About 60 Ethiopian Jews marveled at airports, escalators, televisions, their first airplane ride, and other technological firsts before boarding a plane to Israel last year, a member of the Jewish Federation of Metro Chicago said.
Jay Tcath, vice president of the Jewish Federation of Metro Chicago traveled to Ethiopia last year to see the state of social services and accompany the Ethiopian Jews to Israel, Tcath said. Tcath found extreme poverty and lack of conveniences in the villages he visited, Tcath said.
But the people were friendly, outgoing, warm, and thrilled to be immigrating to Israel.
“They were excited beyond belief,” Tcath said. “The plane ride alone was a first in a lifetime experience,” Tcath said, adding the group used reclining seats and a tray folding up and down in the plane. They had never been exposed to modern conveniences such as electricity and lit buildings at night.
Under Israeli law, all Jews from around the world are entitled to return to Israel and have immediate citizenship. 3,595 Ethiopian immigrants came to Israel in 2006 out of the total 19,269 and are the highest number of incoming immigrants, according to the Jewish Virtual Library.
Now the law of return is expanded to include grandchildren of Jews and allow them to return. Ironically, this law of return is based on Hitler’s definition of sending someone to a concentration camp, said Shirah Ozery, Director, Israel Aliyah Center Chicago and Midwest Regional Office.
But
Ethiopians face challenges once they come to Israel, Tcath said.
“[Ethiopians are] not traditionally employed in anything other than archaic agricultural skills [such as] herding sheep, growing basic farm products, and maintaining cows,” Tcath said. The majority of Ethiopian immigrants lived a village life and must adapt to an urban life, which is challenging, Tcath said.
“Most of the immigrants from Ethiopia are illiterate in their own language and despite a huge effort of the Israeli government to educate teach them Hebrew and a vocation, most of them are able to work only as cleaners and other simple non vocational jobs. Usually they earn only the minimum wage. However a huge effort is made to educate the young people,” said Nomi Arbel of the Gevanim Center for Community Diversity, a registered Israeli non-profit association.
About 5000 second generation Ethiopian Jews are enrolled in universities in Israel, Tcath said.
Upon
arriving in Israel, immigrants are granted
immediate citizenship and like all Israelis have benefits such as
healthcare,
and must serve required time in the army, said Ozery.
The Israeli government puts about $100,000 of services per Ethiopian immigrants, Tcath said.
The government pays for housing between 24 to 36 months to help immigrants settle in and also make room for new immigrants, Tcath said.
Jews are returning from North America as well. In 2006, 2,095 Jews from North America immigrated to Israel with about 250 from sixteen Midwest states, according to Ozery and the Jewish Virtual Library.
American Jews returning to Israel are returning for religious reasons, as the reasons for secular Jews to return to Israel, such as economic opportunity and persecution, do not apply to them, said Steven Bayme, director of the Coplan Institute on American Jewish Israeli Relations.
However, there can be problems with documentation proving immigrants are Jewish, which causes heartache, Bayme said.
One Russian Jewish soldier from Beer Sheva was killed and was supposed to have a Jewish burial, but the rabbi found out the soldier’s father was Jewish and not the mother, so the rabbi stopped the burial, said Bayme. Jews are usually only considered Jewish if their mother is Jewish.
Also some rabbis do not accept some documents from overseas proving one is a Jew, making it difficult to get married or divorced, said Bayme. “[The] chief rabbi of Israel treats the nonOrthodox Jewry with contempt.”
But one group has fewer opportunities as a
result of immigration.
Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza held menial jobs such as construction and cleaning in Israel, until the 1990s and after the second Intifada, when Israel changed its law to bar Palestinians from moving between Israel and the West Bank and Gaza, said Yousef Munayyer, assistant to the president of the American Arab anti-Discrimination Committee.
Now those jobs go to Ethiopian immigrants, Munayyer said.
