wish to turn our attention in the direction that it should have gone, understanding the reality of living without documentation in the United States. For those of us studying at an urban university, this issue is of utmost importance because undocumented students constitute a part of the student population of all of Chicago’s universities. Those students hail from all parts of the world and represent every ethnic background imaginable; it is not simply an issue with Mexico. You just might even have friends who are undocumented and not even know it. Over the course of September, I interviewed two undocumented college students, one attending UIC and the other attending Depaul, and asked the question: What does it mean to be undocumented? Here is what they had to say. Many undocumented students first understand what it means to be undocumented when they are in high school and beginning to prepare for college. This is usually the first encounter that most children in the US, as individuals, have with American state bureaucracy. Supreme Court case Plyler v. Doe of 1982 made it possible for undocumented children to attend primary and secondary schools. Undocumented students can even attend public and private universities; however, it
is up to individual states to determine their eligibility for financial aid and in-state tuition. Illinois is one of only ten states that allow undocumented students residing in Illinois to pay in state tuition, but they are still prohibited from receiving financial aid. Without a social security number undocumented students cannot work to pay for college either. While describing the barriers to her university education, one of my informants said: “I feel like I was cheated…We were encouraged to do our best all the time by teachers, our parents, our friends, and then they send this message, you know, if you work hard you’re going to get rewarded…It turns out that you don’t have enough money to go to any of the colleges you want to go to.” The resources available to undocumented students are scant. There are a limited number of scholarships that do not require a social security number. These scholarships have a high volume of applicants which makes them immensely competitive. Most are also yearly scholarships and must be reapplied for with no guarantee of funding. For many these scholarships are the only opportunities available. Some undocumented students pay for college with the help of a sponsor, a documented resident who is willing to pay for all or part of the student’s education, but if no sponsor is available students have limited options. They must work hard, take noth-
Left: Students protesting in Washington, D.C. for the Dream Act. Right: Protest outside of Capitol Hill ing for granted and hope that an opportunity comes before tuition must be paid. In sum, “To be undocumented means you have to strive more than other students because you cannot receive financial aid.� Being undocumented in the US also means paying in and not receiving. There is an argument against providing a path to citizenship for undocumented Americans that they are a drain on US social services. This is simply not true. Ninety percent of the undocumented came to the US to work. They pay into the system of social services through sales and homeowners taxes, and most even pay taxes on their wages. The IRS provides an Individual Tax Identification Number that undocumented residents must use to file tax returns. It is estimated that undocumented Americans contribute seven billion dollars annually to the social security fund. The jobs that many undocumented residents can obtain provide low wages and are far outside of government oversight. This forces many
Illinois is one of only ten states that allow undocumented students residing in Illinois to pay in state tuition, but they are still prohibited from receiving financial aid. undocumented residents to be exploited in dangerous working conditions without any hope that the fruits of their labor will be returned in their old age. Obtaining access to healthcare often requires undocumented residents to surmount incredible barriers or avoid healthcare altogether. Because of structure of healthcare insurance in the US, most Americans obtain healthcare through their employers. However, lack of a social security number means that most undocumented residents are unable to obtain formal employment which would include health insurance. In response to the incredible out of pocket expense of healthcare, many undocumented residents avoid medical treatment until necessitated by a healthcare emergency. These situations lead to
costly emergency room visits and lower health outcomes, the consequences of which are carried collectively by society. The class, ethnic and racial barriers which we create for ourselves have historically failed to contain the spread of illness and disease in America. The health of undocumented residents is directly related to the health of everyone living in the US. Regardless of all the difficulties that undocumented students and residents must face in their daily lives, there is hope that a path to citizenship will be opened in the near future. This sense of hope has also translated into an astute political awareness and a call to action among undocumented residents in the US. The DREAM Act, proposed by US Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois is one legislative possibility around which undocumented residents are organizing. The DREAM Act would provide a path to citizenship for undocumented residents who graduated from a US high school, attend at least two years of college or military service, and maintain a B-average. Criticism of the DREAM Act indicate that it will benefit only a small portion of those in needed, but many supporters counter that it could be the first step towards a more comprehensive immigration reform policy. There are many suggestions for what that reform should look like, but I will offer only one. Any legislation must begin with an understanding of what it means to be human. Humans are three dimensional beings with a history, a future of possibility, the ability to critically reflect on their situation, and the ability to act to transform that situation. Comprehensive immigration reform needs to be a policy that allows people to realize their humanness instead of deny them access. Because regardless of our immigration status, we are all human.
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t is common for college students to consider them- What happens, though, when the basis for selves poor. Urban students can especially feel underprivileged residing in the same radius as some of the comparison widens? The world offers the most powerful and affluent individuals in the world. a far different interpretation of “poor” Living alongside the corporate world of Chicago mag- than the United States. does. nifies the fact that UIC students are definitely not a part of that world. It is the poor living alongside, inhaling and is defined as a country where there is “relatively the same air as the rich. low per capita income, and where most people have a lower standard of living with access to fewer goods and What happens, though, when the basis for the compari- services than most people in developed countries” (Nason widens? The world offers a far different interpreta- tional Geographic.) tion of “poor” than the United States. does. Taking an in-depth look at the world’s economy sheds new light In the research for my independent study I found that on the current economic situation of students in the US. according to the World Bank the average annual inWith the current global economic slump in mind, it is come in India per capita is approximately 23,000 ruimportant to gain a broader sense of the world. In par- pees, which is equal to a mere 464 USD per year. Acticular, it is vital to understand where American college cording to the US Census Bureau, 464 USD is less than students rank in relation to the world’s economy. half the average income of most households per week During the summer of 2008 I spent nine weeks in Delhi, India. I worked at an orphanage and a leper colony while conducting an independent study through UIC’s Anthropology department. This was my first long-term experience in a developing country. The phrase developing country can be interchanged with “third-world”
in the state of Illinois. In a survey, a random sample of UIC students were asked where they would rank themselves economically compared to the rest of the world. Essentially, if the 100% mark was the richest person in the world and 0% was the poorest, where would you place yourself in the world’s economic spectrum? The average student ranked his/her status at 54%. Inevitably
Essentially, if the 100% mark was the richest person in the world and 0% was the poorest, where would you place yourself in the world’s economic spectrum? The average student ranked his/ her status at 54%. each student’s economic situation will vary substantially; however, the general trend was to underestimate where the average student would fall.
