Los tuareg

Los Tuareg pertenecen al grupo étnico de los bereberes, este pueblo es trashumante y basa su economía a la ganadería. Tiene la organización social de un linaje segmentario, esto es, son un grupo de personas unidas por distintos linajes. Estos distintos linajes tienen dentro del mismo grupo unas posiciones a novel jerárquico distintas, dependiendo del tiempo que lleven dentro del grupo. A pesar que estos grupos exista la idea de clase social, no hay un gobierno centralizado. Para tomar las decisiones que atañen existe la posibilidad de formar un consejo tribal pero este tipo de grupos están liderados por una “Big men”, pero esta figura a la vez tiene unos poderes e influencia muy limitados. En estos clanes no hay manera de obligar a uno de sus miembros a acatar una decisión.

mujer tipica de este pueblo nomada

• La economía de estos grupos es plenamente trashumante, tienen distintos tipos de ganado que van desde ovejas y cabras hasta camellos, viven con los productos que obtienen de estos. Estos distintos productos (leche, carnes, pieles y cueros, queso…), son consumidos por los miembros del grupo a modo de subsistencia o son intercambiados por productos secundarios o por dinero en metálico con otros pueblos. Están especializados en la ganadería, por lo tanto no tienen otro modo de conseguir alimentos. Unidos a sus animales, esenciales para su supervivencia, estas familias están en constante movimiento para hallar nuevos pastos para sus cabezas de ganado. Nunca se quedan más de unos pocos meses en un mismo lugar, semanas en muchas ocasiones.

• Dentro del grupo, hay distintas clases sociales y su influencia está muy diferenciada. Podemos observar cinco clases sociales muy marcadas; una aristocracia que mantiene el poder; sacerdotes que se ocupan de las ceremonias religiosas; trabajadores que se ocupan de los animales; artesanos que crean todas las herramientas necesarias y en el escalón más bajo, los esclavos negros.

• El género y la edad son rasgos a tener en cuenta dentro del grupo para medir la influencia de casa uno, aunque practican la religión musulmana también son un pueblo matriarcal, por lo que las mujeres tienen gran influencia dentro del grupo. Dentro del hogar la mujer lleva las riendas de la familia y a la hora de repartir la herencia las mujeres son las que tienen prioridad sobre los hombres.

• Pero la figura que posee más influencia dentro del grupo es el “big men”, este líder es el hombre más rico de la tribu, ya que posee el mayor número de cabezas de ganado. El utiliza este ganado para mantener a su extensa familia y repartir algo con los de la tribu. Este si quiere que algo se haga, tiene que dar ejemplo y utilizar la persuasión. Para tener influencia dentro de las decisiones solo puede dar consejos, nunca órdenes. Este tirulo no se puede heredar y el portador lo puede perder si su número de cabezas de ganado disminuye o la tribu así lo decide.

• Las poblaciones de estas familias suelen ser muy reducidas, de unos 250-500 miembros. Suelen tener más animales que personas u estos grupos viven muy distanciados de los otros pueblos.

References:

• rakelsalim, 15AD. Tuareg: los hombres del velo azul. http://www.vientodelsur.wordpress.com. Available at: http://vientodelsur.wordpress.com/2008/03/15/tuareg-los-hombres-del-velo-azul/ [Accessed December 14, 2012].
• VÍCTOR-M.AMELA, 2012. Entrevista a un Touareg . http://www.ilusionporviajar.es. Available at: http://www.ilusionporviajar.es/index.php/entrevista-a-un-tuareg.html [Accessed December 14, 2012].

GORBEIA CENTRAL PARK

Ondorengo blog honek Gorbeiako Parke Natural magiko eta liluragarriari buruzko informazio zabala eskaintzen du. Paradisu eder honek hainbat ekintza egiteko aukera ematen du eta gure helburua aukera horiek ondo kudeatzea eta jendea erakartzea da parkeari buruzko informazioa emanez.

Blog honetan gure estrategia garatzeko erreferentzia nagusia “Gorbeia Central Park” webgune edo blog ezaguna  izan da. Horretaz gain, esan beharra daukagu blog hau aurrera ateratzeko “Arratia Suzien” taldearen eta “Arratiako Mankomunitatearen” laguntza izan dugula.

Gorbeiako Parke Naturala Bizkaia eta Araba artean kokatzen da. Parke eder hau, Euskadiko parke natural handiena da 26.050 hektarea dituelarik eta bertako gailurrik garaiena Gorbeia mendia dugu 1481m-rekin. Aldamin 1375m eta Lekanda 1303m-rekin, dira beste gailur garrantzitsu batzuk.

Bizkaiko txoko maitagarri hau 1994.  urtean izendatu zuten parke natural bezala ez soilik bere balio naturalarengatik baita bere balio kulturalarengatik bertako herri txikiak kulturaren ondare dira, tradizio eta pentsaera zaharrak ederki mantendu dituzten herritarrez beteak: Bizkaia aldean kokatzen diren herriak Areatza, Zeanuri, Zeberio eta Orozko dira Araban aldiz Zigoitia, Zuia eta Urkabustaiz.

Parke natural honek balore sentimental eta ideologiko handia izateaz aparte aukera bikainak eskaintzen ditu, kirol ezberdinak egiteko aukera adibidez: trekking, eskalada, mountain-bike, espedeologia… herrietako janleku bikainak dastatzeko aukera; Gorostondo, Arratiano, , Axpe Goikoa… uda giroan herrietako jai giroan murgiltzeko aukera, animaliez gozatzeko aukera ….. familiarekin eguna pasatzeko aukera …. .

