The baby trade

Ana Josefa Escabia died several hours after giving birth in Terrassa in 1975. Her husband clearly remembers seeing his daughter alive. 

"I saw her born," Salvador Martin said, his eyes welling with tears, 36 years later. "She was gorgeous, just like her sister."

But doctors later told Salvador his baby had been stillborn. A sealed coffin was delivered to the cemetery.

The news that babies have been traded in Spain right up to the 1990s hit the headlines here a few months ago. It has now reached the British press: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-12886441

• Have you heard about it?
• Was any of this trade well-intentioned?
• If this is a crime, what should the punishment be?
• How would the victim of such a crime feel like?

Getting away!

You'll never forget your 'viatge fin de curs' for the rest of your lives. Make the most of it! Here, you have three questions, depending on the date you comment on this post:

• Italy awaits you: what do you hope to get out of the trip?
• You're there: what was the day like?
• You're back: what were the highlights?

Use the blog to record the memorable moments, the gaffs, the disasters and your thoughts. Try some travel writing. It is probably the best way to break into 'serious journalism'.

To find out more about your destination, try the following:

• www.lonelyplanet.com/italy
• www.roughguides.com/travel/europe/italy.aspx
• www.timeout.com/venice
• www.thebackpacker.net/destinations/italy

Harassment

Women demanding an end to sexual harassment were insulted
and shoved by men telling them that they should go home
where they belong. Tahrir Square, Cairo, March 8, 2011.

Today in La Vanguardia there was an article asking whether recent 'revolutions' were likely to bring about any improvement in the status or rights of women. As one protester complained to the journalist:

"We fought alongside men for this change and now they tell us 'it is not the right time' to talk about equality. If now isn't, when is?"

At the moment there is gender inequality in many societies, including our own. But the plight of women in some African and Middle Eastern countries is simply frightening and unacceptable: from cosmopolitan Cairo to rural Yemen there are women who walk in fear and live as shadows of their potential selves.

Perhaps now it is even more important that the international community pressures these emerging societies to make changes to their social structure that can, in the long run, only benefit each and every one of their citizens. 

Class project

Imagine that you are the Marketing Manager at Amnesty International’s Headquarters. You have been asked to draw-up (write, design, edit and layout) an information leaflet in English to:

• raise awareness of inequality, sexual harassment and abuse in Africa or the Middle East
• explain the negative effects of sexual harassment
• motivate people in the West to do something about it

For more information about your 800 – 1200 word English class project, click here. (You will have to scroll down the right-hand column.)

To make comments about issues such as genital mutilation, stoning of adulterers, exclusion of women from politics, wearing hijab, sexual harassment, or even to criticise this project as misrepresentative, misleading or misguided please click on comments below.

What will happen with Japan?

Hello! As I've seen the comments below, I have found a video with the devastating effects of the tsunami and earthquake in Japan. Houses, cars, everything has been swept by the disaster:

But this is only a minor part of all the damages the earthquake has provoked. There is also the issue with the nuclear power plants, which, due to the fact that they have run out of electricity, the nuclear refrigerators can't cool down the radioactive materials of the power plants, making the extremely dangerous for our health. This is because the radioactive material can't be controlled when liquid or gas, so it begins to emit a radioactive cloud which harms food, animals and other living things, as it is all passed by inhaling such fumes or because it is passed along the food chain. And now everybody starts talking about Chernobyl again.

• Is the nuclear disaster comparable to Chernobyl? Is it worse? What can be done to stop it?
• What is the government doing to help the people there? They've admitted to have been retaining information to the japanese. Do they still know even more than we or the japanese do? Why did they have to hide this information?
• Could the nuclear fallout have been avoided? What can we do now? If the food is contaminated with radioactive materials, do we have to stop importing things from Japan? What will happen then to their economy?

I know there are loads to discuss about and it is probable that I have forgot to include some issues, but please comment and take out those subjects!

Term 3 started

Any posts or comments from 2 March onwards form part of term 3. The blog will continue to count for 10% of marks (at least). Thanks.