While conducting these surveys, one student directed me to the Global Rich List’s website. This organization bases its figures on information from the World Bank Development Research Group. The Global Rich List’s purpose is essentially to help people realize their own personal wealth in relation to the rest of the world. A rough estimate of the money I have at my disposal for an entire year is about 2,600 USD. This approximation of about 50 USD per week takes into consideration the money I receive from my family
and also from random work that I do throughout the year. According to the Global Rich List’s estimation, my 2,600 USD annual income placed me as the 894,600,376th richest person in the world. That is in the top 15% of the whole world’s population.
USD per year would rank in the top 2% of the entire world. This means, essentially, that 98% of the world is poorer than an individual earning 50,000 USD per year.
Also, because the Global Rich List’s estimates are based on the statistic that the world’s population As an experiment I entered 50,000 is 6 billion, this ranking is liable to USD as the annual salary, and while be even higher. The Population Refan individual earning this amount erence Bureau states this about curcould live comfortably, they cer- rent population growth trends: there tainly would not be considered is “little growth or even decline in “wealthy” by American standards. the wealthiest countries and continHowever, according to the Rich ued rapid population growth in the List, an individual making 50,000 world’s poorest countries.” Because the poorer countries have contributed the most to the .77 billion population jump, it is logical to assume that because the United States is a wealthy country these economic percentiles will be even higher for Americans.
- Annie Neahring
by Parth Shah
poverty in india
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overty has been prevalent in India since its origination, from British rule until the 1940s to the current H1N1 outbreak. It is said that India was a powerful and rich nation before British control; one that prided itself on its wealth. After the British rule, however, even though India was victorious, much was lost and poverty spread. It is an unfortunate part of such a vibrant nation’s history with a rich culture. Even as a foreigner on an airplane lands in India, they immediately see the disparity that exists in the country. Slums line the outside of the airport, but as they take a taxi, they begin to see big condominiums near these poor areas. Statistics reveal that India has a long way to go before becoming a first-world country. According to All-About-India.com, the “World Bank estimates that a third of the global poor now reside in India and this country has a higher rate of malnutrition among children under the age of three (46% in year 2007) than any other country in the world”. These statistics are shocking and reveal the need for action to be taken. And it is not that the situation is improving either. A study done by the Wall Street Journal reveals that in “the last 15 years while China managed to reduce the number of poor by 475 million, the number of poor in India actually increased by 20 million”. While China has improved, India has continued to decline and poverty has continued to increase. Moreover, in the article “India and China: An Essay in Comparative Political Economy”, Meghnad Desai reveals that the average income in India was about the same as South Korea, which became a developing nation in 2000. Moreover, he explains that the term “Hindu rate of growth” has also been used as a derogatory term, referring to the slow growth of India’s economy, which stagnated around 3.5% from 1950s to 1980s, while per capita income averaged 1.3%. As journalist and the Rural Affairs editor for The Hindu, P Sainath describes that the level of inequality has risen to extraordinary levels, when at the same time, hunger in India has reached its highest level in decades. He also points out that rural economies across India have collapsed, or on the verge of collapse due to the neo-liberal policies of the government of India since the 1990s. However, recently, we have seen the increase in awareness of the issue at hand. The recent Oscar-winner movie, Slumdog Millionaire, highlights how important of an issue this is and has shed light on this often overlooked issue. According to the article, “‘Slumdog Millionaire’ highlights India’s forgotten poor”, “almost half of India’s children are malnourished; 1000 die every day from diarrhea; hundreds of millions have no access to proper sanitation”. The commercial success of this film has proved to have an effect on people all over the world. Hopefully, we will begin to see a greater effort towards eliminating poverty in India. It is by educating others that we will be able to see better days ahead for this nation. Congress now is taking this situation more seriously as the number of poor continues to increase. According to The Times of India, “Congress Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi said Congress was responsible for poverty in India and the houses of the poor are monuments which Congress government gifted to the country”. The awareness of the poverty present in India that has resulted has initiated action in the government and hopefully will lead to a greater effort to reducing the number of poor and eventually eliminating it.
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by Jacob Cayia
ar removed from the trendy cafés and elegant Eiffel Tower of the mythical Paris are the banlieues, a series of working-class suburbs at Paris’s periphery. Home to much of France’s growing North African and Arab immigrant populations, along with other minorities and ethnic French, the banlieues have traditionally acted as industrial labor pools for France’s manufacturing sector. As the process of deindustrialization continues across the Western world, many of the poorest banlieues have descended into a state of crisis. Unemployment has soared, schools are failing, housing tenements are crumbling, and France’s most marginalized citizens are fighting back. The spark that ignited the three weeks of flames in the banlieues came near the end of October 2005. Two minority youth, aged 15 and 17, were killed by electrocution after climbing into an electrical substation while being chased by police in an abandoned construction site in Clichy-sous-Bois, a banlieue about 10 miles east of Paris’s city center. In a community with a long history of police repression, suspicious circumstances regarding the boys’ deaths soon ballooned into an outright rage when rioting began later that night. Violence was directed towards the police and other state institutions, though many civilian cars were also targeted. The rioters, while coming from a variety of backgrounds, all shared a common misery: they were young, poor, and
without a future. Outbreaks of riots in the banlieues are no surprise for France, they’ve been occurring since the early 1990’s, but never on the scale seen in the autumn of 2005. The pervasive nature of the Internet and mass media is partly to blame for this. Word of the violence spread quickly and uncoordinated riots began spreading to banlieues across the country, eventually reaching over 300 urban areas in France alone. The riots continued well into November, lasting a total of three weeks. At the conclusion, approximately 5000 people had been arrested, martial law was declared, and hundreds of police stations, banks, schools, and other buildings were reduced to little more than a pile of charred rubble. While deaths were kept to a minimum, violent clashes between the banlieue youth and riot police occurred frequently. A state of emergency was declared for three months at the conclusion of the worst of the rioting, allowing for authorities to carry out unwarranted home and personal searches, institute curfews, censor the press, and conduct military tribunals for citizens convicted of civilian crimes. However, these draconian social measures did not apply to the whole of France, but only in specially designated “sensitive” districts - in other words, the banlieues, home of some of France’s poorest residents. The reality is stark in Clichy-sous-Bois, the epi-
Left: A man living in Chicy-sous-Bois looks up to the sky Right: A Moroccan boy is handled by the police in Paris.
