Hser Ner Moo Center

          This week was absolutely crazy. I was stressed about my research paper, I had to create my audition video, I had two dance finals, and to top it all off, my dorm room was messier than messy. Part of our class syllabus is that we go and volunteer at the Hser Ner Moo refugee center in Salt lake City. I had not done so, and everyone in my class had already been earlier in the semester. Ms. D told me that I needed to go this week and so I had to make time for this. At first I did not have a great attitude about going and volunteering because I was so stressedwith everything that was going on, but the minute that I arrived at the Hser Ner Moo center, my attitude was changed.
          I made my way up the stairs to a room with 8 or 9 kids who were all trying to do their homework. While it had been quite a few years since I'd found the vertex of the parabola or discussed the life cycle of a cell, my job was to help these kids with their homework. In Utah, we have 45,000 refugees and the Hser Ner Moo is there to help these refugees succeed in a brand new society. The kids that I was helping were kids of refugees from various countries. Some of them could hardly speak English and were so lost. This experience made me so grateful for an education. I'm so grateful that I have had the opportunity to go to school since I was in kindergarten, and that I have lived in a stable household where my parents are well-off enough to send me to college. Sometimes you never know how lucky you are until you see people that are not as fortunate as you. What an awakening it was to have this experience. I would encourage all of you to go and make time to volunteer here at the Hser Ner Moo or any other refugee center. What a great way to get in to the holiday spirit.

Dance

         

          In the years 1984-1990, protests happened in demonstration against the Chinese government. In 1989, the Communist Party leader Hu Yaobang was killed and this started the commotion. China had been under, and are still living with, communist rule since the very beginnings of their nation. The Chinese people were fighting for the freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of press, or any other basic freedoms. This protest lasted about 7 weeks until it was violently shut down by the government. Civilians were killed, injured, and the city was in shambles. China is still witnessing the repercussions of these incidents today.

          Despite the hardships the people live with each day, this picture represents their hope of a better day. In Migrations, Salgado states that, "change is in the air and the mode is upbeat." In this picture, they have brought out a radio and are dancing in celebration of hope and a new faith of a brighter future. This picture really hit home with me because I know of the joy that dance can bring. I am a dancer and a lover of expressing yourself through movement. Sometimes after all the hardships that life can throw at you, all you want to do is dance. I also love this picture because it makes me think about all that I am thankful for. Thanksgiving is just around the corner and in preparation I have been thinking a lot lately about what I am thankful for. I am thankful to live in a nation where we have the freedom of speech, religion, and press. While our government, or nation, is not perfect, it is a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people." We are truly blessed.

Salgado, Sebastiao. Photograph. "Migrations: Humanity in Transition." Aperture. New York, 2000. 
170.

          

Refugees in Nepal

For this weeks blogpost, rather than posting about a photograph from Salgado's book Migrations, we have been assigned to address our Persuasive Research Paper to our blog audience. In my writing course, we do a lot with volunteer work/activism regarding refugees from all different countries. For our Persuasive Research Paper, we have been assigned to choose one refugee system from anywhere around the world, research it, and find a way to get involved. For my research paper, I have decided to address the issue of resettlement of Bhutanese refugees. These refugees have fled to Nepal and have been placed in one of seven resettlement camps. However, these camps are poorly kept, and the Bhutanese refugees are now stuck. The Bhutanese government will not allow them back into the country because they speak Nepalese. However, the Nepalese government will not allow them to become citizens of Nepal. Therefor, they can't become socially involved, politically active, or gain an education. Luckily, a few countries (including America and Canada) have opened their doors to these refugees. These refugees then wait to be resettled in one of these countries. However, the process of coming to a brand new country is not easy, and that is where my solution comes in to play. In my paper, I will propose that we get involved in refugee centers to help these refugees. We are so lucky to have been born in America, experience amazing opportunities on a day-to-day basis, and to live in a society where we can gain an education. However, we owe it to people that are not as blessed as us to do our part to make a difference. I am excited to write this paper and hope you will give me feedback as I work on this process. Stay tuned for more information regarding this exciting assignment!

