Lee McKinnis (57)
Kristina Marynczak (37)
Killian Noonan (36)
Melissa Castillo (32)
NikoVelazquez (27)
Shannon Ratzel (23)
Michelle Reyes (22)
Kyle Barczak (21)
Maura Bilek (21)
Susan Bayaa (21)
Facts are they really facts or are they just numbers that people put together to round up some numbers. as I was reading (measurements not facts) I realize the actuality of numbers and statistics, by mixing up measurements and facts, you really wouldn’t know what that is and what number are unless you use your common sense, like the number of people that live in Chicago right now 2,837,000 that’s a number it’s not a fact but it is a measurement, for the amount of people that live in Chicago right now because you have people that die and people that are born so that numbers can be off but a measurement tells us that it’s roughly around that number so now knowing this it will be easier for me to know what is a fact and what is a measurement. In the beginning of the story the writer says “if you were in school 120 years ago or so and you were in the physics class, you would have learned about a very special substance called ether.” The writer then tells us in the following sentences, “Today if you showed up in the party full of physicists and you were talking about ether you would be laughed out of the room.” Ether was a fact in the past but now it is a theory, few things change with time specially numbers so it’s not easy to say that it is a fact but it is indeed a measurement so be careful of what you use in your papers.
Eric DeVillez, Michael McGuire, Thomas Dow, and Troy Swanson.(MEASUREMENTS NOT FACTS) Pg 107-108 “Why White Rice.”
Updates from Gazi Murrar RSS Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts
-
Gazi Murrar
-
Gazi Murrar
Do you know what you think you know, that’s a question that I constantly think about because do I really know what I think I know. Sometimes in life people tend to think that they know more than what they do and no one could, tell them else wise, the only way they could to know is if they get a reality check and at some points does not work. I could say at a point in my life I was constantly like that but I grew up in figured out that I know nothing from what I think I do. The comparison that the writer maid with foot ball couches is a good comparison because as I was growing up it was always none that they don’t (go for it) on fourth down, as grow up and started playing the game I started to understand that at some times its possible that you have a better chance to get your first down. If the team was only one yard away from the first down or the touchdown I think you would have a better chance to succeed than to fail. The point of this paper was to not stop at what people tell you even if it ancient. When you are writing or just doing something don’t stop at what you heard take chances and go for it.
Eric DeVillez, Michael McGuire, Thomas Dow, and Troy Swanson.(Do you know what you think you know) “Why White Rice.” -
Gazi Murrar
Working Bikes
The Working Bikes Cooperative is a not-for-profit organization, and if you go to the web site they show you the organizations Tax ID #. The organization diverts bicycles from the waste stream in Chicago by repairing them for sale and charity. This non-profitable organization started one day in the founders garage he started gathering bikes from around Chicago and the Chicago land area, he started going to scrap shops and taking whatever he thinks could be fixed, he started fixing the bikes and selling them for profit but after that he decided to do some good in his life. The founder of Working Bikes seen what’s going around the world and how some people are just throwing away their bikes and some people around the world like In South or North Africa, Latin America or even here in Chicago are suffering and can’t walk the long distance from work and bake and also cannot afford a car or even just a bike. The organization started locally and started expanding nationwide. The organization started to gather more bikes and stared asking for people to donate their bikes but it was a success so they also need some people to help and donate some of their time, the volunteers started coming, now they just need the money so they started getting bike from all over the city and the south side suburbs, they would strip the bikes and put the good parts in seprit areas and they would just start building bikes from scratch and then action them or just sell the bikes this way they would have money to ship the bikes around the world, Working Bikes uses that money to provide bicycles to charity organizations within Chicago land and to ship bicycles to the Gulf Coast, Ghana, Tanzania, Angola, Cuba, Guatemala, and Peru. Working Bikes is now located in the big red brick two story building at the SW corner of 24th Place and Western Avenue, at 2434 S. Western Ave., Chicago, IL 60608 its location is not the best but I guess it’s not that important where it’s at or where it is or even how it looks because believe me it does not look the best, again like I sad it’s not always about the looks “don’t judge a book by its cover.” As I stated it’s a corner building me and my project group had our different thoughts about the place, I sad it’s an older apartment that is now all opened up on each other, but Greg and Zea say that it’s a warehouse because of the space and elevator, any way we went as a group of four some arrived at the place together and some fallowed. The store was closed but I was not about to go home so I found a bell next to the door so I pressed the door bell as we waited for someone to open the door I took a quick glance inside and all I seen was bikes as far as I could see inside the building. A gentlemen came to the door opens the door and asked us how can he help us, we told he him that we called about volunteering and he sad “Ya ya that’s fine come on in” so as we walk in the hole warehouse is dark so one of the guys sad “I don’t want to die,” It was funny but I also think he was kind of serious. The volunteers are getting ready to start work some of the people introduced their self’s and some just kipped to their own. I took a look in the building and I asked is this a store one of the men answered yes this is where we sell our bikes. The warehouse was long there was two lanes one on the left and one on the right side each lane had two sides of bikes and each lane had the same on top; the bikes are organized by size and style. I asked where do you woke on the bikes because there was no room for that in the lower level, so he tells me that’s why we go upstairs to the upper level I sad lets go, as we walk up the small stairs and reach the upper level it gets darker but then the lights get turned on, the panic is gone. In the upper level you have everything from new bikes to parts of bikes and everything is organized in its own way. With all that sad there was only one room I didn’t mention, it’s the room where all the magic happens, the room where all the volunteers get together and ether start stripping bikes or if they have enough experience they put the bikes together. When I say strep the bikes I mean strep them, we start with taking off the seat of the bike, we take off the pedals, the lights if any, take apart the steering, the chain, and any little screw on the bike. Every little peace that you take off has a special tool to use so you can take off that part. Every tool that you use has a special place on the wall and on the wall there is a drawing of the tool so you cannot misplace it by accident, every part has its size on it so if you have some that look alike you could tell by the size of the tool. Volunteering at Working Bikes gave me lots of respect to the people that work there on a daily basis it’s not an easy job where you just play with bikes all day, it’s actually the opposite of that you have to put hard work and get down and dirty with all the grease and lifting but it’s also fun and there is light bikes and they won’t give you something you cannot handle. I loved helping at Working Bikes because I had the chance to experience the people that work and help there I also had the chance to work with a group and on my one. The main thing that I love is the feeling that you have when you know you’re helping other people in you city and even around the world it’s a great feeling.
-
Gazi Murrar
Reading Mr. McGuire’s (Recognizing That All Writing Is Creative Writing) made me realize that every person that says I cannot do something actually can do it they just have to believe in their selves. If a person dose believe in his or her self they could do anything they put their mind to even if it was not perfect it could still be decent. Mr. McGuire had his own doubts “The thing is, though, I’m not a builder. I wouldn’t even call myself handy.” But he also likes to challenge his self so he did and he succeeded the first time by building the deck in his backyard, it toke him some time but it was complete and safe. Mr. McGuire’s point that if a student is writing a story or just any type of writing he or she have to believe in their selves, just write what comes to mind and gather their thoughts, put them together, after all the hard work just start editing and put all the pieces together so you could have a good and well done paper. After all everyone has it in them if it’s from being a handy man, a methodical person or just a writer so just don’t stop at what you think or what people tell or just because you were not borne with it because everyone has it in him or her so don’t stop and give it your best and you will be surprised.
DeVillez, Eric, Michael McGuire, Thomas Dow, and Troy Swanson.(Recognizing That All Writing Is Creative Writing) “Why White Rice.” -
Gazi Murrar
Dry your hair and don’t lick the frozen flag pole is a great catchy story which the writer starts by telling us where she is from, which is Chicago. He starts off by telling us some of the saying that we have in Chicago “The lesson is, do NOT go outside with your hair wet. NEVER. EVER.” He goes on by telling the reader why not and how almost everyone has is drilled in his head by their mothers, grandmothers, great-grandmothers and even their mother he sarcastically says “When the first European settlers invaded North America the Native Americans probably told them “Hey don’t go outside with your hair wet.”” He says the its not proven scientifically that it causes the flu but she does make a good argument because he says that when you go outside with wet hair on a cold day your hair frizzes and when that happens you could get a flu and the writer says that it’s not proven to weaken your immune system, but when you go outside and get cold you go back inside to a closed wormer place which is easier for bacteria to jump from a person to another so if you connect the dots its right if you go outside with wet hair you have a bigger chance to get the flu or if you lick a frozen flag pole when its frozen it’s going to hurt yourself. So the writer shows us ways to know something ether direct or just commonsense. The writer also brings to attention an electricity plant that’s somewhere in Joliet Illinois and how they are using coal to work the plant, also says that if it wasn’t for the plant he wouldn’t have any electricity to have written this chapter so the writer wants us to keep our eyes open for all options and possibility.
