freespirit-wildthing-blog

[freespirit-wildthing-blog]

Haiti News Post ...

The island that Haiti and Dominican Republic share is sometimes referred to as an Island Divided. From what I learned in class on April 16, Haitians are not welcomed nor liked in the Dominican Republic. If you compare their racial structure to that of America, you will similarities in terms of discrimination based on race.

Haitians are seen as the “black” and Dominicans are seen as the “white”. Blackness is a Haitian trait and it’s actually a negative one to possess. Not all Haitians are black. For example, if they’re mixed with another race, they may be fortunate enough to be of a lighter skin tone.  I say fortunate not because I value whites over blacks. I say fortunate because in their country, being black is a big advantage that works against a person in terms of no job opportunities and lots of discrimination. The view on race that Dominicans have is derived from racism against Haitians.

Haitians are viewed as the inferior race. From 1930 to 1961, the president at the time was more like a dictator and he had absolute power over the people. His stand was that he was anti-Haitian. In his views, and in what he claimed, Dominican Republic was a white nation. So in order to have people believe this, when he showed pictures of his country, he would only show white people; there was no sign of color. This is actually unrealistic because Dominicans are not light skinned, in comparison to a typical white European person; they are somewhat dark with nice golden coffee color skin. Even the president himself was not white; especially not the white he would promote his country as being.

Between Haiti and Dominican Republic, there is a river that separates the two that is now described as the Massacre River. Many adults try to cross from Haiti into Dominican Republic, even children, most of them failing and dying in the river. Those who made it across into the Dominican Republic did not have it easy though. Just like in America, there are immigration laws. So, many Haitians would actually get deported back into their country once they were caught with no visa or anything.

The reasons Haitians crossed in Dominican Republic, is the same reason why many immigrants try to cross the borders into America; a chance at a better life. But what possible better life could Haitians have by immigrating to Dominican Republic if they’re a poor nation as well. As the video states, they leave really poor countries to other not so poor countries because anything is better than living in absolute misery. They know D.R. is poor but it’s not poorer than Haiti. That’s why every day (I believe) thousands of Haitians are allowed to come into D.R. to buy as many goods as they can carry back because resources are so scarce in Haiti. But then at 8 o clock, they close the gates that’s open to the bridge that crosses over the river and every Haitian has to come back home to even more misery.

The earthquake that hit Haiti, affected them very much and continues to affect them today. It also made matters worse. 1.5 million people were left homeless as a result of this earthquake. Till this day, Haiti is still not rebuilt. Its a poverty-stricken nation with little money resources. These people just want a better life so they escape to the closest possible nation, D.R. However, just immigrants in any country, they are NOT met with open arms and Dominicans do not give them the opportunity at having a better life. They don't give them jobs or places to stay. Instead they have them deported back to Haiti. Even though, Dominicans know what it is like to live in poverty. But to them, Haitians are black and inferior and in their eyes, deserve all this tragedy.

Whats interesting to me is that public donors pledged $9.5 billion in relief and recovery aid to Haiti for 2010 to 2012. About $5.9 billion had been disbursed by the end of September, though disbursed does not always mean spent. So where exactly has the money gone?????

source: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/12/24/world/americas/haitigraphic.html?ref=haiti

[freespirit-wildthing-blog]

Migrants across the world move to other poor countries nearly as often as they move to rich ones.

THIS SERIOUSLY BROKE MY HEART. HOW CAN I FIX THIS HEARTBREAKING SITUATION?

CLICK THE TITLE TO WATCH THIS PHOTO MONTAGE.

credit: New York Times

will post tomorrow on this ...

[freespirit-wildthing-blog]

Durable Inequalities

When I asked my mom what her opinion on being called an “alien” was, she said it makes her feel like she’s from another planet. As if she’s completely different from the people born in America; like she’s not human. It upsets her dearly. She says “I’m not an alien. I am a human. I just happened to be born in another country and decided to migrate to give myself a better life than the one I knew I would have in my homeland. Don’t call me an alien, or an immigrant. Call me by my first name because that is who I am.”