Left To Tell Review

          For my Writing and Rhetoric class, we were assigned to read the novel Left To Tell:Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust. This is a first hand account of Immaculée Ilibagiza, a Rwandan holocaust survivor. Before I read this book, I thought I had a pretty good idea of what the Rwandan holocaust was all about. I sort of understood that there were two sides fighting against each other: the Hutus and the Tutsis. Until reading this book, I had no idea of the immense amount of hardship this caused each and every member of both tribes. Innocent people were killed and imprisoned, had to pick up and leave their homes, or were forced to find hiding and safety somewhere else.
          The main character of this book, Ilibagiza, was a Tutsi forced to leave her home, split up from her family, and find safety in the home of a pastor who was a Hutu. The pastor had no other place to hide them, but a small bathroom. Ilibagiza and seven other women hid in this bathroom for three months during the terrible genocide that swept the country. What was most poignant to me about her story was her attitude. While she was hiding in the bathroom, she had no idea what was happening to her family. She had no way of knowing whether members of her family had found safety. There was not enough space to even breathe, but her attitude was amazing. She never once forgot to pray to God. She had such faith in God during this incredibly hard time for her in her life.
          This book was amazing. I've never read a historical novel about a holocaust quite like this one. I would recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about this tragic genocide.

N'Dosho Orphanage

          This week's picture is extremely powerful to me. This is a picture of one of the rooms in the S.O.S. Orphanage in N'Dosho, Zaire. This orphanage takes in children that have been affected by the political and racial unrest in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is stated that children die faster in the Congo than in all but 10 countries in the whole world. Most of these children don't have parents or families, and are going to die because of disease or malnutrition. If these conditions in the Congo, 515 out of 1,000 children will die before the age of 5. This orphanage takes in children and tries to nurse them to health and tries to make a difference in their life.
     
        In the next few weeks, my sister Annie will have her third baby girl. She has two other darling girls and they are so happy. Because my sister is on my mind, this picture struck an emotional chord with me. I can't imagine what would happen if Annie and her husband suddenly passed away from a disease, or how it would effect the new baby's life if she had to be sent to an orphanage because her parents couldn't take care of her. Because of my beliefs, I know that the family unit is the center of the gospel. I know of the power that can come from a strong and loving family. It is terrible and extremely eye opening to see this picture and realize that these kids have no future, and that almost half of them will die before the age of 5. As always, I end my post with a moment on my soap box--we are extremely incredibly blessed. In America we have so many opportunities and I am grateful for those each day. Raise awareness about these problems and spread the word. We are blessed.

Wasteland

       
          Last week in my Writing and Rhetoric class, we watched this movie called Wasteland. This movie is about an artist named Vik Muniz who travels to the biggest landfill in the world, Jardim Gramacho. This landfill is the home to many Brazilians called "pickers". These pickers work for a business called the Association of Recycling Pickers of Jardim Gramacho. Their job is to sift through the garbage and find recyclable materials. Their job is tedious, smelly, hard, and they do not get paid much. In this movie, Vik goes down to the landfill and talks to the people. He gets to know them, their background stories, and their current situations. Then, he photographs them. He tries to get them in their element, or doing things they love or admire. After he develops the pictures, he enlarges them to the size of the floor of a large warehouse and uses garbage to create these pictures. He ends up selling one of these prints at an auction, and then displays the rest at an art show in Rio De Janeiro.
          The main leader and founder of this organization is a man named Tiao Santos. He gave everything to start this organization. Everyone told him it was useless and impossible. He overcame the constant adversity and created this organization giving people jobs. Unfortunately, it was very expensive. He went to the government to see if they would help fund any part of his plans, but they refused. Despite protests from the ARPJG, the government was stubborn and would not help Tiao and the pickers. That is one of the main things that Vik did. All the money from this project went to Tiao and his organization.
          This movie and story is extremely touching. Vik dedicated so much time to these people who were left with nothing.  A lot of these pickers have no family, no home, and this is their life. One lady that Vik spoke with basically lives at the landfill making sure that the pickers get fed. They stick together as a family. I am especially touched by the story of Tiao. Everyone he knew and loved told him he couldn't succeed. They told him he wasn't smart enough, that the organization was a dumb idea, or that it was an outlandish dream. However, despite this constant negativity, he powered through it and stuck to his dream. His determination and sacrifice for what he believed in was so poignant to me.  loved this movie, and would recommend it to anyone who wants to be informed. It is so eye opening to think that while people in America complain about finding a job, or having to do jobs they don't particularly love, people in Rio De Janeiro are sifting through garbage day after day to try and make a living. I know that every time I talk about refugees, or people in other countries, I say this but we are truly blessed in America. Our struggles and trials that we endure are nothing compared to the problems that attack other countries in the world on a day to day basis.

