Just One Question Short Answer Example

Just One Question Short Answer Example Just One Question Short Answer – Article Example April Pain and Leadership Pain can have numerous sources and nature, and many people in pain struggle to cope with it. Pain can come from dissatisfaction with one’s physical appearance, a traumatic experience, loss of loved ones, among many others. Pain can be physical, mental, or psychological in nature. It can be as superficial as waking up very early, or as traumatic as suddenly losing a loved one, or almost being shot by one’s drunk father. It can be something that comes from mental or physical illnesses brought about by genetics or the social environment. Most of these pains cut deep into people’s psychological well-being. They cause stress, lack of confidence, and sometimes, a feeling that life holds no meaning anymore.The lesson for a leadership class is that leaders should be aware that they are leading human beings who have dreams, struggles, and pain. In order to unite them, these leaders must be able to know their members personally enough to discern t heir identity and goals in life. Through this knowledge, they can earn their trust and connect relevant life details and goals to team goals. For example, a person who feels he is always compared to his siblings needs a sense of accomplishment in life and to develop his self-esteem. Leaders can motivate this person by focusing on the importance of achievement and the role of each member in attaining team success. Finally, leaders should be sensitive to people’s pain. It does not mean that they should condone the idea of giving up or having no self-confidence, but they should try, in their own ways, to provide social support to people in pain. Human beings meaningfully connect also to each other by being one another’s sanctuary, in times of painful challenges in their lives.

Japans Genpei War, 1180 - 1185

Japan's Genpei War, 1180 - 1185 Date: 1180-1185 Location: Honshu and Kyushu, Japan Outcome: Minamoto clan prevails and almost wipes out Taira; Heian era ends and Kamakura shogunate begins The Genpei War (also romanized as Gempei War) in Japan was the first conflict between large samurai factions.  Although it happened nearly 1,000 years ago, people today still remember the names and accomplishments of some of the great warriors who fought in this civil war. Sometimes compared with Englands War of the Roses, the Genpei War featured two families fighting for power.  White was the clan color of the Minamoto, like the House of York, while the Taira used red like the Lancasters.  However, the Genpei War predated the Wars of the Roses by three hundred years.  In addition, the Minamoto and Taira were not fighting to take the throne of Japan; instead, each wanted to control the imperial succession. Lead-up to the War The Taira and Minamoto clans were rival powers behind the throne. They sought to control the emperors by having their own favorite candidates take the throne.  In the Hogen Disturbance of 1156 and the Heiji Disturbance of 1160, though, it was the Taira who came out on top.   Both families had daughters who had married into the imperial line.  However, after the Taira victories in the disturbances, Taira no Kiyomori became the Minister of State; as a result, he was able to ensure that his daughters three-year-old son became the next emperor in March of 1180.  It was the enthronement of little Emperor Antoku that led the Minamoto to revolt. War Breaks Out On May 5, 1180, Minamoto Yoritomo and his favored candidate for the throne, Prince Mochihito, sent out a call to war.  They rallied samurai families related to or allied with the Minamoto, as well as warrior monks from various Buddhist monasteries.  By June 15, Minister Kiyomori had issued a warrant for his arrest, so Prince Mochihito was forced to flee Kyoto and seek refuge in the monastery of Mii-dera.  With thousands of Taira troops marching toward the monastery, the prince and 300 Minamoto warriors raced south toward Nara, where additional warrior monks would reinforce them. The exhausted prince had to stop to rest, however, so the Minamoto forces took refuge with the monks at the easily defensible monastery of Byodo-in.  They hoped that monks from Nara would arrive to reinforce them before the Taira army did.  Just in case, however, they tore the planks from the only bridge across the river to Byodo-in. At first light the next day, June 20, the Taira army marched quietly up to Byodo-in, hidden by thick fog.  The Minamoto suddenly heard the Taira war-cry  and replied with their own.  A fierce battle followed, with monks and samurai firing arrows through the mist at one another.  Soldiers from the Tairas allies, the Ashikaga, forded the river and pressed the attack.  Prince Mochihito tried to escape to Nara in the chaos, but the Taira caught up with him and executed him.  The Nara monks marching toward Byodo-in heard that they were too late to help the Minamoto, and turned back.  Minamoto Yorimasa, meanwhile, committed the first classical seppuku in history, writing a death poem on his war-fan, and then cutting open his own abdomen. It seemed that the Minamoto revolt and thus the Genpei War had come to an abrupt end.  In vengeance, the Taira sacked and burned the monasteries that had offered aid to the Minamoto, slaughtering thousands of monks and burning Kofuku-ji and Todai-ji in Nara to the ground. Yoritomo Takes Over The leadership of the Minamoto clan passed to the 33-year-old Minamoto no Yoritomo, who was living as a hostage in the home of a Taira-allied family.  Yoritomo soon learned that there was a bounty on his head.  He organized some local Minamoto allies, and escaped from the Taira, but lost most of his small army in the Battle of Ishibashiyama on September 14.  Yoritomo escaped with his life, fleeing into the woods with Taira pursuers close behind.   Yoritomo made it to the town of Kamakura, which was solidly Minamoto territory.  He called in reinforcements from all of the allied families in the area.  On November 9, 1180, at the so-called Battle of the Fujigawa (Fuji River), the Minamoto and allies faced an over-extended Taira army.  With poor leadership and long supply lines, the Taira decided to withdraw back to Kyoto without offering a fight.   A hilarious and likely exaggerated account of the events at Fujigawa in the Heiki Monogatari claims that a flock of water-fowl on the river marshes was started into flight in the middle of the night.  Hearing the thunder of their wings, the Taira soldiers panicked and fled, grabbing bows without arrows or taking their arrows but leaving their bows.  The record even claims that Taira troops were mounting tethered animals and whipping them up so that they galloped round and round the post to which they were tied. Whatever the true cause of the Taira retreat, there followed a two-year lull in the fighting.  Japan faced a series of droughts and floods that destroyed the rice and barley crops in 1180 and 1181.  Famine and disease ravaged the countryside; an estimated 100,000 died.  Many people blamed the Taira, who had slaughtered monks and burned down temples.  They believed that the Taira had brought down the wrath of the gods with their impious actions, and noted that Minamoto lands did not suffer as badly as those controlled by the Taira. Fighting began again in July of 1182, and the Minamoto had a new champion called Yoshinaka, a rough-hewn cousin of Yoritomos, but an excellent general.  As Minamoto Yoshinaka won skirmishes against the Taira  and considered marching on Kyoto, Yoritomo grew increasingly concerned about his cousins ambitions.  He sent an army against Yoshinaka in the spring of 1183, but the two sides managed to negotiate a settlement rather than fighting one another. Fortunately for them, the Taira were in disarray.  They had conscripted a huge army, marching forth on May 10, 1183, but were so disorganized that their food ran out just nine miles east of Kyoto.  The officers ordered the conscripts to plunder food as they passed from their own provinces, which were just recovering from the famine.  This prompted mass desertions. As they entered Minamoto territory, the Taira divided their army into two forces.  Minamoto Yoshinaka managed to lure the larger section into a narrow valley; at the Battle of Kurikara, according to the epics, Seventy thousand horsemen of the Taira perish[ed], buried in this one deep valley; the mountain streams ran with their blood... This would prove the turning point in the Genpei War. Minamoto In-Fighting Kyoto erupted in panic at the news of the Taira defeat in Kurikara.  On August 14, 1183, the Taira fled the capital.  They took along most of the imperial family, including the child emperor, and the crown jewels.  Three days later, Yoshinakas branch of the Minamoto army marched into Kyoto, accompanied by the former Emperor Go-Shirakawa. Yoritomo was nearly as panicked as the Taira were by his cousins triumphal march.  However, Yoshinaka soon earned the hatred of the citizens of Kyoto, allowing his troops to pillage and rob people regardless of their political affiliation.  In February of 1184, Yoshinaka heard that Yoritomos army was coming to the capital to expel him, led by another cousin, Yoritomos courtly younger brother Minamoto Yoshitsune.  Yoshitsunes men quickly dispatched Yoshinakas army.  Yoshinakas wife, the famous female samurai Tomoe Gozen, is said to have escaped after taking a head as a trophy.  Yoshinaka himself was beheaded while trying to escape on February 21, 1184. End of the War and Aftermath: What remained of the Taira loyalist army retreated into their heartland.  It took the Minamoto some time to mop them up.  Almost a year after Yoshitsune ousted his cousin from Kyoto, in February of 1185, the Minamoto seized the Taira fortress and make-shift capital at Yashima.   On March 24, 1185, the final major battle of the Genpei War took place.  It was a naval battle in the Shimonoseki Strait, a half-day fight called the Battle of Dan-no-ura. Minamoto no Yoshitsune commanded his clans fleet of 800 ships, while Taira no Munemori led the Taira fleet, 500 strong.  The Taira were more familiar with the tides and currents in the area, so initially were able to surround the larger Minamoto fleet and pin them down with long-range archery shots.  The fleets closed in for hand-to-hand combat, with samurai leaping aboard their opponents ships and fighting with long and short swords.  As the battle wore on, the turning tide forced the Taira ships up against the rocky coastline, pursued by the Minamoto fleet. When the tides of battle turned against them, so to speak, many of the Taira samurai jumped into the sea to drown rather than being killed by the Minamoto.  The seven-year-old Emperor Antoku and his grandmother also jumped in and perished.  Local people believe that small crabs that live in the Shimonoseki Strait are possessed by the ghosts of the Taira samurai; the crabs have a pattern on their shells that looks like a samurais face. After the Genpei War, Minamoto Yoritomo formed the first bakufu and ruled as Japans first shogun from his capital at Kamakura.  The Kamakura shogunate was the first of various bakufu that would rule the country until 1868  when the Meiji Restoration returned political power to the emperors. Ironically, within thirty years of the Minamoto victory in the Genpei War, political power would be usurped from them by regents (shikken) from the Hojo clan.  And who were they?  Well, the Hojo were a branch of the Taira family. Sources Arnn, Barbara L.  Local Legends of the Genpei War: Reflections of Medieval Japanese History, Asian Folklore Studies, 38:2 (1979), pp. 1-10. Conlan, Thomas.  The Nature of Warfare in Fourteenth-Century Japan: The Record of Nomoto Tomoyuki, Journal for Japanese Studies, 25:2 (1999), pp. 299-330. Hall, John W.  The Cambridge History of Japan, Vol. 3, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (1990). Turnbull, Stephen.  The Samurai: A Military History, Oxford: Routledge (2013).

