Nature Strikes Ecuador
By: María Camila Bedoya Martínez 10B
You probably already know some things about Ecuador: besides being Colombia´s neighbor country and one of the smallest in Latin America; you’ve probably heard that an earthquake hit its northeast coast. What you probably didn’t know is that it was the largest recorded earthquake in Ecuador since 1979.
It was almost 7 P.M. when one of the worst earthquakes in the subcontinent and certainly the worst in the last three decades occurred, with a magnitude of 7,8 in the Richter scale. This time, the unpredictable tragedy has left about 350 deaths and thousands of injured; the event took place in one of Ecuador’s most touristic zones. In the same way, some of the poorest places in the country were completely destroyed; leaving nothing but rubble. Hence, communication was nearly impossible due to the destruction of the roads and highways. There was also a worrying inability to communicate through cellphones, since the phone lines became saturated and unreachable for people to make contact with their beloved ones. The victims of the catastrophe looked for a shelter to spend the rest of the night while the aftershocks continued. Almost every building and house was torn, as a result many habitants wandered at the local airport to sleep there. In other words, Ecuador had collapsed.
However, after all of this, nature still wasn’t done striking. Four days later, during the aftershocks of the first earthquake, the north coast was stuck by a 6,2 magnitude seism. It was at about 3:30 P.M. when the earth shook for about 30 seconds, despite the fact that it seems like a short time, this trembling of the earth left behind 525 mortal victims and more than 4,000 wounded; geologists confirmed that this aftershock was unusually strong. Fortunately, most of the population was already sleeping and resting outdoors so they weren’t harmed. Nevertheless, this time the earthquake was so strong it was felt in Ecuador’s capital: Quito, 214 kilometers away from its epicenter. 72 hours later, the authorities and rescue workers had lost hope that there would be any more survivors among the destroyed structures. That’s when they started to pay their undivided attention to all the victims, gathering and distributing food, water, clothes and basic products brought together by citizens.
The international community is showing its unconditional support towards their neighbor country: Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru Panama, Paraguay, Mexico and Venezuela sent their condolences through Twitter. There are over 1,200 voluntary rescuers and 241 paramedics, doctors and members of the Red Cross, 4,000 effective policemen and 10,000 men from the armed forces. The different countries are helping out with rescue material, food, and sources of energy, among other things.
Finally, by now you might be wondering what you can do about this. Even though it has been almost a month since the 7,8 earthquake happened in Ecuador, we have to keep giving as much help as we can to our neighbor country. Besides trying to send food, clothes and even rescue material you can also deposit monetary funds on special bank accounts. Remember, “no one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of others”- Charles Dickens.
Still the strongest
By: Natalia Romero Arévalo 10B
5 REAL FACTS ABOUT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN:
1. 1 out of 3 women experience physical or sexual violence by their partner.
2. It is estimated that approximately 35 % of women have experienced physical and / or sexual abuse by a third party at some point in their lives.
3. It is estimated that almost half of the cases of women murdered in 2012, the author of the attack was a relative or romantic partner , were less than 6% compared to of men killed during the same year.
4. Women who have suffered physical or sexual abuse by their peers are more than twice as likely to have an abortion, almost twice as likely to suffer depression and, in some regions, 1.5 times more likely to contract HIV, compared with
women who have not suffered violence from her partner.
5. About 70 % victims of trafficking are women. From this percentage 2 out of 3 are still children.
WE CAN MAKE THESE NUMBERS TURN INTO ZEROS!
- See more at: http://www.unwomen.org/es/what-we- do/ending-violence- against-women/facts- and-figures#sthash.OimwOymj.dpuf
Why is the world as it is? Why do we let others abuse us or our beloved ones? Or what is worse, why would we let our beloved ones abuse us?
Although silence is not the best solution, it is the bravest and sometimes we misunderstand this decision. Reporting you are a victim of abuse, rape for instance, is not that easy for, it requires a strength that has been ripped off when a heartless person has sexually harassed a woman. People need to scream out loud to the victims: “You are not alone! There is a light, there is hope and definitely a better tomorrow for you!”
This goes for all women who feel lonely in this painful and difficult situation. You are gorgeous and valuable, what happened to you does not make you less, in fact, you deserve all the respect in the world because you are courageous and strong. It is time for you to build a brighter world free of violence and abuse. Yes; It is hard. I know sometimes you may feel afraid or absolutely alone in the world. Perhaps you think cruelty is the only word we know. Nevertheless, there is something extremely powerful which we have called love and you are as deserving of it as anybody is. However, you must also do your part; You have to yield to it, let it convince you into believing you are precious. In case you have forgotten about the existence of love let me tell you it is miraculous. There are also love’s best friends which are hope and forgiveness; together those three, are magical.
I know what you might be thinking at this point: “Those numbers of victims are horrifying”, you are right, nonetheless, there is still a chance. It all starts at home. The way we teach to view women in each and every household is going to show in a future. Violence against women and many other worldwide problems can be solved if we work really hard at the nucleus of society, thus raising children with values.
Let us teach our children that females are not weak; they are not less. On the contrary, I truly believe they are the strongest. No matter how hard their lives can get, how much suffering they´ve passed through or how much they´ve been degraded they are still fighters.
