Education Crisis in South Africa

  

                        


-Zara :)

In the Depths of the Slums:

 Mayra Avellar Neves's Fight for Her Favela

The Rocinha favela is home to more than twenty five hundred thousand brazilians. But’s that just one of the many favelas in Brazil. And living in favela, in Rio de Janeiro, is hard as it is, everyone lives off what they can scrape up. Sanitation, education and work is very scarce in these favelas. These favelas are known for their vicious drug lords, but people are unaware of the other innocent and miserable residents. Mayra has had the misfortune of being born into her extremely dangerous favela. Even though she lives with unstable conditions, Mayra still has faith for a better future for her and the other youths of her favela. To show recognition of their rights, she marched a community march, when she was only fifteen, among many of the other children of the favela, for peace, human rights and education.

Mayra fights everyday for the human rights of the people in the favela, for their rights don’t seem to be acknowledged. Her favela has been labeled as the poorest and the most violent, in all of Rio.With constant conflicts between the drug cartels and the police, where some of the innocent citizens get caught in the crossfire and hurt themselves. She stated that many have already died from these fights. ‘The people in my favela are accustomed to the violence that claims thousands of human lives each year.’(2) When the clinic staff lost access to the favela, even more people were at the risk of dying because there was no way to treat them back to health if they got injured. Mayra stepped into help when the police cut the favela off because of the high risk the drug lords put on the rest of the city. ‘Last year she organised another march, this time appealing to everybody in the favela and elsewhere to stand up for the fundamental rights of slum dwellers.’(1) This march focused on helping the people in the favela who don’t have enough facilities to survive in a healthy manner, and were forgotten in the depths of the favela, especially the children who bring the future. ‘ “Everybody has a part to play in improving human rights, in particular the rights of children as the future generation. We can and must stand up for these children, whose rights are being violated and whose lives are at risk.” ’(2) Mayra stands up for these children in the favela, because she is one of them, and knows exactly what it is like to live in a favela.Their rights is one of the things that they have privileges they are deserve to have.

Hundreds of children lacked access to education in Mayra’s favela, but not agreeing with this fact, she decided to stand up for their education rights. Mayra’s own education was cut off when she was only eleven when the favela was disconnected from the city. With so many checkpoints, it became complicated to enter the favela, this lead to the staff of the schools to withdraw their services. This left the millions of children in the favela uneducated for a few years, and an even less brighter future for them. “For this reason, the majority of the children in the area were never educated.” (2) Mayra knew the the future of these children were already violated with poverty. She set up more marches with the community for the police to stop patrolling the streets as much as they do. “When Mayra was 15 years old, she mobilized hundreds of youths to participate in a community march against violence. Their direct demand was that the police should stop patrolling around schools during the times that children walk to and from school.” (3) Even though there were risks as the children would be exposed to the dangers of drug cartels, their education was far too important to lose. ‘At 15 years old, Mayra mobilised hundreds of children and youths to take part in a protest march, demanding that the police cease their patrols during school hours. That march was certainly not without its risks.’ Just by marching down the streets Mayra put herself in danger. At one point, Mayra even took the effort to travel outside the favela to go the school outside.“She however refused to accept this and found another school outside the favela and demanded her right to education” (3) She was determined to gain knowledge so that she could do something better with her life, rather than live the hardship of a favela life.

Peace is difficult to find in Mayra’s home, with the unpredictable drug lords and police roaming the streets. The favela is violent and extremely unsafe because of this, but no one really understands the situation, unless they have experienced it. ‘However, Mayra’s fight goes on, as life in the favela’s remains extremely dangerous and the local facilities are poor.’(1) Mayra who was born and raised in the favela, knows how traumatizing the attacks really are. She realizes that her favela isn’t a suitable environment for children to grow up in. A more peaceful atmosphere would be better, so as not to corrupt the child with fears and sorrow. “I am obliged to do this, as all children should have a safe upbringing and the right to an education" (2) Because she became aware of it, Mayra felt it was her duty to do something about this, to help bring peace to her favela. She arranged more marches and even made a documentary to get other people to become conscious of the terrible conditions of the favelas that contain much of the population of Rio. “Participating in marches and making a documentary are just two of the ways in which this can be done. I want to show what we can do, rather than what we can't.”(2)  Mayra’s fight brings the people bits and pieces of peace. She can not achieve her goal all at once, but she tries hard to.

