After the genocide ends, many people attempt to return to their normal lives. Jeanne however, refuses to go back to how she used to live. It doesn't feel right to her, to act normal with all her family dead. She lives with one of the rebels for a while, but then discovers that some of the Tutsis who have lost family are flying to Europe. Jeanne wants to go as well, and wants to see if her aunt is still there. The last page is Jeanne flying on an airplane for the first tie, over to her new life in Germany. 'Aunt Colette! Maybe she's still alive. There's no war in Europe.
"I have an aunt in Europe. One of my mother's sisters. Maybe she's still living." The moment she said it, something began to pulse inside her, something that she had not felt for a long time, something bright, exciting. Expectation. It rose up in her, tingling, and made a breach in the dam of hopelessness. "Of course she's still living! Why would she be dead? Do you know her name? Do you know where she lives? cried Immaculée. "Yes, I know her name. And she lives in Germany."' (Jansen, 328). I think that learning about the Rwandan Genocide is still helpful today. While it was in the past and happened in Africa, all throughout history, we have learned from mistakes. If we pay attention to this, we will realize that treating one group of people much worse than the other can't lead to anything good. We can also see that countries have to help each other out. If a powerful country such as the US or Great Britain would've sent troops in to stop the Hutus, the genocide might have ended sooner and less people would have died. In addition, it shows how people running for their lives helped each other out. Without help from people she barely knew, Jeanne would not have survived. So I think the most valuable idea from this story is to help people out, be kind.
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I am reading a book that talks about a girl named Jeanne's journey through Rwanda during the genocide. After running away from their home, they live in a camp with other Tutsis for a few weeks, then Hutus show up and kill everyone. Jeanne, her brother, and her father escape and live on the run for a few days, before her father and brother are killed as well. Jeanne has to be a servant to Hutus for a while, then runs away and hides with Tutsi rebels. After a long time, Jeanne is free to live without secrecy. After this genocide, there are still tensions between Hutus and Tutsis. After everyone's homes and businesses were destroyed, about 63% of Rwanda's population lives in extreme poverty today. Many orphaned Tutsi children are living in America and other European countries after being adopted, like Jeanne.
The book I am reading is about the Rwandan Genocide. There were already tensions in Rwanda because the Hutus felt they were being treated unfairly by the Tutsis. Then, the Hutu president is killed when his plane is shot down, which triggers the genocide. The Hutus, nearly 80% of the population, killed everyone who had a Tutsi relation, including Hutu men and women who had married Tutsis. Men, women, children, and babies were killed everywhere, including schools, hospitals, and churches. In the book I am reading, the main character (Jeanne) is a Tutsi, so when she and her family hear about the death of the Hutu president, they are confined to their homes, terrified and waiting. Eventually, Jeanne's family is killed and she must make it to safety before the Hutus find and kill her as well. '"You have to get away from here!" he was warning. "They're going to kill all the Tutsis."' (Over A Thousand Hills I Walk With You).
Other Sources: BBC: Rwandan Genocide Introduction
Imagine there a is dog walking down your street on a cloudy rainy day. This dog is matted and wet and walks with his head down ignoring his surroundings. Most people would see this dog and think’ “Aw, that poor doggy. I wish there was something I could do.” Then, you go on your day and the dog slips from your mind. Well here’s the deal, you can help. I know, it’s shocking, but it’s the truth. There are 70 million homeless cats and dogs currently living in the United States (Pepelko, 2018) while there are only 554,000 homeless people in America (Weber, 2018). This becomes more shocking when you find out there are 159.8 million total cats and dogs in America (ASPCA, unknown) and over 325.8 million people in America (WorldOMeters, 2018). I know in this world you need to take care of yourself, but at some point we need to take care of our four-legged friends as well. I personally feel compelled and passionate about this issue because I have two dogs who were both strays as puppies and were rescued in near death situations with their litters. To even imagine my dogs scared and alone out on the streets makes my stomach churn, a lump form in my throat, and tears spring to my eyes. I think most pet owners would agree when I say that seeing your pet in distress or need is gut-wrenching and heart-shredding stuff. Others should care about this issue for two main reasons. The first reason is that say if your pet was abandoned and homeless you would want people to show empathy and help so you should do the same. Secondly and finally, we need to protect this world and everything on it. You should always show compassion towards others and especially to animals, because they can’t speak up for themselves in times of struggle. Issue The issue is that