Section 1
Question 1: Laughter out of place
Disjunctive democracy, Law enforcement and oppositional culture are three concepts that have come out clear in the fifth chapter of the crude chronicles. We observe a people who though form the majority in a state but have little power in terms of making and implementing decisions. The process of making and implementing decisions has been left to few influential people in the society whose aim is to continuously enrich their pockets at the expense of the poor. There is no democracy which is revealed when the people realize that there is a law that is just about to be passed. By the virtue of them being the majority, they believe that their voice will be heard bit the contrary happens. Law enforcement is a concept that has been revealed to belong to the rich and for the rich.
Oppositional culture has been observed when the poor who form the majority come together to protest what they see as infringement of their rights. They organize protests and block roads all in the name of opposing the agrarian development law. Looking at the three concepts, they all ties up to Police gang relations, which have been observed in the same chapter. The police are meant to protect the public yet in the chapter, we observe them threatening them. Just because they have ganged up for a good cause, it would have been expected that they be protected from any form of harassment. However, they are looked at as people who will disrupt the security of the state and hence heavily guarded. This is a reflection of the existing attitude on the police towards gangs, whether their intentions are positive or not.
Question 2: Sanabria
The film, Haiti: after the earthquake brings on board the issues of Globalization, cholera outbreak and migration. This is a crisis that did not only affect the people of Haiti but the whole world. Relationships that have been brought up by globalization moved the entire world to come in support of the people who had lost loved ones as well as resources that impacted on the economy. The poor living conditions that the people were subjected to and water shortage, there was a cholera outbreak in which more people lost their lives. The film shows officers of world health organization, the Red Cross and United Nations come in support of the people who were forced to migrate and live in tents. In the tents, it would be easy for them to be provided with the basic needs they would need to push on with life.
The organizations realized that they could not do much as the tents were crowded which made it easy for cholera to spread. This is a reflection of the suffering that people have to go through after a natural crisis that had not been predicted. In as much as a small section of people are affected, we realize that the whole world had to come to a standstill considering the connections that have been built over the years. We all depend on each other in some ways and when one is affected, we will automatically be affected. This hence calls for an alert and concern where everyone is protected from both natural and artificial disasters.
Part 2: crude chronicles essay
Roots, strategies and outcomes of the 1992 march on Quito, the June 1992 movilizacion por la vida and the 1997 women’s march to Quito
In the crude chronicles, we are encountered with a number of crises that have their roots on a people who dissatisfied with the way things are being run. Most of them are political but then again others come from the need to be recognized and appreciated. The 1992 march on Quito was a quest for the president to address issues that were affecting the people and as well as grant them the rights to access all public utilities. The march was mainly among Indians who felt they had been neglected and discriminated by the government. They had suffered for long yet nobody looked their way to help them sought and solve their issues. It was after much consideration and recognizing the fact that they had been alienated that they planned the march. It was not going to be an easy journey but it was worth after considering the suffering they had been subjected to. Most of the roads were blocked and hence minimizing on the use of transport vessels. People had trek for long distances just to go to the city where they would get the president to address their issues.
The June 1992 movilizacion was also aimed at addressing political and social issues that were affecting the poor mostly from Indian background. The root caught of the protest was the agrarian development law that had been passed by the minority and which would affect the economic stability of the poor. It was recognized that the government did not have the interest of the people at heart in passing the law and hence forcing them to demand their democratic rights. This was a peaceful protest of hungry peasants and poor who relied on agriculture for their daily needs. Passing the law would grant the rich in the society to privatize government land and hence denying them the opportunity to engage in an activity that satisfies them every day.
The 1997 women’s march to Quito was part of a protest by the people whose rights had been abused and neglected by the government. A march was aimed at restoring justice for the poor who formed the majority. It was a concern that as the rich became more reach, the poor were being subjected to a life of torture with no concern for their well being. Through this match, the women raised their voice and concern of how they worked so hard for their families yet reaped less. Their reward was a government that was so keen at collecting taxes yet never addressed their health and environmental issues. They complained of how their children suffered illnesses that could be avoided if they accessed healthcare facilities in time. It was important to note that in as much as the whole society was suffering, the women were the most affected because of their responsibilities.
When we look at the above movements, we realize that they were centered on a political issue where the government showed little concern for the very people that it represented. The revolutions display a courageous move by the people who have been for long marginalized and considered not to have the ability to voice their issues. The protests were just an example and a reflection of how the poor are still being neglected in a modern world where most government practice democracy. Even though little was done to solve their issues, it was a sign to the world that the issues that could be considered past and not common in modern societies were still being used against the minority communities. It is with a lot of hope that such issues shall continually be exposed so that the international community intervenes by strengthening such communities and minimize on the exploitation being done against the poor and minority communities.
After a good number of protests by the communities, the government has become empathetic on the people as well as acting as a revelation to the people who are endowed with the power to elect and choose their leaders. After having to go through such moments, leaders realize that even though the poor do not have the resources, they have the numbers, which will ensure that they vote in leaders who will address their needs. It is also through such protests that the international community comes in to intervene in the issues of the poor. They provide humanitarian support as well as engage in activities that will ensure the government addresses them. The protests, which were organized and successfully followed by the communities is a reflection of how much can be dome when people come together in unity. They purposed to face their fears and risk facing death and harassment just to address that, which will impact them and the generations to come. With such movements, the world will be become a better place for all people as they enjoy their democratic rights.
