Stefan’s Diaries: Bloodlust Chapter 18

As soon as Id taken every last ticket and accepted every last dollar, I slipped into the tent behind an overweight man clutching a sweaty wad of Confederate notes in each fist. The air was thick with the stench of sweat, sawdust, and, of course, blood. People were milling around us, paying extra money to gawk at the Strongman and the Tattooed Lady, all of whom were hidden behind thick black curtains at various intervals along the perimeter of the tent. But the majority of the crowd was clamoring around Jasper. Large wagers were being placed, with lots of shouting and hand signals and stacks of greasy notes being passed back and forth. Jasper gleefully chomped on his soggy cigar and laughed. Sailors yanked foreign bills from their billfolds. A few teenagers pooled their coins. Well-dressed men in ties waved gold coins. â€Å"Fight, fight, fight!† one red-faced man began yelling. Instantly, the people standing by him began to chant as well. Three well-dressed women, their hair in curls atop their heads, glanced at each other, giggled, and echoed the cheer, their alto voices contrasting with the mens baritone ones. Gallagher strode into the tent, his cane tapping a path through the sawdust. People turned and craned their necks to catch a glimpse of him; in the circus tent, he was just as much an attraction as the freaks. After all, this was the man whod caught a vampire. Be strong, brother, I whispered under my breath, remembering all the times Damon had won fights back in Mystic Falls. Damon had never provoked those battles but had always been a good fighter, always landing a punch fast when a fight broke out. Thats why hed been so respected in the army. But now, in a battle against a mountain lion, especially after not feeding for days I shuddered. â€Å"Brother?† I whispered tentatively, at a decibel I knew only his ears could detect. I was hoping for some sort of reply, even though I wasnt sure whether he could have actually heard me. If he did, he said nothing in response. â€Å"And now, lets introduce our fighters!† Gallaghers voice broke through my reverie. Two animal handlers, their hands in leather gloves and wearing boots that came up past their knees, walked into the ring, leading a mangy mountain lion. The mountain lion had a grayish-yellowish coat and yellow teeth, and, despite its lean body, looked brutal. And hungry. As if on cue, it uttered a roar. â€Å"In one end of your ring, you have the mountain lion. But this is no ordinary cat. This beast is the Alberta Avenger! He came down from Canada to find the hunter that killed his mate. He eviscerated the hunter, his wife, and all of his children except the youngest, whose legs the lion ate before leaving the rest of him alive to tell the story. Since then, you have followed the mountain lion in the newspapers as it has feasted its way on innocents in the Union and Confederacy without prejudice. Tonight, it is here only after we captured it trying to stow away on a boat bound for the Andes Mountains in South America. The mountain lion, ladies and gentlemen!† Gallagher yelled, his showmanship on full display. The crowd dutifully applauded enthusiastically, and some even cheered. â€Å"Its opponent is a legendary vampire that has been terrifying children and their parents for centuries. Viktor the Cruel was born in 1589 and was heir to the Hapsburg Empire until he first tasted blood–his sisters–and began a three-hundred-year feeding frenzy that has left a trail of drained bodies around the world. At an estimated two victims per day, this brings Viktors kills to one and a half million people, more than double the size of Italy. This unstoppable lust for blood continues tonight.† The applause was more nervous now, but the cheers were louder. Gallagher spread his hands apart with a flourish, and Damon came into the ring, surrounded by four handlers. His hands and feet were in chains, and his face was partially hidden by a muzzle. His skin was bleeding from the vervain, his eyes were bloodshot, and the expression on his face was one Id never seen. I could understand the hatred he felt–I was fighting every instinct I had not to kill the people holding him captive. But his imprisonment had changed him. Damon had called me a cold-blooded killer. The look in Damons eyes was not one of sport, or survival. It was pure bloodlust. A hush filled the tent. The mountain lion strained at his chains, but Damon simply stood in his corner of the ring, as if unaware of what the imminent future held for him. â€Å"And go!† Gallagher yelled. Immediately, the handlers unlocked Damons chains and opened the iron door of the mountain lions cage, then ran off the stage. The lion jumped toward Damon, making contact with his chest. Damon let out an anguished moan and fell backward. Then, just as quickly, he rose to his feet and roared, his face suddenly flushed, his fangs on full display. I knew this was all instinctual: Damons Power rising to the surface as soon as hed felt the attack. I had learned this about our kind in the past few weeks: Our power led us to do things before we even knew we were doing them. Despite Damons external weakness, his Power was still intact. The lion leaped again, and Damon went low, ducking under the claws and coming up at just the right moment to dig his hands into the lions neck. But the lion tossed Damon free; he rolled to a stop only when he slammed into the gate surrounding the ring. Damon let out another moan and lay on the ground. The lion began to stalk over to claim his kill. The crowd went wild, friends hitting one another in the arm and clawing at the air as though they themselves were in the fight. One of the handlers positioned along the sidelines poked at Damon, clearly to get him moving. Damon swung without looking, knocking the man into the stands. As the handler struggled to get up, two nearby customers kicked him in the gut and then dropped him over the back railing to the dirt below, out of sight. Damon paid no heed to the scuffle and moved deeper into the ring, letting the lion slowly circle him. After a long silence, Damon let out a feral growl and ran toward the lion. The lion roared in response and charged, but this time Damon stepped aside, and when the lion missed him, Damon hooked an arm up under the lions neck. With strength no one seemed to expect, Damon threw the lion onto its back. He was about to dive on top and go in for the kill when the lion kicked up and drove a claw right through Damons arm. The lion swatted its paw around, swinging Damon through the air like a fly on a fishing line. At last, the flesh gave way and Damon, with a red arc of blood trailing behind him, shot up through the air, then landed with a thud even I couldnt hear over the hellish roar of the celebrating crowd. Damon struggled to his feet, holding the wounded arm in place with the other. He wasnt healing as quickly as vampires usually do–I wondered if the vervain had dampened that Power. He needed blood, that much was clear. His survival instincts and the attendant adrenalin were waning. I was about to rush forward into the ring, with the stout man in front of me as an offering to my brother, when a warm hand fell on my arm. Callie. â€Å"Its horrible,† she said. Her knuckles had gone white around clumps of her dress. Her lips hung loose and trembled. â€Å"I cant watch this barbarism much longer.† â€Å"Then tell your father to stop it,† I hissed. The stomping on the wooden stands was picking up in speed and along with the racing heartbeats of the people. The splotches of blood in the sawdust werent enough to satisfy them–they needed to see a death. Now Damon was padding around the mountain lion, as the animal hunched, coiled, in the center of the ring, moving as little as possible while following Damon with its reflective eyes. Suddenly, Damon took off, moving at a blurred speed around the lion so that the animal had to rapidly turn and turn, as though chasing its own tail. A quiet came over the crowd, and only the heavy panting of Damon and the mountain lion echoed under the canvas of the tent. Damon circled his prey, moving faster than the lion could comprehend. The crowd gasped as Damon slanted toward the mountain lion, and before the beast could tell which direction he was coming from, Damon dove on the muscle behind the lions head. He bit in and held on, letting the lion kick and flip wildly. Callie clutched my arm. My eyes were riveted on the scene, and my body was primed to run to the cage should I need to intervene. The mountain lion was slowing. Each time it bucked, more blood appeared in the sawdust in little red rivers. Its left hind leg was looking weak now; wobbling, it started to flop toward the ground. Damon unlatched his fangs and reared back, ready to go for the vein in the cats neck. Just then, the cat flailed its hindquarters and threw Damon free. As Damon tried to recover his feet, the mountain lion moved in and wrapped its jaws around his side. The crowd gasped again, then began to boo. Fight, I urged with every fiber of my being, clenching my fists at my sides. Damon had gone limp and was being flung around like an old slipper in a dogs mouth. The lion tossed Damon to the ground, then pulled its head back and opened wide. But just as the animal dove forward, Damon rolled away. He drove his shoulder into the confused beasts side, bowling it over and exposing the short white hairs on its throat. Damon tore into the vein with his fangs. The mountain lion twitched its way to stillness as a puddle of blood became bigger and bigger until it was a great lake of blood within the fighting ring. At its center was my brother, kneeling over a dead mountain lion. He stood and stumbled backward a step. He looked up into the crowd with a wide smile on his face, his fangs out and his whole face and front dripping with blood. The crowd cheered and booed in equal measure, and Damon just turned in a small circle, occasionally licking his lips. Gallagher clapped his fat hands together. The ones whod made money jumped and hugged one another. The ones whod lost threw hats to the ground or stared blankly ahead. I leaped forward, trying to push my way to my brother, but the handlers had already moved in, stakes and vervain-laced nets in hand. Damon was clearly drunk on such a massive feed after not eating for so long and didnt seem to notice them. Before I could even shout a warning, the men wrapped him in nets and began dragging him out of the arena. Even at my fastest, I couldnt get past the crowd that had filled in behind them and now blocked the entire way. All of the revelers, hooting and slobbering, stood between me and the exit, and by the time I pushed and shoved my way out, the wagon was careening out of the fairgrounds. A whip cracked. Hooves beat the ground. And just like that, Damon was gone.

Background Study

This project explains and explores the role that students in plays for, triggering, fostering and creating a more functional ,usability, Ideal and modern- kneeled Grading System which can be use mainly by the students and teachers for more organized ways of listing, adding, deleting, Inserting and on updating the grades of the students. In this part it is tackled the ways and procedures on how to plan the project, analyze the problems to be encountered, designing, and mostly coding which is very necessary to be done.Aside from that, the reject is useless without the GUI which serves as the foreground of the program. In addition, Database which serves alternately as the storage of every Information and data which you are going to add, delete or update if necessary. However, all these cannot be possible without the help of every members in the group, that Is why the potential for Interaction and MME- tings of the people involved In creating this said System Is highly recommended for th is to be done In time. Therefore established a functional, reliable, and user-friendly Online Grading System, cooperation and contributions areWhy use of Online Grading System? If we can still use instead of the traditional way of updating the grades? Simple, because it organizes one's work ,hassle free and can optimize and save more time. By combining all the procedures above and the qualitative knowledge of every group members in this task, the paper aims to provide and create a better and usable Online Grading System for the benefits of all the authorized people involved in here. This findings suggests that the role of the students in this said project is very necessary for making it work in the right direction to be done.

