"Making the Invisible, Visible: The First Step to Create Awareness of Human Trafficking

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What is the issue or challenge you are addressing? Explain.


     The issue that the whole class is confronting is against human trafficking. In the beginning of the unit, we worked in centers and discussed about some important human rights issues in Malaysia. We had to analyze articles, discuss about the topic with the group and fill out a note-taking sheet. Since we were given a chance to understand more about human rights problems, we had a better understanding of some types of human rights challenges. Later, we got to have the right to vote for one major topic using stickers (the process is also called the Focusing Four). The majority of people chose human trafficking as the topic that they feel most comfortable to work with. As a result, human trafficking had the most votes so it was the issue that the class eventually will have to find solutions and suggestions to stop human trafficking from growing in Malaysia.

Why is this important to you and your community and who does it impact? Explain.

       I feel like human trafficking is important to me and my community as we can be safe by being aware of this tragedy and make a difference to save the less-fortunate. If I get human trafficked and if I'm aware of it, then I can know what to do instantly. According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 29, it states that everyone has a responsibility to other people to protect their rights and freedoms. By being conscious of modern slavery and this human rights article, many individuals in our society can help and rescue the human trafficking victims. For me, I view that human trafficking is important as many people are suffering from it around the world. The traffickers restrict the victim's rights which is considered a huge crime. This crime impacts lots and lots of poor people who are searching for jobs in the world. Human trafficking changes people's way of life as the victims could be physically, emotionally, or mentally harmed and mistreated. If human trafficking didn't exist in the first place, the targets would've been more successful at earning more money and would'be had a better lifestyle than being human trafficked.

What kinds of surprises have you encountered in your research?

       Some of the surprises that I have encountered during my research is that it's mostly women and girls being targeted for sexual exploitation, 2.5 million people are in forced labor, and victims are mostly between 18 and 24 years old. These statistics really shock me and tell me that the world will need to put in lots of effort to stop human trafficking. In one of the stories about human trafficking, a Cambodian girl who was a sex slave was forced to have sex with other men. If she refused, then she would get beaten. This story especially astonished me as I never knew human trafficking was 'that bad'. The girl was forced to have sex with strangers, sleep with strangers, keep on working without any shifts, etc. So the main surprises that I had were not knowing that victims were really mistreated and that lots of young women and girls are the targets.

The facts are from: http://www.unglobalcompact.org/docs/issues_doc/labour/Forced_labour/HUMAN_TRAFFICKING_-_THE_FACTS_-_final.pdf

        How does learning about this issue make you feel and why?

Learning about this issue causes me to feel very scared, depressed, etc. I get these mixed feelings of sorrow and pain when I read about true stories from victims who have been harmed. I now view the world as a scary place full of bad people who want to take employers away and turn them into slaves. Human trafficking is a serious crime and learning about me has made me think that individuals need to do something before modern slavery grows. I get scared and depressed when reading facts and articles related to human trafficking because it gives me a sense that we humans have made the Earth an insecure place to live on. True stories about modern slavery really gives me goosebumps as I just can't believe the treatment the victims get. In conclusion, learning about modern day slavery made me feel frightened and sad.

Terry Fox - Fighting for a Cure for Cancer

Shin Young Park

Megan Turner - Period 6/7

Terry Fox - Fighting for a Cure for Cancer

Terry Fox is the most recognized person on Earth so far. Do you know the reason why he is on the top of the list? The main reason is that he battled against  cancer, which benefited his society. He wanted to inform that anyone could have tumors and a malignant growth and it actually existed. He ran across Canada with an amputated leg and gave around 3.5 million dollars to the cancer research organization, which was unbelievable for a person with a disability. Terry Fox, a Canadian student at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia who was diagnosed with bone cancer fought for a cure for cancer.

I personally believe that fighting for something that benefits a society, like a cure for diseases, is worth fighting for because the people helped will be very grateful and their lives could be totally changed. Terry Fox fought for a cure for cancer, which benefitted the other people who had the same disease as him.  This makes him a hero. Terry Fox’s actions to make a difference is some evidence that supports my claim. In 1997, the young Canadian freshman amputated his right leg about six inches above his knee in order to prevent the cancer spreading to his entire leg. Nobody really knows for sure how Terry got cancer although some of the effects of this problem were making Terry have an artificial leg do active sports, loss of physical feeling, and create a risk of cracking the bone. When he realized that he got this disease, he was infuriated at how little money was spent on cancer research in Canada. Terry noticed that cancer not only affects the elderly but also kids younger than him.