Here are just a few of the pictures Vik Muniz took:

Pack Up and Move

       
       
          I have just recently started the book Left To Tell-Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust for my writing and rhetoric class at BYU. This is a detailed and moving story of a girl who survived the Rwandan holocaust living in a bathroom for three months with 7 other woman. Although I am not very far, I am already feeling the power of her story. I chose this picture for the week because of this sudden interest in the Rwandan holocaust.
          This weeks photo is a picture of Rwandans walking to the refugee camp in the region of Ngara just outside Rwanda, Tanzania. In 1994, the country of Rwanda was hit with one of the most devastating genocides in the history of man kind. It was a bloody battle between the two main tribes in Rwanda-the Hutus and the Tutsis. The Tutsis had been in power, and persecuting the Hutus, until 1962 when the Hutus overthrew the Tutsi monarchy. That was the straw that broke the camels back. After that, persecution upon persecution persisted. Eventually the persecution got so bad that the Tutsi people were fleeing the country. The tutsi's, much like the ones in the picture above, would try to escape to any country but their own because the persecution got so bad. They had no two week moving warning, they had to pick up what little possessions they had, and flee. 

          When I saw this picture, I thought of the mormon pioneers as they fled the persecution in Independence, Missouri. They had to pick up what little possessions they owned and carry their life across the country in a handcart. Although it may seem like these are two completely different scenarios, they are actually quite similar when you think about it. Both of these groups were forced from their homes because of religious, ethnic, and social persecution. Neither of them had time to make a game plan, they had to leave as quickly as possible. Both of these groups had various ages traveling with them. If you look at both of these pictures carefully, you can see that there are older people, parents, kids, younger kids. I think sometimes it is hard to fully understand hardships that happen in other countries. Comparing the Mormon pioneers to the Tutsi refugees helps put it into perspective and helps us understand that these people fleeing Rwanda are just like us. 


Salgado, Sebastiao. Photograph. "Migrations: Humanity in Transition." Aperture. New York, 2000. 
170.

"Rwandan Genocide." History . N.p., 2012. Web. 1 Oct 2012. <http://www.history.com/topics/rwandan-genocide>.
    

A Second Birth

         Last week I went to a play called "A Second Birth". This play was written by a BYU student and was put on by BYU actors and actresses. The basic plot line of the play took place in Afghanistan, and involved two separate families. One of these families has all daughters, but needed to make enough money to support the family and so the daughter Nahima dressed up as a boy (and went by the name Nahim) from the time she was 5 until one day her parents tell her she must get married. Her whole life has been spent acting as a boy tutor for the older brother of her best friend. The first act of the play consists of her trying to learn the customs of being an average Afghani woman. She must learn to cook, hand sew and embroider, clean, and wear traditional head scarves and burkas. The play is sent for a whirlwind when at the end of the first act, Nahima figures out that she is engaged to the boy she has been tutoring for her whole life, and he still thinks that Nahima is the boy Nahim. This sets her for a spin, and she runs away to escape the social pressures of her family and society to get married to this boy. However in the end, she returns to her family, and fulfills her duty to Afghanistan and to her family, and she marries this boy.
         One of the points in the play that stuck out to me most is the fact that as a boy, she could continue her studies, but the minute she was a girl, she was no longer allowed to study. I complain about schooling a lot, and wish I didn't have to do homework. In this play, Nahima does not complain about doing her studies, she wishes to be reading and learning all the time. When she becomes a girl, she realizes this freedom will be taken away from her in the blink of an eye. At the end, her husband (and friend) agrees to let her travel to university and finish her studies, which was practically unheard of in the Afghanistan world.
         What struck me most in this play was the fact that the Nahima had no choice. She had no choice when she was 5 if she wanted to become a boy or not. She had no choice whether she wanted to be the one raising all the money for the family. She had no choice at what age she was ready to be married. She had no choice who her spouse was going to be. Basically, her entire life was run by the usual societal expectations of the Afghani government. This play made me realize how lucky we are in america, and not just men and women, but especially women. In Afghanistan, women are required to wear a burka whenever they are in public. The government says it is to protect the women from being taken advantage of. However, I choose what I wear every day and am perfectly safe. I have the ability to choose what I study, to go to a university, to wear whatever, to date whomever I wish, to live where I want, to do what I want on the weekends, to vote in elections, and to have complete freedom of speech. In Afghanistan, they were not allowed these seemingly simple freedoms. I am grateful for the freedoms I have, and am grateful for the fact that I live in America and have the ability to make choices based on what I want, not based on what the government wants.

