marisagi82’s blog

The people of Haiti are angered by the prices of food.  Because of this they are protesting in order for this to change, but the protest got way out of hand.  Some journalists and photographers were roughed up by the angry mob, and some chairs were thrown.  The protesters blame the rise in food prices on President Rene Preval and the U.N. Troops.  They want the president out of office and th U.N. Troops out of their country.  People in Haiti are living off of $2.00 per day.  The U.N. World Food Program made an urgent call for donations to support Haiti.

A rally of the high cost of food took place in 2004 and President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was exiled along with others who partook in the rally led by Rev. Gerard Jean-Juste .  Many of the protesters are calling for his return.  What surprises me is that this rally took place in 2004, and now that four years have passed, and barely any progress was made.  The same president who tried to help some this hunger problem was the same one who was exiled.  I cannot fathom what type of nonsense this is!!!  

I strongly believe that there is enough food to go around, and there is no excuse for anyone to have to be driven to the point to protest like this.  The Haitians are screaming that "We are hungry!" and "Down with the expensive life!"  Living on $2 per day is just baffling to anyone with a heart.   Now that the people of Haiti are calling for  their president's resignation, I wonder if it is a wake up call for him.  Like Rev. Gerard Jean-Juste said and it will be a no-brainer to agree with, "Some people can take the hunger anymore."  Speaking from a pessimistic point of view, it is not.   Very little did I know that Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere.  The upside of this is that there is someone or a group of people out there who is willing to help the Haitian civilians.

Link to blog: http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/04/07/haiti.food.protests.ap/index.html

I have never seen an election that would result to an unclear decision.  This may not be the first time in history that this has occurred in any country, but this is the first time I am seeing something like this.  I could only imagine the frustration of President Robert Mugabe.  I read that this was a way to ensure that all votes are counted fairly.  Another issue brought up is why this matters to the international community.  This individual believes the presidential election should only be the business of the people of Zimbabwe as far as their priorities.

To an extent, I agree with this person because it should be the the business of the Zimbabweans, but at the same time I think it would be a good lesson for other countries to learn.  Personally, I wish the 2000 elections would have been held the way Zimbabwe's election was held only because of the votes being counted fairly.

Here is the link:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/04/01/zimbabwe.election/index.html

Australia will be apologizing to the Aborigines on February 13th.  It is said that this milestone could ease the racial tensions "subjected to policies including the removal of mixed blood children from the families on the premise that their race was doomed."  The Aborigines are considered to be the porrest ethnic group in Australia and most likely to be jailed, unemployed and illiterate.  From 1910 to the 1970's mixed-blood Aboriginal children were taken from their parents under state and federal laws based on premise that Aborigines were a doomed race and that they were "saving" the children as a humane alternative.  A national inquiry in 1997 found that these children were suffering long-term loss of family and culture.  That same inquiry recommended that the federal authorities apologize and compensate the families and those removed from them.  Prime Minister refused to do either because he says the government should not be held responsible for the past policies of former officials.

This issue of apologizing to the Aborigines has its similarities with the African-Americans demanding an apology from the United States for slavery, in my opinion.  The similarities are that African-Americans were stripped of their Africanculture, most suffer unemployment, imprisonment, and illiteracy.  An apology and compensation would be great, but not only are they long overdue, they will not make up for the long-term problems they face today.  What would be the point of apologizing to someone or a group of people and not meaning it?  I believe it is up to the Aborigines, also African-Americans, to reconnect with the culture and build up their community.