Making the Invisible, Visible: Our First Step

Daily Poem: Human Trafficking

Lulled into a false sense of security

Taken from a home they know

promises of a life of money

a chance to make them grow.

Everything paid for and more

from poverty to a good life

"you will want for nothing"

you can also bring your wife!
Crushed in pokey vans

with little or no airdriven to tiny squats

no one will even care.

Uneducated young childrenbrought to a strange place

who will ever miss them?

kids fallen from grace.
Used for cheap laborfor companies who don't ask why

groomed for prostitutionno protection will apply.

What are the Government doing?

to end this illegal act

never went through immigration

no dignity intact.

Thousands of people kidnapped

expecting a life so good-

the choice of accommodation,

the promise of substantial food.

The horror of this actis aired in public voice

but still it always happens

sometimes with no choice.

Industry growing well

from people working for a song

this isnt helping the economy

Employers are doing wrong.
In a World of uncertainty

the horrors still carry on

the evil of people trafficking

is always frowned apon.
-William Manson 

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There are 27 million people involved in human trafficking, today. 27 million is the most people involved in human trafficking in history, which should throw you off considering trafficking has been illegal for quite a while now.

For the past two weeks, the eighth grade Humanities classes at ISKL have been studying Human Rights. My class chose Human Trafficking as our focus and after gathering enough data on the subject itself, we'll be moving in on human trafficking in the very country we're in - Malaysia.

Now, this topic hits home for me. As a Malaysian, learning about all the 'invisible' humans in our country is surprising. I mean, I suppose I could've gone through stages of denial but there's no way I could dodge the fact that in Malaysia, there's an intense amount of human trafficking happening and we don't try hard enough to prevent it. We need to be aware that these issues are here, or everything will get worse . Yet, when we do notice, human trafficking will probably at such a critical point that it will impact everyone (worldwide down to the people trafficked as well.)

What's most shocking about human trafficking, is not only how much of it exists today but how us, more privileged people, or anyone uninvolved - don't regard it. The common mindset of ours happens to be 'I've got what I need, I've got my own problems, why should I care?' This thinking is common and everywhere, which is why human trafficking occurs. One of the bigger surprises of this, is that human trafficking worldwide could be solved in 25 years - but it would require involvement from everyone. The more I learn about the issue of human trafficking, the more I tend to hope. The more hope I gain, the more realistic I become as well. We could solve human trafficking 25 years, with everyone's help - all those 27 million people in human trafficking worldwide today, would be released from their modern-day slavery.

Here's my realism: Every cold and hard truth is inevitable. Never, in the history of the world, has everyone agreed on one thing happily, and though the idea of a world without troubles is wonderful, it would take ages and tons of effort to achieve. I have no means to be a pessimist as I talk about this, but I would like to give you today's truth. Yet, there is truth that if everyone were to put aside their issues and work together - we could solve human trafficking. Though 25 years is long, wouldn't you rather spend 25 years with everyones efforts, rather than the rest of history watching plenty more than 27 million people, suffer from human trafficking.

Justice Against Corruption in Congo

The conflicts in the  Democratic Republic of Congo have ranged over plenty of types, as well as a variety of reasons behind these conflicts - the overall situation in Congo has even spanned war across 7 nations. Ever since the war had begun in 1998 (and has long since ended in 2003), Congo has gotten a title for the one of most deadliest conflicts since World War II as over 5 million people have died since then and 45,000 more people continue to die each month. It has come to my understanding that it is vital for justice to be taken against the corruption and conflict in Congo, as the many conflicts occurring have caused distress amongst the people of Congo and officials (of the UN and Congo), which is evident due to the reactions and attempts of justice towards the recent events of; the M23 rebel attacks, the levels of internally displaced persons and the overall humanitarian situation remains worrying.