-
Gazi Murrar
This short story is mainly for children. It is the story of rumplestiltskin. The daughter of a miller was very beautiful and he wanted her to marry the king. The miller was a very greedy man and the king was very fond of money. The king brought the daughter to his house and put her in a room full of straw. The king said that all the straw was to be spun to gold by morning. The girl sat in the corner and started to cry. Suddenly the door open and rumplestiltskin walked in. he said that he would spin the straw to gold if she gave him something. She agreed and gave him her necklace and he went on his way spinning the straw and by morning it was all gold. The king was so happy with what she had done that he put her in the room again with even more straw. The second time he came she gave him the ring on her finger. He took the ring and spun the straw to gold once again. The greedy king put her in the room for a third night and when rumplelstiltskin she had nothing to offer. She offered him his first born child once she was to become queen. He was happy with that and spun the gold. She became queen and had her first child. Rumplestiltskin came back and was ready to take the child but she begged and pleaded and he said that if she could guess his name she could keep the child. The queen could not guess his name but he gave her some time to figure it out. The queen followed him and figured out his name and she got to keep her baby.
Paul O. Zelinsky, (Adapter, Illustrator) brother Grimm, October 16, 1986-
Prof McGuire
So, how is this related to our course?
-
-
Gazi Murrar
SHARE YOUR SHOES
Share your soles. Share your soles is a non- profit organization that have no affiliated with any government, political group, church or any origination of that kind. It has touched the soles hundreds of thousands as well as my heart to. It is an organization that is belt on volunteering, where many volunteers get together in a big warehouse and spend their time on gathering up the shoes and sort theme by size, gender or style. this all started in 1999, when Mona Purdy traveled through Central America, and saw children painting tar on the soles of their bare feet so they could run a race during their village’s festival. She happened to meet an American orthopedic surgeon who was visiting the village. He told Mona that if these children had shoes to wear, there would be a lot less need for him to regularly travel to the region to perform amputations of children’s infected limbs. It was really very simple. When Mona got home, she thought it would be a good idea to go around to some neighborhood schools and ask families to donate any used children’s shoes they might have. She collected some and brought them to an orphanage in Honduras. She figured she’d done a good deed and that her work was done. When she was about to leave, one of the workers at the orphanage asked, “When are you coming back?” Coming back? I’m not coming back. This was a one-time thing. The question changed Mona’s life. Soon, more schools became involved. Word traveled, Church groups, Scout troops, Civic organizations. The shoe drives began to attract attention. First newspapers. Then, radio. Television. The shoes began pouring in from all over the country, filling Mona’s garage, basement, and driveway. Thousands and thousands of pairs. It soon became clear that the Share Your Soles movement was spreading faster than Mona could have ever imagined. Before long, Mona faced some critical decisions. Shoes would go to the most desperately needy people she could possibly reach. That meant enlisting the aid of shippers and airlines. Government agencies, Embassies, Small businesses, Government officials, Consulates, Major corporations, Shoes were to be given in a way that respected and honored the dignity of those who would receive them. Sanitized with hot water and bleach, Polished, Sorted, Those with holes, tears, excessive wear? Discarded. Every person who received a pair of shoes would get shoes that were clean and in good condition. They would not receive garbage.
This type of volunteering and helping would be given as a requirement for a community service duty from your high school or court. I have been given the opportunity to volunteer throe a whole new way which is by my prophesier Mr. McGuire, where he setup days for students in all deferent types of areas from feeding the poor in your Chicano land area or all the way across the globe. The experience that I had at share your soles was a great Experian’s, I got to the warehouse in Alsip, Illinois and got straight to business. They start you off by briefing you about the organization, keep in mind the whole thing is run by three or four people. They show you about 2 or 3 video clips, they start briefing you on your duties and what you’re going to do for the next few hours. You get to the back of the warehouse and start opening boxes going throe the shoes that the people have send to see what is good and what is not, after you see what is good and what is not you see what gender the shoes go to, after you determine if it’s a male or a female shoe, you start sorting theme by style if its soccer shoes they go to the sports section if its gym shoes they go in there own section if heavy boots likewise they go in a deferent section, same goes for the dress shoes. The reason each shoe goes in its own section, is to know where to send the shoes for instants the heavy boots go to cold environment where they also work in them, the sandals and light shoes go to the hot temperature areas like Africa and Haiti and so on. To do something and know that you helping someone is a great felling imagine helping hundreds of people save their feet from amputation, imagine if one of you loved ones was in need for shoes to save his or her feet what would you do? Just because you do not that someone does not mean you don’t help him, it’s something good that you do that gives you more good deeds the more it hearts and the more you sweet the more good deeds you get. If you don’t believe in these types of thing there is always karma and karma is a B****, do well so you could receive well.
After my group and I were done with sorting the shoes we started looking for dirty shoes so we could clean and shine theme so the people that are receiving the shoes are happy and do not feel like they are getting bad shoes that people don’t need because a good amount of these shoes are new, my group and I also added shoe lasses to those shoes in need. The experience was not all work we had some fun playing some foot ball by throwing the shoes from one end of the pile to the other but also being careful to not damage the shoes. I got to know my class mates even better; I got to meet new people which was a nice thing. After finishing with the shoes we got set up a sale table that also helps share you sole with money so they could afford to pack and ship this shoes all around the world because it is not a cheap thing to do the do need help financially to pack and help so anything could help, just $1 a day could help save a child’s feet. The share you sole volunteering is something that I would strongly recommend doing to help others and is something that I would defiantly do again in the future.-
Grzegorz Forgiel
Gazi your paper was great I liked how you gave some information about the organization and how it started. I too went to the Share Your Soles event and if im not mistaken we went on the same day. I really enjoyed that day and I felt that we had accomplished a lot, although the people that had to then pack the shoes into boxes had a little more work than we did but either way it was fun and educational especially with the videos we had to watch in the beginning, those videos are definitely great videos that taught me a lot about people needing shoes, all this time I just thought everyone needed food and a place to live never had it come across my mind that people needed shoes and that shoes made a difference, in my mind I figured if you dried giving someone shoes they would look at you like a fool and say “you expect me to eat this?” but thanks to Mona I learned that there really are people that need shoes and badly when I learned about the tar that these kids are using to “make” there own shoes it blew my mind, there is no way that putting tar on the bottom of your feet could be good for you either but also the fact that all of these people are getting there feet amputated also because they catch diseases through walking bare foot which cuts up there feet which then causes them to catch bacteria, it is just unbelievable. “ imagine helping hundreds of people save their feet from amputation, imagine if one of you loved ones was in need for shoes to save his or her feet what would you do? Just because you do not that someone does not mean you don’t help him, it’s something good that you do that gives you more good deeds the more it hearts and the more you sweet the more good deeds you get” that is just it people do not imagine because they never were put in those perspectives thus they do not think about it, I was the same way I never thought about helping others, I always figured that there are others already doing that so why bud in, but unless people start making this into commercials on TV and radio it will be difficult to inform everyone in the way that we were informed. I completely agree with you on the deeds perspective, you do feel good after knowing that you just helped just little fella out somewhere in another country, and although you do not get verbal words of thank you, you can just imagine the smile on these peoples faces when they see the boxes with tons of shoes in them. Now although I did like you paper, you really need to work on that spelling, and grammar because some of these words are really misspelled making it hard to read the paper, but otherwise I thought it was great you proved your point and caught everyone’s attention, I look forward to reading more of your papers.
-
Gazi Murrar
Thank you for letting me know about all That. its just that i was in a hurry but next time i will take my time. Thanks again :)
-
-
Emmanuel Morales
Gazi your paper on Share Your Soles was very informative. You go on in detail about telling us the whole story on how this organization came about. How the owner Mona Purdy began as a onetime thing but when asked when she was coming back changed her life. “Shoes were to be given in a way that respected and honored the dignity of those who would receive them. Sanitized with hot water and bleach, Polished, Sorted, Those with holes, tears, excessive wear? Discarded. Every person who received a pair of shoes would get shoes that were clean and in good condition. They would not receive garbage”. I really liked how you emphasize on the shoe quality that is expected from them. How they take their time to clean the shoes and no one would receive garbage. Details like that make the reader know that Share Your Sholes truly cares about what they give to countries. Just because people don’t have shoes does not mean they deserve garbage, it really shows that Mona has a heart to help those in need. I myself got the opportunity to work with the organization and I honestly enjoy all the hard work they have accomplished. “The reason each shoe goes in its own section, is to know where to send the shoes for instants the heavy boots go to cold environment where they also work in them, the sandals and light shoes go to the hot temperature areas like Africa and Haiti and so on”. Not only do they clean their supply but they also take the time to organize their shoes to get deliver to certain countries. It wouldn’t make sense to send winter boots to Africa, so like I stated before Share Your Soles is a great organization that cares about those unfortunate. “To do something and know that you helping someone is a great felling imagine helping hundreds of people save their feet from amputation, imagine if one of you loved ones was in need for shoes to save his or her feet what would you do? Just because you do not that someone does not mean you don’t help him, it’s something good that you do that gives you more good deeds the more it hearts and the more you sweet the more good deeds you get. If you don’t believe in these types of thing there is always karma and karma is a B****, do well so you could receive well”. The statement above is strong; you go on by saying that if a loved one was in need what would what would you do? When a question like that is asked people really think about it. Just because it is someone we do not know does not mean we should not care. I understand it is not our fault or responsibility to help those in need, but being human one should care about issues like these because if we were placed in the same situation as them we would appreciate any help we can get. I really liked how this paper was very informative, one thing I saw a lot was misspelling but that is something you can modify in the future so other than that it was a very good reflection. Good job!
