Making the Invisible, Visible: The first step to putting an end to Human Trafficking

Human trafficking, a world wide crime spreading around the world like a disease. This horrifying crime         is very illegal in every country in the world. People are trafficked everyday and people are not paying much attention to it because they don't know that this is happening. People are sold to others to do work without pay which is plain sinful. People are trafficked involuntary and are usually tricked. Human trafficking is the process of selling a human being which are often female that are slaves and work

This is important to me because this is people who are forced to work

The Fight Against Apartheid

“For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others. “ (Nelson Mandela)

There is a lot of racism in this world which causes conflict and even war. Also take South Africa for an example which was colonized by the british and the dutch. The english and dutch government introduced apartheid(racial segregation), and treated the whites as more superior than the blacks. Everyone at that time tried to separate the blacks from the whites. Nelson Mandela, an ordinary black South African was a man who fought for his rights and his people’s rights. One day, he joined an anti-apartheid group. This group was called ANC (African National Congress). But the government did not approve and Mandela was put in jail for his actions.


Racial segregation in South-Africa was a big problem. Racial segregation was when the blacks were separated from the whites because of the different skin colors. Later, the South-African government divided the people into three races which was later called apartheid. Apartheid was unfair treatment of the different people other than whites. Some examples are that the children were separated from school and that there was separate stores for blacks and whites. The blacks were not allowed to have the right to sit in the front of the bus. This treatment was unfair because they were just like any of us just being controlled around because of their skin color. The black people were contributing in the country as much as the white people but still the black people were not allowed to be part of being in charge or being allowed to make any rules. Making decisions, they just had to accept what the white man told them. The black people outnumbered the white people in South-Africa by many times but still they had no rights. The black tried many different ways in the system to get equal rights but had little success against the strong white government until the ANC group was created. ANC was a big group of black people who wanted to make a change in their country by going against apartheid. They were given a lot of support from the black community and in this way, the black people became much more powerful standing together instead of being alone. One of the leaders ANC was Mandela. Luckily, ANC was given internasional support by many countries. In that way, ANC could put more pressure on the white government for their equal right with backing and support from many other countries.


Before Mandela’s long imprisonment, he was put in prison for five years for leading workers to strike and to illegally leave South-Africa. While Mandela was in prison, the leaders of ANC were arrested. Mandela was put on the Rivonia trial. The Rivonia trial was when the ten leaders of ANC were guilty for doing 221 crimes of sabotage. Nelson Mandela was one of the leaders. He was charged with 27 years imprisonment because he was guilty of treason and he had done crimes of sabotage. Mandela was imprisoned on Robben Island.


In 1990, Mandela was released from Robben Island. Anti-apartheid groups and ANC were not banned from South-Africa anymore. This was declared by State President F. W. de Klerk. These news were broadcasted around the whole world. On the same day, Mandela had created a speech. He said that he would make peace with South-Africa’s white minority. When Mandela did this, he created peace with the black and white people and he made it possible for the black people to vote for the elections as well.


So the question is, was this really worth fighting for? Yes. This was something definitely worth fighting for. The reason why is because South-Africa has earned their equal rights and the people are equally valued. Now, they are not separated from the whites and they now live in peace with each other. This is what ANC and Mandela accomplished. This did not only change South-Africa but also the whole world and their new understanding of what racism really is and how cruel it is. All Mandela did to accomplish this was by sticking with what he was believing in and by fighting for his rights.

Baruani- Children For Children

                                     
Refugee camps are found all over the world. Usually they are a result of war or fighting between groups of people. Those in refugee camps often have little or no personal belongings and rely on outside help to survive. There are over 100,000 people in Tanzania living in refugee camps. There are so many people in the world that have everything they need, but there are also people who have lost everything. The refugee camps are an example of this. Not only is it difficult to survive but many times those in camps are separated from family. This is exceptionally hard for children who are not with their parents. Another problem is that once a person is in the camp, it is hard to get out. Baruani, a boy from the Republic of Congo has experienced all this. His family was killed in a fire when their home was burned down. He fled Congo and went to a refugee camp in Tanzania. When he was 10, he decided to help others who were having problems like his by creating a radio show that solved others problems.

