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The Power Of Womanhood
Malala Yousafzai said, "We realise the importance of our voices voices only when we are silenced." We have been silenced for centuries and during these years of silence, we eventually realised the importance of our voices. Speak up. Make sure your voice is heard even when certain evil forces are attempting to silence you with all their power because believe me, words cut deeper than swords. Let's collectively fight for the rights that we have been denied for years. Here is how you can make a difference: when your friend tells that her significant other abuses her, speak up for her. When a...
Why Pride is ALWAYS Necessary
The LGBTQ+ community has always had to fight through hardships to gain acceptance from the rest of the world. From discrimination to the illegalization of same-sex marriage, they’ve gone through many difficulties. I’ve heard some say that Pride month is too much, that the LGBTQ+ community doesn’t need it and that it shouldn’t matter. This kind of thinking is actually pretty insensitive and ignorant. In reality, the LGBTQ+ community’s battles are still not over. Even though it may seem to be more accepted in the United States, there still are acts of discrimination going on in other countries...
The Mask
'The Face of Corona' My painting depicts the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, each brushstroke has a meaning, portraying how each life has a meaning. The Skin - The different colours of paint used to make up the skin portray the many different races that this pandemic is affecting. The Eyes - The eyes portray the world and it's current state of suffering. The Facemask- To depict that we are in a time of social distancing, a time where we a required to wear masks to keep ourselves safe . This artwork is a plea against all the injustices of the world, for them to all stop, to open the eyes of...
Mental Health - End The Stigma
Why do we treat mental health as if its not a big deal? Why do we say to a person in grief that ‘you are just overthinking’ ? Why do we stereotype people having mental illness being crazy? Why do we think that people who seek a psychologist/psychiatrist/therapist are lunatics? It is time that we set aside these stereotypes and accept that mental health is as important as our physical health, except there are no biological cause to the pain, no physical wounds, and not a physical entity that can be measured. Just think about this...whenever your stomach aches, you go to a physician or there’s...
We met again!
Five months have passed since the Syrian war memory, the war that forced us to do things we don't want to do. This year, I wrote a blog five months ago about the story of my life and how my childhood was living since the beginning of the war and until now under name: "How war changed me." I also mentioned - in this blog - my story with my first friend in my life, we were five years old when we first met and we stayed together until the war started and forced us to leave each other. Since 2011 I have not received any news about her, I only hear from time to time that she is alive. Recently, I...
COVID-19: None of us are safe until we are all safe
COVID-19 is a global crisis that has seen countries coming together to find a solution to this crisis that has claimed so many lives, young and old, poor or rich. This pandemic is threatening every aspect of people's lives, amplifying inequalities and destabilizing communities. It is necessary to increase life-saving services and support to address the immediate impacts of the pandemic and its long-lasting social and economic repercussions. To this effect young people are at the forefront offering mental health support to their peers, assisting their siblings with home learning and here in...
What about children’s rights in this COVID-19 crisis?
We recently celebrated the Day of the African Child on June 16 and being a child parliamentarian, I see this as a big day for all of Africa’s children and more so for the children of Djibouti. Since I am their voice in Parliament I can say we are dismayed by the situation we are going through because of COVID-19, which is worse still for most children who do not have birth certificates We welcome the salutary measures decreed by the political and health authorities to protect us from this misfortune of COVID-19. Nevertheless, the African child in general, and the Djiboutian in particular, find...
Corona Virus: the Invisible Assassin
Children are the first victims of diseases because they are the most vulnerable. Every day, over five percent of children in Djibouti die from malnutrition, cholera, measles, malaria and other diseases (UNICEF Djibouti Annual Report 2018). One wonders if the authorities notice this? Today, the coronavirus has been added to the long list of diseases that threaten children. The Corona pandemic has destroyed citizens of richer countries, and the virus has invaded all of humanity. It started in China and has evolved in other countries of the planet. In Djibouti, the corona-virus has already passed...
How war changed me
2011. I was 11-years-old when the war started in my country Syria. I was too young to understand what was actually happening. Before the war started I had many dreams. I wanted to be a doctor, be with my friends forever, or grow older at the same place where I lived. But suddenly, I found myself without dreams, friends and dolls. I woke up one morning and everywhere was full of hatred, I have seen many horrific scenes that are still stuck in my brain. 2012. I had to change the place where I live to start a new life again, but I became despaired, secluded, more shy and more nervous. 2013. I was...
