February 2014 by TwittNick

ISSUE #02 // FEBRUARY 2014 !

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WELCOME! 1 NEW MESSAGE FROM TWITTNICK: Today I declare February 2014 Issue #02 of the TwittNick Magazine. I want to thank each and every one of you who continue to read my online magazines and those who make the effort to contribute to this project. Without you, this wouldn’t be possible today.

2014 started out to be a great year and I’m sure we all have goals that we want to achieve. Let nothing stop you, because you are capable of doing anything if you set your mind to it. All it takes is passion, love, patience and motivation.

Lets take a look at what’s happening inside the magazine. Turn the page. TWITTNICK 2014 // TWITTNICK MAGAZINE.

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DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO HAS A GUN AND MIGHT USE IT? PREVENT GUN VIOLENCE IN TORONTO // TEXT “TOR” PLUS YOUR MESSAGE TO: 274637 ANONYMOUSLY.

CRIME STOPPERS  1-800-222-8477 222TIPS.COM

“if you can Prevent the trigger from being pulled, You will save more than just one life.” - Nicholas Maharaj

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“Leave your expensive valuables at home where they’ll be safe and out of criminal sight.” - twittnick.

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Spring is just around the corner…

A page dedicated to youths and ! adults which will provide helpful tips on how to seek a healthy and non-abusive relationships.

It’s sad that many people experience, expect, and even accept relationships that are unhealthy. This is an issue that some teens and adults face and it is important that we raise awareness on recognizing healthy relationships. We must stand together and put an end to abusive relationships.

Remember in any relationship you should:

• Need to feel safe at all times. • Need to express your own ideas and say no to what makes you uncomfortable. • Aren’t responsible for another person’s actions. • Never deserve to be abused in any way.

! !

do you know what makes a healthy relationship?

• Mutual respect • Trust • Honesty • Support • Fairness/equality • Separate identities • Good communication • A sense of playfulness/fondness

Each relationship needs to be maintained and it takes effort to be successful. This applies to all relationships: work relationships, friendships, family, and romantic relationships. A healthy relationship should bring more happiness than stress into your life. Every relationship will experience some level of stress at times, but you would want to avoid prolonging mental stress with your partner. I'm sure that we don't need relationship stress because we have enough life stresses to worry about!

Below are some characteristic that maybe present in your healthy relationships. While in a healthy relationship you:

• Take care of yourself and have good self-esteem independent of your relationship • Maintain and respect each other's individuality • Maintain relationships with friends and family (Some may have different opinions about this. If you want to make your relationship public then do it, if you don't then don't.) • Pursue hobbies, interests, and activities apart from one another • Are able to express yourselves to one another without fear of consequences • Are able to feel secure and comfortable • Take interest in one another’s interests • Do not worry about the potential for violence in the relationship • Trust each other and maintain honesty in the relationship • Have the option of privacy • Have respect for sexual boundaries • Accept influence. Relationships are give and take; allowing your partner to influence you is important • Resolve conflict fairly: Fighting is part of even healthy relationships; the difference is how the conflict is handled. Resolving conflict is an important skill that will help you have healthier relationships. (Physical abuse does not hold any key out the door. You need to control and have respect. Look forward to the consequences.)

WHAT ARE THE SIGNS OF AN UNHEALTHY RELATIONSHIP? !

At times all relationships will have some of the below characteristics. However, unhealthy relationships will have these characteristics more frequently and cause you stress and pressure that is hard to avoid.

! While in an unhealthy relationship you: !

• Put one person before the other by neglecting yourself or your partner • Feel pressure to change who you are for the other person • Feel worried when you disagree with the other person • Feel pressure to quit activities you usually/used to enjoy • Notice one of you has to justify your actions (e.g. where you go, who you see) • Notice one partner feels obligated to have sex or has been forced • Have a lack of privacy, and may be forced to share everything with the other person • You or your partner refuse to use safer sex methods • Notice arguments are not settled fairly • Experience yelling or physical violence during an argument • Attempt to control or manipulate each other • Notice your partner attempts to controls how you dress and criticizes your behaviours • Do not make time to spend with one another • Have no common friends, or have a lack of respect for each others’ friends and family • Notice an unequal control of resources (food, money, home, car, etc.) • Experience a lack of fairness and equality.

