According to legend, an Ethiopian goatherd found his flock frolicking about after tasting a few coffee cherries, he too took his share and soon enough was acting like his flock. Coffee was just a simple food and beverage for African tribesmen. Now it is found in large quantities worldwide, and very valuable in terms of trade. All countries exporting coffee rely on it as main income. Additionally, many drink it a lot and depend on it for living. In 1979, Brazil encountered frost again, where every tree lost its yield, as a result of no income for three to five years. Brazil had to stop coffee exportation. Afraid of shortage, Importers bought in bulk. There was an increase in cost, so farmers planted more, resulting in falling of price. Other crops were replaced with coffee. Producers and consumers limited production due to markets’ requirement, have a reserve and sell at a reasonable price.
153 words.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
summary - missing Lukas
Lukas family was worried because Lukas is missing.
Anna must go and fetch the men. She knows the footpaths and what to do if encountered by the bigfeet. Malie, Sofie and Elias searched and called out for Lukas until dark. The fog was clearing, so Martiens directed everyone into different areas to search for him. and some of the women to make a big fire in the middle of the Island, so the glow can lead him back home. The next day, they got help from the nearest forester with the constable. The constable came by some problems during the search which made him lose hope and addressed them all saying he doesn't think the child is still alive. They still hoped for days, but by the end of the eighth day it was Martiens who took it upon himself to say what had to be said: That the child can no longer be alive.
Word count-150 words.
Anna must go and fetch the men. She knows the footpaths and what to do if encountered by the bigfeet. Malie, Sofie and Elias searched and called out for Lukas until dark. The fog was clearing, so Martiens directed everyone into different areas to search for him. and some of the women to make a big fire in the middle of the Island, so the glow can lead him back home. The next day, they got help from the nearest forester with the constable. The constable came by some problems during the search which made him lose hope and addressed them all saying he doesn't think the child is still alive. They still hoped for days, but by the end of the eighth day it was Martiens who took it upon himself to say what had to be said: That the child can no longer be alive.
Word count-150 words.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Unforgettable (draft 5)
“Mother! Mother! Come, look at this!” Navina shouted angrily from the front door of the house, while staring at the paper in her hand.
“Oh dear! What happened?” Her mother replied as she immediately left what she was doing.
“I am no longer part of the school’s prefect team, not only me, but all the Tamil students have been replaced by the Sinhalese students” Navina cried out painfully to her mother.
Her mother comforted her, ensured her that greater opportunities lies ahead. Though those words weren’t infective enough, it did calm her down for the time being. . Navina was only fifteen years old, while her brother, Adhi, eighteen years of age. Their parents weren’t at all well to do, they had no education and their tea plantation job wasn’t bringing enough profit for the upkeep of the family. Adhi had done his best to keep his family up and going, and in terms of his academics, he did more than his best, but even with that, it didn’t help much. They were Indian Tamils not Sri- Lankan Tamils, so what difference does it make?
The Tamils had no rights whatsoever in the country. It was always the Sinhalese who had everything. Adhi and his family had no house of their own, the little one they lived in, can’t even be identified as a house. All of these citizenship rights could mostly be achieved by the Sinhalese only. Accompanied with the University admission criteria, neither did it in any way favour the Tamils, when in the past, all students, whether Tamil or Sinhalese, were given admission according to their results/merits. This greatly affected Adhi, as he was not able to take the course he had wanted to take. He was greatly shaken by this, he had worked really hard to get a good grade, but it all came to nothing. He thought about all the time he stayed back in school, went to libraries, just to make sure he he achieve his dream. All of these contributed to the civil war that took place in Sri Lanka.
Together she ran with her brother, she strongly felt the tight grip of Adhi on her. Even though they weren’t sure where they were going, all that Adhi could think of at that moment was to be somewhere safe with his sister. Suddenly, they both heard the terrible blast from the bomb they had luckily escaped from. They both looked at each other and ran even faster.
He carried his sister with the little strength he had left from all the running, as if to tell her, ‘it’s ok Nav, as long as I’m here, you’re surely safe.’ She managed a faint smile, and held on to her brother a little more tightly. Both his parents had died from this endless, horrible war, but they have been lucky enough to escape the death that faced them a moment ago. He shuddered from the thoughts. Finally, they found a suitable hide-out.