not everyone takes care of their pets. 6.5 million animals go into pet shelters every year. Out of those pets, 3.2 million pets are adopted each year (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals). Out of the remaining pets, 1.5 million get euthanized. Because of people not taking care of their pets, more than a million pets get killed. If this number increases, then eventually 5 million pets will die a year because they don’t have a home. This problem is caused by irresponsible pet owners or people who don’t have enough time to take care of their animals. In addition, if you don’t watch your pet, it can run off and then not have a home. This issue is causing too many animals to get euthanized. These animals can still live and help people, but since they don’t have a home, the animal shelters get crowded, and a lot of animals have to get killed in order to make space for other animals. Also, some people can’t handle the responsibilities of owning a pet, so they have to give it up. This issue obviously affects the animals that don’t have a place to live. It can affect people who don’t want a lot of animals roaming the streets at night. It would be very difficult to drive if you always have to lookout for dogs and cats in front of you. People who work at animal shelters would be affected, because they would be overwhelmed by the number of animals they need to take care of. What other people are doing to help out this organization is that they are making rescue groups. “These groups rescue any animal that are breed or issue specific” (One Green Planet). Hurricanes in Puerto Rico lasted two weeks. Pilotes came to the rescue and saved 87 abandoned animals (WNCN) In addition a country singer named Miranda Lambert and animal shelter, SCRAPS are working together to help animals in need (KREM2). As Lambert tours different cities she talks about shelters and encourages people to donate. One more thing people are doing to help is in philadelphia animal rescue organizations are trying to make philadelphia a no kill city. “The groups want to make the killing of saveable shelter pets a thing of the past.” (LIVEKINDLY) We could encourage NC to become a no kill area for all shelters. What you can do to help out and solve some of these issues would be simple. One of the solutions would be that you could volunteer. Volunteering would help out the organization and take care of the animals they have. Volunteering could help out more than you think and it would be really useful for the animals in shelters (SPCA) Another way to help would be to adopt a pet. Adopting an animal would stop them from getting euthanized or homeless. You should be responsible about adopting a pet since it would be hard for them to be adopted and then be brought back to a shelter. You could also be a foster parent to a animal. This will help them to not get euthanized. This means you would be taking care of them but not fully adopting them. You could also be a pet advocate. A pet advocate is a person that helps animals that are missing. First you could help them find their home or drop them off a shelter. This would prevent animal shelters getting overcrowded and getting euthanized. If you already have a pet that is a female you should get a spaying and neutering. This is for them to not breed unless you feel responsible enough to take care of more pets. There is a lot you can do to help, especially as just one person. You can give money or supplies to animal shelters. Or you could go with an adult to play with the animals. The animals in the shelters really want homes, but having some new toys or someone to play with would be very beneficial to them. You could also collect money and give donations. However, there is less we can do as a big group. Because we are only 13/14 years old, there aren’t many things animal shelters will let us do. We can’t volunteer, and we can’t go visit and play with the animals in a large group. However, we can collect donations to give to a shelter. We would like as many people as possible to donate money that we can give to the SPCA. This will help members of the SPCA get more materials for the animals. With the money donated, they will be able to provide treatments and food for animals staying there. To make people aware of the problem, we plan to have an assembly. It will just take one day for us to present to sixth and seventh graders. We will most likely need around 20 minutes to give our full presentation. We will schedule the sixth grade presentation to take place during second period, and the seventh grade presentation to be in sixth period. Since we will be doing our presentation in the auditorium, the only transportation need is for sixth and seventh grade classes to walk there (we would send an email to the teachers). Poster and a donation box (which would go outside of the cafeteria) would need to be made. It will not be hard to set up, since we wouldn’t be leaving the school. Our goal is to raise $1000. After, we will give all the collected donations to the SPCA. By doing this, our hope is that we will make a difference in the animal’s lives at the SPCA. By donating the money we collect, the SPCA has a little extra money to spend on food and toys. This way, the time the animals spend at the SPCA will be more enjoyable while they are waiting to be adopted. Animals can make great recoveries, but they need your help to do so! Works Cited ASPCA. “Pet Statistics|Shelter Intake and Surrender.” ASPCA. No date. January 29th, 2018.