Many things going on globally
that we may not be aware of, or may know of the situation, but don’t know how
bad the conditions are. People who are
beat, threatened, abused, or tortured don’t always have the guts to speak the
truth. These people get traumatized, and
scared for their lives. They want help,
need help, but can’t break free to get help. One moment you say goodbye to
someone that left for work, within the next few months you may receive their
casket. There are unspoken
situations that go on globally such as mothers working abroad, that should
reach our attention; governments should enforce rights of a person at any given
place or time.
Monday, November 24, 2014
Living Dead
In
George Orwell’s novel 1984, there were many situations that mock certain situations
that happen in people’s lives now. One
of the few things in the novel that really caught my attention the most was
Winston and Julia’s love and sacrifices for each other. Winston and Julia’s relationship goes through
many battles. They made many sacrifices
for each other, and at one point, the freedom they felt when they were together
was all they cared about. Despite all
the rules that their society laid on them, they’d still find ways to see each
other. Just as in the song “Work Song”
by Horizer, Winston was the guy he was talking about. “Room was empty, didn’t care how he lived….No
grave can hold my body down, I’ll crawl home to her”(Horizer). He didn’t really care that they weren’t
supposed to be together. He didn’t’ care
about the rules, and he knew that one day they’ll get caught. So he took advantage of the time spent with
Julia. He didn’t let Big Brother take
him down, he still went back to her regardless of the possible
punishments. There love is also
symbolized in the song “Your Ex Lover is Dead” by Stars, “Live through this and
you won’t look back… I’m not sorry I met You” (Stars). Sadly, Winston and Julia’s relationship didn’t
have a happy ending. Even if they told
each other numerous times that they would never betray each other, that’s what
they ended up doing in the end. They
both were tortured, and eventually gave in and told them to stop and do it to
Julia/Winston instead. They were left
with no choice; they had to put their love story to an end and forget what was
once there. When they saw each other
again, they both didn’t even worry about one another as they did before; their “ex
lover is dead”. Even if this book didn’t
end with any happy endings for Julia and Winston, the ending was still very
powerful. It just showed how much power
a totalitarian government can really hold.
They fought for their own freedom, and disliked everything about Big
Brother, but in the end they were brain washed, and tortured enough to get persuaded
that this is really it; they’ll always live under Big Brother, and that they
should love him. Everything they once
fought for is just left behind, something they don’t even bother to come back
to. They used all their strength for
something, and ended up weak with no more strength to fight back. In the end it made me think, that soon
everyone in Oceania will be walking just as stiff as Julia and Winston’s ex
wife; the living dead.
Monday, November 17, 2014
Behind Closed Doors
Thesis: There
are unspoken situations that go on globally such as mothers working abroad,
that should reach our attention; governments should enforce rights of a person
at any given place or time.
There are
some employer’s that state that some of these people shouldn’t be complaining
because they have enough rest time, they get treated as family members, they
enjoy their job, it’s not too hard, etc.
As Diego Salvatierra quoted Katrina Garib in the Yale Globalist article,
“Yes, they may wake up at 7 a.m. and cook dinner at 7 p.m., but they spend
a lot of time in between doing nothing.” Some
domestic workers complain that they don’t have enough free time away from the
families that they take care of (Including their boss’ and their children’s). But what others may not know is that these
people do have a lot of spare time in between their work time to relax, and do
what they want to do themselves. These
people should be grateful for the conditions they work in, “ I paid
my nanas above the minimum wage, which is very common; they’re better
off than others, and shouldn't complain so much.” Live-in maids do
not pay rent and get free food, she added” (Diego Salvatierra). Live-in maids should be thankful that
there’s a few boss’ out there that would actually pay them higher than the
minimum wage, and would give them enough luxury to have their own free time
within their work hours.
Even as
other employer’s argue that some of them pay their live-in maids more than
enough, and give them enough free time; one employer does not speak for all
employer’s of live-in maids across the globe.
Even if one live-in maid were lucky enough to work for a compatible
employer, there are many employer’s out there who mistreat or exploit their
maids/nannies. There are many employer’s
that may also tell their neighbors and the public that they treat their maids
the best and have them live in the best conditions, but in reality, their maids
are the ones suffering behind closed doors.
“While cases of such harsh treatment are rare, Hong
Kong ’s policies on migrant workers have often made maids reluctant
to report abuse for fear of losing their livelihoods and being deported if they
fail to find new jobs swiftly. No formal charges have yet been made against the
Hong Kong employer, who also reportedly
threatened to kill Erwiana and her family if she revealed the abuse she
suffered”(James Pomphret). Many of these
people are being threatened if they speak, or dare to leave, and many of these
live-in maids go through horrific situations that not many people even know
of. These people should be properly
protected and need our help globally.
One employer can’t speak for the other thousands of employer’s, as
there’s hundred’s of maids known to be or have been abused out there.
Monday, November 10, 2014
Living Quiet Under Unethical Issues
LanaRhae
Gojit Navarra
9
November, 2014
ENGL
102-08
Thesis: There
are unspoken situations that go on globally such as mothers working abroad,
that should reach our attention; governments should enforce rights of a person
at any given place or time.
“By one estimate, 15 to 20 percent of the
100,000 Sri Lankan women who leave each year for the gulf return prematurely,
face abuse, or nonpayment of salary, or get drawn into illicit people
trafficking schemes or prostitution” (Waldman).
Waldman, Amy.“Sri Lankan Maids Pay Dearly for Perilous Jobs Overseas.” New York Times. 8 May 2005. Web. 8
November 2014.