Sr. Elaine Kelley, administrative officer for Friends of Sabeel--North America, an international peace movement that started with Palestinian Christians, calls giving away these jobs a form of ethnic cleansing.
“Israel has a policy of displacement through different ways of making life hard,” Kelley said. If life becomes more difficult, there are hopes more Palestinians will leave, Kelley said.
While world leaders remain divided on denouncing China’s treatment of Tibetans, Chicago’s Asian community in Chinatown is divided on China’s response in the controversy but remains proud that the Olympics will be in their country.
“[China has been] too wild in trying to express their point of view,” said Yat Wong, owner of 47 Gifts R Us from China. Wong said the Chinese government overreacted and was violent. The governments should “settle down in a peaceful way,” Wong said. In addition, China should look at their opponents’ point of view, Wong said.
Western leaders are debating whether to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic games in August.
“It’s the Olympics. It’s some sport, right? It should be separate [from politics],” said Aubrey Chang, employee at the Lucky Lantern Gift & Boutique from Hong Kong.
But one Chinese sports player, in Chicago said arresting the protesters are a part of China’s plan. “In China they must be number one in everything,” said Jia Lu, employee at Imperial Décor. “They want to push Tibet out.”
But despite the controversy, Lu would not miss the chance to view the Olympics. “I will go back to China for the Olympics, ” Lu said.
China worked on hosting the Olympics for about eight years, costing billions and displacing over two million people, according to the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions, based in Switzerland.
But others have said the best steps were taken towards a positive solution.
Jack Huang immigrated from China two years ago and has worked in the Chinatown Bazaar for a year and a half.
“Many people want to stop the Olympics,” said Huang, “It’s [the political situation] okay now.” “Everything’s gonna be okay,” Huang said.
But Wong said the Olympics are good for China. “I think it’s a chance to let China take the responsibility for a big country worldwide.”
Stephanie Xue, English literature professor who also works in English translation at university in Xi’an City in China was visiting Chicago last week.
The Olympics is a “wonderful chance for China,” Xue said. “We have confidence for the success for the Olympics.”
“I’m very proud of being a Chinese person,” said Xue.
The government in China is working “to solve every problem in detail,” Xue said in reference to the political turmoil.
But the repression of minorities in China has been ongoing, according to the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions.
Chinatown in Chicago is on the near South Side and is located between Canal Dr. and Michigan Ave. One way to get to Chinatown is by the Red Line and stop at Cermak Chinatown.
About 33,989 Asians live in Chinatown, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2006 Community Survey.
An estimated 134,837 Asians live in Chicago, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2006 Community Survey.
Bright
splashes
of color, especially red, gold and green, can be seen everywhere one
turns in Chinatown just by looking around the numerous gift shops,
restaurants, grocery stores, banks and many other places. Chinatown
is also a community for the Asian population. It is also a tourist
attraction; one can see people from out of the state and country taking
pictures there.
Nadia Beidas
RPA International
Word Count: 1,577
During the 1970s in Iraq, next to no one wore the hijab, Iraqi born Janaan Hashim, Hashim, an attorney at Amal Law Group specializing in criminal law and civil rights and host of a radio show on Radio Islam, said. When she returned in 2001 and 2002, most people were wearing the hijab.
Ghada Talhami, political professor at Lake Forest College and Palestinian woman, said in the 1970s hijabs were not worn. “We wanted to assimilate,” she said. “We dressed modestly. Upon her trip to Jordan last year, she noticed most women were wearing the hijab.
Over the past several years, there has been a cultural shift in the Middle East towards a more conservative manner of dress for women. Head scarves, long sleeved shirts and traditional clothing are becoming the norm today. Some say this is due to wanting to present a Muslim identity, while others say it is a fashion that will do away. In past generations like the 1950s and 1960s, it was more common to see women dressing in Western fashions.
