A Mexican student writes on the influenza H1N1

by By Andrea Arzaba

It all started on Thursday 23^rd  of April, right before going to sleep. I had just finished my last paper due on Friday, the next day, for University. It was about midnight when I heard my mom calling me. “You will not have classes tomorrow, there is a strange virus and nobody in the State and in the City will be attending school”. I could not believe. It sounded like a joke. I quickly called a friend and she told me it was real, everybody was talking about it. Quickly, I went back to my computer and entered Facebook, where I saw in most of my friends status statements related to influenza, not going to school and confusion. It was real. Something that we had never experienced in our lives was happening.

Now, a week later, I am still missing classes, and this is why I decided to write this blog entry, because I would like people from other countries to know what is happening in my own.

On Friday the 24^th, nobody went out of their houses unless they really had too. You could see empty streets and sense the fear and uncertainity in the city. Some people were wearing surgical masks, something right out of horror movies, but it was actually happening in our city!

On the news, all we could hear was INFLUENZA, INFLUENZA and MORE INFLUENZA. And it was then, that all our doubts started to get answered. Apparently swine flu is a respiratory disease, caused by influenza A which infects pigs. There is not only a single type, and it keeps on changing, that was why the government decided to suspend classes. They were afraid, and they wanted people to prevent getting infected by getting together in groups or crowds.

A week has passed now since schools were closed. Time is passing very slowly, and still media keeps on talking about the swine flu. We keep on getting the same information every 30 minutes. I believe that in some way, they have contributed in the creation of a collective paranoia. Everybody is afraid of getting infected, even with their own family and friends. If somebody gets a symptom, from a headache to sore throat or coughs, this collective fear pulls at you and makes you think you are infected. I believe this is a crucial issue happening in our country, and in the world, but people feel even worst when they try to get information, because they are only getting negative messages all the time.

It is also a reality that certain countries are closing borders, which makes it even scarier. Now, just because our nationality is Mexican, we cannot step into some places. It is important to mention that this disease has a cure, and If you are taking the precautions that have been mentioned, it is not easy to get infected.

I would like to invite people who are reading this not to lose hope, to not consider Mexico as a sick country, because that would be generalizing, and instead to stay informed. Try to look on this issue in more than one source, newspapers from different countries, tv stations, websites. And one of the most important things is to stay positive, have a good attitude towards life, because the secret of health is not only in our body but in our mind too.

 

Los aliados de las Naciones Unidas se preparan para una posible pandemia de gripe porcina

NUEVA YORK, Estados Unidos, 28 abril de 2009 – Mientras la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) advierte que han aumentado las probabilidades de que se produzca una pandemia de gripe porcina, conocida también como H1N1, UNICEF colabora con los aliados de las Naciones Unidas para hacer frente a ese posible brote.

“El valor de UNICEF, además de la OMS, es que cuenta con la capacidad de trabajar en el terreno con las comunidades para difundir mensajes sobre lo que debe hacer la población para protegerse”, señaló el Dr. Osman David Mansoor, Asesor Superior de Salud de UNICEF.

Aumenta el nivel de alerta de la pandemia

Aparentemente, el virus se está propagando con bastante rapidez, ya que se ha informado sobre casos de gripe porcina en países tan distantes entre sí como México, Israel, España, los Estados Unidos y Nueva Zelandia.

“Eso demuestra que, por medio del transporte aéreo, el virus puede llegar velozmente a cualquier punto del mundo”, comentó el Dr. Mansoor.

La OMS ha elevado de tres a cuatro el nivel de alerta, lo que significa que ha aumentado el riesgo de que se desate una pandemia, aunque no quiere decir que la misma sea inevitable.

“Creo que en aproximadamente dos semanas sabremos si se trata del comienzo de una pandemia de envergadura mundial o de algo mucho menos grave, porque el virus no está suficientemente adaptado al organismo humano”, añadió el Dr. Mansoor.