Romare Bearden

The art of Romare Bearden has been viewed and influential to many artists, musicians, political figures, scholars, and everyday people. Born in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1911, and soon moved to New York, also spending little time in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania, Bearden was raised in a middle class household where both his parents held decent jobs. At an early age Bearden was exposed to great diversity of artists, musicians and writers, his home was a frequent hangout spot for major figures such as Duke Ellington, Langston Hughes and many more. Art was not always the main focus of Bearden.He studied at Boston University where he played baseball and eventually after taking a few art classes he illustrated the cartoons in the Baltimore Newspaper. Bearden also traveled the world to places such as Paris and the Caribbean islands, which all influenced his work to come. He also served in the U. S. army. Being raised in the south and black Harlem New York during the Harlem Renaissance and c ivil rights would be the birthplace of Bearden’s diverse ideas and extraordinary talents. Bearden became the most original and famous due to his unique collages that he mastered in isolation working methods.This artwork was displayed in abstract complicated positions and showed intricate details made from magazine and newspaper clippings, as well as foil and different fabrics. Pablo Picasso, Jose Clemente, and Diego Rivera were a few artists that also influenced his work. Romare broke many boundaries and traditional ideas and expectations of artists. He put a unique twist on the already established European collage method by using different techniques such as quilt work, print, many fabrics, textures, nature, landscapes, oils water colors and of course photo montage.These techniques gave his art a personality a vibe a feeling that made views want more the pieces always had many details and messages. Romare Bearden’s art work was extraordinary enough that his work was s een in museums worldwide but also displayed in books, album covers, and even the city of Berkley, California has a public display in the city council chambers called The City and its People that incorporates the city’s diversity and culture. Romare’s pieces were also easy to relate with. The intersection of art and everyday life such as school, home, clubs and nature ere very obvious in his work, for example in The Block and the Block II his everyday life that he seen on the streets was displayed, from working people to kids playing to mothers looking out their windows holding their baby. He embraced the elements of popular culture at the time, jazz clubs, blues, social realism of African culture, religion and childhood memories were all displayed in his works The Blues, Train Whistle Blues, Palms Sunday Procession, and The Street to name a few. Romare Bearden suffered from bone cancer and passed away in 1988 as a world renowned African American artist, author, songwri ter, and award winner.Although he left his love for art many times, as many artists do, he took a journey and always found a way back to express his love of art embracing culture and society. His works grew and changed throughout his whole life picking up pieces as his environments changed. Bearden displayed the beautiful, the ugly, and the in-betweens of African and African American life with European and Spanish influences along the way. His works were improved and iconic, leaving you wanting to see more of what you have never have seen before.

Impact of leadership in an organisations success Literature review

Impact of leadership in an organisations success - Literature review Example To be more precise this research question will serve a dual purpose such as highlighting positive or negative impact of leadership and analyzing different leadership styles that proved to be effective in long run. The major objectives of the study are to analyze the impact of leadership on firm’s success and establishing a relation between efficient performance and leadership approach. This research question will be supported with extensive research and outcomes will be analyzed through researcher’s perspective. Thus it shall add on to quality of research study being performed in context of leadership concept. Impact of leadership in an organizational context is highly important. It can be both negative and positive impacts on the organizational success. It has been noticed that there are enough studies and researches have been made upon this topic. But due to the extensive vastness of this topic there are still significant scopes are presents to conduct more research on this topic. Data collection methods are a vital component in a research study. There are various approaches which are adopted by a researcher in order to outline research findings. It can be stated that nature of research study determines which of the methods are most suitable. Research methods are basically of two types such as qualitative and quantitative methods. These methods are highly distinct in terms of their individual characteristics. Quantitative research method majorly relates to interaction with key personnel in the market who has a direct association with the research topic. In this approach the focus is on collecting data from the market which has some significance. However the process is not bounded to data collection but it is further extended to incorporation of statistical tools which judges relevancy of data. Leadership has significant impact on the organizational success. It has been observed that organizational successes are significantly

Media Convergence in Contemporary Society Essay

Media Convergence in Contemporary Society - Essay Example Jenkins centers much of his argument upon the idea that freedom of the press has led to the establishment of the new media. Freedom is a large part of the way in which the convergence culture has been created, consumers now free to participate in the creation of communication. However, this culture is coming at a price. The technologies are improving and growing at fast rates that are difficult to continue to upgrade. The disposable culture has slipped to higher priced electronic items, making the use of the true world now a matter of socioeconomic status. As well, in having a culture that is so interlaced that a high school student has access to affecting world politics, credibility is suffering. In creating a convergence culture, freedoms have emerged that have broadened the interconnectivity of the world, but the price of these freedoms effect economic and journalistic credibility, thus causing a high cost to the consumer. In introducing his article about Henry Jenkins’ boo k about convergence media, Horowitz relates the story with which Jenkins begins his discussion about convergence culture. He tells the story of an American high school student who put together images with Bert, a character from Sesame Street, through Photoshop. The theme of the series of pictures done by this young man was ‘evil Bert’ with pictures of Bert with Adolf Hitler, Pamela Anderson, and Osama Bin Laden. Someone from a Bangladesh publisher was looking for images on the web of Osama Bin Laden for anti-American posters. The picture of Bert and Bin Laden ended up on posters throughout the Middle East, which eventually landed the image on CNN (Jenkins 1: Horowitz). This story contains the essence of convergence culture, where a high school aged boy can create a cut and paste image that ends up on anti-American posters on the other side of the world, which in turn show up on an American news service. Convergence means that multiple disciplines are impacted by the way in which consumers and media communicators interact, the consumer of information reacting and acting against the inflow of information from those who put that information out into the world. In a convergence culture, the consumer and the media communicators become interchangeable the consumer often taking on the role of the communicator putting his own ideas out into the media. Jenkins states that convergence culture is the â€Å"place where old media and new media collide, where grassroots and corporate media intersect, where the power of the media producer and the power of the media consumer interact in unpredictable ways† (Horowitz). The new forms of media have allowed consumers to have a much larger freedom in determining how they spend their time. Which media outlet gains attention has become a matter of large numbers of options, the consumer able to now choose which news, entertainment, or activity to participate with during their idle time. No longer is the consumer l ocked to the 5 o’clock news or the morning or evening paper, but can choose which outlet to interact with at what time is convenient. Even television is no longer precisely defined by time slots because most television programs can be seen through at the internet at the viewer’s convenience. Freedom of the press has allowed for new media forms to emerge, communication transforming into a free flowing network of information, consumer driven, but founded upon the concept that ideas have a need to be shared (Convergence,

(Oral Presentation script) Ethical problems in international marketing Essay

(Oral Presentation script) Ethical problems in international marketing - Essay Example uch as, racial discrimination, corporate social responsibility, public awareness of risks associated with product use, keeping high prices for citizens of developing countries, and respecting the political and cultural environments of other countries. After describing the problems and their effects on a company’s image, the researcher provides some effective mechanisms to deal with those international marketing issues. Through discussing these problems, this research highlights the importance of considering ethics while doing international marketing. In the present world, ethical marketing is the key to success for a company in the international world. Those days have gone when companies needed to consider the business laws, customers’ needs, and culture of only their host nations. Today, companies need to consider the cultural, political, and economic environment of all those countries where they plan to expand their businesses. Failing to consider any of the ethical marketing issues can result in destroying the image of the company among international customers. Marketing managers are responsible to draw their focus properly on each of the ethical marketing issues in order to achieve the desired set of goals. Therefore, in this paper, the researcher will focus the international marketing ethical issues and the ways to overcome those issues. If a company discriminates against any particular race while marketing the products in the international world, it can put an adverse impact on the image of the company. For example, if a company markets a color fairness cream in an African country by saying that White is the best, it would be against the ethics of marketing. Companies also need to make public aware of the risks associated with the products being marketed. For example, if a pharmaceutical company is marketing a new drug in other countries, it should make people aware of the side effects of the product, if any, in order to make them decide whether they

The Lady of Shalott by Alfred Tennyson Research Paper

The Lady of Shalott by Alfred Tennyson - Research Paper Example In this ride, she sees all the worldly things which were forbidden to her, and on the way, she dies. As the boat reaches Camelot, all the knights see the corpse in the boat and make the sign of cross. However, Lancelot says that she has a lovely face. In fact, this work of Lord Tennyson came under serious attack for dealing with fantasy instead of reality (Noyes 134). However, an analysis of the underlying themes of the poem reveals that it contains a more realistic picture of the society than many realistic poems do. The most important theme evident in the work is deprivation. The deprivation appears in the work as a curse that the lady cannot look out of her window. She does not know the reason of the curse and does not care to think how to remove it. The poem says, â€Å"And so she weaveth steadily/And little other care has she† (Lord Tennyson, lines 43-44). Admittedly, various scholars give various meanings to this deprivation. To illustrate, Hollander points out that womanhood in the century is the subject (112). This seems a rational explanation because females were deprived of the right to see and interact with everyone and everything they wanted. In addition, the women of that time spent very little time thinking why this social situation prevailed. The woman, however, becomes sad and says, â€Å"I am half sick of shadows† (Lord Tennyson, line 72), when she notices that she is deprived of direct contact with all the worldly pleasures. Yet another argument that is as strong as the first one is that the theme describes how art is deprived of realistic pictures of society (Saintsbury 28). The poem shows the lady viewing only â€Å"shadows† of the real society and portraying the same in her tapestry. Here, it is possible to argue that Lord Tennyson was lamenting of his poem’s inability to deal with reality instead of fantasy. The picture becomes clearer when the

E-Commerce Business Model Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

E-Commerce Business Model - Assignment Example The main objective of the e-commerce organisation is to attract online customers and to increase the sales (SportsDirect, 2013). The following image will show screen-print of SportsDirect: SportsDirect follows Business-to-Consumer (B2C) business model. There are significant differences between Business-to-Business (B2B) and Business-to-Consumer (B2C) customers. Concerning B2C customers, it involves business transactions between organisations and customers. The basic concept behind this business model is that e-retailers can sell the products to the customers through various tools such as internet shops or telemarketing. On the other hand, in B2B business model, both purchasers and sellers are business organisations. The purchasing procedure in B2C and B2B is also dissimilar. In B2C, the purchasing method is simple where customers use their credit or debit cards along with providing other necessary information in order to make a sale. Conversely, in B2B business model, the payment can be done through invoice, especially for bulk purchases (Barkley & et. al., 2007). There is substantially more stake in sales opportunities in B2B websites in comparison to B2C websites. However, it can be observed that several B2B websites had faced bad customer experiences than B2C websites. Majority of B2B websites focus on designing websites for themselves rather than for the suitability of customers. Thus, this attitude creates a hindrance in the way of potential customers who use internet in order to discover organisations which can satisfy their requirements. However, it is worth mentioning that internet had significantly altered the relationship between organisations and customers where majority of interactions are demand oriented (BusinessWire, 2006). The quick development of collaborative internet services has resulted in a continually increasing number of e-commerce websites. With the increase in e-commerce

