Child Abuse ( Watch If You Can )

These are the ones I could watch..and post. It's just so painful and what hurts most is that the children have gone through this horror. 


Don't think that it only happen to "them" and not "us"..it's everywhere. 

Hostility

I wrote this in 2010-09-06 but never post it. Now I feel like it's the time for it. 

First of all, let me say that this topic is not directed to anyone in particular . It was a mere response to some posts i have been reading lately and talked about it before in my blog. 

Why the hostility? 

Why the prejudice? 

Why not trying to understand ?

Why not trying to respect and cherish ?

I am from one of the most ............... areas in the world 

( fill in the blank , but let me give you some choices, can i ? - sophisticated, beautiful, dangerous, poor,rich, stupid, colorful .....etc - you can add yours if you wish ) 

I used to have many pen-pals from all over the world at the university, before being able to have friends online in these days- and we used to discuss and talk about lots of topics. 

Some would be surprised to know that i am from Saudi Arabia, a strange land to them. some knew a lot about it while others don't even know where it is located . One of them was from China, she was so sweet, when we talked about politics and what the media said about China, she would simply say that people and media have to see things from the point of view of the Chinese people, to be in their shoes. 

I never forgot her words .

Being a huge reader of everything, I can say that in the eye of the media we are all awful people. 

when i say "we" i mean the whole world. 

Right now, it's Muslims and Arabs. Some of it because it was our faults and some aren't. And our faults means the faults of SOME not ALL. 

some Muslims kill themselves and terrorize others in the name of Islam and colonialism. 

But did the media -west ,east, north or south- done any good about it? . It's easier to simply say ALL Arabs and ALL Muslims agree with that. 

Did the media try to show the good ones, the ones who refused that and they are by the millions btw ?

No, why? because simply .Good News are not News .

When America with the help of Britain attack Iraq did the media shows us that thousands of people protested against that war ? Our media ? Rarely. 

Does our media shows how is tony Blair being attack everywhere he goes to prompt his book and keep calling him a war criminal ? 

even hate speech are ok with me, they have to hate as much as they like and i don't have to listen but i can not and shall not stop them in anyname. when these speeches turn into action then yes legal steps must be taken. And we can explain ourselves.

But are there anything we can not discuss on blogs .

This says that there are ten things shouldn't be discusses online which are :

1-the middleeast

2-homosexuality

3-jesus christ

4-race relations

5-abortion

6-gun control

7-the holocoust

8-politics

9-origins of man

10-religion

They are mainly talking about the United States, 

what about the middleeast?

the Arabic and Islamic countries?

Saudi arabia ?

why are we so sensitive to critizisem?

why do we have to assume that everyone lives a happy life ?

why do we all have to see life in the eye of only a specific group ?

what about others?

do miniority have any legal rights to speak?

Update: 24/11/2011

it's so disgusting with all the hostility going on towards the Shi'ite in my country. 

A Thought For Everyday

Source

Somalia: Pictures Speak Louder Than Words

By: photographer Jared P. Moossy

Source 

Great Women: My Gifted Studnets

To the two of you " A " and  " H ", your determination and enthusiastic were amazing, I wish that you can go on with the same beautiful spirit and the same light in your eyes to achieve much more in your lives.
I told you before that by going on and taking the step forward you show your true courage . I wish life hand you more success now you know the tough road to get it.
And I wish  I can let you read you this to know how I feel :)


There is a big increase towards gifted students these few years in Saudi Arabia. Despite having the worst kind of education but those working in the field of gifted students are the best.

This year I am the one responsible for finding and encouraging students who might be gifted and would like to participate in different categories. Lots of them were interested but were so afraid to continue due to their studies.
Two of them were very much interested and still. My work is to guide them through the process of their work, of finding the perfect objects, doing the best research, seeking help from professionals, being their voice at school and giving them the necessary documents to make their work easier. It's been tough but amazing work.

