There are several guest lectures this semester on this class that inspire me. One of them must be our lab instructor, Dr. Brian Brook's lecture. He talked about human rights issues, which is essential to our society. Dr. Brooks first introduced the background and history on human rights, such as the importance of it when it was approved by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948, and that Eleanor Roosevelt was was among those who drafted the declaration, etc.
I especially enjoyed the important little details that Dr. Brooks has included such as the 30 human rights that we are all guaranteed. Among the 30 listed rights that we, as human in society, enjoy, I was especially fascinated by how easy and obvious that the certain right should one deserve, but yet a lot of people do not have the privilege to exercise the rights. The biggest example would be #2 on the list, "Discrimination on any basis – sex, race, religion, nationality, etc. – is wrong," but obviously it still happens in a lot of places in the world, including the United States. Another reflective information is the press freedom index. Since I am from Hong Kong, where press is quite free in general. But lately, especially after the umbrella revolution last year, I see that press is now being surveilled and even self-censorship going on, which makes me sad as a journalist. Looking at Reporters Without Boarder's World Press Freedom index, Hong Kong's was ranked 18th in 2002, and it has dropped to 70th in 2015. Below is a video that I co-produced that talked briefly about the Umbrella Revolution in 2014, when Hong Kong citizens tried to fight for democracy.
I also really enjoyed Prof. Amy McCombs' lecture, where she also discussed free press issues. She has shared a couple of figures, also a Free Press index, but from Freedom House. It is especially informational since I am also taking the Global Journalist class, where I produce web stories and radio/tv program that concerns global issues.
What insights did you gain doing research on your country?
Doing research on Guatemala was both informational and educational, but at the same time, I feel very shocked and sadden by the figures and facts that I gathered during researching the region.
I learnt that poverty is such a huge issue in Guatemala. Guatemala, being the most populous of the Central American countries, it is, though, with a GDP per capita roughly one-half that of Argentina, Brazil, and Chile. There were around 75 percent of the population that lives below the poverty line. The newly elected president in the country, Jimmy Morales, is seen as someone who might be able to change and improve the situation.
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| Mayan Families is a NGO that aims to "facilitate sustainable development programs in impoverished communities throughout the Lake Atitlán region of rural Guatemala." Their objective is to "stimulate long-term progress through school sponsorships, health initiatives, vocational training and microfinance, while providing emergency aid to those in critical need." (Credit: https://mayanfamilies.org/) |
I have also found out that there are quite a lot of NGOs in the country that aids the poor and uneducated people in Guatemala. Even though I am now not able donate a huge amount of money, but I would really like to commit to even do the slightest effort, such a few dollars a day, to help the children in that area, when I start to earn money and support myself.
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