Covering the full semester of learning Critical Thinking Term Paper

Covering the full semester of learning Critical Thinking - Term Paper Example Life is understood through the perceptions people hold about how events take place, why they take place, and how much control they had over how they came to pass. Covey (2004) describes an event called a paradigm shift, which means that the way in which life is perceived shifts towards a new idea of how life can work. A paradigm shift happens when the way in which life is perceived is shifted to a new understanding. This initial concept created its own paradigm shift for me as I began to see how life could be approached in different ways from which I had originally believed. Through learning more about what Covey (2004) presented, I began to think that possibilities were broader and more available than what I originally perceived as my own limitations. Knowledge creates new ideas and transforms the way in which something is put into context with beliefs about the world. Learning, then, is the conduit through which knowledge can create meaningful change. One can say that multiple inte lligences define how that learning is achieved and perceived. The understanding that intelligence comes in many forms supports the many levels of perception that exist (Gardner, 1983). Change comes then from how personal intelligences perceive and receive knowledge and utilizes it towards meaningful change. The way in which the individual approaches life can be seen through the centers on which they focus their lives. Covey (2004) describes the center by first stating that it is not necessarily an easy place to identify. The center of one’s life is defined by what is important, which is usually what provides security and guidance. Wisdom and power are not always derived from that center, but should be sought as a part of how one centers their life in order to elevate the nature of how life is lived. The center of one’s life can be a bad place too, which shadows every move they make and keeps them bound by rules they have defined, but may not be from a place of truth. E piphanies and centers can come simultaneously at times. In reading the book Left to tell: Discovering God amidst the Rwandan holocaust, Immaculee Llibagiza (2008) I discovered that Immaculee found faith in the midst of a threat against her life. Her shift occurs as she takes her life from a place of fear to that of a place of faith in which she believed that God would keep her from harm. Her fears were so strong that they had been the center of her life, but in finding that she believed that God would hold her from harm, she shifted the center of her thoughts from fear to faith. How we see the center of our life and how our habits support that center creates effectiveness or ineffectiveness in achieving goals and outcomes. Habits, Covey (2004) writes, are â€Å"the intersection of knowledge, skill, and desire†, which in the case of Llibagiza (2008) were no longer relevant to war time existence. Her daily habits and the knowledge and skill with which she existed were not a par t of the new existence of living in daily fear and hiding. She had to shed all of her old habits and form new ones that matched her environment. Between the concepts of habit that Covey (2004) explains and the disruption that Llibagiza (2008), it is clear that habits often must be changed to promote survival, but

The Coffee Company Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

The Coffee Company Report - Essay Example Out of the 5 running stores, two are not able to generate any profit and the managers believe that this is because of the locations of the stores. One of the partners suggested consulting a marketing research firm however, the other partners think of it as a costly endeavor. The concept of using GIS technology for combining the business information with the demographic data for assessing the proper location for the stores is also being considered by the business partners. However, balancing the financial issues with the strategic planning problem is a complex process for the firm which urged the partners to cancel the bespoke software development and other IT projects of The Coffee Company.  Ã‚   Based on the given case, the partners of The Coffee Company have selected two options for generating their profit earning process. The first option is to focus on the relocation of the two stores that are not operating in a profitable manner and the second option is to improve the customer service process of the concerned stores for increasing the volume of customer footfalls. In the words of Reid and Hinkley (2006), the location of a business house has a major influence on the operational and strategic decision-making process of a firm. Newby (2009) specified that factors such as consumer convenience, the presence of target consumers, market competition, transpiration for procurement of resources, demography and cultural background can the help the business in assessing the contribution of a location for business sustainability.  Changing the location of the stores for The Coffee Company has to be conducted based on proper information that would allow them to make quick decisions and implement them.  

Poter Five Forces Essay Example for Free

Poter Five Forces Essay The environment analysis of Coca-cola industry can be done as :Buyers There are many companies to buy the soft drink products. The companies that purchase cold drink includes Fast food franchises, food store, convenience stores and vendings. Generally, the individual buyers for small retails do not have pressure on coca-cola industry. But, the large retailers like: Wal-Mart have pressure or bargainin power on the coca cola because of it’s large order quantity. But again , the bargaining power of the buyers is lessened because of the loyalty of the end consumers towards coca-cola. Substitutes Generally, there are many substitues of coca-cola. It includes water, coffee, tea, fresh juices, etc. Coca-cola is able to counter it’s substitutes through brand equity, advertisment and easy availability. Coca-cola has been spending a huge budget on it’s advertisment with different concepts and it is also easily available in almost every corner of the world. They also began to produce these substitutes (eg:- pepsi) on their own to tap into that segment of the market. Barrier to entry The barrier to entry in the cold drink industry is fairly high. The franchising agreement with the existing bottling companies prohibit bottler’s from taking a new soft drink companies. Even though there is the entry of any new soft drink company in the market, it would not be of any threat for coca-cola company. Suppliers The main ingredents of soft drink are carbonate water, phodphoric acind , sweetner and caffeine. The suppliers of these ingredents are not concentrated or differentiated. Many suppliers can be available easily. If a new soft drink company enters the market, it would be very easy for a new soft drink company to find a supplier willing to sell these ingredents to them. Rivalry Talking about today’s context , the main competitor of coca-cola is pepsi. These both soft drink is able to survive in the market giving throat to throat competition to each other. Both have their own marketing concepts, advertisment concepts and stategies. The slogan of coca-coal is â€Å"Open Happiness† which generally focuses on togetherness and spreading happiness. Likewise, other soda brands that became famous was Dr. Pepper because of it’s unique flavour. Thus, in this way the environment analysis on coca-cola can be done through â€Å"Poter’s Five Forces Model†.

Role of Teacher Essay Example for Free

Role of Teacher Essay Introduction Quality of education is a relative and dynamic term varying from contexts to contexts and time to time. In a changing world driven by technological advancements, quality defined yesterday may not be valid today or tomorrow. Therefore, it is essential to discuss the concept and define and redefine quality of education with the passage of time. Quality of education is desirable even in countries where all the children are enrolled in schools for basic education because education has to allow all students to enhance their potentials in cognitive, psychomotor and affective domains. Most of the policy makers overlook qualitative aspects of education instead they focus on quantitative aspects of it. Links between qualitative aspects of education and society are strong and so is important teacher’s role in bridging the two in a way that students can play effective role in society. 2. Quality education includes but not limited to: healthy learners; healthy environment; healthy content; healthy process; and healthy outcome. Since access to education has been a major problem in SAARC Region, quality of education provided is also emerging as a major challenge. High dropout rates in most of the member states also neutralise the effect of growing enrolment in primary education. Several policy initiatives have been taken in this regard but in the absence of well developed school-based process there is a considerable distance to go before achieving quality education for all. Additionally, different segments of societies undergo different educational experiences causing social stratification which is an unhealthy sign for the communities in the region. 3. Improving quality of education has always been emphasized alongside education for all at national, regional and international forums such as the World. Education Forum in Dakar held in 2000. Similarly various articles of the Convention of the Right of the Child highlight the right of everyone not only to get education but education of high quality. All the declarations by the international communities and goals set by United Nations regarding education also emphasize quality of education provided to the masses which can only be achieved through effective teaching and learning process, regularity and punctuality of students and their long stay in schools. 2 4. Teachers play crucial role in imparting quality of education. They are the role models and have greater impacts on the personality development of students. Education is a unique activity and the relationship between teachers and students can not be undermined for achieving quality of education. All that needed is to bring about educational reforms to allow well educated teachers to improve and develop their work in the classroom. 5. Teacher quality mostly determines quality of education in an educational setting. Some of the teacher quality dimensions include: 1) Command on the subject matter; 2) Pedagogical skills; 3) Reflective attitude and critical thinking ability; 4) Professional commitment and dedication; 5) Administrative skills; 6) Effective communication skills; 7) Greater flexibility; and 8) Respect for pluralism and diversity. The purpose is not to confuse teachers with so many roles and responsibilities but to make them aware of the prerequisites which they need to effectively accomplish this moral activity. 6. Knowledge of what has been in the field of quality education worldwide and regionally will provide a useful background for policy makers, midlevel functionaries and ultimately the teachers to improve the educational standards in the region. Providing only access to educational facility without quality will not suffice the need to get productive citizens and capable human capital. Quality has to be an integral part of the whole educational process. The workshop titled â€Å"Improving the Quality of  Education: Role of Teachers in Achieving Quality in Education in South Asia†, being organized in Bangladesh by the SAARC Human Resource Development Centre (SHRDC) Islamabad, will give an opportunity to the participants to share their experiences and knowledge with the experts of the field to improve their understanding of teacher’s role in achieving quality of education. The workshop will assess the best practices in the achievement of quality education within the region and globally that will have implications for future educational initiatives in South Asia. Objectives of the Workshop 7. The main objective of the workshop is to explore the current situation of quality of education with respect to teacher’s role and develop strategies to improve quality of education in future. More specifically participants will: i. ii. iii. Discuss country specific information and statistics during country report presentations; Discus the best practices on providing quality of education regionally and worldwide; identify the areas where teachers can play effective roles in promoting quality education in the region; SAARC Human Resource Development Centre, Islamabad Pakistan 3 iv. v. vi. Analyze the effectiveness of teacher education programmes in the region; Evaluate the progress made by member states in achieving quality of education; and Suggest modalities for teachers, policymakers and other stakeholders to achieve quality of education in SAARC Member States. In this regard the workshop specifically seeks to answer the following questions in a SAARC countries’ educational scenario: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ What are the policies in place to improve quality of education and what type of policies would be required to respond to the combined challenge of expanded access and quality improvement of education? What new skills are demanded of teachers to better perform their duties towards improving quality of education? What roles school administrators can play in preparing teachers to cope with the challenge of quality of education? How can the training of teachers be improved? Why is the teaching profession not attracting the best candidates and what could be done in this regard? Approach 8. The workshop will be interactive and participatory in discussing concepts and sharing of ideas. Experts from SAARC Member States will make presentations on various aspects while discussion will take the agenda forward. The environment thus created will be participant friendly in all respects. There will be a number of facilitators explaining themes, highlighting the connections, theories and practices related to quality of education and role of teachers in it. Groups may prepare their reports and present their findings before the participants. The SHRDC will prepare the workshop report later on. Methodology 9. To achieve the workshop objectives, a number of methodologies will be used including lectures and demonstrations, peer work and group work. Resource Persons will arrange activities according to the nature and requirement of their respective themes to make the topics comprehensive and interesting for the participants. After each presentation, there will be a question-and-answer session in which participants will ask questions and/or give their inputs in relation to the topic under discussion. Emphasis will also be given to the group work in which participants are expected to come up with SAARC specific suggestions and recommendations about teacher’s role in achieving quality of education in the region. SAARC Human Resource Development Centre, Islamabad Pakistan 4 Expected Outcome of the workshop 10. It is expected that participants will develop replicable template models of teacher training and suggest modalities for achieving quality of education in the SAARC member states. Suggesting such models of teacher preparation for achieving quality of education would be the most desirable outcome. As a group of professionals they are expected to come up with particular suggestions and recommendations on the theme. Participants 11. About 28 participants (3 participants each from Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and 7 from Bangladesh) are expected to attend the workshop. Participants’ profiles include the following: a) Mid-level policymakers/functionaries, trainers/professionals, teachers from government, semi-government organizations and NGOs working in the field of Education specially those who are working at the grass root levels; b) Researchers and scholars; and  c) Civil society, NGOs, Donor and Private Sector Representatives. Logistic Support: 12. Free boarding and lodging will be provided to the participants/Resource Persons. Moreover, pick drop service will also be provided. Date and Duration 13. The workshop is of three days duration w. e. f. December 26-28, 2011. Venue of the Workshop 14. Institute of Educational Development, BRAC University, RD. 2, House 113/A, Niketon, Gulshan 1, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Contact Persons Mr. Rehmat Wali Khan (Focal Person), Education Officer SHRDC, Islamabad Ph: +92-51-9255387, Cell: +92-344-2312524 E-mail: [emailprotected] com SAARC Human Resource Development Centre, Islamabad Pakistan 5 Dr. Erum Mariam (Focal Point in Bangladesh), Director, Institute of Educational Development, BRAC University, RD. 2, House 113/A, Niketon, Gulshan 1, Dhaka Ph: 880 2 9881265 Ext. 2212 Email: erum. [emailprotected] net Dr. Riffat Aysha Anis, Director SHRDC, Islamabad Ph: +92-51-9255159, Fax: +92-51-9255160 SAARC Human Resource Development Centre, Islamabad Pakistan.