No Direction

        For this weeks blog post, I was flipping through the Salgado book looking for a picture to write about when I stumbled across this one. I was immediately drawn to this picture because the little boy in here looks exactly like my little cousin, Hank. Suddenly, a million stories were running through my mind of this boy and what his life must be like. 

        This little boy in the photograph belonged to the Ivankovo camp in eastern Croatia. In this camp, there were 120 refugees living on one train. These trains had been re-designed by the German humanitarian organization Cap-Anamur to resemble very humble living quarters. Perhaps the saddest part of this little boys story is the fact that they were not headed anywhere. They were not what was known as "priority refugees" because they were not victims of rape, torture, or ethnic cleansing. They were considered refugees though because they had fled their homes in an attempt to escape before these atrocities reached them. Such examples of these atrocities are intact rape, torture, ethnic cleansing, human trafficking. They did not know if such acts would happen to them, yet they made an effort to escape before anything could've happened. They would sit on the train headed no where, being constantly reminded of the fact that they had no destination. 

         This story, as do all these stories, makes me grateful for the fact that my life has direction. I am lucky enough to attend an incredible university, study whatever I want to, and have amazing opportunities placed before me each day. I am grateful that my train of life is heading in whatever direction I choose it to be, and that I have control of the choices I make. 

Salgado, Sebastiao. Photograph. "Migrations: Humanity in Transition." Aperture. New York, 2000. 170.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cap_Anamur  ---Unfortunately that was the main source of information for the Cap-Anamur humanitarian organization because everything else was in German. 

Pike, John. "War and Ethnic Cleansing in Yugoslavia."Global Security. N.p., 11 07 2011. Web. 27 Sep 2012. <http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/yugo-hist4.htm>.

The Afghan Women

            Ever since I first visited the Middle East in 2002, I have been so intrigued by Afghanistan and their culture. When I first visited Amman, Jordan, just after the 9/11 attacks on American soil, I had so little understanding for the trials and conflicts between the U.S. and the Middle East, and for the problems in within the area itself. I distinctly remember seeing a woman walking down the street, completely covered from head to toe and asking my Grandpa why they made their ladies dress like that. He tried to explain, but I didn't understand. What sparked my interest again a few years later was the story of the Afghan Girl. If you haven't seen this video, it is well worth the four and a half minutes. (click here for the video). This video gives you a small glimpse into the life of an afghan woman.
     
             Since then, I have been so interested in the issues going on in the Middle East, especially Afghanistan. There is so much social unrest due to the seizing of Afghanistan by the Taliban. In 1996, the Taliban and Islamic extremists. These extremists persecuted Afghanistan until the U.S. took over in 2001. While the Taliban had control, they wanted to create a totally perfect Muslim society. Not only were drastic social measures taken, but also minor issues such as dress and appearance. Women were required to wear burkas that covered themselves from head to toe, and men were required to have their beards be a certain length. The Taliban had an "anti-women" agenda that caused the most social unrest. Like I said before, women were required to cover themselves completely. In addition to that, they were not allowed work outside the home, and could not leave the house without a male guardian. Women were also not allowed to get an education and did not have access to health care. Although these actions towards women caused much distress worldwide, the Taliban stated that they only took these measures to protect the women. The only occasions where women were allowed outside the home is to collect food, like the women in this photograph.

http://www.internationalist.org/afghanwomen1001.html

            In this photograph, there are two women completely covered from head to toe, with their children under their burkas. They are waiting at a food distribution center in Kabul run by a French humanitarian organization called Action contra la Faim (Action Against Hunger). This picture strikes a chord in me as a woman because one of the blessings I try not to take for granted is my freedom as a woman. I am allowed to leave my home, wear practically whatever I want, choose a career, vote, and have a say in society. Whenever I see pictures of women in burkas, it is a small reminder to me to never take for granted the simple blessings I enjoy everyday in America. Some women wear this burka in religious observance and to show a sense of sacredness towards their faith. I think all women in Afghanistan should have the choice. They should have the freedom to choose what to do, just like all of us have the ability to make personal decision on a day to day basis.