Mayra works to give herself and all those unfortunate children a brighter future where there isn’t poverty or drug cartels chasing them through the streets. She also knows that for a brighter future for these children, their present needs to start to get better. They could potentially build on her work to turn the substandard favelas around the world into something better to live with. However, these children need to be educated so they make the right choices and have a better understanding of their world. However their situation must be acknowledged to start a movement, Mayra’s actions catch eyes of the public and start awareness for the favelas. Her work shows that there is something to fight for in the favelas and things can be done no matter how much power you may or may not have. “I want to show what we can do, rather than what we can't.”(2)

1

"Mayra Avellar Neves - the KidsRights Millenium Development Goals ..." 2010. 17 Oct. 2012 <http://www.kidsrightsmdgsconference.com/mayra.php>

2 

"Mayra Avellar Neves - the KidsRights Millenium Development Goals ..." 2010. 17 Oct. 2012 <http://www.kidsrightsmdgsconference.com/mayra.php>

3

"Winners of the International Childrens's Peace Prize - KidsRights." 2011. 17 Oct. 2012 <http://www.kidsrights.org/InternationalChildrensPeacePrize/Winners.aspx>

-Zara :)

Harrison Bergeron

 Vonnegut, the author of Harrison Bergeron, commentaries, through the story, that as much as our unique qualities sometimes cut in-between us, our individuality should still be cherished, as though it is a gift. For without it everyone would be like everyone, the same, with nothing to discover. Showing your beautiful colors may captivate many people, while it may make other envious. In the story, that's where misunderstanding and hostility may start, creating unnecessary commotion. Then it lead to people looking for peace, and methods of living together so everyone would feel like they belonged. People with authority made everyone feel the same, by forcing them to become indistinguishable. An example would be in the book, where a dark age is mentioned,  ' "...pretty soon we'd be right back to the dark ages again, with everybody competing against everybody else." ' (p.133) This would mean everyone would finally be equal in every which way, as pleasant as it sounds, the author communicates that it really isn't. Even though our world right now isn't perfect, even though we thrive to make it be an utopia, it can never really be. Nothing can be perfect, it can come close, but not quite. But in our world, each person is their own and different being. We each have our own way of living that moves our civilization forward. Although all our thoughts run wild all the time, the thoughts differ from each other, and it's these train of thoughts and choices in our head that make us so different. Unlike in the story, where everything is focused on being equal to one another, thinking for oneself is pretty much impossible. 'And George, which his intelligence was way above normal, had a little mental handicap radio in his ear. He was required by the law to wear it at all times. It was tuned to a government transmitter. Every twenty seconds or so, the transmitter would send out some sharp noise to keep people like George from taking unfair advantage of their brains.' (p. 130) The passage conveys that George is unable to use is intelligent mind to do anything. He could do so much good to the world, but is restricted from doing so. Not only that he isn't as smart as he could be, he really isn't himself. Some of the characteristics that make up the individual that was are gone, leaving holes to his identity. The holes slowly leak out the person he used to be, leaving an empty shell behind. Instead of empty shells walking around, Vonnegut is encouraging individuality through his story, as it one of the keys to living in an almost utopia. 

-Zara

"E M E R G I N G Q U a K E R." : Utopia? N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. <http://emergingquaker.blogspot.com/2011/04/utopia.html>.

Myself

Why/How is one's personal identity worth fighting for?

One's personal identity worth fighting because it makes them are, and differs them from everyone else. One's personal identity is what stops them from blending into crowds, and becoming someone else. There would be nothing to distinguish you from the crowd. When your the same as everyone, then you are just plain, and boring. Nothing interesting to find or befriend. You can never truly let your identity, it's something stays with. Everything around you can change, your hair, your eyes, the cities, even other people can change what they show to the world. And losing it means losing everything you got, your not you anymore.