Generally, rebels in Congo have been at it for quite a while, yet there has been enough conflict with the rebels in Congo to know that they need to go. The specific group of rebels I’m talking of currently are the M23 rebel fighters - an armed group who have been at work as of April 2012. ‘M23 fighters – a rebel group composed of soldiers who mutinied from the DRC national army in April – occupied Goma, the capital of North Kivu, on Tuesday after launching a new wave of attacks last weekend. Fighting has continued and the rebels are now said to have reached the town of Sake.” UN: Call on M23 Rebels.  The M23 fighters, as said, have been rampaging through Goma, but according to the evidence they have been slowly expanding to more territories, moving on to disturb more of Congo. The more disturbance caused, all the more reason for the rebels to be stopped. Not only have the M23 rebels rampaged in Goma, and prepared to expand their disturbances into Sake, their actions played a vital part in their role as rebels. Not only have the M23 fighters been rampaging through towns, mainly Goma at the time, they have been using their arms and  going into more physical ways to push their boundaries in disturbing the country and its civilians. The M23  have been responsible for numerous accounts of rape, unlawful killing and forced recruitments. “The advance of the M23 has uprooted some 60,0000 civilians and fuelled numerous allegations of human rights abuses by both the rebels and the national army.” UN: Call on M23 Rebels. All the evidence definitely finalizes the need for the M23 rebel fighter situation to be stopped, as having the M23 fighters rampage  through Congo and physically abuse the civilians is more than enough to have many fight for justice against this situation of rebels. Yet, though this situation is of rebels disturbing the people, IDPs (internally displaced persons) are the people playing victim to the M23 rebel situation.

The situation of the internally displaced persons is at the point that not all of the IDPs will be able to receive help or all their basic needs, and when not all of the IDPs can get even the basics, this is where we have to put our foot down and do something against whatever has risen the number of the internally displaced. As the rebels march on through Congo, more people are fleeing their homes only to become internally displaced persons  (IDPs.) “The advance of the M23 has uprooted more than 140,000 civilians, Mr. Edwards said. Many have settled in the city of Goma in spontaneous sites and the Mugunga 3 camp and are living in precarious conditions. Many IDPs need shelter and clean water. Sanitary conditions remain a major challenge due to the lack of toilets and water supply points. Some cases of vomiting, diarrhoea and respiratory infections have already been recorded. These respiratory infections are due to the fact that these people have no shelter and are sleeping in the open under the rains.”Working Around the Clock: Internally Displaced Persons. The fact that the IDPs are already in such a bad condition is basically a plea on how much a conflict like this deserves justice, the IDPs deserve justice so that they can live better. For them, justice would be getting rid of the M23 so that all IDPs could live with more ease and most could return back to their homes. Though, most of the IDPs that left their homes due to the M23 rebels actually intend to return back to their home, their IDP status won’t be staying for long. There are some things they will have to settle to live (such as food, crops and health) when they reach their homes again but the officials have intentions of helping the Congolese people with those issues. “Many of the displaced are telling us they intend returning soon to their home areas, and for this reason the initial aid deliveries are three-day rations only. Further assistance is being planned for areas of return,” he said.

...WFP also warned that most IDPs will still require food assistance once they return to their homes, as many left their fields unattended...” Working Around the Clock: Internally Displaced Persons. With many of the internally displaced persons returning back to their homes and continuing their lives, there will be less mouths to feed under WFP’s and UN’s responsibility, making the conflict of a smaller degree as it’s not as many IDPs to deal with (it was 140,000 to begin with.) Yet, if the M23 had not intercepted Congo at all, the IDPs who fled from the rebels would not have been IDPs recently and this bigger conflict of having to feed more mouths that couldn’t completely be handled by the WFP/UN would have never happened either. This situation of having too many IDPs to feed all of them comfortably under the WFP/UN protection, could have actually been avoided if the M23 had not came in and rampaged. Yet, the main point is that this situation had actually been fought for, and the IDPs are still receiving food and whatever basic necessities they can have. Though, the overall humanitarian situation in Congo is still worrying, even though the recent overload of internally displaced persons situation has been settled.

Though the M23 rebel situation and the overload of IDPs situation have both been settled, the overall humanitarian situation in Congo remains worrying. With the overall situation in Congo still at danger, it is definitely the time to take a stand for justice as there is still time to cease the coming danger. Though IDPs have begun returning back to their homes, there is no way to predict their safety once reaching home. “Goma has a population of nearly 800,000 and while awaiting that the Congolese authorities regain full control over the city, one cannot exclude the risk of looting or renewed violence,” Mr. Soumare said. “I call on all parties to honour their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect all civilians.” Humanitarian Situation in Congo: Extremely Worrying. The conflict of many civilians in possible danger is on its way to receiving justice in the form of parties promising to protect the civilians, yet there are just a bit too many opportunities for rebels  at the moment(not the M23) to be extremely sure of everyones’ safety. The large number of internally displaced persons actually carries on from the recent number of 140,000 of them, it has just lowered by quite a few thousands as IDPs have returned home. Though, the IDPs returning home has not done much, as the IDPs are still being supplied food and needs, and their safety is definitely not in the clear due to nearby rebels. “While many displaced persons have chosen to leave camps to return to their homes, Mr. Soumare noted that they are still in danger as brutal attacks are on the rise in other areas of North Kivu, particularly in the Masisi territory. In this context, the situation will remain volatile and hundreds of thousands of people will continue to depend on emergency aid for their survival,” he said, calling on all parties to ensure unhindered humanitarian access to people in need wherever they are to ensure the protection of displaced and host communities.” Humanitarian Situation in Congo: Extremely Worrying. Although some of the displaced persons have solved part of their problem of where to live, their vulnerability to the rebel attacks continue to be their bigger conflict. With distress and anxiety among everybody (Congolese and officials), it has only become vital to fight for justice on this conflict.  The overall humanitarian situation in Congo remains to be a struggle and quite the worry, though that makes it all the more important to fight for justice against this humanitarian conflict. Actually, I’ve made the point clear that it’s important to fight for justice against any corruption or conflict (specifically in Congo, of course.)