Every year, 15-20%
of women are abused, or are highly mistreated while working abroad. There are many women nowadays that are left
with no choice but to work abroad to make a living for their families back
home. These parents have no limitations
to support and protect their own. As
every woman makes her way to these houses they work at abroad as maids, they
have no idea what living and working conditions they will face. In Sri Lanka , women are often given
the chance to join a training program that trains them to become proper maids,
and are given tips and heads up on what they may encounter while working abroad
(Waldman). Only from one country, 15-20%
of these women are being highly mistreated; imagine how many woman around the
world face these hardships everyday?
Woman should be given the same rights as they’ve had when they were
still home. They leave their country to
work for their family, to give them a better life, but are fighting for their
own rights and their own lives every day at work. These women should not get beaten for their
hard work, and sacrifices. This quote
relates to my thesis because it shows how women are abused, rape, almost killed,
working for free, and not given proper rights every day. The worst part is, we don’t hear much of
it. There may be a few stories that get
on the news, newspaper, or are heard from ear to ear. But there isn’t any huge action and attention
given to these people. These women should be treated right, and should be
protected as they work abroad.
“That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted
among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,--That
whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the
Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Governement,
laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such
form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and
Happiness”(The Charters of New Freedom).
“The Charters of Freedom ‘A New World Is At Hand’”. Delcaration of Independence
After the
Declaration of Independence was written, everyone will be have protected
rights. After this huge event, many
people had hope and thought the years of inequality, and being mistreated with
no say was over; but it wasn’t. The
Declaration of Independence mislead the people, most of those who were poor,
black, jews, and everyone else who wasn’t a rich white man. At this time, not even the woman were
necessarily apart of this declaration, there was many unethical issues still
happening after this document was written.
The Declaration of Independence was more for the rich white men. They were the ones who had their rights
protected, who the government valued first over any other human being. Why would they write this document and not
grant it to everyone? Why give hope to
those who are at the urge of giving up?
These people were struggling every day of their lives, and to hear or
see hope like this written on a document was glorious; but to later find out it
wasn’t meant for them. Everyone should be equally protected, rich, poor, middle
class, whites, colored, Christians, Catholics, etc. Equality should’ve made its entrance to this
country the moment the Declaration of Independence was written. This quote relates to my thesis because
mothers who go abroad are sometimes mislead, and are usually left with the
options to continue fighting and possibly die, or to live their lives
mistreated, beaten, abused, and raped and have a better chance of surviving. The poor, colored, woman, etc. were had no
protection of their rights as they walked.
Just as these women who work abroad, they leave their country with a
voice, and are hoping to be just as protected and treated just as well as they
did back home. Once they get to their
boss’ house to work as a maid, everything is different. The work environment is usually no where
close to what they expected; they have no say, nor any type of right or
government to protect them from their abusive boss’.
“All marriages
between party members had to be approved by a committee appointed for the
purpose, and –though the principle was never clearly stated-permission was
always refused if the couple concerned gave the impression of being physically
attracted to one another”(Orwell 65).
Orwell, George, and Erich Fromm. 1984. New York : Signet Classics, 1950. Print.
No one had the
freedom to be with who they truly want to be with or love. As for Julia and Winston, they realized that
it is possible to have this affectionate feeling without being caught and
punished for it. They would rather have
a few minutes with each other now and then, and keep their relationship going;
rather than ending their relationship and leaving this feeling behind. As George Orwell stated, despite how the room
looked like, it felt paradise to them.
It was their time to feel freedom agai; they didn’t have to hide their
true thoughts, their feelings, or themselves.
The room was the only place they can be their true selves
again(150). Winston and Julia would go miles
for each other, and sacrifice whatever they needed too just to continue seeing
each other. These sacrifices they’d make
for one another had no limitations. This
relates to my thesis because parents have no limitations to support and protect
their own; just as Julia and Winston had no limitations for one another. In the Philippines ,
there are many mothers out there that work abroad (usually Dubai , Japan
“She was raised
under harsh conditions, and subjected to whippings even as a small child”(New
York History Net).
"The Life of Harriet Tubman - New York New York
Harriet Tubman
grew up living in harsh conditions. The
times of slavery was horrible, unbelievable, and absolutely unethical. These
women, men, and children were tossed around like dogs, and slave owners sure
didn’t care how much blood, pain, tears they see in these people; these people
were nothing to them. The worst part
about the times of slavery is that even if a black man is titled a “Free Black
Man”, there can still be chances of him being taken away from his family to
work the fields of another unjust slave owner.
These kids who were born into slavery, just as Harriet Tubman herself
don’t even get the chance to see what life can offer out there. All they see is there people working the
fields, being maids, doing all the dirty work for these white men and being
punished multiple times, sometimes even for nothing they know of. Slaves had no say, no rights, and no type of
freedom. Despite all the hardships these
people had to go through, there was always a few numbers of people like Harriet
Tubman herself who had hope. Who had the
courage to find a way out, and come back to save her people, to save her
family, to escape from slavery. She
could’ve easily escaped and never looked back, but she made multiple sacrifices
to help more people escape through the Underground Railroad. This quote relates to my thesis because just
as these slaves were stuck in one environment setting, and never let out free;
so were these mothers working hard as maids.
It’s as if they were there boss’ slaves.
After multiple whippings, beatings, and being treated unfairly, these
slaves worked till they can. Slaves back
then and the women who are living in these houses as maids go through many
things that are similar. No matter how
hard they work, they aren’t getting paid for it (happened to many women
abroad), no matter how many times they shed blood and tears they still worked,
no matter how many times they wanted to give up, they find a way to find
themselves again and their freedom. Both
the slaves and these women don’t give up, sacrifices they made for themselves
and for their people and families did not matter; as long as they lived their
own freedom together.
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