-
Dawn Murry
I could relate to this essay written by Gazi Murrar because I also went to the share your soles event with my class. I can truly say that it was an experience out of this world because you did have a lot of many different emotions because you just didn’t know what to expect. You expected a lot of shoes because it’s called “Share Your Soles” and we knew what Mona Purdy was about. But, just like Gazi stated that they actually cared enough to wash, polish and add shoe laces to shoes that was in need. That is totally awesome that people that are not going through what these families are going through in these our counties care just that much. You just don’t know how many good hearts that is in the world until you see and experience an organization like “Share Your Soles”. Mona Purdy is such a God gift to the world to have started a wonderful service event like this. I really admire her because it took just to go there and see what the kids and families are going through before she was able to make a decision that she had to do something to make a change. I feel she has done more than a change because something such as shoes that we take for granted means a whole lot for families that are walking on concrete and gravel to get an education, get food and water make a difference. Gazi also stated that Mona informed us that they are so, many children that are loosen there limbs at such a young age because they don’t have shoes. In my head how something that we would not think about twice without leaving the house without would help people and given them the support system that they possibly need to move forward. I right with Gazi that you problem didn’t even know much about your classmates until this event. But, you can walk away knowing and seeing how nice they are and maybe even a few things that you have in common with them. When you go to a service event sometimes you have no clue what you are getting yourself into but, at the end it gives you strong advice and thought knowing that you are making the right decision by being there and given back to the community the way you have. I did enjoy reading Gazi thoughts and experiences of the event and what he enjoys because everyone see things different and even have a different thought span then what actually happen at that time. I do agree that Professor McGuire gives us an extra push to go to these different service events because it gives you a different perspective of life and how things we must have truly makes a different for those that can’t get them. Just from this one service event I feel that I have looked into other things that I could give my time to. It makes you feel grateful when you leave.
-
-
Gazi Murrar
Tantric sex for the determinedly single is a story a young boy that loves to explore and is curious about everything but most of all his dads trip to India. Sitting down one day the boy, with his parents the mom said that the English teacher had told her “your son has insatiable thirst for knowledge.” The boy tries to avoid the conversation, so he asked his father about his trip to India. The boy’s father looked at him the boy held his breath… NO said the father, but his mother kept on going. It comes to be that the boy over heard his parents saying how people in India don’t kiss because of Tantric the father said, so the son was trying to get his father to tell him about that. Nothing from the father but at his school the kids are talking about the French kiss “tongue tennis” or the English kiss which is, dry lips touching briefly. As the kid grow up he got introduced to the internet so he looked it up and started to practice it in front of the mirror scared to get cote by his parents but no one was there “No one’s there to trouble you, even when you click on one site and your computer suddenly bursts into heavy breathing and you search, your hands fumbling, to find the sound button.” The kid started practicing on his own in front of the mirror and at one point started drawing lines on the mirror so he could get back to the same spot. The kid get hooked on it doing it every day mastering it had a favorite website for it, the words sound properly polite. It even tells him how to begin. And because you are insatiable, you know where it ends. So the kid ended up having an addiction. I think if the parents of that kid had explained it to him I don’t think he would have the need to look it up on the internet and get addicted.
Salway, Sarah. Tell Me Everything. 21-26. 2007-
Prof McGuire
Connections to class?
-
-
Gazi Murrar
Curry Goat and Calypso is an interesting story it is a story about an Indian kid that was raised by his parents to not eat any type of met growing up the kid wondered how met actually taste so one day he was with his family in a nearby town for a relatives wedding as his family was watching the wedding he took off to a nearby restaurant that did not even have a menu he got the last thing that the server screamed out which sounded like “liver curry.” He left the restaurant went bake to the wedding washed his mouth about 20 times to get the meat smell out of his mouth so no one could smell it. Growing up he went to college, moved in with a roommate one day the roommate was cooking goat curry Juggernaut (which is the name of the kid) did not like the smell of the cooking but got use to it. Juggernaut one day got an idea to mix the goat curry with some of the Indian spices and flavors. The food that both of the kids mix together was really good, the word got out on the campus, the staff and students loved it. Juggernaut started to getting woman because of his food. Juggernaut loved the fame so moved out to his own apartment. The kid grow up lived his life style not his family’s. Lived his life and had a good time.
Subba Rao, Curry Goat and Calypso, short story. -
Gazi Murrar
Letter to the Editor
Dear Editor,
Hunger in the world is a huge issue because there are about 925 million hungry people in the world. 300 million of these hungry people are in Africa. Some of the problems that made this issue escalade are that the world did not pay any attention to the signs that were happening in Africa like the Food shortage. Food shortage is one of the main rezones, which is caused by drought so if there is no water there is no harvest, if no harvest, the price of supply goes up. Most of these people are farmers and relied on their harvest to get money, if there is no money, no one could buy anything. So even if they don’t farm they don’t have money to import from the outside world. Poverty in Africa isn’t something that has just occurred; it’s been there for centuries. It has become worse because of the shift in population, from the interior to the urban centers where these movements of tribes. There are many ways we can help like donating money to charities or organizations like CARE, United Nation, Islamic relief, and (Stop Hunger Now Southern Africa.) if you can not give money, You can stared with yourself, by volunteering on your time, in your own city, in your own country in the food packaging program, or by donating food, our just your time. If donating 2 hours of you day for packaging you could feed up to 200 people a day imagine if you did it three days a week you would be feeding 600 people a week, and that’s just donating your time.
Sincerely,
Gazi Murrar-
Keitha Cheeks
I think hunger is a wonderful issue to get involved with and to have in the newspaper. More and more Humans are suffering every day from not having enough food to eat. 925 million hungry people are a large number and there is definitely something that needs to be done about that. I know something can be done. There is a lot of food being wasted and thrown away every single day, probably every single hour. Restaurants throw pounds and pounds of food out every day when they close. Also people have too much food in their houses that they end up throwing away. There is too many hungry people in the world for that much food to be thrown out. There are also people in the world hungry that don’t even have to be. I actually know of families who receive link cards to buy food from the grocery stores, and they are starving. They are starving simply because the mother or father is selling the link to people in the grocery stores. Often they are using the money to buy unimportant things like shoes, clothes, beer, cigarettes, and sometimes even drugs. Why would someone even do that knowing they have starving kids at home? I knew of kids in my grammar school that would save some of their lunch at school to take home to eat later because they didn’t have any food at home. There were even kids who saved all their food to take to a younger sibling at home because they knew he or she was going to be hungry. Thinking back on it now is so sad because other students use to laugh at them. That’s just one instance though. People are hungry all over the world for all sorts of reasons. Gazi stated that there are even hungry states and countries. I think all these restaurants that throw out food should start somehow getting the food to Africa since there is over 300 million people suffering out there from being hungry. I don’t know hardly anything about Africa but I do know there is a rich part of Africa so they should help out the poor side and get that large number decreased. According to Gazi’s letter, in some areas people are starving because there is no water. That doesn’t sound right but, it’s because they are farmers and without any water they can’t plant their crops and make money selling them to afford food for their families. There are lots of different hunger charities and organizations to help feed starving people. I have donated food before with my old schools and it felt good to do that knowing I was helping people for nothing beneficial for myself. I also have did fund raisers to send money to poor places in the world. I would really like to get involved again and donate more boxed and can goods to poor families. Most of all I will try to donate to charities that deliver to starving people in Africa.
-
Grzegorz Forgiel
Gazi I agree with you hunger is a huge issue in the world my paper was on the same topic, and people need to step up to the plate and start helping out because otherwise a lot of people are going to die. Just thinking about the number 925 million that is a huge number, it is very hard to believe that there are that many people out there starving when we have it so easy out here to get food it is such a sad thought. You mentioned that “Some of the problems that made this issue escalade are that the world did not pay any attention to the signs that were happening in Africa like the Food shortage” I think it is pathetic that we could not do anything about this and that we had to wait until it got more serious and was to late to do anything about it, really goes to show you what kind of heartless people we have running this country. To the point that regular people like you and me have to start foundations and spend our own hard earned money, when the government should at least take all the wasted food and send them on express so it gets there in the same week. You also did a good job here “Poverty in Africa isn’t something that has just occurred; it’s been there for centuries. It has become worse because of the shift in population, from the interior to the urban centers where these movements of tribes. There are many ways we can help like donating money to charities or organizations like CARE, United Nation, Islamic relief, and (Stop Hunger Now Southern Africa.) if you can not give money, You can stared with yourself, by volunteering on your time” because it shows how serious the issue is and how long it has been going on for, no body has done anything juristic yet but that does not mean that the (reader) can not do anything about. the cause. It gives the reader choices whether it is donating money or donating time, it also gives the reader choices to which foundation he or she wants to donate to, gives the reader an opportunity to do some research on the foundations. “If donating 2 hours of you day for packaging you could feed up to 200 people a day imagine if you did it three days a week you would be feeding 600 people a week, and that’s just donating your time.” this part I really liked because it showed some math involving how many people one can save just by giving 2 hours of there life, it made things more realistic in my opinion. Gazi did a great job it was the perfect length with the perfect about of information in it, you really could not put to much information in it, in order to keep the editor focused, the whole point of it was to make it briefed but yet wanting more information and you nailed it, I would work on grammar because I did see some minor problems otherwise great job and I look forward to reading more.
