Making the Invisible Visible

HIV and AIDS are two deadly deceases. Even though it was only discovered a few decades ago, it has been spreading rapidly since. HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. It is a virus that affects the immune system and it causes the body to not be able to fight off other diseases. AIDS stands for Acquired immune deficiency syndrome. HIV escalates to AIDS. AIDS is basically when the immune system is already failing. In Humanities, we are currently discussing how HIV/AIDS victims are being discriminated, however we are only focusing on the discrimination going on in Malaysia. This is important to our community because it is a decease that is spreading rapidly and now the people who are getting it are mainly innocent and the amount of innocent people who are getting it are increasing. This decease impacts the victims, their family and everyone around them. It also impacts all of us. Because if more and more people are getting it and some people aren't educated about it. There will be a higher chance of all of us getting it too. Whilst I was researching this issue. I was surprised at how many people have it. There are huge amounts of people who have it now and it is still spreading! I was also surprised at the amount of discrimination towards the victims. Some victims are being shunned by not only by their community but sometimes even their families. The is also a lack of education about HIV and AIDS. A lot of people don't know about the decease or know how it is spread and are afraid about getting it. At first I was well a little mad about this issue and that we were studying it because I didn't understand about why it was important at all but as we got slightly further into it, I began to understand why so many people voted for it. It is actually an extremely serious issue and it is increasing everyday.

How to Deal with a Dictator

Dictators are difficult people to deal with, because you can never actually be certain about the dangers or risks of trying to deal with them. Dictators are basically leaders with a lot of power and often tend to misuse it. There are however quite a few ways to deal with a dictator and either end their power or limit it. A dictator who is quite well known was Julius Caesar. He was assassinated therefore he was stopped. However after he was assassinated, a civil war broke out. At the moment, we are dealing with dictators such as Kim Jung Un from North Korea and Bashar al-Asad from Syria. Dealing with a dictator is difficult and often solutions will have consequences. You could deal with a dictator by creating a resistance or something and then limiting their powers bit by bit or you could assassinate them. Most Dictators have different effects on people, there are people who love them such as Julius Caesar, he was loved by many and when he was killed they were outraged and a little confused. They never really thought of him as a dictator, they thought of him as more of a decision maker for them because they were fickled and they were also blinded by some of his great victories. However there are also people who hate them like Bashar al-Asad, who is currently killing his own people, no one is well stupid enough to believe that he should not be stopped. 

Some options are creating a resistance, there are always people on the 'inside' who disagree with their leader probably have enough power to get more and more people to think as they do (kind of what the conspirators did). Furthermore they can start getting outside help until the dictators are forced to surrender. However, creating a resistance might be a little too hard, so you could remove the dictators power bit by bit. A few small changes could probably make a HUGE difference. For example, Kim Jung Un is a dictator who has an army that consists of at least 1.2 million people. There could always be at least one soldier who doesn't agree with Kim Jung Un's actions and then he could get some of his friends to agree with him and so on and so on. (It is also how gossip kind of spreads when one person tells another person this and that, eventually the whole school finds out. ) And then maybe they could get enough of the military force against him which really help and then maybe he would step down from his power. Although these idea's are quite logical they won't always work. 

However a solution that's most likely never going to fail is assassination. Assassinating a person with so much power is extremely difficult. There are always consequences like when Caesar was killed it caused a civil war. However by assassinating Kim Jung Un or Bashar al-Asad could have a different outcome. Bashar al-Asad is killing his own people so he most likely doesn't have many admirers, therefore if he was killed I don't think the risks would be as high as killing Caesar, but we still don't know what would happen. Or if Kim Jung Un was assassinated, there would be a risk of the people going crazy because they have kind of been trained to all be the same. Kind of like robots and a lot of them look up to him like a father so there is quite a high risk there. Honestly the best thing to do when attempting to deal with a dictator would probably be to come up with an idea that wouldn't bring cause a lot of chaos and have a lot of consequences. If there are none then maybe move on to ideas with a little more at stake. However, whichever decision is chosen there should be a guarantee that a difference will be made.

Assassination

This is the poster that I made with my group that consisted of Natalie, Claire, Cameron and Tem.

Lord Louis Mountbatten was a member of the British Royal Family, Lord Louis Mountbatten, followed in his father’s footsteps when he joined the navy in 1913. Mountbatten was actually a captain at the start of World War II as he commanded destroyers and in 1955, he became the first sea lord. But Mountbatten was mainly known for the key role he took when planning for the Allied invasion of continental Europe.


Julius Caesar was an extremely skillful leader of Rome. He was very ambitious and was becoming too power hungry and wasn't going to stop at any lengths to get what he wanted. With all the power that Caesar had, he was a threat and could potentially cause further damage.