center of the riots, as well as in France’s other banlieues. With endless rows of decrepit, concrete apartment high rises, Clichy-sous-Bois more closely resembles Chicago’s notorious, late Robert Taylor Homes than it does the neoclassical apartment blocks of the more well known Paris. The banlieues are overwhelmingly young, half of Clichy-sous-Bois’ population is under 25 and youth unemployment in the banlieues runs between 25 and 40%. The schools are failing too. Funding is being cut, teaching posts have been withdrawn, and some 8000 police were recently mobilized to conduct body searches and identity checks in the banlieue schools. Little is being done to remedy the root causes of the dire situation in the banlieues and the residents are slipping further into marginalization. The history of the banlieues can be traced back to the latter half of the 19th century when Baron Haussmann’s urban renovations destroyed the winding alleyways and crowded timber-frame buildings of medieval Paris and replaced them with the expansive boulevards, shopping arcades, and neoclassical buildings that are synonymous with today’s Paris. However, the lower population densities and higher rents of the new, bourgeois Paris, displaced much of the Parisian workingclass to the city’s periphery, and the small, provincial villages at Paris’s edge turned into suburbs. Until the second half of the twentieth century the banlieues were known as the “Red Belt” since they formed the electoral base for the French Communist Party, whose influence in the region has considerably waned in recent
decades. Subsequent development of banlieues began in the years following World War II. The construction boom that ensued necessitated a larger manual work force than France could supply on its own, so the country attracted immigrant laborers from abroad, especially Algeria (a French colony between 1830 and 1962). The Algerian War of Independence against French colonial rule was taking place during this time (19541962), so relations between the two populations were already strained. In 1961 a group of at least 200 Algerian demonstrators against the French occupation of Algeria were massacred by the Paris police and their bodies dumped in the River Seine, a memory that leaves a lingering bitterness for the police in the mouths of many banlieue residents. Large housing projects were built on the outskirts of large cities to house France’s immigrant laborers and the families they brought with them. At the time, the new communities inspired by Modernist architect, Le Corbusier, were championed as the future of urban development. However, after a few decades the banlieues fell into disrepair. The ensuing deindustrialization of France took away the economic livelihood of many banlieue residents, the manufacturing industry, contributing to increasing unemployment rates While the French service industry grew, many of these jobs were located in the city centers, difficult to get to from the banlieues, which suffer from inadequate public transportation. The banlieues, once celebrated as the model in housing development, soon declined into
a veritable ghetto. Government solutions to the banlieue problem have done little to address any of the underlying causes. France’s Interior Minister at the time, Nicolas Sarkozy, referred to the banlieue youth as “scum” and vowed to clean out the banlieues with a “Kärcher” . For those whom the cultural reference is lost on, Kärcher is a European brand of high pressure water hoses. The response by the media has been equally hostile. Media accounts of the riots range from blaming the violence on bored hooligans to insisting on the role of Islamic fundamentalism in fermenting the anger, riding the wave of post-9/11 anti-Islam sentiment prevalent throughout the Western world. One banlieue resident had this to say on the role race has played in the riots: “They always generalize and say it’s the blacks and Arabs, but it’s all races together, all those who live in the suburbs”. A French secret service report even confirmed this, concluding the unrest was caused by youth “with a strong sense of identity which is not based solely on their ethnic or geographic origin but on their social condition of being excluded from French society”. A closer look reveals an overtly political struggle occurring in the banlieues. Stripped of all traditional political recourses, the banlieue youth resort to the most primitive of tactics: insurrection. It may appear as if they are destroying their own communities by rioting, but their targets are strategically chosen.
especially vulnerable to exploitation in the banlieues. One resident interviewed described some of the worst conditions: “warehouses and basements where women work almost under concentration camp conditions, with no safety, no ventilation, with shifts of never less than 10 hours, under the control of physically violent and arrogant bosses”. They burn the police stations too, whose role is more akin to a foreign occupation than providing a public service. Likewise, the police feel the same way; during the unrest the chief of riot police told the media they would “reconquer these territories”, referring to the banlieues . The police did succeed in quelling the bulk of the violence, and the uprising in the The banlieues are overwhelm- banlieues was short-lived and considered over once the number of cars destroyed per night went down to 100, a ingly young, half of Clichy-sous- number considered normal in the banlieues. However, Bois’ population is under 25 and the crisis of the working-class is one that is chronic. youth unemployment in the ban- Banlieue residents still face the same problems they’ve been facing for decades and periodic rioting continues lieues runs between 25 and 40%. to occur. The most recent major outbreak occurred in November 2007. Instead of destroying their own institutions, they tar- It remains to be seen if the politics of despair get the ones that dominate and control them from afar, prevalent in the banlieues will turn into one of hope, reminiscent of the struggle against colonial rule dur- but it is clear that the discourse of banlieue politics by ing the Algerian War of Independence. They burn the no means resembles that of conventional France. The schools where they are taught the importance of liberté, neoliberal, capitalist France of the 21st Century finds égalité, fraternité in French society, ideals the banlieue itself faced with problems it may not be able to find soyouth have trouble finding evidence for. They burn the lutions to and we are once again reminded that society work agencies and state community centers that ex- is in a continual state of flux. While it may be premature ploit the desperate banlieue labor pool with low wages to declare the death of the Fifth Republic so soon, it is and long hours in unstable working conditions. Certain becoming clear things are reaching a critical mass. businesses were singled out for attack too, especially ones that, as a banlieue resident elaborated, “use illegal or semi-forced labor exclusively”. Female labor is
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The Population of India
he sun blazes overhead as I turn to pay the Rickshaw driver and thank him for his services. Nearby, I hear voices of men and women haggling with shopkeepers for lower prices. It is an intricate dance between the customer and the salesman that one can learn only through experience. Across an overcrowded street, I barely catch a glint of gold and red: the unmistakable trademark of America’s McDonald’s gives insight into a more industrialized country. My gaze wanders further down the street to a small Internet shop bubbling with people inside. Outside of snack shops, parents reach into their wallets as their children wallow in the aroma of freshly made samosas, still glistening with hot oil from the pan. This is India.
amongst the population. As of July 2009, India is home to 1.16 billion citizens and has a population growth rate of 1.55%. Studies project that, at the current rate of population growth, India will have trouble sustaining its population by the year 2045. Clearly, there is a problem.
