Blog #10: In Iraq, a Day of Religious Observance, and of Blood

Thursday November 14th was "the holy day of Ashura which commemorates the killing of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Nuhammad". However, this holy day turned violent when Shiite Muslims were attacked in Iraq. About 47 people were killed and many others were wounded. The most worst case of violence occurred at the end of a death scene in a play in Diyala Province. At the end of the scene, a suicide bomber detonated himself amidst a crowd of men, women and children who had been watching a play about the death of Imam Hussein. Around 35 people were killed and 75 were wounded in this explosion alone. In Kut Province, two roadside bombs exploded near a tent that was serving food and water to those on their way to Karbala, where the shrine to Imam Hussein is located. Due to the two bombs, 10 were killed while 25 were wounded. Then finally, two bombs exploded in the city of Kirkuk in northern Iraq killing two and wounding eight. 

This attack is clearly one of many that are happening due to religious discord. This holy day of Ashura has been the day of violence for many years. There have been attacks in 2005, 2007 and also in 2011. This day is most likely the battleground for violence because it is the say when Shiites celebrate the killing of Imam Hussein and this killing is what helped fuel or even "create the schism between Sunni and Shiite" (CNN). These two Muslim groups have been waging war for years this year's attack on the day of Ashura has been the deadliest. The use of suicide bombers, car bombs and other bombs for immense damage were placed in dense areas full of Shiites which is probably what caused the most damage. Iraq is trapped in a seemingly never-ending cycle of terror as these two prominent religious groups continue their dissonance. The reason why these extremist groups use terror is because the power of terror is in its ability to quickly demand attention and attract headlines and this is clearly true since as soon as these bombings occurred  the stories of the terror spread across the news like wild fire and dominated headlines. Yet the weakness of terror is that it does not have much of a lasting effect once new stories surface and these stories of terror fade away from the headlines. Perhaps the reason why these bombings in areas full of discord are so popular is because constant bombings are what these groups need to keep the news stations interested. Once again suicide bombers are used. Suicide bombers are so favorable because these explosives can be attacked to a person who can enter areas without being noticed till he/she needs to be noticed and by then it is too late and the casualties are monumental. This fact can be seen through the article. The bombings with the most deaths is the one at the play in the Diyala Province because the suicide bomber was able to enter into an area full of people undetected. 

It is amazing that people can have so much hatred for another group of people and go as far as using these horrible methods of extreme violence. What is even more amazing is that these are two Muslim groups who have such hatred for each other instead of religious groups that are contrasting to each other like Buddhism and Muslim as an example. If these acts of violence in the name of religion are ever to end, these violent religious groups must realize that violence and terror will only get them so far. These groups must recognize the need for compassion, understanding and find a way to coexist. 

Catherine Choi

11/14/13

10:25pm

Main Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/15/world/middleeast/iraq.html?ref=middleeast&_r=0

http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/14/world/meast/iraq-violence/

Blog #9: New Zealand police probe ordered over 'teen rape club'

New Zealand's government has ordered an investigation into the police handling of an investigation of a group of teenagers who called themselves the Roast Busters. According to the article, these teens got under aged girls drunk, raped them and then posted their cruel deeds online. The police could not prosecute the group because they had never gotten a formal complaint. However, it was discovered that a girl had made a formal complaint in 2011. The girl who had made the complaint had been told that she did not have enough evidence because of what she was wearing despite the evidence she gave through a video interview. The people of New Zealand, especially the parents, are extremely concerned that if this is how the police handle these situations, then that would mean that if their child were to walk in they would not be taken seriously. Due to the new investigation, the police were able to interview two members of the Roast Busters and have compiled evidence that can aid the investigation. 