Lo egiteko leku anitz dituzu edozein herritan baita ingurukoetan ere; Arantza (Igorren),  Hotel Balneario Hesperia… (Areatzan) Hotel Etxegana ( Zeanuri)  eta horretaz gain herri hauek bisitatzeko aukera ederra, herri txikiak izan arren erakargarriak baitira.

Blog honek bere berriak eta ekintza ezberdinak Twitter eta Facebook bezalako sare sozialetan partekatuko ditu jendeak gure berri izan dezan.

 

ERREFERENTZIAK:

Anon, GORBEIA SUZIEN. Available at: http://gorbeiasuzien.blogspot.com.es/.

Anon, ARRATIAKO MANKOMUNIATETA. Available at: http://www.arratia.net/eu-ES/Orrialdeak/default.aspx.

Anon, GORBEIA CENTRAL PARK. Available at: http://www.gorbeiacentralpark.com/es/.

Equestrianism

My favourite hobby is horse riding, undoubtedly. I have always had a special connection to these animals that I find not only beautiful but astonishing.

A horse is the projection of peoples’ dreams about themselves – strong, powerful, beautiful – and it has the capability of giving us escape from our mundane existence. Pam Brown

The horse has played an important role throughout human history all over the world, horses have been used in wars and in peaceful moments. It is not easy to affirm the exact date horses were domesticated and when they were first ridden; it seems that horses first were ridden approximately 4500 BC. Nevertheless it seems evident that horses were ridden long before they were driven.

What is clear is that horse riding is a hobby which is enjoyed by all ages. Most people start horse riding when young,but there are many people who take up horse riding for the first time later in life.

Horse riding (British English) or Equestrianism (from Latin equester, equestr-, horseman, horse)  refers to the skill of riding or driving horses. This description includes the use of horses for working purposes or competitive sport, not forgetting that horses are also used to improve human health and emotional development.

“Game Makers”

Game Makers were the volunteers for the Olympic Games hosted this past summer in London. The reason of this name is because thanks to them the Olympic Games were possible. They job consisted on helping spectators and competitors, answer any question and managing to work the games properly. Volunteers were from all age range and came from diverse background, they did not just come from across the UK they also particípate many people from abroad. All volunteers were recognized by their brightly coloured uniforms.
Olympic Games have lots of work to do; they usually start to prepare the games at least four years before the games take place. So, recruiting many volunteers for the Olympics is also a long and hard work. Games Makers recruitment began in September 2010, there were sent more than 240,000 applications and interviewed 100,000 people. The selected applicants had to attend at least three training lessons to be as prepared as possible for the games.
As said before, volunteers were from different ages. Over 2,000 volunteers were from 16-18 years old and they took part in the Young Games Maker programme. They had many different roles and they worked in teams. Many volunteers also took part in the London Prepares series test events: an invaluable opportunity to gain experience and a greater understanding of how a large sporting event is staged.

Volunteers particípate to both Summer and Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. Games Makers are  inspirational, open, respectful, team-focused, distinctive people and they have a ‘can do’ attitude. All volunteers made succesful results and showed the great feeling of being part of such a great event, for most of them is one of the best experiences of their lives.

They show the real values of the Olympic games.

References:

• Volunteers, London 2012.  http://www.london2012.com/about-us/volunteers/
• London 2012’s Games Makers. The Guardian, 2012http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/jul/17/london-2012-games-makers-800-roles

Free topic post: ERASMUS

ERASMUS

The ERASMUS program (EuRopean Community Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students) was created in 1987 in order to promote the Students Exchange programs of the countries of the European Union. and, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey. In 1995 this program was integrated in a program with bigger magnitude, called Socrates. Finally in the year 2000, the whole program was re-called Socrates II. This ultimate program focuses more on develop the academic cooperation between universities from different countries and improve the academic recognition inside the European Union.

Maya Angelou

“Puede que tengas que enfrentarte a muchas derrotas pero nunca debes acabar derrotado”. The hard life of this African-American woman is summarized in this phrase.  She was born in St. Louis (Missouri) the 1928. Her childhood was full of hard times. Her brother and she had to live for a long time with her ​​grandmother because her parents’s divorce. The 10 years spent with her grandmother in Stamps (Arkansas) provided her the most of the materials she would use in her famous autobiography: I know why the caged bird sings. In the book describes what it meant to be a colored girl in the state of Arkansas in the decades of 30 and 40.

When she was 8 years old she was raped by her mother’s boyfriend. After revealing the name of the attacker, Angelou had to go through trials and later for the murder of the rapist caused by her uncles. So, she realized that her words had the power to kill and she spent 5 years in silence. Decades later, the writer said: “Escribo para recuperar la voz negra y para todos aquellos oidos que quieran oirla”. Later, during her adolescence she had a brief drop in prostitution and she also got into the drug world.

But her political activism and her commitment to literature enabled her to get out of this deep well. Over the 60 and 70 decades Angelou was involved in the struggle for civil rights of her people. On the other hand, she traveled to several African countries where she worked as editor of newspapers and collaborate on humanitarian projects.

In addition to his autobiography, Angelou is a great writer of poems, here goes a poem based on his book:

I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS

The free bird leaps

on the back of the win

and floats downstream

till the current ends

and dips his wings

in the orange sun rays

and dares to claim the sky.

