Without Light

Without Light

By Jared Lee

The dim light fades,

as the Sun dives past the horizon.

Shouldering the weight of their family’s future,

Students reluctantly stash their books.

As the Sun vanishes,

so do the pencils and essays

For how can one work

when one cannot even identify

the brother in front of him?  

For without light,

everything must come to a halt.

For without light,

the growth of many bright minds

is stunted.

For without light,

an entire village cements itself in the past.

Hassan's Docility

This image represents Hassan servile personality. He always wants to be there for people, accept people's trash, and make the trash into something good again. Hassan is a recycling vessel. First, he is a recycling vessel because he is always there for people who need him. He does not move, and he never ceases to help those who need him. Secondly, as a recycling bin, he is always getting taken advantage of. He is always accepting others' trash, especially Amir's. Over the years, Amir betrays him multiple times, but Hassan continues to accept whatever Amir throws his way. Lastly, he is even able to turn the abusive treatment back into something that is useful. As a recycling bin, he continues to make the best of every situation. Amir betrays him in many ways, but Hassan still wants to repair his relationship with Amir and maintains a positive attitude. Ultimately, Hassan is a reliable, good willed recycling bin.
 

The Energy Crisis

The Energy Crisis

South Africa is in the midst of a country-wide energy crisis.  Eskom, the South African public utility, proved its own unreliability throughout 2015 when a quarter of its energy capacity broke down on multiple occasions.  Looking ahead to the rest of 2016, there are 90 days where “load shedding,”  which is turning off the power in order to protect the grid, is projected to occur.  In South Africa, load shedding has a devastating effect on small businesses such as grocery stores and other types of shops that require electricity to run.  As load shedding and power outages have become common due to the vulnerability of the power grid, the lapses have had a negative impact on the economy.  Lynne Brown, Minister of Public Enterprises, explains that each month, there is a 7.2 billion dollar loss in production, revenue, and wastage due to the unstable electric supply (Mannak).  

First, the fragility of the power supply in South Africa severely harms retail stores.  Small businesses are struggling to keep afloat as they cannot afford to pay for back-up generators that might curb the instability of the electric supply.  In addition, the lack of consistent energy throughout a week decreases the shelf life of much of the food which in turn, increases the amount of waste and lowers profit margin (Mannak).  Power outages harm large chains as well.  According to Whitey Basson, an executive of the popular grocery chain Shoprite, in the December of 2014 , $650,000 was spent to run auxiliary diesel generators(Cohen).  This shows that even the businesses that can afford to spend their money on an extra generator lose a large portion of their profits on powering the generators.   

Secondly, although the South African government has spent billions of dollars to find a solution to the problem, no concrete solution has been discovered.  As of now, South Africa has approved 13 sources of renewable energy including a nuclear energy partnership with Russia (Price).  These 13 sources could be the answer that South Africans are looking for, but none have started producing energy.  Even if South Africa finishes the negotiation stage of fixing the issue and begins to build, constructing a power plant takes 20 years to complete, so while South Africa has found long term solutions to the energy crisis, they still need to look in the short term.  

As load shedding continues, the South African government has placed more importance on the need for reliable energy.  In the modern age, energy is necessary to sustain a growing economy, and the South African government understands this.  Since 2012, in terms of share of GDP, South Africa is the 4th largest investor in renewable power as it tries to right itself amidst its energy crisis (Price).

Works Cited

Cohen, Michael. "What Is South Africa Doing to Tackle Its Electricity Crisis?"Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg, n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2016.

Mannak, Miriam. "News & Comment on Global Public Financial Management." The Economic Impact of South Africa's Energy Crisis. Web. 04 Mar. 2016.

Price, M.  "Nuclear is way to go." Cape Times [South Africa] 21 Sept. 2015: 8. Global Issues In Context. Web. 7    Mar. 2016.

(Coal)tural Revolution

Cul(charcoal) Revolution

Sijie uses the symbol of the coal mine to imply the message of hope and to convey the attitudes of the people during the Cultural Revolution. The coal mine is often dark and light (hope of escape) is faltering, which represents the flickering hope in the hearts of the youth. They know they are doomed to a harsh life in reeducation, but they cannot help but seek hope whenever they can.

"A pinprick of light quivered in the darkness at the end of a long subterranean passage. The tiny bright dot wavered, fell, rose again, and continued its precarious advance. Now and then, when there was a dip in the floor, the dot disappeared for seconds at a time."

"To tell the truth, we accepted this infernal ordeal, because we were determined to stay in the race at all costs, even though our chances of returning to the city were no more than the infinitesimal three in a thousand."

The Master

The Master

By Jared Lee

The Master

He sits in his tree,

Contemplating life.

How can one be at peace?

He has to thrive in the chaos.

How can one be content?

He must try to quench every thirst.

How can one feel love?

He must harness his hate.

To focus your energy,

You must fall to your knees.

Nothing can be forced.

Everything has a time and a place.

Everything is a circle.

Culture and Its Effects on Perspective