The United Nations declared November the 25th as the “International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women”, but that doesn´t mean it has to be the only day we remember to be respectful toward women. Let’s make the other 364 days of the year the same as this one.
IT IS TIME TO STOP IT: SPEAK UP! DENOUNCE ABUSE AGAINST WOMEN!
WE are still the strongest.
Women Empowerment
OUTNUMBERED: SCIENCE NEEDS MORE WOMEN
By: Natalia Lastra González 10B
Dear reader:
gjnggkLet’s start with a simple exercise: on the count of three you will mention the first scientist that comes to your mind. Ready? 1, 2, 3 say it!
fgjfjjfjfjfIf you were totally honest, I am guessing most of you said Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, Robert Hook, Galileo Galilei or even Leonardo da Vinci. I must say, you are totally right; those were outstanding scientists and, in addition, very famous ones as well. However, do you notice a common factor between them, besides the fact that they are all scientists? Well, let me help you: they are all men! Which brings us to the point that when people are asked for a science figure, only a few choose female scientists. We have forgotten the names of all the women that fought their way to a scientific achievement and, even worse, most of us don´t know that they even existed. For this reason, I wanted to pay a tribute to all those women that have been strong in a place where men outnumber them. Here it is: my personal TOP 3 female scientists through history.
1. Marie Curie (Poland) 1867-1934
djidjdjA true science hero; Marie is one of the most well-known female scientists through history. She became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and the first person to win two of them, pretty impressive, right? Well, she was for sure a true radioactivity pioneer.
2. Rosalind Franklin (British) 1920-1958
fjfnjfjRosalind was a biophysicist and X-ray crystallographer that helped enormously in the discovery of the structure of DNA/ RNA and the X-ray diffraction studies.
3. Jane Goodall (British) 1934
fdjfndJane is a British primatologist and ethologist who has dedicated her life to the study of apes; many have called her the world´s foremost expert on chimpanzees.
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fjfjgjgjNow that we have seen some incredible female scientists it is time for a current society analysis: for decades, the number of women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) careers has been just too small; in other words females make up just 28 percent of the total researches in these fields around the world. Many say that the explanation relies on the fact that female scientists fear lack of acceptance at work, or perhaps that women lack the attribute that leads to scientific research; other theories say that it is very difficult to break the custom that science is just a man job. Stated differently, it is just about gender bias and stereotypes; yet, it is the job of the future female scientists to break these illogical rules and start raising the voice of women because otherwise females in science will become just an inaudible echo in the world`s ears. Therefore, if you are thinking of studying a STEM career, you should stand up for all of us and remember that you are not alone, because there are many organizations like AWIS (Association for Women in Science) that will help you find your way. Finally don´t forget that “science needs more women”.
Peruvian Elections
By: Carolina Ortega Pérez 10B
A month ago as you may recall, Peruvian elections for the next president occurred. None of the candidates won with more than 50%, on last April tenth. Therefore, there will be a second round between Keiko Fujimori (39.85%) and Pedroe Pablo Kuczynski (21.01%) on June fifth.
Keiko Fujimori, Fuerza Popular party’s candidate, is the daughter of Alberto Fujimori, who was president of Peru during the last decade of the previous century, who is currently on jail. Thus, if Keiko wins, it will signify two important things: the return of “Fujimorism” to the government and that Peru will have its first female president.
Despite the fact that, supporting Keiko does not necessarily mean that people still support her father, it most certainly indicates that there is influence due to for her father’s legacy. Alberto Fujimori was a Peruvian-Japanese president from 1990 to 2000. He was polemical for producing a self- coup d’état in 1992, and was accused of corruption and violation of Human Rights, motive of his imprisonment. On the other hand, he fought and defeated “Sendero Luminoso”, the most important Peruvian terrorist group that has ever existed, and a guerilla called MRTA. Moreover, he helped to improve Peru’s economic development. Consequently, there are divided opinions related to Alberto’s government. In other words, Keiko can be seen as an ultimate evaluation of her father’s acts.
Moreover, if Keiko Fujimori wins the elections, she would be Peru’s first president to be a female and the seventh in South America. Stereotypes breakage that have allowed women to finally start participating in politics up to the point to become presidents, has been something relatively recent, since the first woman who had this position was Sirimavo Bandaranaike, voted as first minister of Sri Lanka in 1960, only a little more than 50 years ago.There are still many countries where a woman has not reached such a high position yet. Colombia is one of those cases; but someday, we must be hopeful, that this opportunity shall come. This means that if Keiko Fujimori wins, it will be one more successful goal granted to the fight for gender equality.
According to a recent survey, if the elections were today, Fujimori would get 42%, while Kuczynski would have 39%; which means Keiko has high possibilities of winning. However, with this article I do not pretend to convince any of you of the best decision Peruvians can take the next 5th of June; I only pretend to make an analysis about some good and bad aspects her victory could bring as a daughter of a polemical political figure and most importantly, as a female. Now, with nothing else to say, the only important issue here is that there is strengthening of Peruvian democracy, no matter who wins.