Discussion Board 5-2 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Discussion Board 5-2 - Research Paper Example It appears to have a more pronounced effect on the client as a matter of trustworthiness (R.Pearson & Herlihy, 2013 ). There are several examples of dual relationships for which these ethics would define as appropriate. According to Pearson (2013), the counselor is supposed to avoid all conflicts of interests in the work he is doing. Such relationships that are inappropriate are inclusive of intimate relationships which in most cases involve sexual relationships, physical contact, counseling a firmer lover and use of gestures that are considered intimate. The second dual relationship is that which involve personal benefit in forms of monetary gains, emotional dependency and provision of goods and services (R.Pearson & Herlihy, 2013 ). In this context it is clear that each association has its take on dual relationship. Definitive guidance on these helps a counselor to make a wise decision on whether to join these associations or not. This is dictated by how severely the counselor feels oppressed or exploited because dual relationships can be beneficial or harmful in their relationships (R.Pearson & Herlihy, 2013 ). For instance, NAADAC clearly forbids sexual relations with current or former client .ACA on the other hand discourages non professional relations with close family member’s .This way a counselor stands a better chance to make an informed decision that he or she will be comfortable with and that will make it easier for him or her to work in a challenging environment (University, 2013). University, G. C. (2013, 01 05). Ethical,Legal and Professonal issues in Counseling. Retrieved 04 01, 2013, from Digital Resourses,eBooks:

Analyse the condition in which American nations became, according to Essay

Analyse the condition in which American nations became, according to Benedict Anderson, Creole Pioneers of nationalism - Essay Example 534). Colonies came with high developed military, marine, governmental and entrepreneurial capabilities. England started their colonies in both West Indies and North America as they had the ability to build ocean-worthy ships though they did not have a strong history of colonisation on foreign land as Spain did. Benedict Anderson, the author of one of the most important concept in political geography described nations as imagined communities. Born in Kunming, China, and brought up in California then after he moved to Ireland. The major factors contributing to nationalism in the past three centuries as Anderson described were the use of historical materialist or the Marxist approach (Jackson and Penrose 1998, p. 1). In respect to this, Anderson argued that Marxist thought had included nationalism but had proved an uncomfortable irregularity for this theory. He defined a nation as imagined political community seen as both inherently limited and sovereign arguing that the main cause of nationalism and the creation of an imagined community is the reduction of access to particular script language in this case Latin. The other cause is the movement to abolish the ideas of the celestial rule and monarchy, as well as the appearance of the printing press under a scheme of capitalism. The introduction of imagined communities was as a result of reconciling Marxist theories and nationalism and also to put into consideration what Anderson envisaged as a twisted context for the appraisal of nationalism. This distortion still continues both within and outside the academy. In Latin America and Indonesia, Anderson defined a nation as an imagined political community and put it as both inherently limited and sov ereign. Marshall (2007, p. 448) describes the concept of imagined communities as currently standard within geographical books. The concept does not necessarily mean that a nation is false but refers to a nation as being constructed from popular

Feminism Vs Queer theory Essay Example for Free

Feminism Vs Queer theory Essay The book by Catherine Churchill titled ‘Cloud Nine’ provides insight into the two very different types of societies in the two acts of the book and depicts the change in the characters in terms of their femininity and sexual orientation. The diverse factors impacting the lives of the characteristics like power, wealth and politics as well as their ion satisfactions levels in different relationships have been discussed through the use of comedy and the art of storytelling. The book highlights the concepts of feminism and queer theory through its content and the way the lives of the characters play out in the two different acts of the book. Feminism is basically defined as the change or orientation towards women empowerment. It is made up of the social, cultural as well as the political reforms, movements and diverse theories which contribute towards equality between makes and females and highlights the equal rights movement for the women. The basis of feminism is the exhalation of the position of women in the society. Queer Theory on the other hand is a branch of gender studies which pertains to the gay and lesbian studies. This field is specific to diverse sexual orientation in women and takes its foundation form the feminism movement and theory itself. The inclination towards feminism in the book and the play of Cloud Nine is very explicit as depicts how the women are oppressed in the Victorian era so much so that they are forced to disguise themselves as men to hide their feminine identity when giving in to their strong nature and ambitions. The play clearly and explicitly describes the differences in the roles of the women and the men in the Victorian era, and in the modern era, therefore depicting how they have changed to an extent, but not as much as they should have. in the first act the play violently depicts the male oriented society by initiating with a welcome for the male gender, and present the allude of power, in context of economics as held by men in the society. Aside from this the play also depicts the position of the women in history as the subservient gender. This established the concept that the role and cultural construction of the females in the society is a product more of history and tradition than of their own capabilities, thus reinforcing the concept of feminism. The queer theory is expanded upon by the author in the play though the confused sexual orientation of the characters and the cross dressing and role reversal amongst the cast in the play. â€Å"Churchill clearly intended to raise questions of gender, sexual orientation, and race as ideological issues; she accomplished this largely by cross-dressing and role-doubling the actors, thereby alienating them from the characters they play. † (Worthen, 807). The characters in the play like those of Gerry the homosexual man and the lesbian mother provide the essence of the queer theory. In fact it can even be mentioned that Cloud Nine is an explicitly queer play. The structure of the play is very confusing for the audience as well as the readers due to the role reversals by the characters, and the language used in the play is highly oriented towards the depiction of feminism and queer theory. The play clearly points out the underlying issues in the societies pertaining to women oppression, women’s rights as well as gay pride and sexual orientation of the men and women. Moreover the play is highly political in nature as it tends to shock the audience and the readers through the presentation and the roles played by the characters. On the whole however the play contributes towards the literary identity development of women in the modern society. References Barry, P. , ‘Beginning Theory: An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory (Beginnings)’, Manchester University Press, (2002) , ISBN-10: 0719062683 Caslin, S. , ‘Feminism and post-colonialism’, accessed March 15, 2008 from http://www. qub. ac. uk/schools/SchoolofEnglish/imperial/key-concepts/feminism-and-postcolonialism. htm Churchill, C. , ‘Cloud Nine’, Nick Hern Books, (1989), ISBN-10: 1854590901 Marx, K. , ‘The Communist Manifesto: Complete with Seven Rarely’, Filiquarian Publishing, (2005), ISBN 1599869950 Worthen, W. B. , ‘The Wadsworth Anthology of Drama’, Heinle, (2003), ISBN-10: 0838407501