In rural areas, families with a lower income tend to produce more children, perhaps with the mentality that a larger family will lead to a more stable lifestyle. In the past, medicine was not as advanced as it is now. With a high infant mortality rate, it made sense that couples would have more children so more could live to adulthood to care for their parents. However, as India becomes industrialized and health care advances, people But things are a little different since the last time I vis- will not feel compelled to have as many children and ited the busy streets of New Delhi. More than just the there will be a natural decrease in population growth Americanized fast-food joints and buzzing Internet ca- rate. Fewer children means fewer mouths to feed, and fes is the growing sense of change. The busy streets sometimes that can be the difference between middle of India have just gotten more crowded. The popula- and lower class. tion growth in India is a serious problem. A country has limited number of resources in terms of arable farm- Policies have been implemented in India and in other land, sanitary water, and space. In addition, the govern- countries in the past to help decrease the population ment must have the means to distribute these resources growth rate, however some of these laws have resulted
in failure in one way or another. China’s one child policy is ignored in many rural areas, and it has potential to lead to infanticide and discrimination against female children. In India during the late 1970’s, Sanjay Gandhi, then-Prime Minister, allegedly enacted a policy to force men to undergo vasectomies in an attempt to reduce the population of India. The obvious consequences of this serious misuse of governmental authority was loss of trust from the public. There are more ethical ways to decrease the population growth rate. In more industrialized regions of India, such as Mumbai, the growth rate has been slowly decreasing over the past twenty years. Studies have shown that from 1981 to 2001, the literacy rate of the Greater Mumbai area increased from 68.16% to 77.45%. In addition, the number of establishments and workers employed slowly increased from 1980 to 1998. The population growth of that area decreased from 3.28 to 1.84 (19812001). Data such as this indicates that, essentially, the real answer to India’s population problem lies in directing government resources towards improving economic development and offering health care in rural parts of India. After that, an increase in establishments for education will pave the road to reduce the population of India by offering opportunities for children to go to school, find work, and focus on keeping a smaller family. Teach people that reducing the population can be a rewarding thing for the country as a whole, and things might start to change.
-Vinod Sehgal
The Gaza Crisis
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n December 27, 2008, Israel launched “Operation Cast Lead,” a military offensive on the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory. The 22-day conflict, which ended on January 18th, 2009, between the Palestinian group Hamas and Israel resulted in a high death toll, with approximately 1, 400 Palestinians and 13 Israeli casualties. The Palestinian-Israeli conflict, particularly in Gaza, remains a complex one. Understanding the general history of the area serves in a better understanding the conflict. A Brief History: Towards the end of the First World War, the former Ottoman Arab territories were divided between Great Britain and France in what is known as the Sykes-Picot agreement. This resulted in Great Britain’s control over Palestine for the following 30 years. In 1917, Great Britain signed the Balfour
Declaration, which stated the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine, favoring the Zionist body’s demands. In the timeperiod between 1922 and 1947, Palestine was met with a large influx of Jewish immigrants, many of who were escaping persecution. In 1937, Great Britain was met with a rebellion from Palestinians who demanded independence. This resulted in tension between the Jews and the Palestinians as well. In 1947, Great Britain withdrew from Palestine and turned the Palestinian territory over to the United Nations. The United Nations proposed dividing the territory between the Jews and the Palestinians and gave 55 percent of the land to the Jewish minority. This resulted in opposition from the Palestinians, and opposition that increased with Israel’s declared independence in 1948 and its pos-
session of 78 percent of the land. The remaining 22 percent of land was possessed by Israel during the six-day war in 1967. These territories, later named the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, remained fully occupied by Israel until 2005, and experienced a number of political conflicts between Palestinians and Israelis during this time. A number of Palestinian political groups emerged with both military and political branches, including Hamas, which currently holds the majority of seats in the parliament. In August 2005, Israel enacted a “Gaza Disengagement Plan” which pulled all Israeli settlements out of the Gaza strip and pulled four settlements from the West Bank for economic reasons. The plan was completed in September 2005. Despite Israel’s withdrawal of settlements from within Gaza, Israel continues to hold considerable external power over the land populated by 1.5 million people. This power includes transportation control (land, air, and water), fuel, electricity, gas, and water. The extensive control slowly created an opposition force in the form of Hamas.
Since Hamas’ increase in power, and the increase in skirmishes between the Israeli Defense Force and Hamas, Israel has feared an arms build up on the part of Hamas. This prompted Israel to pressure Hamas to stop the smuggling of weapons, as well as rocket fire, by blockading Gaza as well as initiating air strikes on alleged tunnels that Hamas could have been using for weapon smuggling. In January 2008, Israel cut off electricity, fuel, and aid to the residents of Gaza, which the United Nations has deemed collective punishment. This made the situation extremely difficult for the residents who depend on Israel for 90 percent of its imports (according to the United Nations Development Program). This triggered violence between Hamas and Israel with Hamas launching rockets on bordering Israeli towns, particularly Sderot, and Israel initiating air strikes. As a response to the violent skirmishes between Gaza and Israel, both Israel and Hamas agreed to a six-month ceasefire on June 19th, 2008. There continued to be rockets fired by both Hamas and Israel during this period, but they decreased because of the ceasefire. Even though this decreased the incidents of violence in the area, the deep disagreement between the two groups resulted in other actions and the continuance of the blockade. This blockade posed as a problem for the United Nations whose food and medical supplies to 1.5 million Gazans were cut off as a result. In November 2008, the representative for the United Nations
Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon, called on “Israel to resume facilitating the activities of (UNRWA) ... and all humanitarian agencies, including through unimpeded access for United Nations officials and humanitarian workers.” Israel denied that the blockade prevented UNRWA from providing aid and temporarily opened the borders for the transport of 600,000 liters of fuel as well as other supplies while turning away foreign aid ships, such as those from Libya, and confiscating those aid supplies. This further increased opposition as Hamas continued to launch more rockets into Israeli territory in response to the blockade. On December 27, 2008, Israel responded to Hamas rockets by strengthening the blockade and air strikes on Gaza. According to Israe-
killing dozens of civilians.” The operation became a global worry because of the violence on both sides and the emergence of a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The United Nations labeled that situation in December 2008 and January 2009 as a “major humanitarian disaster.” United Nations official Christopher Gunness said that they were unable to bring in the necessary medical supplies to Gazans due to the blockade. Gunness stated that this was worsened by the attacks because “long, long lists of drugs and other medical supplies which in the U.S. would be considered standard in any hospital -- they’re just not available in Gaza.” Israel withdrew from Gaza on January 18th, 2009.