After Fox read an article about Dick Traum, the first amputee to compete the New York City Marathon, he got inspired and turned his anger into a mission. He made a goal to run across Canada to raise awareness and money in his fight against cancer, which was known as the Marathon of Hope. Terry came up with an idea to persuade every Canadian citizen to at least donate $1 to the cancer research facilities by making everyone realize that cancer is a common disease. “Some Canadians said they felt a little squeamish at the newspaper and television pictures of his occasionally bloody stump and his face contorted in pain.” - Time (Source: Findingdulcinea.com). This quote states that Terry’s solution is becoming successful as when he ran with an artificial leg, this left the audience questioning about the Terry Fox’s run and felt empathy and sorrow for him. By fighting for a cure for a disease, Terry Fox instantly became a famous person and news about him spread across Canada. When he arrived to Toronto, 10,000 people greeted him including Darryl Sittler, a professional ice hockey player who gave Terry his jersey. The crowd promoted Terry to carry on his fundraising goal from $1 to $24 million dollars. “"With me it isn't a political or racial thing, it's just a human thing. Cancer can strike anybody. I'm trying to help out everyone with my run."- Terry Fox (Source: Funtrivia.com). This quote by Terry Fox suggests that Terry is running in order for the society to increase the amount of money donated to the cancer research facilities, which will then be used to find a cure for the disease. To find a cure for the disease, Terry wanted to donate money to the cancer research organization in order to help his community out.

Some people that supported Terry to continue fighting for a solution were Darrell Fox, his brother and his crew. Darrell and his crew decided to help Terry to accomplish his goal by making sure that he was safe by riding on a rotational vehicle behind Terry. Everyday Terry would run at least 23.3 miles continuously for 143 days (Source: Findingdulcinea.com) and his brother would encourage him to keep on running. Also, Terry slept in his brother’s car and would rest there after his tiring run so without his brother’s help, Terry would’ve failed to achieve his desires to encourage the need to donate to the cancer research. “"It was where he slept, perspired and was protected from the madness outside when chaos ruled the day as interest in his story picked up." - Darrell Smith (Source: Canada.com). This quote is shows some evidence that Darrell protected his younger brother by providing him shelter, protection and rest by accompanying Terry in his Marathon of Hope. As a result, Darrell Fox and his crew are some of the members that were part of Terry’s success in his fight to stand against cancer.

Even though Terry Fox died on June 28, 1981 at the age of 22, Terry’s fight caused people to realize that nothing is impossible unless you try, take a stand to cancer, and made everyone think carefully about what he was running for. People across the world were very astonished at Terry Fox as he almost ran across Canada without a proper leg, which made the people think and find more information about Terry and what he did to become a notable. This also motivated lots of runners to finish the Marathon of Hope for Terry Fox by annually participating in the Terry Fox Run. The Terry Fox Run held every September in Canada and 50 other countries, raised more than $400 million dollars for cancer research. Terry set an example that anything is possible if you give 100% effort. Therefore the Canadian was also an inspiration to other people in the world which also made them follow Terry by competing in the annual run for Terry Fox. Even every year at ISKL (International School of Kuala Lumpur), everyone has to run across the field during their physical education class so that they could make the runners push themselves and believe that they could run lots of laps. People got inspired by Terry as Terry clearly showed that even though he lost a leg, he made an effort to reach across Canada. I can infer that Terry faced obstacles such as pain in his leg during his run although he didn’t even dare to stop. This proves to me that Terry thinks that fighting for a cure for a disease is important to his society and the future. He doesn’t want the future generations to suffer from cancer so his run shows his care towards his people. Even though Terry had past away, his actions based on trying to support the cancer research facilities made a huge impact on the society by making people understand that anything can happen if you try, fight for cancer, and made everyone comprehend his purpose of the fight.