Las consecuencias para los pobres

Las Naciones Unidas hay preocupación sobre las consecuencias de una posible pandemia para los países que ya sufren los efectos de diversas crisis y de la pobreza extrema.

“Las naciones más pobres son las más vulnerables”, señaló el Secretario General de las Naciones Unidas, Ban Ki-moon. “Este año ya han sufrido otras crisis, como las de los alimentos, los combustibles y la energía, la economía mundial, el cambio climático. Debemos garantizar que no sufran en una medida desproporcionadamente alta las consecuencias de esta potencial crisis sanitaria”.

“El Banco Mundial y otros organismos de las Naciones Unidas dedicados al desarrollo y a la ayuda humanitaria se movilizarán para garantizar que las naciones que requieran recursos financieros adicionales para combatir una epidemia cuenten con ellos”, agregó Ban Ki-moon.

UN partners prepare for potential swine flu pandemic

As the World Health Organization (WHO) warns of an increased likelihood of a pandemic of swine flu – also known as H1N1 – UNICEF is working with its UN partners to prepare for a potential outbreak.

WHO today raised its pandemic alert from level four to level five, indicating widespread human-to-human transmission and an increased likelihood of a pandemic.

“The value of UNICEF, in addition to WHO, is that it has the capacity to work with local communities to get the message through about what people can do to protect themselves,” said UNICEF Senior Health Advisor Dr. Osman David Mansoor.

Pandemic alert level raised

The virus appears to be spreading with some rapidity. Cases of swine flu are being reported in countries as far apart as Mexico, Israel, Spain, the United States and New Zealand.

“It shows that with air travel the virus can get to any place in the world very quickly,” said Dr. Mansoor.

“I think in two weeks or so we’ll find out whether this is the start of a pandemic of global scale or whether it’s not very much because the virus is not sufficiently adapted to humans,” he noted.

Effect on the poor

The UN remains concerned about a potential pandemic’s effect on countries already reeling from multiple crises and extreme poverty.

“Poorer nations are especially vulnerable,” said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. “They have been hit hard by other crises this year: food, energy, the global economy, climate change. We must ensure that they are not also hit disproportionately hard by a potential health crisis.

“The World Bank and other UN development and humanitarian agencies will therefore mobilize to ensure that countries needing additional financial resources to combat an epidemic will have them,” added Mr. Ban.

Our language is our cultural heritage

By Zarissa Windzak

 

 

Surinamese writer Novilia Tawjoeram recently debuted with her book “Conversating in Caraïb”. She calls the publishing of her book a serious attempt to helping Indigenous youngsters to remember their cultural heritage. According to Novilia the youngsters leave their home village at a certain age and travel to the country’s capitol for further education. In leaving the village they often forget the language of their people.

 

“I decided to write this book after noticing how many of my brothers and sisters seem to have forgotten their native language. Also the thinning of the number of tribe languages urged me to start writing”, says Novilia. Even though Novilia belongs to a different tribe, called the Arrowak, she decided to contact a Caraib woman to learn more about the language. “I myself don’t understand the language whatsoever. Not even my own tribe’s language. But that’s because I am like all the youngster who had to move to the city”. In Suriname youngsters, who live in villages located in the interior, have leave their village at a certain age for further education in the city, because there are no secondary schools in the interior of the country.

 

“The youngster are often likely to forget their roots because of all the western influences in the city. After some time they start forgetting certain words. In the villages the language is still spoken, but you’ll probably only hear the elders speaking it. They’re the ones who have lived in the village their entire life”, Novilia continues. In order to write the book she started interviewing and hearing out her Caraïb friend Bernadett about the language. It took her about two years to finally finish the book. Now it’s being sold in all the bookstores in the city.

 

The book “Conversating in Caraïb” is written in three different languages. Dutch, because that’s the language spoken in Suriname. English, because Novilia hopes foreigners would show interest in her book and of course Caraib for her people to start learning. Novilia also included an audio disc for readers to work on their pronunciation of the words. “Soon I want to start with my second book. And that’ll certainly be about conversating in Arrowak”, Novilia says.