During the
golden era, 1950s and 1960s in the Arab world, the arts were taking off in the
supreme vocal talents of Abdel Halim Hafaz, Um Kalthum and others as well as
the acting talents of Nadia Lutfi, Soad Hosny and others. Abdel Halim Hofaz and Nadia Lutfi
Women in the entertainment industry and outside of it were seen in pretty dresses, short skirts, shorts, sleeveless tops, spaghetti strap or strapless tops and dresses.
At the same time, there was a strong sense of patriotism in the Arab world due to the rise of Gamel Abdel Nasser to power in Egypt, who called for the unity of all Arab countries.
Faith and religion took a backseat to nationalism, Hashim said. “Because of that, society was reflecting that in the way they dressed.”
“We wanted to assimilate, get an education,” said Ghada Talhami.
One Saudi man Ahmed said the golden era had a
strong influence on Saudi
Arabia.
“In the 50’s and
60’s, more Saudis traveled to Lebanon
and Egypt,
which were almost European style countries, and adapted their fashion from
there. In the 70’s and 80’s, Saudi Arabia
kept sending students to the United
States to make the people get a better
education and they adapted that style of clothing in that era,” Ahmed
said.
But the ideas of that time did not last.
“Nationalism didn’t get them what they wanted. Faith did,” Hashim said. People then turned back to faith.
“People [now] are more in tune, more in touch with their faith,” Hashim said.
Muslim women want to be identified as such when they dress, Hashim said. When people see the hijab they will think “We know how she stands on issues. We know how to treat her with respect.”
Hashim wears the hijab to show that she is a proud Muslim and for people to identify her as one. She also likes wearing jeans and keeping up with fashion.
“You can have your religion and your fashion too,” Hashim said. Hashim is one of many Arab women who are choosing to dress with religion in mind.
Like Hashim, Zeinab Abubakr, biology teacher at Douglas Academy in Chicago, also chooses to wear a hijab. AbuBakr is originally Palestinian and lived in Jordan before coming to the U.S. It was important for Abubakr to put the hijab on, as she was raised in a religious family, she said.
Talhami does not wear a hijab.
But some of Hashim’s cousins told her that incorporating religion into fashion will not last.
“They said a big part of it is a fad and fashion,” Hashim said. “The other part is returning to Islamic identity.”
Once the fashion changes, people will see who changed their appearance for religion and who followed fashion, Hashim said.
“It’s [wearing the hijab] the fashionable thing to do,” said Talhami.
Ahmed said in Saudi Arabia, religion does not play a part in the fashion as much as culture. (picture)
“If a woman wore a red abaya, [an abaya is a black garment that covers a woman with the exception of her feet, hands and face] they would probably imprison her for a day; the religious police would at least give her a hassle because of the color,” Ahmed said.
There is nothing in the Muslim religion stating a woman should wear a black abaya or even an abaya, Ahmed said.
“[The] religion states that she should wear clothes that cover up her body as in a not so tight dress, baggy clothes, but our culture was here way before our religion [Islam], so it dominates.”
At the same time the conservative clothing has become fashionable now available in more styles with bright colors and sequins. Hijab fashion Some women wear western clothing, like bright halter tops with long-sleeved shirts underneath.
In Jordan, more young women are following this trend.
“The ones wearing the hijab [young women] even the middle class wear tight clothes with all the makeup and they just put the hijab,” Abubakr said.
“[They wear] tight pants, tight top very tight,” Abubakr said. “Religion wise, it should not be this tight.” But Abubakr said the style looks nice on the girls.
More styles are now available for the older generation as well, Abubakr said. Traditional dresses have new kinds of cloth and more colors.
Traditional dresses are available in bright blue, red, green, pink and many colors with sequins, lace and other types of nice embroidery. The traditional dresses have matching hijabs in the same material and with the same ornamentation.
Arab men and women are divided on whether this shift is yielding positive or negative results.
“It’s a beautiful industry,” Hashim said. “I just loved seeing the different ways of seeing women wear hijabs and clothing.”