But a bird that stalks

down his narrow cage

can seldom see through

his bars of rage

his wings are clipped and

his feet are tied

so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings

with fearful trill

of the things unknown

but longed for still

and is tune is heard

on the distant hillfor the caged bird

sings of freedom.

The free bird thinks of another breeze

an the trade winds soft through the sighing trees

and the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn

and he names the sky his own.

But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams

his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream

his wings are clipped and his feet are tied

so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings

with a fearful trill

of things unknown

but longed for still

and his tune is heard

on the distant hill

for the caged bird

sings of freedom.

References:

• All the information about Maya Angelou appearing in this post has been taken from the book Entre dos mundos (Aitor Ibarrola)
• All about I know why the caged bird sings (Literature Study Guides, it doesn´t appear the author and the date): http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/cagedbird/
• Poems of Maya Angelou, third poem of 20 (two dates: Friday, January 03, 2003; and Tuesday, May 31, 2011): http://poemhunter.com/poem/i-know-why-the-caged-bird-sings/

Sui Sin Far

Students of Modern Languages ​​2 we had to make some presentations on each character who appear in the book of Aitor Ibarrola “Entre dos mundos”. My group had to make the work about Sui Sin Far, Canadian short story writer, journalist, and essayist. The work was difficult because there is not a lot of information about this important woman in the history of China. But it has been very interesting to know about her and learn about the things that I did.

To learn about Sui Sin Far:

Sui Sin Far (the pseudonym of Edith Maude Eaton) is regarded as the first fiction writer of Asian descent to achieve professional publication in the Americas. The child of a British father and part-Chinese mother, Far’s stories focus on the experiences of Chinese immigrants to the United States and Canada. In her short stories, Far countered popular stereotypes of Chinese immigrants and spoke against racial prejudice. She frequently focused on the unique position of Eurasians like herself, of mixed Western and Asian descent, who are often excluded from both Anglo and Asian communities. Far published numerous short stories, sketches, essays, and articles in popular magazines throughout the United States. Mrs. Spring Fragrance (1912), a collection of short stories, was Far’s only volume of fiction to be published during her lifetime. Although somewhat recognized as a noteworthy writer, Far’s work was largely ignored by critics from the time of her death until the 1980s, when the burgeoning field of Asian American studies led to a resurgence of critical interest in her work. Her work has been made available to a modern readership with the 1995 publication of Mrs. Spring Fragrance and Other Writings, a compilation of Far’s stories, sketches, and essays.

Apart from learning about Sui Sin Far, we aldo know her works. The most important book she wrote is called Mrs. Spring Fragance, here goes a little pharagraph which talks about it:

When Mrs. Spring Fragrance first arrived in Seattle, she was unacquainted with even one word of the American language. Five years later her husband, speaking of her, said: “There are no more American words for her learning.” And everyone who knew Mrs. Spring Fragrance agreed with Mr. Spring Fragrance. Mr. Spring Fragrance, whose business name was Sing Yook, was a young curio merchant. Though conservatively Chinese in many respects, he was at the same time what is called by the Westerners, “Americanized.” Mrs. Spring Fragrance was even more “Americanized.”

References:

• Information about Sui Sin Far (Source: Short Story Criticism, ©2003 Gale Cengage): http://www.enotes.com/sui-sin-far-criticism/far-sui-sin
• Information about Mrs. Spring Fragance (unknown author and date): http://storyoftheweek.loa.org/2010/01/mrs-spring-fragrance.html

Multikulturalitatea eta kulturen arteko elkarrizketa

Kulturen Talka, Hungtingtonek eginiko artikulu bat da, bertan estatuen arteko gatazken zergaitia kultur desberdintasunean dagoela argidiatzen du eta iraganean estau politikoak baino, kultur estatuak egongo direla dio, beti beste kultur estauten aurka borrokan.

Hautatu dudan ikasgaia Multikulturalitatea da. Bertan, konpetentzia espesifikoetan esaten den moduan, gaur egungo gizarteko aniztasuna ulertu eta onartzeko helburua dugu. Hori gauzatu ahal izateko klasean ematen den informazioaz gain, testuak aztertu, talde lanak eta iruzkinak egiten ditugu.

Ideia horiek lan batean pilatu genituen eta atera genuen ondorio naguzia ematen digutenaz arago joan behar dugula da, izan ere, hasieran Hungtingtonek esaten zuenarekin erabat adoz geunden, baina kritikak aztertu ostean ikusi dugu zelan esaten zuena ez zen guztiz egiazkoa.

Ikasgai honetan ikasten den beste gauza garrantzitsu bat besteekiko eritsia eraikitzerakoan iturri eta ikuspuntu desberdinak kontuan hartu behar direla da. Hau Kulturen Talka deituriko artikulua irakurriz frogatu genuen.

Kulturen Talka, Hungtingtonek eginiko artikulu bat da, bertan estatuen arteko gatazken zergaitia kultur desberdintasunean dagoela argidiatzen du eta iraganean estau politikoak baino, kultur estatuak egongo direla dio, beti beste kultur estauten aurka borrokan.

