April 13, 2008
Week Nine responses will be expected on or before Sunday, April 20, by 9 pm.
World Population Issues:
This week, we have been learning about world population statistics/growth. We have also discussed the United Nations Population Fund and its findings regarding how population issues affect youth around the world. Your task this week is to access the UNFPA’s report entitled Growing Up Urban, which is the youth supplement to 2007’s report on the state of the world’s population. You do not have to read the entire article, but you do have to read the Preface and the Introduction plus the story of ONE of the young people profiled in the report. After reading this material, provide some a reaction/commentary in response to the content of what you have read. Something in the neighborhood of 250-300 words would be appropriate.
Responses will be expected by Sunday, April 20, no later than 9pm.
Top Posts Last Week: Josh Sturgess & Logan Myers
April 16, 2008 at 11:27 am
I read the story about Freddy. He is a non active gang member and has went through so much in his life. He used to be a part of a major gang, so he still has all of his tatoos that show he was a member of this gang. They were always at war with other gangs and they were into stealing, killing, and beating people who walked into their territory. Now that he is away from the gang he can’t adjust because he can’t get a job with his tattoos, cops have a priveladge to pull him over on the road and makes up stories, and he is so used to living in the city he wouldnt know what to do in the country.
The way he was takling about how the tatoos he has will always make him a gang member and that no one would really know him for who he is is so true. This is true because people are so stereotypical now adays and even the police are. He mentioned how if he ever dies it wont say in the paper “a taxi driver dies” it will say “a gang member dies”. This would make anybody feel like crap. The police should not be able to make up stories about gang members or have the right to take a former gang member in especially when their not doing anything wrong. Also, when it comes to getting a job you should be able to get a job tattoed or not because a personal profile should be able to show somebody that the person is not as bad as they once were.
April 16, 2008 at 12:26 pm
The article I chose to read was on Reham, a young women from Cairo, Egypt who was sexually harassed one day when she was walking down the street. The street was narrow and this boy reached out and grabbed her and would not stop harassing her until she yelled so loudly that passer-by’s took notice. The boy ran off but Reham still felt in danger.
It is true that in Cairo there is a lot of sexual harassment towards women. The police and general public don’t really acknowledge it but the women certainly do. Som women were put so far out of their comfort zone, like Reham, that they changed their clothing. The donned the abaya which is a long, loose dress (it also proves a religious purpose as well) that covers the whole body along with the hijab. The women said that they felt guilty because they thought they had provoked the attacks by wearing appealing clothing like jeans and t-shirts.
Reham felt that the sexual harassment that she had experienced was God’s way of telling her to come back to him, and that may be the case but is He trying to make all women, even those who already where the abaya, realize that they’re not as religious as he would like? Most of the women who where the abaya’s are using them in defence against the possibility of being groped in a busy street. If the answer to sexual violence is making women wear sheets to cover their “sexiness”, then we should re-evaluate our thinking paradigm.
April 18, 2008 at 9:08 am
First of all, I read this story in school and I tried to open it at home to read it again, but it will take 2 hours to open because I have to download the right thing to read it on and with dial up it’s impossible. So, I will try and remember the story the best I can..
The story I chose to read was about a girl named Shimu. She lives in Bangladesh I believe, and she doesn’t even know how old she is or when her birthday is. I can’t imagine not knowing how old I am or when my birthday is. She says no one ever bothered to tell her. When Shimu was young, she would travel to the market, and one day there was a boy there who kept eyeing her. One day he told her that he flat out wanted to marry her. What? He just came up to her and wanted to marry her? That would freak me right out, but Shimu was happy. She thinks that she was only about 12 or 13 when this 17 year old boy told her he wanted to marry her, but she doesn’t know for sure. The boy went to her parent’s house to tell her about the “marriage”, and that he would not take a dowry from them because he “loved” Shimu so much. The boy was told that he would have to wait two years to marry Shimu because she was still young.