This article reminds me of the article about the rape case in India in September because both deal with not only socialization but also rape culture. Once again rape culture can be seen as the reason the police did not take the girl's complaint seriously in 2011. It is because rape culture tells people that "girls ask for it". Rape culture's main focus is that societies have a hidden rape culture that encourages men to sexually assault women and those who are immature, irresponsible and lacking in social conscience are more influenced by rape culture. It can be seen from this article that this is true since it was teens who created this so called "club". Everything from treating women like property to using women as prizes in masculinity contests as well as the way society socializes men to participate and embrace rape culture while socializing girls to be victims, are all reasons why cases like this continue to happen all around the world. Also the myth of victim precipitation is most likely the main reason why the girl's formal complaint was not taken seriously and was brushed aside despite her video evidence. Everything from what the girl was wearing, in the police officer's eyes, was asking for it and also possible victim contribution, that the victim kissed the offender or was engaged in some other form of intimacy before the attack whether it was true or just something that was assumed, all played a part. This reflects the biased, male-centered view of rape instead of the accurate description of the crime itself. However, in a world where the majority are men and the minority are women, men control what happens and men make the decisions. It is this thought that just because a woman goes out wearing a short dress and is therefore asking to be raped is absurd. No one asks to be raped. Yet rape cases continue to surface and there is always a group of people who blame the victim because of what she was wearing or what she was doing. It is reasons like this that rape is so under reported and the reason why rape victims are so afraid to report the horrible crime that had been done to them. 

Society must change. There must be a change that rejects rape culture and ideas of victim precipitation must stop or else rapes will continue to be under reported and rapists will continue to go on committing these crimes and think that just because a girl is dressed a certain way or because she looked interested, that it is okay to rape her. No means no and rape is not the victim's fault and the world, as a whole, must come to this understanding or else these terrible cases will continue to happen. 

Catherine Choi

11/7/13

10:13pm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-24846793

Blog #8: A Yellow Card, Then Unfathomable Violence, in Brazil

On a Sunday afternoon, Otávio Jordão da Silva Cantanhede left on his bike to play soccer on a "lumpy soccer field [that] had wooden goal posts with no nets" where informal matches are often played. The game was going find till Cantanhede twisted his angle or hurt his knee while playing defense and had to play the referee. During the second half of the game, things escalated when Cantanhede gave a fellow friend Josemir Santos Abreu, who quickly turned into an enemy, a yellow card warning. When an argument broke out and Cantanhede gave out a red card, which led to a violent fight. Cantanhede stabbed Abreu twice and Abreu was rushed to the hospital, but died before making it there. Cantanhede suffered a much more brutal death. Abreu's four friends smashed his face with a liquor bottle, beat with a wooden stake, ran over by a motorcycle and stabbed him in the throat. Cantanhede’s lower legs were cut off while his right arm and left wrist were barely attached to the rest of his body. He was also decapitated and his head was posted on a wooden fence across the road of the field where he game had taken place.

This horrid event perfect depicts how social influences can have a dramatic impact on human behavior. Society socializes men to be rough, strong and even violent. Whether it is television, books, magazines, movies or video games, men are seen as muscular, violent, and macho. These men are seen shooting runs or getting into fights to prove their manly demeanor. Society basically tells men that they too must be like this in order to be considered manly. Because of this men think that violence is okay and people expect men to be violent and if a group of boys get in a fight they say that "boys will be boys". When on the other hand, if girls get in a fight it breaks a social norm. This socialization of violence has a strong correlation with what happened on that soccer field. One may be able to use this idea of socialization and conclude that Cantanhede may have stabbed Abreu because he wanted to prove that he is manlier than Abreu. The reason that Abreu's friends attacked Cantanhede may be a bit more complex. First, when men are in groups it is more likely for those men to participate in violent acts together and this is a theme that can be found in cases of gang rape. Instead of stopping the violence, these men do not want to seem weak or less macho to their friends and so go along with the violence. They may also get competitive and become even more violent. This theme can be see in this case of Abreu's friends as well. One of the four friends probably started the attack on Cantanhede then the rest of his friends followed along. Also, the article stated that the crowd "stoked the violence the way wind stokes a fire". The fact that the crowd wanted to see the violence most likely made Abreu's friends feel powerful and so an act of violence that may not have gotten so gruesome probably escalated because the crowd fueled the anger these men were feeling and also fueled their self-esteem and made them feel like the strong man that they have been socialized to be.