Being born to two immigrant parents, the discussion of "What is the proper term to call someone who was not born in America" has been brought up several times throughout my life. My parents came into this country legally, obtained green cards and are referred to as US residents. They are working on becoming US citizens. They do not consider themselves neither immigrants nor aliens. They consider themselves US Residents.

In class we discussed the idea of being called an alien or immigrant when we were discussing Charles Tilly. His work, “Durable Inequality” is an attempt to explain sustained forms of inequalities through power relationships between groups and organizations.

My parents, thank god, never dealt with being neither exploited, powerless nor marginalized. They had it good when they came into the country.  My mother went to college here and my dad had no problem finding good jobs because his family (that was already here) helped them get good jobs as well as helped them settle down. They fit right into the community they moved into as the majority of the people were all Portuguese as well.

However, that is no longer the case for people migrating into the US, especially those doing so illegally because they are no longer given the same opportunities to apply for citizenship as people were given years ago. What upsets me is that we live in a country that started with immigrants. People (i.e. Christopher Columbus) from other countries came to explore the new world and came across America. Since then, people from all over the world have migrated here looking for better opportunities. Hello, Elis Island was designed for migrants.

But anyway, back to focusing on those coming illegally as they are the ones suffering from exploitation, powerlessness and marginalization. The marginalization happens a lot to those who do not have family and are so scared to get deported that they do not become part of any group. They don’t have power, and suffer exploitation at the hands of those who do have power. They work for measly jobs receiving measly pay and struggle to live. They came into this country for a better opportunity and instead are just constantly faced with inequalities, day after day. From work to even limited education. In order to live in this country, people should be at least US residents, but in order to become one, they need to be given the opportunity to apply. Everyone should have that opportunity because this is the land of migrants. How can someone possibly advance in our country if they’re not given the opportunities to do so?

[freespirit-wildthing-blog]

democracy project

In class last week we had to answer 2 questions on democracy.

1) Unlawful but Legitimate? What is the nature/character of Democracy? What roles do information plain in electoral processes? How can the positively/negatively impact electoral process? How are inequalities expresses in electoral processes?

QUESTION 1:

A democracy as we said in part one, takes into account the people's opinion. Democracy is a way that a community can vote for a person that can and will represent them. When it comes time for them to vote, they vote for whom they believe best embodies their values and who will address their concerns. A person votes for the candidate whom they feel best stands for what they believe. These presidents/ leaders are in charge of making a positive change that will and is beneficial for all. They are elected after a campaign, where they run against someone else and try to convince the community why they are the better candidate to run said country.

  Information can be both negative and positive. These positive and negative remarks will either benefit or hinder the person running for office. Information will come from all different types of sources. One way is through political advertisements. As seen in these political advertisements, some parties will skew information and manipulate it about the opposing party in order to make them less appealing to the public. There can be a lot of media aimed at ruining the chances of a candidate succeeding. It all depends on the community and how they view that candidate in addition to how the person presents him/herself; even though sometimes that isn’t enough to combat all the negative information floating around.

  During the electoral processes, inequalities are expressed in various ways. A leader may represent one group more than the other, or favor one idea more than the others, and although it may sound good to some, to others it may not. It is because of this that inequalities are present Nevertheless, the more a person knows about politics/government is the better equipped they are to make an informed decision.

^^ STEPHANIE, NATALEE & KRISTY

  Democracy is the political belief in western countries whereas the people of a nation vote for a candidate to represent them politically in the world. The representative is the “president” and he or she works with the government to establish policies and rules that the people desire. The government is the institution where policies and rules are to be enforced and created. Democracy is meant to represent a group of people and the government is meant to enact the beliefs of the people. The universal belief of a “democratic” state is that the people’s voices are heard and if the government or president does not listen the people can elect a new president and replace the government. Democracy is power transferred to one person who is qualified to represent the people in government. Thus, the hypocrisy of the American government deems protests and previous sad events as unlawful. The Civil Rights movement was “deviating” from society despite it being lawful. The movement was unacceptable by society although said society was supposed to be lawful. Hence, a lot of protests can be controversial due to a constant changing environment.

