190 TAKEN A DAY IN CHINA

In China 190 children are snatched every day to be trafficked. These children are being sold for as much as £6,600 pounds. Imagine the devastation a parent faces when they find out that their child has been kidnapped. Many of these children are used as beggars to make money for their 'adopted' families. I almost wanted to cry when I read about how some of these children are then maimed so their chances of making money is increased because people will feel sorry for them.

Finally, yesterday, a son was reunited with his father after being missing for 3 years in Shenzhen City. A breakthrough was possible because of a blog set up by Yu Jianrong, a professor with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, who asked people to post photos of children they see begging in the street and of other children they think might have been kidnapped. Parents can also post the photos of their missing child on the micro blogs in the hope that family members will see them.

I gave a speech last year at the Autum conference on Gendercide and how China is the worst country for this. I stated that Gendercide has far reaching consequences and child abduction is one result. Most of the children stolen are boys because of the one child policy. Most families prefer boys. China needs to respect the rights of the children and start to take action over children's wellbeing.

So far China hasn't done anything to solve child abudctions. Recently, a boy was taken in broad daylight in China. He was screaming and crying but passers by ignored him. What is it that makes people there ignore such a crime?  I can't imagine the same happening here. China may be a rising superpower but internally the country doesn't seem to be using any powers to make the life of citizens better in terms of human rights.

http://t.sina.com.cn/1932619445

The Children of the Holocaust

The most famous child of the Holocaust is Anne Frank but around 1.2 million Jewish children died during this period. The children who were killed were Romani Gypsies, Polish, German children who were disabled and Jewish. These children were either killed when they arrived at the camps, killed immediately after birth, killed when they were born in the camps and those over the age of 12 were used for medical experiments. Other children died of starvation or from illnesses they caught from living in unhygienic conditions in the camps.

There is very little recorded of the children's experiences of the Holocaust but some have been reported and tell about how these children struggled from losing their families, having to move to strange places they had never lived in before and having to adapt to new cultures. The children who lived in hiding like Anne Frank had to do couldn't play with toys or move for hours on end because neighbours might have become suspicious. They lived in constant fear.

As a child myself, I know how hard it would have been for them to not be able to play with toys or to remain still. Jewish children had to adopt new religions to hide the fact that they were Jews. They couldn't make a single mistake by saying a word or making a movement that would have marked them out as Jews. Ethnic Cleansing still goes on around the world despite the Holocaust. We need the acceptance of diversity in our world.

Tunisia needs the Rule of Law

 In the words of the Tunisians themselves, a blogger there called Wled El Banlieue commented, "After 23 years of a single political voice in Tunisia, we're now discovering plurality. Let's learn democracy."

The Tunisian president, Ben Ali,  who was  in power since 1987 fled the country due to so much rioting. People hated him because he took away people's freedom of speech, movement and imposed a police state and he was very corrupt. It is astonishing how much Ben Ali himself and his family owned that should have belonged to the state.

This is why I think the rebuilding of Tunisia's economy and social fabric should be done according to  the principles of the Rule of Law.  The Rule of Law states that no one should be above the law. The Government needs to have only the authority that the public allows it to have. This is a golden opportunity for Tunisia to rebuild their society. Unemployment stands at 14%. The protest started when an umeployed graduate called Mohamed Bouazizi set fire to himself and died because he was making a living from selling fruit and vegetables on the streets and the police stopped him from doing so. He had no other way of getting an income and chose to kill himself instead. This was a drastic act of desperation which shows the huge gap that exists in Tunisia between the rich and the poor.

The Rule of Law is an excellent tool for equalising the gap between rich and poor in countries which are embracing democracy. There is always a danger if somebody is in power for too long like Ben Ali was.
I don’t think that somebody should be allowed to be a president for more that 8-10 years because then that person's power would become too much for them and they might think they are the equivalent to God and use their power wrongly. This happens in school when one person becomes very popular for a long time and then controls what everyone else does and wears.

In Memory of Christina Taylor Green Aged 9, Arizona

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/09/christina-taylor-green-symbolic-life
 
A beautiful 9 year old who was killed for no reason in Arizona on 8 January 2011 thereby ending her dream of going into politics to unite all the political parties in America.

O Lord, hear my prayer.

And let my cry come unto Thee.
May the Almighty and merciful Lord graciously hear us.
And may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Amen.

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.