Turkey Under Attack?

Hi everybody,

I’m currently on vacation in Istanbul, Turkey, where I’ve spent two days visiting many historical mosques, palaces, markets, and architectural landmarks. This city is beautiful, exotic, hot, crowded, and a place I’m sure I will come back to in the future.

Istanbul

The interior of the Blue Mosque

Hagia Sophia

Though Turkey is a Muslim country, it is very tolerant to other religious beliefs besides it's own. Turkey is also strong economically and eager to join the European Union.

European Union Flag

Today I read an interesting article in the International Herald Tribune about an episode, which occurred  on June 22^nd.  A Turkish warplane was shot down over International waters by Syria.

A Turkish F4 warplane

Here’s the problem, the Turkish plane flew over Syrian airspace for five minutes unknowingly. The Syrians, however, shot down the plane, claiming it was over their airspace and have a right to defend themselves.

Either way, the Syrians shot down a Turkish plane, WHICH worsened relations between Turkey and Syria.

Turkey and Syria are neighbors

Last month, Turkey, the European countries, and the US removed diplomats from Syria and asked for the resignation of Bashar al-Assad.

Is Syria mad at Turkey for joining with the West? 

What do you think? Did the Turkish plane deserve to be shot down or did Syria shoot with hostility for the Turkish stance on the current regime?

The shooting of the plane looks, to me, like an act of hostility.

Share your views.

Thanks,

Emmanuel

Putin + al Assad = alliance

Hi everybody, 

Since this Syrian Uprising won’t be going away any time soon, I might as well write more about the ongoing struggle in the Middle East, and why Russia is even involved. And, I'd also like to show you a video I found moving. 

The US government is now looking more into the situation of Russia intervening with the Syrian Rebellion. There was some news recently about a  Russian cargo ship bringing arms to a Syrian dockyard. We know Syria is using arms to put down civilians (and children) who are protesting the government. 

Russian cago ship headed to Syria

Russia has an alliance with Bashar al Assad. You might wonder why a country like Russia would invest their time and energy in a small country in the Middle East.

Vladimir Putin and Bashar al Assad

1There are four main reasons why Russia is allied with Syria:

    1. Syria buys arms from Russia which gives Russia income. Russia gains wealth selling arms to foreign countries. 

22. Syria is Russia’s only ally in the Middle East. 

  3. Syria holds a Mediterranean naval port for Russia. Militarily, it's important for Russia to have a base in the region. 

44. The current Russian President, Vladimir Putin, wants to look politically strong to his people, and he and the Russians believe it's the Wests fault the Arab Spring is happening. 

It looks to me like Russia is trying to show it's political strength and gain power at the price of innocent children and civilians. 

On another note, I saw a very sad video about the torture of children in Syria on Anderson Cooper.

Warning....It’s very sad and intense (my mom actually cried), but it is eye opening to what is going on in Syria.

 http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2012/06/08/tonight-on-ac360-snipers-target-children-in-syria/?hpt=ac_mid

I would also like to give a round of applause to the videographer Robert King, for risking his life, and filming this incredible video. I would also like to thank Anderson Cooper for caring about the chaos in Syria!

Thanks everyone!

Emmanuel

Outrage over Syria (Warning strong material)

Hi everyone, 

 I know there's been a lot of talk about the Syrian uprisings in the news lately. “Why would we care about an uprising halfway across the world?” you might ask.  

Map of Syria

But Syrian's are as important as you and me, and I think we should be aware of our neighbors situations. 

What if America were to start giving arms to the rebels?  I believe it would make the uprisings the US’s problem along with Syria’s. 

How many Syrians must die before the US will intervene? 

A group of Syrian rebels

The Syrian people don't like their current ruler, Bashar al-Assad. Assad's father had ruled Syria for 29 years, and Bashar al Assad has been in power since 2000. 

President Bashar al Assad

In the past year there have been many protests demanding the resignation of Bashar’s presidency (more like dictator to me). 

Bashar has sent the army to quell the uprisings, but it hasn't stopped the unrest throughout Syria. Soldiers are forced to kill civilians, and those who won't  are executed by their own colleagues.