Today,I went to a primary school with one of the student to complete her research and it's unbelievable how kids can be helpful. She was shy and didn't know how to get the answers from them, so I took the lead and start asking them the questions she wrote while she record their answers. She was happy-as she told me later on- that i helped her tho i was worried. And I never knew that kids can be this cute :) . When we finish they were in line to shake my hand and ask me to come teach them the next term :). But seriously the result of the questions scared me so much.

Next Monday, my student will go to the first round of the competition. I encouraged them a lot, yet made it clear that they might lose, but that this journey will teach them great deal and that they can develop it even more for next year if they didn't pass this year. They assure me that if they didn't win, it's OK, that they liked the journey so far.
But they are 17, can they accept defeat ? On Sunday, I would be with them in organizing everything but on "The Day" i won't. I am glad and sad at the same time. Happy so i won't annoy them with my worrisome and sad cuz I want to be there whether they are winning or losing, but the good thing is that their families will be with them.

Anyway, it's a beautiful short journey so far and I have enjoyed it so much to the extent of envying them and wishing that I can participate, too :)

Smile Train

Tough to look at !! 

imagine how hard their life can be.

Please help. 

Smile Train 

Great Women:The 12-Year-Old Girl Who Raised $250,000

Her name is Rachel Wheeler 

She is 12 and she raised $250,000 to build 27 homes for earthquake-torn Haiti. She started at the age of 9. And here is her story. 

************

Rachel Wheeler has spent a large part of her life dedicated to the relief effort in the desperately poor Caribbean country of Haiti.

Her tin-rattling, pledge-inducing exploits have raised an incredible $250,000 which has been spent on building 27 homes on the earthquake-torn island.

All in all, not bad for a 12-year-old.

The families in the village of Leogane were so delighted with their new homes, they have baptised the housing development 'Rachel’s Village'.

But her dream has not stopped there. She now wants to rebuild the local school, which was severely damaged in the 7.2-magnitude earthquake which devastated the country in early 2010, killing 316,000 and leaving 3million homeless.

'Life is life,' she told msnbc.com. 'You can't expect to change Haiti overnight with the snap of the fingers. You have to work at it. You have to make it happen.'

Three years ago, when she was just nine, the Florida youngster tagged along to a meeting about the charity work being carried out in Haiti by Food For The Poor.

There, she met Robin Mahfood, the head of the aid agency, who described the famine, disease and homelessness affecting the children so badly.

But just as her mother, Julie Wheeler, thought her daughter didn't understand what was being discussed, Rachel stood up on a chair in front of all the adults and pledged to build 12 homes.

 What a relief: Nine-year-old Rachel is surrounded by grateful Haitians in Leogane. The families were so pleased with their new homes they have named the development 'Rachel's Village'

Humanitarian effort: Not content with just building homes, Rachel also delivers care packages to villagers on the earthquake-struck island

Rachel ran bake sales, passed the tin at homecoming games and sold homemade potholders at her Zion Lutheran School in Deerfield Beach, Florida, it was reported on msnbc.com.

Through her Facebook page and by word-of-mouth, a cherry farm in Washington heard about Rachel and sent along the proceeds from one of its season's harvest. 

Another generous donation came from a family that regularly supports the overseas work of Food For The Poor.

Rachel, who has been to Haiti twice to see the abject poverty first-hand, has more than doubled her promise.

A family enters their new abode for the first time. Such was the alien environment of these houses, many of the residents had to be shown how to use a lock and key

Safe haven: Workers build the concrete, earthquake-proof homes in Leogane - 27 of which have been paid for with money raised by Rachel over the last three years

She spent $170,000 on brand-new earthquake-proof cement structures that shelter 27 families in Leogane, a small fishing village outside of the capital Port-au-Prince.

Many of the residents had spent their whole lives in makeshift homes and tents - Food For The Poor needed to give them instructions on how to use a lock and key on their new abodes.

Mr Mahfood said Haiti would be a 'completely different country' if everyone helped like Rachel had done.