Eventually the boy became jealous because all of his friends were getting married and were also getting dowries from the girls’ parents. When Shimu finally went to live with her new husband (at the disgustingly young age of about 14), she was treated well. But, eventually her husband began to act mean towards her. One day she said she thought she felt something moving in her stomach. Turns out she was pregnant. Shimu was basically so uneducated about sex, that she didn’t realize that she could get pregnant from it. I know that stuff like this happens in many places, but it still appalls me. Shimus gave birth to a son, and four years later, another son. If Shimu would go to the market and sit to have a rest and her husband saw her, he would accuse her of being a prostitute and that she was waiting for her lover. Eventually Shimu had enough, and she moved to the city. Here she got a job sewing, and eventually got a job near the top, meaning she made “a lot” of money. It was still only about $200 US a month. She says she is happier than she ever was before. The sad thing is that she thinks she is only about 22 or 23 years old.
Shimu’s story made me feel so lucky to live in a country like Canada. We are so lucky here to have rights that let us marry who we want, when we want, not when we are 14 years old. I’m also really glad that we have proper sexual education classes that teach us all about everything that Shimu did not know about.
April 18, 2008 at 12:41 pm
Growing Up Urban
I read the story about Freddy, the non-active gang member. I was really interested in Freddy’s story because he is kind of a miracle. He lived most of his life as a gang member, was shot, everyone around him died, but somehow he lived through all the torment and suffering. The fact that he got out, started a family, and is trying to live his life on the right path makes him my hero. I personally could not believe in my most imaginative dream of living even somewhat like that. Stealing just so you could score some cocaine, and killing to stay alive just seems like a far away fairy tale. I feel a lot of sympathy for Freddy because even though he quit his gang life he still lives constantly in fear. Fear of being killed by one of his former gang member, or one of his rival gang members, he is afraid of being beat down by cops, or jailed simply because he was in a gang once. He is afraid of not being able to provide for his kids, and that someday they might become what he used to be. Living in that state of constant fear would be unbearable. The fact that he doesn’t want to move to a more rural area because he is a city man is kind of un unintelligent excuse and he lost some points from me for that. I would want to protect my family from my past if I was in his shoes, it would not make a difference where I lived.
When he talked about always being a gang member because of his tattoos is saddening because he thinks that noone will understand him for who he truely is, is somewhat true and somewhat not. He found someone who loved him, and was willing to make a family with him, but the citizens who will never know hime will not be so kind. All they would see was a gang member, they have no idea of his past and the accomplishments he has made in his life. This would kind of make the citizens prejudice, but hey everyone now-a-days is prejudice, they just can’t help it. The fact that the cops can simply arrest him because he has tattoos, and then make it stick my coming up with some story is just outrageous and unjust. Police are there to protect the citizens, and maintain society, how can they do that when they are chasing non-active gang members around and trying to frame them for things they haven’t done, or things that they have done in they’re past. It’s just not right.
People should be able to live their lives in peace, not be afraid that someday their past might come back to bite them in the behind.
April 18, 2008 at 4:52 pm
The article I chose was regarding the life of a Chinese man named Bing. Bing, as a child, admired soldiers and hoped that one day he, too, would become a soldier. Unfortunately, he did not accomplish this, and of course, this disappointed his father greatly. As a result, he would decide to become a businessman. During his post-secondary education, he would share a room with seven other students, and it is during this time period that he would invoke upon his entrepreneurship. Bing managed to grasp, to a certain extent, some success. However, this success would be short lived, and soon, Bing would find himself with no place to live and no where to turn. Fortunately, he would soon after receive a job waitering at a karaoke club called the Oriental Pearl. He has been working at this place of business for five years, and has since been promoted to lobby manager.
The most interesting part of this article, for me, involved not only the Chinese culture and way of life, but Bing’s perseverance. Bing, at this time, has a girlfriend whom he plans to marry this year, but he is still working at the Oriental Pearl. He is not depressed by this fact, however. He still plans for a new business in the near future, and hopefully one day a home and a decent car (Bing says that he would prefer an Audi). Bing’s story is inspirational not because he has achieved a great amount of success in his lifetime, but more so because he has risen from poverty, never given up, and as of this time, reflecting on his statements, shows no sign of ever giving up or not succeeding. For Bing, failure is no option.
