Policemen still needed?

Being on social media last week made me bump in onto a story regarding an Indian girl bashing up her haresser in the presence of police officers (The Logical Indian). The following text was put with the video on facebook:

Many responses were in favour of the girl or against “feminism”. Not only did the Indian orientated websites pick this up, but several Western websites too, were most of the responses were against the fact that the safety of females is almost non exciting in India.

Looking at the issue, while living in a country were women can roam around safely, I ofcourse had my own opinion too:
“In this video, there are 3 parties that are at wrong. Firstly the boy due to harassment: each and every female should be able to be anywhere on this planet without being harassed. Secondly there should be laws that the police should abide by. As long as corruption is the fact of the day and policemen don’t dare to address issues regarding misbehavior of their colleagues (no matter if it’s about a senior or junior), behavior that goes against the law will continue. Third: the anger of this girl is justified, but it is the police who should make sure the law is lived upon. And as long as the police isn’t capable enough to keep society safe, harassment will continue. This girls anger is justified, but her actions aren’t. Feminism isn’t about hitting your haresser, it’s about making your own stand without fearing any physical actions. The fact that one can behave in the same way as men, doesn’t have mean we should. We are women, use your brain, with elegance. The fact that she made him bend to touch her feet didn’t give her any “shobha”.

Last but not least: if the police makes sure society is safe and the do their work according to the law, life would be much better for many women in India.”

I seriously think that the culture regarding performing in a job has to change. The Indian government should put some effort in trying to accomplish this, that way, one day, India might become a safer place for people to live in. Regardless their gender, religion or any other issue on which they can be discriminated.

Unemployed

I can so relate to this… And I’m sure I’m not the only one, right..? Actually, it shows it all, been doing all of this (except the sleeping part during daytime)!

It has been quiet…

I’ve not been able to post on my blog for a couple of weeks now, but I have a valid reason for my absence. I really do.

As you all know I was doing research at a government agency, as a volunteer. I have been doing this since 2012. The reason for them not offering me a paid job is simple: they are admits a huge reorganization, due to which they aren’t allowed to offer anyone a job.

But here comes the valid reason for me being absent on my blog… It’s not the news I hoped to give you all, but hey! It is news, isn’t it? Okay, okay, I will not beat around the bush and just tell you.

Thanks to my work at the government agency since 2012, I have been noticed in a positive way and my job hunt story is known in the organization. This resulted in a temporary paid job.

Unfortunately, not in my field of work, but as a administrative co-worker. I’m absolutely not disappointed, since it got me out of the social welfare situation for the time being. Plus I got amazing colleagues, who make going to the office even more enjoyable. (let me not forget to mention the fact that there are a few cute-eye-candy-guys walking around at the office ;-))

The fact that my work is appreciated and that I’m receiving compliments on how fast I picked up the work I’m hired for, makes it worth getting up at 5.30 am, arriving at work at 7.00 am and leaving at 5.00 pm, every weekday.

Till the end of May I can enjoy this new routine of mine, I can only hope that there will be a new paid adventure for me soon after that…

Keeping you posted and ofcourse I will keep addressing social issues and ideas as soon as possible!

Can we stop being human?

A few weeks ago I read a story about a mother writing about the journey of her daughter. The journey of being a university student, majoring in politics and culture of food. The mom tells how she used to overexplain how her daughters chosen path of studies would turn into a steady paycheck.

All of that while the current job market is being extremely challenging. Especially studies in the “humane/social” sector.

Being a Sociologist and thus being in the “humane/social” sector, I know how hard it is to find a job in your own sector. I graduated 3 years ago, and I’m still trying to find a paid job. Slowly the job search is turning into a hell, if it already hasn’t.

Anyway, the story mentioned above, made me think. What is it, which makes the social sector such a harsh sector? Aren’t we all human? As human beings, how can we put away the sector, which exists to make sure we continue to live life in a humane way, in such a way as if it is a burden to us in times of economic crisis? Why is this sector so unappreciated?

I understand that in order to keep societies going on, financially, an investment is needed in the economy, that we have to make sure that IT works properly, that the incomes for the government through taxes have to be made more transparent and checked. So, I definitely do understand that those sectors are given a financial injection. As these sectors have to generate finances in order to get us out of the financial crisis.

I also understand that in times of financial crisis, the lack of finances is the big issue. What I fail to understand is that during times of crisis, when people are loosing their jobs, and when their need for social support is needed more than ever, why the means to that help are being cut down.

Yes, being on social welfare, and in search of a job, the social sector acts like a life support system for me at the moment. But, being a qualified citizen who wants to work and is not being able to find a job – I’m either overqualified or I don’t have the required specific knowledge or experience – it makes me feel extremely frustrated at times.

The social sector isn’t only there to provide people in surviving financially, no there is a whole system behind it. A system that can provide people – like me – with a job, instead of paying them for sitting home, while they have the potential and intellect to work within the sector.