“It’s one thing to run across Canada, but now, people are really going to know what cancer is.” - Terry Fox (Source: Terryfox.org). Because of Terry’s run across Canada, it really made the people become aware of cancer. Terry Fox is a role model of a best fighter, a runner, and a disabled person. Even though his cancer spread across his body, he managed to get what he wanted which was making people know about cancer. So next time you attend the Terry Fox Run, don’t stop running.  If Terry Fox could run with an amputated leg, you too can run.

http://www.insidesocal.com/tomhoffarth/files/import/i-bda6d428c13218fd8405ff6b2980b4ad-terry_fox_running.jpg

This is a picture of Terry Fox running in the Marathon of Hope.

Fight for Your Rights to Education

“We are born weak, we need strength; helpless, we need aid; foolish, we need reason. All that we lack at birth, all that we need when we come to man's estate, is the gift of education.” - Jean-Jacques Rousseau (Brainy Quotes). In the neighborhoods of Lusaka, Zambia (Africa), children have limited opportunities to learn due to the lack of teachers, which makes children vulnerable, weak, and incapable. It is essential for the society to commit to fighting for children’s rights to education in order for them to have a bright future and to be successful human beings. Thandiwe Chama, a sixteen-year old sympathetic and tender girl, is doing active social work to create more educational opportunities for vulnerable children. She had even created her own public library to promote children to enjoy and experience learning like never before. After Thandiwe’s Chama’s school was closed down because of the lack of teachers in Zambia, she had demonstrated leadership to guide 60 other children to find another school to continue with their education.
 
A school is an organization or society, which provides education for children. Thandiwe Chama is making herself a notable by demanding for children’s rights to a proper education. Thandiwe assumes that the key to any child’s future is formed by education. Through this belief, she took the lead in walking to another school to demand for her and 60 schoolmates’ rights to education. “ …[Thandiwe] helps vulnerable children around her, both at her school and in her community, a role model for children and adults in her own country” (Kids Rights Video). On the other hand, Thandiwe not only made herself a remarkable person for helping out her community, but she also realized that fighting for her human rights can be beneficial. By fighting for the right to education, she asked the government to provide her some money to expand her organization. Thandiwe is from one of the poorest neighborhoods in Lusaka, Zambia (Africa), where education is limited. Although she is from a poor community, she was thriving in school and even does social work on a daily basis. When her school closed down, she couldn’t accept the fact and guided 60 schoolmates to continue on their education. Thandiwe carried out this act because of her firm belief that every child has a right to education. “I fight for the right to education, which is a basic human right for every child in the world.”(Kids Rights Video). Thandiwe perceives that there are children in Zambia who don’t have many educational opportunities, so she had been working to create more educational opportunities for children like her. She fights for basic human rights to education to fulfill one of her goals, which is to make children have the opportunity to learn. Again Thandiwe is an outstanding human being as she had made a difference to create a society where children can be educated.
 
Helping out children from her school shows that Thandiwe not only cares about her education but for others too. Thandiwe, a respected person shows care to her members of her society, as she wants the children to have the right to education. Even though she had leaded her schoolmates to a new school, she still wants them to continue on their learning but in living conditions. “She wanted to make sure that all of the children could learn inside a building, rather than outside in the burning sun” (Childrenspeaceprize). Her actions of setting up a building to make children learn more advantageous rather than learning outside in front of the hot sun suggests that Thandiwe cares for not only herself but for other children. She knows that learning in a place with shade helps the children be more focused and attentive. Not only did Thandiwe create a public library to give more educational opportunities, she even teaches children about health. Since she is successful at school, Thandiwe had the ability to spread knowledge about how to prevent HIV/aids, and other health issues to her students. “She gets the community involved to provide fruits to sick children...advises children and parents on testing for HIV” (Kidsrights). Thandiwe was aware of the devastating effect of HIV/aids, so she decides to become a teacher and inform her students about these dangerous diseases. Through her lessons with the children, Thandiwe explains how to prevent HIV and aids. She also gets the community involved by persuading them to give fruits to sick children, and gives recommendations to children and parents to get a test for HIV. Her lessons and social work proves that Thandiwe is like a mother to the children, a mother who dearly cares for her children.
 
Thandiwe carries on displaying leadership and making differences to light a path for the young vulnerable children living in one of the poor communities in Africa to have a better future. By offering children to experience education in a different style compared to their old schools, Thandiwe could lead the children to have a better future than before as they can be fond of education like reading and become successful human beings just like her. If the children then become successful people, they can also become like Thandiwe and help out the poor. Thandiwe is a great model of a person who fights for people’s rights which inspires her community to contribute helping out the children who are in a difficult situation. Thandiwe earned The International Peace Prize in 2007 for her achievements linked to children’s rights for education in Zambia. Furthermore Thandiwe shows a great deal of determination to fight for children’s rights for education. 