  Information is the resource people use to make their voting decisions. The negative effect that information has is that some information people receive may be erroneous or intentionally incorrect. Unfortunately the majority of people obtain information from a second source. The majority of the people in any democracy are not journalists, investigators, reporters or working directly with people who have accurate information. Thus obtaining information from any source can be wrong. Also broadcast news that voice the news and information have the power to manipulate information to fit their agenda. Hence, not all of the information people see or listen to may be 100% accurate.

  People face inequality because those who are not properly educated in politics or are literate may have difficulty making well-informed decisions. It is similar to the concept of “informed consent” in regards to making choices based on options given and knowledge of the situation. In the Electoral College, people vote for the candidate that represents their beliefs and ideals. Unfortunately some wealthy candidates can use money to manipulate how the media portrays them or what information is released. Also uneducated people are more likely to base their decisions on people who may not necessarily share their beliefs but say they do or imply that they do and these uneducated voters may vote for the incorrect candidate.

  The gap between the poor and the rich is growing in America which is disturbing. In order to counteract this gap people should fully use their rights and obtain an education. Although Americans believe their rights are never oppressed, repressed or nonexistent, quite a few Americans do not use their rights. Citizens, it seems, are losing the entire and full meaning of their God-given rights. Public education in America is awful and needs to change. Low-income students are not obtaining a proper education to graduate high school and enter college, which displays the lack of control citizens have or not protesting for. Charter schools are quite good and the government should build more since the government is not truly doing its job of providing quality education to its people. Private schools send its students to the best colleges and generally private schools consist of already abled students with the means to succeed economically in the United States. The “minuses” about charter schools is that the work may be stressful for students and that some charter schools are no better than public schools.

^^ SOFIA

  2) Can information media enhance the working of a democratic process? If so, in what ways? If not, why not?

Media is a very powerful tool but it can also be a powerful weapon as discussed in the previous answer for question number 1. So yes, media is the number one way a democratic process is expressed. It has a significant effect on the democratic process because it is the best way to communicate with a large audience all at once. Through the media, the candidate running for office is able to share his/her opinions, thoughts, views and plans (if they get elected) for the general population to hear. Also with the media, the candidate is able to attract other listeners and supporters to his/her favor that may have not been aware of what issues he/her stood for. It also informs people of where they will hold campaigns or which events for the general population to participate in. Media is a very efficient way to get information out quickly.

  Information media can enhance the work of the democratic process but it also can hinder democracy. The more informed a community is the better they will be able to vote for candidates that will represent them. Unfortunately some information resources can be distorted, manipulated or altered to fit another agenda that is not in the best interests of the people. People risk obtaining wrong information but they are at bigger risk if they do not even know any bit of information about the candidates campaigning to become president. The media can also result in frivolous behavior that is not conducive for a proper and logical election.

[freespirit-wildthing-blog]

just found this very interesting and absolutely loved it.

[freespirit-wildthing-blog]

NEWS: Hurricane Sandy

Today marked 6 months since Hurricane Sandy hit us and destroyed a lot of cities from Seaside Heights, NJ to Staten Island, NY. I was watching the News this morning, getting ready for class and they kept talking about how it’s been 6 months (183 days) and there is still so much to do. However, the Seaside Boardwalk is almost ready and is expected to be finished by May 7.

Now something about that got me a little ticked off which made me take a few minutes to think about this and analyze the situation. Yes the boardwalk needs to be built to attract tourists which bring money to these small business owners. These people, during the summer months, rely on this money to pay bills, feed themselves and their family, and pay rent/insurance. I understand all that which makes this a necessity. But why was this given priority over people’s houses? Is it because it’s a public place which led the state to pay to have it rebuilt? If so, why wasn’t some of that money distributed to the families whose insurance isn’t covering the damage? What is the point of having the boardwalk up and running if half these cities down the shore are not even re-constructed?