A Syrian Soldier who has switched sides

The defected soldiers and civilians are joining forces against the Syrian army. Many people have been lost on both sides during these uprisings. UNICEF believes the Syrian government has killed more than 500 children in all, and another 400 have been arrested and tortured in Syrian prisons.

You may have heard about the killing of 49 children on the news this past week.  To me the slaughter of these children is unfathomable, cruel, and barbaric. The whole world, myself included, is outraged by these massacres!

A young victim of the civil unrest

The Syrian government reminds me of the Capitol in the Hunger Games books. President Snow rules with fear like Bashar al-Assad.  In the books, the Capital is putting children in a match to the death to punish the people and remind them who is in control. The Syrian government, likewise, is striking fear in the people by killing the children.

 

Hunger Games
The Mockingjay, a symbol of the rebellion

I'm concerned whether we should step in or not; if we end up helping the rebels overtake the government, they might turn against us in the future. 

On the other hand if we help the rebels, and they lose, the Syrian government may not be as tolerant to us than before . 

Also, Russia and Syria have an alliance and if we arm the rebels, Russia will aid the government. Then it could turn into another Vietnam war with thousands of civilians dying. 

Children are dying and...what is the answer to help them? 

Please leave a comment on whether or not you feel America should give arms to the rebels to help defeat al-Assad. 

Thanks for reading this post! 

Emmanuel

Poetry Homework

Hi everybody,

I hope you all had a great memorial day weekend and are looking forward to a fantastic upcoming summer vacation.

I am sad to say I will not be going on a trip with UNICEF this summer, but emanzadventures will not cease to produce worldly information.

This semester in school, I studied poetry. I thought poetry was going to be dull and uninteresting, but I ended up finding poems and poets I enjoyed and took pleasure to reading them.  I had an assignment where I listened to a poem in class, and then had to write my own poem with a similar rhythm or theme. This particular assignment I was instructed to write a poem about a strong memory. I chose to write a poem inspired by my trip to senegal since the experience is something I will rememember for all of my life.

Senegal

I smell something

A decaying fish on a table

Trash reeking all over

I see something

Where no child should be

Where no life should be lived

I hear something

The crowd of people

The laughter of children

Where they have nothing

Not even parents to love

I taste something

The bitterness of it all

The flavorlessness of this prison

I touch something

A hand of a child

A rush of excitement

A burst of HOPE

        

                  -Emmanuel Zilber

Tell me if you enjoyed this poem. Is there anything surprising about the images?  I would also enjoy if you want to write a poem about your most memorable memory. Feel free to share in the comments. 

Thanks!! 

Emmanuel 

Hookie Day with Ishmael Beah

Last week, I was given two great privileges in one day. One, I got to hear Ishmael Beah speak and two, I was allowed to miss school for the opportunity. Woo Hoo! 

 

Who is Ishmael Beah, you ask?

Let me tell you his story and why I believe it’s important for you to know what happened to him. 

Ishmael Beah is a former child soldier from Sierra Leone who wrote an autobiography about his life in war and how he escaped.

http://www.amazon.com/Long-Way-Gone-Memoirs-Soldier/dp/0374531269/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1336956871&sr=1-1

            Ishmael Beah was just an ordinary child in the country of Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone is located in West Africa, south of Senegal. Ishmael had a regular life with friends, family, school (he even learned some Shakespeare), and he loved American hip-hop. Ishmael even said "My life before the war was very simple but very happy, very peaceful, beautiful, and the people were incredibly kind and nice. I didn't fear anything, anything, nothing at all".

West Africa; Senegal (where I visited last Summer) is North of Sierra Leone

            When Ishmael was just twelve years old, the civil war was brought to the small town in which he lived. Both of his parents were killed as well as his only two brothers. He escaped with a group of boys, forced to survive and hide from the rebels in the country. When Ishmael and his young friends went to seek help in neighboring villages, people didn’t want to help them because children were not trusted; children could be brutal soldiers.  

