Multiculturalism isn't just about food

Asian men in Derby have been arrested for drugging and exploiting young girls between the ages of twelve and eighteen years.The men would find their victims at train stations, council estates and even walking home from school. The men would be nice to their victims at first, they would do this by giving them expensive gifts and taking them out. This practice by Asian men in the North has been the subject of an investigation by The Times. What is worrying is the attitude of these Asian men towards White girls.

Sometimes, we have to appreciate that multiculturalism also includes bad things about people. When people say the word 'multicultural' I bet the first thing that comes to your mind is foreign foods. I am half Asian and people are always asking me whether I eat curry. Food seems to be the test of multiculturalism. However, it is not only food that immigrants have introduced into this country. They have brought in some wonderful Global aspects like their religion, clothing, ways of life and, on the bad side, prejudices.

If this country really does want to be multicultural we need to recognise the bad and the good. For example: I have seen English people wearing saris which is good because we are accepting an Indian tradition. The bad example is this story about the Asian men. Sometimes in this country we are too scared of saying some things for fear of being labelled as 'racists'. Keith Vaz MP has said that cultural sensitivites must not stand in the way of investigating why Asian men are preying on White girls.

Today Jack Straw has said that 'some Pakistani men see White girls as easy meat' and is being accused of stereotyping people. People like Jack Straw need to be listened to because the evidence in what he says is the trial of the 13 Asian men that has just finished and the realisation that this is a big social problem. Also, Jack Straw didn't say that ALL Pakistani men are bad. Let's make way for a good discussion which recognises social problems that are particular to some groups of people without labelling it as 'racist'.

Good resolutions are simply checks that men draw on a bank where they have no account-Oscar Wilde

I love Oscar Wilde who always had a mad quote for everything. I may look drunk in this photo the way Oscar often was but I can assure you I was overdosing only on sugar in a Santa outfit. A child's version of madness!
Here are my 10 wishes for a brilliant year ahead for everyone.
1. The job cuts and financial cuts won't cut us off at the knee.
2. The LibDem coalition will learn how to sell the best parts of our party policies.
3. Science advancements will be made to make life better for the disabled and sick.
4. Climate Change will start to reverse or stall because the world has finally recognised that it needs to solve the problem urgently.
5. Christmas will be celebrated as a time of Christ's birth as well as a time for shopping and eating.
6. Children who live in poverty will be helped by being given lots of opportunities for success.
7.More shelters will be opened for homeless people as the weather is getting colder.
8. More activities will take place for young people and, hopefully, this will help their quality of life and prevent them from committing crimes.
9. Job opportunities will be created for people without work and living in poor conditions.
10. A peaceful ending will be reached between Israel and Palestine; in Afghanistan; and in Iraq. I wish the British troops well.
Thank you for supporting my blog and many heartfelt thanks to you. Happy New Year.

A Christmas Prayer

Christmas Prayer
by Robert Louis Stevenson


Loving Father, Help us remember the birth of Jesus,
that we may share in the song of the angels,
the gladness of the shepherds,
and worship of the wise men.

Close the door of hate and open the door of love all over the world.
Let kindness come with every gift and good desires with every greeting.
Deliver us from evil by the blessing which Christ brings, and teach us to be merry with clear hearts.

May the Christmas morning make us happy to be thy children,
and Christmas evening bring us to our beds with grateful thoughts,
forgiving and forgiven, for Jesus' sake.
Amen.

Merry Christmas To Everyone.
Love
Maelo @Libdemchild

Mugged in Malaysia

It's not often that I blog about a personal incident in my life. My mother and I were mugged outside my grandmother's house in Malaysia where I am on holiday. We had walked to the local shops to buy some colouring pencils for me. Just as we were about to reach the house a motorbike with two riders came past and snatched my mum's handbag. We lost our holiday money, camera and other valuables. The motorbike sped off too fast for us to see the number plate. Luckily, just a few seconds before I had taken my favourite toy - Toad- out of the bag. It was a very scary and unfortunate incident that has left me feeling frightened. Luckily neither of us was hurt. People tell us how lucky we are because sometimes these robbers kill, injure or snatch children in this way. If anyone is planning a holiday in Malaysia soon then please beware not to carry too many valuables with you and look out for motorbike riders who could be potential robbers.


MY TOY

The Third World is rife with poverty and if governments don't intervene to reduce the poverty gap then this sort of thing will become more common.

A view from abroad of the demonsrations

I am in Malaysia attending a family wedding and am appalled at the coverage of what looks to be the worst ever damage caused by some demonstrators among the students who took part. This is the picture on the front page of the national newspaper here. It speaks of violence, rampant hooliganism and disrespect for property and people. People in Asia love shopping and Oxford Street is their number one choice when they visit England; the British monarchy is loved here too and people can't understand why a royal car was attacked. I am fed up with explaining the politics of the demonstrations. It's all been ruined by the thuggery acts committed. People are asking why British taxpayers should fund the education of people who behave in this manner.

