Juvenile Justice #7

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/whenkidsgetlife/etc/cron.html

This article called “When kids get life” takes a look into the history of juveniles being sent into correctional facilities. From what I see, it seems as though Colorado just lowers the age limit for juveniles being sent away every time there is an issue. There should definitely be an age where juveniles are considered adults. This age is 18. Adults should be treated like adults when the time is right. Until then, the punishment doesn’t fit the crime. However, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights seems to agree with me. Juveniles should be subject to rehabilitation only. Children are not a lost cause. There are some people that are dangerous and on the streets. However, children can be formed. Anybody who is an authority figure can shape the mind of a young person. Even the most violent youth can be changed. 

A Long Way Gone Final Post

This book almost made me cry, and at the same time it almost made me want to throw it into a wall. I hate loose ends, especially in a powerful memoir such as this one. We don’t know what happens! We end with a story that relates to his life in the war. However, we really don’t know what happened to Beah. We know he made it into America because of the credits. I want to know how! The end of the book shows that he escapes, but there are so many other things that I want to know. How did he get on a plane? Where did he get the money to get on a plane? What did he do after he arrived in the New Country?  There are so many loose ends. Also, what happened to his family? Earlier in the novel he states that he never talked to his brother ever again. This made me curious. He said it as though he has spoken to other members of his family. He has an extremely strong message and I really want him to either write another book or somehow tell people the other stories that he had. He was in a war! There is no way that he doesn’t have enough material for ten books. I want to hear more because I know he has more. I want to hear details. I feel like I have been cut off. However, the messages that he does write about seem to touch my heart in interesting ways. It really shows what it means to be human. I rarely feel emotionally connected to other people. This book raised some questions about society and charity and what is a cause that we need to help. This was demonstrated by the story that he told at the end. “There was a hunter who went into the bush to kill a monkey…. Just when he was about to pull the trigger, the monkey spoke: ‘If you shoot me your mother will die, and if you don’t, your father will die.’” What is left to do in that situation? There are so many good charities but what is the right one?

This book is definitely something that everyone should read. I highly recommend it. It can speak to anyone. I really have nothing left to say about that. The emotions are so tough, one must experience it for themselves.

-Igor

A Long Way Gone #5

This part of the novel was both the most frustrating and the most emotional. Beah reconnects with an uncle that lives in the city. He has never actually met this uncle but he has heard many stories. His life almost seems as though it is back to normal. Beah ends up interviewing with a youth agency that flies him out to New York! His dreams are coming true and he sees snow for the first time. He shares his stories with the people of the United Nations. He states, “I have been rehabilitated now, so don’t be afraid of me. I am not a soldier anymore; I am a child” (Beah 199). This is a really powerful scene. He doesn’t want to leave. However, just like the rest of the novel, as soon as that seems to happen things seem to get worse. The government in Sierra Leon is overthrown by a combination of the army and the rebels. There is a man who says he is president and the city is in trouble. Luckily for Beah, he lives on the outskirts of the city where little of the fighting takes place. Almost as soon as he is situated his small village runs out of food and his uncle becomes ill. It is almost difficult to imagine. He cannot find food and he is even tempted to join the army again. This would, once again, put Beah in a situation of death. He decides to escape.

His emotions are what really drive the book. It played with my emotions and how I feel about charity. I always hear about stories and causes to donate, but I never do.  We need more panels like the one Beah went, to really make issues like this one clear. He is taken everything from him and we do not know what that feels like. I think that is why people are reluctant to donate. They cannot feel the same thing. It is hard to put yourself in the shoes of these soldiers. That is why I think Invisible Children are doing the right thing by bringing former child soldiers to the United States. They can really spread the issue through experience.

A Long Way Gone #4

In this part of the novel, Ishmael is sent to a rehabilitation center. This part of the novel is almost similar to the book that I read for last semester, A Million Little Pieces. The themse are the same but they are recovering from different things. Ishmael desperately needs to talk to someone about his problems so that they could properly address his symptoms. Beah finds comfort in a girl who works in the medical area. Beah is still hardened from the war and he has a hard time opening up to people. In his mind, his squad is his family. They find ways for Beah to behave. They calm him down with music and they let him talk. This is when Beah makes the most progress. He is given the opportunity to perform for his center. Performing dances and hip hop songs has been part of Beah’s childhood forever. He really turns his life around. He found ways to keep himself busy. “Memorizing lyrics left me little time to think about what had happened in the war” (Beah 163). He is still haunted by the war, but he now remembers his family and what they meant to him. The rehabilition center looks for much of his family in the city.

This part of the novel had a lot of themes that related to the rehab process. The way that Beah found comfort in other people ultimately led to his fast recovery. He knew that he had to hang on to what little connections he had and use it to keep him strong. Just as James Frey had Lilly to look forward to, Ishmael Beah had Esther. He really began to himself recovering. This also has a lot to do with my topic of juvenile justice. It almost perfectly relates. This was a boy who was a crazy war criminal. He did things that even the worse teenagers in the country could not imagine. However, they were still able to get through to his mind and they found ways to relate. If one of the poorest countries in the world can rehabilitate juvenile war criminals than so can we.

Juvenile Justice #6

I was really interested by the little criminal presentation so I decided to look at the discussion board. Some of the comments gave me a lot of good insite about what the people of this country think about the juvenile justice system. Most people were outraged at the fact that some people though that a six year old child was able to stand trial in adult court. Others, however,  changed their mind after they realized that he had beat that baby. One women claimed that he was no longer a child when he beat that baby. Some people said that since he had commited an adult crime he was mature and capable of any punishment that was suitable. I was surprised that there was not a lot of research on the child. There needs to be more extensive tests on children with violent behaiviors like that. A reoccuring theme in this discussion was the maturity level of the child. I feel as though that the childs world was not broad enough to even understand what he did. Others seemed to understand. He was not fully capable of making decisions. This only furthurs my belief that children cannot be forced into adult centers. They just can’t handle it and I doubt it would do anything for them if they could.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/little/talk/

Juvenile Justice #5

On Frontline, I read a story about baby killers. This boy who was only six years old has already had a string of dangerous crimes. He had stolen a bike and had assulted a one montyh old infant. It seems as though this boy is the perfect example of why we need more rehabilitation centers in the United States. We need to help the children, like this boy, to help take control of their lives. He seems to be a fairly normal boy. I do not  think that it would cost a lot of money to set up rehabilitation centers across the country. It seems like a more presentable way to help the youth of the country. Adult jails aren’t going to make these children normal again. They need to have professional care and they need to be taught different ways. Some people will argue that these children are the lowest of the low and they don’t even deserve this care. Why should people pay their hard earned money to support these troubled teens? Supporting these teens mean supporting our country.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/little/interviews/

Juvenile Justice #4

Mr. Kramer sent me a comic that basically explained what to do in the event that you get pulled over by the police. It was almost so blunt that it was insulting. The comic seemed to be aimed towards teens from the ages of 15-18. It told us not to talk to the police without a lawyer and wait for your parents before you say anything stupid. Basically, it told teens to respect figures of authority and be nice to the people who arrest you. It aslo explained the guidlines and rules of what happens if you are guilty. They also seemed to make empty threats about how jail is a scary place. While I agree with this I don't think that we are sending the right message. We are telling kids how to cheat the system and what to do after they get in trouble. There should be rehabilitation centers that teach children how to handle their problems. There needs to be better systems that keep youths who are troubled out of trouble. There needs to be more centers that prevent juveniles in jail or juvenile centers.