In my opinion the system has to change in order to create jobs in all sectors, instead of creating joblessness. Policy has to be re-looked at, instead of making policy that punishes people for being human. We can not stop being human for as long as the crisis lasts, now can we?

Suicide and 14 years old

As I’m interested in cultures, I try to follow the news of different countries. I have several online news sites that I follow. One particular that drew my attention is an article on the Suriname website of “Dagblad Suriname”. This site tries to cover the daily news of Suriname – a country in South America.

The article I’m referring to above is an article about suicide amongst youngsters. And what disturbed me mostly was that the figures of youngsters committing suicide is growing. An example is given of a 14-year-old girl who decides to commit suicide after her boyfriend breaks up with her after a couple of years being in a relationship.

Most of us will probably think “14 years and in a serious relationship for a couple of years?!”, well at least that was my first thought. The fact that she was 14 years old and already had a serious relationship for a few years, is also something to think about. But that is not the worst yet.

It is disturbing that children decide to commit suicide. According to the article there is a bridge – 52 meters high and 1,504 meters long – called the Jules Wijdenbosch bridge, which is also known as the suicide bridge. I don’t think this name needs an explanation. At both ends of the bridge there are warning signs, not to jump and to seek help. A special number can be dialed to get help.

What actually shocked me – apart from the article itself – were the comments made on the Facebook page of the article. Comments like “good luck with jumping [of the bridge]” and “if you want to die, go ahead, just jump”. Thank God, there were not only negative comments like these, but some people really addressed the issue and causes.

One person, in my opinion, hit the bulls eye. The commenter first of all replied asking what was happening to society. Making a point that if someone wants to commit suicide, it means that this person is probably extremely depressed and doesn’t feels loved by anyone. When people make those negative comments, it can be an affirmation of those feelings and hence that little push to take the jump.

The commenter also said that it’s not only society who has a hand in this suicide behavior of children/youngsters, the way children are raised can also be an issue. Putting a child in this world, providing him or her with food, clothes and a roof above the head isn’t enough. Being a parent means being consequent in raising a child, not only telling what a child does wrong, but complimenting is also a necessity. It is important to explain why something is wrong or good, one should also address issues in society and discuss them.

Teachers should not be seen as the main educators, at the end of the day, the upbringing of a child is the responsibility of the parents. If the parents can’t give support to the childs needs in that state of depression, then the teachers and government should provide help. On such a level that everyone can reach out to help.

It’s easy for an outsider to judge the parents and society. And as an outsider I totally understand that each and every case is a unique one. Nevertheless, this development in Suriname society is not a good one. I, myself, am acquainted with Suriname society and culture. So, I do recognize certain issues that arise in this subject.

Being an outsider and “judging” the developments and sharing the thoughts of the commenter, might not be taken in gratitude. But perhaps, just perhaps, being an outsider might bring a new perspective on what issues could be addresses in order to bring down the number of suicides. And to give these youngster a – brighter –  future…

Why did I study!

Last Wednesday I had an appointment at the social service department. Oh my, I can’t even put in words how much I dislike going to such appointments.

Why? Well, it’s simple: somehow my coach and his colleague makes me feel worthless, useless and most of all, he makes me feel like I’m the biggest burden on this planet for humanity. And I’m sure that if there would be known extraterrestrial life, I would probably even be a burden for them too.

Back to the appointment. So, as usual, I arrived prior the scheduled time. One of the coaches spotted me, at 1 pm one of them arrived to pick me up from the waiting hall. Oh, let me enlighten you about the waiting hall.

The waiting hall: approximately 10 meters long and 3 meters wide. It’s on the first floor, when you take the stairs you arrive immediately in this hall. When you take the elevator, the moment the doors open: you find yourself in the waiting hall. It is most definitely not a separate room, let alone that you are out of sight of people who visite the other organisations that are sited in the same building.

Literally everyone – even those who do not have to know a thing about it – know you are depending on social welfare. Unfortunately being on social welfare is like a stigma; it’s perceived as if you are a burden indeed. So most people do not wish to be associated with being dependent on social welfare. This is what the waiting room looks like and this is where feeling rotten starts.

The appointment, as I said, one of the coaches picked me up from the waiting hall. He took me to the appointment room, in order to talk about my efforts to find a paid job -I had sent them an e-mail with a summary of my efforts since our last appointment-.

Normally the appointments take 30 to 45 minutes, this one went on for 1 and a half hours! At the end it felt like all my energy had been withdrawn from my brain, just awful. One of the coaches said, “miss, we know you go to extremes to find a paid job, but rules are rules”.