This revolted me knowing people are homeless, hungry and poor but it’s okay because the boardwalk is up and running and that will change everything. Sorry but it won’t. Look at New Orleans. 8 years later and the poorer areas like the 9th ward are STILL NOT RECONSTRUCTED. Now that makes me sick to my stomach knowing people who were already living in poverty are living even worse now because from what I know, the government does not provide AID to these people leaving them to suffer and maybe even die. If New Orleans is not even ALL fixed, I wonder how long it will truly take NJ and NY to rebuild.

Something else we do not think about is, what Latin American countries were affected by Sandy Came across this little news website that said “an international aid worker who has been closely involved in the relief effort said construction materials like bricks and corrugated iron rooftops are in short supply since local production is not meeting demand, and many items must be imported. Some families have moved back into damaged homes with just plastic sheets covering the roofs.” This goes to show that NOT ONLY was America affected, other countries were too. In this case, the article examines Cuba. Check it out … http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/25/cuba-hurricane-sandy_n_3157643.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular,latin-america

Does race come to play a role in this? Absolutely! Why do I say this? Because the nice rich areas of Louisiana were rebuilt almost immediately with a lot of funding after the hurricane. However those projects were government funded whereas the poor areas, like the 9th ward, were constantly ignored. Same thing in Cuba. Its not necessarily a poor nation but it sure isn't wealthy. They don't have the necessary resources needed to reconstruct the homes affected by Sandy so look at how they're living. In damaged houses with plastic sheets for a roof. Again, I am SICK to my stomach knowing this. I want to help. If i could go to Cuba and help rebuild I would. We need resources and local production is struggling to provide it.

[freespirit-wildthing-blog]

REVISED POST.

Fort San Cristobal and San Felipe Del Morro in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico.

I was told this is the largest Spanish fort in the New World, was built in the 1700s to protect San Juan from land-based assaults. We explored the extensive tunnel system, saw exhibits of military clothing and mortar shells, and got amazing views of the city from Cavalier San Miguel (the fort’s highest point). It was a great experience to learn about the history of Puerto Rico and what they did as a nation to defend themselves.

I also visited Fort San Felipe Del Morro which was beautiful. I don't have a shot of the actual fort as I was feeling a bit sick when we arrived due to the real hot weather. But the history behind the making of that fort, according to one of the tour guides is unbelievable. The way they built one side of the fort against the sea, then were attacked from land so they built the other side, then were attacked from another side, so they built the wall there as well. They made this so no matter where they were attacked from, they were prepared to defend themselves and fight back. The long walk to the fort was exhausting and our tour guide explained why. During the historic times, there was no grass there so when the soldiers from enemy countries tried to approach the fort, they would get extremely tired from the walk and not have as much energy to fight which would result in them not attacking that way. I do have a picture of the far walk.

 On March 21, 1915, the first shots by the United States in World War I were fired by the Porto Rico Regiment of Infantry from El Morro Castle at a German ship in San Juan Bay

Now why did I choose to discuss Puerto Rico, besides the fact that I went on vacation there? Well it’s because we discussed it in class.

P.R. was heavily involved in WWI. On March 21, 1915, the US fired its first shots from El Morro at a German Ship that was located in the San Juan Bay. 18,000 Puerto Rican Soldiers served in the war out of the 200,000 and something that were enlisted in the draft. They defeated the French, The Dutch and The British. One BIG reason they were able to do so was because of the design of the fort. As mentioned, they were able to protect themselves from land attacks as well as water attacks. 