The cave entrance was dark and dank, but they had no choice, they thirst for safety more than anything, so they stepped inside reluctantly. The cave had several holes in it, which obviously came from all the gun shots. They had no idea of what could happen next, they just had to wait. While waiting, his eyes drifted to the hole right in front of him. He moved nearer towards it, his sister joined him in curiosity. They both wanted to scream, but they could not, they knew how dangerously they would be endangering their lives.
“That’s Saahan, look Nav!’” he murmured gladly to his sister who was as surprised as he was.
“Yes!” she whispered in astonishment, “it is, it’s Sahaan.” She replied melodiously.
“Poor him, it’s dangerous out there.” Adhi added, sadly shaking his head.
Saahan was Adhi’s neighbour, and also his best friend. They were so close that Adhi couldn’t imagine himself let his one and only best friend roam about like that, when he knew, Saahan like him, wanted safety. The horrified look on Saahan’s face said it all. It was worse than fear and sadly, he was also alone. What happened next was dreadful and sudden. Adhi thought he could save him, but before he could think of a way, he saw how his only best friend went down flat. In short, Sahaan was shot. No one knew where the bullet came from and how it had gotten Sahaan, and only him at that time. They cried all day, complaining about everything going on around them. Now, Adhi and Navina could only wish for safety. They had no guarantee, after seeing the death of their friend.
Recently, the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) was finally defeated with their leader- Prabakran killed in the final phase of the civil war. Now that there’s peace, though many things was lost and definitely can’t be retrieved, hope they make good use of another chance that’s bestowed upon them. Like the famous saying, “When there’s life, there’s hope.”
Word Count- 834.
“Oh dear! What happened?” Her mother replied as she immediately left what she was doing.
“I am no longer part of the school’s prefect team, not only me, but all the Tamil students have been replaced by the Sinhalese students” Navina cried out painfully to her mother.
Her mother comforted her, ensured her that greater opportunities lies ahead. Though those words weren’t infective enough, it did calm her down for the time being. . Navina was only fifteen years old, while her brother, Adhi, eighteen years of age. Their parents weren’t at all well to do, they had no education and their tea plantation job wasn’t bringing enough profit for the upkeep of the family. Adhi had done his best to keep his family up and going, and in terms of his academics, he did more than his best, but even with that, it didn’t help much. They were Indian Tamils not Sri- Lankan Tamils, so what difference does it make?
The Tamils had no rights whatsoever in the country. It was always the Sinhalese who had everything. Adhi and his family had no house of their own, the little one they lived in, can’t even be identified as a house. All of these citizenship rights could mostly be achieved by the Sinhalese only. Accompanied with the University admission criteria, neither did it in any way favour the Tamils, when in the past, all students, whether Tamil or Sinhalese, were given admission according to their results/merits. This greatly affected Adhi, as he was not able to take the course he had wanted to take. He was greatly shaken by this, he had worked really hard to get a good grade, but it all came to nothing. He thought about all the time he stayed back in school, went to libraries, just to make sure he he achieve his dream. All of these contributed to the civil war that took place in Sri Lanka.
Together she ran with her brother, she strongly felt the tight grip of Adhi on her. Even though they weren’t sure where they were going, all that Adhi could think of at that moment was to be somewhere safe with his sister. Suddenly, they both heard the terrible blast from the bomb they had luckily escaped from. They both looked at each other and ran even faster.
He carried his sister with the little strength he had left from all the running, as if to tell her, ‘it’s ok Nav, as long as I’m here, you’re surely safe.’ She managed a faint smile, and held on to her brother a little more tightly. Both his parents had died from this endless, horrible war, but they have been lucky enough to escape the death that faced them a moment ago. He shuddered from the thoughts. Finally, they found a suitable hide-out.
The cave entrance was dark and dank, but they had no choice, they thirst for safety more than anything, so they stepped inside reluctantly. The cave had several holes in it, which obviously came from all the gun shots. They had no idea of what could happen next, they just had to wait. While waiting, his eyes drifted to the hole right in front of him. He moved nearer towards it, his sister joined him in curiosity. They both wanted to scream, but they could not, they knew how dangerously they would be endangering their lives.
“That’s Saahan, look Nav!’” he murmured gladly to his sister who was as surprised as he was.
“Yes!” she whispered in astonishment, “it is, it’s Sahaan.” She replied melodiously.
“Poor him, it’s dangerous out there.” Adhi added, sadly shaking his head.
