Study of Humanitarian Aid Agencies Service Delivery

Study of Humanitarian Aid Agencies Service Delivery CHRISTINA KHOURY Stuck in no mans land:people of nowhere are people of now here A study of humanitarian aid agencies service delivery to residents in Kara Tepe refugee camp in Lesvos. DR Disaster Relief EASO European Asylum Support Office EU European Union FMO Forced Migration Online HA Humanitarian Assistance HSA Humanitarian Support Agency IDPs Internally displaced persons IOM International Organisation for Migration IOs International Organisations IRC International Rescue Committee MSF Mà ©decins Sans Frontiers NGOs Non-Governmental Organisations RCRC International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement ROs Regional Organisations UN United Nations UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees   Ã‚   Since the twentieth century, the migration of refugees has been a significant and constant feature of the world order. There has been several factors causing its occurrence, including international wars, civil wars, the rise of fascism, decolonization, national liberation struggles and the creation of nation states (Bloch, 2002, p.1). During 1914-1918 World War I, millions of people were left homeless, fleeing their homelands to seek refuge, and the international community and governments responded by providing travel documents to those people who were the first refugees of the twentieth century (1951 UN Convention). However the flow of refugees did not stop there, but the numbers drastically increased after World War II (1939-1945), when millions were forced to resettle, be displaced or were deported (Guterres, 2011). While the refugee crisis is a phenomenon that has been around for many years, the ongoing conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan and other troubled countries have resulted in an unprecedented number of 65.3 million people around the world forcibly displaced from their homes. Among them are 21.3 million registered as refugees under UNHCR and UNWRA mandates, over half of whom are children (under 18 years old) (UNHCR, 2016a). Syrians make up, without a doubt, the largest refugee population in the world. The Syria conflict alone, known to be the biggest humanitarian and refugee crisis of our time (UN High Commissioner for Refugees in UNHCR, 2016b), has spawned 4.8 million refugees in neighbouring countries (predominantly Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan), hundreds of thousands in Europe and 6,6 million displaced inside Syria (Mercy Corps, 2016; UNHCR, March 2016). Figure 1: The increase of registered Syrian Refugees from almost zero in 2012 to 4.8 million in 2016 (source: UNHCR, 2016 Which UNHCR article? You need to specify) According to Amnesty Internationals assessment of October 2016, more than half of the worlds 21 million refugees are hosted in just ten low and middle-income countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.[1] Europe, however, hosts a share of 6% of the worlds refugee population (Check percentage of refugees in Europe in 2016, add source). In 2015, over a million refugees and migrants made it to Europe by sea, with a majority arriving via the Aegean Sea from Turkey into Greece (UNHCR, 2015). Responding to the massive influx of refugees, several international humanitarian aid agencies established themselves on the Greek Islands to meet the pressing needs of the novel refugee and migrant population. However, it has been widely debated whether these aid agencies are effective in their service delivery and whether they fulfill the tasks they have set out to do. Despite the allocation of millions of dollars of funds to guarantee a decent living standard for the refugees and migrants in the Greek camps, reports reveal dire conditions, with a lack of the most basic livelihoods, such as edible food, basic sanitation services and education (Strickland, 2016; ?). Deeply moved by the horrifying images of human suffering in these camps, I chose to travel to Greece to volunteer in Kara Tepe Camp in Lesvos in the summer of 2016 to i nvestigate the topic further. It is of great importance to examine the efficiency of these humanitarian aid agencies service delivery on the ground in order to build future humanitarian aid programs which adequately meet the needs of the vulnerable refugees and migrants in Lesvos. 1.1 Question and Motivation of Study This dissertation sets out to answer the following research questions: Primary question: To what extent are humanitarian service providing agencies operating in Kara Tepe camp managing to live up to their stated aims and guidelines? Secondary question: What are the obstacles to effective service delivery? This dissertation is a reflective research based on my time spent volunteering with a humanitarian aid organisation, Humanitarian Support Agency (HSA)[2], in a refugee camp in Lesvos, Greece over the course of summer from June to September 2016. However, the area of research of humanitarian assistance to refugees, sparked my interest already in 2011, when the flow of thousands of Syrian refugees began to Jordan, my home country, following Syrias descent into civil war. Jordan, a small yet strong Kingdom, surrounded by countries undergoing conflict, is a host of over 656,000 Syrian refugees (Amnesty International, 2016). Seeing the difficult suffering faced by the Syrian refugee population