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. :)

Le Mysterieux Nazi Major

Happy Leapday everyone! Make this day awesome since it only happens every 4 years! Today, everyone in class got a reading based on true readings involving the Holocaust, more about the people. I got the reading about Julian Schmahling - a typical major of Nazis, yet apparently also a savior of his enemies - the two timing major savior. As the reading went on, we found the main reason he decided to become le major: When a little boy had interrupted his class, Schmahling reacted in anger - calling him something along the lines of 'you little jack...', silencing the child for the rest of the year. As he had cruelly crushed the boy, he realized he didn't want to be cruel anymore, not to crush anyone anymore. This Nazi Major crushed the wanting of cruely, the day he crushed that little boy into silence. Now, relating this to how the Nazis, who had too changed something in the people they ruled - in both these situations, freedom of speech was taken away. The Nazis give consequences to whom who speaks against them while Schmahling had immediately stopped the little boy's speech, just by interrupting. When freedom of speech is taken, so is confidence, happiness as well - and suddenly, people with no free speech are filled with fear from the ones who had stolen their free speech, once happy ones have turned miserable with the consequences of the Nazis rule, as well as one little interruption ruining a whole year into silence. Well, that's my smaller post on Julian Schmahling, Le Mysterieux Nazi Major. I saw 'le major' in the reading and I couldn't help it - had to do it. ^^ Anyways, everyone, HAVE AN AWESOME LEAPDAY! :)

GI Level: The Black Messiah

Hey everyone, today has been a tiring yet weird day - let's hope I can write this post in my right mind. The title is already strange enough, with just a touch of internet humor (not getting into that.) In class, each of us (the students) had to choose one out of three poems created by Sonia Shreiber Weitz (a Holocaust survivor), of course, involving the holocaust - all from her point of view. One being about Sonia's mother, the other being about Sonia and her father dancing together, one last time, the third poem was about her savior, whom had rescued her from a camp.

Though the other two were touching, the one that caught me most was the third poem, 'The Black Messiah.'As I slowly tore apart the poem to look for the meanings behind its words, I found a bunch: First, was the surprise registering in Sonia, to see a black man (has never seen a black person), to know the black GI was going to free her and than to begin to see the horror written on his face. Horror, shock and terror painted his face as he looked at his surroundings, an extermination/concentration camp. The holocaust. Yet underlying, underneath all that horror, was pain: to know that something like the holocaust was possible and to feel the pain for all the lives taken. Though Sonia and this black messiah, who had come to save her and other survivors, had only maybe met for a day, never had kept in contact - a special bond was shared. The bond that only happened, since the two of them, both Sonia Weitz and the black GI messiah, remain to live a good life without ceasing to forget the holocaust. As you can see from my annotations, what pulled me into this poem was the drastic mood change: from curiosity, a dim hope to a form of somewhat success and happiness. Another fact was how well the feelings in this poem were portrayed as well (the GI's facial expression) as how this poem is never completely full of happiness, but instead hope. Though it might not always be bright, there's always hope.

Now that I think about it, there is a personal connection I could make to this poem, specifically the part about a special bond. About a few years ago, I had been dealing with problems at school and at home - my brain was going in to overload. It was annoying, aggravating and some part of me was scared about a few issues - making it one of the low points of my life. After everything had cleared up, I knew quite a number of people older than me that would be all dramatic, Gothic and go commit suicide (yet never did.) I always felt that they were too weak, even though the things that happened were bad - I vowed to myself to keep moving. Keep living life, laughing, having fun - LIVING. And a part of living is to not run away from things, as things happen and I never let myself forget anything bad that happens, while never keeping a tight hold of it.

Overall, 'The Black Messiah' leaves me with a lump of mixed feelings. To feel pity for Sonia as she had been caught in the holocaust too young to even see a black person, to not be able to be out exploring the world and being free. The curiosity that came upon me as I read the next few lines of being able to understand without words. The knowing of the feeling of horror, such deep horror that you can't speak, and you just become vulnerable. Yet the worst, is knowing the pain under that horror. The last feeling the poem brought me was some type of comfort, as even though Sonia and the GI didn't actually know each other, they shared a bond over being able to still live good lives, just like I had (and still am.) Alright, everyone - that's it :P I know, that was pretty long and I'm kind of wondering how it is this long. Oh, well - things happen. Rest in Peace, Sonia Weitz! :) I know, I'm 2 years late for her death. Also, welcome to the world, young cousin!