Religious Justifications For Terrorism Produce More Terrorist Acts Politics Essay

Religious Justifications For Terrorism Produce More Terrorist Acts Politics Essay Terror is violence or threat of violence perpetrated by private individuals or small groups from the hegemonic strata against members of negative reference groups and that enjoys the tacit approval if not active participation of members of the security forces. A terrorist is an individual who carries out or threatens to carryout acts of terror, for hire or not for hire. The act of harming or killing others, who are direct enemies or innocent victims, may be for monetary gain, gain of group principle, gain of personal principle, or any combination. Terrorism is an international problem with new terrorists groups emerging all over the world and the governments had little success to resolve the issues in which terrorism is used. Religious terrorism has become a tool for the political terrorism in the modern world. Religious terrorists are more dangerous than the national terrorists as they target mostly the people than a nation. It is referred to holy or sacred terror and confined not only to Islam but also includes Jews in Israel, Sikh terrorists in India and few other groups in United States. History shows that people have involved in violence to promote their religious belief. Thus religious belief and willingness of people to die for their religion has lead to many wars for centuries. Islamic terrorism dominates the world in the 21st century and caused many deadly acts in the world. Most of the religious terrorists group fight for the Islamic belief and act violently against the people who dont believe Islam. Some of the main religious terrorists groups are listed below. Al-Qaeda is the worlds most dangerous terrorists group and a major threat for United States. They were responsible for the attacks on world trade centre, Khobar Tower residence In Saudi, Bali bombings, U.S. embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania and many more violent acts throughout the world. Islamic terrorism also caused serious problems in India. Destruction of Babri Masjid caused many serious problems in India. Hindus destroyed the Mosque because the location of the building was the birth place of Lord Ram and this is root cause for the further terrorist acts in India. This essay argues that the religious justifications for terrorism cause more terrorists acts with Al-Qaeda and Lashkar-E-Toiba taken as an example for religious terrorists group. There are different religions in the world with different ideologies formed around governments. Extremists in the religion provoke the people to act violently and cause terrorism in a society. Many terrorists actions are committed in the name of religion, but no religion sponsor the act of terrorism. Ramzi Ahmad Yousef, Islamic terrorist was involved in much violence and responsible for the World Trade Centre bombing. This incident would later turn out to not be the only attack on the World Trade Centre. Many Islamic militants act individually and it is hard to trace them because not every member of the Islamic faith is a terrorist. Religious belief and its justification resulted in many terrorists attacks in India, Unites States, Israel and Kenya. India and Israel faced more problems and terrorist activities continue to grow killing thousands of innocent people every year. The principle of Religious terrorist is that their violent acts from feelings of rage and hatred reinforced by their belief system. Thus the terrorists groups justify their violence in the name of god and they are the followers of God. But all terrorist groups and countries argue that their enemy are evil, corrupt, uncivilized, and subhuman and that it is only through violence that peace and prosperity for all begin. Americas done this to justify the invasion and attacks on Iraq. Al Qaeda has done this to justify their terrorist attacks on Unites States and England. In return, terrorists act will continue to justify for some reasons and result in massive terrorism acts. Hafiz Saeed, a Islam Scholar, stated that the purpose of Jihad is to carry out a sustained struggle for Islam dominance in the world and to eliminate all evil forces. He considers India, Israel and United States to be his major enemies and has threatened to launch Fidayeen (suicide squad) attacks on American interests too. THE ROLE OF ISLAM IN TERRORISM: Militant Islamic Beliefs à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Jihad (holy war) Ø ¬Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¡ÃƒËœÃƒËœÃ‚ ¯ is the revolutionary struggle to seize power of the good of all humanity and in the last resort an armed struggle. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Universal Jihad against the modern Jahiliyyah Ø ¬ÃƒËœÃƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¡Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ãƒâ„¢Ã…  ÃƒËœÃ‚ © (ignorant barbarism) is required. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Western governments contain the possibility of evil, oppression, and tyranny. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Democracy (in which the people usurp Gods rule) is Jahiliyyah. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ All westernized forms of government usurp Gods authority. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Secular so-called Muslim rulers have departed from God and Gods law. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Muslims are duty-bound to overthrow every corrupt secular dictator. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Jihad against corrupt Muslim rulers is necessary..(ISLAM-EID PAPER) AL-QAEDA-THE ISLAMIC TERRORIST GROUP The origins of Al Qaeda are rooted in the Afghanistan resistance to the Russian invasion from 1979 to 1989. Osama, belong to millionaire family moved to Afghan in 1980s to unite Muslims. In 1992, he aimed to attack United States and argued that they not only supported Israel but also kept Arab regimes in power that did not follow Islamic beliefs. In 1998, Al-Qaeda joined with Egyptian Islamic Jihad and the leaders of the group published a fatwa which states Ruling to kill Americans and their allies. Their role is to kill all Americans and spread Islam through out the world. There is no rule in the Quran to kill the people but the extremists convince the act in the name of the religion. In the book Messages to the world where Osama states, What are we calling you to? The first thing that we are calling you to is Islam. It is the religion of the Unity of God, sincerity, the best of manners, righteousness, mercy, honour, purity, and piety. It is the religion of showing kindness to other s, establishing justice between them. His statements strongly prove that he wants to threaten the non believers of Islam and expel the westerners and non Muslims from his region. He used terrorism as a tool and religion as a reason to achieve his goal. Even many Muslims were killed in the world trade centre attack and Osama justified by saying that they are not Muslims and a real Muslim should not stay long in the land of infidels. AL-QAEDA MOTIVATES OTHER TERRORIST GROUPS: Al-Qaedas terrorists activities includes hijacking, bombing, suicide attacks, kidnapping and assassinations. They target mostly public buildings, embassies, modern Muslim monuments so they can make a powerful impact among the public. Former CIA Director George J. Tenet states, Osama Bin Ladens organization and other terrorist groups are placing increased emphasis on developing surrogates to carry out attacks in an effort to avoid detection. Al-Qaedas activities motivate many Muslim terrorists organization to perform terrorist attacks. Like Egyptian Islamic Jihad has linked to Al-Qaeda has grown in to a big group and has operative locations in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Europe. Sunni Muslim extremists have grown and have their presence in North Africa, Palestine, Pakistan and Central Asia. The state government sponsor those people to perform terrorists acts against United States. Some of the major Al-Qaedas attacks linked to car bombings in Saudi Arabia and Kenya, Bali bombing s, US embassy bombings, attacks on World Trade centre and Pentagon. Osama said Al-Qaida decided to destroy World Trade Centre and listed several factors that motivated the attack, including frustration over the American policies. He said Israels bombing attacks on Beirut in 1982 gave him the idea of hijacking the flights. Al-Qaeda proved their strength by these attacks and thus many terrorists organizations acted violently with the support of Al-Qaeda. ISLAMIC TERRORISM IN INDIA: India is a Hindu populated country and Muslims were minority. The extremists in the country decided to secularize and act against the minority Muslims. Many actions were taken against Indian Muslims including the elimination of Muslim education system of Madrassas. Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh implemented policies for cow protection against the beef eating Muslims. This further angered the Muslim community in India and several communities were formed to act against the Indian government. Extremism amongst the Hindu community is explained or justified by the existence of Muslim extremism, especially as allegedly exported by Pakistan. Babri Masjid mosque was first constructed by Emperor Babar in Ayodhya and was destroyed on December 6, 1992 by Hindu nationalists which followed by waves of violence in India. The minority Muslims were beaten, Killed and their houses were set fired. The issue started in 1527 when Babar defeated the Hindu King, destroying the temple and constructed a mosque in Ayodhya. During the British rule in 1853, a riot broke out between Hindus and Muslims and the British government erected a fence dividing the worship area. In 1949, both the communities moved the court claiming ownership of the land and signed a petition on 1950. The solution for the verdict was announced on October 2010. During the period innocent Hindus and Muslims faced many problems as the extremists performed many riots. Riots around India caused the death of 2000 Muslims and were severe in Mumbai organised by Shiva Sena, a regional Hindu extremists. MUSLIM REACTIONS FOR THE BABRI MASJID ISSUE: Muslim community increasingly tended to react by violent and politically inspired action that meets the terrorism. The terrorism actions are generated from Kashmir and speeded through out the country. Following the destruction of the Mosque, the Muslim extremists targeted Mumbai and bombed the city in several places. It was the worst terrorists act in India killing 257 people and 1000 were injured. Muslim terrorist, Dawood Ibrahim was suspected for the Mumbai attack. He was claimed to be assisted by Pakistans ISI and explosives were provided to him. But Ibrahim has never been brought to trial; however the bombings were certainly conducted by the Indian Muslims and provoked other Muslims in India to act against Hindus. Indian Muslims also performed many alleged actions by bombing trains and attacks on Hindu political buildings. The religious extremists began to act violently throughout the country and the Hindu-Muslim controversy soon began to the International concentration. According to B. Raman, a former additional secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat, the Jihadi terrorism has been forming since Ayodhya issue, not only in Mumbai but also in other states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, New Delhi and Andhra Pradesh. India focussed only in Kashmir terrorism and did not pay attention to the terrorism that threatens other regions of India. Three major terrorists group namely Lashkar-e-Toiba(LeT), Ahl-e-hadith and Students Islamic Movement of India(SIMI) has emerged and waged many terrorists attacks in India. LASHKAR-E-TOIBA(LeT) A THREAT TO INDIA: (Mumbai paper) LeT was announced as a terrorists group by the Indian government as they attacked India in the name of Muslim religion. India came fourth next to Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan in terms of casualties of terrorist attack. LeT, meaning army of the pure has been active since 1993. In 1990s it was argued that LeT was funded by ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) and PIA (Pakistan Intelligence Service). In return LeT should kill Hindus in Jammu and Kashmir and to train Muslim extremists on Indian soil. But Pakistans government has repeatedly denied allegations of supporting terrorism. Until it was banned in Pakistan in 2002, LeT claimed responsibility for many attacks. In 2000, three people were killed during the attack at Delhis Red Fort, Srinagar airport attack in 2001 killing five people and an attack against Indian border security forces in 2002 killing four people. In 2008, LeT used Ajmal Kasab and team to wage attacks in Mumbai which killed almost 170 people and some 300 were wounded. The motivation of the attack was purely religious and to provoke conflicts between Hindus and Muslims. Hussain Haqqani, Pakistans ambassador to Washington stated that LeT is one of the most significant terrorist groups. Why are we waging jihad, is the title for LeTs agenda and it includes the restoration of Islamic rule over all parts of India. They argue that India, Israel and United States are existential enemies of Islam and seek to create a unity among the Muslim countries that surround Pakistan. LeT justifies its ideology by the Quranic verse stated, You are obligated to f ight even though it is something you do not like. Conclusion; The al Qaeda network has not been alone in the religious assault on the secular state. In the last fifteen years of the post-Cold War world, religion seems to have been connected with violence everywhere: from the World Trade Center bombings to suicide attacks in Israel and Palestine; assassinations in India, Israel, Egypt, and Algeria; nerve gas in the Tokyo subways; abortion clinic killings in Florida; and the bombing of Oklahoma Citys federal building. What unites these disparate acts of violence is their perpetrators hatred of the global reach of the modern secular state.( e scholar ship paper) REFERENCE LIST Ackerman F, Goodwin NR Dougherty L  The Political Economy Of Inequality.  Washington: Island Press; 2000. Bartels LM   Unequal Democracy.  Princeton: Princeton University Press; 2008. Burtless, G. Jencks, C. (2003).  American Inequality and Its Consequences.  Washington: The Brookings Institution. Card, D. (2009), Immigration and Inequality,  Economists View,  Feb 23. Deardorff, A. V. (1998),  Technology, Trade, and Increasing Inequality: Does the Cause Matter for the Cure?,  The University of Michigan, Michigan. Gandhy OH Baron J  Inequality : Its All in the Way You Look at It.  : Sage Publications; 1998. Gordon JB Dewà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ becker   Unresolved Issues in the Rise of American Inequality.  Washington: ; 2007. Kluegal JR Smith ER  Beliefs About Inequality.  Newyork: Aldine De Gruyter; 1986. Neckerman, K. M. Torche, F. (2007).  Inequality: Causes and Consequences.  Newyork: 1Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy. Rosenthal, S. (2009), Inequality: The Root Source of Sickness in America,dissidentvoice,  Nov 3,. .