in my own region (Middle East) as well as in Europe strongly motivated me to gain a hands on experience of humanitarian aid work with refugees. Following, for my applied field experience[3], I chose to travel to Greece and join HSA as a volunteer in Kara Tepe camp in Lesvos; a refugee camp in the la rgest transit point in the East Mediterranean route, which is the first assistance site for refugees and migrants departing from Turkey to Europe (HSA, 2016). During my time volunteering in Kara Tepe, I had the opportunity to work closely with humanitarian aid agencies operating in the camp, gaining insights into their day-to-day provision of services to the residents. It also allowed me to speak to and get to know several of the camp residents refugees and migrants predominantly from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq who often expressed their concerns and hardships of life in Kara Tepe. In this dissertation, I aim to draw on this experience to investigate the humanitarian aid agencies services to refugees and migrants in Kara Tepe camp. More specifically, by comparing these aid agencies stated aims and guidelines to the real situation of refugees and migrants on the ground, I wish to examine where the agencies are failing at fulfilling their promises in providing adequate assistance to the camp residents. Furthermore, I aim to identify some of the apparent obstacles hindering these agencies effective service delivery. I do not intend to generalise my results regarding humanitarian aid agencies service delivery in refugee camps as it would require a more comprehensive material than what my study is based upon. My ambition is rather to attempt to highlight the humanitarian aid situation in Kara Tepe and voice out the concerns and needs of the residents, drawing on their living situation in the refugee camp. This study will be structured into five chapters. In chapter 2, I will give an overview of the living conditions of refugees and migrants in Greek camps. Here, I will also provide a set of definitions of the key terms adopted in this dissertation. In chapter 3, I will give a review of the existing literature on the humanitarian aid system. In this section, I will outline the theoretical foundations used in this study, including the UNHCR, IRC, Save the Children and HSAs stated aims and guidelines in relation to the factors of water, sanitation, education, food and health care. In chapter 4, I will draw on my first-hand experience in Kara Tepe in order to spot the gaps between the stated aims and guidelines of the aid agencies and the real situation on the ground, based on the stories and interviews with the residents. Furthermore, the analysis will identify some of the apparent obstacles hindering these agencies effective service delivery. Finally, I will conclude by giving a summary of the main findings and their implications, and the possibility of suggesting further research on the topic. 1.2 Methodology Material The choice of method for this dissertation is a mixed study between an autoethnography approach which is a form of qualitative research[4], based on primary qualitative data collection, and a case study using Kara Tepe Camp as the case, in addition to secondary research on academic articles in relation to the humanitarian aid system, UN reports and newspaper articles on the topic. Moreover, I will look at the guidelines, aims and goals of three main agencies operating in camp, namely UNHCR, IRC and Save the Children. The material I have used for my analysis is predominantly based on material gathered through the interviews I have conducted with different refugees from the camp. For their safety and integrity, I have decided to keep their names anonymous and have given them pseudonyms/alias. These interviews that I have conducted are valuable and have provided me with the useful information and insights that are necessary to establish an adequate answer to the question. Moreover, the analysis is also based on my own lived experience through working in Kara Tepe camp. 1.3 Limitations of study When researching the above questions a few limitations had to be considered. First, due to time and space restrains, I had to limit my data collection to the period of my stay in Greece between June and September 2016. The humanitarian assistance keeps developing in camp so there may be new improved services that did not exist back then, which would have been valuable to include in my research. Second, it has to be taken into consideration that the refugees interviewed are in a vulnerable position; hence they may not be able to fully reveal all truths for a public audience, and this is why for some questions, unfortunately, the answers were either very broad or unclearly answered, due to the sensitivity of the matter. Third, there are several possible factors to take into consideration when researching humanitarian assistance provided to refugees living in camps. However, due to space and time restraints, I have chosen to focus on three key humanitarian aid agencies and their service s in Kara Tepe camp, namely UNHCR, IRC and Save the Children. To be called a refugee is the opposite of an insult; it is a badge of strength, courage, and victoryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Tennessee Office for Refugees) 2.1 Definitions of keywords In our current era, more than 65 million people worldwide