“[Tight clothing] is part of the fashion,” Abubakr said.
On one visit to Medina, Hashim saw a woman wearing a rich red outfit with a matching headscarf and thought the outfit beautiful.
“We’re not told what to wear,” Hashim said.
In Saudi Arabia women vary their abayas, Ahmed said.
“Women here do not wear colorful abayas, body and hair covers... they are all black. But still, they use different styles,” Ahmed said.
Women wear “body fit” abayas which give them an hour glass figure, or straight cut abayas like fancy robes, or “overhead abayas” worn by religious people and is a large black cloth draping her body, Ahmed said.
“The “not so religious” women like to decorate their abayas with little sparkly objects, and pictures (like butterflies, tigers... etc) on the back of the abaya.,” Ahmed said.
The decorations come in different styles and are custom tailored, allowing women to be free and creative with the style, Ahmed said.
In Saudi Arabia, Sara, Saudi blogger, said women with hijabs have certain styles they look for. “I just went Hijab-clothes shopping with a friend of mine recently, and mainly what she looks for is long kaftans in cool materials. They are worn over jeans and a cotton scarf.”
“What’s under the abaya is a different story. People in public usually don’t get to see what’s under it. But in friends houses, parties... etc. they dress fashionably,” Ahmed said.
Saudi women do follow Western fashion, Sara said. “The Victoria Beckham bob is a huge trend here, and has been for a number of months, just like it has in the West.”
But sometimes Saudi women go overboard with fashion, Ahmed said.
Saudi women, the upper middle class and the upper class, are known for behaving in a superficial manner and chasing after the latest fashions, with a few exceptions, Ahmed said.
“The majority would not be caught dead going out in public without a LV bag, Gucci shoes, channel belt, $1500 top and the most expensive jeans they could find which has a well known trademark,” Ahmed said.
“The middle, and lower class of society can’t afford those things and go with ‘knockoffs’,” Ahmed said.
The women also follow European fashion, Ahmed said. They think American women are not stylish.
“Levis jeans and a GAP T-shirt is considered
‘fashionably retarded’ to most women in Saudi. If it’s not a huge European
designer brand that costs thousand of dollars and only a couple of cents to
make, it’s not stylish,” Ahmed said.
Saudi women also spend a lot of money on makeup, Ahmed said.
“Women here spend around $500 at the beauty salon in order to put make up that makes them look like a different person for a party or wedding or whatever. It’s ridiculous,” Ahmed said.
Most fashionable women are rich, spoiled, between 20 and 30 years old, unmarried, cannot date because of the culture, unemployed and watch their televisions in order to imitate, Ahmed said.
“In the 90’s and currently, we started getting all the fashion channels available in the world, and we have all the major franchise apparel shops in the world,” he said.
But not everyone can afford to be into fashion.
“The majority of Saudi Arabia is poor, lower class. They can barely afford one piece of clothing for the year. The
upper middle and upper class of society in Saudi Arabia represent less than 20 percent of the population, so we are
talking about a minority here,” Ahmed said.
By Paige Gray
Ausama Idres can faintly recall the sirens and bombing from the Gulf War. He remembers leaving his home in Baghdad as a child with his parents, gas masks in tow, worried the city might get nuked.
He thinks about his experience growing up during that war--which unofficially lasted less than a year--as compared to
what Iraq's youth today must be enduring through the current extensive battle, which began in 2003.
"For those young teens, they're growing up in a very hostile environment and they haven't experienced peace before; most of their terms are growing violent," says Idres, now a medical student in Northern Iraq, in an e-mail interview.
While the war continues in Iraq
and uncertainty remains as to what direction a new administration will take,
many believe the key in rebuilding the Middle Eastern nation begins with its
youth and education.
Controversy may always surround the United States'
decision to invade, but experts, Iraqis and Arab-Americans hope children,
teenagers and young adults can overcome the effects of living amongst destruction, death and
anxiety for more than five years.