Of course, Bing was pushed into the city by a “lack of employment elsewhere.” Bing traveled to the city to embark on his post-secondary studies, and shortly after, his entrepreneurship. Therefore, Bing’s story is an obvious reflection on the effects of urbanization, and what continues to push individuals into cities, forcing cities to expand into rural areas. Bing’s story is therefore not rare, but common. It is simply in the way that Bing has lived his life, and continues to live his life (with hope) that is an inspiration and an accomplishment in its own right.
April 18, 2008 at 5:42 pm
Maty’s story wasn’t something we would read or witness everyday, especially not around here. Maty’s life changed when she was only six. Unlike myself, at age six –playing with Barbies and dinkies in my sandbox- Maty woke up in a hospital not having a clue where she was. Arriving home, she found out that her parents made a “friendly agreement” that the twenty-four year old who raped her was sent to live else where. Maty felt betrayed by her parents and was unable to forgive them. They just let her rapist get away with not even a slap on the wrist. Completely flabbergasted that no matter how cruel life got Maty still fought back with even more determination. She drifted away from her friends, family and became very quick-tempered and irritable. She felt very misunderstood and was only able to talk a close friend who shared a similar experience. She met a nice basketball player who she thought would be easy to mold into a dream come true. However it was like déjà vu when he insisted they have sex. Maty refused, and so he forced himself on her.
Maty saw a documentary on TV about sexual violence. Everything described on the show seem to have come right from her life. Now knowing that she wasn’t the only one encouraged her to visit a social worker. In no time Maty was becoming more and more confident. She came to terms that nothing in her past was her fault and now is even exchanging ideas and advice. Finally past the fork in the road Maty is on her way down the right path with a map in her back pocket. I was upset throughout her story but because she pulled everything back together in the end was like the cherry on top.
April 19, 2008 at 1:14 pm
The story I chose to do was Maty’s because I was inspired by this girl’s determination to keep going no matter how bad the going got.
Can you imagine waking up in the hospital not knowing where you are at the tender age of 6? As Amanda said as a Canadian girl I too was busy playing Barbies and watching Arthur to even know what being raped meant. No wonder this poor girl became very irritable to be around. It seemed to her that no matter hard she tried things just kept getting worse.
She finally made a friend who she thought was going to be the best thing for her, and low and behold her brought her down again forcing her into something she did not want to do.
I think it took a lot of guts for her to go to that social worker and tell her her story, but obviously it was the right choice as now she is doing much better and realizing that all of the bad stuff in her life was not her fault and she is moving on with her life, as she should!
This story touched me. I felt extremely bad for her, no girl should ever have to endure what she endured. It was inspiring to read because if someone who went through that kind of hardship can come out on top then anyone can. As Canadians we take advantage of everything and seem to forget that some people actually have to work hard to get where they are today.
April 20, 2008 at 12:28 pm
I believe that it is ultimately up to the government to get the children of tomorrow ready for their responsibilities. How can people honestly say “children are our future” and then not give them the safety, health care and knowledge that they need?
I read the story about Bing. I couldn’t believe that the only way he thought he would be able to see the world was through being in the army. It’s so sad that he was so limited and that many other children go through the same thing each day. When Bing was young, his family’s livelihood was based solely on the weather. They farmed, and if all went well, they did fine, if it did not go well, there wasn’t enough food to eat. I feel that this situation hits home. On PEI, farmers struggle to get by when crops are bad also. What went on with Bing’s family is not so far fetched.
Bing is such an inspiration to me, because he worked very hard to get himself through school and to the “city.” Bing may not have gotten into college or the military, but he did not give up. Off to business school he went with big dreams. Bing started two little businesses (phone card and copying) to put himself through school, something people around here would be too lazy and not creative enough to do.
Although his copy business had to be shut down and he now waits table at The Oriental Pearl, Bing still has big plans for his life. If someone around here had to go through what Bing has, they would’ve quit by now, but Bing wants to marry his girlfriend this year and then open a purse store. We could all take a lesson from Bing, perseverance is the key to success, and where you come from does not have to define where you will end up.
April 20, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Did anyone read the preface/intro?
I think that focusing on the youth in urban areas for the 2007 State of World Population Report is very important. They are the ones who will lead the coming generations, and urban areas offer a lot of opportunities, which is necessary for positive development. I found it very interesting to see that for 2008, more than half of the world’s population will live in urban areas.
