ALL THE WORLD NOTICES AN EMPTY CHAIR

Liu Xiabo , Chinese poet and dissident, was awarded the Nobel Peace prize for 'his for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China' Jagland went on to state, 'The Norwegian Nobel Committee has long believed that there is a close connection between human rights and peace. Such rights are a prerequisite for the "fraternity between nations" of which Alfred Nobel wrote in his will.' Thorbjørn Jagland also noted in the presentation speech, ' The human rights activists in China are defenders of the international order '.

Xiabo was one of the 350 signatories of Charter 08 which outlines the freedoms and rights they would like to see in China(see link below) Xiabo's chair remained empty as Xiabo is currently imprisoned in China serving at least 11years. No relatives were allowed to leave China to attend and collect the prize on his behalf. Instead the prize was placed on his empty chair drawing much attention by his absence. Ironically the attempts by China to silence Xiabo have only drawn far greater world attention to him and the human rights abuses in China.

• Read the following articles and consider if Liu Xiabo is an upstander, or foolish. Should he have spoken up, drawn attention to oppressive actions in China or remained silent?

BBC:

Guardian: A Chair and a Photo Stand in for Liu Xiabo at Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony

"I have no enemies and no hatred... ...for hatred is corrosive of a person's wisdom and conscience; the mentality of enmity can poison a nation's spirit, instigate brutal life and death struggles, destroy a society's tolerance and humanity, and block a nation's progress to freedom and democracy. I hope therefore to be able to transcend my personal vicissitudes in understanding the development of the state and changes in society, to counter the hostility of the regime with the best of intentions, and defuse hate with love." Liu Xiabo

Nobel Peace Prize Presentation Speech

New York Review of Books: China's Charter 08



Read Liu Xiabo's poetry translated by Jeffrey Yang for PEN:

A Small Rat in Prison

for Little Xia

a small rat passes through the iron bars
paces back and forth on the window ledge
the peeling walls are watching him
the blood-filled mosquitoes are watching him
he even draws the moon from the sky, silver
shadow casts down
beauty, as if in flight

a very gentryman the rat tonight
doesn't eat nor drink nor grind his teeth
as he stares with his sly bright eyes
strolling in the moonlight

5. 26. 1999

Daybreak

for Xia

over the tall ashen wall, between
the sound of vegetables being chopped
daybreak's bound, severed,
dissipated by a paralysis of spirit

what is the difference
between the light and the darkness
that seems to surface through my eyes'
apertures, from my seat of rust
I can't tell if it's the glint of chains
in the cell, or the god of nature
behind the wall
daily dissidence
makes the arrogant
sun stunned to no end

daybreak a vast emptiness
you in a far place
with nights of love stored away

6. 30. 1997
References:
http://www.internationalpen.org.uk/go/news/liu-xiaobo-one-letter-is-enough-longing-to-escape-a-small-rat-in-prison-and-daybreak
Copyright © 2009 by Liu Xiaobo. English translation copyright © 2009 by Jeffery Yang. All rights reserved.

ENVELOPES ON A JOURNEY:MAIL ME ART

Inspiration for all you potential artists and doodlers out there: Mail Me Art! Darren Di Lieto established Mail Me Art several years ago opening it to both professional and amateur artists both adults and children. The idea is to send artistic work as mail. The address is incorporated into the art-piece as are stamps and the artist's address. A wide variety of materials and styles are used from postcards to envelopes, to padded post bags and boxes.

Take a look at the gallery and site and be inspired.

The journey of ideas and maintaining connections via mail is at the basis of this project. We would like to explore as does Mail Me Art the journey of the envelope. Over your journeys either:

• decorate an envelope and mail it to us with symbols, images of the place where you are. Post from there! OR
• using a magazine/tickets/brochures/newspaper from your travels create an envelope and mail it to us from the country where you visit.

Send to :
Ann Whiting
P.O.Box 12645,
50784 Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia

We will display everything on your return. Look through the gallery and Mail Me Art site for inspiration. Take a photo of what you create.

CELEBRATING RELIGIOUS PLURALITY

Look through the photos we took on our recent field trip to explore some of the places of worship in Kuala Lumpur.
Click here:

POWER OF MUSIC

Thankyou Safa for sharing the group Native Dean on your blog!This is so relevant as we work through the unit on religion right now. Read the lyrics below and watch the clip or go to Safa's blog to read what she said about them under her theme page.

What is the theme of their song ? How does this connect to other texts - poems, stories, books or people that we have been examining this year?

Go to This I Believe and read/listen to Yasir Billo's essay: The Right to Be Fully American

Me, my community we work hard,
Every opportunity to break walls,
Fighting all the lunacy that they cause,
Respect here, to you and me, the same God.

