Sudan Freedom Walk by Hisham

The Sudan freedom walk is an organized coalition march to promote public awareness of the problems which are effecting the region of Dar fur ad Southern Sudan. Both regions continue to suffer massive loses in both economic stability and political upheaval; genocide against the local population which threatens to disrupt their society; and the continued oppression of the Sudanese people who have been forced from their homes to live in concentration camps. This march held on may 5th is one of the many attempts to put an end to this deviance of war criminals who hold their continued position of power


Preparing myself i made way to the location of Sudan freedom walk Chicago which was to take place directly in front of the government federal building. What better way to insist action towards the adoption of a Dar fur peace agreement: by challenging the lack of action and confronting the UN by organizing the march directly in front of a government building the message is made all the more clear... the politicians of the united states are urged to take the necessary actions to heal and stabilize the institutions of Sudan


I noticed the crowds of people who had gathered around each with their own banners and signs to display their messages of disapproval to the on going violence, or hand written signs with pleas for help and the need to give aid to the people of Sudan. off to the other side was a line which had been set for the donations drive; participants were urged to give a minimum donation of 5$ and would be awarded a Sudan freedom walk bracelet.. I donated myself but i personally am not very fond of bracelets so i had to pass


When the time had reached 11am the organizer of the march presented himself to give a brief introduction to the nature of the march and answered any questions that the crowd were curious to. After he had finished he then went on to present the guest speaker who was a member of the group 'The Lost Boys': an international group created to resettle refugee boys from Sudan to the united states who had been orphaned during the second Sudanese civil war. The guest speaker who traveled to Chicago had arrived to tell his story; of how at the mere age of 6 he had been taken in as a slave by oppressors and remained as a slave for the next 3 years. He hoped that with this march society would not allow such a thing to happen again to other children who continue to struggle against oppressors and genocide


Marching down the path into the city i noticed the large number of families who were participating in this social event. Parents marched side by side with their children to emphasize their strong bonds of family and to illustrate the important role that children were to serve for our future. The sky was slightly cloudy but all in all it was a fine day for a long walk. At the the front of the line the organizers of this march walked up ahead with the guest speaker proudly walking forward whilst carrying the American flag. Many of the participants displayed their cries of outrage over the situation in Sudan; by staying near the road to brandish their signs so as to appeal to any of the passing cars that made their way and headed along the road. a few members even held up a sign which proclaimed loudly to honk if you were against genocide... while i approve of the message it was a tad reckless to try and head into the middle of the road to get the message across. safety was of course a priority which is why a number of police officers had been called on duty to escort the large crowd of marchers; their assigned role was to delegate traffic and to make sure that the marchers could safely cross and to put any incoming traffic on hold.

we continues to march for about an hour heading towards the lake. by now some of the marchers had lost their gusto but they still showed their support by randomly cheering encouragements and shouting the phrase 'save Dar Fur!' . finally reaching the end of the lake the marchers were instructed to turn around and head back the way we had come. we marched on heading back to our goal with a large section of elementary school children breaking off from the group as it was time for their to head on home. finally after arriving back to our starting line the and the organizer went to give a small speech to encourage us to appeal to any of the senators for them to improve their foreign policy. The guest speaker also urged people to act now, as the people had turned a blind eye and nothing was done until it was too late in previous tragedies like Rwanda. we were urged to spread public awareness and to appeal once again to anyone we could; he finally ended his talk about how he was grateful to everyone and how they would continue to hold marches all around the country until Darfur was healed

The Privilege Walk (May 16, 2007)

Privilege Walk

The privilege walk demonstration concentrated on the situations individuals of today’s American society have endured. Participants are lined up in a single straight line standing shoulder to shoulder without speaking to one another. They are then asked a series of questions which they interpret any way they choose to. The participants answer by stepping forward or backwards before the actual race begins. Once all questions are asked and all steps are taken, the race begins no matter how far ahead an individual is or how far behind an individual is. Who so ever reaches the finish line first is the winner. The questions that were asked referred to experiences and advantages or disadvantages that each individual might’ve been subjected to with or without their consent. Some questions included:
“If there were more than 50 books in your household while growing up?”, “If you were able to marry the person you loved by law?” and “If your ancestors were forced to come to the USA not by choice?”
Other questions ventured off to what type of activities occurred in the neighborhood you were raised in to the fear of being abused because of your gender. Many questions were focused on issues that as a child growing up would have no control over.
There was only one time when all participants were standing shoulder to shoulder after the demonstration had begun. The person who was closer to the goal ended up winning the race which means that they would have a greater chance of being successful throughout life in society. The person who was the farthest from the goal line was probably discouraged before the actual race began because of the amount of distance they were from the person in the lead and for the odds being against them in winning the race. The last place individual represents a large majority of people in society that are discouraged to succeed and end up failing or giving up. Every individual that participated was a part of American society one way or another. If the race would have included individuals from 3rd world countries, then there would have been more people that would have been in the far back. Perhaps they would have been farther than anyone that is apart of the American society.

