The War between Eritrea and Ethiopia

The War between Eritrea and Ethiopia

            It was in 1998 when I was in second grade and this unforgettable moment happened. I was in school when Ethiopian plane came to our school in Eritrea, so we had to leave the school because it was an Ethiopian plane and we were scared they would drop bombs, because they fought before. I had to run for three miles to go home because the school was far from the place we lived. When I got home my parents were not at home and I just ran to the church by myself. However, after a while, I found my parents. We stayed in the church for a few hours until a plane left. And the next day I had to go to school, but I was very scared because if a plane comes again, I thought I wouldn’t be able to find my parents because I was lucky to find them the first time. Thus, I didn’t want it to happen again. The war between Eritrea and Ethiopia affected my family and me both negatively and positively.

            As a child, I moved to many places in just year; in fact, the first time we left our home town, we walked for two days going somewhere we didn’t know. The next morning we walked again for a week, and then we ended up in the jungle. It was an unforgettable moment in my life because I was too young to be in the jungle; it was very scary because there were many snakes and other animals. And also we didn’t have enough blankets, food, and water for everyone. After six months of staying in the jungle, we went to the city, and I was in the hospital for two weeks because I had gotten sick in the jungle. Later we rented house in the city, but we couldn’t stay there for long because we didn’t had enough money to pay the rent, so we had to go back to the jungle. After a while, we went to the refugee camp in Eritrea. Finally, we got a small house to live in, and we lived there for about two years. Then the plane came again to the camp in Eritrea, so we had to move to a different location. As a kid this moving thing affected me very negatively, because I wanted to go to school, make friends and be like a normal child, but instead I was moving from place to place, and never had the chance to act like a kid.

             My family had never dreamed of going to Ethiopia, but when they saw Eritrean people from the camp going to Ethiopia, they decided to go with them. Due the war we ended up in an Ethiopian refugee camp. My family thought it would be better there, but it wasn’t because we didn’t have enough the foods to eat, however, it was better than the jungle because there were many people and no more snakes. Also, we got help from UNCHR it stand for (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees)  However it wasn’t enough at all because we are a big family and we finished eating the foods so quickly. It was e especially hard to get water. We had to walk for almost four miles to get water, and it was not even clean, but we kept drinking it because we had no choice. We didn’t even have money, so we couldn’t eat healthy food In addition; I am the oldest daughter in my family, so I had to bring the water for them. Therefore, I had to walk for miles to bring the water every single day and sometimes twice a day. I thought living in the jungle was an unforgettable moment in my life, but this one is worse than that. And not only did I have to bring the water, I had to cook, and wash my family’s clothes. Being a teenager in the camp was also a difficult part of my life. I still wanted to go to school, but I never had the chance because I was the oldest, so I had to help my mother with the chores and had to take care of my little brothers and sisters. We stayed in Ethiopia refugee camp for seven years and I never had the chance to go to school. This made me feel not smart and unhappy, and I thought I would never go to school again.

            Finally, after staying seven years in the camp, we had the opportunity to come to the United States. This was the most positive effect on my family and I because I knew that coming to the U.S. would change our lives for the better. When we got to Pennsylvania, it was the greatest day ever because we were given a four bedroom house and everyone got their own room. This was the most wonderful thing that ever happened to us because when we were in Africa, we only had one small house that we all slept in. After a couple weeks my brothers, sisters, and I started school. When I first started going to school I was extremely excited, when I first stepped into the school I felt my dream coming true. The dream that I thought would never come true was coming true. That dream of being educated and being someone important and professional. For I was the luckiest girl in the world and everything around me felt happy, I knew right then and there that my life would never be the same ever again. 

