vendredi 30 mai 2008
THE RABBIT-PROOF FENCE : A STORY OF THE "STOLEN GENERATION" IN AUSTRALIA
The youngest of the three girls had been promised to a full blood Aborigine and so was of particular concern to the authorities. This called for immediate removal from their home. All three girls were captured from their parents and taken to the Moore River Native Settlement. This was a camp for young Aborigines where they were forced to speak English and say grace. The motto of the camp was Duty, Service and Responsibility. Children with fairer skin were considered to be more intelligent and were sent to real schools. But before the girls were separated they decided to run away from the camp and return home. They walked for nine weeks along the Rabbit-Proof Fence, across harsh open land as they knew it would lead them home.
The fence is the longest ever made by man and went down the entire length of Australia. After the girls returned home Molly married and had two children. But again she was captured along with her children and taken to Moore River, and once again she escaped and walked the whole way home carrying her baby. By the time the smallest child was aged three the authorities had taken her again. Aborigines were forcibly removed from their homes until the 1970s but even today they still suffer due to this destruction of family life, culture and identity. Children like Molly are now described as being from the 'Stolen Generation'.
After many years of denial and refusal to apologize, the Australian parliament made official apologies to the Aborigenes on February 14, 2008.
mercredi 14 mai 2008
'Into the Wild' is based on a true story and the bestselling book by Jon Krakauer.
This is the story of Chris McCandless who grew up in Virginia and died at the age of 24 in a wilderness area of the state of Alaska.
After graduating from university in 1990, McCandless ceased communicating with his family and gave away his savings of $ 24,000 to a charity and began travelling, later abandoning his car and burning all the money in his wallet.
Christopher abandoned his real name early in his journey, adopting the name of "Alexander Supertramp". He spent more time in South Dakota and California. In april 1992, he reached Alaska. He survived for aproximately 112 days in the Alaskan wilderness, hunting, eating roots and berries and keeping a journal. He decided to camp in a derelict bus. In july, he tried to leave, only to find the route blocked by high water. He survived in his bus for a while until he ate poisonous berries that killed him. His body was recovered months later.
lundi 5 mai 2008
The FIRST OLYMPIC GAMES were held in Olympia, Greece, in 776 B.C. The MODERN OLYMPICS were held in Athens, Greece, in 1896, two years after French educator Pierre de Coubertin proposed reviving them.
On July 13, 2001, the International Olympic Committee ( I.O.C.) chose Beijing for the 2008 Summer Games. Other finalists were Istanbul, Turkey; Osaka, Japan; Paris, France; and Toronto, Canada.
The Summer Olympics are scheduled to begin at 8 seconds past eight ( 8:08 pm on August 8, 2008 = 8/8/08 ). Eight is a lucky number in Chinese culture.