It is also important to notice that this event happened in a poverty stricken area of Brazil. Poverty leads to inequality and according to this article, this tragic event showcased the "hopelessness and rage born of poverty and inequality, and mistrust that seethed from inadequate policing and uneven access to justice". Because this is a impoverished neighborhood where inequality runs rampant, the police are not very concerned about what goes on and there is no form of strict policing. This leads the people of this area to solve problems in their own way. This violent event is an example of the kind of informal way that these people deal with their problems, "bloodshed trumped by bloodshed". One can conclude from this event that a lack of a formal structure leads people to create their own informal structure of justice which leads to violence.

The death of these two men should be a wake up call to the world of the kind of impact society has on its people. The socialization of men to be violent and the way formal sanctions are not properly placed or unforced in areas that are poverty stricken should be recognized and a solution must be created or else violent acts like this will continue all over the world.


Catherine Choi
11/1/13
1:11pm

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/03/sports/soccer/a-yellow-card-then-unfathomable-violence-in-brazil.html?_r=0

Blog #7: Suicide Bomber Strikes Bus in Southern Russia

When Naida Asiyalova, a young Muslim woman, got on the number 29 bus in the city of Volgograd in Moscow no one thought that she would be capable of such a horrific deed. Yet, 30 year old Naida Asiyalova was the suicide bomber responsible for "killing six passengers in addition to herself, and wounding at least 33 others". Investigators immediately called this incident a terrorist attack and is one of the many violent cases that they have seen in North Causasus that has "spilled into the Russian heartland". It has been discovered that Asiyalova's husband is in charge of demolitions and explosives for a rebel group in Makhachkala, a place where the Russian police have been trying to calm Muslim rebels. Commentators believe that this incident shows how the rebels are able to commit these abominable acts despite the government's attempt to stop Caucasus rebels. 

The investigators who said that this case is an act of terrorism have probable cause to say so because suicide bombings is a method of terrorism that is often used by rebel groups. In fact, research shows that terrorist groups tend to favor bombings because it causes the most damage while inciting social outrage and confusion which is exactly what these rebel terrorist groups want. Also, the definition of terrorism that has been discussed in class about how terrorism is a form of collective violence with a core focus of inciting fear and creating the greatest psychological impact while targeting non-combatants for a political goal, fits this case perfectly. The article itself provides an abundant amount of information on this tragic event and yet one thing is still unclear, what was Naida Asiyalova's motive? One can simply conclude that the motive is to bring about terror and although that is a correct motive, it isn't very specific. The article talks about "black widows" who are wives of slain rebel soldiers who are often recruited for these suicide bombings. However, Ms. Asiyalova’s husband is still alive and may actually be the who supplied her with the explosives. It is interesting that the article included that Ms. Asiyalova had a serious illness. A conclusion can be drawn from this that Naida Asiyalova was recruited or quite possibly even volunteered for the job because she may not have much time left to do to the illness and decided to sacrifice herself for the work of her people. This kind of thinking is very common among suicide bombers and those who support suicide bombings hold the bombers in high esteem. The perpetrators believe that the victims are far from innocent and the bombers are dying for faith and therefore are martyrs and soldiers of faith. This method of viewing the casualties would most likely mean that the more casualties there were, the better. The main reason that rebel groups favor bombs as their method of choice is because it is easy to make, highly low-profile and yet causes immense damage. Suicide bombings are probably the most favorable because of how low-profile it is. In relation this bus bombing, no one would have expected a young Muslim woman to be the one to set off a bomb that would kill her and those in her proximity. Socialization plays a lot into the reason why the rebel group chose to use a woman. The reason why they used Ms.Asiyalova is because they knew with extreme certainty that no one would have seen it coming because Naida Asiyalova is a woman and through socialization, people do not expect women to engage in violent behavior. Society tells its people that women are supposed to be soft, gentle and submissive which are not characteristics of a suicide bomber. This bombing shattered the pre-conceived notions of how a woman should behave. It is clear that those behind this tragic incident knew very well how people are socialized and decided to use it to their advantage.