 

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4082/4799036496_79079488e2.jpg

South Korea, The Home of My Pizzeria

I come from a society,

A society where our nation was divided.

In the past, people were suffering from anxiety after the war but now, in a short period of time, my country has totally changed. 

Before it was one of the most poverty-stricken country-- but thanks to one man, my nation has grown again after pain and hardship. 

I am from South Korea, where there are cold dingy winters that make your skin get chapped. From vast mountains to crystal-clear seas with fountains, those times were surely a great sight. The town where I come from had warm pleasant people, and a steeple just across the road. Evergreen forests, which spurt out of the flat dirt, 

deciduous trees are found everywhere,

 a great place to play a game of solitaire. 

A friend of mine with such a sublime confidence, introduced to me the alto saxophone, a great instrument to train my lungs. 

Yao Ming, a famous Chinese basketball player, inspired me to start playing basketball as his dunks and his rebounding skills made me feel stunned.

 A boy scout made me be influenced to participate in boy scouts as he told me that I wouldn’t have any doubts ,if -- I successfully become one of the 4% of people who make it to an eagle scout. 

Eating instant noodles with my pupils, mozzarella pizza like hyenas, and the rice roll similar to sushi feels nothing compared to a jacuzzi. 

Kimchi, the cabbage marinated with spices with a fair price is very widespread and is essential for an ordinary meal in South Korea. 

 “I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘ Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.” – Muhammad Ali.

 This quote by Muhammad Ali makes me feel very inspirational and meaningful as this quote makes me think that I should not give up trying my best on training sessions so that I have a profession. 

 My family has unique careers like semi-conductor, businessman, doctor, and so on. 

My grandparents hope for me to cope with my academic studies and not go eloping. 

The most  important memory that I have is winning two gold medals for two basketball tournaments, as it is a part of my “ornament” on my memory.  

Source: http://www.abstractlandscapepainting.com/html11/2007/contemporary-art-spring-shadows.php

 

You need Courage to Stand Up to Oppression

                Standing up to oppression takes immense courage because you can risk your life and be hung like Thomas Baker, and other brave people. In the Middle Ages, John Ball, Thomas Baker and other people thought that they deserved more freedom and rights in life so the people joined together to overthrow the king. Thomas Baker, a baker was really mad because of the new poll tax created by King Richard 2 so he said something like "Why should I pay you? It's time that I should be treated better." and he was the one who actually started the Peasant Revolt in 1381. It must have took him immense amount of courage to stand up against the king and to risk his life but he is remembered as a "notable". For a modern day example would be Spanish workers standing up against the new government's cutbacks and attack on rights. The law that the new government created allowed employers to have huge power and to release employers at a low cost. So millions of people started to protest on the streets and created a demonstration which drew large support from the young people. They were successful and managed to let the government consider the demands of the people and the strengths of the workers.

http://www.ituc-csi.org/spanish-workers-stand-up-against.html?lang=en

1066: Who had the best claim?

Duke William has the best claim to be King because he has more evidence to be king than the other people. The evidence that Duke William had was the support from the Pope, Edward the Confessor who promised to name him as his successor, and Harold Godwinson agreed to help him become King of England but he betrayed Duke William. Nobody except for Duke William has a famous person supporting him like the Pope and lot's of people would support Duke William because if the Pope agrees to help Duke, then lot's of people will follow him. Although Harold Godwinson is a strong English leader approved by the Witan, he was an "oath-breaker" which makes him not trustworthy. Harald Hardrada was a powerful king with a large army and had support of Tostig, Harold Godwinson's brother and that his ancestors ruled England but just because his ancestors ruled England doesn't mean that he get's to lead England at 1066.  So by judging all the reasons from the three men, I would be think that Duke William has the best claim to be the king of England.

Value's and Choices Document

Q1. Think about a time you witnessed bullying/ostracism/peer pressure/exclusion/discrimination/violence. How did you respond? How do you wish you had responded? What stopped you from responding that way?