'After nearly two years (since the earthquake), there is still so much great need. The children are experiencing an incredible amount of pressure. 

'There aren't enough schools to go around and there is a lack of clean drinking water. People don't have the ability to look after their children properly or build their own home. There is so much unemployment it is unreal.'

Teamwork: The youngster with Robin Mahfood, the head of aid agency Food For The Poor, whom she met at the meeting in Florida three years ago which encouraged her to help out

Determined: Rachel ran bake sales and encouraged businesses to donate money to make her promise a reality

Rachel has about half of the money needed to re-build the Reap de Morel school in Leogane, where 200 students learn in classrooms that have no walls, a patched tin roof and dirt floors.

Classrooms are partitioned by bed sheets. The school 'library' is a simple wooden table displaying no more than 30 tattered books. Each child owns just a single pencil and notebook.

Food For The Poor has worked in Haiti for 25 years. The charity runs hundreds of food pantries that feed more than 400,000 people daily and supports dozens of free health clinics.

Many young Haitians suffer from deadly diseases such as cholera, which has killed more than 6,200 Haitians.

If you want to learn more about Food For The Poor and Rachel's cause, go to www.foodforthepoor.org/rachel

For the video go the source 

Why Do You Give ?

I am this good person in general, someone who would respect you and your choices no matter what. I might have an opinion about it all but I would still respect you....until it's about giving.

I grow up poor, we lived in an apartment in my grandfather building without paying rent. Didn't have a steady income because my mother didn't work-she is not educated and without a job-and my father was a driver who gain too little and spend most of it on different things. To have a 10 SR "3dollars" you need to literally save up.

Still, I never get to do anything to get more money. My mother would take care of us getting the money needed for our clothes, food and school. Growing up and realizing the situation we are in was difficult but still I didn't have to do anything about it. When I reached the university and need more money for books and clothes, my mother will always give them to me and she did the same for my ungrateful siblings.

I needed more times to accept the situation that my father was not doing his duties and that my mother had to borrow money from people, lots of people. But there are one person in particular who helped her a lot- her younger sister-.

I never forgot what it feels to need money. Especially when the school knew that I was from a poor family and wanted to help. I never knew what it feels to ask people to give you so you would help your family. Through my whole years as a teacher I only had to ask for help for a very few times and it never was easy, I always cry and take days to be able to utter the words but the reasons are always big. Thankfully I have no debt on my shoulder expect for the bank but that's my own debt -as i call it- and not to people.

Why do I give ?
because I know that despite not looking that desperate and poor, we were.
That despite having strong men who can help, they didn't.
That although your eldest daughter work and got good money, she wont give you a dime.

I give because I know that someone need to feel that they are human , and that by having good income, by not being poor.
Because by helping you are giving a chance for someone to grow, to be better, to have a job, to stop the circle of poverty.

Those people who helped us stopped our cycle of poverty by giving my mother the chance to help me to graduate and get a job and move up the ladder.

Would I still be giving if I wasn't in the same situation? If I wasn't  "in need" and "desperate" ? If I was blind of the suffering of my mother? . I could be or couldn't but I am glad that I am a giving person.

But there are two things that I hate a lot, and I don't hate a lot of things.
First,I hate is that I am becoming extreme in resentment and judging when people wont help or expect something in return. I know that a lot have lots of responsibilities but as I always believe that as long as there is someone who is poorer than you, you can still give something up, you can skip an item on will- do this-month-list cuz nothing is as important as a person in need.

Second, I hate that people do give for the reward. It's in the Quran and we are asked to help and promised great rewarding for doing this. But I hate the idea that I am someone's road  to heaven. I hate the idea that you don't give because you care but because you see me as a "chance" to get closer to heaven. I hate the idea that you give to feel good about yourself. I hate that you give so you wont feel "guilty" next time you see a poor person, cuz you already payed your debt to society by giving me. I hate that you give because you think that I am a debt and you should get rid of. I hate that you give so you feel like you have did what you have to do and that's that.