The operation became a global worry because of the violence on both sides and the emergence of a humanitarian crisis in Gaza li Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Israel’s objective was to “strike at the military infrastructure that Hamas has established and to take control of the areas from which most of the missiles have been fired” and stated that the operation was unavoidable. Hamas vowed to “carry on [their] fight against the operation.” Ismail Radwan, a Hamas spokesman, responded to Israel by stating “the aggression continues against our people, universities, mosques and everything that is there. The Zionist enemy targeted the houses of worship, the mosque…
- Dana Al Khaled
Transgender Outreach and Support
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n October 20, 2009, in the midst of LGBT heritage month, The University of Illinois at Chicago held a ribbon cutting ceremony for its first gender-neutral bathroom. In order to have such bathrooms installed on campus, students of the UIC Pride Organization gathered more than 3,000 signatures. Along with the help of chancellor Dr. Paula Allen-Meares, these students helped mark a year of achievement for the school’s transgender community. While many praise UIC for its diverse body of staff and students, few recognize that this diversity is based on ethnic origins, as well as sexual and gender identities. The Gender and Sexuality Center at UIC works to represent this lesser-acknowledged but equally important population of students. In the fall of 2009, the center hired four students to work specifically in the sector of transgender issues. The National Center for Transgender Equality defines
transgender as “an umbrella term for people whose gender identity, expression or behavior is different from those typically associated with their assigned sex at birth, including but not limited to transsexuals, cross-dressers, androgynous people, genderqueers, and gender non-conforming people.� With a definition this broad, it may be obvious that it encompasses people of all ages and cultural backgrounds. However, ignorance shields this fact from recognition. For example, many believe that most identify as transsexuals later in life. Yet, it is noted that children as young as fifteen months old have expressed desires to become members of the opposite sex. Also, as stated in the definition, the term transgender does not necessarily denote a sex change. Some people may choose to only inhibit certain characteristics or behaviors of the opposite sex, such as clothing and mannerisms. This is also a population that transcends geographical barriers. Transgenders hold a presence in countries such as the Netherlands, where they offer trans-related health benefits in their universal
health care plan. According to Liz Thompson, interim director of the Gender and Sexuality Center at UIC, more people identify as transgender than one may think. Many people do not openly identify themselves as transgender because of fears for their safety. In today’s society, this population is still met with discrimination that often results in hostility or violence. A 2009 report conducted by the National Coalition of AntiViolence Programs stated that hate crimes against people who identify as transgender, gay, bisexual, and lesbian are at their highest level since 1999, with at least 29 committed in 2008. The Transgender Day of Remembrance, which is held on November 20th of each year, recognizes and honors those killed from transgender-related hate crimes. This date was chosen in honor of Rita Hesser, a trans person who was murdered on November 28th, 1998. Each year, people across the nation join in candlelit vigils to reflect on her life and the many others who were lost to violence.
The trans community also faces discrimination in the legal world, which results in a lack of federal protection. Most of the laws pertaining to the transgender population are determined on a case-by-case basis. For example, states such as Ohio, Tennessee and Idaho do not allow post-operative transsexuals to amend their sex on birth certificates. Also, the lack of legislative policies also has a negative affect on this population. Twenty-nine states do not address discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation in their state laws. The Transgender Civil Rights Project, an initiative developed by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, works to provide trans-inclusive laws and policy. The project’s main goal is to increase the amount of local, federal, and state laws that prohibit discrimination based on gender identity or expression. The project’s web site provides activists with legislative, policy, and strategy assistance in order to progress such efforts. While no law prohibits transgender people from adopting children, this popula-
tion is often met with ignorance or bias from adoption agencies. The Human Rights Campaign, the largest national LBGT rights organization, lists LGBT-friendly adoption agencies on their website. When examining the harsh discrimination that transgender people face for simply being themselves, it becomes clear that support is necessary. While there are thousands of people who identify themselves as transgender across the country, support can have an extremely positive effect if focused on a smaller, local level. Within the city of Chicago, many organizations offer protection, encouragement, and friendship to the transgendered community. The Chicago Gender Society, founded in 1984, currently has about 140 members, according to the organization’s current president, Jackie Anne. Members are of all ages and come from many different paths. Anne stated that some of the members are lawyers, doctors, engineers, or individuals who hold other professional and semi-professional jobs. The diversity of this group reflects the norm of transgender communities as a whole, and this variance further affirms the fact that the people within these communities are active participants in society, just as anyone else. The Chicago Gender Society aims to end discrimination within the city through education. Each month, the organization holds lectures, or “outreaches,” at universities, schools, and churches that inform others about transgender issues. There are many other organizations throughout the city that warmly welcome members of the transgender community. One of these places is the Center on Halsted. This com-
munity center aims to address the social, cultural, emotional, educational, and recreational needs of the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) community through its vast range of programs, which fall in areas such as community and culture, mental health services, and youth outreach. The Center invites volunteers of all backgrounds to utilize their skills and experiences. Tri-Ess is another organization within the city, and it focuses on the cross-dressing population. Tri-Ess promotes full expression of personality, integration of masculinity and femininity to create a happier person, a balance between masculinity and femininity, education that aims towards acceptance of cross dressing people, and relationship building in the context of cross dressing. Within the walls of UIC, the Rain-
bow Resource Room offers a great deal of educational materials that concern LGBT topics. The room contains more than 1,000 books and 300 videos, with one section of these materials strictly devoted to transgender-related issues. The room provides a comfortable environment for LGBT students. Students are invited to do homework or just relax in this designated “safezone,� in which they find comfort in knowing that they will not be judged by the room’s staff. The transgender community is alive and thriving in all parts of the world. As stated by Thompson, one may not even be aware of the fact that there is a transgendered person in their life. Because of this fact, it is important to support these communities, and to constantly make it