            In conclusion, the war between Eritrea and Ethiopia had impacted my family and me in both negative and positive ways. The reason that war affected me in a bad way was I moved to many places as a kid and never got the chance to go to school. Also, as a teenager I had to take care of my little brothers and sisters, which resulted me not going to school. Also the bad effect of the war on my family was that they had to take care of one another in such harsh times instead of living a regular life. On the other hand, the war between Eritrea and Ethiopia meant that my family and I were coming to the U.S., which was the greatest effect in our lives. If the war had not resulted for my family and I coming to the United States than everything would have been a flunk and nothing would ever be the same.

Vietnam of 20 years After " Mau Than" War

Vietnam of 20 Years After “Mau Than” War

All of us know what happens to a country after war. It is not only a mess for the whole country, but also a challenge for authorities to rebuild a new country. Effects of war brought many miserable incidents to the Vietnamese people in the 1960s. Specifically, Vietnam became politically messy after war  ended on April 30, 1975. The main causes of “Mau Than” war were conflicts between the North and South. The Vietnamese Communists from the North wanted to unify Vietnam, and they believed that Marxism would be the best solution to have a better country. Because of these causes, the “Mau Than” war happened. As a result, the effects of Marxist philosophy turned Vietnam into the most miserable situation. The bad effects especially affected daily life-style of people in South Vietnam in politics, human rights and education.

Marxism was terrible for people in South Vietnam after the “Mau Than” war ended. Before the communists took over the South, men working for The American army used to earn enough to support their family. This group was called Republican Vietnam soldiers. After Vietnamese communists occupied the South and united Vietnam,The Republic Vietnam soldiers were called soldiers “Nguy.” Soldiers “Nguy” and their family suffered many bad things from communists. For example, first, their earnings were not high enough to support their family members. Next, they were told lies by the Vietnamese Communists that if soldiers “Nguy” surrendered to communist party, they would be released. After they did what the communists said, they didn’t get released but arrested and/or tortured to death. In addition to low earnings and those lies, their houses and business were occupied by the communists. More than those, they had to eat only daikon radish and rice flour that are for pigs. If their family had young children, they could not go to school. If the parents wanted their children to go to school, the parents had to give bribes to the communist authorities so that the kids could go to school. Because of these reasons, some families that had savings fled to the other countries such as London, North America, and Australia. Applying Marxism for transforming a new Vietnam by communists was really miserable for daily life of people in the South.

 In addition to the miserable crisis after communists’ victory, Marxist philosophy was also applied for human rights. Because of the terrible communist scheme, there were no human rights in Vietnam at that time. People couldn’t complain anything about the government. Students had no rights to complain about teachers if teachers were wrong. It was always wrong for people who can afford to buy a color TV because they will be called "Republican Vietnam” and sent to jail. If people bought black-white TV, they would be safe. My mom told me her story in this period of time. My family saved up to buy a color TV, but we couldn’t leave it in the living room. We had to hide it on the second floor. Whenever we watched TV, a person was assigned to stay downstairs to watch around and alert upstairs people if the police came to over to check. My mom also told me that they couldn’t laugh so loud when watching TV, or else they would get caught  watching “color TV.” Under the Marxist philosophy, people couldn’t buy what they wanted, buy what they loved or say what they thought.

Furthermore, Marxism was also applied to education. Textbooks were from Ex-Soviet Union. Teaching method was terrible. For example, my dad told me that in order for him to go to one of the best secondary schools in Saigon, my grandparents had to give a bribe to the principal so that he could go to that school and became a pupil in one of the best classes. At that time, if my grandparents could not give bribes to the school administrators, my dad could fail the class and  he might be obliged to learn Russian. Fortunately, my grandparents worked hard to have enough money for my dad to be in a class that he had a chance to learn English, instead of learning Russian. In addition to giving bribes to go to a good school, my dad had to join the Youth Party so that teachers would not fail him. He was obliged to study their “proud” history that was not true. For example, to win over the 1968-1975 wars, the Vietnamese Communists had  aid from Chinese and Russians. Nevertheless, when my grandparents hired a woman from countryside to do chores and to take care of their children, they had to lie to the local communists that this woman was our relative. If we told the truth, we would have troubles for sure. We would be in jail or taken to the local police office  several times for questioning.

