Type
Topic
Country
Durga Puja - The Festival of Homecoming
Homecoming literally means returning home. But I feel there are several more emotions attached to that word like the joy and excitement you feel when the day of your return home draws near, or when your mind gets filled with memories of the good times you had with your siblings - these are feelings or emotions which fill my mind when I hear the word 'homecoming'. Durga Puja is the biggest festival of Kolkata. Every year thousands of people come to Kolkata to experience this beautiful festival. What we sometimes do not notice is that during the puja holidays many people also leave Kolkata to...
Get inspired by this group of young peacebuilders from around the world
Reimagine And COVID-19
These are unprecedented times that we are going through. But we are nearing the phase where the term "reopen" is being tossed around everywhere. The truth is that we need to realize that we are not going back to the way things used to be. We will have a "new" old way, I believe that there will be a lot of innovation made in a short period of time while we go through this process. One key lesson we need to learn through these times are the ideas that will help prevent something like these from happening again. A lot of infectious diseases (like COVID-19) are "zoonotic" which means that they...
End Child Marriage Now
Hello there, Did you know that there are still so many young girls who forced into marriage? According to UNICEF's June 2019 report, 12 million girls are married before they turn 18 every year, and in the developing world, one in nine girls is married before they turn 15. Around the world, 650 million girls and women alive today were married before they were 18. From the UNICEF's report, we could see that apparently 'Child Marriage' is still happening. It is a truly global problem that must be solved. It's our challenge to end it. The young girls are supposed to attend school and receive a...
I am one person, you are one person but together we can move mountains
We need to stop discriminating, it will not help solve the Coronavirus. We need to come together as country, as a nation and as the world. We need to unite in order to conquer COVID-19. Please watch the video using the link the following link: https://www.instagram.com/tv/B-mq7lkna5g/?igshid=1dm0vadiex5db
To the, Tunisian dreams, scraper… (part 2)
*** A gun to the eye brought a tear to the heart and took the life of my dearest sister. O thou who brought pain to suffice her spleen. If the life was not convenient for you, from the beginning, of your mania you equipped yourself, to return my sun, to me darling, so blackened. A last step towards life? Spread out for a last moment, to breathe this air? Smile at life one last time? My so utopian hope, did not make possible the vision of my fathers. In the media, the charge touched them, one with the other, intent upon misfortune. What seemed to be such a wonderful day was not so wonderful now...
Mandalas, my way of getting over all the COVID-19 anxiety
The global pandemic, the quarantine, the isolation... is all very new for us. Most of us are not used to staying at home for this long a period. I was in the middle of my grade 10 examinations when the lockdown was announced. 10th grade examinations are a very important milestone for Indian students. Our teachers and parents prepare us for these all our lives. When my exams were postponed midway, a feeling of sorrow swept my mind for I had studied all year. After a few days, I overcame denial and started accepting facts. I was perplexed. I didn't know what to do in all this free time The...
Who I am and who I am ashamed to be
Might not have meant it
Every drop that falls down paints the bathroom floor red You might not have meant it, but they ended up dead. Each thought you spoke aloud, weighed heavy on their heart Unbeknownst to you it started tearing them apart. You've always made these jokes, but never thought of what could come If all the hate you spread around, finally turns their hearts numb. You keep spouting out your words and believe that they'll be fine To then suddenly seem surprised when you've pushed them over the line. Oh no it was only a joke, they took it the wrong way I didn't really mean when I told them that they should...
Bella Ciao : The plight of the farmers, fascism and coronavirus
If you’ve watched the acclaimed Netflix original ‘La Case de Papel’ (Money Heist), there is a high likelihood you remember the tune of Bella Ciao which represents the essence of the show as an anthem of resistance. It has featured on the show several times- the first time being an iconic scene in which The Professor and his brother, Berlin, break out into the song while at the dinner table during the night before their heist. Since then, it has taken over the minds of fans, its infectious melody playing on repeat. However, it shouldn’t simply be known as a catchy song from that famous TV show...
The Shattered Happily Ever After
At the age of 19, Malak got married. At that young age, she probably thought that she had found the love of her life – a man who would protect her, support her, and help her achieve her dreams. She probably thought that she had found her happily ever after. However, it did not take long for that dream to be shattered. A year after her marriage, Malak set herself on fire, as a result of the continuous abuse and violence inflicted by her husband and his family. Some sources report that it was Malak's husband who has set her on fire, while others say she decided to end her own life. Regardless of...
The Masks We Wear (Both Physically And Figuratively)
This will be written in two sections and this is due to that there are two ways that we can visualize the idea of 'The Masks We Wear'. One of those has to due with the physical masks we are wearing during this pandemic and what they represent. The other is the figurative mask we wear when entering different crowds to blend in. The Physical Masks We Wear: Everyday as we go through this pandemic, the trend of wearing masks has been growing. Everyone seems to want to get in and on the "hype" by wearing a mask. But on a serious note, what do these masks represent? They represent a change in a sick...
What you are not being told about the George Floyd protests
At first, I was reluctant to write an article about the current issue of the George Floyd protests, because I thought I was not informed enough to have an opinion. I therefore paid extreme attention to the unfolding events and what different activists and people at the fore front of these protests had to say and I was able to see what the media is missing yet is very important. First of all, the media is tainting the protests as violence filled protests. Which is not entirely the case and it is very disturbing that this is what the media is focusing on. Are they looting? Yes. Are they damaging...
#HateIsAVirus
Xenophobia and racism to the Asian community have increased massively since the start of the pandemic, causing misleading accusations to have triggered despicable actions that exceed humanity. In a world that is filled with so many beautiful cultures and races, it is devastating that some are overlooked and not accepted. Change is a basic principle that was supposed to happen centuries ago, now it is mandatory for it to be a lifestyle - normalized throughout the whole circumference of the planet. Every race is a piece of art, a formidable museum that will allow entrances once the visitors are...
Nothing Changed
Almost a year ago I wrote the words: ‘If people simply took the time to learn, care, and talk to those who are different to themselves, no one would ever have to feel alienated, no matter where you’re from, or who you are’. Now almost a year later I sit here thinking, nothing has changed. Sadly, I never held the expectation that things would change, because why should it? Why should anyone care about the words of a random person? But people should have cared, they should have cared long before I wrote those words and they should care now and into the future, because what I said has never been...
End violence!
It's sad to realize that quarantine has increased the violence worldwide. It's shocking to know that somebody is suffering now. It's unfair. Nobody deserves to live in fear. Please, don't break children and their lives into pieces. Don't destroy their future and the future of humanity.
A step towards an equal world for all
"When the world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful " - Malala. Dear young people, My name is Elyes, I am 14 and I have lived in Switzerland since I was a child. Fighting for my rights and equality has always been an important part of my life, and now I've learned, it is a battle that I‘ll never stop focusing on. We are living in a world where no one can live without being judged or being subjected to stereotypes. We stick a label on you that can be very hard to take off. One of the reasons I am contributing my voice as a young person today, is to show that nobody and truly nobody...
Global Culture
In this world, with 195 countries and over 7 billion people populating these places, we cannot imagine how many cultures exist. The art, literature, language, and religion of a community represent its culture. Our moral values represent our culture. Be it any country, a culture will shape the identity of a person, make them remember their past, think about the future, and to some extent, integrate with other cultures as well. So, by now we know why culture is that important to become a topic. We interact with different people everyday, belonging to some religion, speaking a different language...