Hitler Taking Germany

Hitler's rise to Germany had seemed like luck, chance and his wit in choices and honestly, his rise might have all been just luck and opportunity. There are plenty of events that happened, contributing to the rise of Hitler in Germany, though I can only explain the top two most contributing events. Hitler had began his own party, the Nazis, which had just stayed one out of many parties that were waiting to be voted for. They had not received many votes or much attention. After going to jail and writing 'Mein Kampf' he was back on the streets but this time, he was more known via his book. Not long after, markets begin to crash, creating a worldwide depression. A main contributing event this was, as Hitler and the Nazis were able to get louder, to capture more attention by claiming that they could save Germany from the market crash, as well as the economy crisis. This had definitely been a wise move for Hitler, as many more people were getting to notice the Nazis and a lot more votes were starting to roll in for the Nazis. Soon, the Nazis had received 33% of the vote and from this, Hitler became a chancellor. Though he had not taken over Germany yet, he was close. The greatest contributing event to Hitler is next, the Reichstag Fire. In this one fire, the building was destroyed and Hitler blamed it on the communists, and as chancellor - many believed him. Since President Hindenburg had already passed, Hitler became president as he was now a trusted man who had his goals set for the good for the country. Or so they thought. Otherwise, that is my explanation of Hitler's rise and the top two most contributing events in my view.

Nuremberg Laws of Nazi Germany

Back in the times of Nazi Germany, you didn't have to be Jew to be defined as a Jew. All you needed was 3 or 4 grandparents born Jew or are Jew, to be defined as one. Though you may be a Christian German, your grandparents were Jewish converted to Christian - you still count as a Jew. Though the definition of a Jew was quite strange, it was used anyways and many who didn't believe in Judaism at all were defined as being Jew anyways, due to their grandparents.

Aryanizing the Jewish business was basically one of the Nazi's ways of making Jews suffer their lifestyle and slowly degrade themselves in the eyes of non-Jews. They began to lose their jobs as Nazis began to set new rules involving jobs, specially for Jews. The ownership over Jewish businesses were sold off to non-Jewish Germans at fixed prices (made by the Nazis) and Jewish workers/managers started to be dismissed from their jobs. Though this is just for common workers, the professionals were still allowed to work, just with restrictions. Jewish lawyers could no longer practice law and Jewish doctors couldn't have any non-Jew patients. Basically, everything got tougher for all the Jews involving their jobs.

Everyone in Germany is required to have an ID card and carry it with them, with Jews it's the same except for one thing: their ID has to specifically say that the person is Jewish. On every Jew's ID card is a red J stamped on and new middle names for those who don't have first names that tell that their Jewish, for boys it was 'Israel' and girls, it was 'Sara.' This made it easier for people to identify if the person is Jewish or not.

"The Law for the Protection of the Hereditary Health of the German People" is basically the requirement for all to-be-weds to have a certificate of fitness to be able to marry. These certificates can be given to anyone but those who are suffering of contagious disease or hereditary illness, as well as any marriage in violation of the Nuremberg laws.

My PE blog is up, but empty yet I'm sure I'll be updating it soon, as it is near to the end of Trimester 2. Thanks for reading :)
Oh, and...
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! :D

Targeted: The Communist Party

Hello to anybody reading this! :)
This is my first blog of 2012, I know it's already February so I'm deciding to hit harder this year and make this a successful year of blogs. Though, I'm not here to talk about that but rather to discuss about the holocaust, Hitler and the fall Germany had taken economically - as well as anything related.

Civil rights - what are they? Examples of civil rights are: freedom of speech, the right to vote and equality in public places. These are only a few out of other civil rights. Now if you were to define every civil right, and take the latter: civil rights are basically an enforceable right or privilege - an insurance of a person's integrity and safety.