Saahan was Adhi’s neighbour, and also his best friend. They were so close that Adhi couldn’t imagine himself let his one and only best friend roam about like that, when he knew, Saahan like him, wanted safety. The horrified look on Saahan’s face said it all. It was worse than fear and sadly, he was also alone. What happened next was dreadful and sudden. Adhi thought he could save him, but before he could think of a way, he saw how his only best friend went down flat. In short, Sahaan was shot. No one knew where the bullet came from and how it had gotten Sahaan, and only him at that time. They cried all day, complaining about everything going on around them. Now, Adhi and Navina could only wish for safety. They had no guarantee, after seeing the death of their friend.
Recently, the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) was finally defeated with their leader- Prabakran killed in the final phase of the civil war. Now that there’s peace, though many things was lost and definitely can’t be retrieved, hope they make good use of another chance that’s bestowed upon them. Like the famous saying, “When there’s life, there’s hope.”
Word Count- 834.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Sri lanka essay (unforgettable, draft 4)
“Mother! Mother! Come and look at this!” Navina shouted angrily from the front door of the house, while staring at the paper in her hand.
“Oh dear! What happened?” Her mother replied as she immediately left what she was doing.
“I am no longer part of the school’s prefect team, not only me, but all the Tamil students have been replaced by the Sinhalese students” Navina cried out to her mother.
Her mother tried to comfort her by telling her that there’ll be greater opportunities for her in the future. Though those words weren’t infective enough, but it did calm her down for the time being. . Navina was only fifteen years old, while her brother, Adhi, eighteen years of age. Their parents weren’t at all well to do, they had no education and their “job” didn’t in any way make any difference to their livelihood. Adhi was already doing his best to keep his family up and going, and in terms of his academics, he did more than his best, but even with that, it didn’t help much. They were Indian Tamils not Sri- Lankan Tamils, so what rights do they have?
The Tamils had no rights whatsoever in the country. It was always the Sinhalese who had everything. Was it education? Was it jobs, housing or the rights to vote? All of these citizenship rights could mostly be achieved by the Sinhalese only. Accompanied with the University admission criteria, neither did it in any way favour the Tamils, when in the past, all students, whether Tamil or Sinhalese, were given admission according to their results/merits. This greatly affected Adhi, as he was not able to take the course he had wanted to take. He was greatly shaken by this, he had worked really hard, but he also had his family to worry about. All these didn’t only affect Adhil’s family, it affected all the Tamils. They were riots that led to deaths. There was also Resettlement, in which the Sinhalese peasants were transferred from the densely populated southwestern and central areas to Tamil areas. The Tamils were not happy as the Sinhalese peasants were not the only ones who came to live among them. Buddhist monks and the Sri Lankan Army which compromised mostly Sinhalese also came to occupy their lands. All these finally resulted in the conflict between the Tamils and the Sinhalese.
“Wait, Navina! Don’t move another step! Adhi shouted very quickly.
“Why?” Navina asked curiously.
“Don’t go any further, that, I’m sure is definitely a bomb, we better run, it can blow up anytime, Navina! Run!” Adhi Shouted even louder as he immediately grabbed the hands of his sister, who still was in shock of actually standing barely a stone-throw from a bomb.
As she ran together with her brother, she could feel the tight grip of Adhi on her. They kept running, and even though they weren’t sure where they were going, all that Adhi could think of at that moment was to be somewhere safe with his sister. Suddenly, they both heard the terrible blast from the bomb they had luckily escaped from. They both looked at each other and ran even faster.
“It’s ok Nav, I think we are safe for now” Adhi told his sister, who seemed to want to puke.
She managed a faint smile, nodded, and held on to her brother a little more tightly. Adhi was beaming with joy inside, he tried not to show it, as he thought, this probably wasn’t the right time to be happy, but he couldn’t help it. Both his parents had died from this endless, horrible war. Now, his only family, a moment ago, was incredibly lucky to have escaped death. He shuddered from the thoughts. Finally, they found a suitable hide-out, more like a cave. The cave entrance was dark and dank, but they had no choice, so they stepped inside reluctantly. The cave had several holes in it, which obviously came from all the gun shots. They sat beside each other, both of them terrified of what might happen next. They had no idea, they just had to wait.
Suddenly, and unexpectedly, his eyes drifted to the hole right in front of him. He moved nearer towards it, his sister joined him in curiosity. They both wanted to scream, but they could not, they knew how dangerously they would be endangering their lives.
“That’s Saahan, look Nav!’” he whispered in astonishment to his sister who was as surprised as her brother.
“Yes!” she whispered in astonishment, “it is, it’s Sahaan. She replied sharply.