Strong Versus Weak Characters in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness :: Conrad Heart Darkness

Strong Versus Weak Characters in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness One of the central tragedies of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is the insanity of Mr. Kurtz. How could a man who seemed so good, so stable, suddenly become so mentally lacking? Through the deterioration of Kurtz’s personality and Marlow’s response to his breakdown, Conrad explores the elements of strong versus weak characters. Conrad introduces Kurtz as the archetypal European. French mother, English father, educated all over the continent- he’s strikingly average. By making him so normal Kurtz can serve as a model for all mankind- if it happened to this guy, who’s to say it couldn’t happen to anyone? At first Kurtz runs the inner station with common sense and justice (or what was considered justice during colonization), but before too long his character begins to spiral inward. Because of his over bearing personality, the Africans begin to look to Kurtz as a sort of god, and he begins to work with the idea. Had this occurred in society, he would have been checked: â€Å"Kurtz, stop being so silly.† But! In the jungle no one is there to keep him within societal boundaries- and the immense power he has begins to take hold of him. Kurtz is folding further and further into himself. The perfect example of this is the pamphlet Kurtz wrote. It seems that, though his actions say differently, when he is in the act of writing- something he learned in the civilized world- he can still function. He can still perform the, what is considered a solely human, trait of consciously thinking about and considering his own actions. Even when he talks about the pamphlet- he knows he wrote something and that it was good and important. Finally however, he writes at the bottom, â€Å"exterminate the brutes,† and the old Kurtz is gone. The once normal Kurtz has become a megalomaniac. Consider the shrunken heads put up around his house. It is feasible to think that perhaps a savage would do something like that as a warning to anyone who might stop by. Even in the horror- there is logic to it. But- Kurtz has them facing toward his house. This has no reasonable explanation, except that Kurtz has lost his mind. Conrad describes the scene almost as though Kurtz has them set up out there to look at, to talk to from time to time. His unchecked power of the natives takes away his human ability to reason and leaves an empty Kurtz-shaped hull.

Homers Iliad Essay -- Art Tool of Warfare Papers

Homer's Iliad The Iliad is an epic of death. It is a tale of conflict, batle, agony, and horific mutilation. Honor and glory are atained through warfare. The great shield of Achiles stands out in this context because it depicts the glories of an orderly, functioning, productive civilization. This depiction of life stands in stark contrast to the scenes of death that constitute a large portion of the narative. An examination of the shield of Achiles in Homer’s Iliad reveals many ideas in conflict: love and honor, the pleasures of life versus a heroic death, free wil and destiny. By viewing the shield as an element of contradistinction—that is to define it on the basis of contrast—one can se that the shield symbolicaly unifies the entire poem. Achiles’ shield is the mechanism through which the poet presents a tool of warfare as a reflection of civilization; explores the concept, structure, and nature of the universe; and examines the role of art in society. I. A Reflection of Civlization on a Tool of Warfare In the epic tradtion, the arming of wariors for batle holds particular significance. The description of a warior’s armor tels much about the individual character of the warior and about the values of the society of which he is part. The Iliad contains many such arming scenes which take the simple description of armor and transform it into a more expansive and iluminating portrait of ancient Greek mentality. When compared with one another, these descriptions of armor reveal some basic distinctions that make the shield of Achiles of utmost importance. As noted by Atchity in Homer’s Iliad: The Shield of Memory, the armor of Paris is described in book thre in a conventional and most undistinguishe... ...ch contradictions. Art is the medium through which humans explore life’s great questions and test its boundaries. Armed with the belief that ordered civlization wil prevail, the artist—poet, metalworker, painter, actor—is fre to enter into the batle of ideals. Works Cited Atchity, Kenneth John. Homer’s Iliad: The Shield of Memory. Carbondale, IL: Southern Ilinois Univ., 1978. Becker, Andrew Sprague. The Shield of Achiles and the Poetics of Ekphrasis. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Litlefield, 1995. Duethorn, Guenter A. Achiles’ Shield and the Structure of the Iliad. Amherst, MA: Amherst Colege, 1962. Edwards, Mark W. The Iliad: A Commentary. Vol. V: books 17–20. G.S. Kirk gen. ed. Cambridge, MA: 1995. Homer. The Iliad. Trans. Richmond Latimore. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago, 1961. Keats, John. â€Å"Ode to a Grecian Urn.† 4 Oct. 2003 < htp://www.poets.org/poems/>. Homer's Iliad Essay -- Art Tool of Warfare Papers Homer's Iliad The Iliad is an epic of death. It is a tale of conflict, batle, agony, and horific mutilation. Honor and glory are atained through warfare. The great shield of Achiles stands out in this context because it depicts the glories of an orderly, functioning, productive civilization. This depiction of life stands in stark contrast to the scenes of death that constitute a large portion of the narative. An examination of the shield of Achiles in Homer’s Iliad reveals many ideas in conflict: love and honor, the pleasures of life versus a heroic death, free wil and destiny. By viewing the shield as an element of contradistinction—that is to define it on the basis of contrast—one can se that the shield symbolicaly unifies the entire poem. Achiles’ shield is the mechanism through which the poet presents a tool of warfare as a reflection of civilization; explores the concept, structure, and nature of the universe; and examines the role of art in society. I. A Reflection of Civlization on a Tool of Warfare In the epic tradtion, the arming of wariors for batle holds particular significance. The description of a warior’s armor tels much about the individual character of the warior and about the values of the society of which he is part. The Iliad contains many such arming scenes which take the simple description of armor and transform it into a more expansive and iluminating portrait of ancient Greek mentality. When compared with one another, these descriptions of armor reveal some basic distinctions that make the shield of Achiles of utmost importance. As noted by Atchity in Homer’s Iliad: The Shield of Memory, the armor of Paris is described in book thre in a conventional and most undistinguishe... ...ch contradictions. Art is the medium through which humans explore life’s great questions and test its boundaries. Armed with the belief that ordered civlization wil prevail, the artist—poet, metalworker, painter, actor—is fre to enter into the batle of ideals. Works Cited Atchity, Kenneth John. Homer’s Iliad: The Shield of Memory. Carbondale, IL: Southern Ilinois Univ., 1978. Becker, Andrew Sprague. The Shield of Achiles and the Poetics of Ekphrasis. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Litlefield, 1995. Duethorn, Guenter A. Achiles’ Shield and the Structure of the Iliad. Amherst, MA: Amherst Colege, 1962. Edwards, Mark W. The Iliad: A Commentary. Vol. V: books 17–20. G.S. Kirk gen. ed. Cambridge, MA: 1995. Homer. The Iliad. Trans. Richmond Latimore. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago, 1961. Keats, John. â€Å"Ode to a Grecian Urn.† 4 Oct. 2003 < htp://www.poets.org/poems/>.