Although the reason why terrorist groups favor bombs is obvious, it does not make events like this any easier to hear. The power terrorism is the ability to quickly get the attention of the world and attract headlines. However, the weakness of terrorism is that there isn't a lasting change that these rebel groups want. 9/11 is the perfect example. Instead of creating a division which the terrorists wanted, the 9/11 terrorist attack, led to national unity and patriotism. In order for these rebel groups to stop their terrorist acts, they must realize that violent attacks will only gain have temporary attention. It is crucial that these groups realize that non-violent movements can be slow but is often times more lasting in consequences and is most likely the only way out of the cycle of terror that the world is in.

Catherine Choi

10/24/13

9:19pm

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/22/world/europe/deadly-bombing-hits-bus-in-southern-russia.html?_r=0

Blog #6: Social Services warned of 'micracle baby' trafficking risk

Child protection organizations like Cafcass, ADCS as well as Children and Families Across Borders sent out a warning to social service workers in the United Kingdom to watch out for what these child protection organizations are calling "miracle babies" coming into the UK from Africa. These so called "miracle babies" are in reality no miracle but rather a form of human trafficking, a modern form of slavery that is so prevalent in this current century. These "miracle babies" are a result from staged fake births and scams that fake fertility doctors use to sell babies to desperate couples. A main part of the scam is religion and faith because these "fertility clinics" use the idea of Mary, who gave birth to Jesus as a virgin, to explain how the pregnancy occurred.

Perhaps the most horrific thing one can see from reading this article is that there are people in the world who are now selling babies. The numbers of women and children being sold into human trafficking are extremely high as well as the number of men and yet, in order to make more money offenders are now selling babies. Not only are they selling babies, but they are taking advantage of desperate couples who want a child by having them believe that after all their hard work and money, the child that the mother has given birth to is their child when in reality, it is most likely the baby of a poor mother who had no choice but to give the child up. It is very likely that the birth mothers of these "miracle babies" are women who have been sold into the sex trade and work in brothels and are forced to give their children up. Due to this, there is a high chance that the baby might have diseases like HIV/AIDS because the majority of the women in the brothels carry the disease. I agree with the article that although "'there are many victims, the real victims are of course the children'". If the parents never find out that the birth was staged, then they would continue to believe that the child is theirs and raise the child as so. This would mean that the child's life would be a lie. He would never know where he is from or who he really is. The child would live a life based on a lie and neither the child nor the parents would be aware of this tragedy.

After reading this article it would be strange if one did not wonder how it is possible for people to commit much a horrendous scam and yet, one would also know that sadly it is possible because human trafficking is still going on to this day. This article as well as anything relating to human trafficking goes along very well with a documentary called The Day My God Died. This documentary addresses the horrors of human trafficking as well as the life of the victims who are involved. There is a part in the documentary where the police is questioning a trafficker what he would do if he found out that his daughter had been trafficked into he sex trade. The man answered that he would kill those who are responsible. The officer asked then why he traffics other people's daughters. This question left the offender speechless. This causes one to wonder if the people who are a part of these appalling scams realize that these babies are someone's sons and daughters. If the people who are involved in the "miracle baby" scam were asked the same question that the trafficker was asked, they would have the similar answer and yet they would most likely still continue to commit their crime. The reason why these "fertility clinics" would continue their "work" is because of money. Desperate couples probably spend thousands for the fake fertility process. There is a huge profit margin since the babies that these offenders are giving to the couples are probably coerced from the mothers or bought for a very low amount while in return of getting a couple "pregnant", they receive thousands. It is horrific yet not very surprising that these people are selling babies through fake fertility clinics because unlike normal human trafficking, trafficking of babies for the purpose of hoodwinking innocent couples makes more money. This is because like stated above, the couples are willing to give thousands to have a child while in the normal human trafficking setting, the profits are not as high since it would take more time to make the thousands that these clinics are making in a short time.