are displaced by force as refugees, asylum seekers, or internally displaced persons. According to the 1951 Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, to be recognized legitimately as a refugee, a person must be fleeing persecution on the basis of religion, race, political opinion, nationalityà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦etc. However, the present factors around displacement are complex and multi-layered which in turn makes the protection based on a strict definition of persecution increasingly problematic and very challenging to implement (Zetter, 2015). Between asylum seekers, refugees and economic migrants there is an overlap and this can cause confusion; therefore, it is very important to distinguish the difference between the terms, and which term applies on the people in the camps in Greece specifically in Kara Tepe Camp. Asylum seeker is: a person who has applied for asylum under the 1951 Refugee Convention on the Status of Refugees on the ground that if he is returned to his country of origin he has a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political belief or membership of a particular social group. He remains an asylum seeker for so long as his application or an appeal against refusal of his application is pending (Mitchell, 2006). Principally, asylum seekers flee in fear of persecution because of the reasons stated in the definition, so they seek refuge in another country looking for safety, and until their asylum process is ongoing they are called asylum seekers, but once it is processed and the approval is given then they are given a refugee status. In the literature on refugees, there have been many definitions of the term, but I found the following by the UNHCR to be the most inclusive. A refugee is someone who: owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that countryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Article 1, UN Convention, 1951). They also added that the term refugee can be defined as: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ people fleeing conflict or persecution. They are defined and protected in international law, and must not be expelled or returned to situations where their life and freedom are at risk (UNHCR, 2016). But according to migration watch UK, they define a refugee as an asylum seeker whose application has been successful, i.e. that person fleeing war and conflict as defined by the 1951 Refugee Convention. The difference between asylum seeker and a refugee is very difficult to state as they are very similar. Basically, an asylum seeker is someone who is seeking international protection and is waiting for his refugee status, but a refugee is someone who is recognised under the 1951 Convention relating to the status of refugees to be eligible to be a refugee (Phillips, 2011, p.2). Last but not least, migrant, as defined by the UN Convention on the Rights of Migrants is a : person who is to be engaged, is engaged or has been engaged in a remunerated activity in a State of which he or she is not a national. Article 1.1 (a) states that migrants decision to move to these States is taken freely, because of personal convenience and without any external factor that might affect the decision (UNESCO, 2016).Thus, there has been a gap along the lines with the usage of the terminology, especially between the term refugee and asylum seeker. People who have crossed the Mediterranean by paying organised criminals (smugglers) to get them across the borders are known as irregular migrants, because they have not entered the EU legally (European Commission, 2016). Humanitarian aid system (add definition) Humanitarian aid system or humanitarian assistance is intended to save lives, alleviate suffering and maintain human dignity during and after manmade crises and disasters caused by natural hazards as well as to prevent and strengthen preparedness for when such situations occur (Global Humanitarian Assistance, 2016). Humanitarian assistance should be administered by the four key humanitarian principles which are: humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence; these key principles are the fundamental principles of many NGOs including the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (RCRC) (Global Humanitarian Assistance, 2016). Therefore, in the immediate area of conflict, the main goal is preventing human causalities but at the same time assisting displaced people and making sure they have access to the basic needs of survival which are water, sanitation, food, shelter, and health care (Branczik, 2004). 2.2 International and legal framework/ Humanitarian assistance and relief efforts add more info Humanitarian assistance is and has always been an extremely political activity. It always influenced the political economy of the recipient countries, and is influenced by the political considerations of donor governments (Curtis, 2001, p.3). The effect of conflict on civilians can be directly or indirectly through the so called complex emergencies. The primary aim in any immediate area of conflict is preventing causalities and making sure that everyone has access to the basic rights for surviving, which are water sanitation, food, shelter, and health care. In addition, the priority is usually to assist displaced people and try to prevent the spread of conflict, support relief work and create a space for rehabilitation (Branczik, 2004). Complex humanitarian emergencies are defined by five collective characteristics: first, the deterioration or complete collapse of central government authority; second, ethnic or religious conflict leading to human abuse; third, episodic food insecurity that leads to mass starvation; fourth, macroeconomic collapse that involves unemployment and decrease in GDP per capita; last and the most important focal characteristic is having mass population movements of displaced people and refugees that have escaped a conflict or in search for a better life (Natsios, 1995, p.405). Natsios stated that there are three sets of institutional actors that respond to the above emergencies in a so called complex response system that evolved over the years. These institutional actors are NGOs, UN organisations and the International Red Cross movement (Natsios, 1995, p.406). These sets of actors were reckoned in the 1990s; however in the 20th century, the academics understanding and the literature on the main actors have widened, and have included more detailed actors. For example, according to Branczik (2004), there are four main actors that represent the humanitarian aid sector: International (IOs) and Regional Organisations (ROs); the most important actor in the provision of humanitarian aid is the UN. Unilateral assistance, as well as multilateral, i.e. the countries provide direct aid unilaterally through their own foreign-aid or part of their foreign policy. Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), which play a key role in the provision of humanitarian aid, either directly or as being a UN partner. The Military and its main role is to make sure to create a safe environment where other agencies can operate from, they can also directly provide aid when necessary in cases where the IOs and NGOs are unable to perform or deal with security issues, and it can act as a managing body for the humanitarian relief process. It is important to stress that in order to have a successful humanitarian relief effort, effective leadership and coordination should be present to avoid conflicting activities and duplications of projects and so forth. The UN is the agency that acts as the coordinator in most cases (Branczik, 2004). In addition to the UN, there are other non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that also respond to complex humanitarian emergencies and work together with the UN. The humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts (HA/DR) had faced a major challenge in terms of that the diverse information and knowledge are distributed and owned by different organisations, and are not efficiently organised and utilized during HA and DR operations (Zhang et. Al, 2002). Obstacle to the humanitarian aid agencies Moreover, there have been other factors that are defined as great challenges that have affected the performance of the humanitarian aid agencies, and two of those are efficiency and effectiveness. For example and according to Branczik (2004), if the assistance is needed in a conflict zone that is located in a poor area of infrastructure then it would be impossible and dangerous for the humanitarian agencies to deliver aid, this leads to some beneficiaries being neglected due to that (Branczik, 2004). Another important point is the increasing number of agencies operating on the ground, this causes the struggle to obtain accurate intelligence, and when it is difficult to obtain accurate intelligence, the unpredictability of humanitarian crises causes effective management and coordination within the agencies to become difficult, therefore, and in order to solve this difficulty, agencies should improve gathering and sharing the information by improving the management and coordination wit hin them (Branczik, 2004). Furthermore, political dilemmas play an important part in influencing the performance of humanitarian agencies. As Branczik (2004) and Stockton (2006) call it, humanitarian alibi, which refers to the fact that most humanitarian crises are caused by bad governance and the bad performance of the humanitarian agencies is also affected by deliberate acts by governments to frustrate humanitarian access to, and deny the existence of the people that are in need of protection. It is therefore defined as: the misuse of the humanitarian idea and humanitarian workers by governments eager to do as little as possible in economically unpromising regions (Branczik, 2004; Stockton, 2006). 2.3 Aims and guidelines of humanitarian aid agencies in Kara Tepe camp UNHCR Legal Framework The Universal Declaration of Human Rights that was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly was published in 1948 and is still used and relevant today as it was back then. The main reason for issuing it was to declare the rights and freedoms to which every human being is equally and inalienably entitled (UDHR, 1948, p. iii). UDHR is a promise to everyone and not country-specific or for a certain era or social group, it is a promise to all the economic, social, political, cultural and civic rights whatever colour, race, ethnicity they are, gender, whether they are disabled or not, citizens or migrants, and no matter what creed, age or sexual orientation (UDHR, 1948, p. v + vi). Abuse of Human Rights did not diminish when the UDHR was adopted, but at least more people have gained more freedom, and violations were not permitted. According to part 1 of article 14 of UDHR: 1. Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution, onwards the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees was adopted and entered into force on 22 April 1954, and is now called the centrepiece of international refugee protection, and its amendment the 1967 Protocol which removed all geographic limitations to include everyone and make it universal (UN Convention, 1951, p. 2). Refugees are considered part of the most vulnerable people in the world; and for that reason, the UN has issued the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol to help protect them (Guterres, 2011). The UNHCR works under the United Nations General Assembly and its goal is to seek international protection and permanent solutions for refugees. It was established in 1950 with a core mandate to protect the refugees. However, nowadays it is responsible for a slightly larger group that does not only include refugees but also asylum seekers, internally displaced persons (IDPs), stateless persons or migrants (UNHCR, 2014). Although the protection of refugees is the primarily the responsibility of States, however the main partner that works closely with the governments is the UNHCR and has been doing so throughout the past 50+ years (Jastram Achiron, 2001, p.5). UNHCR aims Specify here what these conventions say about humanitarian assistance to refugees. And specify what they should do in Greece/kara tepe (Provide legal advice, information about asylum processes, housing tents, medical care). IRC aims and guidelines in lesvos The IRC is the only international aid organization working on all fronts of the crisis. In Europe: The IRC was one of the first aid organizations to assist the thousands of refugees arriving each day on the Greek island, Lesbos. IRC aid workers continue to work around the clock in Greece and in Serbia to provide essential services, including clean water and sanitation, to families living in terrible conditions. And we are helping new arrivals navigate the confusing transit process and understand their legal rights. https://www.rescue.org/topic/refugee-crisis-europe-middle-east http://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/policy_research/the_truth_about_asylum?gclid=CjwKEAiA4dPCBRCM4dqhlv2R1R8SJABom9pH4MUi49WtBBRwl558uk2TDFLSaBVM4B54KIi7rfFL0xoCr1bw_wcB Education is the most powerful tool for children, their families and communities in order to survive and recover from a crisis or a conflict; it enables people to drive their own health, safety and prosperity (IRC, 2016). According to the IRC goals that they have published, they state that poor access to education can affect peoples chance to improve their lives, which is why they provide children, youth and adults with educational opportunities which therefore keeps them safe and learn the skills they need to survive and succeed (IRC, 2016). Moreover, the IRCs main goals in regards to education are the following: Ensure that children aged 0 to 5 develop cognitive and social-emotional skills Ensure that school-aged children develop literacy, numeracy and social-emotional skills Ensure that youth and adults have high levels of livelihood, literacy, numeracy and social-emotional skills Ensure that children, youth and adults have regular access to safe and functional education services (IRC, 2016). Save the children aims and guidelines Save the childrens main priority in Greece and especially in Lesvos is to protect the children that are in refugee camps, and to ensure that most importantly they are physically safe and have enough food and good shelter. Apart from distributing the basics, they claim to have started providing items such as sanitary pads, soap, shampoo, toilet paper and simple food items such as crackers and tea (save the children, 2015). However, since their priority is protecting children, they have also met with national charities in Greece to identify child protection needs, and have worked on transporting the new arrivals to the island to different registration points, to make sure that families and unaccompanied children to do not have to walk 70km to register (save the children, 2015). Food Asylum Process Language Give me the money to pay a smuggler and Ill go back to Syria right now. There the death is quick. Here we are dying slowly. In this chapter, the theoretical foundations of humanitarian aid discussed above will be applied to the case of aid agencies operating in Kara Tepe camp. First I I will give a brief overview of the situation in Kara Tepe according to my own lived experience and reflection there during summer. Second, I will compare and contrast the agencies stated aims and guidelines to the real situation on the ground in Kara Tepe in order to clarify to what extent they manage to live up to their words. I will then underline some of the key obstacles currently hindering the organisations effective service delivery to the residents. Before arriving to Lesvos, I had no expectations of how the situation would be there. All I had in mind was the image often portrayed to us by the media about the refugee camps, which is one an image of violence and chaos, and I thought our task as volunteers would solely be to only distribute food and clothes as it was mentioned on the organisations website. However, when I arrived to the island, nothing was as I imagined