Half of urban-dwellers right now are under 25 years old, which means that investing in areas like education, health, employment etc. for these young people will be the key to reducing poverty. Youth have high expectations of the city, but overpopulation can result in poor working conditions and housing. But the youth are usually risk takers, making some live on their own, causing many problems. For woman, many move to the slums of cities for better life than their old villages, but they are often subjected to sexual exploitation/poverty. Safe havens in cities are changing this, and women can find autonomy, access to resources, and self-control.
For cities to thrive, people must focus on involving the youth today. With a wave of urbanization, there is much potential for economic growth. Over the next 25 years, the government must support youth to stay in school, exercise their right to health, attract new investments, and encourage youth organizations.
Freddy was just 10 years old when gangs began to thrive in San Salvador. Mara gang members were deported from the USA back to El Salvador, and brought a new culture with them. Freddy skipped school, and was made fun of and disrespected by many. So he decided to join the Maras for a sense of belonging. In the gang, he was taught things like respect, defense, stealing, and killing. But when it came time to stab someone, he couldn’t. He became addicted to drugs, but after one of his friends died because Freddy was too high to help, he decided to stop. After a bullet to the chest, Freddy decided he didn’t want to be a Mara anymore, but much of his dreams are shattered because of his gang tattoos that label him today. I think it’s sad to see people turn to things like this, but really, there aren’t many options in poor places like this. Freddy has much potential, but he wasn’t introduced to how he could use that, so he turned to gangs. If the city had provided more opportunity, he could have led a better life.
April 20, 2008 at 3:41 pm
The story that I have chosen is about Shimu, a young women from Bangladesh.
Shimu is around 22 or 23 years old; she is not sure exactly how old she is since she does not know when her birthday is. She can remember few details about her childhood and had also lost her mother when she was only 2 or 3 years old. Shimu fled from a childhood marriage and an abusive husband to Dhaka. When she was around 11 or 12 a boy who was 17 at the time asked to marry her. She received permission from her guardians to marry the boy; however, with certain conditions. Her husband soon disobeyed these conditions; he took her away from her family and started beating her regularly. She often had to work to pay for her own food because they stopped feeding her. She also had two sons before she was 18 or 19. She wanted a divorce. She left her husband and had to leave her two sons with her step mother to raise enough money for them to survive. She successfully got a job and was able to support her children and file for divorce. Sadly she arrived home one time to find that they had to bury one of her sons because he had died from an illness. She got her life back on track by working in a factory and having the courage to leave her abusive husband and get her children out of that dangerous situation.
It is fairly safe to say that on the little island that we call home, few, if any of us have to worry about being married at 15 and expected to have children ahortly after. Just thinking of Shimu or anyone in situations similar to hers is disturbing. I could not imagine not knowing when my birthday was and not having a fun and safe childhood or losing my mother at such a young age. In addition to losing a child on top of everything that has happened to her really makes one count their blessings that they live in a pace like Canada where they are safe and free.
April 20, 2008 at 4:02 pm
The State of World Population Report I feel is a very important key factor in helping the lives of young women and men in urban areas. They’ve realized that the world population is changing and that in 2008 more then half of the world will live in urban areas where most will be born into poor families. With this State of World Population Report we can begin to change the world one step at a time.
Young people under the age of 25 are the ones making up most of the urban population today.
Investment in young children today is the key to reducing poverty which means helping exercise
their rights to education, employment, health and many others. For most children cities are a
hope for a good education, health services and many job opportunities when really the result of
over population causes poor working areas and a place to stay. But for the children in the urban
areas extreme poverty, family conflicts, violence, death of a parent and many others could cause children to live on their own. This causes many problems mostly for woman when they move to the slum of the cities such as sexual exploitation/poverty. Many children are reminded of their unequal lives to the wealth which causes violence. The future for young children today is evolving with technology like the Internet and cell phones where children can relate to one another and help each other.