Artikulu honek kritika anitz jaso zituen, eta gure lana kritika horiek aztertzea izan da. Kritikari sustuenen artean Fred Hallyday eta Edward Said ditugu, azkeneko honen esanetan, Hungtintonek komeni zaizkion “egiak” hartu ditu eta horiekin bere interesak defendatzen dituela dio. Fred Hallyda esaterako, kultur arteko gatazkaren aurka dago eta munduko tirabiren iraunkortasuna bi alderdietatik egiten den propagandaren bitartez bermatzen da, izan ere, gatazken atzetik asmo eskutuak daude, ala nola armagintza enpresek dituztenak.

Iturriak:

• Huntington, Samuel P, 1993: “The Clash of Civilizations?” en Foreign Affairs 72:3, pp 22-50.

• Edwar Said, Revista Alif Nun, (24/10/2010). El mito del “Choque de civilizaciones”
• Fred Hallyday. “El islam y el mito del enfrentamiento”. Biblioteca del islam 2005.

The Diary of Anne Frank

With the title of The Diary of Anne Frank is known  the edition of the diaries written by the Jewish girl Anne Frank (Annelies Marie Frank) between June 12, 1942 and August 1, 1944 in a total of three notebooks preserved at present,  which tells her story as a teenager and two years time when he had to hide from the Nazis in Amsterdam during World War II.

At first they lived in Germany and moved to the Netherlands for work reasons, they felt safe and free, but when World War II broke out and in 1940 when the Germans invaded Holland, the Frank family hiding with another family in an attic Amsterdam, where worked Otto Frank.

But in 1944 are betrayed by someone and are arrested and sent to Auschwitz concentration camp. Only Otto Frank survived the camps, the other seven are hidden death. Hermann van Pels died in the gas chamber, Auguste is pushed to the tracks of a train during a transfer. Others die from starvation and disease. They never managed to shed light on who was the informer.

In 1945, after the liberation of Auschwitz, Otto returned to Amsterdam. Arrives with the hope of finding Anne and Margot alive, but he learned that they have not survived the invasion. Then somebody delivered him the papers that make up diary of Anne. Anne wanted her diary was published after the war, and that desire finally fulfilled. In 1947, after the war, Otto Frank is determined to fight for human rights and respect. He  annswered thousands of letters from people who have read the diary of his daughter. This is translated into several languages and is the subject of a play and a movie. Around the world people know the story of Anne Frank and is very impressed.

Bibliography:

http://www.annefrank.org/es/La-historia-de-Ana-Frank/

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diario_de_Ana_Frank

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Diary_of_a_Young_Girl

Niños, las nuevas armas de las guerras

“El reclutamiento y la utilización de menores de 18 años en los conflictos armados constituyen crímenes de guerra y, por consiguiente, son crímenes cometidos contra toda la comunidad internacional, no sólo contra los niños” Comunicado de Amnistía Internacional [1]

Según explica Ricardo Villa en su artículo, las guerras contemporáneas en África, se llevan luchando en las últimas décadas entre niños.

Niños que apenas superan la edad de siete años y que son reclutados por los “señores de la guerra” en sus ejércitos. Se calcula que en el mundo hay hoy unos 300.000 niños soldado. […]Una buena parte de ellos luchan y mueren en las decenas de guerras abiertas y olvidadas de África, ésas que no aparecen, siquiera, en un pequeño breve de una página escondida de los diarios occidentales.

El artículo de Solidaridad.net añade que,

En más de 35 países de todo el mundo, entre 300.000 y 500.000 menores se ven obligados a formar parte de ejércitos estatales, fuerzas paramilitares, milicias civiles y grupos armados de oposición.

Sin embargo, lo más impactante de todo, no es el gran número de niños que son reclutados, sino las condiciones en las que les obligan a luchar. Según afirma Amnistia Internacional:

• Bajo sumisión mediante el terror y el trato brutal.
• En algunas ocasiones, son drogados y no controlaban sus acciones .
• Los obligan a cometer atrocidades bajo amenaza de muerte.

Ademas, esta experiencia resulta traumático para los niños, según afirma La Oficina del Representante Especial del Secretario General [2] para la cuestión de los niños y los conflictos armados:

• En ocasiones, los graves problemas experimentados al tratar de restañar las heridas y reintegrar a estos niños en sus comunidades después de los conflictos se ven acrecentados por la profunda adicción de estos niños a drogas.
• Su reintegración es a menudo un proceso complejo de expiación, cicatrización de las heridas de la comunidad y negociación con las familias para que los acepten de vuelta.
• Todo ello tiene repercusiones importantes y plantea problemas considerables en cuanto a necesidades de recursos y diseño de los programas psicosociales y otros programas de reintegración necesarios.

Referencias

• Artículo escrito por Ricardo Villa, Las guerras en África, un juego de niños (15.06.2004) extraido el 03.05.2012 de  http://www.revistapueblos.org/spip.php?article145
• Artículo de Solidaridad.net, Comunicado de Amnistía Internacional: LOS NIÑOS SOLDADO, UN CRIMEN DE GUERRA (21.11.2003) extraido el 03.05.2012 de http://www.solidaridad.net/vernoticia.asp?noticia=827
• Amnistía Internacional, Niños soldados ¿criminales o victimas?, 2000 extraido el 03.05.2012 de https://doc.es.amnesty.org/cgi-bin/ai/BRSCGI/Texto%20completo%20del%20Informe?CMD=VEROBJ&MLKOB=24883115858
• Oficina del Representante Especial del Secretario General para la cuestión de los niños y los conflictos armados. Reclutamiento y la utilización de niños soldados extraido el 03.05.2012 de http://www.un.org/children/conflict/spanish/childsoldiers.html

Syria: intervention or non-intervention?