A quick little side note: their beds had no mattress. So what did they lay on? On a short flat wooden surface with most men having they feet hanging over the edge cause the surface was short. I'm 5'1 and my feet would reach the end of the "bed". The reason was because they were not supposed to be comfortable. When an attack was launched upon the fort, they were supposed to get up very quickly to fight back. If they had comfortable beds, the idea was they would not respond quickly or respond at all. (Just thought this was a cool fun fact that I learned while on my tour.)

A little history about Puerto Rico:

In class I learned a few things that I had not really ever took the time to think about. P.R. became a commonwealth of America in 1898. In 1917, they were granted citizenship in the US but they do not pay taxes like citizens who live in the 50 states. Some people did not want to be a citizen because they did not understand what it meant. They knew they would have to follow American law and defend the country. They could vote for different political offices but NOT for the President and yes they are subjected to draft if there was ever a need to draft.

Historically, P.R. was mostly mulatto (70-80%) in the early 1900s. Now if you think about race, being a mulatto meant having no rights because they were considered black. At the time, there was Jim Crow Laws and blacks could not vote. They were also considered slaves which is understandable as to why some Puerto Ricans did not want to become American citizens.

P.R. invested millions of money in their economy. They established factories—shifted labor from agriculture to manufacturing and tourism. This whole notion of industrialization was possible because of technology.  P.R. went from being a labor intensive industry to a capital intensive.

[freespirit-wildthing-blog]

New Pope .... Revised News Article

As you may know, a new Pope (the 266th pope) was elected recently. White smoked flowed from the chimney above the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. That marked the successful conclusion of the papal conclave.

But why am I writing about this on a page dedicated to Latin American studies? Well it's simple.

Our new Pope is from Venezuela and prior to being elected, he was the archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina. He is a very humble, genuine and holy man who gave up his private chauffeur for public transportation. He also lived in a modest apartment. There is need for material things in his life.

He is the first non-European pope in the modern era, the first Latin American pope EVER and the first Pope Francis.  He took on the name Francis in honor of St. Francis of Assisi because he is a lover of the poor just like the Saint. He is also a Jesuit.

His real name? Jorge Mario Bergoglio.

His papal name? Pope Francis I

Age: 76 years old

Appointed by: John Paul II

** Check out the video above.**

------------------------------------------

The reason I decided to write about the pope is because he's from Latin America (as mentioned above). Many hope Pope Francis will push the church to address a divisive gap between the rich and the poor in the region. He is seen as someone who could bridge Latin America's left-right political split as a conservative devoted to fighting poverty and not afraid to speak out against the hierarchy; which is always a good trait to have in a leader.

Latin America, with roughly 600 million people, is home to some of the world's poorest and most violent countries, with organized crime and drug trafficking causing a spike in killings through the region in recent years. As I have learned throughout the semester, it remains one of the most unequal regions in the world, though the gap has been closing in recent years and more people have moved into the middle class. Nations like Guatemala still have a huge gap between the rich and the poor.

I like Pope Francis. Doing some research on him, I learned that he was unafraid to challenge the Argentine government for being too liberal. He also wasn't afraid to label fellow church members as hypocrites for forgetting that Jesus Christ bathed lepers and ate with prostitutes. Another big reason I like this Pope, is because of the name he chose.

Francis is a name that as far as I know has never been used by a pope. To me, its an apparent reference to a humble friar who dedicated his life to helping the poor. (Which I am a firm believer in). He considers social outreach to be the essential business of the church. I completely agree with that.

[freespirit-wildthing-blog]

Watch the Clip Below.

In 2002, 60 Minutes interviewed Hugo Chaves about his rise to power, the coup that ousted him, and his return to power in Venezuela.

[freespirit-wildthing-blog]

To Mourn or Not To Mourn?

That is the question. As you may know, Hugo Chaves, leader of Venezuela passed away Tuesday after battling cancer for two years.

Some argue that Hugo Chaves was a good leader and are extremely sad with his death, while others disliked him very much and are celebrating his death (respectfully).