“Poor him, it’s dangerous out there.” Adhi added, sadly shaking his head.
Saahan was Adhi’s neighbour, and also his best friend. They were so close that Adhi couldn’t imagine himself letting his one and only best friend roam about like that, when he knew, Saahan was also looking for safety. The horrified look on Saahan’s face said it all. It was worse than fear and sadly, he was alone. Adhi looked at his sister in disbelief, staring at her as if to say we have to do something.
While he was thinking, his sister’s voice – which was a sound of some very familiar sign he and Saahan used, when trying to get each other’s attention. The next few minutes, Saahan was inside the cave with them. They were so glad to see each other but were soon crying together after looking around them and seeing how their once peaceful country had become an unbearable place to be.
Recently, the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) was finally defeated with their leader- Prabakran killed in the final phase of the civil war. Now there’s peace, and therefore, hope it lasts.
“Oh dear! What happened?” Her mother replied as she immediately left what she was doing.
“I am no longer part of the school’s prefect team, not only me, but all the Tamil students have been replaced by the Sinhalese students” Navina cried out to her mother.
Her mother tried to comfort her by telling her that there’ll be greater opportunities for her in the future. Though those words weren’t infective enough, but it did calm her down for the time being. . Navina was only fifteen years old, while her brother, Adhi, eighteen years of age. Their parents weren’t at all well to do, they had no education and their “job” didn’t in any way make any difference to their livelihood. Adhi was already doing his best to keep his family up and going, and in terms of his academics, he did more than his best, but even with that, it didn’t help much. They were Indian Tamils not Sri- Lankan Tamils, so what rights do they have?
The Tamils had no rights whatsoever in the country. It was always the Sinhalese who had everything. Was it education? Was it jobs, housing or the rights to vote? All of these citizenship rights could mostly be achieved by the Sinhalese only. Accompanied with the University admission criteria, neither did it in any way favour the Tamils, when in the past, all students, whether Tamil or Sinhalese, were given admission according to their results/merits. This greatly affected Adhi, as he was not able to take the course he had wanted to take. He was greatly shaken by this, he had worked really hard, but he also had his family to worry about. All these didn’t only affect Adhil’s family, it affected all the Tamils. They were riots that led to deaths. There was also Resettlement, in which the Sinhalese peasants were transferred from the densely populated southwestern and central areas to Tamil areas. The Tamils were not happy as the Sinhalese peasants were not the only ones who came to live among them. Buddhist monks and the Sri Lankan Army which compromised mostly Sinhalese also came to occupy their lands. All these finally resulted in the conflict between the Tamils and the Sinhalese.
“Wait, Navina! Don’t move another step! Adhi shouted very quickly.
“Why?” Navina asked curiously.
“Don’t go any further, that, I’m sure is definitely a bomb, we better run, it can blow up anytime, Navina! Run!” Adhi Shouted even louder as he immediately grabbed the hands of his sister, who still was in shock of actually standing barely a stone-throw from a bomb.
As she ran together with her brother, she could feel the tight grip of Adhi on her. They kept running, and even though they weren’t sure where they were going, all that Adhi could think of at that moment was to be somewhere safe with his sister. Suddenly, they both heard the terrible blast from the bomb they had luckily escaped from. They both looked at each other and ran even faster.
“It’s ok Nav, I think we are safe for now” Adhi told his sister, who seemed to want to puke.
She managed a faint smile, nodded, and held on to her brother a little more tightly. Adhi was beaming with joy inside, he tried not to show it, as he thought, this probably wasn’t the right time to be happy, but he couldn’t help it. Both his parents had died from this endless, horrible war. Now, his only family, a moment ago, was incredibly lucky to have escaped death. He shuddered from the thoughts. Finally, they found a suitable hide-out, more like a cave. The cave entrance was dark and dank, but they had no choice, so they stepped inside reluctantly. The cave had several holes in it, which obviously came from all the gun shots. They sat beside each other, both of them terrified of what might happen next. They had no idea, they just had to wait.
Suddenly, and unexpectedly, his eyes drifted to the hole right in front of him. He moved nearer towards it, his sister joined him in curiosity. They both wanted to scream, but they could not, they knew how dangerously they would be endangering their lives.
“That’s Saahan, look Nav!’” he whispered in astonishment to his sister who was as surprised as her brother.
“Yes!” she whispered in astonishment, “it is, it’s Sahaan. She replied sharply.