On 17 February 2012, a piece of news written by Kevin Ovenden in The Guardian stated this: ” Calls for aggressive intervention in Syria are growing as the country slides further into sectarian civil war. The shrillest are from the Republican right, joined this week by Israel’s foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman. The same people are campaigning for confrontation with Iran, threatening a major war. Elliot Abrams, a neoconservative architect of the Iraq disaster, spells out the connection: Syria, he says, provides a “proxy opportunity” to heat up the cold war with Tehran”.

As happened in Libya, “the war was purportedly to save lives. In fact, the killing intensified on all sides, including from Nato bombs. Estimates of the number dead reach 30,000. The outcome is not democracy and human rights. Amnesty International is the latest NGO to report the torturing to death of prisoners under the new regime and rival militias”.

The Tribune News, added in March through the reporter Vaishnav Sunil that “what distinguishes Syria from Libya is the nature of existing opposition within the country. Unlike Libya, where much of the coastal core of the population lived under rebel control, the opposition to Syria’s dictatorial president, Bashar al-Assad, has not achieved sustained control of any major population area. This implies that air power alone would probably not be sufficient to blunt the Assad loyalists entrenched in cities, and a heavy ground campaign would probably face stiff and bloody resistance. If a large region broke away from the regime en masse, international humanitarian intervention would become more viable. So although a mass homicide campaign is under way in Syria, there is no way to stop it without loss of unacceptable lives.”

Many political experts claim that militaryintervention in Syria would do more harm than good. Namely, Ed Husain, Senior fellow for Middle Eastern studies, Council on Foreign Relations, gives his view on the motion in “Economist Debates: Syria”. He believes that “military intervention in Syria is ill-conceived, short-sighted, counter-productive, and likely to generate more killings and massacres rather than stop them. Unlike any other Arab nation, Syria is home to varied and numerous assortments of religious sects, tribes, ethnicities and historic rivalries. In contrast to the uprisings in Yemen, Egypt and Libya, we have not witnessed high-level political and military defections inside Syria. And the largest cities in Syria—Damascus and Aleppo—have so far been relatively calm. Whatever the reasons—fear of, or support for, Bashar Assad—the opposition has thus failed to mobilise key constituencies inside Syria that would indicate to us that the regime is losing control”.

Nevertheless, there some few experst that are in favour of intervention. Shadi Hamid,director of research, Brooking Doha Center, states that “military action, in any context, should not be taken lightly. But neither should standing by and proposing measures that have, in Syria, so far failed to work. Opponents of intervention need to explain how staying the current course—hoping that diplomacy might work when it has not for nearly a year—is likely to resolve an increasingly deadly civil war”.

References:

1. Kevin Ovenden, 17-02-12, “Western Intervention in Syria will do more harm than good”. The Guardian. Retrieved: 05-05-12 from www.guardian.co.uk.
2. Vaishnav Sunil, March 2012, “Syria: must the west take action?” The Tribune News. Retrieved: 05-05-12 from www.thenewstribune.com.
3. Ed Husain, 10-02-12, “West must not intervene militarily in Syria”. CNN. Retrieved: 03-05-12 from http://www.edition.cnn.com.
4. Shadi Hamid, 21-02-12, Economist Debates: Syria. The Economist. Retrieved 03-05-12  from www.economist.com.
5. Charles Crawford, 27-03-12, “If it brings freedom, a bloody Syrian civil war may be preferable to slavery”. Syrian Freedom. Retrieved: 05-05-12 from www.syrianfreedomls.tumblr.com.

El pueblo Bereber.

Los bereberes son un conjunto de etnias precedentes del Magreb, situado en el oeste del valle del Nilo (Egipto). el número de habalantes se encuentra calculado entre unos 55 y 70 millones, que se distribuyen en el norte de África, centrandose mayormente en los países de Argelia y Marruecos.El sobrenormbre “bereber”, fue el nombre de procedencia latina adjudicado a esta etnia por los conquistadores romanos, pero se hacen llamar a si mismos  imazighen, lo que en sui lengua significa “hombres libres”.

La lengua Bereber es esencialmente de tradición oral, poseen desde hace alrededor de  2.500 años, su propio sistema de escritura llamado “libico-bereber” ( tifinagh en bereber). En la actualidad este alfabeto es utilizado por los Tuaregs. Este alfabeto se compone de el lenguaje latino con algunas modificaciones o el árabe, siendo el segundo el más utilizado.

 

 

 

Debido a su situación geográfica, las tribus bereberes han sido testigos de numerosos religiones que recorrieron la cuenca del Nilo desde la antigüedad. Desde 180 d.c., fueron testigos de la extensión del cristianismo, para más tarde en el siglo VII convertirse al Islam, la que ha sido su religion mayoritaria hasta el S. XXI. A partir de 1980 y debido a la represión  de los diversos movimientos bereberes ( conocidos como la primavera Bereber), se ha podido observar un giro en la conversión al protestantismo. Actualmente  la mayoría son seguidores de la doctrina del Islam, habiendo entre ellos grupos menores pero aún así de considerable importancia de judíos y cristianos.