There is the argument that he did a lot for the poor in Venezuela but at a very high cost.

Others say he helped other countries like Haiti. "Without Venezuelan help, things would have been A LOT worse in Haiti over the past decade or so. Surely, Chavez had his own political reasons for doing it, but in the end his nation provided an important service to Haiti. I hope the policy continues.”» — M.Ford, Atlanta. 

In class, I learned that Oil is controlled by the government for the most part. Chaves tried to distribute the oil money better to the urban/coastal communities which had a dense population of Africans and poor people. He did that instead of pushing the money out of the country which resulted in problems with the US.

Whats your opinion?

[freespirit-wildthing-blog]

I don't care if he was 'democratically' elected, as some media here in the US say he was. He has gained the love and support for the extremely poor in a third world country, while neglecting everybody else.” » — Jose, Franklin, Tenn.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/03/06/world/americas/hugo-chavez-readers-reactions.html?_r=0

[freespirit-wildthing-blog]

Chavez is reported to have amassed a fortune of 2 billion dollars. How could a man of the people have so much money if he was a common man? He wasn't. He used his family, and his connections to create massive wealth for himself.” » — Chris, New York

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/03/06/world/americas/hugo-chavez-readers-reactions.html?_r=0

[freespirit-wildthing-blog]

For those of you who don't know where it is or what it looks like.

[freespirit-wildthing-blog]

did you know?

Guatemala is the largest country in Central America and was the last to negotiate an end to civil war. In many ways, Guatemala's social problems are representative of those in many other parts of the Third World. Poverty and discord among ethnically different populations appear in many developing countries. Guatemala is not among the world's poorest countries; on the basis of gross national product per capita, it falls into the category the World Bank terms "low- to middle income countries." But among countries in this category, Guatemala has one of the highest economic disparities between rich and poor. It has valuable national resources but also unusually high unemployment and underemployment.The tax rate relative to the gross domestic product is very low.

https://dl-web.dropbox.com/get/LAST-101%20Reading/Week%206%20March%205-7/Guatemala%20March%207/Guatemala%20in%20the%20global%20system%202000%2092122062-EA92-.pdf?w=AACeS0fsuQEewIm4cZQ9fb99r-xcRSqKvQ74kP862jeVPQ

[freespirit-wildthing-blog]

Hugo Achugar: Foundational Images of the Nation in Latin America

Question: What was going on? Who was being depicted? In what ways? For what purpose?

Answer:         

In this chapter they discuss a few examples of foundational images. One is Juan Manuel Blanes’s El Juramento in Uruguay, then the case of bills and coins in a handful of Latin American countries. El Juramento was created during the independence of Uruguay from Brazil. It was an icon of what it meant to be Uruguayan. They received endorsement from the state and the national community. The painting illustrates a group of Uruguayans initiating war against the Brazilian army that was governing that territory.  Although there were more than 33 Uruguayans, many blacks and mulattos that fought, in his painting, he depicted only 33 and a white, masculine, Uruguayan body instead. Having it displayed in Montevideo, many people came to admire it. Relatives of the supposed “33” even left flowers at the foot of the painting and felt a sense that they belonged to this “nascent nation”.  The purpose of the painting was to satisfy the necessity of a nation for which different social sectors and political figures longed for. It also created new gods whose first appearance in this painting was so effective for the liberal imaginary that is later became the watermark backdrop of banks notes/bills. Additionally, it was an icon of material support for the education of enlightened citizens.

In conclusion, the use of this foundational image on the bills, points to the idea of a “necessity of nation” which was satisfied through the fine arts as well as through the concrete, common and not very glamorous material of paper money. It’s a sense of “patria” which means, “homeland” or “fatherland”. Patria is usually represented by a feminine image—the same sort of figure that stands for republicanism that comes from the French Revolution’s iconography—while the English version has male overtones. Since images and icons are at the heart of this chapter, patria is used throughout to convey the most accurate spirit of the original Spanish.