List Poem

Dark blue school skirt

Lighter blue shirt on top with folded sleeves

Slightly silky hair tied in a pony tail

Pink glasses on the nose

Brown eyes underneath

Brown little spots my face

A canine stuck out teeth

A butterfly tattoo on my left wrist

Bracelets of different sorts on my right hand

Just one pink one on the left

Uneven nails that are cut short

specks of little hair all over

Grey shoes with mini pompoms

Another butterfly tattoo on my right ankle

Ashen skin on my knees and ankles

Me.

Where I'm From

I am from the teacups,

and the pretty dolls resting on my shelf

the treasured pancake mornings,

the gowns from Cinderella

and Dora the Explorer.

I am from the daydreams in the garden,

and the ‘Eat your dinner’

with the occasional ‘Mermaid’

sledding hills on snowy winters,

that designer table in the middle of the room

and summers full of swimming.

I am from those nights dancing with Rolling Stone,

the sugar donuts,

strawberries in bushes,

babysitting coconuts,

strums of guitar playing,

drawers of silverwareand glass vases.

Floating in the sea,

are the vast memories floating in tides,

making splashes of waves,constantly changing,

flowing swiftly through time,

and bubbling into me.

Boy In The Striped Pajamas

The Boy In The Striped Pajamas is a novel written about the strange friendship between a German commandant and a jewish child. Both forced to live on either sides of a fence, the very fence that puts a large 'gap' in between them. Yet they mold an unforgettable friendship that leads to a tragic ending. The most captivating part of the book would be that it was written in Bruno's point of view. They readers automatically felt the sorrow of the clueless child dying so cruelly. Boyne also seemed to send a message on how this could never happen, to show the gradual change the world has come to. We're more united, more peaceful towards each other, the countries and it's representatives handle circumstances in a more civilized manner.

In The Boy In The Striped Pajamas, written by John Boyne, Bruno, the antagonist, was having a conversation where his father said "just accepting the situation in which you find yourself (so) everything will be so much easier." (p. 53) The consequences that come with just accepting the situation, and ignoring the contribution you could have to change it, is the regret that comes after it's too late. You would walk away with the fact in yourself, that things could have come out differently more positively, that is, if the out come was adverse. There's also the madness of just staying put with something that your thoughts were against. The rage and guilt always haunting you, and the 'what ifs' pondering you late at night. But then again, just accepting the situation keeps you safe, amongst the crowd. You don't attract any unnecessary attention, thus creating an uproar in the situation. Now it's whether you'd like to keep low and be safe or stand up and receive what you actually want. Bruno took his father's advice and stayed at Auschwitz without complain, which lead to a new, but harmful friendship.

Sources:

Fence

Book Cover

Zarafsha :)

Treaty of Versailles, Fair or Not Fair?

The Treaty of Versailles was unfair to the Germans, even if they did damage and harm things during the war. The Treaty was presented in 1918, but Germany was forced upon agreeing to it by 1919. Forcing this on the Germans did not help the situation, where Germany was already ganged up on, defeated and vulnerable to the allies. Already being in poor condition, the country was expected to reduce it's defense operations, making it in an unhealthy state. Looking back at this, now, Wilson's vow to bring peace and bringing independence to countries seems the base plan of the Allies to bring Germany down for going against the Allies. Using Wilson's fourteen points, the Allies, especially Britain and France, established the harsh Treaty. The bill that Germans had to pay was exceeding, and not helping Germany's economy at that time. All of this, the loss of their pride, fueled to Germany's anger, probably leading to the extermination of Jews. If, this hadn't happened, if they had done that, if, if, if only; these are the things we think of now, things could have been different then. But is done, is done, Germany's desire to eliminate the Jews was most probably formed when Germans were shamed and unhappy about the loses. They had lost all the lands conquered before, just because they lost one war, all the land overpowered from previous victories, from previous times of hard determination was lost. People in German became resentful and hoped for victory, this also happened to be when Hitler was raising. From the shame of the loss, Germans searched for a someone or something to blame on, with Hitlers lead, the blame was pointed to the Jews. But that was only the beginning of new, but horrid, revolution.

