Effects of The Afghanistan War

The war in Afghanistan has caused significant destruction in the civilian community who are choicelessly caught in the crossfighting between the coalition forces and the Taliban militants. In the first 6 months of year 2009, about 1000 civilians have been killed. Many families in Afghanistan are suffering emotionally and economically due to the death of family members and destruction of businesses. One of the most significant impacts of this war, has been the loss of single-earning male members in many families. As a result of this development, elders of many families have stepped in to repair and preserve the social, economic and emotional health of the community. Elders have done this by primarily re-establishing or starting new enterprises that immediately take care of day-to-day survival needs of the family. "I'm rebuilding the shop so the children will have work and they can feed the rest of the family," Ahmed says, surrounded by spades and wheelbarrows. Many a times, families have to sacrifice something to survive these difficult periods. Children's education is the first major casualty/sacrifice in such scenarios. This article also provides a few insights on the coping mechanisms in the community. While the elders have stepped in by rebuilding the community, the women and children are not far behind. Children are wholeheartedly supporting the elders in their business enterprises while the women are doing their bit by baking bread for the neighbours and sustaining their families. In this way the entire community is making sure that young people do not have to sacrifice on their education because of the ongoing war.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8302963.stm

What I learned

From Ken Burn's Civil War video, I learned that, it wasn't only the governments arguing upon the issue of slavery. While the Confederates wanted slavery, the Union were headed towards abolishing slavery. I learned from this video that during the Civil War period, a lot of political parties were being formed,. I also learned that many people from the south said that slaves were happy and would rather continue being slaves rather then be free. Another fact from the video was that slaves were paid 5 dollars in court if they said they were free, and 10 dollars if they said that they were slaves. This shows that at that time, the force of law was very corrupt.

Northern Advantages over the South

-The southern army weren't prepared for combat (lack of discipline and control)

-The Northern Army sent in more troops by train for the first time.

-The population in the North had more than double the population of the South.

-The railroad mileage was higher in the North

-More factories to provide wealth and resources for more troops, food and weapons.

-The North and far more money than the South.

Western Sahara rights activist expelled from Morocco

Aminatou Haider, a Western Sahara rights activist, got arrested and expelled from Morocco for not following normal police procedures and renouncing her Moroccan citizenship. This happened as soon as she arrived to Laayoune airport from Canary Islands on the 11/15/09. It was unclear whether she could return as Moroccan authorities confiscated her passport. Since she had a spanish residency permit, she could stay there if she wishes.

Aminatou Haider is a leading defender of human rights of the Sahrawis, Recieved the Civil Courage Prize from The Train Foundation in New York. (October 21)

Haider was criticizing Morocco after Spanish colonial rule ended in 1975. "I have been threatened with arrest on my return." she said.

Source for Article:http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5izHUPbbiPruItzDXS2wn-Gn8-4Fw

Source for picture:http://www.aujourdhui.ma/alm_images/Aminatou-Haidar-1788.jpg

Political Parties in Morocco

Political Parties of Morocco are divided into 3 groups. The "Left"side is against all political governement judgements and the way the government runs the country. i.e Democratic Union. The "Right" side is political parties that agree and cooperate with the government with nearly every decision they make. i.e Justice and Development Party. Finally theres the "Center" side which is political parties in very close relations or within the government although can have opinions similar to the "Left" or "Right" sides. When I had a conversation with my mom, she said that the political parties in Morocco are incompetent and barely do anything. Some of the most important political parties in Morocco include the Socialist Union of Popular Forces. The political parties are often formed by rivalry to prove in wat they believe would be best for the country.