I decided to read the story Angelo. Angelo was a young boy living in the world of poverty in
Vigario Geral with his mother and three younger siblings. Angelo is the oldest of the four
children and began working at the age of eight when his father left. Angelo wasn’t forced to
work, he chose to because he knew the money his mother worked for wasn’t enough and since he
was the oldest he had a responsibility. He found out where to buy lollipops and candy and began selling them on buses, trains and at traffic lights. Angelo wondered how there were people so rich and that they didn’t seem to want to do anything for those who had nothing. Angelo had to skip school someday to help support his family and he had to witness all the drug selling and violence going on around him. But he knew he never wanted to be apart of that lifestyle. One night Angelo heard AfroReggae a famous band using music to draw youth away from drugs, violence etc. Angelo wanted to be like him, so him and his friends turned trash into music and gave themselves a name called AfroLata. AfroLata was then apart of the AfroReggae project. AfroReggae gave Angelo a grant to concentrate on his music but still had to study for school where he makes 150 US a month. Angelo is now happily living with his girlfriend and child and as well as his friends who were in the band.
Angelo’s story made me realize how great of a lifestyle we have here in Canada. We can go to
school, work and come home to a warm house and meal everyday without having to struggle to
survive. We need to realize what else is going on around us and who else is struggling. Before we can’t finish that supper meal because we’re “full”, think about all the young children working on the streets day and night to survive.
April 20, 2008 at 5:29 pm
For this weeks blog I chose to do the story about Bing, a boy that was born in 1980 in Fuping, China. He was the fourth child in his family. There was his parents, and his three sisters. At this time families were aloud to have more then one child. This was before China had introduced there family planning policy. Just when Bing was about a year old his parents decided to leave their hometown to try their luck in Zha Lantun, in Inner Mongolia. At this time the family was very poor. They thought that by moving they would try there luck in the remote lands they might have more and better opportunities for work. They money that the family had all depended on the crops and animals is they done bad they would go hungry. Bing said that “They gave me everything they could. I was the only boy and the youngest” they did not want there only boy to go hungry, or be without anything. When Bing was nineteen he felt like he was coming into a new world. Bing go on a train and went to the city of Tianjin to study in college he felt like he was in a new world. The type of life that they have in China is much different then the kind of life we have here in Canada. Yes we live in the same world but they are really two different ways of life. In these days everything we get comes from china and it seems like it they should be doing very well, and yes some are but there are still so many that are in the slums. We are a growing world and we are going to be a ever changing place. We are going be a more urbanized place as the years go on.
April 20, 2008 at 5:33 pm
The Story I read for this weeks post is about a non active gang member named Freddy. Freddy went through a lot in his life, he was shot, and a lot of his friends and family died, but he survived it all. To this day he lives in fear because he has killed a lot of people to stay alive, and stole to get drugs. He is an inspiration because he is done with all that, I could not image it would be easy to change your life the way he did. He started a family, but I imagine that wouldn’t have been easy, because of all the things he is afraid of, and what life he will be able to provide for family. Freddy has tattoos all over his body, and there are a lot of people who judge because of how you look, so that it self would make it even harder. All of the tattoos he has would signal that he was in or once was in some sort of gang.
What Freddy needs to do if he wants a better life for his family, is to move away from the past and not look back. He does not to live in the same neighborhood if he is scared of everything there. Freddy to me is kinda of a hero, the way he just changed his life around like that, in my personal thought of him he should move away and not look back, no one should live that kind of life.
April 20, 2008 at 5:46 pm
I would like to thank Kerry MacDonald for sending me this information, since I have dial up, so downloading Growing Up Urban would have been impossible without her!
I cannot believe that the world’s population is growing the way it is. So many young children are being born into families which do not have the ability to support them due to the large amount of urbanization. However, people are trying to make the lives of these youth better by improving their living conditions - such as their health care and their education. The Youth Supplement, profiling the lives on young men and women from seven different countries is trying to make a change in the future generation’s world, freeing them from poverty, abuse, and violence.
I chose to speak about Reham. Reham is trying to change the lives of many young girls who are not as privileged as she was in her youth. They are in a world that constantly forces them to fight to survive. Reham studied in the field of social work, and was sexually harassed on a city street one day by a young man. As a result of this incident, she lived in fear of further sexual harassment and had a very hard time coming to terms with what had happened.