La organización social de estos pueblos se distribuye básicamente entre agricultores y comerciantes, siendo los primeros pertenecientes a las clases bajas y los últimos los ciudadanos con poder. Era tradición que los grupos de agricultores pagasen un tributo a un jefe comerciante para obtener protección, pero con el paso del tiempo los agricultores fueron ganado riqueza a la vez que la importancia de las rutas coemrciales disminuía y con ello la importancia y riqueza de los comerciantes.

Mey Ling Núñez Barbeito.

Referencias

*Bereber: localización, historia y costumbres de esta étnia africana. Ikuska libros. http://www.ikuska.com/Africa/Etnologia/Pueblos/Bereber/

* Bereberes. Wikipedia. 6 mayo 2012. http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bereberes

* Lengua y cultura Tamazight. http://www.melillatamazight.es/sociedad.php

Hipotecando el Futuro.

La Convención de los Derechos de los Niños de las Naciones Unidas en su Artículo 19, se refiere al maltrato infantil, como:

Toda violencia, perjuicio o abuso físico o mental, descuido o trato negligente, malos tratos o explotación, mientras que el niño se encuentre bajo la custodia de sus padres, de un tutor o de cualquiera otra persona que le tenga a su cargo.

Cuando hablamos de maltrato infantil muchas veces imaginamos escenas terribles en las que los niños son sometidos a la crueldad de los adultos, aunque la mayoría de las situaciones de maltrato pueden pasar más desapercibidas. De hecho, la negligencia, la falta de supervisión, el desinterés y el abandono emocional son más frecuentes de lo que podamos pensar.

Definir los malos tratos a la infancia parece sencillo, sin embargo resulta complejo. Existe un consenso referente a los grandes Síndromes del Niño Maltratado y situaciones de alarma social, pero otras circunstancias no se presentan tan evidentes. Los propios profesionales tienen sus criterios, lo que se traduce en la existencia de múltiples definiciones.

La legislación española define el desamparo legal, Código Civil, Art. 172, como:

Situación que se produce de hecho a causa del incumplimiento, o del imposible o inadecuado ejercicio de los deberes de protección establecidos por las leyes para la guarda de menores, cuando estos queden privados de la necesaria asistencia moral o material.

A partir de estos conceptos se establece una definición aceptada por una buena parte de los profesionales que trabajan en el tema de la protección infantil y que considera el maltrato infantil como:

Acción, omisión o trato negligente, no accidental, que prive al niño de sus derechos y su bienestar, que amenacen y / o interfieran su ordenado desarrollo físico, psíquico y / o social y cuyos autores pueden ser personas, instituciones o la propia sociedad.

Esta es la definición aportada por el Observatorio de la Infancia del Ministerio de Trabajo y Asuntos Sociales, y será la que a partir de ahora se asumirá como la definición más apropiada para referirse a los malos tratos a la infancia.

La definición incluye lo que se hace (acción), lo que se deja de hacer (omisión), o se realiza de forma inadecuada (negligencia), ocasionando al niño no solamente daño físico, psicológico (emocional y social), sino que considerándole persona – objeto de derecho incluye sus derechos y su bienestar, y cuyos autores pueden ser las personas (familiares o no) y las instituciones – administraciones (maltrato institucional).

El maltrato infantil se encuentra sin duda entre los más serios problemas presentes en la sociedad moderna. La calidad de vida de numerosos niños se encuentra profundamente deteriorada por los malos tratos que experimentan en el entorno familiar y social, y sus acciones se extienden más allá de las graves consecuencias tanto en el desarrollo físico, emocional y mental del niño para alcanzar un bienestar con la familia y la sociedad.

El maltrato a los niños y niñas es un grave problema social, con raíces culturales y psicológicas, que puede producirse en familias de cualquier nivel económico y educativo. Detrás de cada maltratador hay un niño, con una historia de maltrato que aprendió a privilegiar las respuestas violentas por la recepción de actos igualmente violentos que ha tenido en el ambiente familiar de generación en generación.

Victory is Peace.

This year’s Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded jointly to three women – Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberian Leymah Gbowee and Tawakul Karman of Yemen.

They were recognised for their “non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work”.

Karman is a Yemeni human rights activist who has been a leading figure in mass protests against the government in 2011.

Johnson Sirleaf is the first woman to be democratically elected as President of an African country. Amnesty International in the past considered her to be a prisoner of conscience, jailed for her opposition to the ruling government in 1985.

Gbowee mobilized women across ethnic and religious lines to help end war in Liberia and ensure women’s participation in elections there.

First of all, as a short summary, the Nobel release read:

It is the Norwegian Nobel Committee’s hope that the prize to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman will help to bring an end to the suppression of women that still occurs in many countries, and to realise the great potential for democracy and peace that women can represent.

Furthermore, Karman, appears to be the first to have a quoted reaction to the award and dedicated it, via BBC News:

“I’m so happy with the news of this prize and I dedicate it to all the martyrs and wounded of the Arab Spring … in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Libya and Syria and to all the free people who are fighting for their rights and freedoms. Actually I didn’t know I was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize until now. I only knew about it through BBC Arabic and al-Jazeera, so thank you very much.”

The most important newspaper in US (the New York Times) states some of these declarations:

“Ms. Karman, 32, a mother of three, took to the streets of the capital along with about 50 other university students in January, demanding the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

“This is a victory for Arabs around the world,” she said of the prize, adding “and a victory for Arab women.”

InLiberia, Mrs. Johnson Sirleaf said that she and Ms. Gbowee accepted “this honor on behalf of the Liberian people and the credit goes to them.”