 

 

Adolescents to launch regional media network

by Patrick Knight, Communication Specialist, UNICEF Barbados and Eastern Caribbean Office.

 

The old saying advised that children (including teenagers) should be seen and not heard, but a group of adolescents from Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean is out to change that mindset with the formation of an Eastern Caribbean Adolescent Journalists Network.

Young people from Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica and St Vincent and the Grenadines, supported by facilitators from all of the countries, recently met in Barbados to design a blueprint for the group and decide on a training schedule and work plan ahead of the official launch of the network later this year.

 

Representatives from the Antigua Observer, Barbados Association of Journalists, Caribbean Association of Media Workers, Dominica Environmental Youth Network and Searchlight and Yute Newspapers were present at the initial meeting, fully covering the four countries involved in the pilot of the Eastern Caribbean Adolescent Journalists Network.

 

The British Virgin Islands, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, Montserrat and the Turks and Caicos Islands will soon be brought into the network which is being facilitated by the UNICEF Office for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean. The network will feed into the Latin Americana and Caribbean Adolescent Media Network.

 

The network of adolescent communicators is one of the forms of participation that UNICEF and its partners are promoting to make children and adolescents’ voices heard, to put in the public agenda issues affecting them, and to demand compliance of their rights. Through media children and adolescents can express themselves and publicly discuss issues related to their own rights, their aspirations and concerns.

On issues such as child poverty, HIV/AIDS, violence, the environment and education, children and adolescents will be given the skills and tools to speak out through projects using print, video, radio and new media platforms utilising the Internet.

 

Most of the adolescents identified training as the critical component in launching them towards a career in journalism and UNICERF, with the support of national bodies and media houses, are expected to work towards making the training a reality.

 

The specific objectives identified by the group are:

 

• To strengthen the rights of participation for children and adolescents through media.

 

• To promote the exchange of experiences directly affecting members.

 

• To support learning processes of the adolescent participants, transforming communication into a positive experience that transcends barriers and enriches participants emotionally and intellectually.

 

• To share information at the local, sub regional and regional level, influencing public opinion and reinforcing the rights of children with the stories/materials they produce.

 

• To support the dissemination and exchange of adolescents´ participation and best practices and innovations.

 

• Support the participation of the sub regional network in the Regional Intercultural Network for Adolescent Communicators (LACVOV).

 

• To encourage their peers throughout the sub region through the promotion of integral health, prevention of all forms of violence and the use of illicit drugs.

 

Presentan serie educativa que difunde derechos de los niños

“IMAGINA” es el nombre de la nueva serie de TV que difunde los derechos de los niños de una manera ágil y lúdica, tomando como punto de partida la opinión de los propios niños. Son ellos mismos los protagonistas de esta iniciativa que busca integrar la televisión como un instrumento para mejorar la calidad y equidad de la educación en el país.

La iniciativa, patrocinada por UNICEF y el Consejo Nacional de Televisión, fue realizada por alumnos de la especialidad TV de UNIACC, quienes trabajaron con más de 60 alumnos de diversos establecimientos educacionales de la Región Metropolitana, a quienes invitaron a expresarse libremente sobre sus gustos, pasatiempos, afectos, horas de ocio y necesidades.

“IMAGINA” será transmitida por el canal del Consejo Nacional de Televisión, Novasur, y llegará a cerca de un millón de niños y niñas de diferentes partes de Chile. Novasur televisión transmite dos horas diarias de programación de lunes a viernes. Llega a las escuelas y liceos a través de VTR, DirectTV y más de 15 canales de televisión abierta regional.

Los objetivos de la serie son sensibilizar y generar reflexión sobre los derechos de los niños contenidos en la Convención de los Derechos de los Niños, por lo que según explican desde Novasur, se espera que los cinco capítulos de IMAGINA sean los primeros de una larga serie en la que se aborden la mayoría de los derechos presentes en la Convención.