As I said before, fighting for justice against corruption in Congo is vital, as levels of corruption and conflict have been high and occurring for quite awhile such as; the M23 rebels, the large amount of IDPs and overall humanitarian situation worries. Like how all of this in Congo has come to my attention, I would like you to open your mind to the situation in Congo, and that the same message reaches the people around you. Though there are plenty of officials working under the situation in Congo, there aren’t too many people like you and I that are aware of these situations - and if we can’t do much, at least we can spread the word.

Baruani Ndume's Peace Movement

On the run from their homes, there are 8,806,866 people in the world today that are living as refugees in poverty. Refugees, having been on the run from their homes due to inadequate conditions in attempts to find a better place - yet most would run for the refugee camps. The Democratic Republic of Congo is one of the top countries with originating refugees (where most refugees were born), with a stunning 455,852 refugees born there. Being on the run, most lose their family or friends, hope and only focus on survival, if possible. Fortunately, there is one specific teen refugee that can help - a refugee who hasn’t lost any hope, even if he had lost his loved ones. As a young child, Baruani Ndume had been alone as he escaped DR Congo, with no one but himself to depend on. Like many others, he finds himself in the Nyarugusu refugee camp and decides he wants to help others like himself by creating a radio programme that both reconnects people and offers a support network.

By reconnecting families the best he can through his radio programme, Baruani shows his compassion for family. Having lost his own family at a young age, he is able to understand how others who have lost their own family or friends along the way and decides to reunite them. “By means of appeals on his show, he tries to reunite children and parents who have become separated while escaping from DR Congo... Thanks to this, many children have now been reunited with their families”. (Children’s Peace Prize) As Baruani is aware of the attention his show has received, he decided it was enough awareness to be able to reconnect people. As the radio programme has already spread across several areas, Baruani knows there is more possibility of him being able to reunite friends or family. “The children use the radio show to call upon people familiar with them or their family.” (International Children’s Peace Prize) The fact that child refugees will use this radio programme to contact their loved ones shows that not only has the programme gained attention, but trust as well. Baruani had not asked for any trust, he only offered his help - yet with the good he has done, he gained that trust of many through his radio show. Baruani doesn’t only use his radio programme for reconnecting people, though, it’s also used as a place where children can be open with each other and their difficulties.


Through his radio programme, Baruani offers a support network through helping other refugees with their problems while others listen in on it. “Baruani works to help these children in a very special way. With only limited resources, he has succeeded in setting up a radio programme in which he talks about problems and challenges with his peer refugee children”. (Children’s Peace Prize) Baruani didn’t have many resources to use, but with what he had, he was still able to help and create a radio programme. Maybe a recording tape and a few other people - otherwise, not much to start with. This radio programme had made a great impact, since people that call and talk about their problems with Baruani’s radio station can have less weight on their shoulders and someone to talk to. It had become an opportunity for other refugees to be open about absolutely anything and still receive feedback - another show of trust towards Baruani’s radio programme. ‘The programme has been highly successful and is now broadcast in DR Congo, Tanzania, Burundi, and Rwanda.’ (Children’s Peace Prize) Due to the show’s popularity, Baruani is able to help a bigger amount of people since the radio programme is more widespread. The more people the radio programme could reach, the more possibility of family or friends reuniting through Baruani’s radio programme. Now with a bigger audience listening in, there are more opportunities that Baruani can use to help others. Let’s remember that Baruani Ndume did not start with a radio station handed over to him - it wasn’t that simple.

