Junkie

Junkie

“I didn’t want to curb your high, but--”

You didn’t want to think about the wild highway after that.

It could be grave

But gamble on retrospect,

That last gamble, a weekender’s saccharine.

You, turning the stove on high, hoping to make a sweet caramel--

The right words weren’t said, Junkie.

Will you be still?

Does the risk make the ground underneath true?

You knew the friction at first touch

Traction enough to carry on,

carry on--

In the same place,

You dangled, adrenaline queen.

And she knew your solid ground

As she knew an island of quicksand.

You, boiling under the surface--

I saw on her face

She recognized

Not for the first time

Not misted eyes

but steam,

Rising

Amir's Changing View of Afghanistan

Amir's Changing View of Afghanistan

In the focused foreground of the image, we see rubble and dried, dead leaves, revealing Amir's immediate view of his country after he returns to Kabul several years later. The rubble depicts the current state of Afghanistan as it is in ruins since the Taliban has stormed through the cities, as opposed to the strong and sturdy flower standing upright in the background of the image. In addition to its beauty, the flower is also unfocused like Amir's distant memories of his home in Kabul which has become hazy and blurred over time. The vibrant color that remains on the flower contrasts to the decaying state of Afghanistan, portrayed by the dead leaves, ultimately showing Amir's fading hope for what the country could have been. 

Oppression in Oromia

Oppression in Oromia

Thanks to social media, news travels faster than ever, and anyone who owns a handheld phone can post videos for the whole world to see. This makes exposing injustices, such as police brutality, as easy as clicking a button. Government censorship is therefore nearly impossible, but it doesn’t mean that some won’t try.

On November 12, 2015, soldiers in the Ethiopian region of Oromia opened fire on civilians (Human Rights Watch). Oromia is one of the nine ethnically based regional states of Ethiopia, and contains the Ethiopian capital and its largest city, Addis Ababa. Ethiopian security forces have killed many protesters in efforts to silence their dissatisfaction with the Addis Ababa Integrated Development Master Plan using force. The Ethiopian government proposed the Addis Ababa Master Plan to expand the capital Addis Ababa into Oromo farmland (Human Rights Watch). The protests jeopardize Ethiopia’s plans of industrial growth (Washington Post). The Oromo ethnic group resents the Ethiopian government for neglecting their needs in the past, such as electricity and running water. The new proposed plan has been met by years of suppressed anger from the Oromo people in the form of dozens of protests held across Oromia.

The government has reacted to the protesting by allowing soldiers to open-fire on the civilians. It has been estimated by the Human Rights Watch that 140 protesters, activists, and observers have been killed by security forces so far. The government has claimed minimal responsibility for the terror in Oromia, claiming that the death toll is an “absolute lie” and only acknowledging five deaths (BBC).

The Ethiopian government has also been putting extreme efforts into censoring and silencing the media by arbitrarily arresting journalists and shutting down entire presses. They have even reportedly smashed satellites to prevent Ethiopians from listening to or using international radio stations (Human Rights Watch). These efforts, however, have not stopped social media users from spreading information about the protests online.

The violence used against the Oromo people is a result of the Ethiopian government’s neglect for its citizens human rights. Merera Gudina, the chairman of the Oromo Federalist Congress party, said “I think the strategy is to terrorize people by shooting them point blank” (Washington Post). The Addis Ababa city authority have decided not to implement the Plan, after talking for three days with the Oromo People’s Democratic Organization, who also would have been responsible for the implementation of the Plan (BBC). Ethiopia has infringed upon the human rights of the Oromo people to the freedom from arbitrary arrest, and the rights to freedoms of opinion, information, and peaceful assembly.

Works Cited

"Ethiopia Cancels Addis Ababa Master Plan after Oromo Protests - BBC News." BBC News. Web. 07 Mar. 2016.

"Ethiopia Confronts Its Worst Ethnic Violence in Years." Washington Post. The Washington Post. Web. 07 Mar. 2016.

"Ethiopia: Lethal Force Against Protesters."Human Rights Watch. 18 Dec. 2015. Web. 07 Mar. 2016.

"Dispatches: Arrest of Respected Politician Escalating Crisis in Ethiopia." Human Rights Watch. 07 Jan. 2016. Web. 07 Mar. 2016.

"What Do Oromo Protests Mean for Ethiopian Unity? - BBC News." BBC News. Web. 10 Mar. 2016.

"Ethiopia's Invisible Crisis." Human Rights Watch. 22 Jan. 2016. Web. 07 Mar. 2016.

Playing God

Through changing the time of the alarm clock, Luo reveals his immaturity with this responsibility. He is the "master" of time, yet he manipulates it for his own benefit. Though it may seem insignificant, Luo's actions show how much he has mature throughout the novel. Luo seems to be oblivious of the gravity of the situation, and he instead tries to risk his livelihood to have fun. At the end of the ordeal, Luo not only lost touch with the time, he also lost touch with himself. As we can later see in the novel, Luo improves great strides when it comes to responsibility.

“Nonetheless, our home soon became the focal point of the village, thanks to another phoenix, a smaller version, miniature almost, and rather more earthbound, whose master was my friend Luo” (13).

“... In the end we had changed the position of the hands so many times that we had no idea what the time really was” (15).

Embracing the Tao

Embracing the Tao

How can one let go of fear?

Relinquish control of what

there is no control over.

It is essential to embracing the Tao.

She who fears a river’s course

can build a dam

or

she can let the water run

into the sea.

She can put a barrier between

her and her obstacles,

or

she can let them be

what they are.

She who knows the Tao

has nothing to prove.

She will move around change

like wind

weaving between mountains

and will never become lost.

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