In conclusion, along with all the difficulty at that time, Marxism took a part in Vietnamese  history to make the situation become worse. These causes including politics, human rights and education didn’t help the lives of the Vietnamese to improve at all. Therefore, the “Mau Than” war happened to get rid of this bad solution.

How A War Change My Family Life

How A War Change My Family Life

“Boom”, “Boom”, “Boom” are the sounds people will always hear whenever there is a war, and wars are in a part of history that no one can change.  In Viet Nam, there was a long history of wars for thousands of years. The Vietnamese people fought with China over the past 1000 years. In addition, our country had a conflict with France for around one hundred years. However, it was the war with United States in the 1950s and 1970s that really had an effect on my family. It changed the life of many people, and many families in Viet Nam. My family was no exception from this rule. My mom used to tell me stories about how the war affected my grandfather, and the way he caused our family’s life to go to another direction.

The conflicts and wars caused my grandfather to begin his life in another part of my country, and my grandfather’s story began in 1950. In this time, South Viet Nam was occupied by the United States. My grandfather’s homeland was in countryside of South Viet Nam, called Dong Thap. His village was so poor, and it was attacked repeatedly by bombs from the United States’ Air Force. Hence, my grandfather had to leave his native land and move to Sai Gon looking for a new job. Luckily, he found a full-time job, and he worked for a few months. From that moment, he liked the new life in Sai Gon. He loved the city’s lifestyle and the way foreign people worked in offices. Unfortunately, the conflict in the city began rising. Thus, my grandfather had to return to his homeland. When he went back, he met my grandmother because she was at the same native land. A few months later, they got married. Usually, every man in his native land stayed in town and became farmers after they had a wife. However, my grandfather did not accept this destiny. He convinced his wife to go to Sai Gon to find a new existence and a better job. After a long time staying and working in Sai Gon, my grandfather finally bought a house in the city and raised his kids in this house. That is how our family got out of a farmer’s life.

In the beginning of this new life, my grandfather and my grandmother’s lives had a lot of difficulties. They had to work hard from 4 A.M until midnight. In addition, they worked without any weekends or holidays. Furthermore, the war played a part in making the beginning of my grandfather’s life challenging. The conflict reached Sai Gon, so it was hard to do business or exchange goods. Moreover, after the Revolution of Viet Nam War, their life was more arduous because of the heavily consequence of war. Establishing a new government and rebuilding the city was more important than improving the economy at that time, but sometimes, my grandmother thought she could not handle this and wanted to go back home. However, my grandfather convinced his wife to try because of the future of their child. They did not want to go back and become farmers because it was too difficult. He wanted his children to be able to work in offices and have a better life. His correctly thoughts and decisions led his family to a new horizon. Getting out of a farmer life and having a clerical job is the path that he chose for his kids.

Despite the fact that my grandfather’s family was very poor, he was determined to provide his child with a solid education. He always said that he would try his best to let his child could go to school. The severe life in war taught him how to deal with difficulties, and he never gave up in any circumstances. He also wanted all of his children to be as brave as him. Therefore, my mother and her siblings were the only kids in her neighborhood that were educated. Learning was the only way to achieve success, he said. Moreover, at that time, in our neighborhood, there were many people richer than my grandfather. However, they did not let their children go to school because they thought it was unnecessary. Thanks to my grandfather’s abnegation, nowadays, my mother has a good job in the Vietnamese Government, and all of my uncles and aunts have better jobs.

          Changing one life is difficult, and it is more difficult if you want change many generations. My grandfather already did it, and he did it very successfully. He is no longer on the road with us. However, everyone in my family will remember him as a guiding star in the sky. My mother also tried to study from her father, and she let my sister and me study in the United States. A war can change many lives in many ways, and my grandfather let it change him into a better one.