Baruani Ndume had been alone as he escaped Congo, with no one but himself to depend on. Like many others, he found himself in a refugee camp and made a difference by helping people like himself by creating a radio programme for them. This radio programme actually created a deeper refuge for people living in DR Congo, Tanzania, Burundi & Rwanda, since it opened possibilities, opportunities and gained trust from people. Baruani’s radio programme connected loved ones, let people be open and gained trust from many - all of this would be benefitting to most in the future. Maybe Baruani had started out small, but what he had created has ended up as truly remarkable - this is his impact for the good of the earth, a movement towards world peace. If Baruani can do this big an impact with what the resources he started with, it’s possible for anyone to act towards world peace.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2d4P68lhBw&feature=youtu.be

The Place I Call Home

A poem to start off the 8th grade Humanities blog. :)
Alright, I'm not good at poetry - something I would admit. Or at least this type of poetry, these standards were a bit closed for my taste. :P Anyways, this a poem following the style of George Ella Lyon, titled 'Where I'm From."

If it's that bad, I'll go back for sure.
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The Place I Call Home

I am from the green,
under the tropical sun.
I am from Texans and Asians,
orangutans and VillaBeta.
Where everyone knows each other
and only had one grocery store,
which I remember as the commissary
that had many of the ever-famous IndoMee.

I’m from dial-up and Tootsie Rolls,
from baseball and Nutella.
I’m from iced tea and roti canai -
don’t forget that rice.

I am from the philosophers, the silent and the fun-loving,
from the ‘catch me if you can’ and the ‘what if’s.’
I am from wonder and questioning,
and also from the quiet of silence.
I am also from the place of whiny and the gossiping,
who couldn’t keep their mouths shut,
leading to the world I belong of - questioning.

Though under all the chocolate,
the iced tea and baseball,
under the hot sun and tropical setting -
are the stories of a Malaysian family,
by the names of the Zailanis coming
with questioning and wonder of their own.

- Dhabitah E.B.Z. 

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Alright, I am indeed a Malaysian but being a TCK (third culture kid) grown up in Indonesia (which I consider home), this poem focuses on Indonesia. Not only one, but two towns as well in Indonesia, as to make more sense.

Good Leaders Consider. Bad Leaders Don't.

This is my last official blogpost of 7th grade. Wow. It's weird how fast the year went, but it just happened too quickly. Hey, I did say I couldn't wait for summer again (apologies to all my teachers this year.) I only use honesty in these posts. Mostly. :P

Right, this post is about what it takes to be a good leader, and that being a good leaders means that you'll consider other peoples' opinions or wills before you go on in your choices. Currently studying the Medieval Unit (with a huge test around the corner, ouch), there will be references to the Medieval Ages - so stay or don't.

A king is a leader, basically the leader of his country. In the medieval times, kings used to be allowed to do anything they wanted. Seen, but not touched. Allowed, never hesitation. He could do whatever he wanted, whether it was good or bad. The king could even make laws against people, or laws for his own benefit - at the cost of his peoples' misery or against their will. That is definitely bad leadership - ignoring your peoples will. A real, good leader would be accepting others' opinions. A good leader, would not be running the country by how he wants it - he would run the country by others' wills too. That is exactly what the Magna Carta did, lessened the king's power and got a constitutional government running - so everyones opinions could be heard, and taken into account. A king leads a country. A country. It is the peoples country too though, and the people have a right to be heard and the leader should hear them out. Basically, a good leader would hear their peoples wills or opinions and consider them in their decisions for the country, a decision for everyone.


A short blog post for the end of the year? Impossible!
I will be making one more soon, just to thank all the teachers. It's not an official one, meaning a teacher didn't tell me to do it. Mr.Peters, let me write the post, it's a thank you to the teachers. x)

*Update: So that 'thank you' never came, yes I'm a bad person for not writing it up but I guess time just flew by. Alright, I'm making excuses - I'm sorry. There'll be big post at the end of this year though, so be prepared. :)

Leave It To Godwinson, He Deserves The Throne

Alright, does anyone remember the three men that battled for the throne of England, who went through a couple of battles to get to it? No?
Those men were Harold Godwinson (whom King Edward had given the throne to), Harald Hardrada (a Norwegian king who believed he should have the throne due to his ancestor being a past ruler of England) and Duke William of Normandy (who claimed to have a 'promised' position as Edward's successor.)

Honestly, I'll just say it all out (like my title) - Godwinson deserved the throne. He was English and was directly handed the throne after Edward's death. Who could argue with that? Apparently only two men could, but barely with good evidence. Hardrada only had some old ancestor (King Cnut) who once ruled England, and tried to use that for a claim on the throne (a bad claim too, I'm sure there were quite a few with ancestors ruling England but you don't see them claiming the throne.) Now, William? He had a claim, who no one could really say was true. William claimed that he had the right of the throne as of a 'promise' from King Edward. Harold Godwinson, had been directly given the throne after Edward's death and he was a true Englishman. Which are honestly great reasons to have the throne and he already had the throne anyways. What is really the point of fighting for something taken? Yet it happens.