Many women living in big cities in places around the world say they have been sexually harassed. However, no one will do anything about it; it is merely swept under the rug. Women are constantly judged according to what they wear, and some women even feel guilty when they are harassed, but why? Are they worried it is their fault for wearing a certain type of clothing which “provokes” men? Reham believes that every human being is given a chance by God to change their ways, and it is her belief that by being harassed, God was telling her to come back to him.
Reham began to wear the traditional abaya, a dress which gives a Muslim woman the feeling of the protection of the community and conveys the idea that they will not engage in seduction of any kind. Women have to deal with sexual harassment almost everyday around the world - whether it be child marriage in a more rural setting or economically coerced sex in urban areas. A very large percentage of women are being sexually abused and exploited and in many urban areas, this is condoned. It is about time that the people of the world begin to realize that we may have come a long way in terms of the struggle for gender equality, but we still have a long ways to go!
April 20, 2008 at 6:07 pm
SHIMU
This article just like many other articles I’ve read this year shows us that no matter what some people go through we can pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off. Shimu is a young woman from Bangladesh that was married off into a very abusive relationship at the ripe age of 12. At the age when American women are attending university and partying with their friends Shimu was faced with raising two young boys, finding food to eat, and trying her best to escape the wrath of her husband. Because Shimu lived in a rural area she not only felt isolated but she felt trapped. She didn’t know how it would be possible to leave her husband because she didn’t have any education, had no job opportunities, and had nowhere to go where she could hide from her husband.
It’s awful to think that any human being would be forced to live in an abusive lifestyle because of where they lived. In the preface and introduction of this article it talks about youth migrating to urban areas for better education, healthcare, job opportunities and overall better quality of life. I think it’s great that we’re talking about making improvements to urban areas to better the lives of today’s youth but that doesn’t mean that we should forget about the rural population all together does it? It only makes sense that there would be more job opportunities in an urban area but the rural areas shouldn’t be so bad that young people find it’s mandatory to move to the city to survive (like in the case of Shimu).
Shimu, with the advice from a friend moved to the city and got a job working in a factory for fifteen dollars a month, this is enough to support her and send her son to school. It was nice when reading this article to see that Shimu realized how much harder her life had been due to the fact that she had not received an education and saw the value of sending her son to a good school. Shimu made a comment about how some people had to live unhappy lives for others to live happy ones it’s very disheartening to hear that someone feels that way although I know that it’s truer than most of us would like to believe. It’s crucial that our generation finds ways to equalize opportunities for our generation and the generations that follow in underdeveloped countries because for all we know our future Alexander Bell’s and Benjamin Franklin’s of the world are going uneducated and undiscovered.
April 20, 2008 at 6:21 pm
It is very important for all countries of the world to work on the Improvement of urban areas. In order for the people of such countries to fully achieve their needs and potential they require help from their government to do so. People growing up poor need that boost to get an education in order to have a successful career and life. Face it, the world would fair much better if there were contributing workers, instead of poor people unable to work.
I read the story about Bing. Growing up, Bing wanted to be a soldier. It was something he both admired and thought would offer him a way to see the world. His family was poor though, and on occasions just got by. But they believed in their son, and would do their best to help him succeed. After seeing the city lights for the first time on a color t.v., Bing decided he wanted to go to the city. When Bing did not get into college or the military academy, his father was very disappointed. Bing didn’t want his father to think of him as a loser so he traveled to a big city called Tianjin. There he took classes, and eventually started his own business. Unfortunately, he had to close it because he couldn’t pay the high rent. He found a new job at a restaurant as a waiter, and over the years rose in its ranks, and is now lobby manager. He plans to save his earnings, and one day start a business again in hopes of becoming rich and successful.
I was very impressed in the way Bing never game up on his dreams of being successful. Every trial that came up he would strive to overcome it. He wanted his parents to be so proud of him, and deeply regretted disappointing them. They sacrificed a lot to help him, and he knows that. I think if more people thought like Bing, then there would be more success in the world. It’s one thing to fail, but to stop trying entirely is not good enough. If more people overcame their hardships, then great success and a more beneficial life would be in their reach.
