EbonyW


 * Febuary 13**

On Friday 9 a member from Toybox Charity came to speak with us about injustice in Quatamala. She started off our presentation by introducing herself and asking everyone in the class if they had ever been the victim of injustice. If we had any stories she asked us to explain. The stories that i heard were interesting. Some people that i thought were so awesome had been picked on, called names, and pushed around. The activity was a bit of an eye opener, in the sense that I realized that injustice truely was everywhere. Anyways, after we did that excercise, she started talking about Guatamala and the street kids that reside there. Most of the homeless youth in Guatamala aren't even treated like people. Police officers will not only arrest street kids without a charge, but kill them. The kids have to resort to selling their own creations for money to feed themselves and any family they may have. I don't know about you, but these sorts of things disturb me. Shouldn't children have the right to be themselves, to grow up in a safe inviroment without worrying where there next meal will come from!? Anyways, as I said before, this presentation really was an eye opener. To learn more about Toybox Charity and what they do, go to [|Toybox Charity.org]. -Ebony-


 * Febuary 14**

Dear Mrs. Menchu.

Congratulations on your Nobel Prize win!!! I personally think that you still aren't getting the credit you deserve! Your story is quite interesting. I can not even imagine experiencing some of the hardships that you have had to endure. The fact that you lost many members of your family while working for injustice in your country is inspiring. Thank you for being such an amazing person and a light for those still struggling with the negative affects of injustice!! You could deffinatly teach the rest of us a thing or two about fighting injustice and being strong. -Ebony-


 * Febuary 18**

Well, I couldn't get to a computer on Friday, so I figured I might as well get off the couch and work on this article. I just read the information on the Latvia country and found it quite interesting. They really have had it tough there over the past 5 centuries. I had no idea that Latvia had such a historic struggle with the soviets, or that they had just gained their independance in 1991. I think that will be super interesting talking to a school that lives in Latvia! I can't wait!

reading 1- general bullying** This story is basically about how a teen was bullyed endlessly in her school and nothing was done about it. Instead, the teen was accused of bad behavior and gained and false reputation. This story reminds me of times when I've seen bullying going on, whether it be online or at school. I highly dislike bullying, no matter what the situation. It just shouldn't be going on. Another aspect of this story that really annoys me is the fact that nothing was done to the girls or to the guy that started the bullying. I havae heard stories from friends that have experienced this same find of bullying. I really want other teens to read stories like these and understand how much these acts negativly affect others.
 * March 14


 * reading 2 - homophobic bullying**

This reading was about a guy that became involved with another guy and because of this he was bullyed and made fun of. This story really hits close to home as I have a close friend who is gay (in fact, I have many gay or bisexual friends, however most haven't experienced this same sort of ridicule). At the beginning of the year, an incident occured where my friend was harrased and then beat up just for being gay. Alot of rumers went around that said my friend was the one who started it by 'hitting' on the bully. The reason why these pointless lies are circling is because alot of people are afraid that my friend will 'hit' on them, when in reality, all he wants is to have good friends. It really makes me upset. I might not agree with everything that my gay friend does, but who am I to mouth about it? Those boys had no right to do what they did. Maybe if more teens read stories like this they wouldn't be so critical about other peoples intrests.


 * reading 3 - religious bullying**

This story doesn't really surprise me in the slightest. Alot of religious bullying comes around when other teens don't understand or comprehend the belief system.This reminds me of times when I've been harrased about my faith (christian). I don't think it's very fair at all. However I feel this harrasment came about due to the terrist attacks in 9/11. I'm not going to lie, sometimes when I saw muslims after the attack, I was scared. But then I realized that the people I was seeing were normal, and that the people blowing up things were extremests. Teens really need to gain tolerence and knowledge about other belief systems so that this won't happen as often.


 * reading 4 - cyber bullying**

Again this story strikes close to home. The story hits on cyber-bullying, which I believe is one of the most common types of bullying that goes on today. A lot of kids I know have talked to kids who know others who have been bullyed, or have been bullyed themselves. I have even experienced some cyber-bullying, not to the point where my life was indanger though. I think people bully online because it's impersonal and, in most cases, you won't get in trouble for it. This doesn't make it right though!!! There have been teens who have killed themselves because someone sends them an email that says 'your a fag. DIE'. So not cool! I don't understand why teens continue to bully!


 * reading 5 - from the bully's point of view**

This story is pretty crazy in the sense that it really gives others a sense for how the typical bully starts out. I don't think that most people understand that bullies wheren't born that way, something major happened in their lives that caused the downward spiral. I guess this one doesn't really relate to my life personally, however, it's still very interesting to read and be able to understand.


 * March 29**

Okay, this story is not only really disturbing and sad, but it kind of makes me angry. The whole subject of women being subjected to sexual violence angers me. I just cannot understand why someone would want to behave in such a violent way towards something that is so personal. The other thing that really irked me was the survey results in Burundi. Almost 30% of the men there ADMIT to committing such an act. It really is disturbing. I’m not sure if people here could do anything or not. There would be the question of money and people who could go over and do something. Also, I’m not sure if it is wise to impose our system on them, no matter what is going on. It’s still wrong, yes, but, if that’s something that goes on there regularly, there may be little that can be done. I don’t know if this is the case though, I would need to research the topic more to come to a better conclusion. I think that the issues facing Canadian women are not the same, however, they are still awful. It may not be social acceptable to go around performing such acts, but it is easy in a private home. That is where I think most sexual violence happens in Canada.


 * May 16th 2007**
 * Street Theatre in Guatemala**

After reading this article I was able to realize how the teens my age were suffering and oppressed due to all the gang warfare in Guatemala. I read how the teens had nothing to look forward to in their lives, how the expectations were much lower then they should be, how most kids get involved with gangs because it provides a sort of family, as well as how the teens normally turn to drugs to quell their pain. This aspect is horrifying. The thought of kids turning to heavy drugs in an effort to forget where they are and what they are experiencing is a crazy thought. Although all this is going on, many kids are working to create better lives. One thing they have created is Iqui Balam, which is a theatre and music activity that involves gang members in an effort to get them away from the cycle of gang activity. Although it is possibly a simple concept, the gangs were not happy about it, and in turn, the movement received a lot of resistance. Members were harassed by other gangs, as well as it took the program a while to get going. It makes me sad to think about such awful things happening to kids to simply want to break away from the norm. However, although the kids experienced and still experience negativity towards their program, it’s beginning to catch on. I think that those kids should be recognized for what they have done to better their society. ~Ebony~