known that they have a network to support them. While the organizations throughout the city offer a tremendous amount of support, these accomplishments would not be possible and cannot continue without the help and support of the greater population as a whole. -Jessi Grant
Human Rights Watch in the Democratic Republic of the Congo “One evening some soldiers came to attack us. This was in February or March 2008. They said they would kill our father. The soldiers were angry with my dad because he had stopped them from cutting down an avocado tree [as firewood].... We stayed in the living room. Two soldiers raped my bigger sister. When he had finished, he injured her with a knife at the eye, and he did the same with my brother.... Then they left. My mother brews beer and they took the money she had earned from that�(DR Congo). ~13-year-old girl, Kabare, South Kivu, April 2009
S
ince 1998, South Kivu, a province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has witnessed escalating violence against women. The violence in South Kivu is the consequence of the Second Congo War, also known as Africa’s World War. Startlingly, two years after the war ended, in 2003, the UN reported about 45,000 women as being raped in South Kivu (Congo Civil War). Congolese Military are to blame for the human right’s abuse due to scarce pay, lack of training and abysmal living conditions. The Congo Military, officially called The Forces Armes de la Republique Democratique du Congo (FARDC), is accountable for protecting the DRC. To bring about more peace, FARDC embarked on reconstructing itself after the end of the Second Congo War. Ironically, it is not even close to bringing about any peace to DRC, because the government is incredibly frail and the support organizations are poor. FARDC members have the land, air, and navy militia forces. After years of war and lack of funding, it persists to be the most volatile military in Africa. Their objective is to endow stability and security to the DRC in Africa. However, this process is hindered by the corruption that continues to thrive in the province. Since 2000, there have been over 16,000 peacekeepers in the country (Puechguirbal). Yet, the foreign rebel groups that have been in the Congo for half-a-century are still there. Two of these groups includes the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR- against which Laurent Nkunda’s, Tutsi supporter, troops are fighting) and Lord’s Resistance Army (Anti-Ugandan Group). It seems that the resolution, for this violence, the African government is trying to provide will not make a difference. Congo requires an additional powerful organization’s aid. The UN has this power, and the USA preaches its manifest destiny of democracy. Beyond any of these solutions, people initially need to be educated. The Human Rights Watch does exactly this and more. HRW is informing the nation with a 56-page documented report released on July 16, 2009, “Soldiers Who Rape, Commanders Who Condone: Sexual Violence and Military Reform in the Democratic Republic of Congo” (Soldiers Who Rape). The quandary continues to be sexual violence by the army. The quandary continues to be minimal efforts to make an impact in improving violence by the government. The quanda-
ry continues to be donor efforts to tackle the problem (Congo Civil War 1). This predicament needs serious attention and powerful people to end the violence by taking charge and punishing the guilty. In this time of bewilderment, Human Rights Watch has responded by helping people overcome apathy and providing possible solutions. HRW suggested that to end sexual violence by the army, the government should create a vetting mechanism to remove abusive officers from the army, establish a strict chain of command, improve living conditions and salaries for soldiers, and strengthen the military justice system (Soldiers Who Rape). Juliane Kippenberg, Africa researcher for Human Rights Watch’s Children’s Rights Division, explains that there is zero tolerance for rape stressed by HRW. To many African, men it is the norm. They think it is okay to rape a woman or many woman if they are working so hard during battle they think they deserve pleasure. During vunerable situations like rape, HRW movement explains to these ignorant men that women are human and just like men their rights need to be protected as well. HRW is trying to better the situation, but it is useless if the government does not prosecute commanders responsible for these heinous crimes. Kippenberg explains, that “the Congolese government, the UN and others have done a lot to support the victims of sexual violence, but less to end the permissive atmosphere that causes it” (DR Congo). Gradually, HRW brought about democratic transformations in DRC. In 1981, the American Watch was launched. Soon after, a watch community was instituted. It included Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. HRW began reporting on war laws in bombing campaigns during the Persian Gulf War around 1991. Reporting Genocides in Africa, HRW made international prosecution for abusive leaders possible for the first time in the 1990s. HRW created many unique programs to devote to HIV/AIDS pandemic, September 11th terrorist attack, and rights abused in oil, gold, and meat packing (Gettleman). Also, HRW is striving to help fight poverty. They push the government, international funds, and institutes to put in Human Rights concern into their economic development strategies. In 1997 the organization was granted a Nobel Peace Prize for Campaign to Ban Landmines. HRW educates people via statistical research, satellite photography, bomb-data analysis, and other approaches. They also talked to the abused, witnesses, advo-
cates, journalists, experts and government officials to examine larger dilemmas. These resources help build a case to obtain changes in law or policy to “empower local activism and put name on unidentified abusive behavior� (Congo Civil War). The Status quo of HRW is strong and increasingly helpful by the day. Its main headquarter is in NY (led by Kenneth Roth) and branches with multiple offices around the world. There are 275 full time staff members, who monitor 80 countries worldwide. HRW is a strictly non-government organization. Thus, they are funded by private individuals and funds worldwide. HRW called upon Hilary Clinton to urge the government(s) of Africa to hold liability to those people who committed human rights abuse. Besides using media, television, radio, and news reports, HRW is doing a tremendous job informing (which is the best start to solving a problem) people of the crisis. Now, as more of the nation, US, is being informed, the US realizes it truly wants to promote Africa as a place of great opportunity. Although, Africans will be unable to realize their potential if their human rights are denied (US). Around July 2009, Secretary Clinton announced
that she will go on a eight-day trip to Africa to make this clear. While HRW was in DRC they urg[ed] the prosecution of all military personnel, regardless of rank, who have committed serious human rights abuses, particularly sexual violence (US). Not only have they informed a global community, Clinton, HRW has provided numerous solutions: made Africans aware that they have rights, informed the Congo militia. Tens of thousands of girls and women in eastern Congo have been raped. While some low-ranking soldiers have been prosecuted for such offenses, not one senior commander has been brought to account (US). It has been 11 years that this violence has continued; HRW is trying to stop human rights abuse, so no more 13 year old girls witness atrocities on themselves or their families. Donate, stay informed, or join HRW to take action to stop human rights abuse on anyone especially women and children (who are most vulnerable to it). We, women and men, are all human, and we all have human rights that need to be respected!