Why don't we give because we see poor people as equal as we are. That we are giving because that's our duty-not to give to get rid of that feeling- to give cuz It's our duty to help each other. Everyone of us help and share what he/she has more than enough of "money, love, time...etc".

Do we have the power to think of those poor as equal people to us and give them because we live in societies where people of the world are one and if I fall today you will help me and I will help you when you fall tomorrow !!!


This is from Paulo Coelho's latest novel "Aleph"
"I've never felt awkward about asking . I've known lots of people who care about others and are extremely generous when it comes to giving and who feel real pleasure when someone asks them for advice or help. And that's fine, it's a good thing to help your neighbor. On the other hand, I know very few people capable of receiving even when the gift is given with love and generosity. It's as if the act of receiving made them feel inferior. as if depending on someone else was undignified. They think is someone is giving us something, that's because we're incapable of getting it for ourselves. Or else, the person giving me this now will one day ask for back with interest. Or, even worse, i don't deserve to be treated well " p.90
and while reading that I kept wondering about the people we give, did we ever thought about them,are they equal to us? doesn't giving without receiving means that we think of them as less ?that we are superior !!

Sometime ago, I stopped "giving" only, now I happily "receive"

P.S: My aunt-above- had a series of bad events in her life. She got married then divorced with two daughter and father that never ask about them. She,also,lost her job. But you know what? an uncle and an aunt are helping her generously now. 

Life is a circle and Karma is great :)


Part of string of confessions. 

Attention

I love to have the attention of everyone. 


Did I get your attention !!


I know it's complicated and I know that my journey to some kind of recovery that I need is to be honest with myself . 


So why do I need this ? I know it's one of the most common thing in the world for kids to want to have the attention of their parents and the same for teenagers, but for grownups !!. then why do I still craving for people's attention ?. Is it a lack of love i felt and feel almost always. 
Growing up in a disturbed family means that you are either completely neglected or forgotten. And to be the less troubled one is another add to the problem. I admit I didn't have the love that will secure me emotionally growing up and protecting me from seeking people's approval by getting their attention doing the good thing btw. 


Does comparing between relatives or people in general, especially since this comparison is not in your favor, makes you feel neglected and then seek attention ? . 


I wonder. 


This problem can be very bad sometimes that I wish to be hurt or do the most outrages thing to be noticed and then be loved. And sometimes it's the least of my problems !! . The funny thing is that when the going gets tough, I care less about people's opinion . 




is this starving for attention is a cry out for love , maybe ?




Part of "string of confessions"

Good Read

Give us a hug: Intimate portraits of mother and baby orangutans as they behave just like HUMANS

This column will change your life: the just world bias

Why Good Things Happen to Bad People


The 7 Deadly Sins of Social Good — And How to Avoid Them

Human trafficking on the rise amid Horn of Africa's drought and famine

Israeli doctors 'failing to report torture of Palestinian detainees'

Children of a Lesser God

Scrape her Head and Lay Her Bare – Widowhood Practices and Culture

The Problem with Absolute Thinking

Non-Judgment Day

Can You Forgive?

Good Reads

Love Yourself, Accept Yourself, Forgive Yourself 

The Time I Resented My Chronically Ill Stepson

Can’t Get No Satisfaction? The Buddha and Nietzsche Can Help

How Daylight Saving Time Works

You don't know Saudi Arabian women: King Abdullah is pushing for gender equality

A Son Returns to the Agony of Somalia

This column will change your life: inspirational quotes

My Child, The Murderer    ( A must read- heart breaking stories) 

Despite all , you can not feel but happiness and hope when reading such great news :)

Somalia Famine: Baby Minhaj Gedi Farah Back From Brink Of Death

By KATHARINE HOURELD, Associated Press

NAIROBI, Kenya -- As Minhaj Gedi Farah lay silently on a hospital bed three months ago, even his mother had given up hope that the skeletal Somali baby would live. Weeks of intensive feeding, though, have transformed him into a chubby-cheeked infant who crawls.