Money is what causes scams like this to surface. The constant question of "how can I make more money" leads to the creation of these horrible scams. Thankfully the child protection organizations realized that this scam is going on and yet, it is likely that this scam has been going on for a long time and there are probably numerous couples who believe that their "miracle baby" is really theirs. Also, it cannot possibly be easy to track down all the couples that come into the UK with babies and conduct a DNA test. Thirdly, if this scam is occurring in relation to the United Kingdom, it causes one to wonder what other countries are being scammed as well and are unaware. The reality of these scams must be spread to all the countries and the child protection services of each country must be notified and all efforts must be made to stop this abominable crime from causing more damage than it already has.


Catherine Choi
10/18/13
12:57pm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24564930

Blog #5: Finland - Student Stabs 4 at School

On Thursday October 10th, a 16-year old student stabbed three fellow students and a janitor at a school in northern Finland. Luckily, all four victims are in stable conditions. According to the article, this student had previously threatened the school online in February "'saying that he would 'kill the whole school' if he had a gun'". The 16-year old was arrested by the police department in Oulu and he "admitted to the stabbings but did not disclose a motive".

This article does not do much in informing the reader of what exactly happened on Thursday at this vocational school in Finland. All the article states is the age of the offender, number of victims and the method used. However, this article fails to give any further information causing the reader to ask numerous questions. The first question one can ask is if the police were aware of the online threats to shoot down the school that the perpetrator made in February. If they were aware of this, one would then have to ask if any action was taken to investigate whether or not this student meant what he said. The article states that the Deputy Police Chief Arto Karnaranta said that "the suspect had made online threats against the school in February". A conclusion can be drawn from this statement that the police were aware that a online threat had been made. If it is true, then that means that the police knew about the online threats but did nothing to investigate whether or not these threats could possibly be carried out. One can say that if the police had taken the threat seriously and investigated, then it is possible that the stabbing that occurred on Thursday may have been something that could have been prevented. This is because if the police had taken the threat in a grave manner and thoroughly investigated, they may have found that this 16-year old was indeed serious and actions would have been taken against the student to keep him from harming others and/or himself. If this had happened, the stabbing of the four victims would not have occurred. Or perhaps an investigation occurred but the police did not think that the student's threats were serious and so, actions were taken against the student. Yet it is more likely that the police did not thoroughly investigate the threat because if they had they would have most likely realized the gravity of the student's threat against the school since one can see from the stabbings on Thursday, the student is obviously not in a healthy state of mind.

Another question that the article does not answer is about the motive of the offender. The article states that the offender did not state his motive and yet one cannot help but wonder what made this 16-year old boy not only threaten to shoot the school but also stab 4 people. The idea of socialization can be used as an attempt to figuring out the motive or motives behind the perpetrator's actions. Using the idea of socialization, one can create a theory that maybe the offender was being bullied and harassed by other students at school. This then severed his ties to school, a societal institution. Due to the treatment he received by the other students it is quite likely that the offender had a hard time making friends and being an active member of society. The lack of societal ties that the offender had may have something to do with why this 16-year old decided to take a knife to school and three students and a janitor.

There are many reasons to why people do what they do. However it seems that the reason behind actions is influenced by two things: self and society. Yes it is true that the person is who decides on the actions that he or she makes, but it is important to realize that society also has a huge impact. The environment and the people that one socializes plays a part in the creation of a person's beliefs and norms. Therefore, negative socialization is most likely to lead to negative consequences with is what seems to have happened in this tragic event.