"Iraqi youth need education, need to learn that it is
okay to think, and that they must think outside the box--the box that
was
build by the religious leaders and radical ideologies," says Dr. Wamith
Alkssab, youth projects director of Baghdad's Iraqi Al-Amal Association.
Some believe a new administration may positively influence the mindset of Iraqis, particularly the youth, but only to a certain degree after continuous exposure to violence during their formative years--violence which will presumably carry on even after a new U.S. president.
"It's important that Iraqi children see that the administration responsible for their suffering in the war leave office," says Khalil M. Marrar, a visiting political science professor at DePaul University. "However, I am not sure the message of ‘regime change' in the U.S. will reach young minds of Iraq, or anyone in the country."
Marrar says, unfortunately, there may not be a bright spot in the immediate future.
"I think what they are more likely to see is a continuation of their suffering in a protracted war if John McCain takes office, or the same result--but without the U.S.--under an Obama or Clinton presidency."
Mark Goldstein, who works directly with the country's youth through the London-based Children of Iraq Association, says the Unites States must also work with Israeli-Iraqi relations to secure a better future.
"[Iraqi youth] hope a new American administration will break the connection with Israel that is feeding the war in Iraq. Many young Iraqi fighters have told me they have encountered foreign forces from Israel causing havoc," Goldstein says. "The Iraqi youth yearn for their own destiny and the ability to defend themselves. They hope a new U.S. president will end the occupation and U.S. forces will leave Iraq."
Similarly, Michael Kelly, a law
professor at Creighton University, says good could come from conversations
about
other Middle East situations, catalyzed by the Iraq War.
"One very slight silver lining might be that it has forced us into a dialogue with Iran that never would have happened otherwise," Kelly explains. "If a suitable rapprochement can be developed that would tamp down on Iran's support of Hammas, then perhaps a more positive peace effort for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict could begin."
Goldstein notes that young adults in Iraq acknowledge the positive outcome of Saddam Hussein's downfall. And though Idres thinks the war has brought new opportunities and freedom for some people "to do many things," he says the prolonged fighting since the fall of the Iraqi dictatorship has ruined possibilities for much of the next generation.
"This war, I believe has changed so much of the Iraqi youths' futures. It changed it dramatically if I may say so. I don't know how to put that in words...It abolished so many opportunities to many young people."
Contempt and confusion still stirs inside Idres regarding President Bush's choice to attack.
"Even though we were living under a dictatorship regime, it was somehow a peaceful environment and under a peaceful environment sometimes you can plan ahead," he says. "But after the war we never had a peaceful environment and that disrupted everything, every plan that someone can make."
The war's costly impact on Iraqi life has ruined Idres' opinion of and faith in the American government. The decision to interfere in a conflict the U.S government knows nothing about has devastated the country and its next generation, he says.
"I'm well-educated and I understand that the soldiers on the ground are doing what they're told to do, and I understand that the American people don't want this war from the beginning so I know for sure that the U.S. Administration is behind everything," he says. "I hate them for that and I don't appreciate anything they've done so far, because they clearly stick their noses in something they don't understand a thing about."
That suffering can be witnessed not only through newscast images and front-page photos, but through the blogs of Iraqi teenagers. Days of My Life is a blog written by a 16-year-old girl who calls herself "Sunshine."
Describing herself, she writes, "I grow up among well educated family. My school is far away from my home and the way to it is dangerous, so every day considered as a challenge. I have many dreams and ambitions, I wish that one day they become true. I want to be an engineer or a pharmacist in the future, my mom always support me to accomplish my ambitions ... optimism is my strategy always."
Sunshine uses that optimism to deal with her daily struggles and heartaches, such as the threat on her father's life in March. Letting the blog serve as her personal diary, Sunshine wrote about her pain and anguish for all to read, letting an international community experience a small part of the situation some Iraqi youth and families face.
