Crime Rate in Trinidad

Trinidad is said to be a jewl of the Caribbean. It is one of the most prosperous islands in the West Indies. With its blue waters, sandy beaches, coconut trees swaying in the wind and a one of a kind culture, it's a place where relaxation is sure to be found. This is the country that will forever have my heart. Trinidad, in my eyes is a paradise, but it is also a place where crime is an extremely serious issue. it is ranked one of the highest places for crime in all of the Caribbean.

The crime rate in Trinidad has serverly increasedsine the year 2002. One of the reasons why the crime rate is so high is because the economic hardships. People are being robbed nfor their possesions since prices of goods are literally "sky high". Another part of the crimes that are taking place in Trinidad is because of the people that have been deported back to Trinidad. They migrate to another country and commit their crimes elsewhere. As punishment for their wrong doings, they get sent back to Trinidad. When they get sent back to Trinidad, they really have nothing to turn to but crime. Some people that are criminals have come to the choice to kidnapping and holding persons hostage. They demand large amounts of ransom money for the victims return to their families. If their demands are not met, they go after other family members of the victim that they have hostage of or even commit murder.

This sky rocketing crime rate in Trinidad is a serious concern of mine because I have extremely deep concern about my relatives in Trinidad. You never know if anything will happen to them. I have weekly contact with the majority of my family that lives in Trinidad to send my love and support. I have already faced two devestationg losses in my falily and it would kill me on the inside if I was to face anymore. Both my family members that were victims of crime in Trinidad were at a young age. One of my relatives that I lost to crime was only fourteen years old when she was raped, burned and buried. her body was found not too far from her home almost a month later in a shallow grave. She was able to be identified because of the backpack that was found right next to the body.

Another loss that my family and I have faced was the rape and the sodomizing of my uncle's six year old son. His body was left in a cane field. This heart breaking incident that occured in my family had left me with tears in my eyes and knowing that this is what Trinidad is coming to breaks my heart. Sooner or later, people will be killing each other and committing crimes because of the smallest things. All of the crimes that are occuring in Trinidad right now, hurts me inside for a country that I admire with such beauty.

Trinidad is wonderful, relaxing island where things are stress free. An island of friendly and outgoing people and a lively, festive and fundloving culture has become an island of corruption. However, the love for that island will never fade from my heart. I pray to God that one day all of the corruption in Trinidad will cease to exsist.

The Discomfort of Teenage Years

Your teenage years are the most challenging years of one's life. There is so much to go through between sex, drugs, boys girls and peer pressure, just to name a few.

In our perspective, peer pressure has to be one of the biggest things that teenagers have to face. The increase of peer pressure has caused a lot of remorse and a feeling of deep deplore in the later years. Some teens feel finicky against peer pressure, but some just give into it. It is important that you are quandary in choosing right from wrong. When teens give into peer pressure, they sometimes think that they are embellishing their image and become ostentatious, when they don't really realize that they are deleterious to themselves. They think their perceptive in life is one of jubilation once given into peer pressure.

Relationships are another big part of a teenagers years. It is really in your teen years when you realize the concept of relationships. they are the one thing that causes a lot of teenage drama. It's either that two teens are really incompatible with each other and their relationship becomes intractable, they go against fidelity and cheat, to seek satisfaction within somebody else.

Some girls have relationships with guys, and they really don't know what they get themselves into. they really don't know the danger and the consequences that they can face in the long run. They don't really open their eyes and realize what can really happen. Some guys out there are hedonists, only wanting girls for sex. Guys sometimes look so good on the outside, but are really the total opposite on the inside. You have to remember that looks can really be deceiving. Some guys that are in this type of predicament, usually show stolid and miserly feelings for the girls. Sometimes the girls really don't suppress their true feelings because they are afraid of the volatile that they might face if they speak up.

Being the average teen comes with the arid lifestyle of discredit and diffidence. When teens start to feel diffident, they soon develop recession and lack being discourse with others.

Some teens feels a sense of forswear because they reject their belief of respecting their parents. They become ingenuous in masking their feelings and refuse to dress in a foppish manner. They treat themselves as a flout without any disregard to anyones feelings.

Teenage life is full of surprises, and can come at you in many ways. One moment can be full of excitement, yet another can be full of sadness and tears. Teens face many crisis's, with the greatest being peer pressure. Some teens handle crisis situations in an accepting manner, where as there are are some teens that take it to the extreme, like causing harm to themselves to deal with the pressures of teenage life.

Do Now

Do Now: Can you recall a quote, speech, parable or lesson that inspired you, changed your perspective on life or made you stop & think ? Identify this quote & explains reasons why ?