 A1: I have witnessed discrimination before in my life. When I was in fifth grade, while my friends and I were finished with recess, a female assistant teacher started to shout at a boy for not following her orders like when recess time was over, he still played. When another girl was still playing around with her jump ropes, the assistant teacher told her to come and line up behind the other people in a kind and soft tone. I didn't understand why she treated the boys like slaves and treated the girls like daughters. So when all of my peers and friends were sitting down in a line, I stood up and said "Why are you treating us boys like slaves and the girls like daughters Ms. __________? I don't understand. You are not following one of the three "melawati ways". " My speech grabbed all of the audience's attention as the assistant teacher went speechless. After school, I told my parents about the assistant teacher about her sexual discrimination to others. Then, my mom decided to contact the principal and other people. (Sorry but that's what I all remember about). After 2 years later, my brother had the SAME incident as what I had before so he told my mom and she had to report her again to the faculty and the staff at ISKL. Fortunately, the assistant teacher was fired and another teacher replaced her. Anyway back to the questions. "How do you wish you had responded? ". I wish I had told the principal and my teachers about this because if I had done that before, the assistant teacher could've been fired and my brother wouldn't have to experience the pain, torture, etc from her. "What stopped you from responding that way?". I was afraid that if the assistant teacher found out that it was me who told the teachers and the other staff members, I would be in big trouble.

1.Where have we seen examples of bullying/ostracism/exclusion occurring in texts studied so far this year- factual as well as fictional?

 This year, the Holocaust unit, the "Hunger Games" book, the "Shadow of the Minotaur" book shows ostracism and bullying. For example, in the Holocaust unit, the Jewish people were "bullied" by the Nazi and the anti-Jewish people. In the Kristallnacht, the Nazi and the anti-Jewish people "bullied" the Jews by throwing stones at their businesses, killing them, burning holy buildings,etc. The "Hunger Games" book shows some ostracism. For example, the other districts in the book ostracised District 12 because they thought that District 12 was a poor district and that they might win the Hunger Games. In the "Shadow of the Minotaur" book, Steve Adams bullies Phoenix by using violence,etc. 

1.Select one line/phrase/group of sentences that are significant to you. Explain why.

 "In most cases where children get picked on, it is because they aren't good at sports or they read too much or they wear the wrong clothes or they are in a different race" This is significant to me because this phrase clearly shows that who bullies bully at. It is important to me because I have to be aware that I have to be sporty, and read little books to not get bullied next time.


How is ostracism different from other forms of bullying? When does ostracizing or excluding someone from a group become part of bullying?

Ostracism is different from other forms of bullying because if you are being ostracized, it can change your mood, more aggression, etc. For example, victims of social exclusion can feel more negatively than other people. The victims can be more angry and more sad than other non-victimized people. In most cases, if you have the angry and sad feelings, you might have more aggression. If you have aggression, you might be a bully. Ostracizing or excluding someone from a group can become a part of bullying when it happens to you or someone else.


2.What surprised you?


What surprised me about this video was that how a popular girl in her school wanted to be friends with Eve S although she was being bullied a lot. Most of the people wouldn't want to be friends with a person being bullied but the popular kid stepped up and changed Eve S's life.


3. How does Eve’s story relate to bullying? Was she bullied? Did she bully? How would you explain her behavior?( perpetrator/bystander/victim?). make sure you justify( back up your answer.


Eve's story relates to bullying because she was being bullied by other people. She didn't bully anyone and she was being bullied at school. Her behavior would be considered as a perpetrator, and a victim. She is considered to be a victim because she used to be bullied at school with 2 other people. Since she mocked the girl by reading her diary, she is considered to be a perpetrator. 


4. How did Eve’s need to belong affect the way she responded when another girl was being mocked? Why does her response still trouble her? How do you like to think you would have responded to the incident?


I think that she badly wanted to join in the group so she didn't think her actions through enough until she found out what she did. The response troubled her because she knows that she did a bad thing by laughing at the girl's diary. I would have responded by stop laughing and saying to the girls that what they are doing is a bad thing. 


5. Eve concludes “Often being accepted by others is more satisfying than being accepted by oneself, even though the satisfaction does not last.’ What does she mean?


I think that Eve is trying to say that it's feels more comfortable and feels better if you are being accepted by others than accepting yourself.