Opinion Piece

Building peace around our world has been difficult due to the hard times this world is going through. Still many people who deserve and are willing to have peace in their own country are not giving up and are trying to prevent everything that is affecting their country. The country of Mexico is one of the countries in which there is a lot of violence, discrimination, corruption, killing, etc. People from this type of countries can’t not just move to another country to prevent all this violence, it’s not that easy, but instead they keep on living their lives by making organizations to prevent and follow the positive ways in order to progress and end this terrible situation. Government should be the one responsible to be working on this, but instead the government is the one beginning all these problems for not doing anything and letting this happen. People not just from Mexico but from all around the world are getting tired and they are not expecting anything from their government because they know it will not make any changes, so why still depend on somebody else, why not start something oneself and make some changes. However, there is an organization running today in Ciudad Juarez called Amor por Juarez, which is trying to involved all the people they can in order to be only one positive and successful group in where they can make a change into this city to end violence and show those who don’t care that there can be peace in this city by contributing and collaborate all together and demonstrate the new country that will be made. Corruption, violence, discrimination and many other problems that we get to experience have been a problem not just national but all over the world. By working all together we can make a change because we are more people who wants a change than does who doesn’t even care about their own future.

Audience: Professor Gilden and Academic Peers

Stand up!

Everybody is different from each other, and not just because of that we have the right to judge or laugh at other people's way of thinking or feeling. This video helps us understand that no one will be the way that you want them to be, people just are what they want and what they want to feel. I totally agree with this video, is a way of engaging people to respect and view each other as equal humans that we are.

“We can never judge the lives of others, because each person knows only their own pain and renunciation. It's one thing to feel that you are on the right path, but it's another to think that yours is the only path.”- Paulo Coelho.

I think that this saying is telling the truth, why judging others if one doesn't know what are they going through or what had happened to them, and even if you know or do not know, why judging? it is just a waste of time and you will later regret of how you might let others feel of your judgments.

 

Egypt and Gandhi

As we all know when we think of Mahatma Gandhi is that he contribute and helped the poor in his own country which is India. He have been one of the most important peace activist in the world according to his loving way of thinking and way of helping the others. Since he got to the point where he wanted peace and justice for his country and actually made his dream come true, other countries wanted the help from him. Egypt is one of the countries in which it got to the point in which they need it some strong and positive help from some other group or person in this case Mahatma Gandhi.
Egypt is one of the largest and the one that is mostly Arab, and it has the largest population in the Middle East. Not mostly but due to this there is Egyptians are joining other protestants throughout the Arab world. They are protesting about their government, because of the high levels of corruption, and because of the poverty they are experiencing today. Because of this many Egyptians have been protesting through the streets of Egypt as you might already saw it in the news.

English 1311 Memo: CREATIVITY FOR PEACE

Creativity for Peace is a program founded in 2003 by psychotherapist Rachel Kaufman and artist Debra Sugerman. These programs develop the understanding of respecting each other and it focuses on “ developing the next generation of female leaders and peacemakers in Israel and Palestine.” Their primarily mission is to bring adolescent girls and women, rather than boys, together to take important and significant roles in their own families and communities that advance peaceful coexistence. This society includes a summer camp in New Mexico, home country gatherings, some training, and offers academic scholarships, which is also part of their mission, “to nurture the next generation of women leaders in the middle East” and it supports four young women who are attending school in the West Bank, Palestine. It offers up to eight summers of camp containing one hundred sixty-two girls who participate in these summer camps. Muslim, Christians, Jewish and Druze campers between fifteen and twenty five years old are contributing the programs, but some special rules are needed to be selected for the team, such as filling applications, references, and an interview.  A certain amount of money is required to pay for each member of the team. These summer camps have been opened since 2003. Girls participate in ten-thirteen three-hour dialogues. These Dialogues are approximately a year and need of trainings in Israel and Palestine. The main purpose of these dialogues is to help girls develop trust, their compassion, to increased self-esteem, and mainly to develop communication and leaderships skills. Later the program invites young leaders to serve as junior counselors for the summer peace camp in New Mexico. The programs are staffed by professional people, which includes; counselors, art therapists, and dialogue facilitators. Also an extensive number of volunteers contribute in these programs. Contributions from private foundations are used to support Creativity for Peace.

Many other similar programs are opened in the United States, such as; United States Institute of Peace. USIP provides the analysis and the training to prevent conflicts and resolve violent international conflicts. Also contributes similar activities most recently in Afghanistan, the Balkans, Colombia, The Palestinian Territories, and more. These involve meditating and facilitating dialogue among parties in conflict, and educating the public through events, films, and radio programs. Primarily this two program’s mission is to fight violation, or bring people together to contribute positive roles beginning in their own families and communities.

Creativity for Peace offers programs to volunteer and participate in many successful activities, and the great example is the summer camps that only girls are welcome to participate.  Not only members of the summer camp are involved but also volunteers are needed for preparing meals, laundry, driving, shopping for workshops, hosting a home reception, and many other options. Volunteers are also good for preparing and serving special events, creating gift for campers, and more (not necessarily need to be creative).

The organization “Creativity for Peace” provides any of its information to only women, either teenage girls or older women around twenty-five year olds.  It also gives information for those who will like to donate. In the donors section it gives information about the summer camp payments and expenses to kind of give the idea of the cost that will belong to each member. If one is interested in this organization the best way to view information is by going to http://www.creativityforpeace.com/index.html and in this same website one can go to contact information and get information from some of the organizers  of the community.

Building Peace

Building Peace is a video about how education can be part of the theme peace. How having an education can be the beginning of everything and how it helps you for your entire life. It is the beginning of creating peace for you and for the others. It talks about people in Central Asia not having peace nor education just for lack of money, (poverty).. The significance of this video is that just because poverty exist it doesn't mean one cannot have an education. This is the argument of the first founder of a school for these, and his purpose is to give all kind of children the education they deserve whether they are girls or boys. Nothing can stop you for having an education, no matter of religion, traditions or anything. Everybody in this world deserves an education, in other words, everybody in this world deserves peace. Education is another way to start building peace around the world.
In this film, they show images of one of the most poor people, and I think they show these images so one can appreciate their lives and see how one might have the opportunity of something and wont take advantage of it, and for example the people in the video will want to have this opportunity but won't have it.

Peace

Once I listen to the word "peace" the first thing that comes to my mind is the peace sign that everyone knows about and the signal of both fingers. It is not just a simple drawing written on a piece of paper or a simple sign in your fingers, but it has a beautiful meaning.  Peace is to respect and Respecting is having peace. By reading this sentence one can notice that If one can be able to respect the other the other will do it back and this is the beginning of having peace for each other. Not only having respect for each other but for oneself too, and it all begins at home. How you behave at home depends on how you will behave outside, for example at school, with your friends or even with strangers. If you have peace in yourself you are most likely to show it to the others only by smiling at them, that is how you express yourself because you have peace and maybe you made that persons day with your simple smile. A good example of the theme "peace" that comes to mind is the tragedies that are going on in Juarez. Violence is the enemy of the word peace, and this is what Juarez is going through right now. Juarez has no peace anymore because of the horrible situation that has come to our homes. Theres is no respect for anyone anymore not even children, and this kids are learning many negative things just by being through this situation or just by even listening to some conversations of whats going on. Peace is all about love also. The world today is having trouble in getting love from the people and that respect that you need for yourself and for the others. A good way to be part of peace and part of the worlds love is to have respect and love for yourself and that way show it to others so they learn and love, respect and have that peace back for others. Peace is to be in a place with tranquility and respecting each other and showing love.