Human rights issues

17/10/11
S.C
-try to understand the issue - yes
-research past issues - yes
-Find an issue - child soldiers


18/10/11
- Find and identify individuals affected by your issue - yes
- Research relevant information - yes


20/10/11


Outcome s.c
- To achieve Link on the IDEAL mountain
- Get a story of an individual
- Have information of the issue
- Use pictures in the outcome






1) What is a child soldier?

2) Where is this happening?

3) How did this issue develop?

4) Why are there child soldiers?

5) When did this start?


01/11/11


I will try to achieve link on the ideal mountain. I will try to link parts of the individuals life to how it affects him mentally later in his life. I will analyse the reliability of information from websites. 


03/11/11


-I will work on ways to present my outcome
-I will get a lot of work done
-I will examine the differences between the past and modern military use of children.

Iqbal Masih

Iqbal Masih was born in 1982 in Muridke, a small village outside of Lahore in Pakistan. His family was very poor and shortly after Iqbal was born his father Saif Masih decided to leave his family. When he was four years old Iqbal’s mother needed money to pay for his brother’s wedding. For a poor family in Pakistan the only way to borrow money from an employer. An employer loans a family money in exchange for the bonded labor of a small child.

Iqbal was first made to work an entire year without wages in order to learn the skills of a carpet weaver. By the time his apprenticeship ended he was paid only twenty cents a day. The conditions he worked in were terrible. Iqbal and the other children were made to squat on a wooden bench and tie millions of knots into carpets. Iqbal couldn’t talk to any of the other children and if he daydreamed the guards would beat him.

Many times, the children would accidentally cut themselves with the carpet knives and, to stop the bleeding, their wounds were dipped in hot oil so that the blood and skin would quickly bond together. They didn’t really care about the health of the child and they were doing this to make sure the child could work again.

Six years later Iqbal heard about a meeting of the Bonded Labor Liberation Front that helped children like him. After work he sneaked out and attended the meeting. In the meeting Iqbal learned the bonded labor was banned in 1992 and he instantly knew he wanted to be free. He talked to Eshan Ullah Khan who gave him paperwork he needed to show to his employer to be free.

Iqbal wasn’t content just to free himself so he worked to free his fellow workers as well. When he was free he was sent to a BLLF school in Lahore. Iqbal studied very hard finishing four years of work in two. At school iqbal was seen having natural leadership skills and he became involved in demonstrations that fought against bonded child labor.

Iqbal’s six years in bonded labor has made him about half the normal size of his age and has stunted his growth. Iqbal also suffered from kidney problems, bronchial infections, a curved spine and arthritis. When he went to the USA to receive the reebok human rights award, Iqbal enjoyed watching cartoons and had a chance to play some computer games as well.

Iqbals popularity and influence had also gained him some death threats from the carpet mafia. Iqbal ignored the threats and continued to help free children from bonded labor.

On Sunday, April 16, 1995, Iqbal spent time with his mother and siblings on easter, he then head over to visit his uncle. On the way Iqbal was shot and killed by the members of the carpet mafia.

Iqbal’s story had made such an impact that children in Broad Meadows Middle School decided to raise funds to build a school. 10 years after his death they raised enough money to build 8 schools around the world.

The carpet mafia probably killed Iqbal because he was freeing the bonded laborers that they viewed as assets. The BLLF and the bonded laborers were probably shocked and saddened to hear that Iqbal was killed but this probably made them to work harder for freedom.

Does Everyone Have Access To Their Human RIghts?

LI's
To know the 5Ws of Amnesty International
To evaluate whether everyone has access to their human rights
To reflect on others situations

SC's
To find out what the Amnesty is and when it started
To evaluate whether everyone has access to their human rights

Amnesty is a non-profit organization whose mission is to prevent abuses of human rights, and to demand justice to those whose rights are violated. Amnesty International was founded in London in July 1961 by a lawyer named Peter Benenson. Amnesty International is a global movement of more than three million supporters who campaign to end abuses of human rights. They are independent of any government, economic interest or religion and are funded by donations and volunteers.