Alright, so out of those three men, I support Godwinson all the way. :)

The Bullying Experience

Hey guys - it's been a decent spring break, long enough for me to miss it so let's hope that this post can be up to my standards (which I'm not sure of.)

Today, we're talking about bullying. Alright, no, I won't give a long lecture on how it's wrong, the different types of it or make it sound like a counselor does, which is "very bad and it should stop." Honestly, I agree but to say it like that doesn't get the message through to most, as they will get a picture but it won't be strict to them. I will say, that bullying is just wrong, some people just can't take it and to be true, it happens on accident too, but it's our jobs to try to prevent it.

I, myself, used to be pretty involved with bullying. People would usually say that I was the perpetrator, but in my defense - well, I was defending myself. I didn't like nick names, so I returned the favor in something worse. Hey, I was too immature to know better, but once the war started - I didn't stop it. So it went on for a few years. Now, I'm older, got a lot more life lessons and I know how to get out of these situations, unless I do want to stick around to help (which varies.)

Though I think this school I'm in is decent, I won't say that there isn't bullying. In this particular example, it would've been peer pressure and bullying, or some type. There are always a few kids, that see when you have some money, they'll take it 'teasingly' and start to run around with it. Of course, you'll see the kid chasing the bully for their money. I've been in this position myself, and most watch (finding it amusing or just not wanting to step in.) Honestly, I have to say my reaction to this type of bullying, varies as it depends on the people, if they're okay with it and their personalities. Some really do just like it as teasing, thinking it's funny and punching each other around. If it's my friends, who I'm not fully friends with, think it's just teasing and having fun - I will standby and 'laugh' about it. If it's one of my friends that's really not comfortable with having their money taken, I would step in and ask for the money back, if not, take a physical approach (even if it's not wise, but sometimes words aren't enough.)

In terms of bullying or exclusion in texts that our class has studied this year, I would be relating to the shadow of the minotaur and the holocaust. In the shadow of the minotaur, the main character had been bullied for being different, in the fact that he had originated from out of town. Physically and verbally, later in the book - virtually.

Exclusion had happened in the holocaust as Jews had started to be excluded from many places, from homes, businesses and people - just for being Jewish. It was more extreme that just your simple exclusion of a new kid at school, yet both are bad to some degree.

After watching a video, I started to think a little about it, and how I would respond, as well as what Eve herself did.

"Differences between us did not cause hatred. Hatred caused the differences between us." - Eve

The familiar thing out of everything, was that Eve wasn't really pressured but in being desperate to be part of the 'In Group', she had turned to mock someone who was outcasted like her. This happens often, as I've known people who weren't really 'in', they were somewhat decent or not really, as they just tried too hard to be 'IN.' Surprisingly, out of all this, Eve had the nerve to do that. You would think she understood what it meant to be an outcast, while instead she was making it worse for another outcast, but she continued on. Eve's story was really all about bullying, or exclusion as she was an outcast herself, being somewhat bullied by others but later, she had turned into a bully/bystander as she had been involved it making it worse for the fellow outcast but still let it happen.

Eve was desperate to 'belong', the chance to mock someone else (that wasn't her), she definitely took her chance, not thinking twice about it. Her response troubles her now, cause as she looks back, she realizes she shouldn't have, as she did understand what the other outcast had been going through but there was no thought on bullying the outcast further. Now that I think about it, I, myself would've just told the popular girl to 'back off.' If I were more brave, I would stand up for the fellow outcast and retrieved the diary for the outcast, but I'm not.

“Often being accepted by others is more satisfying than being accepted by oneself, even though the satisfaction does not last." Now. What would that mean?
It feels good to be accepted by others, much better then being accepted by just one or yourself. Though the feeling of being accepted by others, or the in group, is great - the satisfaction doesn't last as long as if you were to accept yourself or be accepted by one (since being accepted by one brings you way closer then to be accepted by a jumble of people.)


So, hey, thanks for reading. I threw in some personal experiences and made some connections, so hope that made for a somewhat interesting post.
I know there's Kony going on, so I'm just going to go along with the 'STOP KONY' and 'KONY2012.'
So, I'm just going to throw this out there.
'STOP BULLYING2012.'
How original. :)