-
Erin Murphy
Gazi wrote a well-developed letter to the editor about world hunger, and issue that has been affecting this world since the beginning of time. This topic is really an important issue to raise awareness about to maybe get the public more involved inn service work, donations, and we could actually prompt more activist groups to get involved. I think that people in the United States don’t hear much about the people plagued in other countries by disease, famine, and are literally starving to death. I do believe that since this country doesn’t have a big issue of starving people, that it is just not a topic that is considered to be pressing enough to spend money and time on. I think there is a saying, out of sight, out of mind. It’s not right, but the United States has various public aids established to help the low-income families out with bills, food, and gas. Also there are soup kitchens open in many communities to assist the homeless and poor. I recently submitted my service work paper talk about the same issue and I thought of ways to confront this crisis and how we as a community and work together to fight this war. I came up with some ideas to get people more involved in charity work to help battle various issues of starvation, disease, and violence which many of these starving people are confronted by on a daily basis. I think that the media should offer more information how to get involved in local organizations, which I rarely see much advertising of local charitable organizations in the Chicago land area. I do believe that if schools started to require charity work to the students as either a requirement for graduation, maintain a good grade, or as a form of extra credit, it would get the students more involved. If you look at the court system, there is a program called SWAP, which requires criminals of different offenses to do a certain amount lf community service to complete their sentence. Great idea, however it sends the message that volunteer work is punishment. Maybe think of ways to make service work sound fun and offer the newspaper some suggestions how to do so. I like how this letter to the editor was packed with facts, statistics, and supporting information. This paper captured my attention and really made me trust that this topic was extremely important to the author. I think this was a great topic to discuss and write about and you are not the only one who feels strongly about tackling this crisis. I believe that there is a good chance this letter may be printed in one of the newspapers in the Chicago land area. I would definitely send this out to several of them. Good job on the paper and great topic to raise awareness for. I look forward to your next submitted paper.
-
Emmanuel Morales
Gazi, your letter was very informative and kept my attention till the end. I myself enjoy reading things like this because it gets straight to the point, unlike others that just throw things for fillers. “Hunger in the world is a huge issue because there are about 925 million hungry people in the world”. I really liked how you started your opening sentence with this fact. It gave the reader an idea on how many people are actually starving. Starvation is definitely an issue that the world should focus on. I honestly can see why some countries dislike America so much because we basically have everything we need and more. Compared to those countries no one helps or even pays attention to what they have to go through. Africa is one of the countries facing the issue of starvation. By adding the fact about the short storage caused and effect really open my mind about what they have to deal with. The drought due to the lack of water and they can’t harvest, leading to having prices to go up. It is like a domino effect, after one thing goes wrong everything else seems to go down as well. In this letter you pretty much explain why Africa got to the point to starvation and the facts really made your paper strong. One fact that I suggest you should add would be how many people have died from starvation? I was left wondering because you stated “300 million of these hungry people are in Africa”. By adding the number deaths it would give the reader the motivation to act a lot quicker. The last part of your letter you begin talking about how one can help with this issue. “There are many ways we can help like donating money to charities or organizations like CARE, United Nation, Islamic relief, and (Stop Hunger Now Southern Africa.) if you cannot give money, You can stared with yourself, by volunteering on your time, in your own city, in your own country in the food packaging program, or by donating food, our just your time”. I want to know if you had any experience or have been involve in these organizations. By giving a review about one of these organizations it would make people realize how simple it would be to volunteer. “If donating 2 hours of your day for packaging you could feed up to 200 people a day imagine if you did it three days a week you would be feeding 600 people, and that’s just donating your time”. This just show the reader how much of a difference one person can make. In a way it is encouraging because once you know you did something for a good cause, you feel great about yourself. You will feel like you did a difference and in reality you did, by saving those going through starvation. I can honestly say this is one of the best letter I have read so far, you did a great job Gazi keep it up.
-
-
Gazi Murrar
Thank you M’am is one of the funniest stores I read. It’s about a boy that tempted to robe a purse from a large woman but it did not go as planned because as soon as he got the purse he fell to the floor from how heavy it was so the woman just turned around and kicked him in his privets as he was still on the floor. The woman picks up the boy and shook him just so she could teach him a lesson which I think it worked because the kid was embarrassed in front of the people. As she held the boy she took him with her to her house didn’t ask him anything but his name and why he wanted to take her purse. The kids name was roger and he wanted new suede shoes she made him wash his face when they got home he seen that he had a chance to run out the house but he didn’t lose her trust. “The woman did not watch the boy to see if he was going to run now, nor did she watch her purse which she left behind her on the day-bed. But the boy took care to sit on the far side of the room where he thought she could easily see him out of the corner other eye, if she wanted to. ” The woman came back and gave the boy 10 dollars and told him that he didn’t have to steel and to behave the boy was shocked and didn’t know what to say. I think it’s a great way to show how we could help others because we where kids one and we did do bad things as well.
Hughes Langston. Thank You, M’am (1976) Holt Literature and Language Arts. Ed. 87-90 -
Gazi Murrar
Gradation is a short story I read for this week about a man that’s just a mile outside Council, Oklahoma. The man was wearing dirty jeans and a solid gray shirt. Standing on the interstate 40 and Rout 81, the sun was just rising from the East. The man was cold trying to worm up himself by rubbing his hands together. As he was walking beside of the highway the 18 wheelers started to pass by him on both directions. He started thinking about where these trucks were headed. Thinking if the trucks were going to Oklahoma City, or who knows. If they were going south, they would reach Dallas or Houston, maybe north to Kansas City, Omaha or maybe all the way to the Twin Cities. The man decided to go westbound. It seemed to have fewer options, where drivers going west had to make long distance stops. Walking with his head down, he got excited when he would see a plastic bottle, until he wood see that it doesn’t contain urine. He knew that many of the truck drivers would rather piss in a bottle and throw it out the window than lose fifteen minutes with a truck stop. What he also know that they take meth to stay awake for long trips. So he started to calculate if the driver is on the left side which side would it be easier to throw the bottle from. Etching himself felling the bumps on his face until he thought to himself, what he looked like maybe a homeless at that point he was homeless. Thinking about a week ago about his girlfriend just left a day after the water getting shut off and the electricity. Her family wasn’t supportive, he knew it wasn’t going to work out. Than he spots a bottle, He slid down to his knees and picked up the bottle. It wasn’t warm. He wondered if that mattered. With thoughts of separation and reconstitution he shook the bottle up like juice. He twisted the cap off and brought the bottle to his nose, wishing there was some way to know if it contained meth. He didn’t think there was.
Geff Peck. Foliate Oak Literary Magazine. December 2010 -
Gazi Murrar
Topic: Hunger in Africa • Hunger in Africa and the difficulties to survive regular life and illness like AID’s. • The reason of this crisis. - No water. Because there is no sources and the bad weather and climate changes. - Bad farming due to the climate changes and low recourses. - Bad economy. - Bad leadership. • What is being done? - The United Nations is helping with food programs like the world food day. They are also helping with money and hand labor. - The world food program (W.F.P.) and Stop Hunger Now (S.H.N.) • You could see all this info at these websites. - http://www.wfp.org - http://www.stophungernow.org • You could help by donating time or money.
Citation -
Gazi Murrar
STOP HUNGER HELP YOUR KIND
Hunger in Africa is an issue that has been the center of attention of world crises for years. For more than 15 years Africa’s hunger has been the highest budget priority for the UN (United Nation.) One of the biggest reasons of hunger in Africa is the drought problem. Another reason for hunger is lack of resources, the list of problems goes on. For people being hungry in Africa and all over the world is not just their problem, it should be our problem as humans in the world.
The world has 925 million hungry people that don’t have enough food to eat, in Africa alone there is more than 300 million people that suffer from hunger. Africa one of the world’s biggest continents, second largest to be exact, it has the potential of harvesting and growing enough crops to feed itself. For many people in the world, food seems to be constantly at hand, but for most of Africa’s children that’s not true they have to travel many of mills just to find a food source or just to get water to drink or for cooking or just to shower.