Well, looking at the two assassinations, it is obvious that there was a motive. In these cases, Julius Caesar and Lord Louis Mountbatten both had a lot of power and were both rather important and could potentially become a threat. Caesar was stopping at nothing to get what he wanted and that was power. He was ruthless therefore causing the people who assassinated him feel threatened and that led to them finding a motive to kill him. They were that Caesar would use his powers for evil instead of good therefore causing a lot of corruption and so they were motivated to kill him. Lord Louis Mountbatten was quite important and was part of the Allied Invasion of Continental Europe. He was also part of the royal family and was the commander of the british navy and led destroyers so he was quite a powerful man therefore being an extremely powerful target for the IRA. To them He was a threat because he had quite a lot of power and could’ve ruined their plans of becoming an independent country. Looking at these cases, it seems like people are assassinated because they are powerful and influential and are becoming a threat. Is assassination justifiable? Well in some situations yes. There are quite a few ways to approach some situations but sometimes assassination seems necessary and is justifiable. I think that Caesar's death can be looked at in may different ways on wether it was justifiable or not but I think that it was. Caesar was becoming a little too powerful for his own good and was also easily manipulated and flattered and was also gullible. Also those flaws caused him to be a rather weak leader. Some believed that Caesar posed as a threat to Rome and the Romans and the only way to make sure that Rome was going to be safe was if they took down Caesar, because he was basically a dictator and had all the people's affections and was extremely influential. Caesar had gotten a point where no matter how much people would try to persuade him to give up some of his power, it probably wouldn't have worked therefore the safety of Rome and the Romans could only be ensured by his assassination. However, I believe that the assassination of Lord Louis Mountbatten was not justifiable. He wasn't the only man with such power. There were quite a few other men who had the same amount of power, perhaps some even more. His death also didn't really help the IRA with much, it wasn't an important event for them to be more successful. And it really wasn't successful because to this day, North Ireland is still not an independent country of its own, clearly showing that the assassination of Lord Louis Mountbatten was not justifiable.

Windowless Cellar; the lives of women in Afghanistan

Children Who Do not Exist... What is Francia Simon Fighting For?

Children Who Do Not Exist

“The United Nations Children's Fund estimates that approximately 41 percent of all births each year in the developing world (excluding China) go unregistered, denying the rights of over 50 million children to an official identity, name, and nationality.” (Source) Francia Simon is a girl who lives in the Dominican Republic and fights for the right of children to registration, name and nationality. Earlier in her childhood, Francia found herself faced with possible exclusion from education in the Dominican Republic, she knows what it feels like to be in that situation, so she decided to take action and carried out extensive research and pursued her own registration, then she decided that she wanted to help others fight for the right of children to registration, name and nationality therefore leading them to a better education and providing them with hope.

Because there are so many children who do not have birth certificates, Francia has been fighting for the right of children to registration, name and nationality. "Francia wants all children to have the right to be registered, and to have a name and a nationality. Many children in the Dominican Republic, and in particular children who have fled neighbouring Haiti, do not have a birth certificate. Officially these children do not exist. As a result they cannot go to school, use health facilities and they have difficulty getting a job later in life,” (Source) Now that she has been successful in registering herself, she is now trying to help other children gain their rights to registration, name and nationality by using some of her prior knowledge of when she herself was fighting for her right to registration. “Since then, Francia has been using the knowledge and strength she acquired during the complicated registration process to help other children without birth certificates to obtain state recognition.”(Source) These children do not have many people helping them to gain this right that can lead them into a brighter future. Francia’s efforts of helping children gain this right has already helped over 130 children to receive an official name and nationality.

Because she herself, was once almost excluded from education, she is now fighting for the children to have the right to registration, name and nationality in order for them to get a good education. As stated before, Francia herself was faced with the possibility of being excluded from education because she did not have a birth certificate. “Francia found herself faced with possible exclusion from education. In response, she carried out extensive research and showed great perseverance in pursuing her own registration. She succeeded and gained lasting access to secondary education.” (Source) Without having a birth certificate, Francia was almost excluded from education. Francia used to be like them, she understands what it is like to go through all that desperation. “It is my wish to go around the world looking for children without a birth certificate, to help them get it, so that they can achieve their goals of becoming engineers, architects, etc. I hope my story spreads around the world.” , “campaigns for the right of children to registration, name and nationality – both for children born in the Dominican Republic as for refugee children from Haiti. It is only after official registration that children can gain access to essential rights such as health care and education.”, “In response, she carried out extensive research and showed great perseverance in pursuing her own registration” (Source) Francia has been fighting for these children by campaigning and researching. These children need Francia to fight for them to have the right to registration, name and nationality in order for them to get a proper education at least up till secondary school.