Next Stop, Taipei Station

“Ah… Good bye my fellow friends and family. I’m going to work in Taipei City. Cuz I’ve heard they have everything good.” This is a song called “To Move Forward” written by Lin Qiang. My grandfather was born in an awkward period of time. It was late in the Japanese colonial rule of Taiwan, and nobody knew when the Japanese would leave. At the end of the World War II, Japan was defeated, so the Republic of China took over Taiwan’s leadership. After that, the economy started getting worse. Many years later, around 1966, my grandfather wanted to live a better life. Thus, he decided to move the whole family to Taipei City for better opportunities, and new life. My grandfather’s decision changed the destiny of my family and specifically has affected my father’s life.

Living in Taipei City costs more money than living in the countryside, so my grandparents had to work extra hard to feed the whole family. Because they did not have much education or skills, they were willing to do any kind of jobs. For example, they had sold bamboo shoots along the streets, opened a street vendor to sell chewing gum and betel nuts, and a little grocery store on the busiest avenue. Unfortunately, these stores did not last long because of the Martial Law imposed by government. People couldn’t do what they wanted, and there was no freedom of speech. They ended up working in a clothing factory. Even though times were hard, they believed as long as they stayed in Taipei City, there always was hope.

In addition to the poor economic times, my father had to earn money to pay his own tuition fee for school. In that period of time, not many people could study in school, and not to mention a poor country boy like my father. Every day, he got up early to deliver newspapers, and after class he went to a factory to clean up the trash. As a result, he could not pay much attention to his classes. His teacher drove him out to the remedial classes, for he failed most of the classes. Once my father told me, he only got two points on his math test. I asked him how could this happen if you studied. He answered me you didn’t have time to study because you have to work, and the teacher was too strict. Even though my father was not the smartest student in school, he still worked hard, so he could study.

One of the biggest effects of this time was that my grandparents were too busy to take care of the family, so my father and my oldest aunt had to take over this job. My youngest aunt was just born, and my grandparents’ income was not enough to support the new family member. Therefore, as the oldest son in this family, my father, eventually had to give up his education to help the family. My oldest aunt, as well as my father, had to take care of younger siblings with my father. Eventually, he found an opportunity to be an apprentice in a lamp factory. As time passed, my father became a professional technical worker. Sadly, these days, most of people think he is just a worker. None of them understood his sadness and bitterness for sacrificing education and childhood in order to support a family.

My grandfather’s choice had affected so many things in my family. My grandparents spent their whole life working, and my father and oldest aunt sacrificed their education and youth for family. I don’t think I will be able to understand my grandparents and my father’s struggle to survive in Taipei City. It was tough, but they have successfully come through. Like the end of the song sang “Nobody knows how many people like me try to living in this strange city, but I afraid nothing! Just to move forward!” I’m very thankful of what they have done for the family, so I could be born in this city of hope. 

The New Age of Technology

Kenia Valle

Third Draft

November 6, 2012

The New Age of Technology

                In some way, everyone loves technology.  When technology arrived to the market, not everyone was happy like people thought. However, I was one of the people who loved the new era. With rise of digital technology, the CD market went down and the ipods and the music downloads started to be common. The change in technology affected my family's life for the reason that, the CD boom, the digital age came out and the moved to the US because the lost of my stepfather business.  The technology changed everyone’s lives, but mine went into a different direction and after my unhappiness because the all changes I experienced

            New technology started to be recognized. My stepfather owned a recording studio and in the company, they burned and recorded famous Mexican singers. After the cassette lost the popularity, the CD made its boom and at that moment my stepfather began small recording studios where he started to get involved in recording CDs. He made a lot of money because the CD boom. In addition, he had a big company and during he was one of the first people making the CDs, for long time he was famous in the field.