-- A quote that I can recall that had made me stop & think is a quote from the movie "Forrest Gump". The quote is "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get." This quote basically means that you don't really know what life has in store for you. Life can come at you in any way.

Song Project

In Edwin Star's song "War" he expresses his feeling towards war. According to this song, he is fully against it. He states that war is "good for absolutely nothing". Basically what he is trying to say is that there is no point to war & we should stop the fighting because it only causes pain to people. War is not a friend to anybody.

"War" : Edwin Star

War, huh, yeah
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing
Uh-huh
War, huh, yeah
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing
Say it again, y'all

War, huh, good God
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing
Listen to me

Ohhh, war, I despise
Because it means destruction
Of innocent lives

War means tears
To thousands of mothers eyes
When their sons go to fight
And lose their lives

I said, war, huh
Good God, y'all
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing
Say it again

War, whoa, Lord
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing
Listen to me

War, it ain't nothing
But a heartbreaker
War, friend only to the undertaker
Ooooh, war
It's an enemy to all mankind
The point of war blows my mind
War has caused unrest
Within the younger generation
Induction then destruction
Who wants to die
Aaaaah, war-huh
Good God y'all
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing
Say it, say it, say it
War, huh
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing
Listen to me

War, huh, yeah
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing
Uh-huh
War, huh, yeah
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing
Say it again y'all
War, huh, good God
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing
Listen to me

War, it ain't nothing but a heartbreaker
War, it's got one friend
That's the undertaker
Ooooh, war, has shattered
Many a young mans dreams
Made him disabled, bitter and mean
Life is much to short and precious
To spend fighting wars these days
War can't give life
It can only take it away

Ooooh, war, huh
Good God y'all
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing
Say it again

War, whoa, Lord
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing
Listen to me

War, it ain't nothing but a heartbreaker
War, friend only to the undertaker
Peace, love and understanding
Tell me, is there no place for them today
They say we must fight to keep our freedom
But Lord knows there's got to be a better way

Ooooooh, war, huh
Good God y'all
What is it good for
You tell me
Say it, say it, say it, say it

War, huh
Good God y'all
What is it good for
Stand up and shout it
Nothing








This picture shows how people that are fighting in war. This shows how they would hide in their trenches for protection from the enemy.

Chief Joseph's Speech

How is the art of rhetoric evident in Chief Joseph’s speech?
-- The art of rhetoric evident in Chief Joseph's speech is that he is saying how his people were treated & how he was forced out of his homeland.

Who is he addressing in this speech?
-- In this speech, he is addressing his people.

Who is he indicting and why?
-- He is indicting the white man because the white man were forcing them to move out of their homeland.

Identify any heroic characteristics?
-- He speaks up for his people.

Why is this speech Protest Literature?
-- He explains how they were treated by the white man.

I Am What I Am

I am daughter of immigrants from Trinidad & Tobago,
& a second born child.
Trinidad & Tobago lives in me,
as well as New York.
I am a girl living in this world,
living my life day by day.
A fun loving teen,
who is very caring & understanding.
A sweetheart, but sometimes a grouch,
which rarely happens.
Always happy & smiling,
but gets mad easily.
A hard worker,
yet a major procrastinator,
but always gets my work done.

I am loved & cherished by friends & family,
& hated by some.
I am a person who is very easy to get along with,
& very sociable.
I am a person in this world
who wants to make something of my life
& be somebody.
A person who CAN make a difference.

Vocabulary Words From "Ending Poem" by Aurora Morales

Mestiza: a woman of racially mixed ancestry, especially of mixed European & Native American ancestry

Diaspora: the scattering of the Jews to countries outside of Palestine after the Babylonial captivity.

Jibara: A rural inhabitant of Puerto Rico

Shtetl: a Jewish village or small-town community in eastern Europe

Forbears: an ancestor

Mija: shortened from "mi hija", which means "my daughter". It can also be used as slang when people are refering to their friends.

Caribeña: a Caribbean island

Boricua: proud Puerto Ricans proudly represent themselves as this

Chicano Civil Rights Movement

What was the Socio Economic status of Latinos in America during the 1960s ?

-- They had a negative ethnic stereotype against them.

What is the meaning of "La Raza ?"
-- "La Raza" means "The People" in English. This term is used to represent the people who share the Aztec heritage.

Who were The Young Lords ?
--

Comprehenshion Check Questions To Equiano's Slave Narrative

Comprehension Check Questions:

For what crimes were slaves punished? And what was the punishment?

-- The slaves are punished because they were hungry & they stole the fish from the white men. Their punishment was that they got beaten for stealing the fish.

Critical Thinking Questions:

Interpret: Why does Equiano blame the illness aboard the ship on the “improvident avarice” of the traders?

