This entry first appeared in the May 16, 2005 entry.
Prof. Eric Reeves on "The Sunday Edition," CBC Radio One
On the drive to church on Sunday morning, Bro and I were listening to The Sunday Edition broadcast. It featured an interview with English Lit. Prof. Eric Reeves about the genocide that is going on in Darfur, Sudan. At one point, Michael Enright, the host, asked Prof. Reeves if Darfur is the next Rwanda in the making. Prof. Reeves responded in a way that really made my heart ache. He said, and I paraphrase:
Darfur is Rwanda in slow motion. It's as if the Gods of History decided to give us another chance, a chance to redeem ourselves for our neglect of what happened in Rwanda. It's as if they said, "we'll give you as much time as you need, and this time there should be no excuse not taking action."
Our second chance is passing us by, and do we even notice it?
So, today was not bad at all. I wasn't as tired as I was afraid I might be.
The morning was easy because my two ESLC classes had a work period. In the afternoon, my Applied History class was very engaged and productive. They weren't as hyper as usual, which may well be a symptom of post-MB lethargiosis. They were my most enjoyable class today.
In the office, we celebrated D.'s birthday today with a strawberry shortcake that N. bought from M&M's. D.'s birthday is actually on Saturday, but we decided to celebrate earlier.
While I was cooking dinner (pork roast), I read a little bit more of Remember Me, a novel by Christopher Pike. In it, a group of teenagers were trying to communicate with the spirit world through one of their friends. One of the boys at the party, Jeff, thought that the spirit they were communicating with was his late brother. Shortly after the "sceance" ended, the girl who was the conduit, Shari, died mysteriously. I'll have to read more to see what will happen.
Growing up, I've always been fascinated with the supernatural, ghosts and haunted places in particular. Many a time have my friends and I considered playing with a ouija board, and I've only done it once with two friends I had in grade five or six, I can't recall exactly. I honestly believe that one of them was moving the pointer, and not a spirit.
Thankfully, I have learned over the years that this is an activity that should not be treated as a game. You never knows what "spirit" is in communication with you. It could be a benign ghost, or it could be the Devil. Once you invite a spirit in, you cannot ask it to leave or even kick it out as you wish. It is actually a dangerous game to play. So, I will never get to try it out again and see if it really works. That makes me feel a bit sad, sad that I won't be able to know for myself. On the other hand, I've learned that some things are better left unknown.
My bro-in-Christ at Ling Fu asked me for a reading list. So, I started thinking about who are my favourite YA fiction writers and which are my favourite novels?
Authors: Robert Cormier Katherine Paterson Susan Cooper Lloyd Alexander John Wyndham
Novels: The Chocolate War Jacob Have I loved The Grey King The Midwich Cuckoos
"Condoms are not the answer to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa," Pope Benedict said Tuesday ..."You can't resolve it with the distribution of condoms," the Pope told reporters. "On the contrary, it increases the problem."
While health workers — including some priests and nuns working with people with AIDS — advocate the use of condoms to curb the spread of disease during sex, the Catholic church promotes fidelity within marriage, chastity and abstinence.
Maybe Pope Benedict should join the priests and nuns who are living and working in Africa. Learn what real life is like. Learn what problems Africans face daily, especially the women. Examine the causes and the possible solutions. Then, he should speak out.
A seven-day visit only benefits the media and people who don't live in Africa.
Afterthought: How can people, well, Catholics all around the world, revere someone as ignorant as Pope Benedict?
＊看世界鋪滿塵垢 The world is visibly covered in dirt 理論也盡數錯漏 Theories are all flawed 冷眼看真理掉進了深溝 Detachedly watching Truth being thrown into the ditch 幹勁變真正朋友 Zeal is my truest friend now 努力押在我背後 Supporting me from behind 縱氣忿傷痛亦要接受 So that I will be able to handle anger and pain
我要有公正自由 我要有歡笑永久 I want justice and freedom, I want eternal happiness 我要法紀不朽＊ I want law and discipline to live forever
＃揮走了塵垢 揮走滿途引誘 Wipe away the dirt, cast away all temptations 揮走痛苦擔憂＃ Cast away all pain and burden
REPEAT＊＃
多少次圍困 Countless times have I been surrounded 今天我仍奮鬥 And I'm still fighting today 刀鋒那許生鏽 When the blades have dulled
REPEAT＃
多少次圍困 Countless times have I been surrounded 今天我仍奮鬥 And I'm still fighting today 刀鋒那許生鏽 When the blades have dulled
Composed by Camille Saint-Saens English lyrics unknown
Softly awakes my heart as the flowers awaken You love, tender as ever
... Now will I be forsaken Speak again, or sleep forever Oh say that from the isle you'll never depart ... Thou so dear to my heart Thou so dear to my heart
** Oh once again, I implore thee Oh once again, say you adore me I implore thee, say you adore me Oh once again, say you adore me.
...spring wilt away ...gently moving So says my trembling heart, ...so loving ...in its flight, is not swifter than I when leaving all behind To your arms I fly, into your arms I fly
曲/詞: 藍奕邦 編曲/監製: 藍奕邦/李漢金 Song and lyrics by Pong Nan
別 恨自己生於這悲情世代 Don't hate yourself for having been born into this tragic era. 怎麼永垂不朽 轉眼亦已不再 However it might go down to posterity, it has vanished with the blink of an eye, 像 六月天空都會忽然飛霜 Such as the June sky that has suddenly filled with floating snowflakes. 把它當 美景仔細慢嘗 Treat it like a wondrous landscape that one should slowly savour.