Giving you the right facts,
We keep repeating that Islam has been hijacked,
We ain't like that,
Then some lunatic goes on a rampage,
Using violence and I'm outraged

These is senseless, and its gruesome,
Please don't let this, be a Muslim.
Awww maaan... We're all vilified,
They're saying we're savages, uncivilized

Islam means peace? na thats a front!
Its all a deceit, till they get what want
Dont trust them, even the nice ones
Wait till the bite comes - Mike Tyson

Not fair. The KKKs, Timothy McVeighs,
Militia Brigades, the old crusades,
They're all renegades, from the faith that you claim,
Its them we should blame
I dont blame you, You should refrain too
Believe when we say that it ain't true.

I know what they call us, uh huh
They try to blame all us,
But I know the prophet lived and I know what he taught us

[Chorus]
its... my faith, my voice,
its... my faith, my voice,
Don't care what they say, this is my voice....
my faith, my voice

Come you're invited to see the real picture
Nothing hiding, here's a free scripture
We ain't gonna hurt you, try to convert you
Just so you know how easily they tricked ya

That all us Muslims are those 19 men
Don't build that mosque cause it might be them
Its the same kinda talk of a Bin Laden
Get'em - guilt by association

Mosques being vandalized, cats being stabbed at night
The bigots and racist like zombies they come to life
But instead of all the hate, lets join the same team
I love this land, my people, our dream

Go use the same steam, for youth to stay clean
Our earth to stay green, we want the same thing
'Stead of burning books, extinguish disease
Help spark the flame to help children in need

You will be your faith, I will be mine
Lets live in peace, ma'asalaam
Peace all the time, for all of mankind,
thats on my mind. my masterplan.. check it, yeah
that's my master plan, that's my master plan

NO MAN IS AN ISLAND

Read John Donne's writing:

No man is an island entire of itself; every man
is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;
if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe
is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as
well as any manner of thy friends or of thine
own were; any man's death diminishes me,
because I am involved in mankind.
And therefore never send to know for whom
the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

These words by John Donne from the 1624 Meditation 17,
from Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions

• Watch the video clip below:

• Reflect on the poem in your blog entry and 'the visual poem' to make connections to the people we have considered, the texts we have studied so far and the themes we are exploring this year.

'IT IS NOT POWER THAT CORRUPTS, BUT FEAR': AUNG SAN SUU KYI:

Aung San Suu Kyi, the pro- democracy leader of Burma, was finally released on Friday, 13th November after serving 15 out of 21 years under house arrest. 'Her release comes six days after the political party supported by the military won the country's first election in 20 years. The ballot was widely condemned as a sham.'

While many see that Aung San Suu Kyi's perseverence in fighting for democracy has been a 'positive force for Burma', some have been critical saying 'her rigidity has held the pro-democracy movement back'.

Some suggest she should have left Burma when she was able to do so in the late 1990's as she then could have addressed the UN General Assembly and worked for rights for her people from outside.

In Aung San Suu Kyi’s 1990 famous speech, “Freedom From Fear“, she noted, “It is not power that corrupts, but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it.”

• Why could Aung San Suu Kyi be considered a hero?
• What does she value? What choices has she had to make? Create an identity chart for Aung San Suu Kyi and consider what personal choices she has made in order to overcome the injustices in her country and help her her people?

Connections:

• Have you ever been in a situation where you are aware of an injustice but did not take action? What stopped you getting involved?

Click on the link to watch an interview made in 1995 with Fergal Keane when she was last released in 1995 before being re-arrested.

Listen to Freedom From Fear a BBC world service audio documentary.

Read Guardian article: Aung San Suu Kyi: I was both prisoner and maintenance woman

sanctions

'In foreign affairs, sanction means 'penalty, deterrent': eg. international sanctions against the republic go into effect in January.

• ( sanctions) measures taken by a nation to coerce another to conform to an international agreement or norms of conduct, typically in the form of restrictions on trade or on participation in official sporting events.

root: L. sancire: to ‘ratify'.

Listen to the BBC interview of Aung San Suu Kyi

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/nov/15/aung-san-suu-kyi-release

HOW DOES THE PAST IMPACT IDENTITY?

Listen to Fatmire Feka's story. I am so inspired by her ability to forgive, to move beyond understandable rage against the horrors she has seen. Consider how her identity has been shaped by the events of her past but how she transformed these events into becoming an 'upstander', an activist for peace and human rights.

Fatmire's 2009 Speech from The Eagle Down Foundation on Vimeo.