La selección y forma de abordar los derechos para esta primera producción se trabajó en conjunto con UNICEF. En esta oportunidad se trabajaron el derecho de los niños a crecer sano física, espiritual y mentalmente; a ser protegido contra las prácticas que puedan fomentar la discriminación racial, religiosa o de cualquier otra índole; a descansar, jugar y practicar deportes y a expresarse libremente, a ser escuchado y a que su opinión sea tomada en cuenta.

Durante la presentación de la serie, el Presidente del CNTV, Jorge Navarrete, señaló que “la televisión educativa requiere de material adaptado a los educandos chilenos. Nuestro esfuerzo es en mejorar los contenidos y la colaboración con UNIACC marca un importante paso en esto. Quisiera felicitar no solo a la universidad, sino también a los realizadores del proyecto y a los niños. Porque creemos que el trabajo realizado es de un nivel profesional”.

La Directora de Programación de Novasur, Soledad Suit, explicó que se trata de una iniciativa pionera, puesto que “es la primera vez que se trabajaba con estudiantes universitarios de la carrera de comunicaciones y que el Canal Novasur desarrollaba material sobre los derechos de los niños”.  

La serie está destinada a niños y niñas entre 5 y 8 años, pero también se espera que sea vista por público general, aunque el acento está puesto en la comunidad educativa de todas las escuelas, jardines infantiles y liceos vinculados a Novasur.

El equipo realizador está conformado por los alumnos Matías Hoffmann en la dirección y producido por Pamela Pogorzelski, Rodrigo Gómez en sonido, Claudio Soto en fotografía y cámara y Juan Pablo Cáceres en composición gráfica.  El éxito de este primer trabajo en conjunto trae como consecuencia la convocatoria al Concurso de programas Educativos 2009 cuyo tema será LA COMUNIDAD/MI BARRIO, también destinado a un público infantil y cuyo lanzamiento será también el 8 de abril.

 

La realización fue posible gracias a los aportes entregados por Novasur y de los recursos tecnológicos y de infraestructura entregados por UNIACC. El trabajo fue arduo y  contempló un casting con más de 400 niños, para finalmente grabar los microprogramas con 60 niños y niñas

 

Un minuto por mis derechos

Un Minuto por mis Derechos es un proyecto de participación adolescente y sensibilización social a través del lenguaje audiovisual. Convoca a jóvenes entre 14 y 21 años a expresarse sobre sus derechos, en talleres de lenguaje audiovisual y mediante la producción de videos de un minuto de duración. Los videos reflejan temas tan diversos como discriminación, educación, salud, violencia y trabajo infantil. La iniciativa, que se ha desarrollado en diferentes países del mundo, busca promover la participación de los y las adolescentes y, a la vez, sensibilizar a la sociedad acerca de sus realidades.

Kicking Aids Out of Speyside, Tobago

The group of young people kept all eyes focused on the young woman with the ball, trying to anticipate which direction she would throw it. The game of Russian Roulette made it to Tobago and the children didn’t even know. The ball was released and those in the direction of its path scattered screaming loudly. One boy wasn’t fast enough, it clipped his ankle. He had it… HIV; and had to step out. Game over for him. This was just a game but its message was no laughing matter; anyone can contract HIV. This was one of the activities of the Kicking Aids Out (KAO) programme. The young girl with the ball was Kalifa Martin, the peer coordinator of the programme in Speyside, Tobago.

 

Kicking Aids Out is a programme that uses sport and games to teach young persons and adolescents about HIV prevention and issues of stigma and discrimination. The project was initiated by the Trinidad and Tobago Alliance for Sport and Physical Education (TTASPE) and brought to Speyside by UNICEF.  Through this partnership UNICEF and TTASPE conducted workshops to train adolescents to become KAO peer facilitators. KAO is part of an international network of NGOs using sport as a tool for HIV and AIDS education. It has its origins in Zambia and was brought to Trinidad and Tobago through the Commonwealth Games, Canada.