A Child Soldier

Adults no longer saw these young children as innocent little faces, but monsters hired by the government to kill. Looking for shelter and protection, Ishmael found and army base.  Once there, he was forced to fight for the government against the rebels in return for food and safety.

            The army used drugs to brainwash these children so they would follow orders to kill. The drugs fueled the children’s rage and hatred against the rebels who murdered their families, and gave them energy to keep fighting. The commanders of the army became father figures to the children who had lost everything.

Courageous field workers from UNICEF risked their lives to negotiate with the warlords and request children be freed. Sometimes the commanders would comply, BUT only to boys, girls were kept for sexual exploitation, and to help cook and clean.

Former Child Soldier studying at a UNICEF Relief Camp

            Ishmael was freed by UNICEF at fifteen years old. He went through 8 months of rehabilitation, psychotherapy and schooling. When he was sixteen he was lucky enough to travel to NY to speak at the UN about child soldiers. There, he met a woman who eventually became his “new mother” and he ended up fleeing Sierra Leone and moving in with her.

Laura Simms, Beah's Adopted Mother

I’m telling this story because I think people should pay more attention to the problem of child soldiers in the world. Hundreds of thousands of child soldiers exist around the world today and we can help make a difference. The children of the world are the future leaders and citizens of tomorrow. Please share this story and support organizations, like Ishmaels, who are helping children in war torn countries. : http://www.beahfound.org/Beah_Foundation/Donate.html )

or

https://secure.unicefusa.org/site/Donation2?df_id=8060&8060.donation=form1

Ishmael Beah and I

If you have any questions, ask me in the comments area and I will get back to you as soon as I can. 

And, If you would like a chance to win a signed copy of Ishmael's memoirs, leave a comment about this post and I will randomly choose one lucky winner by Friday May 18th.




Thanks everyone.
Emmanuel

I made a movie!

Hi Everyone

It's been a while since I've written. I've been busy with school, tennis, and everyday life. 

I made this video about my trip to Senegal to show you more about what I wrote in my blog. I hope you like it. 

Thanks for watching! 

I have a new post (and a prize!)  coming soon - stay tuned.

I'm famous...

Hi Everyone,

Hope you're having a great Summer. 'Cause I am!!

Unicef made a video of my group in Senegal. It feels like ages since I visited Africa; I've done so much this Summer. 

I like that the video shows some of the villages we visited and talks about what we experienced. Plus, you can meet some of my new friends. 

Originally, I didn't want to appear or speak in the video. But, I felt I would be the only one who didn't so I finally agreed.  Plus, my mom persuaded me when she said I need to be the voice for the children who don't get to speak. People don't pay attention to the children. They mostly pay attention to politics and celebrities. 

Here's the video. Leave a comment, please. I would like to hear what you think. 

See ya soon!

Progress

Do you remember when I told you about Tostan and how they work to stop FGC?  This is an article I found on Tumblr. 

I think it's great that Tostan and it's work are in the news because I saw how great they are.

5000 Villages in Senegal have renounced FGC because of Tostan....Now Gambia is joining too. 

We saw this woman teach her village about not judging people by their skin color, religion or beliefs. Tostan gave them these cards to help. 

117 Gambian Communities Renounce Female Genital Cutting and Child/Forced Marriage

fyeahafrica:

117 Fula and Mandinka communities in the Upper River Region of The Gambia publicly declared abandonment of the traditional practices of FGC and child/forced marriage. Tostan, the leading NGO in the region dedicated to women’s health and empowerment, organized the declaration ceremony, which took place earlier in June.

Though neither practice is punishable under Gambian law, they have been declared violations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Rights of the Child, which The Gambia has signed.

FGC exists in various forms throughout, all in some manner cutting parts of the outer female genitalia. The practice has been traditionally completed in a communal ceremony, often with re-use of the same blade for multiple girls and without anesthetics. Many health complications and even deaths have occurred as a result of the practice, which had previously been endured by almost all Gambian women. Recent studies have concluded that the percent has dropped to between 65-75%, thanks to the work of Tostan and other human rights organizations. Forced and/or child marriage is also a common traditional practice, often resulting in physical harm due to early sexual activity and pregnancy.