"It has been the hardest two week in my life. First we were threatened by terrorists who wanted to kill my dad, I spent the whole nights thinking, and crying, I was in shock, and terrified. I couldn't study anything, I couldn't concentrate and I did horrible in all of my exams, I am expecting low marks, during the classed I kept wondering with tears in my eyes, what will happen next?" Sunshine writes, trying to balance school responsibilities with the fear of losing her father.
"Will they kill my dad? Kidnap one of my family members? Why ? We're not rich, don't belong to any political party, very simple family, and never harmed anyone, what do those terrorists want? Money? Or they just want to terrify us?"
Marrar says the next president must take the constant state of terror distressing Iraqi children and teenagers into consideration if the United States wants a stable nation to emerge.
"It's in the long term interests of the United States to help provide a secure Iraq for all of its people, particularly its youngest members, who are the future of the country," he says.
Marrar says a "three-pronged policy" should be implemented that would work to "reduce the negative impacts of the American occupation, whether if it's by relaxing it or fully withdrawing," and "pump as much resources into the Iraq education system as possible." But Marrar believes before these can be accomplished, the United Stated must "provide for a peaceful political resolution between the various parties in Iraq."
To best instill stability in Iraq's young adult population, Kelly thinks a new administration should undertake specific "building efforts for civil society--civic and community centers with a youth orientation along the lines of American YMCAs-- in tandem with more educational efforts with a democracy-based human rights focus that empowers the sense of the individual in young Iraqis."
For a hopeful future, Idres says a new administration may help by "opening their eyes "and "considering all the facts." Then, he says, the current, pessimistic outlook of the next generation may change.
"I don't think there's any young guy or girl in Iraq who don't think of leaving the country at the moment."
By Paige Gray
The Baha'i Faith, a religion characterized by unity and spiritual oneness of holy beliefs, has felt the divisive effects of discrimination throughout history. However, its continuing persecution in Egypt has rallied groups across actual and virtual maps, by way of Web sites and blogs, protests and lawsuits. The crisis has also served to bring together local Baha'is.
In the Chicago area, Baha'is keep the situation of families and individuals facing ill-treatment in the forefront of their thoughts. However, their beliefs prohibit them from taking part in demonstrations or disregarding government laws, explained Barbara McCord, who serves on the Local Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Chicago.
"Whether it is the concern for Baha'is being persecuted in Iran, experiencing human rights deprivation in Egypt or being caught in war-torn areas around the world...we pray for the day when these sufferings will have passed, keep the souls in our hearts and minds who are experiencing such pain and simply remain aloof, in heart and in mind, in words and in deeds, from the political affairs and disputes of the nations and of governments," McCord said.
A Jan. 29 decision by Egyptian officials allowing Baha'i followers to better classify themselves in national identification procedures marks a needed victory for the faith, in addition to bringing it more global attention, said Nabi Ali, an anesthesiologist and professor at the University of Alabama School of Medicine who was born in Egypt but left in 1970. Yet despite the court's decision, religious discrimination for Baha'is remains eminent, Ali said.
"The ruling is very interesting...but the verdict does not solve the problem," Ali said.
In response to the government's treatment of his religion, he started the blog Baha'i Faith in Egyptin 2006, posting articles and opinions about issues Baha'is face, such as the recent identification card problem. The incident has brought notice from media and human rights activists; Ali has recorded over 100,000 Web site hits for his blog from around the world.
"The numbers are impressive for a blog of this subject," Ali said, also noting the impact that organizations such as the Muslim Network for Baha'i Rights and Mideast Youthhave made. "Now many people in Egypt know what Baha'is stand for; the media and the Internet are a great asset. This crisis has really helped in a way."
The issue for Baha'is in Egypt magnified when the government switched over to a computerized database in 2004. It forced citizens to choose Christianity, Islam or Judaism as their religion. Baha'is were forced to either lie-something not only against their spiritual practices, but also punishable by federal law if discovered-or be denied a card, which without, makes it near impossible to function in the country.