April 20, 2008 at 7:26 pm
Sometimes living on P.E.I. with a population of around 130,000 people I forget to notice what’s going on in those big urban cities. I usually just categorize them as big bustling places where everything is and where everyone wants to be. However, I forget about the people who live there in poverty stricken places who would give anything to be anywhere else.
I chose to read Maty’s story. At the age of 6 she woke up not knowing where she was. All she remembered before that moment was that a man told her to come with him because he had chocolate. He had raped Maty. As horrible as that was, what was even worse was that her parents acted like it never happened and made a deal for the man to move away. Maty became alone in a place of 200,000 people. No wonder she became so angry and resentful, no on seemed to stand by her side.
Life went on and Maty started to act like it never happened. She was asked out by a basketball player who had been pursuing her. Everything seemed to have turned around; however, again she was betrayed. After she refused to have sex with him he forced himself on her.
I read this story and saw all the bad aspects I had missed somehow in urban society, however in the end I saw how a place of acceptance and hope in a urban community can really change lifes. After seeing a show on TV about sexual violence in Africa she went and talked to a social worker at a community center. She began visiting the place for activities all the time.
Now Maty speaks to kids about the same issues she faced. This story really showed how problems like this in urban communities shouldn’t be ignored. People need to stand together and fight back against there issues. Urban communities are our future. We need to start helping the future of the people that live there.
April 20, 2008 at 7:49 pm
I was very impressed with the content of the UNFPA’s report – growing up urban. I was alarmed after reading the statistics dealing with the world’s growing population. I was under the impression that there was a greater quantity of people living in rural areas in comparison to urban areas – I was incorrect. According to the UNFPA, over fifty percent of the world’s population currently inhabits urban locations – cities, large towns etc. Being from a very small province and a densely populated country, I did not realize that an increasing number of people are now choosing to live in cities rather than small communities. The UNFPA claims that the dramatic increase in population can be blamed on a lack of sexual education in poorer nations and the relocation of ‘country folk’ into the city.
I really appreciated and admired how this article dealt with improving the lives of those less fortunate – more specifically, young immigrants. Suggestions were given to solve the problem of poverty. These suggestions included: assisting them with education, helping them find employment, providing them with sexual education etc. I loved how this article addressed important issues for young people and provided reasonable solutions on how to fix them.
I chose to read and analyze Maty’s profile – the young rape victim from Senegal. I was disgusted at the manner in which this young girl was treated as a child and how she was continually ridiculed in her adolescent years for being ‘impure.’ I was mortified at the fact that her parents were too spineless to defend their daughter. I was relieved to hear that, because of programs established in her community, she was eventually able to reclaim her self-esteem and has turned into a very successful young woman. I am a firm believer in programs like these (youth supplement) that provide young women around the world with the opportunity to become educated, find employment and to repair their self-image like Maty.
April 20, 2008 at 8:08 pm
Shimu
I think its very discouraging knowing that there are people who have to grow up and live in urban areas. Poor people need an education and a proper health care system in order to live the fullest life they can.
Shimu went to school for a couple of months when she was 9 or 10. Her sister took her out, only so she could help her out with caring for her children and all of the housework. Shimu was a girl who got married around the age of 11 or 12. She had no say in her life… and would do anything for anyone. Her husband got mad because her family was poor and could not give him anything. He made her live with him, his mother and siblings. He abused her in so many different ways. Her feelings were hurt.
Shimu had two children by the time she was 18-19. She decided to get away from her husband, earn money to support her children, and live a life without being abused. Her children stayed with in the village with her mother, while she went to a big city to work in a factory…where she still barely made enough money.
I think no girl should have to experience facing abuse, neglect, depression, and such harsh stressful situations especially at a age so young. Its sad Shimu got married at an early age, to a boy she didn’t even know. Her life could have been so different if someone would have made her stay in school…but she was only young, it wasn’t her fault.
