Women and the Islamic Revolution

There are many instances of women getting involved in the Islamic Revolution in the story Persepolis. For example, on page 76, Marjane attends a protest with many other women to defend women’s rights. At the protest, they say, “Guns may shoot and knives may carve, but we won’t wear your silly scarves!” Although they are directly protesting wearing scarves and veils, women were actually protesting freedom. According to an article on libcom.org, women protested under the slogan, “We made the revolution for freedom and got unfreedom.” On March 8, 1979, people gathered in Tehran and marched, requesting the addition of women’s rights into the revolution mix. There were many reasons for the Islamic Revolution. Tension among various groups including fundamentalists, U.S. imperialists, and Marxists also contributed to the revolution. As the tension was quickly growing among these conflicting ideas in Iran, women jumped on board with the protest. Whether it was to protest scarves, like Marjane and the women in Persepolis, or to fight for freedom like those participating in the march on March 8, women played an important and active role in the Islamic Revolution beginning in 1979.

http://libcom.org/library/women-revolution-iran-dunyevskaya

Lingering Effects

Abu Ghraib is not the only terrorist prison run by Americans. Inmates held at Guantanamo Bay experienced many of the same experiences as the prisoners at Abu Ghraib. Some of the interrogation techniques used at both prisons include sexual humiliation, denial of senses, the sense of sight being the most common, and waterboarding. Inmates at Guatanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib were forced to listen to excessively loud music to induce sleep deprivation. Both of these prisons have come under great scrutiny in the last several years because of these interrogation techniques.

Many people criticize the CIA and military services for using irrelevant techniques on terrorist suspects or for interrogating suspects with not justifiable suspicion. Regardless of the motivation behind these crude interrogation techniques, they have serious impacts on the victims. The article “The Lingering Effects of Torture” by ABC news highlights some of these after-effects. One argument that is made in the article is about the combination of torture methods and how it can increase the long-term effects, such as post-traumatic stress disorder. A combination of methods might include being slapped, with one’s hands tied behind the back, while wearing a hood that prevented the victim from being able to see. While one of these three may not have significant effects, the combination of all three can drastically increase the likelihood of PTSD. This is clearly evident at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib.

We have seen from the video “Standard Operating Procedure” that many of the terrorist suspects had their hands tied behind their backs with sacks over their heads and were subject to various torture methods including sexual humiliation and sleep deprivation. None of the techniques used at these prisons appear to be conducive to the ultimate goal of ending the war on terrorism. Although it may be difficult to identify with the “enemy”, most people would agree that the techniques used by military personnel and the CIA at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib were inhumane and quite unnecessary.

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=7986990&page=2#.TsVFwBzKjV0

Indulgences

In chapter eleven, the narrator talks a lot about religion. He starts attending church twice a week and becomes engrossed in Christianity. One topic that comes up a lot is the idea of indulgences. According to the narrator, days of indulgence are given to people who say more prayers. The narrator continues that, “…the greater the number of prayers offered, the better one would live, and the smaller the number, the more troubles and pain one would have to endure.”

This becomes particularly significant when Garbos starts hanging the narrator up by his hands and leaves his dog, Judas, in the room to threaten him. During the months that Garbos hung him up, the narrator’s goal was to save up as many indulgences as possible. I find this curious because, if indulgences are supposed to improve one’s life, why does the narrator’s life get worse?

This whole idea of indulgences intrigued me so I found a sight that further explained this idea. According to Matt Slick of the Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry, indulgences reduce the time one spends in purgatory. The website is consistent with the narrator’s explanation in that indulgences can be saved up over time.

In The Painted Bird, the narrator saves up countless days of indulgences. If the whole theory of indulgences were to hold, it means the narrator would most likely not spend very long in purgatory. However, I don’t believe the suffering he went through while being abused by Garbos and Judas can justify all of his indulgences. If I were in the narrator’s position, I would rather live a better life and deal with the consequences later.

http://carm.org/indulgences

Starvation

As if walking thousands of miles wouldn’t be hard enough, imagine trying to do it with minimal to no food or water. That is exactly what Benson, Alepho, and Benjamin had to do during their years traveling across Africa during the war just two decades ago. These boys were still so young I cannot imagine how they survived. In their memoir, They Poured Fire on us From the Sky, they describe instances of starvation. While the boys were moving between Juol, Yirol, Natinga, Palataka, and many other places, they had to survive with almost no water or food. It is not surprise that many boys developed serious side effects to starvation.