Because she was once in the position of the children who do not have the right to registration, name and nationality, she understands what it feels like. The desperation, the hardships, that these kids go through. “Francia found herself faced with possible exclusion from education. In response, she carried out extensive research and showed great perseverance in pursuing her own registration. She succeeded and gained lasting access to secondary education.” (Source) She succeeded and now wants to spread the hope. She wants them all to not give up and she is leading by example. She didn’t give up. She researched and researched and pursued her registration. “By doing this, Francia increases the children’s own self-esteem and gives them the chance to lead a more secure and fulfilling life.” (Source) Francia has been increasing the children’s self esteem levels as well as giving them hope.

After succeeding with registering herself and getting her right for education back, Francia Simon’s work has helped over 130 children to receive an official name and nationality. Although she has only helped 130 children out of the 50million+ children, by fighting for children to gain their rights to registration, name and nationality, she has given them a lot of hope and for those 130 children that she has helped already, she has given them a better education.

Sources:

"Migration Information Source." The Migration Information Source. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Nov. 2012. <http://www.migrationinformation.org/Feature/display.cfm?ID=888>.

"Dominican Francia Simon Wins International Children's Peace Prize." Dominican Francia Simon Wins International Children's Peace Prize - DominicanToday.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Nov. 2012. <http://www.dominicantoday.com/dr/poverty/2010/11/30/37800/Dominican-Francia-Simon-wins-International-Childrens-Peace-Prize>.

"2010 International Children's Peace Prize Winner." N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Nov. 2012. <http://www.kidsrights.org/Portals/1/downloads/2010_KidsRights_ICPP_Newsletter.pdf>.

"Childrenspeaceprize." 2010 Francia Simon. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Nov. 2012. <http://childrenspeaceprize.org/childrens-peace-price/prize-2010/>.

Our identity is definitely worth fighting. Because that is who you are and you need to express that. You shouldn't have to change how you look or what you act like in fornt of other people because it isn't you. It means that you're constantly having to change in fornt of people and it's a lot of work. One day, you might even forget who you are, changing your life completely.


List poem
Messy Poofy Dark Dark Brown Hair
Occasional strands of red hair bleached by the sun
Blue Polo shirt with a panther logo on the top right
Rolled up sleeves under a white, blue and yellow Letterman jacket
Claire on the top right and 14 on the bottom right of the jacket
a purple “I <3 Harry” wristband on my wrist
Pink and Blue Nails saying “ I <3 1D :)”
Some freckles here and there across my arm. and some on my cheeks
Dark Brown eyes.
Short, chubby fingers
Legs longer than my body
Scraped knee
Some old leech bits on my ankle
Little reminders written on my left hand
A little bit of my hair tied back in the middle
Purple hair tie
Black shorts
Nothing in the left pocket but an iPod in my right
Non Pierced ears
Little scars from soccer on my legs
Birthmark on my right thigh
White and blue puma socks
Little short hairs growing on my legs barely showing
Empty back pockets
The blue heart on my 4th finger on my right hand slightly smooshed
White and Blue shoes with a neon yellow shoelace.
THATS ME :D

Where I'm from
I am from singing the sound of music in public to playing imaginary games in secret hiding spots
I am from High School Musical and the Powerpuff girls
From Friends, Disney Princesses and Hannah Montana
I am from provoking my brother to cuddling him at night
I am from Pokemon, The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy and That’s SO Raven
From the teletubbies, Unfabulous and Ben 10

I am from the Jonas Brother’s, attempting to scare my family everyday and suspenders
I am from falling sick every time it was time for ballet
I am from crying in most movies, giving my brother a zig-zagged haircut and fractured bones
I am from soccer and running around like a maniac
I am from it’s amazing you’re still alive and learning how to spell idiot at the age of 2 or 3
I am from ice cream, popsicles and the breeze of the AC

I am from hot tubs and freezing outdoor pools
I am from plastic snowball makers and snowball fights
I am from the smell of a hotel to the smell of my brother’s farts
I am from hot chocolate and marshmallows, spaghetti and crab cakes
I am from building forts, building sand-castles and building snowmen
I am from One Direction and The Wanted
I am from those moments,
them being pages that make a book of me

OPTIONS!

"Some people say that what makes a person a victim is they have limited or NO options about how to act."

This quote is trying to express that victims either have few or limited options. Is the quote true???

I honestly do not know. I could be true but it could also be false, it just depends on the case. If you use the Jews in World War 2 case, then obviously the quote is true because the Jews barely had any options. They could either emigrate or fight against the Nazi's which was almost impossible to do. They also had to consider the consequences for both the options. If they emigrated then it would depend if the country would allow the Jews to enter their country. If they stayed and tried to fight the Nazi's then they would most likely be killed or be sent to a concentration camp and eventually be killed.

On the other hand, if you looked at a case where you were getting bullied. You could confront the bully, or talk to an adult about it or even ask your friends for advice. The consequences are that if they confronted the bully they might make the matter worse. If they talked to the counselor about it then the bully might get into a lot of trouble and hold a long grudge against you. If you talked to your friends then they might even be able to give you even better advise or make matters worse and tell you that you are a coward.