Although Wilson's treaty was of good intention, he was blinded by it's light to see the other misfortunes around the world. For Example, Japan's request for a treaty opposing racial discrimination was rejected even when the vow was to bring peace to the world. Racism was actually an major factor during those times, especially with African slave trading happening in the western world. Things that seemed small as such, could have effected the world today in a good way, by helping unite even more nations together. Even though that stage today is almost complete. Also, when Ho Chi Minh a Vietnamese patriotic asked to speak to the Allies, they refused. This put the impression that the Allies might have been saying to help bring peace, but not letting someone address them in a civilized way instead of force might have lead people to think otherwise. Wilson only let Europe overcome the rule of the large empires, but Africa and Asia was still under the dominance of European nations. But today things are different, most of the countries in the world are independent and most don't fight for their own nation, not including Israel, Korea and other countries with the similar problems as them.

Sources:

Map

Treaty Cover

Nazi Flag

By Zarafsha :)

No Man Is an Island

John Donne's Words:

No man is an island entire of itself; every man
is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;
if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe
is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as
well as any manner of thy friends or of thine
own were; any man's death diminishes me,
because I am involved in mankind.
And therefore never send to know for whom
the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

The words from 'The Island' by Armin Greder, Jason van Gereden's visual poem, and John Donne's poem all reflect similar text. They all talk about the illusion of difference that humans believe, the discrimination between humans equal to us. The theme of the texts is isolation, and how no man can survive on it's own, we're all connected. The story of how people just make up the differences, without actually understanding them. The beggars on the street are passed without being looked at, or thought of their poor condition. In The Island, Greder showed how 'the stranger' was silenced and labeled as a monster without doing anything at all, showing the fear of difference. But Donne's words lecture about the connection, the similarity that bind us, yet the simple differences put a sea in between " a part of the main".

The Island (Greder) highlights prejudice, as without introduction or anything, the lost man is marked as a threat, a stranger. He's voiceless and powerless, treated like an animal for looking different from the natives of the Island. He's thrown around the village without having as much of say in it, the people of the island dehumanize him and turn their thoughts of him into a monster. The 'otherness' is strong too, on how looks deceive them, separating them, it creates a barrier. The man is taken away because he's an other, someone thats not them, and it's because he comes from elsewhere, he's lost and in poor condition, but still an other. The visual poem also expresses the otherness of the tramps, how their poor quality is ignored by the people passing by. They are segregating themselves from the street beggars by ignoring their 'loathsome' existence. Donne dismisses the idea of isolation, instead promotes togetherness, "every man is a piece of the continent". He conveys that mankind is like a puzzle and every man/piece is needed to finish the whole picture, and every piece connected with each that makes one man's mistake, everyone else's too.

The distinction between the 'us' and 'them' is an instinct made by humans. They are afraid of what 'they' could do, what 'they' might do. Creating barriers just helps the 'us' feel more safe, their afraid of the change that might come from interacting. From Donne's words, it seems all mankind is connected, one man's mistake is yours too, "I am involved in mankind". Discriminating yourselves, also is an act of possession, Greder's book conveys this when none of the villagers wanted 'the stranger' coming in contact with 'their' things, as it might be poison to them. The villagers thought it was best to lock him up, because they were afraid to lose their power and their land. The visual poem tells that underneath every unnoticed homeless person on the street, there's hope of surviving and a story worth listening to. Connecting Donne's word to this, we're responsible for each other, looking after one another, for every man is linked, creating mankind, joining the puzzle together.

Judgements prevent us from seeing the good that lies beyond appearances. ~Wayne W. Dyer

Sources:

The Island: http://openlibrary.org/works/OL9981863W/The_Island

By:

Zarafsha :D