-- Equiano blames the illness because there was a limited amount of space within the slaves. The slaves literally were on top of each other on the shop. The traders didn't care that any of the slaves died cause they had so much slaves aboard the ship. They knew no matter how many died, they would always have more.

Support from the text: How can you tell that Equiano has a great zest for life despite his assertion that he wanted to die?

-- He had a great zest for life because he wanted to know the result after the boat ride.

Infer: What does this passage reveal about the author?

-- This passage reveals that the author is educated, because of the vocabulary that he uses. He was most likely self taught.

Draw conclusion: Explain what a variety of languages indicates about the slave trade.

-- A variety of languages indicates that in the slave trade, the slaves were taken from different parts of Africa, or even different parts of the world.

Thematic Focus: When one culture dominates another, what troubles might society face?

-- Different cultures could have different point of views on certain things, which can cause controversy. For example, one culture might accept something while the other does not. It can cause many problems in a society.

Wiki-cabulary

pestilential: annoyingly troublesome

avarice: insatiable greed for riches

inhabitant: one that inhabits in a place, especially as a permanent resident

apprehension: anticipation of adversity or misfortune ; suspicion or fear of future trouble or evil

clamor: a loud uproar, as from a crowd of people

Equiano's Narrative [Relations To Narrative]

"America"
By: James Monroe Whitefeild

- racism; the whites, in their opinon, were more superior than the slaves
- they had no choice but to follow the orders of the whites
- they were forbidden their own natural rights

"Bury Me in a Free Land"
By: Frances Harper

-people would rather be dead than be slaves
- families were torn apart; mothers were taken from daughters etc.
- slaves were beaten badly if they disobeyed the white people

Wiki Elements

Genre: the type of literature it is
-- Equiano's story is a slave narrative/autobiography.

Imagery: the formation of mental images
-- An example of imagery would be "The closeness of the place, and the heat of the climate, added to the number in the ship, which was so crowded that each had scarcely room to turn himself, almost suffocated us." From reading this, you can actually picture in your head how the slaves were setup on the ship.

Symbolism: the practice of representing things by symbols
-- An example of symbolism is the ship because the ship represents the amount of pain and suffering that the slaves went through.

Characters: people that are starred in literature
-- The characters of the slave narrative was Equiano, the other slaves and the white men/slave traders.

Internal Conflict: a struggle which takes place the the mind of the protagonist or any other character
-- An internal conflict that Equiano faced was that if he should die instead of suffering on the ship.

External Conflict: a struggle between the protagonist and other characters against nature or some outside force
-- An external conflict was that he was suffering because of the white men/slave traders. They were not providing the slaves & himself with good care.

Setting: time & place where the literature is being held at
-- This was taken place on a ship during the time of the slave trade.

Point of Veiw: the perspective of how the literature is told
-- The slave narrative is written in first person because Equiano is telling the story. He uses "I".

Plot-sequence of events: a chain of events that have relation to each other that make up a story
-- The plot of Equiano's autobiography is that he gets abducted from his home by white men/slave traders and put on a ship. There are so many slaves on the ship that they suffer from being so clustered together. On the ship, they were headed to the island of Barbados, where the slaves were forced to do work for the white men.

Emily Dickinson & D.H. Lawrance

"I am nobody. Who are you ?"
-- Emily Dickinson

In these almost 17 years of my life, I have come to realize that life isn't always a bunch of roses. Nothing really comes easy. In order to get something that you really want, it takes hard work & self confidence. To others, I am a sister, a daughter, a granddaughter, a niece a best friend & a cousin. I am usually a lover, not a fighter. I tend to get along with people very easily. I am a very social person & tend to make friends very quickly. Also, I'm a extremely sensitive person. I sometimes take things personally, even though I know people are joking. I personally think that emotional pain really doesn't hurt as much as physical pain.

I am a person that doesn't really care what other people have to say. If people say something about me, their opinion doesn't matter to me at all. People that talk about me, I have realized are the ones that admire me the most because my name is "always in their mouth". I hold my head up high & as long as I know what's not true, then there's really nothing to worry about.

I have also come to realize that there are a certain set of people who really matter in life. I have had many letdowns in my life, but I have came to realize that there are people in my life that really matter, who never mattered & who always will. The ones that always will matter are my true shining stars.

I am a girl living in a big world & slowly preparing for what's out there for me. All I really need is hard work & confidence to survive out there, because in this thing called "life", nothing comes easy at all.

"I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself. A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough, without ever feeling sorry for itself."
-- D.H. Lawrance

Basically what this quote is saying is that wild animals, such as birds can't feel sorry for themselves. Whatever happens to them, is what they have to deal with. In order to survive, animals go through a lot more than humans do. For animals, it's survival of the fittest.