I think maybe only some people have access to their human rights; it depends on the country. Sometimes you have all your rights but sometimes the government controls your rights.

The start of the video made me scared, it gave me the feeling of running for my life. Towards the end I felt empowered. In the video there is an asylum seeker, a child seamstress, child soldiers, a journalist, another child worker and monks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7embDboEAIY&feature=player_embedded

Human rights

Recently in Humanities I have learnt some important rights and the importance of rights. As a class we made a sort of presentation on the wall showing the declaration of human rights and how human rights came to be.
 In my group our topics about human rights were the Magna Carta, the convention of torture and the international security act of Malaysia. Out of these I think that the Magna Carta is the most important of those three because the Magna Carta made rights available not only to the nobles but also to the people. The Convention of torture is the second and the third is the international security act in malaysia because it is not a global thing. In my group I would be a complete finisher and sometimes a PL, I would complete a task and made sure it was good quality and I gave a few ideas to what the layout of the board should look like.

Empathy

The boy in the picture looks like he has spent endless hours making balls so he looks quite sad. It seems he dreams of playing football (shown in the thought bubble) and stop working. We could donate to families who have their kids working.

The slave diary

In humanities we are learning about the british empire and about slave trade so we made a diary on how it would be like to be a slave.

Entry 1 - Life In The Village

My name is Akinkawon and recently my village started trading with the white people. We swap some of our people for wood and metal weapons called muskets. We live off the land growing crops and breeding livestock. My job was to take care of the sheep while they eat.

Today, while I was eating my breakfast I heard sounds of battle outside. It was the neighboring village! I rushed outside and did whatever I could to help our village.

The next day all of us were weary for battle and the bullets for the muskets had finished. We decided we needed more weapons for future battles.

Entry 2 - Slavery

As we needed weapons to fight our enemies I was traded away. I was taken away by some of the village elders to some unknown place. I thought it would be for the initiation but I was wrong. I am now in a sack being dragged away by white people.

I heard noises, all around me… The noises were laughing, taunting me as I was being dragged somewhere. I couldn’t breathe and then I could hear shouting, wherever they were going to take me I knew it wouldn’t be good.

People who got tired either died of exhaustion or were killed by the white men.

Entry 3 - On A Boat

Conditions on the ship were terrible. We were all forced into a space under the boat. It was very tight and crowded down there. Some of us were made to row while me and the others were shackled to the floor.

We were given very little food over the next few days and it was unbearable. We could not go to the toilet so some of us relieved ourselves on the spot we were on. It was stinky and hot at the bottom of the ship, some of my friends had died on this ship because we were treated poorly. The women had broken thumbs because of the torture device the white men use; the thumbscrew!

We were whipped today because the rowers were slow, then they threw salty water on us; the pain was unbearable. We were then moved back into the bottom of the ship. I can't take it anymore, I have to get out.

Entry 4 -The Farm

When we arrived we were thrown out of the ship and rounded up in the middle of a busy place. People were shouting and some of us were exchanged for money. I felt confused to what a man was saying as he was speaking really quickly, People were poking and touching me. I was bought by a nice looking man who’s wife was very violent and vicious to slaves. They were called the Smiths. When I arrived at their house I was quickly rushed to the fields to work.

During the next few weeks I worked endless hours with little food and sleep. If we took a rest or collapsed my master’s wife would whip us continually shouting at us to get up and work.

We slept in small cramped spaces and weren’t treated very nicely. I dream of a day when we could escape and see our families again.

Part 2

One of my friends died today. It was in the morning while he was working in the fields like he did everyday when he suddenly fell to the floor. I rushed to help him up but my master’s wife pushed me away, she continued whipping him continuously while he was groaning in pain.

There were new slaves that came in today and all of them were reluctant to do anything the white men said; they were all killed on the spot. Mr. Smith our master did not want the slaves to be killed, however his wife persuaded him that we were not to be trusted.