This demonstration was performed to provide participants with an opportunity to understand the ins and outs of what privilege really means. By definition, privilege means an advantage, right, or benefit that is not available to everyone. It also simulated who was more likely to be successful in today’s society. This display actually illustrated the saying of “Your cards are already dealt to you before you are even born”.

Chicago Fair Trade presentation

Nathan Wieser

Chicago Fair Trade Presentation

The Chicago fair trade presentation that took place in class last Wednesday focused on the fair trade of coffee. The fair trade federation says “fair trade is a system that not only aims to pay fair wages, but also to support participatory workplaces; ensure environmental sustainability; supply financial and technical support; respect cultural identity, offer public accountability, and educate consumers about the choices that they can make in their regular shopping habits.” The Chicago fair trade works to educate people on fair trade and the role it plays in reducing poverty globally. They also help to increase the number of stores that offer fair trade products throughout the Chicago community. Coffee is the second largest imported thing on the market only behind oil. Many of the farmers are making no more the 11 cents per kilo of coffee. They are not able to live off such small wages. The work that centuries of farmers have put into the crop is unmatched. The Chicago fair trade works to raise awareness so that more people will spend the extra dollar to support a good cause and help support the farmers that make such a product necessary. Coffee is not the only fair trade produce available. The Chicago fair trade is now raising awareness about many other products such as clothing, sugar, rice and many more. With the support of the Chicago community fair trade will be able to grow and farmers in third world countries will have more funds to support their families dramatically increase their economic status.

I, Rigoberta Menchu 15-End

I had to read chapters fifteen to the end of the book of I, Rigoberta Menchu. Reading these last few chapters was hard enough now having to write about it seems harder.
The book was so personal. We were let into her life and what she went through growing up and just for the supposed thing we take for granted freedom. The freedom to live on their land. They were cheated and tricked into signing documents that they had no idea about what they were for.

I say it was hard to read about because of all the death. The last few chapters hit with hard details about death. First death expressed in the view as defending ones freedom and for a just cause. Her father had always talked about dying for what was right and fair. To give one's life just in order to see future generations not live the way they have to live right then and there. The age old saying, it is better to die free, than to die a slave is what comes to my mind when reading about what Rigoberta’s father felt. The Indian people used every means of survival. They made or converted everyday items into weapons so they were able to fight and defend themselves. The details of each death were pretty chilling. It was very vivid and graphic. To have written or described it any less though would have been something of a insult to these people's death and the cause they fought so hard against. Reading though about people being hacked to death and then just tortured as cruelly as they were before being set on fire and left to burn, there’s just a feeling of how could anyone ever do that. Like Rigoberta even talked about how dogs where no exactly sacred but they were a living being and to kill them was horrendous enough. To kill people, that is inhuman.

Families were broken up not only by death but just in working hard for freedom. Family members were often separated from one another to either make sure not all of them were caught at the same time or just that each family member had a certain job to do. Even the youngest was put to work. Actually no, not was. She wanted to work and wanted to help fight for her people. That shows brave and courage beyond her years. The book shows really how this woman has not broken down though so much in her life has seemingly gone wrong. The courage and bravery of her life and her struggles makes freedom seem so much more important than what people today have forgotten about.

Black Gold Review by Belva

Coffee is truly Black Gold for the coffee traders and buyers. However, the coffee farmers in other countries live in poverty. Ethopia is the largest producer of coffee, and the children of most of the coffee farmers do not have schools in their villages to attend to get an education. There is a coffee Co-op in Ethopia, and through this co-op coffee is sent from Ethopia all over the world. Sun dried coffee is the best coffee, but they are getting regular price. Supply of coffee on the world market used to be regulated. This collapsed in 1971 and farmers of coffee are paid an all time low.

The coffee co-op buys coffee from 101 individual coffee farmers. Farmers of coffee felt that one person controlled the market. They are usually paid around 8 cents per pound of coffee. Retail sales of coffee has increased from 30 million to 80 million, however coffee farmers are still paid around 8 cents per pound. The International price of coffee is established in New York and London at the Board of Trade. After about six chains the coffee reaches the consumer.

Workers who pick the coffee beans get paid 50 cents a day. Coffee trees grow to full size in 4 years, and the beans grow on the coffee trees the 5^th year. These people are trapped in the hardship of their lives and live and die in poverty. Some of the coffee farmers could not afford to buy a pair of shoes, something we take for granite. There were recently Theraputic Feeding Centers set up because the people are suffering from malnutrition. There are 7 million people in Ethopia dependant upon emergency food aid. Food aid usually consists of raw wheat that they make into flour.

