A fair, respected system
A guide in our choatic lives
For people from all walks of life
Providing help for blacks and whites,
Men and women,
Both day and night.
Helping to take a step further,
Into equality,
Harmony,
And a social balance for all to benefit from.
2. Topic 1: Rights of Indigenous People
A: This topic interests me, because it is completely true that indigenous people are and often have often been stripped of their rights. I also like how it ties into anthropology, which is something that interests me.
B: Facts
1. There are 370 million indigenous groups in 70 countries.
2. Many indigenous groups are still nomadic.
3. Indigenous groups have often been called "savages," by Europeans.
4. Indigenous groups like Inuits have been hurt by global warming, which melts their environment.
5. Europeans would try to "save" the indigenous people by converting them to Christianity.
6. Many indigenous people have been en-slaved by colonists.
7. In addition to colonization, disease has affected indigenous people greatly.
8. Not until after World Wars I and II did movements for indigenous rights get underway.
9. The U.N. wrote the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, in order to give more rights to indigenous peoples.
10. The U.S., Australia, and New Zealand all opposed this declaration.
C: I cannot really see this becoming an exit project. The reason is that I am already debating on whether the Serbian/Bosnian/Croatian Genocide was a civil war or a genocide of Serbia against Bosnia. I think that that idea will follow through, or at least I hope, but if it doesn't I may do something on this topic.
D: One question I have is that I knew that the U.S. does not treat Native Americans at all well, but to find out that we could go so far as not to support the U.N.'s Draft Decloration on the Rights of Indigenous People is shocking to me. After all, it's just as much their land, if not more, as it is ours.
Topic 2: The Bosnian/Serbian/Croatian Genocide
A: I chose to research the Bosnian/Serbian/Croatian Genocide. This interests me, because I am very interested in world conflicts and this is one that I know nothing about, so I want to learn more.
B: Facts
1. The genocide took place in the former Yugoslavia.
2. Yugoslavia consisted of Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Macedonia, and Slovenia.
3. After the death of the leader, Tito, in 1980, Yugoslavia went downhillpolitically and economically, with fighting over leadership.
4. After the collapse of communism, Serb communist party leader, Slobdan Milosevic, became the leader of Serbia and most powerful Yugoslavian, with the support of extremist Serbs and Croats.
5. After Milosevic began to repress ethnic Albanian Kosovars (people from Kosovo, a region of Serbia) the new non-communist governments of Bosnia, Croatia, and Slovenia began to look for independance. The Yugoslav National Army (JNA) came back at them with brutal attacks.
6. The war began in Croatia in 1991 and in Bosnia in 1992, due to Milosevic's JNA trying to conquer land for Serbia, and form Greater Serbia.
7. In 1991, the Croats tried to leave Yugoslavia, the Serb forces captured and "cleansed" (killed) one third of Croatia.
8. When the Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims), fearing Serbia's power called for independance, Serbia put out anti-Muslim propaganda, causing Bosnian Serbs (Serbs are mostly Eastern Orthodox Christian) to support Milosevic's plan for ethnic cleansing of the Bosniaks. This was easy since Bosnian Serbs lived alongside the Bosniaks.
9. In the 1992 "siege of Sarajevo the Bosnian Serbs cut off food to Muslims, Croats (mostly Roman Catholic), and even Serbs who did not support the expansion of Greater Serbia. The average weightloss was 30 pounds. 12,000 were killed, 1,500 of them children.
10. At the end of the war over 200,000 Bosnians were killed out of the previous population of 4.4 million.200,000 injured 50,000 children. Millions of innocent people were deported or forced to leave their homes. 60% of the houses in Bosnia were destroyed, along with 50% of schools and one third of hospitals, all in order to form Greater Serbia and Greater Croatia. Among this much else was destroyed, and the international community didn't even respond, because they thought it was a civil war.
C: I can definitely see this being an exit project. The reason being it is interesting, and with the information I have stockpiled already I could surely debate how it's a genocide and not a civil war.
D: One question I have is how could the international community not respond. How could they not see it was a genocide? The Serbs and Croats killed a ton of Bosnians, while the Bosnians did nothing and they call that a civil war? It's preposterous.
Information for Topic 2 was gained at http://www.friendsofbosnia.org/edu_bos.html
3. Article 1: Far From City's Money Villagers Barter Again
This could be an interesting exit project, because it says how with tough times humans in extremely depressed areas may have to resort to primitive areas may have to resort to primitive systems of life/finance, such as bartering. It also has to do with human civilization, which we studied.
I learned that part of the reason bartering is accepted is that the people don't have money, so if the shop owners didn't accept bartering the shops would lose customers. This was aside from the fact that I learned that bartering is a way of finance in rural Zimbabwe.
One question I have is what is the limit on bartering? What I mean is at what point would someone have to pay in cash. I also wonder about the legality of this. Even if the store owner is okay with it isn't it technically stealing if a customer takes something without paying in cash?
Sources: http://www.globalissues.org/news/2009/11/02/3355
Article 2: Health: U.S. Urged to Double Aid to Global Health Projects
This would be a good exit project, because it has very much to do with the Global World. Also it deals with healthcare, which is a very important issue.
From this article I learned that the U.S. spending on global healthcare increased from $1.5 billion in 2001 to $7.7 billion in 2009. I also learned that it is hoped that America will be able to pay $16 billion a year on global healthcare by 2016.
One question I have is how will we be able to do this. We have a tough situation with the economy, un-employment, and with our own healthcare system. It is slowly getting better, so it may be possible by 2016, but now it seems like a lot to ask.
Sources: http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=49063