Catherine Choi
10/11/13
12:35pm
 
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/11/world/europe/finland-student-stabs-4-at-school.html?ref=europe

Blog #4: In Myanmar, Revival of Attacks on Muslims

According to the accounts taken on Wednesday October 3rd, the violence between Muslims and Buddhists that occurred in Myanmar this week, has left six dead with numerous homes that were burned down. The violent acts ironically happened just a few hours before President Thein Sein was scheduled to arrive to "cool religious tensions". Although both the Muslims and the Buddhists suffered casualties, the six people that were found dead were all Muslim. Anti-Muslim violence surfaced last year and has been spreading across the country like wildfire ever since. The main difference between this week's attacks and the attacks that have occurred in the past is that this week's violence happened in "well-established Muslim neighborhoods father south that have existed side by side with Buddhists for generations".

Religious violence is not uncommon in the current century as well as in history. All around the world different religions often choose violence in an attempt to settle their differences and show that their religion should reign supreme. The use of violence is being used once again by the Buddhists in Myanmar this week. This article on the violence between the Muslims and Buddhists raises questions because it fails to address the question of why exactly these violence acts happened. The obvious reason would be that Buddhists and Muslims simply do not get along due to their religious differences. However, there must be a specific reason as to why this week's attacks happened where and when they did. The article says that the attacks happened in a very peculiar place, a place where the police thought religious violence would never occur. Yet, religious violence did occur in Muslim neighborhoods where Buddhists and Muslims have co-existed for multiple generations. The article also says that the attacks occurred hours before President Thein Sein was supposed to arrive. Reading this article a question has to be raised as to how do these two factors contributed to the violent attacks? How is it possible that in a place where Muslims and Buddhists have lived together with no past acts of violence to suddenly be faced with six deaths and the burning of homes and is the arrival of President Thein Sein a cause of the violent acts? It seems that the scheduled arrival of the President and the attacks that occurred just a few hours before the President's arrival is no coincidence. According to the article, President Sein was supposed arrive in order to "cool religious tensions and criticize extremism". Perhaps there is more to the President's arrival than the article says. One can wonder that maybe there was a more definite reason to President Sein's arrival that affected the Buddhists and the Muslims that the Buddhists did not like which is what caused the sudden violent uproar in an otherwise peaceful neighborhood.

It does not seem that religious violence is coming to an end anytime soon. Stabbings, bombs, shootings and the burning of homes and buildings continue on In fact, religious violence seems to be getting worse and is even affecting neighborhoods where people with different religious backgrounds have co-existed for generations. A solution to peace must be found if these violent acts are to ever stop. Compassion, forgiveness and understanding are crucial in the attempt to stop religious violence all over the world.


Catherine Choi
10/4/13
12:48pm

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/03/world/asia/myanmar-violence-buddhists-muslims.html?ref=utheinsein

Blog #3: Can Urban Planning Help India's Cities Reduce Sexual Violence?

According to urban planners and designers, planning a city's design to be "gender-sensitive" will makes the cities of India must safer for women. Planners and designers are promoting a new city design because the majority of women in India commute via sidewalk as well as multiple forms of public transport like the "subway, bus and a shared auto-rickshaw" to go to work and during this commute come across various types of perverted men. The most dangerous place of commute located in New Delhi and is called the "Ring Road, a massive circular road that circles the city". This road is dangerous because it allows cars to pass through numerous desolate zones and area without stoplights which promotes sexual violence since the prevailing place for rape in New Delhi is in a moving vehicle. Urban planners and designers argue that the lack of streetlights, gate-less neighborhoods and the city's fast moving speed all contribute to India, particularly New Delhi, subjecting women to higher chances of sexual violence.