Food shortage is one of the main rezones, which is caused by drought so if there is no water there is no harvest, if no harvest, the price of supply goes up. Most of these people are farmers and relied on there harvest to get money, if there is no money, no one could buy anything. So even if they don’t farm they don’t have money to import from the outside world. Poverty in Africa isn’t something that has just occurred, it’s been there for centuries. It has become worse because of the shift in population, from the interior to the urban centers where these movements of tribes, or peoples, put a strain on the little resources that is available. The economic system that was a part of Africa before the colonialist took over were hunters, gatherers and some simple farming. They were able to feed off of the land, however because of colonialist laws, which made certain processes illegal, the people had to subsist on what was offered as well as new methods of gaining sustenance, such as learning to use farming equipment or learning skills that are employable. With the need for employment, new machinery enters the process and competition makes it more difficult to put food on that table. With no structure put in place to help those that are below the norm, starvation became a problem that many countries in Africa could not solve on their own relying on outside help to feed people in need. It has continued up to the present time with many around the world trying to conquer hunger throughout the world.There are many of organizations in the world that are trying to end world hunger. The united nation (UN) is one of the largest organizations out in the world that is trying help not just to help end hunger but for other reasons like political issues and more. World Food Programme (WFP) also is part of the (UN) it is actively engaged in combating world hunger around the globe and Africa. It’s known for many of its successes Born in 1961, WFP pursues a vision of the world in which every man, woman and child has access at all times to the food needed for an active and healthy life. World Emergency Relief Established in 1985, the world emergency relief is both a religious fellowship of people around the globe and a charity bent of global humanitarian relief of world hunger and many other acts of kindness and generosity. According to their website, their vision is to “give children all over the world a living chance by addressing their practical, emotional, spiritual and economic needs, as well as the needs of their families and communities. Care is one of the main combatants of world hunger and poverty, Care is a humanitarian relief organization focusing on assisting impoverished women throughout the world as well as survivors of war and natural disasters. One of their aims is providing aid to those in need.
On CNN (www.CNN.com) they menchen hunger in Niger and what’s happening from the drought to having almost no harvest, they go on by explain how people rely on what comes in. the children are relying on one meal a day if any, the people are leaving their homes in seek of food and medical attention the are basically refuges. “For those of us in the city, we are seeing the first signs of food crisis spreading across our country. We have seen it before. It has already started, and it is coming fast.” From the CNN website, that’s what Haoua Lankoande, a manager with the humanitarian agency CARE wrote in a recent blog post from the Niger capital, Niamey.
According to AL JAZEERA website (www.aljazeerz.com) that Somalia’s kids and families are fleeing from Somalia due to drought and civil war to their neighbor Ethiopia and to their other neighbor Kenya. Some studies show that more than 50% of the children arriving in Ethiopia are malnourished.H.I.V. (AIDS) is a problem that’s not helping stop the hunger. 20% of the people have it, ages between 15 and 49 are the most to carry it cases no strength to recover from hunger. There are only a few recourses to treat HIV. People have to travel as much as 20klm and sometimes even more. Of course they don’t have much to offer, basic medicine is only what they have to offer. Food is the bigger problem because it is the reason for good nutrition and if you have good nutrition you live longer and live better and you fight the HIV better with the ARV drugs.
There is help coming from some organizations and individuals, (Stop Hunger Now Southern Africa) is to end hunger in Southern Africa. International funding has become difficult to secure due to the world economic crises, therefore primary funding of the Program will be sourced within the region of Southern Africa. This is a blessing in disguise because each community in the region can, and is, making a committed effort to contribute in their local areas. The resourced community often providing funding for their neighboring community, which is in need of help. Each meal costs only two rand which is about 0.26 US dollars. One of the things they are doing is the packaging event. This event with only 25 volunteers could pack 5,000 meals within 2 hours. There is also another project by the same organizations that’s called (YOUTH LEADERSHIP.) The high school subject of Life Orientation requires learners to serve at least 20 hours a year in some form of community service. This program provides a wonderful opportunity for the youth to engage with the local under-resourced community in a fun-filled manner to help out others.
FoodBank is something that is in progress in South Africa. It’s a warehouse that collects tones of good quality food donated by farmers, retailers and manufacturers. Then they take it to other warehouses around the country to serve it to hungry people in need. Foodbank also helps farmers so they could feed themselves and also help the organization feed others, it well create jobs and help the economy.
The UN also had its share in helping but now is starting with the (Programme on Youth) it’s a small program situated in the department of Economic and Social Affairs, and many more plans but this one will help the youth by opening their eyes to the world and opportunities. The UN also created a World Food Day which falls on the 16th of October. It gets food prices from crisis to stability.
Price swings, upswings in particular, represent a major threat to food security in developing countries. Hardest-hit are the poor. According to the World Bank, in 2010-2011 rising food costs pushed nearly 70 million people into extreme poverty.
How can we help end hunger in Africa!? Is a question that’s been asked plenty. You can stared with yourself, by volunteering in your own city in your own country, in the food packaging program, or by donating money, food, our just your time. If donating 2 hours of you day for packaging you could feed up to 200 people a day imagine if you did it three days a week you would be feeding 600 people, and that’s just donating your time.
People around the world through away so much food a day, it could feed all the hungry people in the world so next time you go out for food or just cooking a meal think about all the hungry people. Try not to waste any food because it’s a blessing that you have and others don’t.
As hunger and drought spread across Africa, there’s a huge focus on increasing yields of staple crops, such as maize, wheat, cassava, and rice. These crops are important for improving food security.
Building and providing water recourses could help farmers with their harvest, building wails so if they get a good rain fall it won’t go to waste it will go in to the wail until they are in need of it
The power of school meals when you provide food in schools, attendance skyrockets. If girls stay in school, they marry later and have smaller families. (Safety Nets) when disaster strikes or a food crisis hits, 80 percent of the world has no backup plan or safety net. But Brazil has gotten it right. They are linking small farmers to schools. People get cash transfers if their children get good grades, go to health clinics and get immunized. If Brazil could do it than it’s should be possible for Africa. Connecting farmers to markets connecting farmers to markets lifts them out of poverty. Technology Revolution Technology can revolutionize the battle against hunger. If there is Technology there is knowledge so they would be better with their harvest and saving it. Building Resiliency the number of natural disasters is rising exponentially. WFP is working with communities to ensure food security by building resiliency through reclaiming of land, planting of trees and providing irrigation.
Some of the places to go and help people outNOT COMPLETE
-
Grzegorz Forgiel
Gazi I enjoyed reading your paper we had just about the same top, and well going through it you had some good information in it. But start out with the first paragraph you mentioned the UN but you did not inform the audience on what the UN actually is, not everyone will know what it is. Other just some things need to be touched up other wise its good. Moving down to your next paragraph I did like that you used numbers to show how serious the problem is and that it is possible to fix it if we all work hard to do so. The information you have in this paragraph is good, but you need to put some resources in there to show that the information that you are providing is reliable, some quotes some articles some thing to show that you did not just take this information from thin air, it will make that paragraph stronger. Moving down to your next paragraph I noticed that this time you did describe the UN and what kind or organization they are but you still might want to put a some piece of this into your 2 paragraph. Again all this information “World Food Programme (WFP) also is part of the (UN) it is actively engaged in combating world hunger around the globe and Africa. It’s known for many of its successes Born in 1961, WFP pursues a vision of the world in which every man, woman and child has access at all times to the food needed for an active and healthy life. World Emergency Relief Established in 1985, the world emergency relief is both a religious fellowship of people around the globe and a charity bent of global humanitarian relief of world hunger and many other acts of kindness and generosity. According to their website, their vision is to “give children all over the world a living chance by addressing their practical, emotional, spiritual and economic needs, as well as the needs of their families and communities. Care is one of the main combatants of world hunger and poverty, Care is a humanitarian relief organization focusing on assisting impoverished women throughout the world as well as survivors of war and natural disasters. One of their aims is providing aid to those in need.” is useless without some sources to show its reliable information. The rest of the paragraph has at least websites to show its credible so the rest of it is good, but does need some fixing as far as spelling and grammar. The paragraph after this with the little information about HIV does not fit, it seems like it just popped out of thin air, you need to focus on starvation because that is your topic. The rest of the paper is a good paper, it has good information but again needs sources to show its credible, to make your paragraph a stronger paragraph. As a paper as a whole I did like it, it was informative and it does make me want to help the starving people of Africa, I am looking forward to reading more.
-
Grace Cosentino
I agree with your first problem that the starvation of Africans is a big concern and it has been going on for years. I feel that even though we are so far away we should still care to help, a lot of people feel that they are not “our people” but truly they are people and there is no such thing as “our people” we need to help whoever we can. Americans need to recognize this is a very big problem and just dedicating a little of our time or money can help save lives. I liked in your second paragraph you pointed out that it’s not just Africans that are starving its others too and by giving an exact number you really helped me as a reader get a better grasp on the subject and understand just how much of a problem this truly is. In your third paragraph when you were explaining the different organizations that help starving people I really thought that you did a good job with this paragraph. I liked the fact that you put in the link for the CNN video that you watched you didn’t just explain what you saw you let the reader get a feel for themselves and I think that as a reader that really helps them better understand the topic or the point that you are trying to get across in your paper as a writer. It was sad to hear about the spread of aids and I heard that it even occurs in children and in your paper you put as little as fifteen that is really sad that people of such a young age get such a terrible disease that affects the rest of your life. It never crossed my mind that better nutrition would help fight the disease and help you stay alive longer even though it should have. I like that in your paper you are giving many different reason of why we should help. When you talked about food bank I never really knew how organizations were helping these starving people in Africa and since you explained how they help it made me feel not so questionable about giving my money. I feel that a lot of people are paranoid and sometimes question whether there donations are really going to help starving Africans or starving people in general. It helps to better understand what the organization you are giving your money to is really doing with your money and how it is helping. Your last paragraph was my favorite because you directly answered how we can go about helping and you started off giving a simple local suggestion. Your paper was very informative and I hope that a lot of people find it to be the same because this is a problem that no matter how much it is addressed a lot of people decides not to help and I hope this will change people’s minds of the younger age group. You just need to go back and check some of your grammatical errors but other than that great job!