慘 偏偏醉人漂亮 偏偏歎為觀止 Tragedy: why is it undeniably beautiful and sublime? 哀傷偏要是最博得俗世讚賞 Why is the world mesmerized by pain and suffering? 淚光閃得明亮 亦可教人欣賞 Even the sparkling teardrops appear dazzling, 勝過自彈自唱 It's better than listening to a live musical performance
*我對天 高聲一再呼喊 從無回覆一下 *I lament to the Heavens, but I get no reply. 也許衪根本當凡人是個笑話 Maybe God has always treated us as a joke. 淚滴變成飛花 人們無需念掛 Tear drops become snowflakes, which people will forget. 愛不到我就算吧 If you don't have love to offer me, that's fine! (抱不起我亦能抱著雪花)* (If you can't carry me, at least carry the snowflakes)*
難道你們都感到害怕 Or perhaps you are all afraid, too.
想 天天笑容燦爛 可惜世情冷酷 Wish: everyday is smiley faces; regretfully, the world is cold and ruthless. 當中喜與怒樂與哀未到我揀 Joy and Anger, Happiness and Sorrow; they're not my choices to make. 萬種悲歡離合 逐一化為灰燼 A thousand kinds of sad and happy partings and reunions merely turn to ashes in the end; 連同白雪花遍地瀰漫 Along with the snowflakes, they cover the ground.
Repeat @ with ( )
我也想 今生不再哭泣 樣樣事都不怕 I also wish that I will never shed another tear in this lifetime, and to never be afraid of anything again. 也許先要把最殘酷視作笑話 But first, I will have to be able to laugh at cruelty. 淚亦變成飛花 人們無需驚訝 The tears have turned to snowflakes, but people need not fear. 再多悲壯亦能笑一笑吧 Anything worse that comes our way, we'll just laugh it off 唯願我從此不再害怕 In the hopes that I will never be afraid again.
This past Saturday, I went to C.'s house with Clare to attend the bridal shower. I got to see Chan again, who is T.'s sister. We had a lot of good laughs. I also met one of T.'s colleagues, and she was very funny. We laughed about T. and his sister and how much they resemble one another.
Chan and T. have a similar accent: not a Vietnamese or Cantonese or any linguistic accent. Rather, I believe it's a special accent for their family only. They use the same phrases and expressions, which sounds hilarious when you hear Chan's voice in your ear, but you can picture T.'s voice in your head. Really, it was very funny for those of us who know T. well.
There were 2 funniest moments. One was when C. was beting quizzed on how well she knew her fiance, T. Clare and I knew a lot of the answers, but too bad we weren't sitting next to C., otherwise we would have given her the answers. Poor C., she ended up having to stuff her face with all these marshmellows, which is quite sickening if you think about it.
Then, C. had to open her gifts, and quite a number of women gave her lingerie. What made it funny was how some people gave her very revealing lingerie, and she liked the cute ones more, or the ones that were more conservative.
Overall, I would say it was a huge success! Thanks to Chris, Carol and Tien, the bridesmaids, for organizing this party.
Recently, the Harper government issued an apology to the Canadian aboriginal population, particularly the victims of the state or church-run residential schools. Since the 1800s, these residential schools had been set up for the "education" of Aboriginal children. It has to be noted that this form of "education" was a violation of the children's cultural identity more than anything else in the hopes of assimilating them. These children were forcefully taken from their homes and parents, and taken to boarding schools where they were given Christian names, taught western manners and customs and the English language above all.
In reality, everything about an Aboriginal child's heritage was supressed with numerous degrading methods of punishment. The worst part of all this was that the schools were run by pedophiles and sadists who sexually, physically, and emotionally abused the chidren.
The lasting remifications of residential schools is having created of a whole generation of Aboriginals who have become abusers, or are still sufferers of the memories of years of torment. Their children grew up with parents who abused drugs, alcohol, and sometimes themselves in the same ways that their parents were abused at these residential schools.
I applaud Ben Harper for this gesture of issuing an official apology, but more needs to be done.
1. Textbooks. The content of Canadian history textbooks must be revised to include a more indepth analysis of this chapter in Canadian history. The Americans in the U.S. will never be able to live down the shame of their treatment of black slaves. Why should Canada be allowed to hide our shameful treatment of Aboriginal peoples by ignoring it in the classroom?
2. Community Services and Support More community services must be erected in Aboriginal communities across Canada to help the survivors and their children cope with all this pain. The support system should be designed through consultation with Aboriginal community leaders, incorporating their own traditional methods of reconciliation for conflicts. This must not be a "white" system run by "white" people. At its heart, it must put the welfare and the recuperation of the Aboriginal people first and foremost on their list of priorities.
3. Monetary compensation People who are directly affected by the abuse endured at the residential schools should be given some monetary compensation, perhaps in conjunction with a counselling program.
Do you want to know what is the most shameful part of all this? In the U.S., the descendants of the black slaves still live in the cities, and they are very much a part of the contemporary cultural fabric of America. By comparison, in Canada, most of the Aboriginals live on reserves, or in the remote northern parts of the country. On the reserves and far away from economically developed urban centres, the Aboriginal people are so much more easily ignored.
Over-populated Canadian cities don't have to deal with crimes committed by Aboriginals. We don't have to worry about Aboriginal gangs. We don't have Aboriginal musicians singing and chanting about drugs, guns and womanistic values. Instead, we can just ignore them. And we do.
We put more money into providing services to our immigrants than we do our Aboriginal compatriots. That has to change.