Fishing for Words Essay -- Essays Papers

Fishing for Words â€Å"Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; you have fed him for a lifetime† (http://www.amatecon.com/fish.html). This quote can be applied to illiteracy in America; basically someone illiterate cannot live on their own until they have been taught the basics, reading and writing. According to Kozol’s essay The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society the government, administration, and people of high power live by the beginning of the quote (Kozol, The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society). They help someone illiterate make a living until the person is out of their control. Yet the government, administrations, and society maintain control through illiteracy. Illiteracy is spreading like a plague through modern society. It affects part of our lives in one way or another. The illiteracy rate per capita is alarming especially to see that the numbers are on the rise. Thirteen percent of Colorado adults are illiterate (www.nces.ed.gov). Approximately 4,420,000 people live in Colorado, and if thirteen percent are illiterate, then 54,600 people are illiterate (www.census.gov). Almost one out of every 85 people is illiterate. An illiterate is stereotypically defined as a middle-aged adult who wears scruffy clothes. Yet in reality most illiterate look like every other person wearing jeans and a t-shirt walking down the street. The hardest roadblock for an illiterate is the ability to read. Since an illiterate cannot read or write then the person cannot work. In order to compensate our government has it in their heads that if they give welfare money to someone who is illiterate then they will go and try to learn to read and write. Why is the government’s head on backwards? The only thing that... ...enerations. As it stands, people who are literate in America live by Darwin’s theory of â€Å"Survival of the Fittest.† The strong prey on the weak, just as someone who is literate preys on the illiterate. With the proposed solutions there will be a greater chance of equality amongst the American society. So if America just took one moment to teach the man to fish, there would be an end to illiteracy in America. Works Cited - Give a Man a Fish†¦.Ross Nordeen. June 3, 1999 http://www.amatecon.com/fish.html> - Kozol, Jonathan. â€Å"The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society.† Reading Critically, Writing Well: A Reader and Guide. Axelrod and Cooper. 6th ed. Bedford/ St. Martin’s. 2002. 346-352. - National Center for Educational Statistics. www.nces.ed.gov> - United States Census Bureau. < www.census.gov>