The idea of majority vs. minority comes to mind after reading this article. The world is male dominated and therefore men are the majority and India is no exception. According to the Google Dataset on Political Seats Held by Women, women comprise a mere 11% of political seats in India. This means that 89% of the political seats in India belong to men. With this data one can understand that men make the rules and run the country. Sexual violence which is rampant in India is not happening to men but rather to women, and not much is being done to lower the numbers of sexual crimes. This causes one to wonder, if 89% of political seats in India belonged to women instead of men, would there be less sexual violence in the country? The fact that India's majority is made up of men who are the ones to make up the rules, and control how society in India runs, the theory of rape culture is prevalent therefore causing sexual violence in India to rage on.

From this article it seems that India, especially New Delhi was built to promote rape. This is because rape has three factors: race, age and situation. The construction of India's cities practically encourages situational rape since the planning and execution stranger rape starts with choosing a target who appears to be in a vulnerable and disadvantaged situation. How much more vulnerable and disadvantaged can one be than walking alone, at night, on a sidewalk where one has to "rely on lights coming from shops in the vicinity" too see? Neighborhoods where gates are non-existent practically invite violence in and getting rid of stoplights on roads to speed up commute allows cars with rape victims inside it, to keep driving "until the fuel runs out".

Cities in India need to be re-designed to make life much safer for women but what is more important is for India to become a more gender equal country. If India became much more equal, more women would be involved in politics and therefore help create laws that will benefit both men and women. Also, a gender equal country would mean a low or even non existent rape culture. If India's staggering numbers in sexual violence is to ever decrease, the country must design it's cities and become more gender equal.


Catherine Choi
9/26/13
10:24pm

http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/26/can-urban-planning-help-indias-cities-reduce-sexual-violence

Google DataSet: 
http://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=d5bncppjof8f9_&ctype=l&strail=false&bcs=d&nselm=h&met_y=sg_gen_parl_zs&scale_y=lin&ind_y=false&rdim=region&ifdim=region&tdim=true&ind=false#!ctype=l&strail=false&bcs=d&nselm=h&met_y=sg_gen_parl_zs&scale_y=lin&ind_y=false&rdim=country&idim=country:IND&ifdim=country&hl=en_US&dl=en_US&ind=false

Blog #2: Tazania Says 15 Are Linked to Acid Attacks

On Tuesday, September 17th, the Zanzibar police arrested 15 people in connection with a series of acid attacks in Zanzibar, Tanzania. According to the article, Zanzibar holds a mix of different cultures and is a popular tourist city due to white sandy beaches and the beauty of the city itself. However, the string of acid attacks has negatively affected tourism which is the main source of economic activity in the region. The victims range from two British women doing volunteer work to a Catholic priest. In the search for who is responsible for the attacks, police commissioner Mussa Ali Mussa stated that the "Al Qaeda and the Somali Islamist extremist group Shabad" are responsible. On the other hand, economist Mohammed Hafidh as well as Ahmeid  Rajab, managing director to a Somali television network, doubt the accusations of the police and do not believe that terrorist groups are involved.

After reading this article, two things can be noted. The first is the fact that these acid attacks are having a negative affect on tourism which is what brings money to Zanzibar. This causes one to wonder what if the attacks were not affecting the economic state of the region at all? If theses series of acid attacks had no correlation to tourism and were just acts of violence, would the attacks have made the headlines? The correlation of these attacks to tourism has caused not only the police of Zanibar to become involved but also people like Mohammed Hafidh, an economist, to become involved. It is most likely that the leaders of Zanibar are demanding answers not only to put an end to the acts of violence but also to get the flow of cash back into the region.