-Deepali Darji
cheap at a
W
high cost
here do Mardi-Gras beads come from? A very common necklace, especially popular every March, and yet many don’t know where they come from. Well, the answer is most likely a sweatshop in China. Girls have spent painstaking hours working to make a necklace we throw around and take for granted. Sadly, most people don’t even preoccupy their minds for a second to think about where the necklaces are made, because they don’t care. I confess to this myself. Last year, as I was cleaning out my closet, I threw a handful of these cheap necklaces in the trash, which I had accumulated over the years randomly. I wasn’t exposed to what was really going on until I took a sociology class here at UIC. Now, I fully understand the meticulous work that goes into making something as simple as a beaded necklace. Sweatshops are quite common in China, among other areas in the world. There, mainly girls work in these big factories for little wages. They do the same redundant tasks everyday, from coloring the beads to attaching them one by one. After viewing a couple of documentaries, I have learned that these ma-
chines are quite dangerous. If one doesn’t pay attention, he or she can lose a finger or damage a limb. The sweatshop owners, often times Chinese citizens themselves, find no guilt in running these sweatshops. One was quoted to saying that if he didn’t do it, someone else would. Honestly, his statement is true. Neo-liberal economics is the reason why sweatshops persist. Big companies want to make the most profit possible, at any cost. “At any cost” means cutting a fifteenyear-old’s already measly wages if she doesn’t meet her daily quota. It means separating preteens from
It’s amusing when people say they’re against sweatshops, but then buy really cheap “Made in China” products.
their families for extended periods of time to live in “camps” near the factories. By camps I mean cramped quarters that are conveniently located near the factories, which are governed by strict rules imposed by the factory owners. So much is sacrificed to make many of our daily goods, not just Mardi-Gras beads, in this country including clothing, toys, technology, and pretty much affect every aspect of our lives. It’s amusing when people say they’re against sweatshops, but then buy really cheap “Made in China” products. One doesn’t realize that the ten dollar jeans he or she buys are actually produced in sweatshops. These products have become so immersed in our daily lives, that it almost feels as though we can’t live without them. However, at what expense should we have these things? Are those ten dollar jeans really worth forcing a kid in China to work for fifty cents an hour, which in reality is more than they are actually paid?! It’s easy to say “yes” to closing sweatshops, but can we really live with the consequences? That means we’d have to pay more for many goods, such as clothing and even food. Personally, I’d be willing to make the sacrifice, for it is inhumane to make people work like slaves for products that can be produced by other means, but is an end really near? Probably not. Companies are not willing to lower their prices and consumers aren’t happy about paying more for goods. Consequently, it looks like sweatshops will be sticking around for a while. The sad thing about sweatshops is that they
Personally, I’d be willing to make the sacrifice, for it is inhumane to make people work like slaves for products that can be produced by other means, but is an end really near? Probably not. aren’t a necessity within society. They are convenient, however. Who doesn’t like paying five dollars for a tee-shirt? Yet, one needs to think of the impact it has outside of our society. I would rather pay a little more to have a child make reasonable wages to be able to live a normal life than pay a couple of bucks less for an item I can live without. We students can make a difference by choosing to not buy certain products, or at least not take them for granted. Since that Society 100 class here at UIC, I have not looked at Mardi-Gras beads in the same way. We need to appreciate what we have, for there are those that have to live with so much less at our expense, and that should not be forgotten.
-Marija Bulatovic
Left: Workers slave away in a facotry in China.
Featured Article the
haitian disaster: A COUNTRY’S DEVASTATION
by Sydney Mayer
H
aiti, the western part of the island of Hispaniola and southeast to the United States, is one of the poorest and underdeveloped countries in the world. Haiti’s long history, beginning with its discovery by Christopher Columbus in 1492, is filled with turmoil as other countries exploited its land, specifically Spain, for its abundance in gold. Additionally, Haiti became a major stopping point for African slaves who were subjugated for their labor. After hundreds of years of oppression by the Spanish, British, and French and as its indigenous people died out due to diseases brought over from Europe, the Haitians fought back. Their fight last-
ed from the 1790s to 1803 when the Battle of Vertières led to the slave’s victory over France, the country that has developed Haiti into a French-Creole speaking island. Despite their eventual freedom and independence in the later 1800s, Haiti continued to suffer from great poverty, disrespect, political corruption and exile from other countries including the United States. In addition to man-made difficulties thrust upon the country, Haiti has suffered greatly at the hands of nature. Two of the most recent natural disasters to hit Haiti are the 2004 Hurricane Jeanne and the 2008 tropical storm Hanna. Hurricane Jeanne ripped through the country, flooding
coastal towns and killing more than 3,000 people. The majority of the hurricane hit Gonaives, a major port city. The hurricane left thousands within the coastal city without food for weeks. Four years later, tropical storm Hanna, described as a “catastrophe” by BBC News, hit Haiti hard, leaving 600,000 people in need of aid due to the lack of resources like food, clothing, and clean water. While only about 200 people died as a result of the three storms in twenty-one days in comparison to the thousands in 2004, it left hundreds of thousands homeless. Nothing, however, can compare to the latest disaster Mother Nature has brought to Haiti. On January 12, 2010, a devastating earthquake hit the island, wreaking havoc upon the land, its people and specifically on its capital city, Port au Prince. The damage that has been done is catastrophic, as 50,000 to 200,000 are feared to be dead according to the New York Times. The capital has been reduced to rubble and dead bodies. Buildings like the beautiful, white Presidential Palace and the port area of the island has been demolished from the 7.0 magnitude earthquake. In addition to the collapsing of the major buildings and homes throughout the city, the civilians who have weathered years of low living standards and various natural disasters are now living in a morgue. For days