The is one of several stories highlighted Wednesday in an annual New York fundraising event held by the aid group International Rescue Committee, which helped nurse Minhaj back to health.

Famine has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of Somali children this year, but the U.N. said despite restrictions by Islamist insurgents, heavy rains and fighting, aid agencies are expanding their reach. Food aid is now getting to 2.2 million of the 4 million Somalis who need it, the U.N. said.

"His mother never thought he would recover. Every member of his family is happy," said Sirat Amin, a nurse-nutritionist with the International Rescue Committee who has been monitoring Minhaj's progress. "He can sit without being supported, he can have (nutritional supplement) Plumpynut on his own. He's crawling."

In July, the month that the U.N. declared parts of Somalia famine zones, Minhaj was one of dozens of limp babies lying under mosquito net shrouds in the sweltering wards of the IRC hospital in Dadaab, the world's largest refugee camp. Seven-month-old Minhaj weighed only 3.2 kilograms (7.05 pounds), less than some newborns.

Pictures of his gaunt cheeks and bulging eyes made him the face of the famine. But after weeks of intensive feeding with Plumpynut - a kind of sweetened peanut butter packed with nutrients - he is nearly 8 kilograms (17.64 pounds), almost normal for a boy his age.

Since the beginning of the year, hundreds of thousands of Somali families have poured over the border, fleeing war and hunger. Domes made from dirty tarpaulins and scraps of cloth mushroomed on the scrublands of northern Kenya and the U.N.'s famine announcement brought planeloads of television crews to capture images of their suffering.

Now the torrent of refugees fleeing into Kenya has slowed to a trickle and the camera crews have gone home. But that doesn't mean the emergency is over.

Nearly 2 million Somalis still don't have access to food aid. Rain has turned tracks through the bush to slush and there's been fighting along the border after hundreds of Kenyan soldiers crossed into Somalia. Last month's incursion followed a string of kidnappings on Kenyan soil by Somali gunmen.

Families wanting to flee may fear being caught up in the fighting or be stuck in the mud. Only the strongest are getting through. When they arrive, they are not only starving but sick and exhausted, Amin said. So although less are coming, when they arrive in the refugee camps in Kenya many are in a more severe state of starvation.

The ward where Amin works has been expanded by two tents, but even so, 78 children are sharing 56 beds. That's about twice as many as when Minhaj was admitted. Some children are in even worse condition than he was.

Many of the new arrivals come in with diarrhea, cases of cholera, or secondary infections. Amin and other aid agencies say that deaths from illness are likely to rocket as weakened immune systems contend with the cold rains and diseases spread by puddles of dirty water.

The U.N. Children's Fund said around 168,0000 acutely malnourished children under the age of 5 could die within weeks. They are concerned about infectious diseases like measles, cholera and malaria, particularly in the dirty and overcrowded camps in the capital of Mogadishu.

"The famine is not over ... Children are dying on a daily basis," said Hannan Sulieman, UNICEF's deputy representative for the Somalia mission. "Malnutrition has been way above emergency levels for over 10 years."

She said that her organization was planning to maintain current levels of aid until August or September next year, when Somalia would have had a long and a short rain harvest.

The famine is the worst emergency to hit Somalia for a generation. The U.N. has appealed for $1 billion and has got $779 million so far.

But aid still doesn't reach many of the starving. Islamist militias battling the weak U.N.-backed government have forbidden many aid agencies to operate in their territory, exacerbating the effects of a severe drought.

So even after their parents have struggled through the mud, have made it past the militias and have staggered into the hospital, it is still too late for many, said Amin.

"I'm coping with it but sometimes it's heartbreaking. People are suffering. Sometimes they die in front of you," he said. "Sometimes you want to help but the numbers are just so high. There are just so many."

But seeing children like Minhaj recover gives him the strength to go on.

Source