“Poor him, it’s dangerous out there.” Adhi added, sadly shaking his head.
Saahan was Adhi’s neighbour, and also his best friend. They were so close that Adhi couldn’t imagine himself letting his one and only best friend roam about like that, when he knew, Saahan was also looking for safety. The horrified look on Saahan’s face said it all. It was worse than fear and sadly, he was alone. Adhi looked at his sister in disbelief, staring at her as if to say we have to do something.
While he was thinking, his sister’s voice – which was a sound of some very familiar sign he and Saahan used, when trying to get each other’s attention. The next few minutes, Saahan was inside the cave with them. They were so glad to see each other but were soon crying together after looking around them and seeing how their once peaceful country had become an unbearable place to be.
Recently, the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) was finally defeated with their leader- Prabakran killed in the final phase of the civil war. Now there’s peace, and therefore, hope it lasts.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Draft 3 - Sri lanka essay
“Mother! Mother! Come and look at this!” Navina shouted from the front door of the house, or more likely a hut-house. Navina was only fifteen years old, while her brother, Adhi, eighteen years of age.
“Oh dear, what happened?” Her mother replied as she immediately left what she was doing.
“I am no longer part of the school’s prefect team, not only me, but all the Tamil students have been replaced by the Sinhalese students” Navina cried out to her mother.
“My daughter… don’t worry, greater opportunities lies ahead of you, get those.” Those were the only thing that managed to come out of her mother’s mouth to comfort her.
Their parents weren’t at all well to do, they had no education and their “job” didn’t in any way make any difference to their livelihood. Adhi was already doing his best to keep his family up and going, and in terms of his academics, he did more than his best, but even with that, it didn’t help much. They were Indian Tamils not Sri- Lankan Tamils, so what rights do they have?
The Tamils had no rights whatsoever in the country. It was always the Sinhalese who had everything. Was it education? Was it jobs or housing or the rights to vote? All of these citizenship rights could mostly be achieved by the Sinhalese only. Accompanied with the University admission criteria, neither did it in any way favour the Tamils, when in the past, all students, whether Tamil or Sinhalese, were given admission according to their results/merits. This greatly affected Adhi, as he was not able to take the course he had wanted to take. He was greatly shaken by this, he had worked really hard, but he also had his family to worry about. All these didn’t only affect Adhil’s family, it affected all the Tamils. They were riots that led to deaths. There was also Resettlement, in which the Sinhalese peasants were transferred from the densely populated southwestern and central areas to Tamil areas. The Tamils were not happy as the Sinhalese peasants were not the only ones who came to live among them. Buddhist monks and the Sri Lankan Army which compromised mostly Sinhalese also came to occupy their lands. All these finally resulted in the conflict between the Tamils and the Sinhalese.
“Wait, Navina! Don’t move another step! Adhi shouted very quickly. “Don’t go any further, that, I’m sure is definitely a bomb, we better run, it can blow up anytime, Navina! Run!” Adhi Shouted even louder as he immediately grabbed the hands of his sister, who still was in shock of actually standing barely a stone-throw from a bomb. As she ran together with her brother, she could feel the tight grip of Adhi on her. They kept running, and even though they weren’t sure where they were going, all that Adhi could think of at that moment was to be somewhere safe with his sister. Suddenly, they both heard the terrible blast from the bomb they had luckily escaped from. They both looked at each other and ran even faster.
“It’s ok Nav, I think we are safe for now” Adhi told his sister, who seemed to want to puke.
She managed a faint smile, nodded, and held on to her brother a little more tightly. Adhi was beaming with joy inside, he tried not to show it, as he thought, this probably wasn’t the right time to be happy, but he couldn’t help it. Both his parents had died from this endless, horrible war. Now, his only family, a moment ago, was incredibly lucky to have escaped death. He shuddered from the thoughts. Finally, they found a suitable hide-out, more like a cave. The cave entrance was dark and dank, but they had no choice, so they stepped inside reluctantly. The cave had several holes in it, which obviously came from all the gun shots. They sat beside each other, both of them terrified of what might happen next. They had no idea, they just had to wait.
Suddenly, and unexpectedly, his eyes drifted to the hole right in front of him. He moved nearer towards it, his sister joined him in curiosity. They both wanted to scream, but they could not, they knew how dangerously they would be endangering their lives.
“That’s Saahan, look Nav!’” he whispered in astonishment to his sister who was as surprised as her brother.