Independent coffee exporters buy low from the farmers and sell for a big profit. The social problem here is lack of money for food, education, and clothes. The poverty is so bad that they have 15 family members all living in one house because there is no money to build, or buy another house. Please consider this the next time you purchase coffee and buy Fair Trade Coffee.

I, Rigoberta Menchu

Chris Kitahara
Alias “Sushi”
Soc 105
5/5/07

My Name is Rigoberta Menchu. I am 23 years old. This is my testimony. I didn’t learn it from a book and I didn’t learn it alone. I’d like to stress that it’s not only my life, it’s also the testimony of my people. . . . My story is the story of all poor Guatemalans. My personal experience is the reality of a whole people.

-Rigoberta Menchu

These carefully chosen passages open I, Rigoberta Menchu, and are the first we hear from Rigoberta as she begins to retell her life story. In these few phrases, Rigoberta manages to make it clear that she is a not speaking out only for herself, but is simply a representative of her community. Born and raised in Guatemala, Rigoberta and her family split their time between the highlands of Guatemala, known as the Altiplano, and low country plantations, or fincas. Fincas were horrible places for the Indians to be living and working, the owners, “ladinos” were people of Spanish descendent and made up the dominant class in Guatemala, vastly controlling society, business, and the government. Malnutrition was rampant and the workers were routinely sprayed with toxic chemical pesticides as punishment for not completing tasks. After the death of her brother from starvation at the finca a flames of anger and frustration were ignited inside young Rigoberta and she began to yearn for change.
After accepting a job as maid in a mansion in Guatemala City she is further empowered to fight for the rights of her people after meeting rebellious spirit and friend Candelaria. Returning to her small town she learns that her father has been jailed because he refused to work with the landowners . Alongside her brothers and sisters, she fights to free him. Shortly after the same landowners begin to claim her small hometown of Altiplano, and it is at this point that the Indians, using makeshift weapons first begin to defend themselves. Led by her newly freed father, they form a Committee called the Peasant Union Committee, and begin to stake their claim in the politics of the powerful ladino government and business owners.
After the creation of this working group, Rigoberta and her comrades find themselves much more at risk, and consequentially, both her mother and brother are tortured and murdered. Her father was killed later on a protest to Guatemala City while storming the Spanish Embassy. After the death of her parents and brother, her younger sister decides to continue the fight, joining a guerilla army, however Rigoberta chose the diplomatic route, believing that activism is her calling. She renounced motherhood and marriage and embraced her work as a revolutionary in Guatemala and abroad. She retells her story in hopes that it will bring worldwide attention to the plight of her people, the wretchedness of their abusive militaristic dictatorship.

Motherhood Manifesto

The movie about the book, The Motherhood Manifesto shows how the 2/3 of all moms that work face huge problems today. Even though more hours are spent at work, women without kids will earn 90% of what a man makes for the same job. Even more alarming, a working mom will earn 70% and a single mom will earn 60% of the salary a man would make at the same job.
The movie takes a closer look at a single mom named Kiki who moved to Pennsylvania after her husband left them. She didn’t think it would be hard to find a job, but this was not the case. Every employer turned her down because she wasn’t married and had kids. Employers also rejected her because she was on welfare, and worse, offered her less pay because she had kids. Starting then and still to this day, Kiki fights for a law in Pennsylvania that says employers can’t discriminate based on marriage.
The relationship with mothers and newborns is an extremely important bond to form. Six out of seven women in the United States find themselves without any paid maternity and paternity leave. Selena Allen was a married mother with no paid leave when her son Connor was born six weeks premature. Even though her baby was in intensive care, Selena had to go back to work on Monday. However, women in the Czech Republic get two years paid maternity leave, putting the United States comparable to countries such as Losota, Swaziland, and Papa New Guinea.
The movie interviews business man Jim Johnson, who reorganized his business to let people work from home, keep flexible hours, and keep their jobs after having kids. Positive changes came in the form of small turnover, higher productivity, and even less space needed for his new building. Without open work shifts parents have to leave their kids unattended during the day increasing their chances of being involved in Juvenile crimes.
9 million children in America have no health insurance according to The Motherhood Manifesto. Families can’t keep up with bills for children with chronic illnesses and end up filing for bankruptcy. The Motherhood Manifesto offers the solution of giving health insurance to all kids, which in the end would save us money if they remained healthier when they were younger.
Women portrayed also struggle with the problem of childcare. They can’t find quality childcare at a reasonable price. Even so-so childcare can cost an average of $700 a month. A woman in Chicago who owns her own day care tries to provide quality childcare inexpensively. She even takes on mothers who can’t pay. She has joined a union of home childcare providers to try to help improve her life, since she doesn’t get benefits for her extremely important job.
Overall, women make the choice between putting food on the dinner table or being at the dinner table. Two women wrote the book The Motherhood Manifesto and started the website Momsrising.org where moms and concerned people can find action steps to take to try to change the way the United States treats mothers. Their final message is that voters need to unite in order to win this battle.