-
Emmanuel Morales
The first thing that caught my eye right away was the title. “Stop hunger help your kind” that stood out to me because it’s simple and gives the reader a heads up on what to expect from this paper. “For more than 15 years Africa’s hunger has been the highest budget priority for the UN (United Nation)”. One thing you can modify is by giving the reader background information on whom or what the United Nation is because I have no idea what they are. Your introduction is straight forward with the reasons why Africa is going through starvation; however you should make it flow nicer and should elaborate more on your reasons to strengthen your intro. The second paragraph starts out strong by stating “The world has 925 million hungry people that don’t have enough food to eat, in Africa alone there is more than 300 million people that suffer from hunger”. This statistic is great because it compares the worldwide starvation population then isolates it with the number of people starving in Africa. I also like the part on how you go on by informing the reader that how the drought directly impacts their farming, making the supply prices rise. One thing that can make that point stronger by adding a possible statistic on how much does the price actually rises. This goes on to the point of poverty. How they rely on farming for all their money and when droughts happen it makes living conditions more difficult. Not only can they make enough money to feed their own families but prices have to rise? That’s when you realize supply and demand is not always a good thing. Later on in your paper you start to discuss about HIV and how without food it is harder for these people to fight the disease. It is sad when I read things like this, already suffering for starvation and plus they have to deal with HIV? It’s shocking how these people go by living every day. I could only imagine the pain they go through, they’re literally suffering from a painful death. A highlight from this paper is the how can you help section. You go on by saying “If donating 2 hours of your day for packaging you could feed up to 200 people a day imagine if you did it three days a week you would be feeding 600 people, and that’s just donating your time”. This just show the reader how much of a difference one person can make. In a way it is encouraging because once you know you did something for a good cause, you feel great about yourself. You will feel like you did a difference and in reality you did, by saving those going through starvation. Overall this paper was a good start and I really enjoy learning more about Africa’s starvation problem. Gazi stated that this draft is not completed yet, there is always room for improvement and once it is finalize I can’t wait to finish reading the rest of the paper.
-
Erin Murphy
Gazi wrote a very moving paper on stopping world hunger. This is really a worldwide concern because so many people suffer from both food insecurity and from and prolonged malnutrition, especially in Africa. Unfortunately, there are a lot of factors that contribution to the problems in that continent that make efforts to help very difficult. I feel like as long as I can remember I have been hearing about both in school and in the media about the issue of starvation in Africa, specifically affecting the children. I remember maybe as early as third grade, I was made aware of this terrible situation and remember collecting money for UNICEF year round for the children there. Although it was mostly change I collected, I still did my very best. I feel, as I got older, I stopped hearing about the problem. Only once in awhile do I see a commercial spreading awareness of this growing issue. I recently participated in a charity event arranged by my communications teacher, Professor McGuire, called Feed My Starving Children. It was such an incredible experience and I really wish there was a branch of the facility closer to home, because I would probably go there on a weekly basis.
I believe that more information could have been given concerning what we can do to help the people of Africa out such as raising awareness of HIV and AIDS and providing them with access to birth control. Part of the problem is not only that there is constantly a severe drought in Africa, which makes farming nearly impossible to feed themselves, but if we can provide Africa with methods of birth control, less children will be born in famished and malnourished areas. This isn’t fair to the perspective unborn or their parents. Another mouth to feed shouldn’t be considered with the conditions these people are currently living in. The rapid spread of disease is also a big problem in Africa because they cannot afford healthcare, or have access to clean and sterile hospitals. Unfortunately, the problems in Africa are so great that the fight to help the country out seems to be making very little dent towards solving the problem. Are there programs that work with the Red Cross locally, that inquiring minds may want to know about? If so, where and how do they conduct their organizations that others or I can get involved with? Although many people believe that one person alone can solve all the problems that Africa has, but if people pull together as a community, we can in fact make a difference, even if it’s just for a couple people, that’s still better than nothing. It’s an overwhelming thought when you look at how large Africa’s population is and then the staggering percentage of them that are severely malnourished. After reading Gazi’s paper, it made me feel more grateful for the little luxuries that I tend to take for granted. Great job on the paper, and small small tweaks can really make the message stronger.
-
-
Gazi Murrar
Reading the short story “One of These Days” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez I could see that the dentist is kind of old school or the story was in an older time based on the things I read, like the held up pants with suspenders. The story goes on but telling the reader about how organized the doctor is, by him arranging the false teeth in size order as he took them out of the glass case. The doctor was not focused on what he was doing but that didn’t stop him from doing his work. Looking outside of the window at pensive buzzards drying themselves, minding his business. until his son interrupted him by calling him. “Papa” he simply answered “what?” the son told him that the mayor wanted him to pull his tooth out. The doctor told him to tell the mayor that he is not there. Looking at a gold tooth in his hand, his son yelled out that he can hear you. The doctor didn’t mind, just finishing his work. The son again “He says if you don’t take out his tooth, he’ll shoot you.” It didn’t faze him he told his son “Tell him to come and shoot me.” The doctor slowly stopped what he was doing and grabbed a revolver from the lower drawer and said “O.K.,” and told his son to let him in. the mayor walks in, He had shaved the left side of his face, but the other side, swollen and in pain, had a five-day-old beard. The dentist saw many nights of desperation in his dull eyes. He closed the drawer with his fingertips and said softly “Sit down.” The mayor said “Good morning.” “Morning.” said the dentist. After finishing up and the mayor stretching, the mayor sad “send the bill.” The dentist said “to you or the town?” The Mayor didn’t look at him. He closed the door and said through the screen: “It’s the same damn thing.” The point of the story is the mayor taking advantage of his position.
“One of These Days” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1928) -
Gazi Murrar
One of the most difficult things I had to write about was “who will survive?” it was such a difficult activity because of the situation and amount of people. You really can’t tell anyone sorry, but you can’t make it, because you have no skills, talents or just because you’re mentally challenged. You really can’t simply say you could stay because you’re better than someone in one particular way. For an example lets take Dr. Garcia, he is a doctor in general practice, where Mrs. Hernandez, is a cocktail waitress and a prostitute, but what people don’t look at is Mrs. Hernandez, has good health and Dr. Garcia had two heart attacks, he is 66 and could die any second. Not to be a hypocrite but based on the situation I would probably pick Dr. Garcia over Mrs. Hernandez just because he is a doctor and we only need him for two weeks. It’s harsh to say, but it’s the truth. We would go by survival not by generations and the future. It’s really hard to think about something like this god forbid it from happening to any of us. It gets even harder, thinking about a solution for something like this when you’re not the only one thinking. Because everyone has a point of view about a specific person and everyone is right in some way, as we seen above in the example of Dr. Garcia and Mrs. Hernandez.
Citation -
Gazi Murrar
Reading Dave Eggers story on the soldier who was dragged from his vehicle and mutilated in the dust had me going, not just because the writer was good at telling the story but it was because how the story put you in the middle of the event as he was saying it “walking around the house, unable to place exactly why he was tense.” The man read the story in the news paper and was immediately uncomfortable, unfocused and disturbed of the actions that happened to the soldier from his nation and country. In a colored photograph he had seen that the soldier was shoot, dragged from his vehicle and mutilated in the dust, under a truck. It was a violent image that had him pacing trying to forget and move on but always return to the photo, he felt violated and hurt and kept a scare in his life that he wouldn’t of had if something worst happened in his nation. I did not see the connection in the story with factory and its smoke billow rightward on the horizon. I guess it’s just something that he had seen that somehow motivated him to do something but ended up not doing anything. Although I could see the connection in this story with the guy, the guy was lonely in his house and the soldier was alone in the faraway nation. The man probably had a pass that is similar to the soldier in some way that kept him thinking.
Eggers, Dave. “How We Are Hungry”, What It Means When A Crowd In A Faraway Nation Takes A Soldier Representing Your Own Nation, Shoots Him, Drags Him From His Vehicle And Then Mutilates Him In The Dust. McSweeney’s, 2004. pgs 17. -
Gazi Murrar
To Live,To Die, To Kill
Being born in a good strong Muslim family I was raised to believe in one God that takes care of all of His creations and made us all equal in some way. I strongly believe that if someone makes a creation to do something He would want His invention or creation to work according to his plans and hopes and if not then there would be no reason for it. I am not perfect when it comes to worshiping God but I try my best. To live life is to enjoy it, so I constantly try to enjoy every part of the life I have. I have fun, see new things and never stop going forward. As a wise French man once said, “What saves a man is to take a step. Then another step. It is always the same step, but you have to take it. ~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Wind, Sand and Stars, 1939, translated from French by Lewis Galantière
Enjoying my life does not stop me from having a thoughtful heart and sharp mind. Helping others is just something I love to do unless they are trying to take advantage of me. For example, if there is something someone is trying to do and can’t do it because of a difficulty I am all for helping them. However, if they ask me to help them because they are just lazy than I will not want to help them. So overall I guess I live to help others that really need my help. I cannot forget to mention that I want to love and be loved by someone that’s beautiful, not just from the outside but from the inside as well. Love is something I would live for also but I would probably not die for it.