"A driver's license [in the United States] does not have near the power of the ID card in Egypt," Ali said. "You need it to go to school, to go to the hospital, to get a bus pass, to buy a cell phone...you can only go to the grocery story without it. It affects everything."
Baha'is inability to obtain cards brought forth several lawsuits, which came to a close last month.
Yara Sallam, a researcher for Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights explained the court decision as a positive step forward.
"The ruling of the Cairo Court of Administrative Justice on was welcomed from [Initiative for Personal Rights] and
Human Rights Watch's side. It granted the request of Baha'i Egyptians to obtain birth certificates and identity cards without indicating any religious affiliation," Sallam said.
The court stated if an identification card from the old paper system had "Baha'i" written in, the religion question can now be left blank in the computerized system. But, the completion of the paper card system was something left to the discretion of the government clerk, according to Ali. He said some clerks wrote in one of the three major religions based upon appearance of the individual. Thus, a moderate proportion of the nearly 500 Egyptian Baha'is are still left in a difficult situation, particularly young adults.
"Essentially, they are trying to eliminate Baha'i and deny the existence of this religion when you look at the spirit of the ruling," Ali said. "The problem in Egypt is that religion is on official documents." This includes marriage, and Baha'i couples remain unrecognized by the government.
Marie Tomarelli Petkus, a University of Chicago doctoral student and one of approximately 450 local Baha'is, said the key in Egypt in constant action.
"The next step is continual advocacy from groups like the United Nations to make sure this ruling won't be overturned," she said.
For Ali, that continual advocacy takes place through outlets like his blog.
"People see injustice" and look for new modes of communication to reveal and overcome it, he said.
"It really is a whole new phenomenon."
Should I ever have children, there will be a distinct possibility that by the time they reach 18 there will be countries that have been wiped out by AIDS. What upsets me the most is how in the age of advanced technology, I truly believe there is a means to reduce the numbers but greed, racism, and politics are getting in the way.
It is estimated that 700,000 people are living with HIV in China. Of that 75,000 have full blown AIDS. While the UNAIDS has a reported the epidemic is low, the high population in the Southern regions can cause spread. The fact that HIV infections have soared to 45% in the last year should be an indication to the government that corralling people within their province is not enough.
The central government has taken several steps to control the growth of AIDS in China since 2003. Free testing is provided for migrants who can spread HIV as they travel outside of their provinces seeking work in larger cities like Beijing and Shanghai. The government has also begun providing free condoms in karaoke bars and promoting needle exchange programs, according to a 2006 TIME health blog.
Mainstream media has mostly covered the AIDS epidemic from a rural standpoint. In the 1990s , many rural workers were selling their blood for money. To cut back on using syringes, many blood banks reused them. The HumanAught, links to a translated version of an article about the epidemic caused by plasma selling in Henan, which has upward to 10,000 cases of HIV infections.
In 1996, AIDS became public. I made contact through a friend with Gao Yaojie, the "top civilian In AIDS prevention" and I listened to her explain the spreading of AIDS in the central plains.
On that day, I saw an AIDS father-and-son pair in Gao Yaojie's home. The 12-year-old son had a low fever that would not subside. The father took the son to Zhengzhou to see if it was a flu, but he had AIDS. This was the first time that I ever met AIDS patients. I gave them 400 RMB. On that occasion, Gao Yaojie gave me the names of several AIDS orphans and she wanted me and my friends to send them money at the addresses so that they can continue to study. Some time later, one of the children did not need our assistance anymore because he passed away. Thus, a life just vanished like that. Another little girl in elementary school also lost contact ...
On that day, Gao Yaojie also told me another shocking detail. She said that when the peasants sold blood back then, they might be working in the field. When the Blood Heads went to the fields to collect blood, they said that they would take 500 cc but actually they were taking 600 cc or 700 cc for the same money (at most 80 RMB). The peasants who had the blood drawn were often dizzy afterwards because too much blood had been taken. At those moments, the Blood Head would pick up the peasants and turn them upside down, shaking their bodies until the blood went back into their heads.