According to the article The Side Effects of Starvation by Julie Boehlke on www.livestrong.com, weight loss, dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, muscle atrophy, and hypotension are several major side effects. Weight loss and dehydration are two of the most obvious ones in They Poured Fire on us From the Sky. Although not explicitly described, electrolyte imbalance and hypotension are two other side effects portrayed in the book. Low blood sugar levels and low blood pressure characterize these side effects that ultimately lead to the death of many boys and young men during their treks through Africa. Muscle atrophy is another side effect that led to many deaths. Intense weakness and paralysis cause muscles to not function properly. This is seen in the story when boys lay down underneath trees for shade and are never able to get back up, leading to their death.

It’s impossible to understand how Benson, Alepho, and Benjamin survived. They each experienced starvation but were fortunate enough to survive, unlike many of their friends and family.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/35040-side-effects-starvation/

Effects of Trafficking

In The Road of Lost Innocence, Somaly Mam exhibits many traits that are common among women who have endured sex trafficking. According to Soroptomist, an international women’s organization, there are mental, emotional, and physical effects of trafficking. These effects include fear, shame, distrust, insomnia, and much more. All of these can be seen in Mam’s personal story. Even years after she escaped the brothels, Mam still struggles to trust people, especially men. If I were Mam, I would feel the same way too. At one point Mam says, “I felt I could never really trust Pierre again. Barang or not, all men are alike,” (89). Regardless of how men treat her, Mam will never be able to get past her time in the brothel, nor would I in her situation. Trust is a very difficult thing to fix. Fear is another traits Mam exhibits while traveling with Pierre. Mam is exposed to many new things when she goes to France. Airplanes, escalators, vacuum cleaners, and French food are a few things that are a myster to Mam. She is very hesitant to experience these new things, although to most people they are quite common. It is as if being a prostitute has forever prohibited Mam from being able to keep an open mind about life. As Mam was growing up, she feared for her life and struggled to live from day to day. Now that Mam has grown into a woman, she still cannot accept new experiences and is always skeptical of ulterior motives. For example, she fears the vacuum cleaner might suck up her leg. A third trait Mam possesses is shame. She does not think of herself as beautiful because she was told from a very young age that she wasn’t. This would be very difficult for any girl. Constant negative reinforcement can have lasting, if not permanent, effects on girls as they grow and develop. Enduring sex trafficking is a horrible experience that most people can never understand; yet it has a lasting impact on those who have survived, like Somaly Mam.

http://www.soroptimist.org/trafficking/faq.html#6

Manipulation

It’s obvious from the first line of “Fattening for Gabon” that this story is about human trafficking. Akpan, writing as an older Kotchikpa, describes how Kotchikpa and his sister, Yewa, were sold into slavery by their uncle. The process in “Fattening in Gabon” appears to be fairly typical of human trafficking cases across the globe. The U.S. Department of State describes a few of these methods of human trafficking. Persuasion is obviously the main factor for selling children into slavery. In a lot of situations, parents/guardians are convinced their children will be better off and are promised monetary compensation for giving up their children. Slave traders promise employment, education, and an all-around better life for those being sold into slavery. Children and young women are particularly susceptible to this ruthless ploy. This is evident in “Fattening for Gabon.” When the slave traders first arrive at Fofo Kpee’s house, they are overly warm and friendly to Kotchikpa and Yewa. Yewa is especially susceptible to the woman’s kind demeanor, as she is only five and very naïve. Kotchikpa, on the other hand, is a little more cautious around the strangers. Although he is glad to have endless amounts of food and attention, he sees several red flags. Kotchikpa and Yewa are asked to change their names and must memorize lies to cover the fact that they’re being sold. Human trafficking exists in many parts of the world and is perpetuated in similar ways as in “Fattening for Gabon.” Will human trafficking ever be stopped? It’s hard to say, but people will always be willing to go to extreme lengths for extra money, which leads me to believe it will always be a concern.

http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2005/46606.htm

Adjusting to Postwar Life

Kien, a Vietnam veteran, struggles to readjust to life after the war. Kien experiences alcohol dependence, depression, and shows signs of antisocial personality disorder. According to the National Vietnam Veterans’ Readjustment Study, these disorders are among the most common of Vietnam veterans. It is not surprising to note that the study acknowledged war-zone exposure as a leading cause of postwar disorders. In other words, soldiers that had frontline and battlefield experience were much more likely to develop postwar disorders than civilians with no war-zone exposure. This theory is easily recognizable in Kien, the protagonist of The Sorrow of War. Despite the great amount of luck that helped Kien survive the war, he had a lot of struggles after the war was over. Kien had many flashbacks to events before and during the war. For him, drinking became a coping method for dealing with these constant flashbacks. As the study suggests, this was a common coping method among war veterans.