Tostan, which means “breakthrough” or “spreading and sharing” in the West African language Wolof, have worked in the region since 2006, engaging communities in various health, hygiene, and community sustainability trainings.

Alhaji AF Jallow, a member of the steering committee, spoke at the ceremony and expressed his gratitude towards Tostan, but also emphasized the importance of communities maintaining their agreement to abandon the practices. Let us all hope that this is not merely a front for the media and that genuine deep-rooted and sustained change will be occurring.

Gambia is a country within Senegal. Long story, but what you need to know is England got Gambia and France got the rest of Senegal.








See ya later! Off to the Jardin D'acclimitation in Paris. 

Final Official Day - Senegal

On Thursday (our last day) we went to another nongovernmental organization called ACAPAS which gives children of the street access to education. The difference between this organization and Wednesdays, is that ACAPAS is a much bigger campus, and it has boys and girls instead of just boys or just girls and they teach everything from normal school, plus life skills. They also provide vocational training (a skill you can use to get a job) like embroidery. All of these things are important.

ACAPAS "School"

While we were there, a former student told us about when he was a poor and uneducated kid, living on the streets. Acapas helped him become a professional football player (for us it’s soccer) and he then became a teacher. He said ACAPAS made him a man. Even though I felt sad for him, I could see the school does a really good job. He is very grateful the school saved him from the streets, and now he’s the sports coach. 

Inspiring story

While he was at ACAPAS

Speaking of sports, at the end of the tour we played basketball with the girls team. They were much older and better players. They had no pity on us!!! Once we got the ball, YANK, one of the girls would steal it. In the end, we scored about 6 points, and the girls about 70 or 80 points. We sure got crushed!! It was fun to play a sport we play at home all the way in Africa.

Tough match

Alexi and Kobe "Oh Yah"

At dinner we had to present what we learned on this trip. I was partnered with Kobe (8 years old and very nice) and James (middle school student and also very nice). We wrote a song about education and sang it to the tune of “On the Floor”. Everybody laughed and thought it was good.

Presentations song

With the President of the US Fund for UNICEF, Caryl Stern...She's the boss (and really cool)!

I felt that I would miss everybody and how fun it was to experience the children of Senegal. But, as much as it was interesting it was sad so I was happy to go home.

My Group

My favorite parts of the trip:

Going to the preschool because they performed for us and I thought it was sweet.

Going to the villages to experience what it’s like to live in a remote village and live in a hut.

I liked the people on the trip, especially Kobe, who is really funny.

The food was better than I thought; I got to eat steak and pizza almost every day.

Typical Senegelese meal...I chose steak and Pizza

My least favorite parts of the trip:

I didn’t like going to the second Daara. It was really sad to see all those kids in the one room forced to do something they don’t want to do, and to be near a smelly fish market.

Unicef took us there to be able to tell people what we saw and make a difference.  Unicef promotes child friendly schools, which means schools with a safe and healthy environment.

I didn’t like shaking people’s hands because they are not clean and have germs. The weather was really hot so my face would itch and I couldn’t touch my face with all those germs.

I didn’t like the smell of some of the places which smelled dirty. I’ve never smelled anything like that.

Would I do a UNICEF trip again?

Yes. I think it’s fascinating to see different cultures, and to see how people live with so much less money.

I would want to go back to Africa because it’s beautiful and the people are really nice (they greet you warmly). I am fascinated to see the remote villages and how they get water and survive is interesting.

How can I help these kids?

I can help these kids by raising money and trick or treating for UNICEF.  I could take money from my allowance each week and give it to UNICEF. I could also make an imovie to show people what it’s like in a third world country, what I experienced,  and hope people will realize they really need our help.

Even small amounts of money can save a child’s life.

Thanks everyone for following my blog. I hope you now feel that you have seen Africa though my eyes. Can’t wait to see you all when we’re all back from Summer.

I may post once in a while if I see something interesting or important.

Chi Jama

(Goodbye in Wollof – native language of Senegal).

Leaving hotel Terrou-Bi for the airport

Paris bound