“For we are now going into our ninth year of peace, and every Liberian has contributed to it,” she said. “We particularly give this credit to Liberian women, who have consistently led the struggle for peace, even under conditions of neglect.”

The three women will receive their awards, each consisting of a diploma, a gold medal and a third of the 10 million Swedish kronor ($1.48 million, 1.08 million euros) prize money at a ceremony in Oslo on December 10, the anniversary of the death in 1896 of prize founder Alfred Nobel.

Portu Zaharra of Algorta

For the Wikipedia article our group have choosen the Portu Zaharra of Algorta. If we search it in Wikipedia there is no imformation in English, that is why we have decided to talk about this place. A member from the group is from Algorta and we all live near to Algorta and know it, those are some reasons why we choose it. For those that don´t know the Puerto Viejo, you can see some blog talking about it: http://puertoviejodealgorta.blogspot.com/ and http://uribekosta.blogariak.net

Turkey, the torn state.

The references taken for the wikipedia article have relation with Turkey, and more closely with the particular type of state that Turkey is, a Torn countrie.
This sources are very important because they all are very related with the concrete case of Turkey as a torn countrie. The objective is to explain why Turkey is a torn countrie,so, many sources have been chosen in order to contrast different point of views:

Ancient Egypt World

The more than 3000 year long history of Ancient Egypt has been divided into 8 or 9 periods, sometimes called Kingdoms. This division is based on the country’s unity and wealth and the power of the central government. The Ancient Egyptians seem to have developed the notion of dynasties throughout their history.

The ancient Egyptians thought of Egypt as being divided into two types of land, the ‘black land’ and the ‘red land’.

The ‘black land’ was the fertile land on the banks of the Nile. The ancient Egyptians used this land for growing their crops. The ‘red land’ was the barren desert that protected Egypt on two sides. This desert protected ancient Egypt from neighbouring countries and invading armies. It also provided the ancient Egyptians with a source for precious metals and stones.

The Egyptian life

Daily life in ancient Egypt revolved around the Nile and the fertile land along its banks.  The people of ancient Egypt built mudbrick homes in villages and i the country. They grew some of their own food and traded in the villages for the food and goods they could not produce. Most ancient Egyptians worked as field hands, farmers, craftsmen and scribes. A small group of people were nobles.

The Pharaoh

The most powerful person in ancient Egypt was the pharaoh. The pharaoh was the political and religious leader of the Egyptian people, holding the following titles: ‘Lord of the Two Lands’ and ‘High Priest of Every Temple’.

As ‘Lord of the Two Lands’ the pharaoh was the ruler of Upper and Lower Egypt. He owned all of the land, made laws, collected taxes, and defended Egypt against foreigners. As ‘High Priest of Every Temple’, the pharaoh represented the gods on Earth. He performed rituals and built temples to honour the gods.

Many pharaohs went to war when their land was threatened or when they wanted to control foreign lands. If the pharaoh won the battle, the conquered people had to recognise the Egyptian pharaoh as their ruler and offer him the finest and most valuable goods from their land.

The Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt

The ancient Egyptians believed in many different gods and goddesses. Each one of these gods and goddesses played it own role to maintain peace and harmony across the land.

Some gods and goddesses took part in creation, some brought the flood every year, some offered protection, and some took care of people after they died. Others were either local gods who represented towns, or minor gods who represented plants or animals.

The ancient Egyptians believed that it was important to recognise and worship these gods and goddesses so that life continued smoothly.

The Pyramids and Temples

As everybody knows, egyptians used to built pyramids as tombs for their pharaohs and their queens.

The pharaohs were buried in pyramids since before the beginning of the Old Kingdom to the end of the Middle Kingdom. There are about eighty pyramids known today from ancient Egypt. The three largest are located  at Giza. The most well-known of these pyramids was built for the pharaoh Khufu. It is known as the ‘Great Pyramid’.

Egyptian temples were built for the official worship of the gods and commemoration of the pharaohs. Temples were seen as houses for the gods  to whom they were dedicated. In them, the Egyptians performed a variety of rituals: giving offerings to the gods, reenacting their mythological interactions through festivals, and warding off the forces of chaos. These rituals were necessary for the gods to continue to uphold maat, the divine order of the universe. pharaohs delegated their ritual duties to a host of priests, and most of the populace was excluded from direct participation in ceremonies and forbidden to enter a temple’s most sacred areas. In conclussion, a temple was an important religious site for all classes of Egyptians, who went there to pray, give offerings, and seek oracular guidance from the god dwelling within. 

Egyptian Writting

To end with this tour for the most important points of the Egyptian world, I would like to speak about their writting.  It is one of the most ancient and complex of the world.

The invention of the writing towards 3000 B.C. determines the beginning of the Egyptian history more than any other change. The possibility of reading and writing make the difference between the principal cultures of the Near East and the contemporary cultures, opening new possibilities. The writing was complex and the aptitude to read and write was remaining limited to a minority, up to the diffusion of the alphabetical writing, the society could not exploit the whole potential that the writing supposed.

Along the Egyptian history, three types of writing were developed:
The hieroglyphic or hieroglyphic monumental, used in inscriptions of monuments and decorations. It is the most ancient and more complex type of writing and was used since 3100 B.C. It was a type of sacred, so called writing ” writing of the god’s word “, and as a sacred writting,  it was using in sarchofagi, tombs, monuments and sculptures, and was represented with great details. it could be written in any sense (except bottom up) and in lines or columns.