Microfinance and Nobel Peace Winner

The guru of microfinance, Muhammad Yunus, who won a Nobel Peace prize in 2006 for his work in providing small amounts of loans to poor people is in the news today for all the wrong reasons. He set up the Grameen Bank which is a microfinance organisation and community development bank. Microfinancing is especially helpful to the poor because the bank takes very little collateral or none at all. This type of lending has helped many people especially in Asia. Today it is being reported that Mr Yunus is being investigated for possible alleged financial  mismanagement of the Grameen Bank. Apparently, money given to the bank has been transferred to another company without the permission of the Norwegian government who donated to the fund. Microfinance gives people who live in poverty some control over their lives. These people don't then have to rely on charity all the time which can be on and off  in being given to them. Also, international aid doesn't always go the people in those countries who need them. Microfinance has helped millions of people to get out of poverty. I really hope that microfinance in Asia has not been corrupted as many more millions of people could benefit from this.

Do stop by as it's Universal Children's Day

And when Esau lifted up his eyes and saw the women and children, he said, “Who are these with you?” Jacob said, “The children whom God has graciously given your servant.”

(Genesis 33:5 ESV)

In an ideal world there wouldn't have to be an Universal Children's Day. Children should be loved, hugged and given the best everyday so there would not be a need to stop and remember them. This post isn't about me celebrating today as a child but, instead, I want you to join me in thinking about those children in the UK and around the world who still don't have access to basic things in their lives. Children do have to have a special recognition to be heard and not just seen. The facts below will show you how much work needs to be done to raise the standards for children in education, health and food.

• A child dies of hunger every three seconds.
• 95% of all children who get polio are under 5 years old.
• 6 million children under 5 years old die of hunger everyday.
• Children in war torn countries are forced to become soldiers and commit violence.
• 246 million children work and don't go to school because education is too expensive.
• 4 Million children in the UK are living in poverty.

I also want to remember the children who are subject to abuse and feel they can't speak out for fear of nobody believing them. Those who live in terror because they are being bullied at school. There are even children who live in nice homes and go to good schools but who are emotionally neglected.
These are huge problems and I have praise for the agencies around the world who work to help children but much more needs to be done. I watch governments working together actively on economic problems and believe that if the same was done for child neglect then standards will rise much quicker.

There was a Muslim in my church

Yes, you read that right. At Rememberance Day service in my church (St John's, London) the sermon was given by a Muslim, Jehangir Malik OBE, Director, Islamic Relief UK. Recently, there has been a lot of violent attacks against Christians and Catholics in Iraq, India and Pakistan by Muslims. As a Christian, I feel angry that different religions cannot get on around the world and I feel especially worried about fellow Christians who are living in fear for their lives.
That is why I was touched when Mr Malik said, 'I want to say how appreciative and moved I am to have been invited here to this remembrance service, a service for ALL those on ALL sides who suffered and for those who fought for the eternal and God-given principles of Faith, Justice and Peace. All that remains is for us to take their struggle forward - to get past the cliche and hate speech we hear about one another and build coalitions and movements that isolate extremists and extremism on all sides and from whichever community'.
Religion is a concept of peace. I cannot understand why some take their religion to mean that they are better than others or that they are allowed to kill in the name of their God. It is inhumane and evil to do so. Religious  leaders can try and resolve this huge problem through negotiation and actions. People like Mr Malik set a huge example in trying to show communities that religion is about Justice and Peace. Churches like mine can also set examples by inviting Muslims to attend services or special events.
The following is a passage from the Qu'ran:
We decreed to the Children of Israel the eternal moral order for all humanity that whoever kills a human being - unless it is in the course of justice for murder or bloody crimes on the earth - it shall be as if he killed all mankind. And whoever saves one life it would be as if he saved the life of all mankind.

Violent students ruined the point today for my generation

I am very angry at the actions of those students who became violent because my generation could have benefitted from the demonstration today if it hadn't been hijacked for violent purposes. The stand off between the hard core student demonstrators and the police is still going on. The focus was meant to have been on those thousands of students who came to London today to get their point across which is that the Government's proposed decision to remove the cap on tuition fees will be a mistake. Unfortunately, a lot of society views students as being silly freeloaders and the drama of today supports this view. I feel disheartened by today's actions. Tim Farron hasn't helped. He has said that students do demonstrate and that is part of being a student. I think he misses the point. The students probably did not want to be in the position of having to protest today. The peaceful protest students did not get much airtime at all today to tell us why they were there. In the time they were interviewed they were being asked about what they thought about the damage done. Breaking into the Tory HQ and wreaking havoc have only ruined their futures. They will now face criminal prosecution and have criminal records. Nobody won today.

Just as I got the Obama dream Palin wakes me up-Shellacked

During my school holidays I went to watch a movie called 'Africa United' about a group of Rwandan children who dream of going to the World Cup Football opening ceremony. They don't have any money or any way of getting to South Africa but they keep reading Time magazine which has Obama on the front cover for their inspiration. It was touching to watch how they made sure the magazine was safely kept with them at all times through all the scrapes they got into. I got the Obama dream by the end of the movie.
Then what happens? The dream was given a 'shellacking' on Tuesday at the mid-term elections. The word 'shellacking' was used by Obama himself on Tuesday night. Sarah Palin is the victor and has been pictured grinning away. I thought Tea Parties were events where you had fun, children brought along teddy bears and adults chatted happily away. At Palin's Tea Party a female grizzly bear features (not a bear to play with) and Republicans are planning to fight Obama for the next two years. I don't want his Healthcare Reform reversed because of the impact it will have on poor children. I hope Obama manages to create jobs and get people back into the workplace again otherwise it may be two years of Tea Parties with the Queen of Hearts shouting 'Off with their heads'.