it to be. In fact, Kara Tepe was a well-organised camp, and our job as HSA volunteers with HSA was to distribute food and clothes to families in camp, but it was done through a well thought out system. We had the meals delivered to the resident families door- to-door to their housing units in teams. The residents themselves were also part of the distribution teams, depending on what area they lived in as they were more familiar with the people of the camp than the volunteers residents. Moreover, we also distributed clothes by giving the residents tickets for monthly appointments. This system has indeed created a harmony in the camp, and a sense of belonging to a community. A very important factor that played a huge role for me while in Kara Tepe was the language. Arabic is my mother tongue, so it was easy for me to communicate with most of the refugees which had come to Lesvos from Syria and Iraq. Consequently, I therefore created a special bond with them and they turned to me to translate when misunderstandings or problems occurred in the camp. Being the only staff speaking their language, I felt that it became my duty to voice their feelings and opinions in everyday situations, being the only staff speaking their language, and I believe this was why I allocated a leading role in the team from the outset. My boss saw how the refugees turned to me for help as I could voice their concerns, and assigned me as a team leader shortly after I arrived. As I gained an understanding of the familys needs, my duties did not just involve the clothing distribution part, but also comprised on the task of improving the existing system to avoid stress and queues. This project was successful and it led the UNHCR to ask to publish our standard of procedures to the benefit of other organisations operating in the camp, and we got praised by the camp management for increasing the safety and dignity of the refugees residing in there which are referred to as residents of Kara Tepe. It is important to stress that the refugees living in camps are human beings just like everyone else. Fleeing wars and conflicts, being homeless, does not make them any different from anyone. They had normal lives in their home countries when the war forced them to leave everything and flee, and they are often well educated and skilled. Unfortunately, the way the refugees are forced to live in camps portray them in a very bad way, that everyone including myself had our own assumptions towards them due to the situation. It has been my privilege to have known and live among the refugees that I call my friends and family now for three months in Kara Tepe, and therefore I had to give this background of my time spent in camp as a tribute to

Dandyism and Moralism in Oscar Wildes An Ideal Husband Essay -- essay

Oscar Wilde, An Ideal Husband Oscar Wilde wrote An Ideal Husband in 1895, during the decade known as the "Yellow" or "Naughty Nineties", a movement with its roots in dandyism and decadence, the twilight years of England's Victorian era, reflecting decay and scandal . Some biographers suggest that Wilde might have been inspired by a number of events which occurred in his private life, to write this play , as it is the case for the dandified character of Lord Goring, which one could say is the double of Wilde himself, and who will maybe incarnate the figure of the ideal husband. As the stage notes from Act III indicate, Lord Goring is in "immediate relation" to modern life, making and mastering it. An Ideal Husband emphasizes Lord Goring's modernity by opposing him to his father, Lord Caversham, who is still living the old fashion way, in a number of dialogues, which appear to be comic, when we notice the radical opposition of thinking of the two characters. The meeting of the two produces a clash between the old fashioned and the modern thinking. This is seen in the first part of the third act, in which there is a conversation between Lord Gorging and his father, who came to speak about the importance of getting married, and the fact he can not go one living only for pleasure. LORD CAVERSHAM: [†¦] Want to have a serious conversation with you, sir. LORD GORING: My dear father! At this hour? LORD CAVERSHAM: Well, sir, it is only ten o’clock. What is your objection to the hour? I think the hour is an admirable hour! LORD GORING: Well, the fact is, father, this is not my day for talking seriously. I am very sorry, but it is not my day. LORD CAVERSHAM: What do you mean, sir? LORD GORING: During the season, fath... ...the walls of his room at Oxford in the 1870s, Wilde hung pictures of Cardinal Manning of England and Pope Pius IX, two ardent defenders of Catholic orthodoxy. Wilde regarded both men as heroes. More impressive is a letter Wilde wrote as a young man to his friend W.W. Ward in which his Catholicism seems near to full blossom. He wrote about what he called the "beauty and necessity" of the Incarnation. That central belief of Christianity helped humanity "grasp at the skirts of the Infinite," Wilde declared. "Since [the birth of] Christ the dead world has woken up from sleep. Since him we have lived." There is therefore strong evidence of Christian moralism in Wilde’s texts. However, my reading of â€Å"An ideal husband† gives me a much stronger picture of Lord Goring as a â€Å"Dandy† although, throughout the text, there is this dualism between â€Å"dandyism and moralism†.