Phillips

Denise Phillips, revised 25 July 2012 Denise Phillips, revised 25 July 2012 Why Hazaras flee: An historical perspective of their persecution1 Submission for the Government’s Expert Panel on Asylum Seekers ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Denise Phillips BA (Hons), PhD Candidate, University of New England, 19 July 2012 Quetta are also discussed. The past ethnic and religious animosity against minority Shiite Hazaras continues to drive the bloodshed today. When we shift our esponsibilities offshore, vilify refugees and pursue a punitive style of deterrence as a solution, we ignore these past and present atrocities. Executive summary This paper provides historical information about the source country, Afghanistan. As minority Shiites, Hazaras’ current persecution is borne out of an unresolved, century-old religious and ethnic hatred of them. This has resulted in massacres, dispossession of their lands and decades of institutionalised discrimination. Their persecution was fiercely reignited during the civil war and by the Taliban in the 1990s.Understanding that history is critical to policy-making. Not only are Hazaras dying on boats, but also in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Australia must respond to this over-all crisis with humanity rather than punitive measures. I support the recommendations made in the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre’s submission and the Open Letter. As Afghanistan moves towards a possible Taliban alliance or faces growing lawlessness, and as Hazaras continue to be slain or attacked in Hazara-populated regions and in neighbouring Quetta, Hazaras are likely to continue to flee and have grounds under the 1951 Refugee Convention to fear persecution.Introduction In addressing the problem of asylum seekers risking their lives on boat journeys to Australia, the reasons for their flight should remain at the forefront of policy-making and political debate. I o ffer an historical overview of a key source country, Afghanistan, and of the origins of Hazaras’ persecution. Current crises in both Afghanistan and Abdur Rahman’s subjugation of Hazaras in the nineteenth century After the traditionally dominant Pashtuns and the Tajiks, Hazaras are the third largest ethnic group in Afghanistan, although a minority. The Hazaras traditionally live in theHazarajat, a loosely defined region within the central highlands. While about 85 percent of Afghanistan’s population follow Sunni Islam, most Hazaras are Shiite Muslims, causing them to be condemned as ‘infidels’ at different points throughout history. 2 Their suffering began in earnest in the late 1800s. The Hazaras were a semi- autonomous society living in Afghanistan’s central highlands, the Hazarajat. The entire Hazara population possibly numbered over half a million, with about 340,000 families in the Hazarajat. Although not a cohesive group, most were Shii tes and spoke theHazaragi language, a derivative of Dari. In contrast, their surrounding ethnic groups were mostly Sunni Muslims and spoke Pashto or Dari. 3 Against a backdrop of imperial tensions between Britain and Czarist Russia, Britain helped install an anti-Russian Pashtun, Amir Abdur Rahman (1880-1901), on the throne in Kabul in 1880. In between British India and Russia. 4 exchange for a British annual subsidy, Afghanistan was to provide a buffer zone In the previous century, the Pashtun tribal ruler, Ahmad Shah Durrani (1747-1773), had already established a pattern of subjugating sub-groups and other ethnic groups within he region. To bring Afghanistan’s many different tribes under a centralised authority, Abdur Rahman proclaimed the Durrani Pashtuns as supreme and mobilised Sunni Islam with a patriotic xenophobia. Condemning Shiite Hazaras as ‘infidels’, Rahid Rahman 1 Over-all notes drawn from Denise Phillips, From Afghanistan to Australia: An oral hist ory of loss and hope among Hazara refugees, PhD thesis, University of New England, Armidale (forthcoming); Denise Phillips, ‘Wounded memory of Hazara refugees from Afghanistan: Remembering and forgetting persecution’, History Australia, vol. , no. 2, August 2011, pp. 177-198; and Denise Phillips, ‘Hazaras’ persecution worsens: Will the new government show leadership by lifting the suspension on Afghani asylum claims? ’, Australian Policy and History, August 2010, http://www. aph. org. au/files/articles/hazarasPersecution. htm. 2 William Maley, Security, People Smuggling and Australia's New Afghan Refugees, Working Paper no. 63, p. 8; M. Hassan Kakar, ‘The pacification of the Hazaras’, in M. Hassan Kakar, A Political and Diplomatic History of Afghanistan, 1863-1901, Leiden, 2006, p. 26. 3 Sayed Askar Mousavi, The Hazaras of Afghanistan: An Historical, Cultural, Economic and Political Study, Richmond, 1998, p. 114; Kakar, ‘The pacifi cation of the Hazaras’, pp. 120-122, 126. Amin Saikal, with assistance from Ravan Farhadi & Kirill Nourzhanov, Modern Afghanistan: A History of Struggle and Survival, London, 2004, pp. 6, 7, 12. 4 1 2 Denise Phillips, revised 25 July 2012 Denise Phillips, revised 25 July 2012 rallied soldiers and tribal levies to quash Hazara rebellions in the Afghan-Hazara wars of 1891-1893.Hazaras were slain, raped and sold into slavery. Soldiers piled Hazaras’ heads into towers to warn others against dissent, and some were skinned to death or had their tongues cut out. Although slavery was banned in 1895, many remained enslaved until King Amanullah’s emancipation laws were passed in the 1920s. Much of the Hazarajat was decimated, and their agricultural economy destroyed. Starving, some ate grass and sold their children for wheat to survive. The Hazaras were fined for rebelling and taxed indiscriminately. All facets of Afghani government, society and law conspired against Haza ras, seeking to destroy their property, tribal systems, religion and culture. Rahid Rahman attempted to impose Sunni Islam and demanded that qazis (judges) and muftis (Islamic leaders) in various districts use only Hanafi, a Sunni Islamic legal system, for dealing with Hazaras. To depopulate the Hazarajat, the government issued ‘firmans’, royal decrees, authorising Pashtun nomads, Kuchis, to access Hazaras’ lands for grazing their livestock. Possibly several tens of thousands fled to Central Asia, and Balochistan in what is now Pakistan. Victorious, Rahid Rahman demeaned the Hazaras and claimed that Afghanis saw them as ‘enemies of their country and religion’,7 laying the foundation for a century of persecution to the present. Marginalisation in the twentieth century Successive governments have since marginalised Hazaras. Under the banner of nationalism in the early 1900s, ruling Pashtuns tried to assert their identity, culture and history over all o ther ethnic groups. The Hazarajat was removed from official maps and lands were divided into five provinces to weaken the Hazaras’ political authority.King Nadir Shah (1929-1933) outlawed the promotion of Hazara history and culture, 5 Peter Marsden, Afghanistan: Minorities, Conflict and the Search for Peace, London, 2001, p. 6; Saikal, Modern Afghanistan, pp. 5, 12, 17, 35-39; Kakar, ‘The pacification of the Hazaras’, pp. 120122, 132-137; Burchard Brentjes & Helga Brentjes, Taliban: A Shadow over Afghanistan, Varanasi, 2000, p. 75; Mousavi, The Hazaras of Afghanistan, pp. 101, 120-129, 131-136. 6 Kakar, ‘The pacification of the Hazaras’, pp. 137, 138; Lenard Milich, ‘The Behsud conflicts in Afghanistan: A blueprint to avoid further clashes in 2009 and beyond’, Eurasia Critic, June 2009, pp. , 3, http://www. eurasiacritic. com/articles, accessed 10 June 2010; Alessandro Monsutti, trans. Patrick Camiller, War and Migration: Social Networks and Economic Strategies of the Hazaras of Afghanistan, New York, 2005, p. 105. 7 Mir Munshi Sultan Mahomed Khan (ed. ), The Life of Abdur Rahman, Amir of Afghanistan, with a new introduction by M. E. Yapp, vol. 1, Karachi, 1980 (1900), pp. 276-279, 282-284. imprisoning or executing intellectuals who wrote on the subject. Official policies tried to strip names associated with the Hazaras from historical archives. Between the 1930s nd 1970s, the Anjom-e Tarikh (Historical Society), aided by the Pashto Tolana (Pashto Academy), rewrote much of Afghanistan's official histories. Significant texts were also reportedly burnt. Until 1978, the Hazaras were marginalised, taxed indiscriminately, and denied equal rights and vital infrastructure in their villages. 8 Former president of Afghanistan Dr Najibullah (1986-1992) acknowledged their suffering, saying that ‘the most difficult and lowliest paid jobs, poverty, illiteracy, social and nationalist committed, and bloodshed continues to t his day. discrimination were the lot of the Hazara people’. No justice was gained for atrocities Massacres during the civil war and Taliban regime Hazaras became politically mobilised in the 1980s and have since gained greater political representation. However, their persecution was brutally re-ignited during the civil war by rival ethnic groups and by the Taliban. In 1993, soldiers under command of the Rabbani government (1992-1996) targeted the stronghold of the Hazaras’ political party, the Hizb-e Wahdat, in Afshar, a district in West Kabul with a large Hazara population. Soldiers, however, turned against civilians. After a frenzy of looting, rape killed or remain missing. 10 nd summary executions driven by ethnic hatred, approximately 700-750 Hazaras were Persecution intensified under the Taliban regime (1996-2001) as its soldiers advanced into Afghanistan’s north and the Hazarajat. Not only do Hazaras shun the Islamist beliefs of the Taliban, the Taliban ar e recruited mostly from the Pashtun group, the Hazaras’ traditional enemy. (In reverse, being Pashtun does not automatically equal Taliban support and millions of Pashtuns have also suffered within Afghanistan’s 8 Hafizullah Emadi, ‘The Hazaras and their role in the process of political transformation in Afghanistan’, Central Asian Survey, vol. 6, no. 3, 1997, pp. 363-371; Mousavi, The Hazaras of Afghanistan, pp. 5-8, 155-174, 218; Saikal, Modern Afghanistan, pp. 111-113, 283. Hazaras cite Puta Khazana (The Hidden Treasure), published in 1960, as an example of a controversial or fictitious history funded by the government which promoted Pashtun superiority. 9 Quoted in Mousavi, The Hazaras of Afghanistan, p. 162 10 Mousavi, The Hazaras of Afghanistan, pp. 198, 199; Human Rights Watch, Blood-Stained Hands: Past Atrocities in Kabul and Afghanistan’s Legacy of Impunity, New York, 2005, pp. 70-100. Numbers have never been accurately ascertained.One Haza ra website estimates that approximately 1,000 were killed or remain missing. See ‘Afshar and Kateh Sahe massacre’, Hazara. net, 2009 http://www. hazara. net/taliban/genocide/afshar/afshar. html, accessed 19 June 2010. 3 4 Denise Phillips, revised 25 July 2012 Denise Phillips, revised 25 July 2012 conflicts. ) In 1998, in retaliation for war crimes committed by the United Front (of which Hazaras were a part) against Taliban soldiers, the Taliban slaughtered approximately 2,000 or more Hazaras in Mazar-e Sharif. Civilians were killed in residential areas and market places, some dying with their throats slit.Highlighting the accompanying religious hatred, Taliban governor Mullah Manon Niazi had publicly incited the attack, preaching that, ‘Hazaras are not Muslim. You can kill them. It is not a sin’. Hazaras were reportedly warned to take lessons from their own history, and to either convert, flee or be killed. Hundreds fled the terror of Mazar-e Sharif. Massac res continued, with Taliban soldiers rounding up civilians in the Yakaolang district in 2001, publicly executing at least 170, many of whom were Hazaras. Near Robatak Pass, the Taliban also executed at least 31 civilians, with 26 confirmed to be Hazaras. 1 A resurgent Taliban After more than a decade, American and NATO forces have failed to bring peace and a withdrawal is imminent. Regrouping since 2001, the Taliban is now made up of an alliance of three Islamist groups; the Quetta Shura Taliban, the Haqqani Network, and Hezb-i Islami Gulbuddin, an insurgency described by the US Department of Defence as ‘resilient and evolving’. 12 With safe havens for terrorism in western Pakistan, the insurgency maintains strongholds in southern and eastern regions of Afghanistan, and has been expanding to the west and north. 3 The Taliban’s clear presence in Shinwari district of Parwan province, less than a few hours from Kabul, was demonstrated with news last week of the Tali ban’s execution of a young woman on ‘adultery’ charges. 14 Terror in the Hazarajat Analysts recently deemed Ghazni to be ‘among the most volatile provinces in southern Afghanistan’. 15 In 2006, a former governor was assassinated, and in 2007, the Taliban held 23 South Koreans hostage. Located in Ghazni province is Jaghori, an Hazara- populated district and former home of many Hazara refugees now in Australia. Jaghori nd Hazara-populated Malistan are surrounded by Pashtun areas under Taliban control. In June 2010, the Taliban reportedly distributed ‘nightletters’, a method of intimidation, to districts within Ghazni province, warning that the main road out of Jaghori to Kabul is now closed. Residents need to travel beyond Jaghori for medical, commercial, study and work reasons, but travel is now perilous. Taliban routinely search travellers on the Qarabagh-Jaghori road. Travellers have been tortured, detained and some have gone missing. T heir vehicles have been stolen and the road is periodically closed.Many fear a repeat of the Taliban’s 1997 road blockade of essential supplies. Additionally, Jaghori strongly supports education, with numerous high schools and primary and middle schools. The Taliban, however, have targeted schools. For example, in July 2010, the Taliban attacked and burnt schools in Tamki, Jaghori district, and in Qarabagh district. The Taliban also killed Syed Sekander Muhammadi, the head teacher of a school in Shaki Nuka, in Qarabagh district, as he travelled to Ghazni. 16 In nearby Oruzgan province, the decapitated corpses of 11 Hazara males were iscovered in the Khas Oruzgan district on 25 June 2010. Police official Mohammed Gulab Wardak reported that the Taliban killed them ‘because they were ethnic Hazaras and Shiite Muslims’. 