The reason of my speaking of civil rights - this is one thing that Hitler was able to take from the people of Germany, he had started with the communist party. What the Nazis had promised was not to be living under a crashed economy, for each German to have a stable income and for Germans to be top priority in their own country. Honestly, the Nazi supporters could not have really cared for who had been arrested and why - just what the outcome would be for them, to be living with a stable income and without such high taxes. For many, whatever measures Hitler took were overlooked or positive to anyone who just wanted what would come out of the Nazis.

Alright, so that's the end of my short discussion on civil rights and Hitler's rise in Germany. I know it's late but I wish everyone a

HAPPY 2012! IT'S A NEW YEAR, DON'T WASTE IT! :D

I'll be back soon and will be opening a new blog, PE related.

Religion Statement

While we're still learning religions, today, every table had a question and a statement - which we answered, agreed with or disagreed with. It was a simple task and our homework was to take either question or statement and blog about it.

I chose to take the statement, which is: Moral actions positively contribute to a society.

True or False? What do you think? Well, here's what I think.

Everyone has different morals and honestly, in a society with tons of different morals - more or less, they're going to counter act each other at some point.

For example, some people might want to always be peaceful. That's a good moral. Except for the fact that other people in the same society will be peaceful until they need to defend themselves.

Of course - one will always be peaceful and the other will not always be peaceful, these two moral actions counter act with each other. Good morals but they interfere with each other - not making a positive contribute to the society.
So honestly, a moral action do positively contribute to the society but when they start to bother another moral action - there's no positive to it anymore.

Finding Freedom In Forgiveness ( This I Believe)

An act so hard to commit is but possible to do is forgiveness.
Doing it is simple, but it does mean you're at peace with whatever you have forgiven, instead of it being an unsettled problem, seemingly haunting you.

After going on the 'This I Believe' site, I searched for essays and found one that honestly, spoke to me. Forgiveness has always been a hard thing for many - which is why there are grudges and people that are insane with rage over something that occurred, never taking the time to forgive the situation and the person that offended you. Forgiveness doesn't come easily but when you accept it, you, yourself will warm up to the idea of it and soon - forgiving people will be as easy as opening your eyes but it makes you feel better.

In this one essay, a woman and a male discuss how they forgave each other. The woman was raped in 1984 and chose the male in the line up of suspects as the rapist but had been wrong - putting an innocent man in prison for 11 years. The man, in jail, was able to understand where the woman had come from but forgave her, knowing that she had been sexually assaulted, acting on her fear. After finding out the man had forgiven her, the victim of rape forgave herself for putting an innocent man in jail and forgiving the man himself who raped her but instead, chose to forgive him so she could be free of hatred. Forgiveness is a powerful but easy thing to do - and it does so much.

It appealed to me especially how they just forgave each other. Wow. Rape is a difficult thing to overcome - if I had been the woman - I would have been angry with rage and then finding that I put the wrong man in jail, would always feel guilty for doing so in the first place. Forgiveness would have been one of the last things on my mind and it just surprised me and put me in awe how this man and woman were able to do it so easily, without getting too upset with each other. Even after the process of forgiveness - they managed to stay friends and honestly, that is true forgiveness there. You forgive each other, no second thoughts and don't regret your forgiveness, but instead create a stronger bond with the person you forgave and live without hatred, making you a better person.

I've been one for grudges and to know that it was possible to forgive so easily - I know it would be hard to forgive something for something similar to their situation but if it's possible, I'd be glad to do it, no matter how long it takes.

L is AGAIN For LUCKY (:

Last year, basically the whole Middle School of ISKL had tested their learning profiles in their Humanities classrooms. These learning profiles are categorized by letters, or double letters - your learning profile describes how you work best. Basically, you would take these tests by figuring out if you're gestalt or logical, which hand do you use more - the left or right body part that you usually choose to work with. If you fall - do you catch yourself with your left or right? If you want to hear something - left or right ear? I have everything on my right, a common learning profile: L.

For LUCKY, of course! (:

Now, to explain my profile, I'll start with how I learn best. Teachers, listen here - don't you want me to be capable of getting good grades? Or better ones? Then this is where you should pay attention to - so you know where to seat your students or know what to do to for us to learn better, or best.