The Hieratic: It arose as brief writing of the hieroglyphic cursive one and it was the writing used by scribes (that were not forced to know the hieroglyphic one) and for the priests in literary copies.

The hieroglyphic cursive one disappeared concerning 1000 B.C. whereas the hieratic was in use in religious texts up to ends of the Egyptian civilization. Also it was using in scientific texts and literary works. It was a type of very useful writing in papyruses and ostracas. It was written in black ink with a sharp cane and the red ink was using as rebearing of certain paragraphs.

Mey Ling Núñez. 19/03/2012

References

• Ancient Egypt, British Museum. http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/menu.html
• The Ancient Egypt Site by Egyptologist Jacques Kinnaer. http://www.ancient-egypt.org/
• Discovering Ancient Egypt by Mark Millmore. http://www.eyelid.co.uk/
• BBC History. Ancient history. Egyptians. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/egyptians/

 

Spring Subway

Follow @monfuecam

Las Fuentes seleccionadas para nuestro trabajo sobre cine chino y en concreto la película Spring Subway (primavera en el metro) son relevantes porque cada una de las personas que hemos recogido son grandes conocedores de la materia.

Por ejemplo Paul Clark ha escrito sobre cine chino y sobre la cultura y la política de este país desde mediados del siglo XX y es profesor de Estudios históricos y críticos en la Universidad de Brighten. Es un historiador especializado en la cultura china y cree en el cine como una posibilidad fantástica de expresar sentimientos, tradiciones culturales e ideas, lo que nos ayuda a acercarnos a una cultura diferente a la nuestra.

También cabe destacar a Yingjin Zhang profesor de literatura china comparada y cine en la Universidad de Indiana. Su opinión es relevante porque además de ser nativo chino tiene un amplio conocimiento acerca de las nuevas tendencias en este país en cuanto al cine.

Ying Zhu co-autor del libro “Art, politics, and commerce in Chinese cinema” es profesor de Cultura en Nueva York gran conocedor de la cultura china y autor del libro ”Chinese cinema during the era of reform: the ingenuity of the system”

Por otro lado, Sheila Cornellius junto con Ian Haydin han escrito el libro ”New Chinese cinema: challenging representations”. La primera ha dado conferencias sobre cine chino en Londres, mientras El segundo es un escritor y crítico de cine, además de editor de “International Film Guide” y coeditor de “Wallflower Press’s” relacionadas con el cine.

Consideramos importante la opinió de estos expertos para lograr que nuestro trbajo sea más riguroso.

Referencias de BibTeX

1. Clark, P. Chinese cinema: culture and politics since 1949. Cambridge University Press, 1987. BibTeX[clark1987chinese]
2. Zhang, Y. Chinese national cinema. Routledge, 2004. BibTeX [zhang2004chinese]
3. Zhu, Y. Chinese cinema during the era of reform: the ingenuity of the system. Praeger, 2003. BibTeX[zhu2003chinese]
4. Cornelius, S and Smith, IH. New Chinese cinema: challenging representations. Wallflower, 2002. BibTeX[cornelius2002new]

Christmas Island, Wikitravel

Australiarena den Christmas Island, Indiako Ozeanoko uharteetako bat da. Uharte honi buruz egin dugu geure Wikipediako artikulua. Artikulua egiteko, erreferentzia ezberdinak erabili ditugu, horien artean Wiki teknologia erabiltzen duen Wikitravel proiektua. Wikitravel, bidaia-gida fidagarri, eguneratu, oso eta ireki bat lortzeko proiektua da. Erreferentzi legez erabili dugu Wikitravelen Christmas Islanderi buruz dagoen sarrera.

Sarrera edo artikulu honetan, uhartera bidaiatzeko erraztasunak eskaintzen dira; hala nola, heltzeko bideak, klima, egiteko gauzak, janaria… Artikulu honen datu asko garrantzitsuak dira, baita ezin bestekoak ere gaian kokatzeko eta uhartea hobeto ulertzeko. Horrez gain, Wikipediako artikulua osatzeko beste toki batzuetan agertzen ez den informazioa dago, eskaintzea garrantzitsua dena, oso lagungarria baita. Informazio hau, turistikoa da nagusiki, eta Christmas Island Tourism Associationen eskutik dator, beraz, fidagarria dela ondoriozta dezakegu.

Laburbilduz, erabilitako Wikitravelen artikulua baliagarria izan da Wikipediako sarrera osatzeko, informazio kopuruagatik zein iturri fidagarriengatik.

Pascual Serrano: komunikabideek informatu?

Pascual Serranok (politika internazional eta komunikabideetan espezializatua den kazetaria) azterketa sakon bat egin du komunikabideen inguruan 2009 urtean argitaratutako Desinformación liburuan. Komunikabideetako berriemaileek interesatzen zaizkien berriak zoilik argitaratzen dituztela, eta informatu beharrean, desinformatu egiten gaituztela azaltzen du. Azken hau forgatzeko aditu honek datu garrantzitsuenen aipamenak egiten ditu bere liburuan hainbat adibideren bitartez. Hala izanik, esaten du norbanakook inkontzienteki bereganatzen ditugula mass mediek zabaltzen dutena; hauek diotena egokitzat jotzen dugula eta gainera, iragarkiak ikusiz edo egunkaria irakurriz, gertatzen dagoenari buruz guztia dakigula pentsatzen baitugula ere dio.