Saahan was Adhi’s neighbour, and also his best friend. They were so close that Adhi couldn’t imagine himself letting his one and only best friend roam about like that, when he knew, Saahan was also looking for safety. The horrified look on Saahan’s face said it all. It was worse than fear and sadly, he was alone.
Adhi looked at his sister in disbelief, and whispered, “We have to do something!”
While he was thinking, his sister’s voice – which was a sound of some very familiar sign he and Saahan used, when trying to get each other’s attention. The next few minutes, Saahan was inside the cave with them. They were so glad to see each other but were soon crying together after looking around them and seeing how their once peaceful country had become an unbearable place to be.
Recently, the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) was finally defeated with their leader- Prabakran killed in the final phase of the civil war. Now there’s peace, and therefore, hope it lasts.
Word count: 905
“Oh dear, what happened?” Her mother replied as she immediately left what she was doing.
“I am no longer part of the school’s prefect team, not only me, but all the Tamil students have been replaced by the Sinhalese students” Navina cried out to her mother.
“My daughter… don’t worry, greater opportunities lies ahead of you, get those.” Those were the only thing that managed to come out of her mother’s mouth to comfort her.
Their parents weren’t at all well to do, they had no education and their “job” didn’t in any way make any difference to their livelihood. Adhi was already doing his best to keep his family up and going, and in terms of his academics, he did more than his best, but even with that, it didn’t help much. They were Indian Tamils not Sri- Lankan Tamils, so what rights do they have?
The Tamils had no rights whatsoever in the country. It was always the Sinhalese who had everything. Was it education? Was it jobs or housing or the rights to vote? All of these citizenship rights could mostly be achieved by the Sinhalese only. Accompanied with the University admission criteria, neither did it in any way favour the Tamils, when in the past, all students, whether Tamil or Sinhalese, were given admission according to their results/merits. This greatly affected Adhi, as he was not able to take the course he had wanted to take. He was greatly shaken by this, he had worked really hard, but he also had his family to worry about. All these didn’t only affect Adhil’s family, it affected all the Tamils. They were riots that led to deaths. There was also Resettlement, in which the Sinhalese peasants were transferred from the densely populated southwestern and central areas to Tamil areas. The Tamils were not happy as the Sinhalese peasants were not the only ones who came to live among them. Buddhist monks and the Sri Lankan Army which compromised mostly Sinhalese also came to occupy their lands. All these finally resulted in the conflict between the Tamils and the Sinhalese.
“Wait, Navina! Don’t move another step! Adhi shouted very quickly. “Don’t go any further, that, I’m sure is definitely a bomb, we better run, it can blow up anytime, Navina! Run!” Adhi Shouted even louder as he immediately grabbed the hands of his sister, who still was in shock of actually standing barely a stone-throw from a bomb. As she ran together with her brother, she could feel the tight grip of Adhi on her. They kept running, and even though they weren’t sure where they were going, all that Adhi could think of at that moment was to be somewhere safe with his sister. Suddenly, they both heard the terrible blast from the bomb they had luckily escaped from. They both looked at each other and ran even faster.
“It’s ok Nav, I think we are safe for now” Adhi told his sister, who seemed to want to puke.
She managed a faint smile, nodded, and held on to her brother a little more tightly. Adhi was beaming with joy inside, he tried not to show it, as he thought, this probably wasn’t the right time to be happy, but he couldn’t help it. Both his parents had died from this endless, horrible war. Now, his only family, a moment ago, was incredibly lucky to have escaped death. He shuddered from the thoughts. Finally, they found a suitable hide-out, more like a cave. The cave entrance was dark and dank, but they had no choice, so they stepped inside reluctantly. The cave had several holes in it, which obviously came from all the gun shots. They sat beside each other, both of them terrified of what might happen next. They had no idea, they just had to wait.
Suddenly, and unexpectedly, his eyes drifted to the hole right in front of him. He moved nearer towards it, his sister joined him in curiosity. They both wanted to scream, but they could not, they knew how dangerously they would be endangering their lives.
“That’s Saahan, look Nav!’” he whispered in astonishment to his sister who was as surprised as her brother.
Saahan was Adhi’s neighbour, and also his best friend. They were so close that Adhi couldn’t imagine himself letting his one and only best friend roam about like that, when he knew, Saahan was also looking for safety. The horrified look on Saahan’s face said it all. It was worse than fear and sadly, he was alone.
Adhi looked at his sister in disbelief, and whispered, “We have to do something!”