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Will you  be my Valentine?

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FEBRUARY, 14, 2014

! !

TWITTNIÂŠK Was nominated for a 2014 Shorty Award for Activism.

Visit ShortyAwards.com/TwittNick to cast your vote today. Deadline

Behind the scenes of the

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FEBRUARY 2014

Happy Birthday

Nicolette Seecharan

MISS West Indian Canadian Fifth Runner Up

TWITTNIÂŠK

SHANIQUA MAXWELL

Is it not funny that you think you know what's best for somebody yet you're what's worst for them? Wow, having priorities for the wrong thing can really change a person. That's why I choose to be alone and care less. Why? Because it's easier than breaking faces and souls. How can you take what's not yours and use it for something that's not reasonable. I'm just getting fed up, then people say I'm in the wrong. How am I wrong? For feeling how I feel? For explaining my actions and speaking my mind? Since when was it a crime? Smiling in every ones face like everything is fine, but there's nothing fine . I tell myself to move on, and I have just a little bit, but I know deep down inside the way I feel won't go away and I don't

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People tried protecting you from the things you didn't need to be protected from. Isn't it funny how people think they're doing the best things to and for you yet its actually not.

connect with us !

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@TWITTNICKMAG on twitter.

We are accepting all talented individuals for the month of March 2014.

@JSITAA ON TWITTER !

JANKI DESAI Aspiring   Freelance   Model

FEB 3-9

CAR  POOL WEEK

2014

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Drink And Drive.

“One thing that I’ve learned is to never give up. No matter how bad the situation may be. It takes time, patience, effort and most of all motivation. This is a message to tell you to never give up.”

- Nicholas Maharaj

WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/TWITTNICK    WWW.TWITTER.COM/TWITTNICK   WWW.THETWITTNICK.WORDPRESS.COM

Getting to know Nerissa Persaud !

Nerissa spent much of her childhood in Georgetown, Guyana. Born and raised in the only English speaking county in South America, a former British Colony. The transition from a traditional disciplined school system was not easy within her first years of entering a different school system but it has allowed her to excel academically. Upon graduating with Honours from both Middle and High School, Nerissa began her post-secondary education at the University of Guelph- Humber. Currently pursuing a Bachelors of Applied Science degree in Justice Studies with a diploma in Law Security and Administration, she passionately takes a firm affinity towards matters pertaining to Law and the Justice System. With the belief that education is a major part of enhancing any individualsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; life, she advocates for the pursuant of a post-secondary education among all youth. After travelling and obtaining rapport towards with various diversities and diasporas. she hopes to one day focus much of her time and effort into domestic and international philanthropy work.

The Transformation of Traditional Policing within Our Society. - Nerissa Persaud

Traditional Policing, gains much of its structure from that of an earlier reactive approach. Historically, the emphasis from policing was mainly focused on enforcing the law. Enforcement of the law meant that the traditional reactive approach of such a policing system would respond to crime after its occurrences and structure much of its resources and time around patrolling, investigating, responding to calls, and making arrests. Within many aspects of traditional policing, police officers are seen or even feared as “crime fighters” and “enforcement officers”. However, within recent years there has been an evident shift from traditional reactive to a more proactive approach in policing.

Community Policing has contributed to a pivotal change in society’s perspective of police. Police Officers are no longer seen as the aforementioned fearful crime fighting, law enforcing constabulary but rather they are recognized as allies of the community who are proactively working towards the prevention of crime. Such recognition has contributed to a positive view of policing as communities have steadily begun collaborating with law enforcement agencies. Since fear of both police and crime in itself exists, policing agencies have been working to eliminate such negative representations. Newer approaches to policing have exhibited improved crime- control strategies to reduce fear of law enforcement officers, reduce fear of crime and improve the lifestyle of residents within their communities.