Thirteen Days vs. the real Cuban Missile Crisis

The year is 1962 and American surveillance planes discover that the USSR is in the rocess of placing nuclear ballistic missiles in Cuba. The missiles have a said they are capable of reaching the majority of the United States Air Force bomber bases effectively crippling their ability to retaliate. It Is a race to find a means of removing the missiles before they become operational. Thus the problem for the President is to decide whether to use force or diplomatic means to keep the missiles un-operational.Initial diplomatic attempts to come to a peaceful conclusion fail and the Secretary of Defence proposes a naval blockade which they call a â€Å"quarantine† nd if the Soviets ignore the blockade, the Navy will forcibly remove the ships from going to Cuba. This would quickly escalate the situation which Is clearly what the Secretary of Defence wanted but the President with help of his Special Assistant; Kenneth O'Donnell, realized that an invasion of Cuba by Americans would lead to the Soviets invading Berlin effectively causing a World War Ill.In the end through unique communication methods between the US and the Soviets the Soviets agree to remove the mlsslles from Cuba providing the us promises never to Invade Cuba as well as remove missiles from Turkey. One of the most criticized aspects of the movie Is that Kenneth O'Donnell; who was Special Assistant to the President had a very influential and substantial role in the movie. Quite often he is found dissuading President Kennedy from the so called solutions from the Secretary of Defence and his entourage.He is always reminding Kennedy of the repercussions of the actions that Secretary of Defence Robert McNamara proposes. At one point Kenneth said in reference to surveillance flights and the rules of engagement; that if a plan were shot at, the site would be bombed, â€Å"This is a setup. The chiefs want to go in. They need to redeem themselves for the Bay of Pigs. † This seemed quite reasonable a s the Bay of Pigs was an unsuccessful attempt at military invasion of Cuba and those in charge needed redemption.Unfortunately; although Kenneth O'Donnell appeared a great protagonist, he did not have that kind of role In the crlsls In reality. Following the release of the movie the actual former Secretary of Defence; Robert McNamara, said â€Å"For God's sakes, Kenny O'Donnell didn't have any role whatsoever In the missile crisis; he was a political appointment secretary to the President; that's absurd. It may seem as though McNamara could have Just been bitter about the way he was portrayed in the movie but the conclusion he came to was generally what all those involved in the crisis thought about O'Donnell's role. Although McNamara pointed out that the role 1 OF2 O'Donnell played was slmllar to lea Sorenson saying â€Å"It was not Kenny O'Donnell who pulled us all together†it was Ted Sorensen. Ted Sorensen was President Kennedy's Special Counsel ; Adviser and it makes muc h more sense for him to have taken on the role O'Donnell portrayed as President Kennedy once called him his â€Å"intellectual blood bank. † leading one to believe that the President must have had reat faith in Sorenson. President Kennedy asked Sorenson to take part in foreign policy as well as being a member of Excomm (The Executive Committee of the National Security Council) during the Crisis.All of this would lead one to believe Sorenson must have played the role of O'Donnell in reality. So why didn't the producer Just stick with that in the film? It was because the appearance of Kenneth O'Donnell is much more appealing to the average American. He is the perfect protagonist, Just an average middle class American trying to do the right thing. That is why he was given this role and it is understandable why this trade off would be ade for entertainment purposes as Thirteen Days is a movie and not a documentary.

LAJOM, John Froilan C. General Biology 2 Essays - Fish, Free Essays

LAJOM, John Froilan C. General Biology 2 Essays - Fish, Free Essays LAJOM, John Froilan C. General Biology 2 S11-08 Reflection Paper For the biology exhibit, the one that captivates me is the research about the milkfish and tilapia in Taal, Batangas. It captures my attention because it is very timely; we frequently eat tilapia for lunch or dinner, so it made me curious if we should continue to eat tilapia. They researched if parasites were the one responsible for the diseases or death of the tilapia and milkfish and to know the correlation of the psychochemical properties on parasites burden that may affect the growth and quality of milkfish and tilapia. Observation was made among all the samples that they captured, internally and externally. They weren't able to see parasites but able to see cysts, nodules and enlargement of intestines. This alarmed me but they said that it doesn't really give harm to us. It will just affect the quality of the fish. But then again, there will be a possible significant correlation between the fish growth in weight and length to psychochemical analysis of water. This also affects t he quantity of catch of the fishermen that affect their livelihood that is quite alarming. For the exhibit at the Ground Floor, the one that captures my attention is the reversed vending machine. From the name itself, it's quite intriguing. I'm surprised when the exhibitor started to put bottle or aluminium can in the opening 'door' of the machine because it gives off corresponding amount of money. The machine only accept bottles and cans that weigh 11-17g so to attain this, the exhibitor pour in liquid to the bottles and cans. Why it captivates me is that not only we benefit through the money that we are able to get, but also the environment because the bottles and cans that will be collected will be then sent to manufacturing establishments that will recycle them.