While he was thinking, his sister’s voice – which was a sound of some very familiar sign he and Saahan used, when trying to get each other’s attention. The next few minutes, Saahan was inside the cave with them. They were so glad to see each other but were soon crying together after looking around them and seeing how their once peaceful country had become an unbearable place to be.
Recently, the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) was finally defeated with their leader- Prabakran killed in the final phase of the civil war. Now there’s peace, and therefore, hope it lasts.
Word count: 905
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Sri lanka( Unforgettable, Draft 2)
“Mother, I’m back, and I’m seriously starving!” Navina shouted from the front door of the house, or more likely a hut-house. Navina was only ten years old, while her brother, Adhi, eighteen years of age.
“Oh dear, welcome back. Your food will be with you soon, get to your room and wash up ok.” Their parents weren’t at all well to do, they had no education and their “job” didn’t in any way make any difference to their livelihood. Adhi was already doing his best to keep his family up and going, and in terms of his academics, he did more than his best, but even with that, it didn’t help an inch. They were Indian Tamils not Sri- Lankan Tamils, so what rights do they have? Nothing!
The Tamils had no rights whatsoever in the country. It was always the Sinhalese who had everything. Was it education? Was it jobs or housing or the rights to vote? All of these citizenship rights could mostly be achieved by the Sinhalese only. Accompanied with the University admission criteria, neither did it in any way favour the Tamils, when in the past, all students, whether Tamil or Sinhalese, were given admission according to their results/merits. This greatly affected Adhi, as he was not able to take the course he had wanted to take. He was greatly shaken by this, he had worked really hard, but he also had his family to worry about. All these didn’t only affect Adhil’s family, it affected all the Tamils. They were riots that led to deaths. There was also Resettlement, in which the Sinhalese peasants were transferred from the densely populated southwestern and central areas to Tamil areas. The Tamils were not happy as the Sinhalese peasants were not the only ones who came to live among them. Buddhist monks and the Sri Lankan Army which compromised mostly Sinhalese also came to occupy their lands. All these finally resulted in the conflict between the Tamils and the Sinhalese.
“Wait, Navina! Don’t move another step! Adhi shouted very quickly. “Don’t go any further, that, I’m sure is definitely a bomb, we better run, it can blow up anytime, Navina! Run!” Adhi Shouted even louder as he immediately grabbed the hands of his sister, who still was in shock of actually standing barely a stone-throw from a bomb. As she ran together with her brother, she could feel the tight grip of Adhi on her. They kept running, and even though they weren’t sure where they were going, all that Adhi could think of at that moment was to be somewhere safe with his sister. Suddenly, they both heard the terrible blast from the bomb they had luckily escaped from. They both looked at each other and ran even faster.
“It’s ok Nav, I think we are safe for now” Adhi told his sister, who seemed to want to puke. She managed a faint smile, nodded, and held on to her brother a little more tightly. Adhi was beaming with joy inside, he tried not to show it, as he thought, this probably wasn’t the right time to be happy, but he couldn’t help it. Both his parents had died from this endless, horrible war. Now, his only family, a moment ago, was incredibly lucky to have escaped death. He shuddered from the thoughts. Finally, they found a suitable hide-out, more like a cave. The cave entrance was dark and dank, but they had no choice, so they stepped inside reluctantly. The cave had several holes in it, which obviously came from all the gun shots. They sat beside each other, both of them terrified of what might happen next. They had no idea, they just had to wait.
Suddenly, and unexpectedly, his eyes drifted to the hole right in front of him. He moved nearer towards it, his sister joined him in curiosity. They both wanted to scream, but they could not, they knew how dangerously they would be endangering their lives. “That’s Saahan, look Nav!’” he whispered in astonishment to his sister who was as surprised as her brother. Saahan was Adhi’s neighbour, and also his best friend. They were so close that Adhi couldn’t imagine himself letting his one and only best friend roam about like that, when he knew, Saahan was also looking for safety. The horrified look on Saahan’s face said it all. It was worse than fear and sadly, he was alone. Adhi looked at his sister in disbelief, and whispered, “We have to do something!” While he was thinking, his sister’s voice – which was a sound of some very familiar sign he and Saahan used, when trying to get each other’s attention. The next few minutes, Saahan was inside the cave with them. They were so glad to see each other but were soon crying together after looking around them and seeing how their once peaceful country had become an unbearable place to be.
Recently, the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) was finally defeated, with their leader- Prabakran killed in the final phase of the civil war. Now, there’s peace. But, will this peace that has begun tarry or vanish anytime soon?