A united stance for crime prevention and intervention is absolutely vital in creating more self-sufficient communities where all law abiding members can share a sense of security. Perhaps the most important aspect of community policing stems from the inclusion of all community members and institutions who share the common goal of safe-guarding the welfare of their community. The increasing balance of traditional methods combined with that of proactive community initiatives is steadfastly becoming the new face of policing, one which can gain a positive entirety a strengthen bond between communities and policing agencies.

-Rumaisa

Don't be fooled by how the world sees her. For she continues to drown in a world of her own, it's just a blur.

For it doesn't matter how many men admire her. She too, strolls the streets alone at dusk like Casper.

She can feel their desire for her burning in them like a flaming coal. But for once, she wants them to dismiss the thought about her body and touch her soul.

Perfect on the outside but empty inside. She continues to run away and hide. All her fans They merely want one chance, one dance. Sometimes silence is the loudest scream. As jolly on the outside she may seem.

Little do they know she too gets lonely. Keep wondering why she always feels so empty.

Strong woman, but not a single soul knows the real her. But, don't be fooled by how the world sees her

Put an end to abusive relationships.

SPEAK UP.

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TXT. DRIV3 DI3. This is a personal service announcement    DONT TEXT AND DRIVE. ITS AGAINST THE LAW. $155 FINE #ONTARIO

How to build a long lasting relationship.

ME Rotate the M 180 degrees.

need each other. Happy Valentines Day from N&N.

Human-Made Trauma â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Effects of War & Displacement on Women

nfortunately war, geo-political aspirations and military institutions have

exponentially evolved as with the frequency of humanitarian crises and human rights violations across the world. Apart from the anticipatory military/civilian casualties, infrastructure destruction and environmental degradation by militaryrelated weapons of warfare, there are also significant, gendered and somewhat under-researched social, cultural and health (i.e. physiological, mental, etc) implications which are experienced differently amongst various communities in society. Sadly however because of assumptive patriarchal influence and “hypermasculinity” that exist within most cultures/societies today, women and young girls are disproportionately represented and marginalized in terms of access to resources, in times of military occupation. In addition, the cessation and/or collapse of socio-cultural structures and systemic institutions, in times of war, results in situations where women and/or young girls are “deliberately targeted and disproportionately harmed”, often times vulnerable enough to be victims of poverty, prostitution, human smuggling, sexual exploitation, torture and/or rape. Even within the military establishment, brothels and/or “comfort stations” are seen as “war supplies” and is tolerated and sometimes encouraged. This gendered abuse transcends age, class, education, employment, skills, income etc. Female military officials are frequently subjected to sexual abuse which is legitimatized by senior male military personnel and more often goes unreported, undocumented and unpunished. Furthermore, the landscape and strategy of warfare has altered to target and devastate the infrastructure, economy and civilians, even though this is opposite of the recommendations made by the United Nations (UN) at the Hague Convention (1907) and the Geneva Convention (1949). Women are subjected to substantial physical and emotional afflictions at the hands of their male partners, in addition to male aid workers who exploit their employment position of granting access to resources such as food, shelter and/or drinkable water in exchange for sexual favours. Along with the internalized guilt and shame, especially for widowers with children who are financially limited and forcefully obliged to prostitute in order to feed their children, there is the numerous health implications and social stigmatization/labelling.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), health is beyond the simple absence of disease. It includes a physical, mental and social well-being which is constituted by dependable livelihood, education, sense of control and a state of social peace. In times of war, women are viewed as the primary caregiver for children and the elderly. This translates into disintegration, whether it is dropping out of school and/or gaining employment, but also an increased susceptibility to infectious diseases, HIV/AIDS, cervical cancer etc.

Finally, much has been achieved in the past 30 years in terms of bringing awareness and exposure to the continuum of violence against women, however much more needs to be done. The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) along with many other human rights organizations are questioning the domestic abuse, socio-cultural stigmatization and health implications of women, while simultaneously challenging the systematic disregard for gender equity and data collection in times of armed conflict. They are also advocating for programs/services to educate and support women/young girls in cultures where their duties are stereotypically domesticated.

By: Ravi Rampersaud

THANK YOU FOR READING