Themes of Hannah Webster Foster’s The Croquette Essay -- Hannah Webste

Themes of Hannah Webster Foster’s The Croquette  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hannah Webster Foster’s The Coquette, published in 1797, has long been regarded as a sentimental novel with little literary quality. Though The Coquette was a best seller at publication and remained in print for most of the 19th century, critics gave it little attention other than to ridicule the novel. Not until 1978 with the publishing of Walter Wenska’s The Coquette and the American Dream of Freedom did Foster’s book receive critical attention and praise. Since then, other literary critics have given their attention to The Coquette for critical analysis and praise. These critics have focused on facets of the novel that were completely ignored until the last twenty years. The themes critics discuss include the injustices of patriarchal culture, societal attitudes, the depiction of an economy of vision, treatment of language and the role of the female circle. It is obvious modern critics have delved below the surface of the sentiment al novel to extract meaningful themes and information written by Foster. In her book Revolution and the Word: The Rise of the Novel in America, Cathy N. Davidson includes The Coquette in the historical chronology and criticism of the American novel. Davidson concentrates her writing about The Coquette’s theme as it â€Å"does not openly challenge the basic structure of patriarchal culture but instead, exposes its fundamental injustices through the details and disasters of the plot† (144). The novel opens with Eliza Wharton expressing both her sadness and relief over the death of Mr. Haly. Davidson points out the injustice of Eliza submitting to an arranged marriage out of obedience to her parents which contradicts the supposed... ... by the aforementioned writers must emphasize the depth of Foster’s novel. WORKS CITED Baker, Dorothy Z. â€Å"Detested by the Epithet!†: Definition, Maxim and the Language of Social Dicta in Hannah Webster Foster’s The Coquette.† Essays in Literature 23 (1996): 58-68. Davidson, Cathy N. Revolution and the Word: The Rise of the Novel in America. New York: Oxford, 1986. Hamilton, Kristie. â€Å"An Assault on the Will: Republican Virtue and the City in Hannah Webster Foster’s The Coquette. Early American Literature 24 (1989): 135-151. Pettengill, Claire C. â€Å"Sisterhood in a Separate Sphere: Female Friendships in Hannah Webster Foster’s The Coquette and The Boarding School.† Early American Literature 27 (1992): 185-203. Waldstreicher, David. â€Å"Fallen Under My Observation: Vision and Virtue in The Coquette.† Early American Literature 27   (1992): 204-218.    Themes of Hannah Webster Foster’s The Croquette Essay -- Hannah Webste Themes of Hannah Webster Foster’s The Croquette  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hannah Webster Foster’s The Coquette, published in 1797, has long been regarded as a sentimental novel with little literary quality. Though The Coquette was a best seller at publication and remained in print for most of the 19th century, critics gave it little attention other than to ridicule the novel. Not until 1978 with the publishing of Walter Wenska’s The Coquette and the American Dream of Freedom did Foster’s book receive critical attention and praise. Since then, other literary critics have given their attention to The Coquette for critical analysis and praise. These critics have focused on facets of the novel that were completely ignored until the last twenty years. The themes critics discuss include the injustices of patriarchal culture, societal attitudes, the depiction of an economy of vision, treatment of language and the role of the female circle. It is obvious modern critics have delved below the surface of the sentiment al novel to extract meaningful themes and information written by Foster. In her book Revolution and the Word: The Rise of the Novel in America, Cathy N. Davidson includes The Coquette in the historical chronology and criticism of the American novel. Davidson concentrates her writing about The Coquette’s theme as it â€Å"does not openly challenge the basic structure of patriarchal culture but instead, exposes its fundamental injustices through the details and disasters of the plot† (144). The novel opens with Eliza Wharton expressing both her sadness and relief over the death of Mr. Haly. Davidson points out the injustice of Eliza submitting to an arranged marriage out of obedience to her parents which contradicts the supposed... ... by the aforementioned writers must emphasize the depth of Foster’s novel. WORKS CITED Baker, Dorothy Z. â€Å"Detested by the Epithet!†: Definition, Maxim and the Language of Social Dicta in Hannah Webster Foster’s The Coquette.† Essays in Literature 23 (1996): 58-68. Davidson, Cathy N. Revolution and the Word: The Rise of the Novel in America. New York: Oxford, 1986. Hamilton, Kristie. â€Å"An Assault on the Will: Republican Virtue and the City in Hannah Webster Foster’s The Coquette. Early American Literature 24 (1989): 135-151. Pettengill, Claire C. â€Å"Sisterhood in a Separate Sphere: Female Friendships in Hannah Webster Foster’s The Coquette and The Boarding School.† Early American Literature 27 (1992): 185-203. Waldstreicher, David. â€Å"Fallen Under My Observation: Vision and Virtue in The Coquette.† Early American Literature 27   (1992): 204-218.   