 

“I heard there was an HIV workshop at the community centre and decided to go and learn more about HIV because I knew it was important to get the right information,” Kalifa said. “What I wasn’t expecting was that I would learn about it through games and fun activities. I liked this and invited my sisters to attend and we are now all involved in the programme.” 

 

When you first meet Kalifa she seems to be like any other 15 year old. She loves to laugh and spend time with her friends. However, speak to her and you begin to realize she  has a level of maturity that is way beyond her 15 years. Growing up in Speyside she sees how HIV can affect a small community such as hers. “When something happens to one person, it affects the whole community. I want more people to get tested and start making wise choices. I would like Speyside to be an example to other communities.”

 

Speyside is a small community in Tobago and is best known for its fishing and diving facilities. There are many young people who spend their time hanging out and playing sports. In 2007, UNICEF, TTASPE and the Red Cross of Trinidad and Tobago teamed up to conduct a youth-led Vulnerable Community Assessment (VCA). The organizations trained the young people from Speyside to conduct the VCA. Based on this assessment, Speyside was identified as the first community to introduce the programme. 

 

The youth-led members formed the Eastern Dynamic Achievers Culture and Sports Club (EDACSC), a group that was created with a goal of improving the lives of children and young people of Speyside. As a  member of EDACSC, Kalifa assists with the organization of sporting events and other recreational activities such as capoeira dancing to get young people involved. In 2008, the Tobago House of Assembly (THA), the governing body of Tobago, recognized the work of EDACSC and its young members such as Kalifa. The THA decided to continue funding the KAO programme.

 

Kalifa has conducted many KAO workshops since its inception in Speyside. There are now 16-20 peer educators in the programme and she has witnessed how the progamme has benefited Speyside. Her peers know more about HIV and readily share this information with their family members and school mates. Her mentors are her parents and the US poet Maya Angelou who Kalifa hopes to meet one day. She also dreams of being a doctor to “help people living with AIDS and even find a cure for it,” she says smiling.

 

“It is through projects such as KAO that UNICEF hopes to empower young persons such as Kalifa and have them actively involved in re-creating their communities where young persons make informed choices,” notes Marlon Thompson, HIV Officer; UNICEF Trinidad and Tobago . “UNICEF supports the use of sport as an intervention to bring groups of adolescents together and providing life skills training on issues relevant to young people, such as HIV/AIDS prevention and gender discrimination,” he said. 

 

For now Kalifa continues her work in her community and says she is more confident of herself since she has been a part of KAO. She has even incorporated much of what she has learned into her poetry. She has written a powerful poem on HIV prevention which her friend Shenice performs to the backdrop of drums. “…it eh have no cure and it getcha STD the more people you let inna your front door….” as the sounds of the drum reverberate in the background…. “and remember if you nah have no glove, you nah get no love.” If Kalifa has her way, her poem and message of HIV prevention will be echoed throughout communities in Tobago and Trinidad.

Peace Camp Petra, Jordan

Este video fue mandado por Andrea Arzaba de México, quien participó en el Peace Camp en Petra, Jordania y también escribió este articulo.

This video was sent by Andrea Arzaba from Mexico, who participated in the Peace Camp in Jordan and also wrote this article.

Campamento de Paz: Una experiencia extraordinaria en el Medio Oriente

Por Andrea Arzaba de México.

Aun puedo sentir el viento revoloteando la arena en contra de mi piel en el rojizo desierto de Wadi Rum, o el movimiento oscilante de los camellos andantes en la hermosa ciudad de Petra, al igual que la magnificencia del Mar Muerto, el cual trae sus aguas con elegancia, dejando claro que nada puede contra ellas. Todo esto viene a mi memoria y me siento tan agradecida de haber tenido la oportunidad de ser parte del Peace Camp 2009 en el hermoso país de Jordania. Video aquí.

 

 

 

 

 

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