Alright, guilty as charged, I am a person who fidgets. I fidget, not with my hands, but with my chair and my feet. Whether it's swinging my feet, nearly falling off the chair, putting my feet on the table, hooking my feet on some part of the chair - the chair and my feet are basically wrestling the whole class, but fidgeting or moving some part of my body helps me learn better. Teachers that have told me to sit still or give me the edge to sit still leave me to fidget with my hands and get distracted, resorting to passing notes or just zoning out completely (secretly swinging my feet.) Second, I don't like breaking things down. It's like breaking down an art piece, it doesn't make something easier either - it makes it just jumbled and messed up for me. An art piece shouldn't be broken down, you take it as a whole since the artist created it to be a whole - not pieces of a whole. If I were to take in the whole picture of an idea - I could immediately figure out what was happening or what I would be working down. It would be like reading Greek if I were to break everything down, then go over it about 20 times before understanding it even a bit. I'm also very closed off and don't like sharing my personality too much and getting it mixed into my education, so I attempt to bring in a different type of personality instead of mine (personally what I do but L's in general do not like to share themselves.)

Referring to earlier, it's a need for me to keep moving while learning. No, you don't need to kick me out on to the field while reading a book but try to ignore my constant moving or I will resort to doodling on anything I can find (besides the furniture.) I need a silent place to think, well only when generating my ideas or pondering something alien to me and when I do so - a loud classroom can bring out a cranky person in me that will try anything to get the classroom some what quiet. Under stress, I also prefer a quiet class, and I only get stressed if I'm dealing with something alien or on the verge of yelling my lungs out until the classroom is dead silent.

Strategies to help me learn is to sit where I can process my thoughts internally, somewhere quiet and where I can't disrupt others (or others disrupting me.) A balance of craft and skill would be good and keep me steady in learning - an imbalance would cause me to try to balance that again, with or without a teacher. Helpful activities for me are Lazy 8's and Thinking Caps, blinking while tracking with my eyes, martial arts, sports, writing and drawing the non-dominant hand and basically moving around helps me. I know it's disruptive but it may help and you probably already know due to my excessive foot swings or feet placement.

For the teachers - I get completely shut off from the class under stress. I snap easily, break easily at anything that will frustrate me any longer or people who aggravate me until the last moment. It can take me quite a while to iron out the stress as at times the cause can be unknown. When I'm relaxed, I'm easy going and can think straight enough for class. As a profile L, I can access gestalt/logic integration more easily than other gestalt profiles.

An Extra:
The Lazy 8's don't help much but swinging on my chair does (I apologize for that, teachers.)
If I flee the classroom out of anger, probably best not to follow me as I don't ditch the rest of class but will return at some point.
Refrain from giving me a lecture when I'm irked.

Herc - You Need Serious Help

Alright, today - I post a summary for a chapter in the book 'Hercules' by Geraldine McCaughrean.
Apparently, she's quite the mythologist for a writer, especially Greek Mythology. This time, this post is kind of a challenge.
This summary has to be about 50 words or less. I decided to go with less. :P You'll never know if it's because I'm lazy or if I just have no idea what to write.
Honestly, it's probably a mix of both - another bad thing.
I'm a really bad role model right now. -.-
Anyways, sorry, I'm going to start on that summary! :)

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Hera has always tried killing or ruining Hercules's life and never succeeds. Strangely, the ones that had succeeded, were Vice and Virtue, the two mysterious women in the forest. The two that when came into your sight, the birds stopped singing and haunting music had begun to play. Trying to recall the tune, he murders his unfortunate teacher Linus, accidentally but somehow - right after, he remembered the tune.


---------------------
I have that itching feeling that's way more then 50 words. But it's good, right?

I've never met a person with such anger management issues but this Hercules has to be one of the many I know that don't exist.
So really, Herc....
You need a shrink.