Much of the information about AIDS in China is outdated and old. I’ve given up hope on finding an actual Chinese blogger/activist who would be writing about HIV/AIDS in China since most are arrested.
What is going to be done about AIDS as the world moves further into the 21st century remains to be answered. It would be easy in frustration to blame the G8 countries for their lack of response and denial of medications to countries that can’t afford them, but there’s where I believe there is racism at hand. I also tend to think that for these Big Pharm companies are working with governments in a means to reduce world population which growing at a rapid rate.
But until I have details and facts, all I can do is pray for those who suffer needlessly.
Nadia Beidas
Eastern Europe blog
Word Count: 343
Sex trafficking is one of the ongoing problems that most horrifies me. Imagine yourself being young, poor and desperate for a better life; one day someone comes along and offers you a job in America, the land of freedom. So you jump and take the job, but there are harsh consequences. Once on American soil, you’re thrown into a brothel with other girls and forced to allow strangers into your body every single day.
Human slavery is beyond disgusting. For more about human trafficking, see Robert Lindsay’s blog. Robert Lindsay
One of the places where sex trafficking is ongoing in Eastern Europe. When I was in college I watched a Lifetime movie called Human Trafficking, which examined the lives of girls forced into the sex trade. There were graphic portrayals of the rapes of these women and children and the horrors they endure from day to day in the movie.
After they are taken, in this movie, the women were stripped and examined like horses. Then they were raped by their captors, probably to break them into their life. If they tried to escape the lives of their families are threatened, and guards are watching their families at all times.
I couldn’t sleep for a week after seeing this movie, and online comments suggest that the real thing is more graphic than this – too much for television.
One Eastern European country the sex trade is prevalent in is Romania, where people battle horrible poverty. According to the blog, Human Trafficking Project, efforts are made in Romania to combat this problem. The blog states statistics from the Romanian National Agency Against Trafficking in Human Beings statistics, which stated about 406 Romanian people were victims of human trafficking. For more about efforts to combat this problem, see the blog. Human Trafficking Project
Ukraine is another country where this problem is prevalent. The Orange Ukraine tells the story of a Ukranian woman who was taken to Israel under false pretenses and now is hiding from both her captors and the Israeli government, who would deport her. For more, see Orange Ukraine. Orange Ukraine
So, given the assignment of picking any European country to blog about, my default choices will always be Spain. I hold this idealized, romanticized notion of the country from my 10-day visit their in high school and studies throughout college. I've said it so many times before, but I learned more in that short trip so many years ago than I have from a lot of pointless lectures and homework from other classes. (Side note, one of my big regrets in life may always be turning down the opportunity to study abroad in Madrid for logistically college course requirements. D'oh! I though-- Spain isn't going anywhere, right? True, it hasn't moved, but I have yet to return. But, my time will come!)
Kosovo's independence became a hot topic in the Spanish Global Voices community because of it's resemblance to the situation with the Spanish region of Catalonia. It is an autonomous community within the country; while part of Spain it is a very distinct area with its own culture and dialect, with Barcelona (pronounced bar-SAY-lona, per Catalan) as its hub. As a high schooler visiting beautiful Barcelona, I know from experience that Catalonians do not like Americans trying to speak broken elementary
Though some Catalan Bloggers had ambivalent feelings about their connection to Kosovo and the region's future independent status.
From Diari del votant anònim:
"It is not comparable with Catalonia or the Basque Country. However, I
think that any process towards sovereignty in Europe should take it
into consideration. That's the reason why we are so repeatedly told
that the two cases are different.[…] Kosovo might not be our mirror, but every time that a new state
says freely what and how it wants to be, the world becomes freer."
El bloc d'en Narcis Satre provides a nice insider's look to Catalonia, if you find the translation button...I had previously
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