Black History Month

Michelle Obama was born on January 17, 1964, in Chicago, Illinois. She attended Princeton University, graduating in 1985, and went on to earn a degree from Harvard Law School in 1988. Following her graduation from Harvard, she worked at a Chicago law firm, where she met her husband, the future U.S. president, Barack Obama. The couple married on October 3, 1992. As First Lady, she focused her attention on current social issues, such as poverty, healthy living and education. She has supported several causes for women empowerment and building a future for young people. 

She is a force of nature. She served as the First Lady of the U.S.A. for 8 years. She has been the backbone of America and has been the epitome of strength through her time as the First Lady. She is a true leader. Every word she utters is with true conviction. She has served in the shadows as a public servant, working towards making America a better country for each citizen. She is not afraid to stand up for what she believes in. A great mother, wife and daughter she has excelled in every aspect of her life. She has founded and supported countless causes to make the world a better place for every woman and child. 

In May 2006, Essence listed Michelle among the "25 of the World's Most Inspiring Women.” They could not have been more right. She speaks for the entire nation every time she presents a speech to the country. She is an amazing student and has paved the way for several African-American women worldwide to achieve their dreams. She is one of the biggest advocates for women’s rights and for the rights of every citizen. She strongly believes that every human being matters. She also boldly speaks about LGBT rights and is a big advocate of human decency. She is the definition of confident and is the greatest role model today for women and children worldwide. I believe that Michelle Obama would make a great president of the United Stated of America.  For Black History month, I could not think of anyone greater to honor than Ms. Obama. 

Uri Attack: A Face of Imprisonment

Two Pakistani teenagers, who were wrongly accused of having served as guides for the terrorists who attacked an Indian Army base in Uri, were repatriated home on Friday afternoon,  At the end of 171 days in the custody of the Indian Army and National Investigations Agency, a day after being formally cleared by investigators, Faisal Husain Awan and his school-friend Ahsan Khursheed were brought to the Attari border-crossing shortly after lunchtime, their eyes covered with black blindfolds, and handed over to Pakistani authorities. The NIA had, earlier this week, told a court in Jammu that it was releasing both youth as its investigation had found no evidence against them.

A spokesperson for the Indian Army, which held the two youth on September 21, also alleged the two youth were “working for Jaish-e-Muhammad terror outfit”. Later, however, Praveen Swami, an Indian Express journalist, threw up evidence that the two were at home on September 17, the day Global Positioning System data recovered from the Uri attackers showed that they had crossed the Line of Control.

 A woman doctor working for the Central Reserve Police Force, who treated the two teenagers following their arrest, told The Indian Express that they told her they had participated in the attack itself, providing details of how incendiary substances were used to set the tents at the 12 Brigade on fire.The NIA, however, found the two youths’ supposed confessions did not tally with actual events on the ground, suggesting that they may have been coerced to give this testimony during the first days of their arrest.

Two innocent teenage boys have faced unimaginable trauma. Their only fault was that they crossed the line of control by accident. Their villages were located extremely close to the line of control and this mistake could have been made by any other child. These boys were held captive by the Indian Army for 171 days. They had no family and nobody to defend them. I sometimes imagine myself in their shoes and my body shakes with fear. They were made to lie so that they could evade torture. Guilt flows through my body as does shame. These boys were suspected to be terrorist just because they were Muslims. Not only does it speak shamefully about us as Indians, but as human beings as well. Our constitution ensures equal rights for each human being but these rights were denied to these children simply because they were Muslim and the Indian Army needed someone to blame. I would like to salute Mr. Swami for his contribution to the release of these two children. To all adults out there, I would just like to ask you to follow what you preach as that kid could have been yours. These boys had a family and a life which we ripped away from them. 

Trump and the World

The unthinkable is only unthinkable until it happens. Like the attack on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, President Elect Donald Trump winning the 2016 US elections now seems historically inevitable. All over the world leaders are asking themselves what Trump’s policies will mean for them. No one can say for sure but Trumps speeches during his campaign have given a lot of insight on what is to come.

The largest impact of Trump on the world will likely be his policies on climate change. During his campaign, Trump denied the science of climate change and called it a “con job” and a “myth”.  In 2015 Trump announced his plans to void the Paris Accords, which seek to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. He plans to permit mining of shale gas and oil, which defeats the target of reducing greenhouse gases. This will slowly but surely increase global warming worldwide. The world could lose its last chance to act unitedly to save our planet.

Further, Trump’s policies could have big economic impacts. Trump has accused China of “Dumping” and of “Devaluing” their currency, the Yuan. He has threatened to bring trade cases against China to the US courts and to the World Trade organisation. If implemented, Mr. Trump will get into a trade war with China causing its economy to slow down. China has the second largest economy in the world. Any country trading with China will be affected, causing those countries’ economies to slow down as well.

Furthermore, Trump is threatening to cut back trade with China, so as to make sure that North Korean Dictator Kim Jong-un does not lead North Korea any longer. North Korea has nuclear missiles. If North Korea is put in a corner, then it can unleash these missiles on Japan and South Korea. The result of this could be war.

President Elect Trump’s Defence policies could also cause an economic slowdown. During the elections, Trump announced his plan for an increased budget for defence, but also promised to reduce taxes. If taxes are reduced, the government will then need to borrow money to pay for an increased budget for Defence. This means less money for investments in the economy, which will slow down trade and investment worldwide.

In addition, Trump plans to void the nuclear agreement with Iran. Iran is the biggest producer of oil globally. Before the nuclear agreement, other countries ere banned from importing oil from Iran. Sanctions were lifted off imports of oil from Iran after the nuclear agreement was finalised. If the nuclear agreement becomes void, then the sanctions on export of oil by Iran will return, causing oil to become extremely expensive worldwide. This will cause a huge economic issue.

Trump also plans on stopping Muslim immigration because he believes that the Islamic states are the biggest “sponsors of terrorism”. This could lead to a Muslim versus non-Muslim divide worldwide. That might make terrorism worse, not better.

Trump also wants NATO to pay for protection against Russia. This has European officials worried as Russia ha become extremely strong after defeating Ukraine. Instability with Europe being so powerful is hazardous.

Global diplomacy has been likened to a game of chess‑and Trump is threatening to toss all the pieces off the board. No one knows if Trump is going to deliver on these threats but there are plenty of reasons to be very nervous.