Salgado, Sebastiao. Photograph. "Migrations: Humanity in Transition." Aperture. New York, 2000. 170.

Bajoria, Jayshree. "The Taliban in Afghanistan." Council on Foreign Relations. N.p., 06 Oct 2011. Web. 20 Sep 2012. <http://www.cfr.org/afghanistan/taliban-afghanistan/p10551>.

Ebere, Charles. "Taliban." Encyclopedia.com. Encyclopedia, 2012. Web. 20 Sep 2012. <http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Taliban.asp&xgt>.

. "About Action Against Hunger." Action Against Hunger:ACF International. N.p., 2012. Web. 20 Sep 2012. <http://www.actionagainsthunger.org/about>.

Rwanda Genocide affects Tanzania

        As I was flipping through Salgado's book Migrations, I saw this photo and I was immediately drawn to it. In 1994, the country of Rwanda was hit with one of the most devastating genocides in the history of man kind. It was a bloody battle between the two main tribes in Rwanda-the Hutus and the Tutsis. The Tutsis had been in power, and persecuting the Hutus, until 1962 when the Hutus overthrew the Tutsi monarchy. That was the straw that broke the camels back. After that, persecution upon persecution persisted. Eventually the persecution got so bad that the Tutsi people were fleeing the country. One of the places that was affected by the genocide was Tanzania (click here to watch a short video about this affect), where the picture above was taken. It is said that 250,000 Rwandese flooded into Tanzania-the largest and fastest movement of refugees ever witnessed by the UN Refugee Agency.
        In this photo above, the children are playing on a mound of dirt that these children considered their "playground". In the refugee camps in Tanzania, a system of bathrooms were created by digging large holes in the camp of Benako. These children had nothing else to do in these refugee camps, and so they made the best of the situation they were thrown into.
        The reason this picture speaks to me is because this past summer, I spent two weeks in Cambodia working in a village just one hour outside of Siem Reap. This was just one of the many villages/towns affected by the horror of the Pol Pot regime in the early '70s. We spent most of our time in the schools working with children. We would help construct their new school building, rectify the old building, teach English lessons, deliver medical supplies, install water filters, organize their gardens, interview members of the village (if they were old enough to remember) about the Pol Pot regime, and play with the kids. My favorite job was playing with the kids. They live in complete and utter poverty, yet so little brings them so much joy. They loved to play simple hand games, like Paddy Cake and Down By The Banks. I learned so much from those kids in Cambodia.
        Seeing this picture has a similar affect on me. Even those these kids have been persecuted, thrust out of their homes, and thrown into a new place, many of them still have smiles on their faces. I would guess lots of their parents have died, they have no brothers and sisters, and I would bet every single one of them is facing diseases and sicknesses unlike anything we can imagine. Life in a refugee camp is not easy. There are deaths constantly, hardly enough food, over crowding, and sicknesses. Despite these trials however, the kids in this picture remain smiling and optimistic, considering the circumstances.
        So much can be learned from this small picture. Especially as it is September 11th, I am exceptionally grateful for the freedoms we enjoy in America. We are not suffering from the affects of a genocide, we are not a poverty stricken country, and we do not have a violent dictator leading our country. We have freedom of religion, speech, and are able to vote and have a say in what happens to our country. This is a true blessing, and one that should never be taken for granted.
        These countries that have been affected by political, social, and religious unrest in the past, or present, are still being affected today. That is why I have this blog-to raise awareness that there are people in the world suffering from things like the Rwandan genocide, Pol Pot regime, and Sudan civil war every day.


Salgado, Sebastiao. Photograph. "Migrations: Humanity in Transition." Aperture. New York, 2000. 170.
http://www.history.com/topics/rwandan-genocide
http://www.unhcr.org/3b5402fa1.html
http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/genocide/pol-pot.htm