One question the study analyzed was whether or not it was possible for veterans to successfully readjust to postwar life. Although many of the study’s participants were successful, not everyone was as fortunate. Kien is a good example of the inability to successfully adjust to postwar life. Despite Kien’s alcohol problems and depression, he also become quite antisocial and was considered a ghost to his neighbors. Flashbacks to events before and during the war become a major part of Kien’s life. Kien began writing down these events, hoping it would let him cope with the war, but it was not as successful as Kien had hoped. For many Vietnam veterans, Kien’s postwar disorders are very common. Sometimes, as in Kien’s case, it is not possible to overcome these disorders, which can be very difficult for the surviving soldiers.

http://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/pages/vietnam-vets-study.asp

The Opposite of Boredom

The terrorist attack of September 11, 2001 is an event that many Americans experienced and will never forget. No one, however, will ever be able to imagine the attack through the eyes of the terrorists themselves. Despite this losing battle to find true understanding, Martin Amis does a unique job portraying the event through Muhammad Atta’s perspective as one of the suicide pilots to fly into the World Trade Center. Although we will never know what these few men thought in the time leading up to the attacks, Amis adds a new perspective to 9/11.

I thought it was particularly interesting when Amis wrote, “It was appropriate, perhaps, and not paradoxical, that terror should also sharply promote its most obvious opposite. Boredom.” I do not fully understand what Amis means by this, but I think most people would agree that 9/11 promoted boredom. If anything, it set in a motion a world of skepticism and harsh criticism. This includes culture, race, government, politics, and more. Regardless of what Atta and the other terrorists intended to prove, I do not believe boredom was a result.

People will continue to write and speculate about the 9/11 terrorist attacks. I don’t know if we’ll ever be satisfied with a certain view of the events leading up to and following September 11 but many people provide interesting perspectives about that historical day.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/06/books/review/06filkins.html?pagewanted=1&ref=mohamedatta

Not Just a Single Story

Adichie does a wonderful job depicting several perspectives to the same event in her short story “A Private Experience.” As Adichie explains in her talk about “the danger of a single story,” there is never one way to view anything. Whether it’s a person, culture, or event, there is always a different way to look at it. In the short story, two very different women are forced together when a riot breaks out. Despite their different languages and religions, each one is able to find comfort in the other. It would have been easy for Adichie to portray only one women’s account of the experience. However, this would have encouraged readers to favor one character over the other. Had Adichie only described Chika’s experience, readers would not have understood that the riot impacted both her and the other women. Had Adichie only told the woman’s side of the story, readers would be left questioning Chika’s significance in the story. By highlighting the differences between the characters while still showing their connections to each other, readers experience multiple sides of the story. This is something that can be quite challenging but very rewarding for the author and readers. “A Private Experience” has incredible depth despite being a short story. By the end of the story the characters learn they have found solace in each other while readers conclude with a multidimensional perspective of the characters and the riot that brought them together.

http://paperbackreader2.blogspot.com/2009/07/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie.html

War Food

It is no surprise to learn that food in the trenches was anything but high class. Typical food included canned beef and bread. Although the food was far from delicious, soldiers still found delight in war food in various ways, whether it was from receiving extra rations, or from finding other types of food while patrolling villages. In All Quiet on the Western Front, Paul makes many references to food and the time soldiers spend sitting around eating. At one point, Paul and others soldiers are put in charge of watching a supply dump, which contains great amounts of food, means to prepare fresh dishes, and even several mattresses. For most soldiers, this is extremely rare so it makes sense that Paul and the others seize the opportunity. As Paul explains, “we zealously set to work to create an idyll-an idyll of eating and sleeping of course.” Later, enemy troops spot smoke leaving the supply dump and open fire. Despite being under attack, the soldiers stay long enough to finish preparing their meal. Paul barely escapes the attack because he must finish cooking potato cakes, his favorite dish. At first it seems silly that men would risk their lives to cook food. Then, at a closer look, it makes perfect sense. These men have spent months or years in the army and take great pleasure in what would seem typical to most civilians. Despite the grim outlook of battle on the frontlines, Paul and the other soldiers are able to take hours out of their day to just sit and enjoy a simple meal. It is luxuries like these, fresh food and a soft mattress, that provide an opportunity for the troops to momentarily escape the war. Perhaps it is a meal like this that keeps the men sane, if only for a little while.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWWtrenchfood.htm

This website further describes some of the situations Paul and the other men experience. It also highlights the significance of the men's feast and provides some insight as to why men might be willing to risk their lives for just one meal.