              However, the digital technology came and that causes the lost of my stepfather’s company. The new era arrived with ipods, music downloads, and this meant fewer CDs used and bought. My stepfather’s company, where my mother worked too, started to be in crisis, and after surviving some years, the company failed. Moreover, my parents sold sixty five percent of the company and just kept forty percent, but that was not enough to survive. The expenses were more than what they won, and after months they lost the forty percent.  Consequently, my parents were unemployed and the comfortable life we were  used to faded away.

                    More important than the loss of my parents company, was the move to another country. Due to the new era, my parents lost all of their effort and the investment they had for my brothers and me. After they loss the company, they decided that were nothing for being in Mexico, so my parents decided that with the last money they saved they would buy a restaurant in the US. We moved to Chicago and my parents opened a restaurant. Thus, all the family was working for the future of the family. Nevertheless, after a year, my mother divorced because the all problems they had due to the changes and the loss of the company; she ended up keeping kept the restaurant and my stepfather went back to Mexico. In addition, I stopped working in my mother’s restaurant because it made remember why we were in Chicago, so I decided that the best for all of us was to work in an other restaurant.  I had entered a Mexican restaurant as a dishwasher, and after five years, now, I am a manager. The changes benefited me and my mother, but not my stepfather.

           Years ago, I hated the technology because just for the digital era my life changed drastically. Sometimes, I do not know who to blame was it to the technology or just the destiny.  Now, that I think  the situation is better, I realize that I was guilty too because when the first ipod went on sale I asked my stepfather to buy it for me. Of course, I downloaded music from the Internet, so I think that I participated in the CD homicide. Nevertheless, all my family was so unhappy because we used to have a rich life and now we are poor. However, with one difference; now we are happy, and I think all my family my stepfather too, are grateful to the digital era because it comes to change our life’s. Now, I am one of the people that loves technology, but not because of the use, but because the technology changed my life for the better.

Family Attack

Family Attack

People have experienced sadness over their families at least once in their lives. It can be a business failure or a financial crisis. Once bad things happen to them, they will never forget. However, from that sadness, people develop strength. My family experienced hardship when we heard sad news. My father had an oil tanker business. The collapse of my father’s business caused my family many hardships and was the reason we moved to a smaller apartment Busan, Korea.  

  

The first effect of the collapse of my father’s business was that I had to stop the school for one week. One day when I was in school, we watched a developing story on the news. My father ran a business, but there was an accident. While I was in school, I saw the news accidently. The news mentioned about my father’s business. The news said that a large quantity of crude oil had spilled into the sea from a shipwrecked tanker. The story was circulated. Failure of business led to my family to be stuck in a financial crisis. It was the worst time ever for us. 

The next effect of my father’s business collapsing was that we had to move. Two weeks after the crisis, my family moved to a smaller apartment, and I had to transfer to a school, which was close to my new home. The new apartment was smaller than the place where we lived before. It seemed as though my life had drastically changed. I used to be able to run inside at home, but after the move, I had to sit calmly on the chair. However, that time was the International Monetary Fund (IMF). After one years living in our apartment, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) crisis happened. Everyone was affected, including my family. The IMF made getting out of our situation even more difficult. It led not to easy get out of from our situation. However, my parents and I had a tough spirit each other. However, during the crisis my family never gave up. 

 Finally, it took about five years for my family to get out bad situation. When I turned thirteen, the IMF crisis had settled and my parents and I finally escaped from the business crisis. The failure of my father’s business and IMF led me to think more deeply before I spend money. I also, as a result of these incidents, I do volunteer work. Moreover, it led me to decide on majoring in business because I really want to know how a business runs since I experienced a financial crisis.

In conclusion, even though I was young during this hard time, my parents and I overcame all of the problems. Since I experienced those bad times, I’m not afraid of anything, and I am really proud of my father and mother. Moreover, after my family overcame financial crisis, father’s business revived and his business has been flourishing day by day. I do not have to worry about anything anymore. Moreover, after my family’s financial crisis ended, my father’s business has started flourishing again. I expect my father’s business will expand a lot.