Religious Dedication Amongst Political Unrest

This week while looking at the reading from Salagdo’s Migrations, one picture that was particularly moving was of a Mosque in Southeast Asia. The mosque of Istiqlal is the largest in the world and is located in the center of Jakarta, Indonesia. When researching the mosque I discovered that it was built to commemorate the independence of Indonesia from the Netherlands in 1949 and demonstrate their gratitude for God’s blessings.

The Indonesian National Revolution was an armed conflict and diplomatic struggle between Indonesia and the Dutch Empire, and an internal social revolution. It began with Indonesia's declaration of independence in 1945 and the Netherlands' recognition of Indonesia's independence at the end of 1949. The revolution was one of the largest of the twentieth century, and although the Dutch could control the cities, they had no control over villages and the countryside. The revolution destroyed the colonial administration of the Dutch East Indies which had ruled from the other side of the world. It also significantly changed racial castes, as well as reducing the power of many of the local rulers. It did not significantly improve the economic or political fortune of the majority of the population, though a few Indonesians were able to gain a larger role in commerce.

I find it incredible that although this photograph was taken nearly 50 years after the conflict, these people are still so committed to their religion and still thanking their God for his deliverance. Although I may not agree with their religious views, I still find it so moving that they are so devoted to their prayer times. They give up so much time in their day to attend these prayer services, and even though there is still political unrest, they show their gratitude for what has been given to them.

Works Cited

Frederick, William H. (April 1982). "In Memoriam: Sutomo" (PDF). Indonesia (Cornell Modern Indonesia Project) 33: 

127–128. seap.indo/1107016901.

Salgado, Sebastião, and Lélia Wanick. Salgado. 396-397. Migrations: Humanity in Transition. New York:

Aperture, 2000. Print.

Final Project Kickstart

For our final project in my Writing and Rhetoric course we are required to write on a group of immigrants that we have studied throughout the semester. One particular group that has always stood out to me are the women in the middle east who lived under the rule of the Taliban.

Ever since I was young, I have always had deep empathy for these women who don’t have any legal rights. I was raised by a mother who has a full time career, and I am so grateful that if I choose it, I also have that option. In my research I found that under Sharia law; music, movies, TV, card playing, singing, dancing, boxing, and even kite flying was outlawed. Homosexuals are buried alive, and women are virtually enslaved. Women were not allowed to work, in some areas they were not allowed to show their faces, and most could not even leave the house without a male escort. I never realized how much I took for granted in my life, that there are women who can’t even read, not because they don’t want to, but because they have never been allowed the opportunity to read. It is because of this that I decided to further my research in these women, and find out if in post Taliban middle east, if there are more, less, or equal amounts of opportunity for women. So far I have found that in some conditions they have gotten worse, since before women knew what sort of risk they were facing if they rebelled, but now since there are supposedly less consequences, the men are taking a stand and enforcing them. I plan to continue my research, and further my empathies for these women. I may not be able to change their lives, but I can appreciate my own situation and make the very most of the many freedoms I am able to have.

Vietnamese Fishermen

Vietnam is constantly changing, and a significant amount of foreign investment has entered the country in recent years and controls on travel within the country have been relaxed. Urbanization is increasing with growing numbers of farmers and some fishermen leaving the country to escape discrimination. Living in the Highland’s, inhabitants suffer great discrimination, even from the government, who does little to help them.

Life is very hard in rural districts of Vietnam. Although there has been an important flow of foreign investment, it has been focused on the industrial sector. In contrast, the government, which has responsibility for the agricultural sector, has almost no money to invest in this cooperative in the northern region of Hoa Binh. Farmers have no agricultural machinery and carry out heavy tasks manually. But they did buy a communal television, which is placed under a small tent in the village where residents bring chairs so they can watch the wonders of the world on a small screen. The young Vietnamese children can now see what is available outside of their village, and it becomes an additional incentive for them to migrate to cities.

            It is difficult to imagine what it would be like living excluded from the world for you entire life, until one day there is a small gateway that shows you all that the world really has to offer. Many of the Vietnamese fishermen inherited their occupation from their fathers, who inherited it from their father, and so on. The occupation is because of tradition, and not commonly because of passion. For these people fishing because they thought they had no other option, now have a clear vision of what their life could become. The emigration of the beautiful countryside has many positive benefits, primarily happier lives for those who take them; however, the increasing amount of emigrants means an increasing amount of immigrants, and many urban areas do not have enough room for these people.