Phillips

Denise Phillips, revised 25 July 2012 Denise Phillips, revised 25 July 2012 Why Hazaras flee: An historical perspective of their persecution1 Submission for the Government’s Expert Panel on Asylum Seekers ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Denise Phillips BA (Hons), PhD Candidate, University of New England, 19 July 2012 Quetta are also discussed. The past ethnic and religious animosity against minority Shiite Hazaras continues to drive the bloodshed today. When we shift our esponsibilities offshore, vilify refugees and pursue a punitive style of deterrence as a solution, we ignore these past and present atrocities. Executive summary This paper provides historical information about the source country, Afghanistan. As minority Shiites, Hazaras’ current persecution is borne out of an unresolved, century-old religious and ethnic hatred of them. This has resulted in massacres, dispossession of their lands and decades of institutionalised discrimination. Their persecution was fiercely reignited during the civil war and by the Taliban in the 1990s.Understanding that history is critical to policy-making. Not only are Hazaras dying on boats, but also in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Australia must respond to this over-all crisis with humanity rather than punitive measures. I support the recommendations made in the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre’s submission and the Open Letter. As Afghanistan moves towards a possible Taliban alliance or faces growing lawlessness, and as Hazaras continue to be slain or attacked in Hazara-populated regions and in neighbouring Quetta, Hazaras are likely to continue to flee and have grounds under the 1951 Refugee Convention to fear persecution.Introduction In addressing the problem of asylum seekers risking their lives on boat journeys to Australia, the reasons for their flight should remain at the forefront of policy-making and political debate. I o ffer an historical overview of a key source country, Afghanistan, and of the origins of Hazaras’ persecution. Current crises in both Afghanistan and Abdur Rahman’s subjugation of Hazaras in the nineteenth century After the traditionally dominant Pashtuns and the Tajiks, Hazaras are the third largest ethnic group in Afghanistan, although a minority. The Hazaras traditionally live in theHazarajat, a loosely defined region within the central highlands. While about 85 percent of Afghanistan’s population follow Sunni Islam, most Hazaras are Shiite Muslims, causing them to be condemned as ‘infidels’ at different points throughout history. 2 Their suffering began in earnest in the late 1800s. The Hazaras were a semi- autonomous society living in Afghanistan’s central highlands, the Hazarajat. The entire Hazara population possibly numbered over half a million, with about 340,000 families in the Hazarajat. Although not a cohesive group, most were Shii tes and spoke theHazaragi language, a derivative of Dari. In contrast, their surrounding ethnic groups were mostly Sunni Muslims and spoke Pashto or Dari. 3 Against a backdrop of imperial tensions between Britain and Czarist Russia, Britain helped install an anti-Russian Pashtun, Amir Abdur Rahman (1880-1901), on the throne in Kabul in 1880. In between British India and Russia. 4 exchange for a British annual subsidy, Afghanistan was to provide a buffer zone In the previous century, the Pashtun tribal ruler, Ahmad Shah Durrani (1747-1773), had already established a pattern of subjugating sub-groups and other ethnic groups within he region. To bring Afghanistan’s many different tribes under a centralised authority, Abdur Rahman proclaimed the Durrani Pashtuns as supreme and mobilised Sunni Islam with a patriotic xenophobia. Condemning Shiite Hazaras as ‘infidels’, Rahid Rahman 1 Over-all notes drawn from Denise Phillips, From Afghanistan to Australia: An oral hist ory of loss and hope among Hazara refugees, PhD thesis, University of New England, Armidale (forthcoming); Denise Phillips, ‘Wounded memory of Hazara refugees from Afghanistan: Remembering and forgetting persecution’, History Australia, vol. , no. 2, August 2011, pp. 177-198; and Denise Phillips, ‘Hazaras’ persecution worsens: Will the new government show leadership by lifting the suspension on Afghani asylum claims? ’, Australian Policy and History, August 2010, http://www. aph. org. au/files/articles/hazarasPersecution. htm. 2 William Maley, Security, People Smuggling and Australia's New Afghan Refugees, Working Paper no. 63, p. 8; M. Hassan Kakar, ‘The pacification of the Hazaras’, in M. Hassan Kakar, A Political and Diplomatic History of Afghanistan, 1863-1901, Leiden, 2006, p. 26. 3 Sayed Askar Mousavi, The Hazaras of Afghanistan: An Historical, Cultural, Economic and Political Study, Richmond, 1998, p. 114; Kakar, ‘The pacifi cation of the Hazaras’, pp. 120-122, 126. Amin Saikal, with assistance from Ravan Farhadi & Kirill Nourzhanov, Modern Afghanistan: A History of Struggle and Survival, London, 2004, pp. 6, 7, 12. 4 1 2 Denise Phillips, revised 25 July 2012 Denise Phillips, revised 25 July 2012 rallied soldiers and tribal levies to quash Hazara rebellions in the Afghan-Hazara wars of 1891-1893.Hazaras were slain, raped and sold into slavery. Soldiers piled Hazaras’ heads into towers to warn others against dissent, and some were skinned to death or had their tongues cut out. Although slavery was banned in 1895, many remained enslaved until King Amanullah’s emancipation laws were passed in the 1920s. Much of the Hazarajat was decimated, and their agricultural economy destroyed. Starving, some ate grass and sold their children for wheat to survive. The Hazaras were fined for rebelling and taxed indiscriminately. All facets of Afghani government, society and law conspired against Haza ras, seeking to destroy their property, tribal systems, religion and culture. Rahid Rahman attempted to impose Sunni Islam and demanded that qazis (judges) and muftis (Islamic leaders) in various districts use only Hanafi, a Sunni Islamic legal system, for dealing with Hazaras. To depopulate the Hazarajat, the government issued ‘firmans’, royal decrees, authorising Pashtun nomads, Kuchis, to access Hazaras’ lands for grazing their livestock. Possibly several tens of thousands fled to Central Asia, and Balochistan in what is now Pakistan. Victorious, Rahid Rahman demeaned the Hazaras and claimed that Afghanis saw them as ‘enemies of their country and religion’,7 laying the foundation for a century of persecution to the present. Marginalisation in the twentieth century Successive governments have since marginalised Hazaras. Under the banner of nationalism in the early 1900s, ruling Pashtuns tried to assert their identity, culture and history over all o ther ethnic groups. The Hazarajat was removed from official maps and lands were divided into five provinces to weaken the Hazaras’ political authority.King Nadir Shah (1929-1933) outlawed the promotion of Hazara history and culture, 5 Peter Marsden, Afghanistan: Minorities, Conflict and the Search for Peace, London, 2001, p. 6; Saikal, Modern Afghanistan, pp. 5, 12, 17, 35-39; Kakar, ‘The pacification of the Hazaras’, pp. 120122, 132-137; Burchard Brentjes & Helga Brentjes, Taliban: A Shadow over Afghanistan, Varanasi, 2000, p. 75; Mousavi, The Hazaras of Afghanistan, pp. 101, 120-129, 131-136. 6 Kakar, ‘The pacification of the Hazaras’, pp. 137, 138; Lenard Milich, ‘The Behsud conflicts in Afghanistan: A blueprint to avoid further clashes in 2009 and beyond’, Eurasia Critic, June 2009, pp. , 3, http://www. eurasiacritic. com/articles, accessed 10 June 2010; Alessandro Monsutti, trans. Patrick Camiller, War and Migration: Social Networks and Economic Strategies of the Hazaras of Afghanistan, New York, 2005, p. 105. 7 Mir Munshi Sultan Mahomed Khan (ed. ), The Life of Abdur Rahman, Amir of Afghanistan, with a new introduction by M. E. Yapp, vol. 1, Karachi, 1980 (1900), pp. 276-279, 282-284. imprisoning or executing intellectuals who wrote on the subject. Official policies tried to strip names associated with the Hazaras from historical archives. Between the 1930s nd 1970s, the Anjom-e Tarikh (Historical Society), aided by the Pashto Tolana (Pashto Academy), rewrote much of Afghanistan's official histories. Significant texts were also reportedly burnt. Until 1978, the Hazaras were marginalised, taxed indiscriminately, and denied equal rights and vital infrastructure in their villages. 8 Former president of Afghanistan Dr Najibullah (1986-1992) acknowledged their suffering, saying that ‘the most difficult and lowliest paid jobs, poverty, illiteracy, social and nationalist committed, and bloodshed continues to t his day. discrimination were the lot of the Hazara people’. No justice was gained for atrocities Massacres during the civil war and Taliban regime Hazaras became politically mobilised in the 1980s and have since gained greater political representation. However, their persecution was brutally re-ignited during the civil war by rival ethnic groups and by the Taliban. In 1993, soldiers under command of the Rabbani government (1992-1996) targeted the stronghold of the Hazaras’ political party, the Hizb-e Wahdat, in Afshar, a district in West Kabul with a large Hazara population. Soldiers, however, turned against civilians. After a frenzy of looting, rape killed or remain missing. 10 nd summary executions driven by ethnic hatred, approximately 700-750 Hazaras were Persecution intensified under the Taliban regime (1996-2001) as its soldiers advanced into Afghanistan’s north and the Hazarajat. Not only do Hazaras shun the Islamist beliefs of the Taliban, the Taliban ar e recruited mostly from the Pashtun group, the Hazaras’ traditional enemy. (In reverse, being Pashtun does not automatically equal Taliban support and millions of Pashtuns have also suffered within Afghanistan’s 8 Hafizullah Emadi, ‘The Hazaras and their role in the process of political transformation in Afghanistan’, Central Asian Survey, vol. 6, no. 3, 1997, pp. 363-371; Mousavi, The Hazaras of Afghanistan, pp. 5-8, 155-174, 218; Saikal, Modern Afghanistan, pp. 111-113, 283. Hazaras cite Puta Khazana (The Hidden Treasure), published in 1960, as an example of a controversial or fictitious history funded by the government which promoted Pashtun superiority. 9 Quoted in Mousavi, The Hazaras of Afghanistan, p. 162 10 Mousavi, The Hazaras of Afghanistan, pp. 198, 199; Human Rights Watch, Blood-Stained Hands: Past Atrocities in Kabul and Afghanistan’s Legacy of Impunity, New York, 2005, pp. 70-100. Numbers have never been accurately ascertained.One Haza ra website estimates that approximately 1,000 were killed or remain missing. See ‘Afshar and Kateh Sahe massacre’, Hazara. net, 2009 http://www. hazara. net/taliban/genocide/afshar/afshar. html, accessed 19 June 2010. 3 4 Denise Phillips, revised 25 July 2012 Denise Phillips, revised 25 July 2012 conflicts. ) In 1998, in retaliation for war crimes committed by the United Front (of which Hazaras were a part) against Taliban soldiers, the Taliban slaughtered approximately 2,000 or more Hazaras in Mazar-e Sharif. Civilians were killed in residential areas and market places, some dying with their throats slit.Highlighting the accompanying religious hatred, Taliban governor Mullah Manon Niazi had publicly incited the attack, preaching that, ‘Hazaras are not Muslim. You can kill them. It is not a sin’. Hazaras were reportedly warned to take lessons from their own history, and to either convert, flee or be killed. Hundreds fled the terror of Mazar-e Sharif. Massac res continued, with Taliban soldiers rounding up civilians in the Yakaolang district in 2001, publicly executing at least 170, many of whom were Hazaras. Near Robatak Pass, the Taliban also executed at least 31 civilians, with 26 confirmed to be Hazaras. 1 A resurgent Taliban After more than a decade, American and NATO forces have failed to bring peace and a withdrawal is imminent. Regrouping since 2001, the Taliban is now made up of an alliance of three Islamist groups; the Quetta Shura Taliban, the Haqqani Network, and Hezb-i Islami Gulbuddin, an insurgency described by the US Department of Defence as ‘resilient and evolving’. 12 With safe havens for terrorism in western Pakistan, the insurgency maintains strongholds in southern and eastern regions of Afghanistan, and has been expanding to the west and north. 3 The Taliban’s clear presence in Shinwari district of Parwan province, less than a few hours from Kabul, was demonstrated with news last week of the Tali ban’s execution of a young woman on ‘adultery’ charges. 14 Terror in the Hazarajat Analysts recently deemed Ghazni to be ‘among the most volatile provinces in southern Afghanistan’. 15 In 2006, a former governor was assassinated, and in 2007, the Taliban held 23 South Koreans hostage. Located in Ghazni province is Jaghori, an Hazara- populated district and former home of many Hazara refugees now in Australia. Jaghori nd Hazara-populated Malistan are surrounded by Pashtun areas under Taliban control. In June 2010, the Taliban reportedly distributed ‘nightletters’, a method of intimidation, to districts within Ghazni province, warning that the main road out of Jaghori to Kabul is now closed. Residents need to travel beyond Jaghori for medical, commercial, study and work reasons, but travel is now perilous. Taliban routinely search travellers on the Qarabagh-Jaghori road. Travellers have been tortured, detained and some have gone missing. T heir vehicles have been stolen and the road is periodically closed.Many fear a repeat of the Taliban’s 1997 road blockade of essential supplies. Additionally, Jaghori strongly supports education, with numerous high schools and primary and middle schools. The Taliban, however, have targeted schools. For example, in July 2010, the Taliban attacked and burnt schools in Tamki, Jaghori district, and in Qarabagh district. The Taliban also killed Syed Sekander Muhammadi, the head teacher of a school in Shaki Nuka, in Qarabagh district, as he travelled to Ghazni. 16 In nearby Oruzgan province, the decapitated corpses of 11 Hazara males were iscovered in the Khas Oruzgan district on 25 June 2010. Police official Mohammed Gulab Wardak reported that the Taliban killed them ‘because they were ethnic Hazaras and Shiite Muslims’. 