10 Memories

This blog is inspired by Taylor Mali.
Actually, it's more of the fact this is my homework.
Yes, a visiting author just gave us homework.
But - that's why he's awesome :)

1. I remember the sound of waves, crashing, crashing, on to the sand.
2. I remember the eagle, the eagle that was free and flew away, away from everything.
3. I remember the feelings, the vivid feelings that had crashed upon me as I held my baby sister.
4. I remember the white tiger trapped, trapped in what was supposed to be called the only way to save them from extinction.
5. I remember the friend that I never saw again, never again after a supposedly jolly time.
6. I remember the ache in my chest, the ache, as I relived things I didn't want to know of.
7. I remember the feeling of pride as I climbed to the top, everyone applauded to the young child, the young child that swelled with pride.
8. I remember the pondering I had done as I looked in pictures, the pictures that could explain myself.
9. I remember the jealousy that took me over when something rightfully mine, was taken away from me.
10. I remember the scared feelings as I exposed more of myself, exposing what I try to hide.

Daedalus VS Theuses (My POV)

It's great to be doing blogs again! :)
I might not do as good as usual since it's been a while, but I absolutely hope that it will return! :D

Right, today's blog is on two videos my class had watched yesterday (a special day of school on Saturday.) This blog is on response questions about both of them - of course, I'll be answering them.

One had been on Daedalus and Icarus - The murder of Daedalus's nephew, the building of the maze which a minotaur was kept in, the invention of wings (made out of feathers), Icarus's death by not following rules and all the way until Daedalus died, miserable of his doings.

The other had been on Theuses - Where Theuses finds his father is king (leaving his mother behind), murders a minotaur, betrays his wife (leaving her stranded on an island), comes home with black sails and the father kills himself (of sadness.)

Now, let's start the Q & A's, shall we?



Which story did you enjoy the most? Why?

Personally, I prefer Daedalus and Icarus to Theuses since Theuses had been about, basically, an extremely rude person. Betraying his family members, betraying his loved ones, destroying innocent people/beings and not being too smart on his return. Of course, Daedalus wasn't too smart to get too aggravated with his own nephew (resulting in murder), but this story had been more realistic. It was a good father-son relationship but Daedalus could have just accepted his son the way he was, clumsy. Daedalus had not been happy with things he had done, of course - but what is there to do about it? He had done it for his protection, his son's protection, their happiness - his only fault was murdering his nephew.


Was it the characters or the story that you enjoyed?

I'm actually not too sure - it really could've been both. The story line was great and Daedalus had not been bad to fit with it. All of the characters and the plot went well - I couldn't have disagreed more.
But honestly - it should be the story. Always the story - the plot is usually the more bolder of a written piece.


In thinking of the themes in these stories, what do they have in common?

Both stories have will, slight justice and conflict. Under will, Daedalus had will to live in happiness with his son, keep both (father and son) protected and able to live freely. Promises are part of will since Theuses had promised, on his own will, to return to his parents, to be there for his loved ones too. Slight justice was when the minotaur had died (of course it hadn't been justice for the princess, therefore making it slight.) Justice was also when Daedalus had vengeance on King Minos (the king trying to murder Daedalus) but it was slight justice since Daedalus wasn't completely victorious - killing in vengeance is never justice. Conflict? Wow, that's a lot. There was death, murder, lies - this happened in both stories. Lies was basically Theuses lying to himself. Lies was when Daedalus murdered his nephew, thinking more about his own son.
Lying to themselves.

These stories kind of brought down the mood now that I'm reflecting on them, but really, they do have serious story lines.

Oh right! Like I said.
"Always the story..."

My Greece Creation Myth!

This is my Greece Creation Myth! :)

The Final Post! I'll See Ya In August! Class of 2017!

My last blog! Wow. The end of the year - that went by way too quick. But, no thanks, I don't want to repeat. :P

I'd like to say a quick and welcoming to the 7th Grade teachers reading any of this!

IT'S THE END!!





1. What piece of work and learning are you most proud? Explain.

The piece of work and learning I'm most proud of is probably the travel webpage I did just recently for Ancient Greece. Even though I was supposed to write a simple 15 day trip to Greece for educational groups - my partner and I didn't just get carried away - we made a whole site. He made a commercial, put up pictures of his own experience and I spent 5 hours thinking and making a simple itinerary. Honestly - it's the most time I've spent on work. Ever. Even weirder, this was a simple one. But it makes me proud that I put loads of effort and time in to this when it didn't even need half as much as the effort I put in. After a while, even my partner started nagging me about how detailed the schedule was.