The second is how this article leaves many questions unanswered and even causes the creation of even more questions. One reason this article does this is is because it states that the police commissioner, Mussa Ali Mussa suspects terrorist groups to be behind the attacks and yet continues on and says, that Mussa had no evidence to back up his statement and even refused to answer any further questions. This leads one to ask why the commissioner said that the Al Qaeda and the Shabad are to blame if he has no way to support his own statement. The Thomas Theorem may play a part in explaining why. According to the Thomas Theorem reality does not matter but rather what one perceives as reality is what becomes true. The police are a respected and powerful part of society that enforces rules and many believe what the police have to say. So, despite the reality of the situation, many may perceive the police commissioner's statement to be true and believe that it is so. Also, perhaps the pressure the leaders of Zanzibar are putting on the police to find the perpetrators in order to restore economic activity, also played a part in the commissioner's statement. Another reason why this article leaves one asking for more is because people like Hafidh and Rajab are questioning the "validity of the police commissioner's statement". The article states that these men are skeptical that terrorist groups are to blame because both the Al Qaeda and the Shabad are "known for deadly and large-scale attacks". Evidence of the use of large-scale attacks through the use of bombs, guns and suicide bombers, can be seen in many terrorist groups like the Al Qaeda and the Shabad, but also the Taliban and the Tamil Tigers of Sri Lanka in the early 1980s. There aren't many, if any, cases of the use of acid by these terrorist groups.

In order for the police to find out who is responsible for these acid attacks, they must first find the correlation in the attacks as well as the reason behind why they happened. Reasons are endless and can range from a hate crime to a religious conflict. Real evidence must be collected before anyone is blamed for these horrific attacks and the perpetrators must be found and convicted.


Catherine Choi
9/20/13
12:40am


http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/18/world/africa/tanzania-says-15-are-linked-to-acid-attacks.html?ref=africa

Blog #1: In Case That Transfixed a Nation, Court in India Convicts Four Men of Rape

This article is about the conviction of four men responsible for the rape and murder of a 23-year old woman. The victim caught a private bus with a group of men with her male friend after a movie. The men “knocked the woman’s friend unconscious” then preceded to take the woman to the back of the bus and raped her. They then left the two victims naked and bleeding on the side of the road. The article states that the woman died two weeks later due to her injuries.

It is important to note that this crime isn't simply rape. This crime it is form of rape known as gang rape and one of the characteristics that sociologists have found in gang rapes is the following: they occur in places with lower class families, and according to the police, these men were mainly “working-class migrants”. Sociologists have also found that gang rape fulfills a social need rather than sexual desire. The social need mentioned here is the need for social acceptance. It can be possible that one of the 4 men came up with the idea to rape the victim and the other  3 men went along with the idea because they did not want their masculinity questioned by the others. Or perhaps the pressure to prove that they're not 'chicken' had more influence.

The theory of rape culture is another concept one must take into consideration. Rape culture states that societies have a hidden rape culture that encourages men to sexually assault women and that those who are immature, irresponsible and lacking in social conscience are more influenced by this rape culture. There are four main ways society creates rape culture. 1) Treating women like property. If you think about it, women are seen as the property of fathers before marriage and to husbands after marriage. A raped woman is seen as a piece of damaged property. 2) The use of women in masculinity contests. Men are pressured by society to take part in masculinity contests to prove their manliness to other men. Language used to refer to sex like "score", make sex a manly game of conquest. Society also tells men that being aggressive in carrying out those sexual conquests is the right thing to do. How much more aggressive can you get in achieving sexual conquest than rape? 3) Women ask for it. This myth that women ask for it causes many people to hold the victim, not the offender, responsible for the crime. 4) Society socializes girls to be victims. From a very young age, girls are taught to play the stereotypical feminine role that girls are passive, gentle, weak and dependent. These feminine roles make women more prone to becoming a potential victim since passive and submissive women are the ideal targets.

When articles like this come up on the news, one's initial reaction is one of anger, horror and disgust towards the crime. However, one must not simply feel these emotions towards the crime and the offenders. Crimes like this will continue to happen unless we read these articles and try to understand that yes, it is the offenders that carried out the crime but also understand that society has a great impact as well. 

Catherine Choi

9/11/13 

9:48pm

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/11/world/asia/four-men-convicted-in-rape-case-that-transfixed-india.html?ref=asia&_r=2&