Why child protection cannot be forgotten during COVID-19
In just a matter of weeks, the COVID-19 outbreak has already had drastic consequences for children across Djibouti. Their access to education, food, and health services has been dramatically affected all over the country. The impact has been so marked, that the UN Secretary General has urged governments and donors to offset the immediate effects of the COVID-19 crisis on children. In discussions of the pandemic to date, child labour (i.e. forms of work that are harmful to children) has played only a marginal role. Yet, as I describe in this blog, child labour will be an important coping...
Global Children and Youth Appeal on Climate Change and Health
Reimagining the future of healthcare
Before writing this article, I did not want to start with bad news or with figures that show how big of a problem the lack of access to healthcare is right now. I told myself that I wanted to start with a positive note, with what it could be and how bright the future can be if we work for it... But how can I share how important it is ensuring the protection of the right to health without pointing out the dire situation we are in? 400 million people don’t have access to basic healthcare in the world and 100 million people were pushed into extreme poverty in 2017 due to health expenses. The...
To The Health-Care Workers
As we all know, since the start of the COVID 19 pandemic, health care workers have been risking their lives every day to help treat and care for the sick. Hundreds of health-care workers lost their lives battling the coronavirus. They have been standing on the frontline for all of us. Basically, in this blog, I just wanted to tell something to the health-care workers. And, here's what I want to tell : 1. Thank you so much for everything that you do, everything that you sacrificed, and for your love. 2. Thank you so much for your resilience during this time. You never have a doubt to treat us...
Dear 2021, the day COVID-19 hit the world
Dear 2021, A promise, once spread out the hope of an uncertain rebirth of life. A light reflected the forgotten words of a mocking society through the shattered glass. We wanted the upcoming year to be full of joy, happiness and as what used to be always, full of social interactions. Upon 2020, nonplussed, we decided to step ahead, having no expectations on how threatening this step would be. At the beginning it seemed like a single country situation, we didn’t care much. Friends still hug each others, terrorism and riots kept on going and so did pollution. A day followed the other, and...
Letter to the Refugees
Dear refugees, I will always flounder to put out your stories of resilience in the finest of the words. Many a times I tried but failed. So today, this is another try to see whether I am able to touch an element of your stories or not. Let me tell you that you are just more than your stories and agony. You all are incarnation of robustness, endurance and a definition of hope. Every physical and mental torture, forced displacement, remoteness etc., you have had been through weren't worth at any point of time, but you emerged braver and stronger than before. It feels like hope emanates from the...
One afternoon in July
Sitting beside the tea stall, Sipping my tiredness away, I see the children in the hall, Carrying the stones in a difficult sway. The scorching July sun shows no mercy, As if these little souls deserve no pity, The sweat and dirt has soiled their torn jersey, Their filthy palms marked with lines of iniquity. Returning the empty glass, I walk up to the hall after paying a note, "Why don't you send these children to class? Someday, they might also wear a coat." "It is easy for you to say so sire, The windows of rich offices are opaque to reality, Poverty is what these children have got in hire...
My dear grandfather
I had a kind grandfather with whom I have many sweet memories. He always took care of me. He always encouraged me to study and made me proud. My grandfather was a capable, healthy and strong person. One day he developed a fever and was hospitalized. The doctor said he had coronary heart disease, but would soon recover. I prayed for him every day and waited for he return home, but coronavirus got him from us, and my grandfather went to God😭. I am very sad, but I know that one day there will be a cure for the coronavirus, and nobody will die with it. I know good days will comes and my...
Sunshine
Rays of light shine upon me, brightening the world amidst the darkest of days. Even though the shadows may steal our happiness today, the sun shall bring new light upon this world. Do not fear for the troubles that have been bestowed upon you today but set your eyes on the joy that lies tomorrow for although the rain may pour, sunshine awaits.
Increase in Mental Health raises concerns
Mental health issues have risen more than ever before. With more and more articles writing about suicide and attempted suicide online, it can, of course, have a detrimental impact on our mental wellbeing. I can tell you that it has definitely affected me. So now is the time for people to be kinder to each other. Not talked to a friend for ages? Check up on them. Haven’t heard from a neighbour? Maybe knock on for them. All it takes is offering to chat for someone to feel a little bit better. On top of the negative news circulating, it is so depressing, daunting, and very upsetting to hear the...