Word count: 859
Monday, July 13, 2009
Sri Lanka essay (:
Name: Elizabeth Ekundayo
Class: Integrity 3
Topic:
“Mother, I’m back, and I’m seriously starving!” Navina shouted from the front door of the house, or more likely a hut-house. Navina was only ten years old, while her brother, Adhi, eighteen years of age.
“Oh dear, welcome back. Your food will be with you soon, get to your room and wash up ok.”
Their parents weren’t at all well to do, they had no education and their “job” didn’t in any way make any difference to their livelihood. Adhi was already doing his best to keep his family up and going, and in terms of his academics, he did more than his best, but even with that, it didn’t help an inch. They were Indian Tamils not Sri- Lankan Tamils, so what rights do they have? Nothing.
The Tamils had no rights whatsoever in the country. Nothing to make them feel belonged. It was always the Sinhalese who had everything. Was it education? Was it jobs or housing or the rights to vote? All of these citizenship rights could mostly be achieved by the Sinhalese only. Accompanied with the University admission criteria, they didn’t favour the Tamils in any way, not like in the past, when all students, whether Tamil or Sinhalese, were given admission according to their results/merits. This greatly affected Adhi. He was not able to take the course he had wanted to take, as he had to score higher merits than the Sinhalese to be able to take that particular course. He was greatly shaken by this, he had worked really hard, but he also had his family to worry about. All these didn’t only affect Adhil’s family, it affected all the Tamils. They were riots that led to deaths. Also, under a policy known ‘Resettlement’ the Sinhalese peasants were transferred from the densely populated southwestern and central areas to Tamil areas. The Tamils were not happy as the Sinhalese peasants were not the only ones who came to live among them. Buddhist monks and the Sri Lankan Army which compromised mostly Sinhalese also came to occupy their lands. All these finally resulted in the conflict between the Tamils and the Sinhalese.
“Wait, Navina! Don’t move another step! Adhi shouted very quickly.
“Don’t go any further, that, I’m sure is definitely a bomb, we better run, it can blow up anytime, Navina! Run!” Adhi Shouted even louder as he immediately grabbed the hands of his sister, who still was in shock of actually standing barely a stone-throw from a bomb.
As she ran together with her brother, she could feel the tight grip of Adhi on her. They kept running, and even though they weren’t sure where they were going, all that Adhi could think of at that moment was to be somewhere safe with his sister. Suddenly, they both heard the terrible blast from the bomb they had luckily escaped from. They both looked at each other and ran even faster.
“It’s ok Nav, I think we are safe for now” Adhi told his sister, who seemed to want to puke.
She managed a faint smile, and held on to her brother a little more tightly. Adhi was beaming with joy inside, he tried not to show it, as he thought, this probably wasn’t the right time to be happy, but he couldn’t help it. He couldn’t let the only person he has as a family be out of his life again. Not again, he thought. Both his parents had died from this endless, horrible war. Now, his only family, a moment ago, was incredibly lucky to have escaped death. He shuddered from the thoughts.
Finally, they found a suitable hide-out, more like a cave, Adhi thought. The cave entrance was dark and dank, but they had no choice, so they stepped inside reluctantly. The cave-like hide-out had several holes in it, which obviously came from all the shootings. After a while, they were tired of wandering around the cave, so they decided to sit beside each other, both of them terrified of what might happen next. They had no idea, they just had to wait.
“What a life!” murmured Adhi.
Suddenly, and unexpectedly, his eyes drifted to the hole right in front of him. He moved nearer towards it, his sister joined him in curiosity. They both wanted to scream, but they could not, they knew how dangerously they would be endangering their lives.
“That’s Saahan, look Nav!’” he whispered in astonishment to his sister who was as surprised as her brother.
Saahan was Adhi’s neighbour, and also his best friend. They were so close that Adhi couldn’t imagine himself letting his one and only best friend roam about like that, when he knew, Saahan was also looking for safety. The horrified look on Saahan’s face said it all. It was worse than fear. Nobody with him. Just him alone. Adhi looked at his sister in disbelief, and whispered, “We have to do something!” While he was thinking, his sister’s voice – which was a sound of some very familiar sign he and Saahan used, when trying to get each other’s attention. The next few minutes, Saahan was inside the cave with them. They were so glad to see each other but were soon crying together after looking around them and seeing how their once peaceful country had become an unbearable place to be.
Word count: 898
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