Dying for something is a really strong thing to do. You would really have to know and believe that what you’re dying for is really worth it. I know and believe that dying for my country is something I would do not just because it’s my country but because it’s my land, home and freedom. It was where I was born and raised. It is my life and if they’re going to take my life I might as well die for it. If a man hasn’t discovered something that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live.
Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968) American black leader
I can also say that I could see myself risking my life for humanity and mankind just like the movie Armageddon. In the film a space crew went to space to try and blow up an asteroid before it got in to the earth’s atmosphere but unfortunately the mission didn’t go as planned. The plan failed so the crew chose to sacrifice their lives by using their space ship as an explosive to save the earth and mankind. So I strongly believe I would do something like that to save mankind.
Family means a lot to me and they are my everything. I am from a family made up of two parents and nine children and I am the youngest. As I grew up I saw all of my siblings looking out for me, watching over me, loving me and taking good care of me. I could say I would die for my family because they are what made me so if that means giving my life for them so be it. Even if it means I would have to take someone else’s life for my family as well. Not that it’s an easy thing to do or say but as Seneca says “Death is the wish of some, the relief of many, and the end of all.”Lucius Annaeus Seneca (4 BC-65) Roman philosopher and playwright.
Kill, Kill is a word that is used plenty now a days but not everyone know the true meaning of the word. Not everyone that says that they are going to “kill” someone will actually have the heart to do so. However, unfortunately you have some people that don’t care about others and their lives, and are capable of killing. “What broke in a man when he could bring himself to kill another?” Alan Paton (South African Writer and Educator, 1903-1988) I believe that the only one that can take a life away is that who gave it, God. Killing is a sin not just in Islam but in Christianity and Judaism as well, so if you have the three major religions agreeing on this concept than its true that killing is a sin and no one can take another’s life. Killing can be justified in self defense or in protecting those around you to survive. If I was in a life or death situation where someone is threatening to take my life away I will protect myself and if need be, kill them. I will do the same for my family, loved ones or anyone in need. My land as I mentioned earlier is my life so if anyone would take it away from me I could try to reason with him. If the situation doesn’t change killing my enemy might be an necessary but only in times of war.
What I care about and what is important and the same thing for me. Like I mentioned before my family and land are very important to me. I will do anything to keep my family safe and land free. Another thing that is very important to me is making my family proud and never disappointing them. Anytime I do something, I think about my family and how they would feel about it. For example, I try hard in school to be successful in life and to make my family happy. Also I don’t do anything that would make my family not proud like getting in trouble or ruining my family reputation. Also, helping my country is something I care about a lot. If it means I have to donate money for food or protest for freedom, I am willing to do anything.
If I could change something about myself or in my life I would change the way I spend my time and organizing things in my life. I would focus my time and school more than on other things in life like hanging out with friends. I want to focus on what is important for my future and make it my biggest priority. For example, when my friends call me to go play soccer when I have to study, I will say no and focus on my work. Also, when I study or do my schoolwork I want to be better at organizing my time so I can get everything done and do well. If I do this it will help me succeed in school and help me to have a good job and future.
If I could change something about the world I would change the way people are judgmental of others. I would change how people judge others by their skin color, race or religion. I would want people to judge others by how they are as people and by whom they are on the inside. Also, I dislike when people judge others without knowing them by their clothes or how much money they have. Money and how we look doesn’t make who we are, how we treat others and how we are as human beings.
One thing that makes me angry and really bothers me is ignorance. I hate when people choose to be ignorant to other’s lifestyles. It really bothers me when people don’t accept others because of their culture or religion just because they do not know much about it. I dislike people that have narrow minds and think that people should only live the way they think is right. One thing that I dislike along with ignorance is racism. I believe that we are all equal and created differently by God. He is the only one better than us and we as humans can’t think we are better than any other person.
There are many things in my life that I find very important whether I love them or hate them. Like most people there are things I find important like helping others, school and love but other things I would die for like my land and my family. Also, there are things that I would like to hopefully change in myself and this world to make it a better place. There are many things I am passionate about and I believe I will be passionate about them for the rest of my life.
-
Erin Murphy
In this essay, Gazi did an excellent job in describing what is important to him and what is important in and about his life. I felt as if I knew him after reading his paper. I share very similar values as Gazi does when it comes to family. I was able to relate to him about how valuable it is to have such a big support system in your life that every choice you make, your family is considered first. To not do anything that may disappoint them, or tarnish their reputation. To do absolutely anything for them. To protect them against the evils of poor health and the wolves dressed in sheep’s clothing that lurk among us. Without family, where does a person stand in life? Alone? Without that imperative guidance and support that most rely on well into their adult years. It sounds like Gazi was brought up with strong morals based on his love for his family, country, and God. Being willing to die for your country, to sacrifice your life for the greater good and save mankind, is such a bold and selfless act. Death is a scary thought. I think it’s a difficult concept to grasp, even when you are actually dying. But Gazi, and myself are willing to give our lives if it means we can save others, specifically the country and people we dearly love. I was really able to connect to this paper. We both have the same thoughts and values. It sounds as though Gazi has a really good head on his shoulder, and that he is a strong and mature individual who can persevere through tough situations and difficult obstacles that life inconveniently throws at us. I was able to get a whole different perspective when I read the paragraph on what Gazi would kill for. He respects the sanctity of human life and mentioned that he believes that the only one who has the right to take someone’s life was the one who created it, God. There are evil people out there who have a complete disregard for human life and don’t think twice about robbing that from whoever crosses their path. I agree that if it were a life or death situation, that you are exempt from sin if you must defend yourself against someone who is trying to kill you.
I enjoyed reading this paper. I found Gazi’s strong morals and views refreshing due to how similar they are to my own. I like that he went into greater detail about not only what was required to complete the paper, but elaborated on aspects of life that he cares about and also qualities he would like to change about himself. It draws the reader closer and sheds more light on every part of your life both good and parts that could use improvement. I wish that I could have a stronger focus on studying and homework rather than the stronger desire to hang out with my friends as well. My education and career is my main focus in life, but I do believe that everyone deserves a mental break once in awhile. Great job on your paper Gazi. I think you really grasped what Professor McGuire expected from us. -
Grzegorz Forgiel
Gazi, your paper is excellent, I like that our papers have some similarities between them as far as we both put that we try to enjoy our lives and not just wake up in the morning because we have to. Same thing with dying we both realize that you only get one chance in this life time to enjoy and succeed and we realize that dying for someone for no realize is not an option, granted I do love my family and friends but sometimes saying “I would die for that person” almost sounds selfish although I would take my life for my family it’s a matter of would they really want you to do that for them, no most likely not. Like most of the essays people wrote family, I think that like yours, everyone chose that family is first, everyone including you realizes that what is life without family. Growing up on your own is possible but just not the same as having a loving family and that’s something that I can see you understand showing that you would do anything for your family. I enjoyed how you mentioned that if faced with saving the world you would not think twice about it, I too would do the same. We definitely seem to be on the same page as far as killing also, that we have no right to take someone else’s life, we are not God and it is not some thing we can choose as far as who can live and who does not deserve to live. But we do realize that if someone tries to take our life or a family member or a loved one we have no other choice but to defend ourselves and may have to take the killers life to show him that he does not get to decide that its our or our families time to die. You then went into what you would change about yourself which goes further into detail which you did a good job at, and I agree with you I to would want to be able to just study so that I can get far in life, but sometimes we need to hang out with friends, to just take a break and be social. You are defintily right about people judging one another, its unneeded, im sure people have had many moments when they judged someone and then actually met them and talked to them and ended up like them as a person, so then why do people do it? Does it make themselves feel better? And its not like its just a group of people that do it, its everyone that does it, even me and you, yet we do not even realize we are doing it at times, I do not know why we do it or how we can stop this from happening. As far as your paper goes as a whole, you did a good job with detail and examples of your own life situations but also other peoples life situations using that movie and I like how you added the quotes made your paper a lot stronger. Overall good job and looking forward to reading more of your papers.