Baruani has been through a lot of difficult things in his young life. At only 5 years old he experienced the death of his family, and was put in a refugee camp in Tanzania. Due to problems he experienced in the refugee camp, Baruani started a radio show and a refugee parliament. Baruani’s stories that were aired on the radio focused on getting people to understand how bad it is to live in the refugee camps. Therefore, he wanted to help bring children separated from their families together and also give them a  voice to tell their stories. He wanted to help other children who had similar experiences, to express their concerns. Baruani said, "It's my greatest wish that through radio, children all over the world will raise their voices and speak up so that their rights will be respected everywhere"(Baruani ENG). Baruani has been very helpful to the people in Tanzania. He has given the children in the refugee camps in Tanzania “a voice”. Due to the popularity of his radio-show, it also aired in Congo, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi and has helped the people there too.  


Baruani has really understood the meaning of being in a refugee camp and what is going to happen through his years there. “Growing up in refugee camps means growing up with no future” (Baruani ENG).  Baruani claims that if people stay in the refugee camps, they will never leave it and will never have a future outside in the “real world”. That is why Baruani chose to do something with his life, to try to change this. He chose to make the radio show and let the children in his camp tell their stories. Since this was broadcasted widely, he managed to help many children. Baruani received the Childrens Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 for his work, and has now managed to make a life for himself outside the refugee camp.   

Baruani, who has had first-hand experience with losing family and fleeing to a refugee camp in another country, is trying to solve other people’s problems using the radio. He has lived through the past nine years as a miserable boy because he has had no family and no future looking for him. When he turned ten, a lot of things changed. He started his radio-show and helped others with the same pain as him. He did this for others because he cares. He pushed the past behind him and started a new and fresh beginning by creating the radio show and solving problems for others which makes him happy.

I am from The Past

I am from video games, TV series. From Super Mario and Zelda. From old toys, Mickey Mouse and Biker Mice. I am the silence on the street where there are no sounds but you. 50,000 strong, Sandefjord. From riverbanks behind the backyard. From a cottage, perfect sized. From tall mountains, tiny rivers surrounding us with tranquility. From a snowflake waiting to become rain. From a sun that barely rises-winter! A cold wind that appears often-depressing. From countryside and urban. From the gleaming ocean showing its beauty to every member land and sea.

Poem Questions

What does this poem mean to you?

I think this poem means that this person Sonia shared a bond with was gone at the end because he was to die. Now, Sonia has lost a person she really shared something with and it is obvious that he is alive because he has been gone for many years.

What questions does it raise for you?

I think this poem means that even though people can be different from their religion or skin color, they can always have some sort of bond which will make them be friends. I think that this poem is also saying that friendship can last forever, even if the person is with you or without you, dead or alive.

I agree

I agree that victims have either no options or limited options. I believe because I have been a victim myself and I never have any options than ignoring it. The other reason I agree is because I dont think that you can do anthing about something than avoiding it and if it becomes worse then I believe that you have limited options. If it for example is a bully that is bullying you until you have had enough, you don't have so many options because if you tell a teacher or parent or someone else, after they have talked to him/her, they might bring many people and beat you up really badly. I believe this because some of these things have happened to me before and I told a teacher and it got worse. That is why I agree that victims either have no options or just a few.

The Eternal Jew

This was created in 1933 by David Pinsk. The Eternal Jew is a poster and a book. The Nazis were the people sending this message. This picture means that all jews are ugly and horrifying. The creator is probably a part of the Nazi party and he is trying to tell that you dont want to be like this man. I think all the men and women would be proud of themselves for being German and that they are following Hitler and not being the Jew.