Egypt, Lybia, and Tunisia

These countries has been the number one topic on our daily news. What is going on in these countries? Why are there protests? Currently in Egypt there has been protesting on their autocratic governments, high levels of corruption, and grinding poverty. They have been inspired by the protests to the fall of the Tunisian government. As many as three-hundred people have died in the past week as citizens have led violent demonstrations against the 30-year reign of their president, Hosni Mubarak. Stock, bond and oil markets have been rocked by the unrest. Mubarak, for his part, has refused to step down until September, infuriating protesters even further. Also the health care system is very fragile. For years there has been many challenges in hospitals, medical supplies and access to care. Last march, reports came out that citizens were being denied vital health care because the government had to pay back hospitals more than two-hundred and seventy dollars. Egypt is undergoing a very dangerous way in change and it's neighboring countries are following in it's foot steps.

Currently in Lybia, there is a rebellion in between people opposing the dictator, Muammar al Gaddafi, composed of civilians and former military members, and the dictator's supporters, who are the Libyan Air Force, paramilitary forces, portions of the regular military, and African mercenaries. Libya does not have any democratic institutions, so the people of Libya have no say over their government's policies. There is also widespread corruption and high levels of unemployment. Gaddafi has often used lethal force to crack-down on people opposing the government in the past. The rebellion was inspired by the other protests in Egypt and Tunisia. People began country-wide protest opposing Gaddafi's rule. In order to quell the protests, Gaddafi began to use force against protesters, which only provoked more of the population to oppose Gaddafi. Not long after the protests began, protesters took over the city of Benghazi, the second largest city in Libya. In the days that followed more cities have fallen to the opposition, with a large number of members of the military and government renouncing their loyalty to Gaddafi and joining the opposition. Anti-Gaddafi forces, after taken over cities, have access to large weapon stockpiles, though some of these weapons are almost 50 years old. Gaddafi has lost much of the country and controls a few cities including Tripoli, the capital and largest city in Libya. So the Libyan government started killing the people who are against them. Gaddafi ordered for airplanes to start attacking the protesters and the United Nations issued a No Fly Zone over Lybia to protect those people. Libya is suffering from their dictator Gaddafi.

In Tunisia, their government issued an international arrest warrant Wednesday for ousted President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and six relatives, accusing him of taking money out of the North African nation illegally.
Ben Ali, who fled to Saudi Arabia after being driven from power this month by violent protests, was also being charged with illegally acquiring real estate and other assets abroad. He has now a global arrest on him and his six family members. Tunisian police fired tear gas at hundreds of protesters who have been pressuring the interim government to get rid of old guard ministers who served under Ben Ali. The clashes broke out in front of the prime minister’s office in Tunis, the capital. Some demonstrators responded by throwing stones at police. Several injured protesters were carted away from the melee. Others tried to smash the windows of a police van, covering the ground with blood. There was no immediate word on casualties. These protests have inspired other Middle East countries to overthrow their unfair governments.

These countries are currently undergoing a drastic change. The people are sick of their unfair governments and making an effort to stop them but once they bring them down they don't know who to look at or follow to become their leader. They don't know who to trust. I don't know which country i would do my research project on. All these countries are very interesting but based on the current events i would like to do my project on Lybia or Egypt.

Marriage is a Private Affair

In class today we read the story, "Marriage is a Private Affair" by Chinua Achebe. In this story, Nnaemeka's father, Okeke, who is part of the ibibio tribe, has tried to set him up in a arranged marriage with their neighbor's eldest daughter, Ugoye Nweke. She dropped out of school and lived with a pastor to be trained to be a good Christian wife. A important detail that Nnaemeka has been putting off to tell his father is that he is engaged and in love with Nene Atang. A Christian woman that is a teacher in a girl's school in Lagos. When he finally told his father that he was engaged to Nene, Okeke was so angry that he did not want to be around Nnaemeka. He tried to ignore him completely out of his life. Okeke's friends suggest that he should give Nnaemeka medicine but he rejected the advice and didn't care anymore. A couple of months later Nnaemeka his father a picture of him and his wife. His father responded totally different to how Nnaemeka thought he would have. Okeke cut the picture of Nene out of the picture. Nene was very sad when she saw the picture and read the letter. Years pass and Nnaemeka tried to talk to his father but Okeke wouldn't budge. he literally did not want him at his house. Then one day Nene sent a letter to Okeke saying that she doesn't know how to tell her and Nnaemeka's two sons that their grandfather doesn't want to see them. She implored for Okeke to let Nnaemeka and his two sons come to meet him while she stays in Lagos. From this letter Okeke is contemplating if he should give in or keep ignoring his son. He sees that he should see his grandsons since it is not fair that they have to suffer not seeing their grandfather. My view of this story is to love and care for your family no matter what, even when they disappoint you. Nobody wins when you ignore the person you love. I personally like this story because it shows how a father still longs for his son when he is disappointed in him. http://www.gateway-africa.com/tribe/ibibio-tribe.html

"No Witchcraft for Sale"

My response to "No Witchcraft for Sale" by Doris Lessing was that it was clever. I liked it. I like the fact that Gideon did not tell the Farquars and the scientist where the plant was. They would have stripped the plant clean from the country. The fact that he is so protective of his culture amazes me. Gideon was my favorite character. This story showed the devotion that a person has with their culture and is inspiring.