17 This occurred in the very province where Australia’s Defence Personnel have been deployed in a security and reconstruction role, showing th e dire 11 Human Rights Watch, Afghanistan: The Massacre in Mazar-I Sharif, vol, 10, no. 7(C), November 1998, http://www. unhcr. org/refworld/docid/45c9a4b52. html, accessed 18 June 2010; Human Rights Watch, Massacres of Hazaras in Afghanistan, vol. 13, no. (C), February 2001, http://www. hrw. org/legacy/reports/2001/afghanistan/, accessed 18 June 2010; Peter Marsden, Afghanistan: Minorities, Conflict and the Search for Peace, London, 2001, p. 22; Mullah Manon Niazi quoted in ‘On genocide of Hazaras’, Hazara. net, January 2011, http://www. hazara. net/taliban/taliban. html, accessed 18 July 2012. 12 Department of Defense, Progress Toward Security and Stability in Afghanistan: Report to Congress in Accordance with 2008 National Defense Authorisation Act (Section 1230, Public Law 110-181), USA, January 2009, p. 7, http://www. efense/gov/pubs/OCTOBER_1230_FINAL_pdf, accessed 12 August 2010. 13 Maria Golovnina, ‘Factbox: Insurgency in Afghanistan: Who are they? â€℠¢, 25 September 2009, Reuters, http://www. reuters. com/article/idUSTRE58O2F620090925, accessed 12 August 2010. Dylan Welch & Ben Doherty, ‘‘God tells us to finish her’: Taliban remind world they are no spent force’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 10 July 2012, p. 1. 14 threat to Hazaras, even alongside a broader military presence. 15 William Maley, ‘On the position of the Hazara minority in Afghanistan’, 28 June 2010, posted on Welcome to Ataullah’s Page, http://ataullahnaseri. ordpress. com/2010/06/28/on-the-position-of-the-hazara-minority, accessed 5 August 2010. 16 Thomas Ruttig, ‘A new, new Taliban front’, Foreign Policy, 21 June 2010, http://afpak. foreignpolicy. com/posts/2010/06/21/a_new_new_taliban_front_0, accessed 5 August 2012; Ahmed Rashid, Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia, New Haven, 2000, p. 67; Abdul Karim Hekmat, ‘Unsafe haven: Hazaras in Afghanistan and Pakistan’, Spe cial report, University of Technology Sydney, October 2011, pp. 18, 19. 17 Tahereh Ghanaati, ‘The Hazara carnage in Afghanistan’, Press TV, 27 June 2010, http://www. resstv. ir/pop/Print/? id=132225, accessed 28 June 2010; Ismail Sameem & Jonathon Burch, ‘Police find 11 beheaded bodies in Afghan South’, 25 June 2010, Reuters, http://www. reuters. com/article/idUSTRE65O2ML20100625, accessed 28 June 2010. 5 6 Denise Phillips, revised 25 July 2012 Denise Phillips, revised 25 July 2012 Hazaras. Although the Taliban denied involvement, Afghani analyst Ahmad Shuja fears In Maidan Wardak province, land disputes between Hazaras and Kuchis often erupt each summer but have worsened in recent years.Kuchis have been arriving in the Behsud and Daimirdad districts heavily armed for conflict. Kuchis believe the aforementioned decrees issued under Abdur Rahman entitle them to access, while many Hazaras have never accepted the loss of full rights over their land. Consequent ly, Hazaras have been killed and their homes burnt. In 2008, approximately 60,000 people were displaced, and in May 2010, a report estimated that 1,800 families had been displaced, 68 homes burnt, and 28 schools closed, leaving10,000 students without school facilities.As nomads, the Kuchi are also a minority group, but belong to the traditionally dominant Pashtun group. It is feared that the Taliban may be exploiting the past to incite attacks by their fellow Pashtuns, the Kuchi, against Hazaras. The Karzai government has either largely ignored repeated Hazara pleas for assistance or has been impotent in stopping the violence, sparking worldwide protests by Hazaras. 18 These crises cannot be dismissed as internal land disputes; rather, they stem from the nineteenth century acts of conquest, dispossession and persecution – and another government’s marginalisation of Hazaras.Terror in Kabul Brutal assaults also have occurred recently in Kabul. On 6 December 2011, a suici de bomber killed at least 56 Shiites pilgrims worshipping at the Abdul Fazal Abbas Shrine in the Murad Khani district in Kabul during commemorations for Ashura, the holiest day of Muharram. On the same day, a bomb attached to a bicycle exploded, killing Shiite pilgrims in Mazar-e Sharif and bringing the death toll to 60. A spokesperson for Lashkar-e Jhangvi (LeJ) claimed responsibility via Radio Free Europe.LeJ, formed in 1996, is a militant Sunni Deobandi Islamist group based in the Punjab region of Pakistan. Among links with numerous terror groups, it has a close relationship with Afghani Taliban and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Most killed and injured were 18 Lenard Milich, ‘The Behsud conflicts in Afghanistan: A blueprint to avoid further clashes in 2009 and beyond’, Eurasia Critic, June 2009, pp. 1-3, http://www. eurasiacritic. com/articles, accessed 10 June 2010; Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, ‘AIHRC grave concern about armed onflict be tween Kochies and native inhabitants of Behsood district of Maidan Wardak’, Kabul Press, 22 May 2010, http://kabulpress. org/my/spip. php? article11725, accessed 9 August 2010; ‘UNAMA silent on Kuchi attack in Behsud’, Hazaristan Times, 21 May 2010, http://hazaristantimes. wordpress. com/2010/05/21/unama-silent-on-Kuchi-attack-in-behsud, accessed 6 August 2010. the attacks will inflame religious tensions, echoing a recent past in which the Taliban massacred thousands of Hazaras. 19 Increasing bloodshed in Quetta, PakistanSince the nineteenth century, Hazaras have traditionally fled or migrated to Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province, in what is now Pakistan. Quetta has long been a ‘second home’ for Hazaras; some live there as permanent Pakistani citizens, others as refugees. Possibly 30,000-50,000 Hazara refugees now live in Pakistan after fleeing the Taliban in 1996. Over the last decade, however, Shiite Hazaras in Balochistan have been dying in an escalating spate of sectarian attacks, often occurring daily. LeJ have distributed leaflets condemning Shiites as ‘infidels’.Proclaiming their right under Islam to kill them, LeJ publicly state that they will continue acting against Shiites. One of its leaders, Milak Ishaque, had 40 murder charges pending against him: after serving 15 years imprisonment he was released on 14 July 2011. Hazaras and the Asian Human Rights Commission report that the Pakistani government, army and law enforcement impunity. 20 authorities are failing to act, openly allowing the banned terror organisation to kill with These are but a few examples in a litany of bloody attacks. Eight Hazaras were slain inPoodgali Chowk in 2001, and 12 Hazara policeman killed in Sariab, in 2003. On 20 September 2011, armed men intercepted a bus in the Ganjidori area of Mastung, southeast of Quetta. It carried 45, mostly Shiite, pilgrims travelling to Taftan, Iran. Ordering them off the bus, gunmen shot t hose identifying themselves as Shiites in the ‘head, chest and abdomen’. Twenty-nine Shiites were killed and five escaped. An hour 19 Ernesto Londono, ‘Dozens dead in rare attack on Shiite mosque in Kabul’, The Washington Post, 6 December 2011, http://www. washingtonpost. om/world/rare-attack-in-kabul-targets-shiitemosque/2011/12/06/gIQAVnEkYO_print, accessed 7 December 2011; ‘Lashkar-e Jhangvi (LeJ)’, Australian National Security, Australian Government, updated 15 March 2012, http://www. ema. gov. au/agd/WWW/nationalsecurity. nsf/Page/What_Governments_are_doing_Listing _of_Terrorism_Organisations_Lashkar_I_Jhangvi, accessed 18 July 2012. 20 Lashkar-e Jhangvi (LeJ)’, Australian National Security; Syed Shoaib Hasan, ‘A year of suffering for Pakistan’s Shias’, BBC News, Balochistan, 6 December 2011, http://www. bbc. co. k/news/worldasia-15928538, accessed 21 January 2012; Hekmat, ‘Unsafe haven’, pp. 20-23; ‘The state of human rights in Pakistan in 2011’, Asian Human Rights Commission, 2011, p. 42, http://www. AHRC-SPR008-2011-HRRptPakistan. pdf, accessed 18 July 2012. 7 8 Denise Phillips, revised 25 July 2012 Denise Phillips, revised 25 July 2012 later, gunmen killed 3 Shiites, believed to be victims’ relatives on their way to retrieve the bodies of their loved ones. LeJ claimed responsibility. 21 On 28 June 2012, a bomb blast killed Shiite pilgrims travelling by bus near a fruit market in the Hazarganji area of Quetta.Thirteen were killed and 30 injured, with most of the victims Hazaras. LeJ again claimed responsibility. Prominent leaders, professionals, intellectuals and policemen have been assassinated, along with a sportsman and artist. For example, Chairman of the Hazara Democratic Party, Hussain Ali Yousofi, was slain on 26 January 2011. The general Hazara population, including women and children, are now also being indiscriminately targeted. Australian Hazar as visiting relatives in Quetta speak of witnessing attacks on Hazara civilians in the streets and of a climate of terror.Abdul Karim Hekmat reports that ‘over 500 Hazaras have been killed and over 1,500 injured as a result of targeted’ attacks in Pakistan since 2003. 22 Other sources cite even higher numbers. Failures of protection and continuing fear Afghanistan’s 2004 Constitution includes exemplary protection for human rights and Hazaras have gained prominent government positions. However, with critical failures to implement the rule of law beyond Kabul – or even maintain it in Kabul – reform has not translated to improved safety for Hazaras in remote villages. Insurgents do not recognise government law.Moreover, Afghani culture is bound up with traditions of governing and maintaining security through tribal and religious consensus, gained at district and community levels rather than through a centralised authority. In December 2009, the Karzai government also gazetted a law giving amnesty to all who committed war crimes in the past two decades of conflict, allowing alleged war criminals from various ethnicities to hold parliamentary positions with impunity. Professor William Maley cautions against ‘tokenism’, arguing that the inclusion of Hazaras within overnment has not brought about real changes. 23 History shows that the 1980s’ reforms which delivered greater equity for Hazaras did not stop the bloodshed which followed in the 1990s and beyond. That this is the sixth constitution since 1923 also exemplifies the fragility of Afghani reforms. Safety for minority groups requires broad social changes to address deeply-rooted tribal, religious and ethnic prejudices – this is something that will take years. The possibility of a Taliban alliance with international support, set against the draw-down of troops, causes terror among many Hazaras. 24In summarising why Hazaras risk their lives on boats, an Hazara refugee says: When the government and law enforcement agencies can’t provide protection, when your house [in Quetta or Afghanistan] is on fire, when your home country becomes hell for you, when you can’t go anywhere without the fear of being killed, when your religion and your facial features make you the easy target. When death is hovering over your head every day, then you don’t have options but to flee, seek refuge, knock at other people’s door for help, sit on a leaky boat, choose a dangerous journey that possibly leads to death.Today the Hazara Shias (boat people, the asylum seekers) are in a state of desperation and struggling for their survival as it is a basic human instinct. 25 Recommendations flee. I therefore make the following comments: Based on the continuing and unresolved history of bloodshed, Hazaras will continue to 1) Given the need for negotiation within a democratic process, I have reflected deeply on the current options being debated. However, we cannot participate in the ‘trade’ of 21 Shehzad Baloch, ‘Sectarian atrocity: 29 killed in Mastung, Quetta ambushes’, The Express Tribune, 21 September 2011, http://tribune. om. pk/story/256419/gunmen-attack-bus-in-balochistan-20killed/? print=true, accessed 22 September 2011. 22 ‘Shia pilgrims bus attacked by a rocket near Quetta, 13 martyred over 30 injured’, Jafria News, 29 June 2012, http://jafrianews. com/2012/06/29/shia-pilgrims-bus-attacked-by-a-rocket-near-quetta-13martyred-over-30-injured/, accessed 16 July 2012; ‘Hazara Shia community on strike over Quetta attacks’, BBC News, Asia, 29 June 2012, http://www. bbc. co. uk/news/world-asia-18640945, accessed 16 July 2012; ‘Blast kills 13, including Shia pilgrims, in Quetta’, Dawn. om, 28 June 2012, http://dawn. com/2012/06/28/eight-including-policeman-killed-in-quetta-blast/, accessed 16 July 2012; Hekmat, ‘Unsafe haven’, p. 22; In formal discussions with Australian Hazaras. 23 William Maley, Radio interview conducted by Geraldine Doogue, ‘Afghan Hazara’, Breakfast, ABC Radio National, 13 April 2010, http://www. abc. net. au/radionational/programs/breakfast/afghanhazara/3039616, accessed 16 June 2010; Una Moore, ‘UN human rights rep in Kabul calls for repeal of war crimes amnesty’, UN Dispatch, 30 March 2010, http://www. undispatch. om/un-human-rightsrep-in-kabul-calls-for-repeal-of-war-crimes-amnesty, accessed 11 June 2010; Department of Defense, Progress Toward Security and Stability in Afghanistan, p. 11; Shahmahmood Miakhel, ‘Understanding Afghanistan: The importance of tribal culture and structure in security and governance’, US Institute of Peace, November 2009, p. 1. 24 Sonya Hepinstall, ‘Holbrooke: Reformed Taliban in Afghan government not wrong’, Thomson Reuters, 6 June 2010, http://in. reuters. com/article/2010/06/07/idINIndia-49088220100607, access ed 18 June 2010. 25 Anonymous Hazara refugee, 29 June 2012. 9 0 Denise Phillips, revised 25 July 2012 human lives with the Malaysian option. I support the principle suggestions made in the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre’s submission and the Open Letter, so will not reiterate their points here. 2) Help educate parliamentarians and the public as to why refugees flee their homelands. Exercise clear leadership in depoliticising the debate. 3) Hazaras tell me they want peace and human rights in their homeland – only then will they stop fleeing. Hazaras have witnessed the brutal deaths of their family members, including fathers, mothers, siblings and children.Flight is accompanied by intense grief, trauma and longing. Waiting years for family reunions will drive loved ones to get on boats. Those left behind in Afghanistan not only face destitution, but are also often brutally targeted by warlords who learn that their husband, son or brother has fled to a Western country. In a recent case, the intimidation of a young Hazara refugee’s family members left in Jaghori resulted in an attack on the family home, killing an eight-monthold baby. I have witnessed refugees’ debilitating distress as they wait years