The damage that has been done is catastrophic, as 50,000 to 200,000 are feared to be dead according to the New York Times. The capital has been reduced to rubble and dead bodies. after the earthquake, witnesses on the island said they could hear screams and pleas for help from those stuck under the rubble. Port au Prince has been described as a morgue because now, as bodies are being recovered, and there is no time to give them a proper burial, the bodies are simply left in the streets, some covered by sheets, others left bare and exposed to the Haitian heat which can go rise to above 80 degrees Fahrenheit in January. While the dead remain in the open, the living continue to try to survive in the elements. In the wake of this disaster, looters have run rampant through the streets, stealing whatever they can find and trying to monopolize the streets coming into Port au Prince. This has become a large problem as many people are being victimized by these looters and criminals, and there is little help that can be provided to alleviate. The country continues to suffer in the aftermath of the earthquake
and the subsequent aftershocks brought more pain and suffering to its already desolate land, but there is light at the end of the tunnel as the world bands together to make sure that Haiti and its civilians know that they are not alone. News of the extreme damage caused by the earthquake in Haiti flowed out to the rest of the world quickly. Almost immediately, countries stepped up to send as much aid as they could spare, including the United States and Canada. Doctors from Florida were among the first to arrive. Many stayed more than a week to try and bring relief. President Barack Obama has pledged America’s full support of Haiti through donations, humanitarian assistance, and rescue efforts. Additionally, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said that while an outlined plan to create more economic stability in Haiti through job creation and a complete upheaval of its failing economy had already been drawn up at the United Nations (UN), the plan will just have to be adjusted to accommodate the destruction caused the quake. Obama has also signed a bill that will allow taxpayers to use any donations sent to Haiti as a deductible from their 2009 taxes. However, it is not just the governments of countries that have been providing aid. Hollywood actors and musicians like George Clooney and Taylor Swift banded together to raise almost $58 million by the ‘Hope for Haiti’ telethon and concert, all of which will be sent to Haiti and its people. Americans and Canadians have begun adopting and bringing young Haitian orphans to their home countries where they will be raised away from the pain of their home country. Telephone companies like AT&T now allow their customers to send a text message to 90999 to add $10 to their phone bill that will be donated for the Haitian Relief Fund. This has already raised about $22 million, and the numbers continue to rise. Haiti itself is still suffering greatly from the tragic natural disaster that has killed thousands and brought the city of Port au Prince to its knees. Some have said it will take a decade to pull the country out of the hole it is currently in, but nations around the world have promised to continue to provide help and ensure that Haiti and its resilient people are never alone in their fight to survive and move on.
How to Help Focolare Movement - Get involved in the focolare movement at the local office located at 5001 South Greenwood Avenue, Chicago, IL. Braille Now - In class, provide notes for students with visual disabilities that require help understanding material. Volunteer at organizations that support promoting Braille literacy, such as Perkins International. A Secret Weapon of War - Visit http://www.invisiblechildren.com/helpNow/moreWaysToHelp and http://www.helpchildsoldiers.com/ to see an array of ways to get involved and help out. You can help spread the word to raise awareness in a variety of ways or even start an Invisible Children club Let Them Eat Cake - Create a local campaign to raise awareness about the Zimbabwe dictatorship-like rule. Read more about Zimbabwe politics online Darfur: The Dark Road - Help raise awareness by hosting an event or submitting videos or posts to your local government representatives. Visit sites such as http://www.24hoursfordarfur.org/main.php, http://www.care.org/careswork/emergencies/sudan/, and http://www.savedarfur.org/ for more specific information about how to get involved Disability Rights - If it is evident that those who are disabled are prevented from performing an activity that others can, then alert the proper authorities in attempt to remedy the situation. Donate to charities that support independent living for the disabled, such as the Leonard Cheshire Disability Foundation. Human Trafficking - Research organizations like Polaris Project, the Not for Sale Campaign and the Project to End Human Trafficking to see how you can get involved. Jobs, fellowships, volunteering programs and informational resources are available at these organizations’ websites Iranian Election - Write to local and national government officials about the issue. Paradise Lost - Donate to the Kashmir International Relief Fund at www.kirf.org International Adoptions - Convince those who are considering abortion to look into alternative solutions (such as international adoptions) as well. Try and become more involved with institutions such as Children’s Hope International. Mexico’s War on Drugs - Alert local governmental officials about your feelings concerning Mexican drugs. Try to contribute time and effort to associations that are dedicated to resolving this issue. Sri Lanka’s Tamil Ache - Expose more of the population to this issue considering it is a very low-key issue in the global landscape. Striving Harder - Write to local and national government officials in order to get an act similar to the DREAM act or something similar to that passed to help undocumented students. Perception of Wealth - Donate money to organizations like LifeCorps. Visit http://www.charityguide.org/volunteer/poverty.htm to find ways to volunteer in these relief efforts. Poverty In India - Donate to charities that are committed to aiding those below the poverty line in India (eg: Global Giving). Assist groups that hope to diminish the hardships brought about by low incomes. The Crisis Revealed - Raise awareness about social disparities between ethnic groups in France on campus. The Population of India - Become more aware of safe-sex and condoms. Encourage more adoptions from India Gaza Crisis 2008 - Read more about the Gaza Crisis to make yourself more aware of the ongoing situation in Gaza at http://www.savethechildren.ca/ en/emergencies/gaza-crisis-09, and many other sites across the web. Donate money to a relief fund to help children in Gaza earn an education Transgender Outreach and Support - Help organizations in local communities that deal with transgender issues, including the Chicago Gender Society and Tri-Ess. Refrain from utilizing socially acceptable pejoratives (eg: “That’s gay). Human Rights Watch in the Democratic Republic of the Congo- Raise awareness about domestic abuse, and sexual harassment in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Also, you can donate to http://www.supportunicef.org/site/pp.aspx?c=9fLEJSOALpE&b=1408161 . Cheap at a High Cost - Be more aware of the goods that you are buying because some may actually be produced in sweatshops around the world. Take more sociology classes at UIC to better expose yourself to this serious issue Haitian Disaster - Donate to the American Red Cross as the proceeds aid the relief effort in Haiti. Volunteer through organizations such as International Service Learning (ISL).
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