-
Emmanuel Morales
Gazi, your essay was very well written and easy to understand. When it comes to family, I could relate because my own family means a lot to me. After reading a couple of essays I noticed that a lot of people chose family first. We could all agree not matter where you are from, family would always mean the most to people. Gazi has strong religion believes that guides him to his decisions he makes every day. He understands he is not perfect but he tries his best. I really like that statement; no one is perfect in this world. Perfection is unachievable in my opinion but that should not be a reason why you shouldn’t keep trying to be perfect in something. He mentions he would like to help people but only to those who really need it. He says he wouldn’t help those who would just take advantage. To me that is very fair because you should not allow anyone to use you. Why should someone else take credit for your own efforts, it’s just not right. He also shares with us that he would die to save humanity. He compared this to the movie Armageddon, where the mission goes wrong and the crew makes a last minute decision. I think that would an amazing thing to do. Not only would you be remembered but people would look up to you as their hero. Saving others would make you feel good about yourself. Later he also acknowledges that he wants to make his parents proud. I also would love to do the same. The last thing I want to do is disappoint my parents. When answering the question what would you kill for? He answers by saying for a love one and for his country. I feel like everyone would kill to protect their family. If some stranger tries to harm one of my love ones I would immediately go into protect mode. Family is one thing is not replaceable, you could add more member of course but not replaceable. When it comes to killing for your country I support that because you’re supposed to be proud of where you come from. Gazi continues more than the assignment requires. He goes on by stating how he would want to change to better himself. I agree with that, like I earlier in this response, no one is perfect. Change can be good as well. He wants to organize his life a little more and people should pursue that. Having life all organized will make life easier to live by. In the following paragraph, he talks about how modern society is still filled with racism. He goes on to talk about how our different cultures, religions and overall backgrounds are all equivalent yet, we still do not appreciate each other. Overall I think Gazi essay about what we live for die for and kill for really captures his opinion and views on these everyday issues. The quotes he chose made his paper a lot stronger to get his point across.
-
-
Gazi Murrar
Ecological literacy is the ability to understand the ethics of organization and ways that ecosystems have created to uphold life. Ecological literacy, also called ecoliteracy, is something that you have to learn in order to help live a sustainable life. Fritjof Capra summarizes this whole concept in one defining sentence in his short essay “From The Web Of Life”, he states that reconnecting with the web of life means building and nurturing sustainable communities in which we can satisfy our needs and aspirations without diminishing the chances of future generations. The major goal of living an eco-friendly life is to promote and influence your society to follow(81). Our society includes plants, animals, microorganisms, educational, businesses, and political communities. The theory is by controlling these aspects of society we can live a totally sustainable life which will positively impact future generations and prolong Earth and its resources. I was somewhat ecologically literate but now I do fully understand the concept of ecoliteracy and will try my best to help others understand it as much as I do. It’s not just to about helping the world and our ecosystem, but also it is beneficial for people themselves. I plan to improve my ecological footprint by conserving resources, recycling, and just thinking logically. It is a state of mind as well as physical actions that will ultimately lead to actually being ecologically literate. My target is to sign up for a program that aids in hunger throughout third world countries as well as homeless people living in our own country. The program also promotes knowledge and understanding of what ecological literacy actually means, this will help spread this concept which in turn helps sustain our living on Earth. We only have one planet so it only makes sense to use its resources wisely before it’s too late.
From The Web of Life (81)
Grzegorz Forgiel, 
Emmanuel Morales, and 
Erin Murphy are discussing. 
Dawn Murry, 
Gazi Murrar and one other person are discussing. 
Grace Cosentino and one other person are discussing. 
Erin Murphy 7:13 pm on April 23, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
After reviewing Gazi’s service paper about his experience with Working Bikes, I noticed that another member of my peer review group was not only involved in the same volunteer work, but in his group as well. He started his paper out explaining what the non-profit organization was all about and what their mission was in becoming an organization in the first place. The paper provoked a lot of questions that drew me in as a reader. What was it about this particular organization that enticed this group to get involved with them instead of another one? Was there an initial interest in volunteering with rehabilitating bicycles for people around the world who cannot walk or their intended destination being to far from where they were? Did he want to get involved to promote exercise and the convenience for those who needed it? Have they experienced a personal situation where they could not get somewhere from where they were at, and could sympathize with getting involved with an organization who wanted to help people who were so far from a local town or job and were unable to get there on foot? As I read on, he talked about the man who started this organization and how he started from fixing bikes in his own garage and how he currently helps out many countries in the world. I would discuss how many bikes they assisted with and how they made a difference by volunteering at this place. He effectively described his experience for the duration he volunteered for and the people he came across. I like that he discussed how good he felt by the service work he did and how he felt about helping others. I would add some specific emotions he encountered and try to convey to the reader why they should get involved with them as well. Is there a donation opportunity? Would the writer continue volunteer work with them outside the required curriculum of the class he is in? I can imagine and I personally know the hardship of not having transportation, however, I cannot fully grasp what it is like to live in an area where it is necessary to have a way of getting around to survive. In foreign places where the nearest town or source of food is too far to even travel is devastating and it is interesting this man considered this and started an organization to help these people out. I applaud you and your group for volunteering with this particular cause and also on completing your service work in time to write this paper. Finding volunteer work was more difficult than expected and I don’t think anyone else in Professor McGuire’s class was prepared for this assignment besides you three. I look forward to reading the revised and completed paper. I would add additional information on how more people can get involved with Working Bikes as far as donations or actually contribution manpower to further assist in this cause. Nice work.
Emmanuel Morales 10:48 am on April 24, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
.
Emmanuel Morales 1:27 pm on April 24, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Gazi, started the paper by introducing us to the organization he worked with called “Working Bikes”. He elaborated with useful and background information on the organization. “This non-profitable organization started one day in the founders garage he started gathering bikes from around Chicago and the Chicago land area, he started going to scrap shops and taking whatever he thinks could be fixed, he started fixing the bikes and selling them for profit but after that he decided to do some good in his life.” Something I would have asked the founder what made him decided to do some good in his life? “The founder of Working Bikes seen what’s going around the world and how some people are just throwing away their bikes and some people around the world like In South or North Africa, Latin America or even here in Chicago are suffering and can’t walk the long distance from work and bake and also cannot afford a car or even just a bike.” I find this interesting that the founder does this for some countries, this organization is similar to what they do at Share Your Soles. One thing to adjust with your paper is to add citations, to make it more credible. “A gentlemen came to the door opens the door and asked us how can he help us, we told he him that we called about volunteering and he sad “Ya ya that’s fine come on in” so as we walk in the hole warehouse is dark so one of the guys sad “I don’t want to die,” It was funny but I also think he was kind of serious.” Going into a dark unfamiliar place makes one nervous on what to expect, you describe your experience very well on how someone would naturally react to a situation like this. “With all that sad there was only one room I didn’t mention, it’s the room where all the magic happens, the room where all the volunteers get together and ether start stripping bikes or if they have enough experience they put the bikes together. When I say strep the bikes I mean strep them, we start with taking off the seat of the bike, we take off the pedals, the lights if any, take apart the steering, the chain, and any little screw on the bike. Every little peace that you take off has a special tool to use so you can take off that part” You went on by describing each process that you had to do with the bikes and it gives the reader a great idea on what you ended up doing that day. Before reading your paper, I was wondering what volunteer work would be done with this organization. Another thing I would like to add, is spelling on some words. It happens to me all the time, usually when I am rushing and don’t get a chance to see my mistakes. Overall, your paper was well explained, made it very clear on your experience and the background of the organization. Good job!
Grzegorz Forgiel 11:43 pm on April 24, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Gazi after reviewing your paper I learned a lot about your organization. Now even though I am part of your group you used some good information in there, there was some parts in the paper that I did not remember seeing or hearing. There was some parts that I caught that you left out like for example “The organization started to gather more bikes and stared asking for people to donate their bikes but it was a success so they also need some people to help and donate some of their time, the volunteers started coming” in this phrase you should have tossed in that the volunteers were mainly from UIC. Also you might want to reword it because that sentence just does not sound correct. Over all your paper needs to be checked up on grammar, I noticed a few mistakes. Also what you should have added was the exact information in “The Working Bikes Cooperative is a not-for-profit organization, and if you go to the web site they show you the organizations Tax ID #.” as far as the actual numbers to show that you know what you are talking about and to give your paper more credibility so that if the reader decides to look more into it he or she can just browse the ID number and find out that it is for sure. I also liked the fact that you added “SW corner of 24th Place and Western Avenue, at 2434 S. Western Ave., Chicago, IL 60608 its location “ because as I do the peer reviews I noticed that a lot of people did not add this and I feel that it is very important that people know where it is located so that if they decided to go volunteer it saves them looking it up on their own because it is right in your paper. You did a great job with adding good information about the organization as far as how it started but also where the bikes are sent to, because it is an important factor so that people know where they go. Seeing as I did the same topic I am trying to scan through and see what else you should have added and I bumped into the fact that you did not add numbers, as far as how many Working Bikes sends out per year or per month to show the reader how productive the organization is. “Ya ya that’s fine come on in” so as we walk in the hole warehouse is dark so one of the guys sad “I don’t want to die,” It was funny but I also think he was kind of serious.” this was good that you added a personal reflection because it is exactly what proffesor McGuire wanted us to do, because this paper is on our experience there and it explains what was going through your head but also explains the background and setting of the area so it portrays a visual picture for the reader. That quote also made me laugh because it was me that said it so your paper also includes a good about of humor to lighten the mood and show that the experience of volunteering was fun. All and all your paper was really good, it had everything that was supposed to be in, just minor things to correct including grammar, but other wise I really enjoyed reading it.