Meaning of Life and Yoga Essay

Celebrity Yoga: Is this just a fad? Yoga has become a very popular exercise among people all across the world. Celebrities are also adopting this practice in order to strengthen their bodies. Celebrities and yoga has been a winning combination for quite some time in America, and more and more people are beginning to at least try yoga because their favorite celebrities are trying it. Celebrities that do yoga are making the practice more popular. Yoga industry in the United States has grown considerably since many celebrities have admitted to practicing yoga on a regular basis. Here are some things you will want to know about celebrities and yoga that may help you to decide whether or not you want to try yoga for yourself. What do celebrities have to say about yoga? Celebrities like Meg Ryan, Jennifer Anniston, Ricky Martin, and Madonna have all admitted to using yoga as a means to calm the spirit, tone the muscles of the body, and increase physical strength. Many people also say that yoga gives a personal sense of accomplishment, and that it is easier to handle rigorous demands of the day by practicing yoga Yoga is also designed to help people learn about the meaning of life. Yoga allows you to train your mind to think about positive things, and you are also able to think about how to solve problems and even get along well with others. You are also taught about how certain yoga principles should transfer into your daily life, such as learning how to do everything in the right time, or being patient with others. It is also believed the yoga will give you a higher tolerance for pain. One of the most important factors which cause the heart disease is depression. Tachycardia and other disturbances are caused due to this depression. Rhythm of the heart is altered due to tachycardia and other disturbances. Long-lasting or repetitive state of depression will make a considerable damage to the heart and enhances the chance of getting heart attacks. Yoga is an effectual solution against all sorts of stress since it can enhance the level of GABA (gamma amino butyric acid), a neurotransmitter in our brain which is correlated to depression when it is in supplied lesser in the brain. After one session of yoga the level of GABA gets increased.

Free Essays on Men And Women In Raymond Carvers Fiction

MEN, WOMEN AND RELATIONSHIPS IN RAYMOND CARVER’S FICTION The relationships between men and women are one of the major themes in Raymond Carver’s fiction. His characters are often couples who try to struggle through their tormented lives with aid of alcohol. Furthermore, they are often representatives of lower social classes. Behind their misery lies a dream of a better future which is, however, never fulfilled. In addition to drinking, the issues that come up in Carver’s short stories regarding relationships include the questions of social identity, trust and striving for the control of their own lives. In this essay I will try to introduce the ways in which these problems are come up in a selection of Carver’s stories. I also try to compare and contrast the stories and draw parallels between them. The stories I shall use as an example are Mr Coffee and Mr. Fixit, Gazebo, Neighbors, Feathers and Preservation. Many of the couples in the stories suffer from lack of trust in their relationships. In Mr. Coffee and Mr. Fixit the male narrator and Myrna have drifted apart; Myrna is sleeping with another man and the narrator does not really care. What is even more ironic is the fact that not only does Myrna betray her husband but also her lover Ross has a young girl â€Å"on the side†. Similarly, in Gazebo Duane and Holly find a crack in their relationship because Duane is sleeping with a Mexican woman who cleans the rooms in their hotel. Both the narrator in Mr.Coffee and Holly seem to give up and accept the fact that their spouses are unfaithful, although it is not easy. Holly, especially takes Duane’s affair very seriously, she even threatens to kill herself by jumping out of the window. She is extremely disappointed in her husband: â€Å"You have gone outside the marriage. It’s trust you have killed†. It can be asked if the ever has been trust in their relationsh ip to begin with or is this just a result of the lack of... Free Essays on Men And Women In Raymond Carver's Fiction Free Essays on Men And Women In Raymond Carver's Fiction MEN, WOMEN AND RELATIONSHIPS IN RAYMOND CARVER’S FICTION The relationships between men and women are one of the major themes in Raymond Carver’s fiction. His characters are often couples who try to struggle through their tormented lives with aid of alcohol. Furthermore, they are often representatives of lower social classes. Behind their misery lies a dream of a better future which is, however, never fulfilled. In addition to drinking, the issues that come up in Carver’s short stories regarding relationships include the questions of social identity, trust and striving for the control of their own lives. In this essay I will try to introduce the ways in which these problems are come up in a selection of Carver’s stories. I also try to compare and contrast the stories and draw parallels between them. The stories I shall use as an example are Mr Coffee and Mr. Fixit, Gazebo, Neighbors, Feathers and Preservation. Many of the couples in the stories suffer from lack of trust in their relationships. In Mr. Coffee and Mr. Fixit the male narrator and Myrna have drifted apart; Myrna is sleeping with another man and the narrator does not really care. What is even more ironic is the fact that not only does Myrna betray her husband but also her lover Ross has a young girl â€Å"on the side†. Similarly, in Gazebo Duane and Holly find a crack in their relationship because Duane is sleeping with a Mexican woman who cleans the rooms in their hotel. Both the narrator in Mr.Coffee and Holly seem to give up and accept the fact that their spouses are unfaithful, although it is not easy. Holly, especially takes Duane’s affair very seriously, she even threatens to kill herself by jumping out of the window. She is extremely disappointed in her husband: â€Å"You have gone outside the marriage. It’s trust you have killed†. It can be asked if the ever has been trust in their relationsh ip to begin with or is this just a result of the lack of...