2. What were your greatest challenges? Explain.


My greatest challenge for the whole year is making the effort. In fact, you can do a literature circle, answering with maybe a word or two. That would be easy, of course. But, no. Of course you'll get a bad grade - if you did a bad job, you'd see the bad grade coming. If you want to get a good grade - you make the effort. Like I said, it's the hardest part. You make a goal, dedicate your effort and you actually have to mean it. Bad grades? You don't mean anything, you basically just unconsciously write something not even worth seeing.





3. Reflecting on your growth this year, what did you learn about yourself as a learner?

I learned from my growths that I'm good at communicating effectively when I ignore everything but the subject we are discussing. Even if you are supposed to discuss a matter with someone you aren't particularly close to (maybe a colleague), just ignore it because it's part of your grade/education/work to communicate effectively about the subject. If I randomly just start talking about social matters - our communicating effectively? It's dead. Just STAY ON THE SUBJECT and it'll be a breeze, trust me.










4. To evaluate your work habits, choose 1 of the following from each category ( and provide explanations):





a) Behavior


Satisfactory


Explanation: Well, haha, I have to say - I'm not the model student. I've slipped up plenty of times in class where I just become loud, noisy, a little weird, angry because of what happened yesterday and so on. Me, being me, I can hold grudges for a long time and those sometimes bust into class when someone is fooling around past the boundaries or sets me off.




b) Participation


Satisfactory


Explanation: I can say that I participate when I finally get the nerves up to ask a question that everyone else knows the answer to but me. That's the main reason I don't raise my hand - it's pretty embarrassing when I'm the only one that doesn't know the answer or conclusion. I don't raise my hand when I don't know the answer and sometimes I just don't raise my hand to let other students answer. If people are raising their hands to answer questions, there's that thought that you might get it wrong and some people say: "That's SO easy." or "That was SUCH an EASY question." It's a little nerve wrecking but when I'm 100% sure, I go for it.




c) Organization



I'm super organized





d) Effort


Satisfactory






5. Based upon your reflections, write two personal learning goals for Grade 7 next year.

Goal 1 - In Grade 7, I plan to raise my hand more often to ask questions that I don't know the answers to, no matter if everyone else does.

Goal 2 - In Grade 7, I plan to think more creatively and out of boundaries. Basically: THINK OUT OF THE BOX. Why? In school, I pretty much keep inside of the box. The only thing I really exceed the boundaries for is writing & reading.


6.Is there any more information about yourself that you would like the teachers to know?

If you see me bringing the same book to class for the whole year - Do Not Panic. I always keep losing the book, picking up another one, finding the lost book, trying to read it, losing my page, starting again, etc and repeat.

If I make exaggerated expressions, I'm in deep thinking (weirdly enough.) I like to choose my own groups but I keep making the bad move to wait until everyone is done choosing their own groups so I can go choose one last minute. But then someone I don't particularly want to work with asks me, therefore, guilt takes me often.






7. Finally, cast your minds back to the first few months of middle school (when you arrived in Grade 6 ) what "Words of Wisdom" or "Advice" could you pass on to the Class of 2018?

- Don't wait last minute for homework. You won't end up with as much of a high grade as you would've got if you started it early.
- Don't expect good grades, remember, it's a big transition.
- Expect more homework but not loads of it (you'll get that in High School.)
- Don't worry about the locks and locker at all. The locks are easy to use and soon, you can do it easily. You may forget at times but you can always go to the office, your band teacher or PE teacher for the combination again.

LAST, but no least - GOOD LUCK.
Sooner or later, you seem to learn these things by yourself as the year goes.




All my teachers in 6th Grade this year are spectacular, being fun but know how to get work done efficiently. Special thanks to Bronwen Narsiman (Humanities), Pamela Smith (Math & Science) and Darren Smith (Physical Education) - my core teachers. Thanks to my other teachers - Paz Molina (Visual Arts), Jane Thompson (Homegroup & Health), Leanne Fulcher (Drama), Marie-France Blais (French Basic) and James Housego (Beginner Band.)

You guys are awesome! Thanks for the great year! :)