17 This occurred in the very province where Australia’s Defence Personnel have been deployed in a security and reconstruction role, showing th e dire 11 Human Rights Watch, Afghanistan: The Massacre in Mazar-I Sharif, vol, 10, no. 7(C), November 1998, http://www. unhcr. org/refworld/docid/45c9a4b52. html, accessed 18 June 2010; Human Rights Watch, Massacres of Hazaras in Afghanistan, vol. 13, no. (C), February 2001, http://www. hrw. org/legacy/reports/2001/afghanistan/, accessed 18 June 2010; Peter Marsden, Afghanistan: Minorities, Conflict and the Search for Peace, London, 2001, p. 22; Mullah Manon Niazi quoted in ‘On genocide of Hazaras’, Hazara. net, January 2011, http://www. hazara. net/taliban/taliban. html, accessed 18 July 2012. 12 Department of Defense, Progress Toward Security and Stability in Afghanistan: Report to Congress in Accordance with 2008 National Defense Authorisation Act (Section 1230, Public Law 110-181), USA, January 2009, p. 7, http://www. efense/gov/pubs/OCTOBER_1230_FINAL_pdf, accessed 12 August 2010. 13 Maria Golovnina, ‘Factbox: Insurgency in Afghanistan: Who are they? â€℠¢, 25 September 2009, Reuters, http://www. reuters. com/article/idUSTRE58O2F620090925, accessed 12 August 2010. Dylan Welch & Ben Doherty, ‘‘God tells us to finish her’: Taliban remind world they are no spent force’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 10 July 2012, p. 1. 14 threat to Hazaras, even alongside a broader military presence. 15 William Maley, ‘On the position of the Hazara minority in Afghanistan’, 28 June 2010, posted on Welcome to Ataullah’s Page, http://ataullahnaseri. ordpress. com/2010/06/28/on-the-position-of-the-hazara-minority, accessed 5 August 2010. 16 Thomas Ruttig, ‘A new, new Taliban front’, Foreign Policy, 21 June 2010, http://afpak. foreignpolicy. com/posts/2010/06/21/a_new_new_taliban_front_0, accessed 5 August 2012; Ahmed Rashid, Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia, New Haven, 2000, p. 67; Abdul Karim Hekmat, ‘Unsafe haven: Hazaras in Afghanistan and Pakistan’, Spe cial report, University of Technology Sydney, October 2011, pp. 18, 19. 17 Tahereh Ghanaati, ‘The Hazara carnage in Afghanistan’, Press TV, 27 June 2010, http://www. resstv. ir/pop/Print/? id=132225, accessed 28 June 2010; Ismail Sameem & Jonathon Burch, ‘Police find 11 beheaded bodies in Afghan South’, 25 June 2010, Reuters, http://www. reuters. com/article/idUSTRE65O2ML20100625, accessed 28 June 2010. 5 6 Denise Phillips, revised 25 July 2012 Denise Phillips, revised 25 July 2012 Hazaras. Although the Taliban denied involvement, Afghani analyst Ahmad Shuja fears In Maidan Wardak province, land disputes between Hazaras and Kuchis often erupt each summer but have worsened in recent years.Kuchis have been arriving in the Behsud and Daimirdad districts heavily armed for conflict. Kuchis believe the aforementioned decrees issued under Abdur Rahman entitle them to access, while many Hazaras have never accepted the loss of full rights over their land. Consequent ly, Hazaras have been killed and their homes burnt. In 2008, approximately 60,000 people were displaced, and in May 2010, a report estimated that 1,800 families had been displaced, 68 homes burnt, and 28 schools closed, leaving10,000 students without school facilities.As nomads, the Kuchi are also a minority group, but belong to the traditionally dominant Pashtun group. It is feared that the Taliban may be exploiting the past to incite attacks by their fellow Pashtuns, the Kuchi, against Hazaras. The Karzai government has either largely ignored repeated Hazara pleas for assistance or has been impotent in stopping the violence, sparking worldwide protests by Hazaras. 18 These crises cannot be dismissed as internal land disputes; rather, they stem from the nineteenth century acts of conquest, dispossession and persecution – and another government’s marginalisation of Hazaras.Terror in Kabul Brutal assaults also have occurred recently in Kabul. On 6 December 2011, a suici de bomber killed at least 56 Shiites pilgrims worshipping at the Abdul Fazal Abbas Shrine in the Murad Khani district in Kabul during commemorations for Ashura, the holiest day of Muharram. On the same day, a bomb attached to a bicycle exploded, killing Shiite pilgrims in Mazar-e Sharif and bringing the death toll to 60. A spokesperson for Lashkar-e Jhangvi (LeJ) claimed responsibility via Radio Free Europe.LeJ, formed in 1996, is a militant Sunni Deobandi Islamist group based in the Punjab region of Pakistan. Among links with numerous terror groups, it has a close relationship with Afghani Taliban and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Most killed and injured were 18 Lenard Milich, ‘The Behsud conflicts in Afghanistan: A blueprint to avoid further clashes in 2009 and beyond’, Eurasia Critic, June 2009, pp. 1-3, http://www. eurasiacritic. com/articles, accessed 10 June 2010; Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, ‘AIHRC grave concern about armed onflict be tween Kochies and native inhabitants of Behsood district of Maidan Wardak’, Kabul Press, 22 May 2010, http://kabulpress. org/my/spip. php? article11725, accessed 9 August 2010; ‘UNAMA silent on Kuchi attack in Behsud’, Hazaristan Times, 21 May 2010, http://hazaristantimes. wordpress. com/2010/05/21/unama-silent-on-Kuchi-attack-in-behsud, accessed 6 August 2010. the attacks will inflame religious tensions, echoing a recent past in which the Taliban massacred thousands of Hazaras. 19 Increasing bloodshed in Quetta, PakistanSince the nineteenth century, Hazaras have traditionally fled or migrated to Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province, in what is now Pakistan. Quetta has long been a ‘second home’ for Hazaras; some live there as permanent Pakistani citizens, others as refugees. Possibly 30,000-50,000 Hazara refugees now live in Pakistan after fleeing the Taliban in 1996. Over the last decade, however, Shiite Hazaras in Balochistan have been dying in an escalating spate of sectarian attacks, often occurring daily. LeJ have distributed leaflets condemning Shiites as ‘infidels’.Proclaiming their right under Islam to kill them, LeJ publicly state that they will continue acting against Shiites. One of its leaders, Milak Ishaque, had 40 murder charges pending against him: after serving 15 years imprisonment he was released on 14 July 2011. Hazaras and the Asian Human Rights Commission report that the Pakistani government, army and law enforcement impunity. 20 authorities are failing to act, openly allowing the banned terror organisation to kill with These are but a few examples in a litany of bloody attacks. Eight Hazaras were slain inPoodgali Chowk in 2001, and 12 Hazara policeman killed in Sariab, in 2003. On 20 September 2011, armed men intercepted a bus in the Ganjidori area of Mastung, southeast of Quetta. It carried 45, mostly Shiite, pilgrims travelling to Taftan, Iran. Ordering them off the bus, gunmen shot t hose identifying themselves as Shiites in the ‘head, chest and abdomen’. Twenty-nine Shiites were killed and five escaped. An hour 19 Ernesto Londono, ‘Dozens dead in rare attack on Shiite mosque in Kabul’, The Washington Post, 6 December 2011, http://www. washingtonpost. om/world/rare-attack-in-kabul-targets-shiitemosque/2011/12/06/gIQAVnEkYO_print, accessed 7 December 2011; ‘Lashkar-e Jhangvi (LeJ)’, Australian National Security, Australian Government, updated 15 March 2012, http://www. ema. gov. au/agd/WWW/nationalsecurity. nsf/Page/What_Governments_are_doing_Listing _of_Terrorism_Organisations_Lashkar_I_Jhangvi, accessed 18 July 2012. 20 Lashkar-e Jhangvi (LeJ)’, Australian National Security; Syed Shoaib Hasan, ‘A year of suffering for Pakistan’s Shias’, BBC News, Balochistan, 6 December 2011, http://www. bbc. co. k/news/worldasia-15928538, accessed 21 January 2012; Hekmat, ‘Unsafe haven’, pp. 20-23; ‘The state of human rights in Pakistan in 2011’, Asian Human Rights Commission, 2011, p. 42, http://www. AHRC-SPR008-2011-HRRptPakistan. pdf, accessed 18 July 2012. 7 8 Denise Phillips, revised 25 July 2012 Denise Phillips, revised 25 July 2012 later, gunmen killed 3 Shiites, believed to be victims’ relatives on their way to retrieve the bodies of their loved ones. LeJ claimed responsibility. 21 On 28 June 2012, a bomb blast killed Shiite pilgrims travelling by bus near a fruit market in the Hazarganji area of Quetta.Thirteen were killed and 30 injured, with most of the victims Hazaras. LeJ again claimed responsibility. Prominent leaders, professionals, intellectuals and policemen have been assassinated, along with a sportsman and artist. For example, Chairman of the Hazara Democratic Party, Hussain Ali Yousofi, was slain on 26 January 2011. The general Hazara population, including women and children, are now also being indiscriminately targeted. Australian Hazar as visiting relatives in Quetta speak of witnessing attacks on Hazara civilians in the streets and of a climate of terror.Abdul Karim Hekmat reports that ‘over 500 Hazaras have been killed and over 1,500 injured as a result of targeted’ attacks in Pakistan since 2003. 22 Other sources cite even higher numbers. Failures of protection and continuing fear Afghanistan’s 2004 Constitution includes exemplary protection for human rights and Hazaras have gained prominent government positions. However, with critical failures to implement the rule of law beyond Kabul – or even maintain it in Kabul – reform has not translated to improved safety for Hazaras in remote villages. Insurgents do not recognise government law.Moreover, Afghani culture is bound up with traditions of governing and maintaining security through tribal and religious consensus, gained at district and community levels rather than through a centralised authority. In December 2009, the Karzai government also gazetted a law giving amnesty to all who committed war crimes in the past two decades of conflict, allowing alleged war criminals from various ethnicities to hold parliamentary positions with impunity. Professor William Maley cautions against ‘tokenism’, arguing that the inclusion of Hazaras within overnment has not brought about real changes. 23 History shows that the 1980s’ reforms which delivered greater equity for Hazaras did not stop the bloodshed which followed in the 1990s and beyond. That this is the sixth constitution since 1923 also exemplifies the fragility of Afghani reforms. Safety for minority groups requires broad social changes to address deeply-rooted tribal, religious and ethnic prejudices – this is something that will take years. The possibility of a Taliban alliance with international support, set against the draw-down of troops, causes terror among many Hazaras. 24In summarising why Hazaras risk their lives on boats, an Hazara refugee says: When the government and law enforcement agencies can’t provide protection, when your house [in Quetta or Afghanistan] is on fire, when your home country becomes hell for you, when you can’t go anywhere without the fear of being killed, when your religion and your facial features make you the easy target. When death is hovering over your head every day, then you don’t have options but to flee, seek refuge, knock at other people’s door for help, sit on a leaky boat, choose a dangerous journey that possibly leads to death.Today the Hazara Shias (boat people, the asylum seekers) are in a state of desperation and struggling for their survival as it is a basic human instinct. 25 Recommendations flee. I therefore make the following comments: Based on the continuing and unresolved history of bloodshed, Hazaras will continue to 1) Given the need for negotiation within a democratic process, I have reflected deeply on the current options being debated. However, we cannot participate in the ‘trade’ of 21 Shehzad Baloch, ‘Sectarian atrocity: 29 killed in Mastung, Quetta ambushes’, The Express Tribune, 21 September 2011, http://tribune. om. pk/story/256419/gunmen-attack-bus-in-balochistan-20killed/? print=true, accessed 22 September 2011. 22 ‘Shia pilgrims bus attacked by a rocket near Quetta, 13 martyred over 30 injured’, Jafria News, 29 June 2012, http://jafrianews. com/2012/06/29/shia-pilgrims-bus-attacked-by-a-rocket-near-quetta-13martyred-over-30-injured/, accessed 16 July 2012; ‘Hazara Shia community on strike over Quetta attacks’, BBC News, Asia, 29 June 2012, http://www. bbc. co. uk/news/world-asia-18640945, accessed 16 July 2012; ‘Blast kills 13, including Shia pilgrims, in Quetta’, Dawn. om, 28 June 2012, http://dawn. com/2012/06/28/eight-including-policeman-killed-in-quetta-blast/, accessed 16 July 2012; Hekmat, ‘Unsafe haven’, p. 22; In formal discussions with Australian Hazaras. 23 William Maley, Radio interview conducted by Geraldine Doogue, ‘Afghan Hazara’, Breakfast, ABC Radio National, 13 April 2010, http://www. abc. net. au/radionational/programs/breakfast/afghanhazara/3039616, accessed 16 June 2010; Una Moore, ‘UN human rights rep in Kabul calls for repeal of war crimes amnesty’, UN Dispatch, 30 March 2010, http://www. undispatch. om/un-human-rightsrep-in-kabul-calls-for-repeal-of-war-crimes-amnesty, accessed 11 June 2010; Department of Defense, Progress Toward Security and Stability in Afghanistan, p. 11; Shahmahmood Miakhel, ‘Understanding Afghanistan: The importance of tribal culture and structure in security and governance’, US Institute of Peace, November 2009, p. 1. 24 Sonya Hepinstall, ‘Holbrooke: Reformed Taliban in Afghan government not wrong’, Thomson Reuters, 6 June 2010, http://in. reuters. com/article/2010/06/07/idINIndia-49088220100607, access ed 18 June 2010. 25 Anonymous Hazara refugee, 29 June 2012. 9 0 Denise Phillips, revised 25 July 2012 human lives with the Malaysian option. I support the principle suggestions made in the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre’s submission and the Open Letter, so will not reiterate their points here. 2) Help educate parliamentarians and the public as to why refugees flee their homelands. Exercise clear leadership in depoliticising the debate. 3) Hazaras tell me they want peace and human rights in their homeland – only then will they stop fleeing. Hazaras have witnessed the brutal deaths of their family members, including fathers, mothers, siblings and children.Flight is accompanied by intense grief, trauma and longing. Waiting years for family reunions will drive loved ones to get on boats. Those left behind in Afghanistan not only face destitution, but are also often brutally targeted by warlords who learn that their husband, son or brother has fled to a Western country. In a recent case, the intimidation of a young Hazara refugee’s family members left in Jaghori resulted in an attack on the family home, killing an eight-monthold baby. I have witnessed refugees’ debilitating distress as they wait years