Scattered Joy

A thousand pictures filled with

Smiling faces and bright gazes

Family members and close friends;

With the happiest moments

Of our lives.

Each time I open my photo album

I wipe off

A new layer of dust

That has collected on top.

Reminding me that those days have past

And that they

with each new day

Fade

Into oblivion.

Life carries on with little regard

Towards the past,

Leading to a place void of happiness

As if it was only possible

All those years ago.

Status vs. Character

This image represents the disparity between status and character, and how neither one defines the other. The cars on the right represent the higher social class in Afghanistan, which is rich enough to afford a luxurious mode of transportation that requires them to do nothing but press on the gas pedal. Because of their wealth, they are all revered by the rest of society, which is shown by how the cars are illuminated by the sun. However, this light also shows all the character flaws they possess. Their higher status makes them feel inclined to reassert it and permits them to commit sins with impunity. These imperfections are represented by the broken windows and broken engines. Meanwhile, the bikes on the left represent the lower social class of Afghanistan, which can only afford to buy bikes, a manually powered mode of transportation. Being put in the shadows, the darkness hides their strengths and flaws, and they are often ignored by those of higher status. They are also chained to racks, which prevents them from ever moving out into the sunlight.

A Sentence for Life

“They tortured me for four months. I was electrocuted on the forearms and upper arms.… I was tied with my arms between my legs and chest bent forward. A rope was tied under my knees and behind my neck. On other occasions, my hands and legs were tied behind my back and I was left lying on my chest. I was beaten while tied. It is so horrific, you just say whatever they want you to say” (Groll). This is merely one account of the daily happenings in one of the many prisons found in Eritrea. Rather than rebuilding the country after a thirty yearlong struggle to gain independence from Ethiopia, the dictatorial president, Isaias Afwerki, concentrated his efforts into the instillment of fear in Eritreans by denying many of their human rights and enforcing his rule by employing a secret police force. With no official judicial branch in the government, an arbitrary system is used for determining who is to be detained, which includes political opponents, journalists, and other prisoners of conscience (which are those charged of betrayal by holding views regarding gender, religion, and sexuality, that are not recognized by the government) (Taylor).

Amongst the violated rights is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ twenty-fifth article, which states that all people have the right to adequate living standards. Unfortunately, this does not hold true for the prisoners, as many of the detention facilities are located underground or in the desert. The extreme temperatures are intensified by the metal shipping containers in which the convicts are kept as they serve their indefinite sentence (World Report 2014). Because of the disproportionate amount of prisoners to available space, the cells quickly become overcrowded, causing diseases and vermin to spread quickly (Map of Secret Prisons). This endangers the inmates’ health, who are already dehydrated and starving from the little amount of food they are supplied with, and with medical care rarely available, there are very little chances of survival (World Report 2014).

In addition to the inconceivably harsh conditions, the prisoners’ freedom from torture and degrading treatment, as determined by the fifth article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, is nowhere to be seen. As one former interrogator recalls, “[I] ordered beatings of prisoners until they confessed to whatever they were accused of; they were then beaten to implicate others,” a former interrogator recalls (World Report 2014). Torture is a commonly form of both punishment and intimidation, often used to subdue prisoners into to recanting their faiths, political perspectives, and admitting their wrongdoings. Physical punishments, however, were so severe that they became a regular cause of death in the detention facilities (World Report 2014).

Constrained both physically and mentally by fear, Eritreans are currently unable to bring about change by themselves due to the extreme obedience demanded from the government. Radical ideas are never acted upon due to the punishments that are sure to ensue, which is why most Eritreans attempt to flee the country altogether. However, those who flee are seen as traitors and are either shot during their attempts, thrown into prison, or die crossing the Mediterranean sea on their way to Europe (Groll). Unfortunately, the country remains widely unknown to the general public, with little international pressure to force it to change its ways. Awareness of the country’s issues is currently being raised by Amnesty International in hopes pushing the government to release the innocent and give fair trials to those who have committed a recognizable crime (Map of Secret Prison Network). Nowhere exists a country where instating and protecting all of the citizens’ human rights is impossible.

Works Cited

"Eritrea Country Profile - BBC News." BBC News. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Mar. 2016.

"Human Rights Concern Eritrea." Human Rights Concern Eritrea. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Mar. 2016.

"Map of Secret Prison Network in Eritrea Pinpoints." Amnesty International USA. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Mar. 2016.

"North Korea on the Red Sea: Why Thousands of Migrants Are Fleeing Eritrea." Foreign Policy North Korea on the Red Sea Why Thousands of Migrants Are Fleeing Eritrea Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2016.

Taylor, Adam. "The Brutal Dictatorship the World Keeps Ignoring." Washington Post 12 June 2015. Student Resources in Context. Web. 8 Mar. 2016.

"World Report 2014: Eritrea." Human Rights Watch. N.p., 03 Jan. 2014. Web. 09 Mar. 2016.

Locked In or Locked Out?

"For the first time in his life, he was suffused with happiness. He refused to go out to work in the fields. Instead, he threw himself heart and soul into the solitary search for mountain folk songs" (64.)

"'Me too. Loathing for everyone who kept these books from us.' Hearing myself utter this last sentence frightened me... Such a remark, casually dropped, could cost several years in prison" (99.)

Sijie uses this symbol of a locked suitcase to illustrate the nature of concealment and a repressive environment as well as hope for the future. The hidden books became a source of hope for Four-Eyes; they allowed him to take an opportunity to escape, but he had to conceal them to keep that hope and opportunity alive. When they read the books, Luo and the narrator grow angry at those who concealed the books from them, but they're not angry at Four-Eyes; they're angry at the government officials who burned and confiscated the world of literature from the eyes of the people.

Unravel

Unravel the shell that surrounds you;

Break free of the cage you have built.

Release your intuition to the void

And imbibe the essence of existence.

Unravel all impossibly entangled thoughts;

Remove all illusions you have compiled.

Suspend the continuous process of thinking.

And revel in the ensuing silence.

Unravel the senses, one by one.

Relinquish the need for sight, touch, or sound.

Rid the body of any form of resistance

And gradually surrender all emotions. 

Immerse yourself in the ways of the Tao;

Not taking nor giving,

Not benefiting nor harming.

Reflect its understanding of balance

And only then will it live within you,

Returning you to your origin, honored for eternity.

How Real Are Our Memories?