Epilogue 

A few days later the slaves in the neighbouring farm revolted and Akinkawon decided to join them, however the rebellion was crushed and they all were executed. However his bravery was unforgotten and a second rebellion happened a few years later; that rebellion succeeded and a few months later slavery was abolished.

Actively Listening

We played a game today.
One person describes a picture while the other tries to draw it without looking at the picture itself. This activity improves your describing skills as well as your drawing skills.

My fail drawing

In this game my drawing was not accurate but my friend was kind of accurate. I found it really easy to describe the drawing because as you can see I am terrible at drawing.
This task improves your learning by improving how you ask questions and how descriptive you are.
I should try improving my description in this task because my friend did not really get the bottom half right.

ELP REFLECTION

What were the key success criteria?

-To design a sustainable resort

-To explain your ideas

-To show your work

I feel i have achieved the success criteria,

 

What did you learn from this learning opportunity? 

I learned what sustainability is and what makes a place sustainable

 

Why did I learn it?

Learning this will help us in the future. Learning this will make me a better person and more responsible.

 

How did I learn it?

The thinking skills I used are creativity, enquiry, when I was planning and researching and evaluation, when I was evaluating my information. My peers helped me and Miss Suzy got me started.

 

What can I do next time to improve my learning?

I am roughly on EXPLAIN on the ideal mountain because identified what a sustainable resort should have and i used evidence to support my opinions. My three targets are to consider the issue of sustainability, ask my own questions and write explanations in a structured way..

ELP

Design idea

The resort I made is meant to be simple but looks nice. It is meant to be a place where people who care for the earth can stay for a reasonable price and a place for information for the “less informed” people.

Key features

The resort consists of 13 rooms so far (number of beds in room varies), a pool, an information center, a restaurant/lounge with a skylight, an underground area where some rooms are and a flower garden.

Location of the hotel.

The hotel will be located where deforestation is happening and it also will be near the countryside. An area where deforestation would need an eco resort so people can be informed of what’s happening and how they can help.

How is the resort sustainable and eco friendly?

Firstly the resort is made out of recycled material, which also cuts down on material cost. The resort relies on energy that is created by an underground stream of water. The resort is close to the countryside, which means Fresh food can easily be attained and it would mean the trucks transporting the food use less fuel and emit less gas to give us our supplies; this is a good alternative than buying food from a far-away market. Near the end of their stay the tourists are given an option to plant a sapling in an area that has been deforested.

What kind of tourists will use this resort?

All tourists are welcome to stay here, for learning, for relaxation, for a better alternative, for a good feeling knowing you did something good or just for the sake of it.

How the local people and environment will benefit

The local people will benefit because of the supplies the resort will need to improve it. The environment will also benefit because of the sapling per visitor program. So the more people that visit the resort the more trees will be planted in a deforested area.

Do you think this is what tourism should be about?

I think tourism should be sustainable and co-exist with the environment  instead of destroying ecosystems for open fields to build on.

My trip reflection

On the 8th of march at around 9:00 o' clock we went into the bus and left for Bukit Tinggi.

 After awhile we reached Selesa resort and had some snacks, then we got allocated to our rooms and after we unpacked we went for lunch. After lunch we wen't for a short trek to the activities area. While doing the activities we developed our teamwork skills and we had fun.

Next morning on the 9th of march we had breakfast and rode in the bus for five hours to our next destination. When we reached Cherating we got our rooms and had lunch. After that we wen't to the beach to do our activities, doing some field work and making short movies about our surroundings

At nine o'clock we wen't to the turtle sanctuary where a nice man showed us a video about turtles, showed us information and a few turtles.When we came back we packed our bags and went to sleep.

Next morning we had the choice to make geo sculptures which meant making something using things from the beach or continue with our movies, either way we were developing our creativity skills.

We learned about the beach environment, about conserving it and video making techniques.

I mostly enjoyed doing the field work on the beach because while walking around I saw some interesting things.

Humanities

What is humanities?

Humanities is a subject about things concerning humans like history and geography.

Why are we blogging?

We are blogging to show what we do and to improve writing skill. It improves our writing skill because when we are blogging we use creativity and we can use that when writing.