Mea Culpa

Mea Culpa Mea Culpa Mea Culpa By Maeve Maddox The Latin expression mea culpa is used as an interjection and as a noun. mea culpa interjection: an exclamation acknowledging one’s guilt or responsibility for an error. For example: MOTHER: The garbage is overflowing! SON: Mea culpa! I’ll take it out right now. As a noun, a mea culpa is the acknowledgement of ones guilt or responsibility for an error and is often used as a synonym for apology. Here are examples of this use: Just before Guillen began his 45-minute mea culpathe Marlins announced he had been suspended for five  games. Anthony Weiners emotional mea culpa: Will it be enough? Does McCain owe mea culpa to POWs MIAs? Hydro owes us a mea culpa. An apology is â€Å"an acknowledgement of an offense with expression of regret for it, by way of reparation.† Mea culpa as a synonym for apology derives from its use in a Latin prayer called â€Å"The Confiteor.† The Latin word confiteor means, â€Å"I confess† or â€Å"I acknowledge.† In praying, the supplicant repeats the phrase mea culpa, â€Å"through my own fault,† numerous times during the recitation of the prayer. An error with mea culpa occurs when a writer doesn’t understand its English meaning. Here are examples of misuse: Annie gritted her teeth and lifted her hands briefly from the wheel in  a mea culpa apology  to the indignant driver of the cleaners van.- Novel published by Random House. Rather than from John Paul Culotta, The Progressive, a mea culpa apology is due from the cretins who faithfully followed our torturer in chief to financial and human disaster.- News item, The Wave (Rockaway, New York). Alpha Chi Omega President Megan Koelln issued a mea culpa apology.- LA Weekly. In each example, the word apology is redundant. The only reason to follow mea culpa with the word apology would be in the context of talking about different kinds of apology. Note: More often than not, the statement being described in the news as a mea culpa is not an apology at all, but an excuse. excuse noun [eks-KYUS] : anything that justifies or extenuates a fault or defect. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:How to Format a US Business LetterLatin Words and Expressions: All You Need to Know5 Examples of Misplaced Modifiers

What are the best way to educate American children Essay

What are the best way to educate American children - Essay Example It helps an individual to grow as a person, by exposing them to knowledge and resources. First let’s take a look at what critical thinking is from a psychological view point. Our brain first must comprehend information before one can conceptualize or evaluate observations presented to us. In the simplest form critical thinking can be as minute as deciding to put another log on the fire or not because you intend to retire for the evening in the next 10 minutes. One must remember that at all levels out brain is collecting information to use and evaluate for our next actions. The thinking process that is appropriate for critical thinking depends on the information area (e.g. scientific, mathematical, historical, etc.) but some universal measures are: clarity, accuracy, precision, consistency, relevance, sound empirical evidence, good reasons, depth, extent and fairness. All in all, critical thinking is the process some refer to as "thinking outside of the box", which takes practice. Critical thinking is a developed skill in any one person; everyone can lapse into irrational or scattered thoughts. Critical thinking is measured by degree on the level of experience in a given area or pertaining to specific areas of questions. No one is a born critical thinker, but only through training can a person obtain higher degrees of quality in this area whereby he or she are less prone to subjective tendencies, and flawed insights or occasional gaps in experiences. Therefore, the mark of excellence in critical thinking is a lifelong undertaking. A college education helps to provide students with critical thinking skills, which may be said to include analytical, and problem solving skills. Assignments, tests, and class discussions develop critical thinking skills, and virtually every class at college requires some array of written and work participation. Universities and colleges require that students develop and share their own ideas about interesting subjects. These

Pirates and Pointing Fingers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Pirates and Pointing Fingers - Essay Example nto territorial waters were however drafted within the 20th century and must therefore be appreciated as good steps towards containing the global threat of maritime piracy. Back in 2007, Russia rose to become a pace setter in issues of maritime policy when it planted its flag within the Arctic ocean while expressing discontentment and discord in the manner maritime security has been handled over years especially within the high seas. Dodds (2011 63-73) critically analyzes the working of CCLS (Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf) as well as the various strategies that have been undertaken by coastal states towards the OCS (outer continental shelf). The study appreciated the efforts embraced by such states as Russia, Canada and Norway as well as member states to European Union on matters of controlling the maritime activity as favored by their geographic proximity to the high seas. As a discipline, political has risen to command great influence in the modern day studies as a discipline in the contemporary human society especially after the 20th century. Modernism and postmodernism have been distinctive disciplines with diversity of opinions especially in regard to human cultural diversity and the supremacy. Unlike the modernism principle that esteems ‘self’ even in matters pertaining to global effect, the postmodernism is much focused on pluralism and is much skeptical towards fundamental laws as well as the unchanging relations between individuals. Blacksell (2006, 169-171) shows that the oceans have been an integral part in human geography especially from the fact that the oceans occupy about 70% of the earth. Accordingly, he notes that even after human civilization, the better part of 20th century remained devoid of any form of control or political regulation on the oceans despite being greatly esteemed as a mode of transport. This lack of regu latory frameworks exposed sailors to greater risks from the terror groups and pirates who would not