<https://www.aspca.org/animal-homelessness/shelter-intake- and-surrender/pet-statistics> Browder, Cullen. “NC Shelter Kills 99 Percent of Animals, records show.” WRAL. Kelly Hinchliffe (ed.). November 15th, 2012. January 29, 2018. <http://www.wral.com/ nc-shelter-kills-99-percent-of-animals-records-show/11778189/> Cardiff, Emily. “10 Ways to Help End Pet Homelessness.” One Green Planet. February 24th, 2014. January 24, 2018<http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandn ature/10-ways-to-help-end-pet-homelessness/> Carroll, Megan. “Local Animal Shelter get help from Country Super Star”. KREM2. January 31, 2018. January 31, 2018. <http://www.krem.com/news/local/country-star-miranda-lamberts-mission-to-help-homeless-animals-makes-its-way-to-spokane/513188791> Do Something. “11 facts about animal homelessness.” Do Something. January 25, 2018 <https://www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts-about-animal-homelessness> Flores, Buffy. “Philadelphia to Save Stray Animals with new Shelter Coalition.” LIVEKINDLY. January 30, 2018. January 31, 2018 <https://www.livekindly.co/philadelphia-save-stray-animals-new-shelter-coalition/> Minnick, Beau. “Pets abandoned in Puerto Rico now looking for homes in Raleigh.” CBS: Local News that Matters. October 9, 2017. January 31, 2018 <http://wncn.com /2017/10/05/pets-abandoned-in-puerto-rico-looking-for-homes-in-raleigh/> No Voice Unheard. “Problems-Solutions: Homeless Animals 101.” No Voice Unheard: The Power of Books. January 26, 2018 <http://www.novoicEunheard.org/problems _solutions.html> Pepelko, Kristina. “12 Alarming Facts About Pet Homelessness.” One Green Planet. February 20th, 2014. January 29th, 2018. <http://www.onegreenplanet.org/ animalsandnature/12-alarming-facts-about-pet-homelessness/> Ruecker, Todd.”Starting and Ending a Paper.” University Writing Center. July 2010. January 29th, 2018. <https://academics.utep.edu/Default.aspx?tabid=65898 > Weber, Christopher. “America’s Homeless population Rises for First Time in Years.” U.S.News. Geoff Mulvihill. 2017. January 31st, 2018. <https://www.usnews.com /news/us/articles/2017-12-06/us-homeless-count-rises-pushed-by-crisis-on-the- west-coast> WorldOMeters. “U.S. Population.” WorldOMeters. 2018. January 29th, 2018. <http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/us-population/> Gun laws in North Carolina are becoming more and more necessary. When someone is shot, either due to shootings or suicide, many people are affected. The friends and family of ones that are killed are affected the most, and one day, that could be you if gun laws stay the same. I want to help bring awareness to this issue because I want North Carolina to be a safe, happy place. Increasing the requirements for owning guns would save many lives. Many people these days are getting killed in shootings in places they thought were safe. WRAL.com says that the NC house wants to make owning guns even easier. To make people more aware of this problem, I think we could make posters/advertisements showing everyone the consequences of having many people own guns. Talk to people and encourage them to vote against loosening gun laws. We should fight hard to make it more difficult to own guns and buy bullets. When laws on guns are stronger, our state will be made a safer place. I believe that you shouldn’t take anything for granted.
When I was in second grade, the only dog I had ever known died. She was very sweet to my brother, sister, and I, even though she had always been wary around children. It was amazing to have her around. Every day was made so much better by her. However, one night, when I was in second grade, we were playing with her and all of a sudden she started struggling to walk. She was already fourteen, so we knew what was happening, and that made the entire thing a whole lot harder. I could feel my heart dropping and I couldn’t focus on anything else. My dad rushed her to the vet, and my siblings and I were close behind with my mom. It was nighttime, so we already in our pyjamas. At the vet, no one cared that we weren’t dressed properly, not that there were many people there. There wasn’t a smile in sight, the room was silent, and I could feel the tears that were about to come streaming down my face. Late that night, we went home without her. I didn’t have my dog to make the situation better this time. Going through that has taught me to enjoy the moment. Now, we have another dog, and every day we pet, walk, and play with her as much as we can. You never know when something could happen, so we try to spend as much time with her as possible. For two years after that, whenever I came home, whenever I felt sad, she wasn’t there for me to hold. I thought about her a lot. I thought about all the times I had sat on the back porch and threw a tennis ball to her, something she could’ve done for hours on end. In the end, I realized that it is important not to take even the simplest times, moments, people, or things, for granted. You should enjoy the moments you have because just like that night, things could dramatically change, forever. So have fun with your life, and the people in it! Don’t take them, or anything else, for granted. I guarantee that as soon as you no longer have something, you’ll understand how important it really was. |
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