April 20, 2008 at 8:49 pm
It is very surprising to me to hear all of the statistics dealing with urban growth . I find it especially alarming to hear the number of youth who are in the cities, and many of whom live with neither one of their parents. Although it is alarming, I completely see why we are growing so immensely in urban areas. It makes sense that people move to cities in search of many things, and with farming going down hill, it should be expected that urbanization will occur. In my opinion, this is not necessarily a bad thing. As it was stated in the report, there are positives to urbanization, a long as we ensure we put the resources in place for our youth to make the best educated decisions. However, if we keep this shift to urbanized areas up, soon we will cause many problems for our world.
With all of this being said it is terrible to see kids like Freddy who grow up in bad neighbourhoods, and this effects the way they will live their lives. It is not right for a kid to be subject to something so dangerous and violent as gangs at the age of 10. As well, I do not think it is right for people to judge an individual based on their looks, which is the case with Freddy because of his tattoos. I believe that if we keep the trend of moving to cities, then we must work very hard at fixing problems like this one, so you do not have people who are fearing for their lives in their own communities because of gang violence they are not a part of. We must address this issue and fix it.
April 21, 2008 at 10:03 am
Growing Up Urban
The story I read about is a man named Freddy also known as Kruger. His is a non-active gang member that lives in San Salvador, El Salvador. He grew up in San Salvador with his mom and two sisters, also his father was stabbed bled out and died, on the streets. He tried to join a gang when he was only ten years old because he wanted respect from others so he got into the wrong crowd and began to steel and do drugs. Eventually, he was accepted into the main gang Mara Salvatrucha or M.S. In order for him to get in he was beat by the “homies” for thirteen seconds without complaining and he was in.
Then one day when he was out with one of his buddies they were both shot and his friend died. While Freddy figured he was on his death bed, he amazingly recovered from the gun wounds to this chest. He figured god kept him on this earth for a second chance. He decided to turn his life around and drop out of his gang MS and then start all over. Once he quit the gang he joined a new organization called Homies Unidos, to help him keep the violence and his past behind him. When he joined Homies Unidos he met his future wife and mother to his two beautiful son and daughter.
To me Freddy has come a long way and still has his future a head of him, that’s if he plays his cards right. I believe the only way for him to keep him and his family safe and to have a good life without worrying is to move out to the country. The only way to get out and stay out of all the drama is to just get up and leave. Forget the past and forget the city.
April 21, 2008 at 12:08 pm
The report seemed to me like it was accurate and very well written. I think that the world needs to start to do something about population growth and improve living conditions in urban areas.
I read the article about Angelo. Angelo had a tough childhood, growing up in a poor family and having to give up school to work so his family could eat. He was the oldest so the responsibility fell to him. I think he was a special individual because of his ability to do what most kids his age couldn’t do and avoid drugs and alcohol. If it wasn’t for him his family wouldn’t have survived. His life was changed by a group called AfroReggae and now he makes a living playing music. Angelo’s live was an example identical to almost any other in the area of being tempted and offered numerous chances to give in and throw his life away. He chose to resist and now today he is living a good life and is still on the rise. His dream is to move his family to a better place, and with his hard work he will probably see it come true. I guess this goes to show that if you are committed and you want something bad enough, it’s possible.
April 25, 2008 at 11:56 am
I read a story about a man named Bing, who’s only goal was to be successful in life. Bing grew up in a poor family who tried their very best to make ends meet but their best just wasn’t good enough. They raised chickens and other small animals but they still didn’t have enough money to eat. Bing father dream was for his youngest son to be successful , so he saved enough money to send Bing to a school where he would get a better education. He graduated from that school with high grades but he failed his exams so he could not active his dream of being a soldier.
What disturb me the most was that Bing tired so hard to make his father happy but he seems to always fail in his eyes. He couldn’t even let his own father come see him because he was so ashamed of himself for letting his father down. Noone should ever feel that they are not good enough for someone but Bing thought that he would never succeed in life.
Bing then worked at a business where he was making more money then he could ever imagine, but as soon as Bing thought everything was going great the price of rent went high and he could no longer pay to keep the business because at that time the city was growing and prices were going up because more and more people were living in the city so everything was more money.
Finally after searching for a job he found a job as a waitress where he was not making the same amount of money but he was glad for having a job. He soon recieved promotion and he was making more and more money. He saved his money and now he is a very successful man. Bing just goes to show that working hard for something pays off in the end and shows people that they should never let go of your dreams.