What It Is The Best Way To Do Marketing Solo

What It Is The Best Way To Do Marketing Solo If team blogging advice is confusing you as a solo blogger, stop. is a powerful blogging tool with definite team-tendencies, and we often blog with an eye toward teams of content marketers. But that may actually be unhelpful for a solo blogger. Though we write with an eye towards solo bloggers once in a while, too often we focus on the power of teams and create complex workflows and percentage-based approaches that can make even the best solo blogger’s eyes glaze over in despair. What Is The Best Way To Do Marketing Solo When You Cant Find Time? via @JulieNeidlingerWhat Troubles The Solo Blogger? Here are the characteristics of a solo blogger, from my own experience and from what we’ve heard from readers: Busy Busy Busy I emailed one of those busy solo bloggers recently. I asked her what she thought the biggest challenges were for her, and the frustrations she felt when reading advice that seemed geared for a team. She had some great (and blunt) points: No team to bounce ideas off No team to draft a long list of headlines to "test" for the best one No team to "review" the articles prior to publishing No "editor" No "graphics" person No team to handle social media, either in the posting (I use Buffer Co-Schedule, of course), or in responding No team to do extensive research, either for "hot, trending" topics or background research The solo blogger pointed out that she wasn’t just responsible for everything related to content marketing, but also all aspects of running a business, too, including client work, billing, etc. The advice she was getting was impossible, and the advice to â€Å"hire it out† wasn’t particularly helpful. That would put a dent in the budget and add yet another level of management to siphon attention away from her business. Marketing is just one thing on your to-do list. Here's how to do it well as a solo artist.After reading her list, I decided to approach the answer by rebooting the idea of what successful content marketing might look like, and how it isn’t defined in just one way (a definition, I might add, that too often fits teams best). Reduce Content Marketing To Its Bare Bones In the great swell of content marketing, with all of the graphics, stats, charts, tools, and theories, one thing has probably been lost: At its bare bones, content marketing is simply about writing stuff people want to read. At its bare bones, #contentmarketing is simply about writing stuff people want to read.1. The first word of content marketing is â€Å"content.† Be content with content. Yes, there is social media. Yes, there are email lists. Yes, there are analytics and A/B testing and landing pages and all kinds of other things under the sun that promise and deliver great returns. But, at its base, it is simply about writing something good. If you were to do that, search engines will find you. People will find you. It might be at a much slower rate, but they will. There is this huge fear- likely based on the heavy importance of big numbers as proof of successful content marketing- of how to exist when no one is reading your blog. This is horribly stifling when you’re getting started and trying to build good habits. Learn to write content well, quickly, and as second nature. 2. Just talk to people. All kinds. Here’s a shocker: I get lots of tweets and retweets and shares and followers on Twitter for the things I write, but the most viable return I receive is when I go to a blog and just leave a useful comment or establish a person-to-person communication with someone else online. And no, these are not always content marketing blogs. They are cartooning blogs, art blogs, fountain pen blogs, philosophy blogs- interesting people, great conversation, and I’ve made business connections and networks through this. These are the true word-of-mouth social shares and links that translate into dedicated readers and customers. Talking to people, especially those outside your niche, can inspire a lot of creative marketing.3. Build connections laterally. Content marketers sometimes get so wrapped up in content marketing and all of its peripherals that the engagement I get from them are questions on how they can do it better or almost mechanized retweets because they are trying to meet a curation quota. There is a strong focus that to get traction you must latch onto the influencers, the big or established names, but the response there is often an echo chamber. Find some other â€Å"little fish† and get real responses and build connections laterally instead of always looking vertically. Go where everyone else isn’t. You would be better off remembering to simply write great content and find interesting people and strike up long-term conversations on their blogs or social media accounts. The returns aren’t as sexy at first, but this approach helps you build the habit and get in practice. And, surprisingly, you make some worthwhile connections that can ultimately help your business in the long run. Building Good, Small Habits First The real question behind all the questions is probably this one: how do you get things done when you are busy and there is no one else to help? The answer is not surprising: We can get more done when we do one thing at a time and are operating mostly out of habit (good ones). And you can’t form the big habit until you form the small one. So let’s break it down into levels, with each level looking to form the habits you need in place before the next one. You might be at the beginning, or you might be further along. The key is that you can’t leave a level until all of the habits in the level are firmly in place. Solo Blogging Level 1: Just get started. Set up your blog and learn basics of maintaining and running it. Blog weekly. Share each blog post when you publish it. Learn to fine tune your words and write without lots of errors. Solo Blogging Level 2: Develop a system so the blank page has no power. Blog two times a week. Every post must have a graphic. Share each post when you publish it. Figure out how you blog, and systemize it. Solo Blogging Level 3: There is no such thing as a comfort zone. Plan your content on an editorial calendar. Blog two times a week Share at least once on social media. Be able to write a blog post on any topic, even if you have no prior understanding or idea of how to approach it. Solo Blogging Level 4: Writing is second nature. Your focus is promotion. Blog three times a week. Set up your social promotion plan. Delve into your analytics and learn to understand and use them. These levels are really the basics, but they should help you build good habits that can build more good habits. Using A Triage Mentality With a content marketing team, you can take in all of the great advice out there and implement it by delegating it out. From graphics to constant engagement and response on Twitter, it’s all doable. If you’re solo, you probably can’t. Remember, most solo bloggers are doing more than just content marketing. They are running other aspects of their business. My advice is to approach all of the helpful tips with a triage mentality, learning to pick what is the most important for what it is you want to accomplish, and leave the others alone. When you see a post about the â€Å"15 Most Important Things You Must Do For Your Content Marketing†, read it and decide which one or two you can actually do well and that will fit your ultimate goal. To do #contentmarketing solo, pick only the  few things that you want to accomplish.The ability to do this starts with understanding what you want your content marketing to achieve. You might want: More traffic More readers More social media fans High social media shares Establish a reputation as an expert You might want all of them, but you should pick one or two to start with. If you can do the â€Å"elevator speech† of what you want to achieve and sum it up in one sentence, you’ll be able to do triage on the deluge of advice coming your way and know which advice helps or gets in the way of your goal. Good advice that doesn’t apply to your goal is bad advice. Good advice that doesn’t apply to your goal is bad advice. #contentmarketingFor example, my goal is to improve my writing and create great content. While I would love more social fans and traffic, I am unable to handle johnny-on-the-spot responses to every interaction I receive on Google+ or Twitter. As a solo blogger, I could spend my time constantly monitoring my social feeds and having conversations, or I could blog and expose myself to experiences and reading that begets more blog posts. Perhaps you think you’re better at multitasking than I, but I don’t believe you. Multitasking is a big lie and that it puts a serious dent in productivity. So instead of divvying up my day to accommodate writing and social interaction, I look at it as a weekly thing. Once a week, I’ll hope into social media and respond. It’s low on my triage list. If you’re running a business and need to respond to customers sooner than once a week, I’d encourage you to at least set aside a chunk of time once a day to do it instead of hopping back and forth between social media conversation and content creation because I can guarantee you that that’s what’s creating a level of frustration and low productivity in you. A triage mentality tells you to compartmentalize, do only the important things according to what is important to you, and tells you to do them one at a time. No multitasking nonsense. Real Life Example: What I Do As both a solo blogger and a busy freelance blogger, my approach is one of limited resources and time. 1. Prepare for the upcoming week. On Sunday night, I sit down with my weekly planner and review and schedule the upcoming week’s work. All of the writing, blogging, etc. is planned out. lets you do this as well; I’m just a pen-and-paper fanatic. To make this work, you must be a realist. I know two long blog posts a day (or about 4,000 words total) is about all I can handle, so I certainly don’t set myself up for failure and schedule more than that. Set up a schedule you can handle. 2. Triage upcoming tasks. Using a highlighter, I decide which of these tasks for the coming week are absolute musts, and which are less important. I use color to make it easier to see. The low-hanging fruit, if not completed, gets moved to the next week or dropped altogether. If there are tasks continually not getting done after several weeks, it’s a sign I can’t handle it, the habit isn’t there, or it isn’t important. I have to rethink why I put them there, why I think I need to do them, or why I don’t seem motivated to complete them. 3. Do the work. There is a lot of fretting and productivity porn on the Internet where people are all trying to find the magic system for getting work done and being more productive. The truth is that such a solution doesn’t exist and fussing to find the perfect answer just keeps you from getting things done. No system is better than another, and they all hinge on one thing: you doing the work. If you’re struggling to write a blog post at your desk, write someplace else. Once a week I write at a coffee shop just to change things up a bit. If you’re struggling to write a blog post because you don’t want to, rethink why you are doing content marketing, or develop a kick-in-the-pants system that helps you get past this form of writer’s block. What tasks are you not getting done? Figure out why and work on finding a way to change that. You have to find the solution; I can’t tell you what to do. 4. Periodically review what you’re doing. Every month, I like to review: My weekly planner and see what tasks I consistently didn’t finish. Traffic and stats for my blog and social media. How many words I write every week. The habits I’ve fallen into (both good and bad). If I’m practicing the habit of brainstorming and idea generation. How many books/magazines/newspapers I’m reading for non-online source material. During this time, I try to figure out what it all means. Why didn’t I finish something? What do my analytics tell me? Am I able to be more productive (as far as word count is concerned) or have I hit a wall? Have I let my reading slip and reduced possible idea sources? Am I giving myself enough time to be creative and enough time to run my business? No, I don’t do this every week. I can’t handle that. But I can handle it every month. You can only do what you can do even if others tell you that’s not good enough. What Is The Answer? Let’s take a look at that original list from our over-worked solo blogger, and see what concrete solutions might be. 1. No team to bounce ideas off. Trust your gut, read your analytics. Your analytics and social proof will tell you what idea they liked. Take the leap and write it and find out. 2. No team to draft a list of headlines to test for the best one. Dive in, write headlines, try again, and learn from both what gets shared the most as well as what you start to learn from all the practice. If you want more assurance than that, get a plugin like KingSumo Headlines that helps you pick the best headline automatically. Use our Headline Analyzer. I don’t bounce headline ideas off of a team for my own blogging. I don’t write 25 headlines (though I usually write more than one). Some headlines are better than others. I move on. 3. No team to review articles prior to publishing. Practice writing and publishing, spell check, and reading a finished post out loud will help you write a good post. Believe me, if you have a typo or something amiss, online people will let you know. You will get better the more you do it. Don’t let a fear of no one there to reassure you the post is OK keep you from writing. 4. No editor, or graphic designer. Having an editor isn’t always the answer. Sometimes they over-edit. But if you’re concerned about the quality of your writing, there are options and apps to help you proofread. The blunt truth is, if you aren’t a good writer and you can’t afford to hire a writer, then content marketing is just going to be tough. Most people, though, can write to improve. It takes practice, and practice is the act of actually doing it. I don’t have an editor for my own blog. When I read my old blog posts I shudder. They got better the more I did it. No one is great right out of the gate. As far as graphics are concerned, Canva is a godsend. Social graphics, blog graphics, infographics- it does it all for free or low cost. Stock images are possible, but they can ding your budget. If you’re not a designer and want to avoid copyright issues, use Canva. 5. No social media team for posting or responding. Using and tools like Buffer make posting, re-posting, and curating very simple as long as you set aside the time and develop the habit. As far as responding, consider what I said about triage. Set aside time to respond, too, based on how important engagement is for your goal. 6. No team to do research for topics or background. There are all kinds of ways to get ideas for your blog. Hardcore research and diligent attention to trends is just one approach. As to writing your posts, not all of the blog post types are research intensive. If you can’t do research, focus on content types that don’t require it. While blog posts with headlines using the phrases â€Å"backed by science† or â€Å"backed by research† are very popular, you don’t have to write them. What are you good at? What can you write? Write what you can, not what everyone else is writing. You have stories to tell from client experiences. You have life experiences to share. You get ideas from books and articles you’ve read. You have reactions and comments on other blog posts. You have other things you can write without delving into scientific journals to find brain scans that prove the color blue is better for blogs than yellow. Write in the way that fits your content creator type and your time, not in accordance with what every other content marketer is telling you to write. And don’t worry about trending topics. Those kinds of blog posts aren’t going to be evergreen, anyway. Don’t Drown In Advice The nature of content marketing is that there is lots of content, and even though so much of it is helpful, if you are drowning in good advice, you are still drowning. Solo bloggers, especially, must learn to pick and choose according to a simple goal, learning to build both habits and the foundation for the next goal. They have to write how and with what they have at hand. It’s very much a creative process, finding ideas to write about with the tools and time available. A team can handle a multi-pronged attack. But if there is only one of you, you are really only capable of a single-pronged attack.

Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 15

Art - Essay Example This statue was curved for the purposes of Pharaoh Khafre’s remembrance. Initially, the statue was kept in the Pharaoh’s valley temple near the Great Sphinx. The statue was presented as part of necropolis funeral city used in most important funeral rituals. This research paper explains the Khafre Enthroned funerary statue, from Gizeh, Egypt. The Khafre old kingdom artistic statue was designed putting into considerations a lot of symbolism in it. Firstly, the statue had an important function in Egyptian tombs. This statue overly acts as a sub-statue abode for the Pharaoh’s Ka. Ka in Egyptian cultural beliefs is the life that accompanies the righteous persons with a kind of other self. After death, the Ka leaves the individual body and soul into the afterlife (Gardner et al. 111). The statue embodiment therefore remains contemporarily to show a peace to rest; to the dead souls. The Khafre enthroned sculpture was designed in spiral form. This statue shows his majesty Khafre seated. This was one of the famous statue designs with a basic formulaic types used in the old kingdoms to show the human figure. Art speaks and through Khafre Enthroned statue, his figure in the seat is greatly shown. This artistic work if was to go by; would easily explain the kind of a ruler king Khafre was. This Egyptian statue design was inf luenced by mummification in Egypt (Gardners Art through the Ages: The Western Perspective 121). Mummification played a major role in the Egyptian culture in the ancient civilization era. This process involved a 70-day purification of pharaoh’s body to ensure immortality for Pharaoh. Beginning in the third millennium BCE, mummification became impossible in Egypt. This process was hectic and cumbersome hence there was need for finding a better way to remember the Pharaoh’s of Egypt. If the Pharaoh’s mummy was damaged, ART Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5 ART - Essay Example he High Renaissance meant paint that was created by mixing pigment with egg yolk to create a thick colored liquid that could then be applied with brushes to any surface. The egg yolk was the binding agent and artists would often also mix in other liquids such as honey, water or milk to vary the consistency or increase opacity. One of the main properties of this type of paint is that it dries quickly, which is beneficial when one wishes to paint over specific areas but can be problematic when one is trying to blend shades together on the canvas. This type of paint can’t be applied in heavy layers, though, and is generally not as bright or saturated as other forms of paint. What perhaps wasn’t known by the artists of the Renaissance, though, is that tempura maintains its original colors over time rather than darkening as many oil paints tend to do. Frescoes are somewhat different from tempera paints or oils in that they utilize the material of the receiving surface as the binding agent for the pigments rather than an internal ingredient. In fresco painting, painters would mix pigment with water and then apply these colors to the still wet plaster wall where the painting was to be. The water would absorb into the wall and evaporate, leaving the pigment trapped within the plaster itself. Preparation of the wall had to take place at least a week in advance to allow the underlayer of plaster to dry first. Then only enough top layer of plaster was applied that the artist could reasonably paint in a given day, meaning about eight or nine hours of work, before the plaster hardened to the point where no more paint would be absorbed. This painting in segments makes it possible to still trace what the artist did from one day to the next. Another problem with frescoes was that there could be no mistakes or the entire segment would have t o be removed and started from the beginning. Oil painting eventually emerged as the most preferred form of paint because of its

Joseph Epstein The Perpetual Adolescent Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Joseph Epstein The Perpetual Adolescent - Essay Example This argumentative paper aims to defend my view of growing up and gaining maturity that should also be projected by media. The defensive account will be made in the paper by taking examples from Epstein’s article into consideration. The reason why I consider growing up as a wise phase in life is due the experience of older people that have allowed the young ones to learn from and understand the difference between right and wrong. The distinction between the adolescents and older people is in terms of experience. I would say that gone are the days when men and women were proud of the fact that they were growing wiser. Epstein has also stressed on the same view in his article by comparing example of intellect of older people with Aristotle (Epstein). Similarly, older generation needs to understand that they have the power of experience that would allow them to have a mature approach towards life. Maturity should be considered as an asset by the older generations, which is now no t given due consideration. It is because even older people are impressed by the false youth culture being projected by the media. Such a claim as per my observation becomes easy to understand by considering modern day older women as an example of this. Older women are no more reluctant to follow fashion trends displayed by young models in the media (Epstein). American women who are growing wiser must understand the distinction between youthfulness and adulthood, and then follow the trends. Similar example has also been given by Epstein in his article stating that women undergo a great deal of plastic surgeries just to look young because they think that being young and by following adolescent culture they will be valued more. However, the true attractive feature of women is when she grows older and wiser (Epstein). I believe that Epstein’s view on the faded line of distinction between the youth and adulthood in terms of the American nation is correct. At one hand, being young is not dire as adolescents have a lot of energy because they get to see new in life and are full of creativity; while on the other hand, becoming older and wise is a blessing as individuals have already been through crucial moments of life. But it should be noted that the media has misinterpreted the distinction between these two phases of life. The American nation has become a victim of the media’s agenda to sell youth culture depriving the confidence of living a life with wisdom and maturity (Epstein). I have also observed that our society has also accepted the youthful culture being projected by media in this way. This acceptance has led lives of adult to become miserable, as they have started to run after the youthful culture. The point to be noted here is that the adults are chasing youthful trends and culture which has passed them long before and it is about time that they must live with mature decision-making in every aspect of life. Society and media should go hand in hand to make a difference in people’s view for growing older and wiser. Media should celebrate experience of older people by appreciating them. Media should enhance the need of maturity that is lacking in the American society (Epstein). Through the above counter arguments, it could be said that adolescences have the energy that can create implications of a vision. Youth can be strong