Ok, I’m intelligent enough to know that there are rules, but they themselves know that finding a paid job is hell in these times. But somehow, it feels like they just don’t care. Humanity is becoming scarce…

At the end of the conversation I managed to get six months extra to find myself a paid job. If I don’t manage to find a job after those six months, I will have to take any job they give me. And the coaches said that chances are huge that I will have to work as a cashier in a restaurant at an old folks complex. Thank you coaches, for seeing my qualifications, seeing how much I invested in my studies and for acknowledging my capabilities. Thank you very much.

Oh yeah, and let us not forget about that amazing comment you made in combination with amazing acting. “For us all our clients are equal. If the organization you are volunteering for, doesn’t provides you with a paid function, -and here the overdramatized acting comes in-, I will come to your office -dramatically pulling out his wallet with his employment card of social services- and show them this card and tell them that you are not allowed to work there any longer”.

I was like what the *peep* is this coach thinking, trying to scare me and to a certain level blackmail me. I then provided him with the information that the building I’m volunteering at, is full with police officers. This knowledge made him quieten up. He, by the way, said he would take me by the arm to get me out of the building. He should not even consider trying to remove me from my volunteer work, without my consent. He forgets he isn’t allowed to make such comments, it goes against the work ethics. I guess he forgot he can lose his job if he acts upon his words.

But I got six months extra to find myself a paid job, something I’ve been trying for the last 3 years, with no luck. Now I have to fulfill that task in just six months. I have no idea how or where to find a job, in order to avoid my career going down the drain…

If the worst scenario becomes reality, I wonder why I studied… I could have just dropped out of school and started working as a cashier when I was 16. That way I would have climbed in the organization having a good position by now…. So in that case… Why did I study?!?

“Online” friendships? Part 1?

While I’m writing this – I didn’t say posting 😉 – an online friend and his wife are probably waiting at the gate to board their flight back home. They arrived here two days after Christmas, and are going back home today. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to meet them, which I really regret.

This friend of mine, has been a friend for years. It’s a friendship which isn’t like standard friendships. Standard meaning: a friendship wherein you meet – or met – each other frequently. No, this friendship is one of the Internet era: chit chatting about almost everything that happens in real life, whether it’s about heartaches or joyous moments; you share it all. As if you have known each other for ages. And this particular friend isn’t the only one I have.

I have several friends that I’ve met only online, years ago. And who are still around and who are dear to me, online. But online, doesn’t anymore mean on IRC or on MSN. Our online friends have become very close to us, in terms of being available 24/7. All of this thanks to the developments in the mobile world.

Whatsapp, Viber, Skype, Facebook and BBM – for example – have taken online friendships to a new level. There where we had to get behind our laptops or desktops, now we have our mobiles – and upcoming are the tablets – to keep in touch, throughout the day. Our smartphones have made it possible to have access to all these (social media) applications.

Let us not forget that, this is for most people also the way to keep in touch – on a daily base – with our “real life” friends. Having said that, doesn’t it mean that the line between the “online” friendships and the “real life” friendships has become extremely thin or is fading?

I don’t say it’s a bad thing ors, since I have a lot of “online” friends, whom I’m in touch with through the above mentioned apps. Looking at it from a Sociological point of view – or academic, if you wish to – it makes me curious what science has to say about this.

Has the universal definition of friendship – if there is something called a universal definition of friendship – changed due to the developments in society? Does this change society in such a way that we can see it’s effect in life?

It seems like I will have to jump into some academic research to answer the mentioned questions. Once I get time off, I will most certainly try to answer the questions…till then… Keep an eye on my writings 😉

It’s all about the P-word

Christmas carols have been sung, food has been excessively – and sometimes forcefully – digested, champagne bottles have been opened, glasses have “cheered” upon, fireworks have been shot and we have all wished each other a very happy 2014 at 00.00 hours. Now it’s time to get back to business and get hooked up with the job I’ve been looking for – for so long now. But first, I want to wish all of you a very happy 2014, may this year bring us the job we wish to have and society that we all love to live in.

So, as I said, it’s time to get back to business. Thinking about it, I wasn’t really out of business. It actually depends on your perspective, I guess. Even during the holidays I was working on application letters, so was I really out of business, not really, right? What’s this perspective actually? According to Google, one of the descriptions:

perspective
/pəˈspɛktɪv/
noun

• a particular attitude towards or way of regarding something; a point of view. “most guidebook history is written from the editor’s perspective” synonyms: outlook, view, viewpoint, point of view, standpoint, position, stand, stance, angle, slant, attitude, frame of mind, frame of reference, approach, way of looking/thinking, vantage point, interpretation “her perspective on everything had been changing”

Thinking about this word, and it’s meaning, it sounds like the whole world around us lives according to perspectives. And the most annoying thing of perspective, is that everyone has its own perspective. And that explains a lot. ‘Coz according to me, I’m the best employee an organization can have. That is my perspective. The people from HR unfortunately have their own perspective: they see more in another applicant.

On the day after “Boxing Day”, I had a talk with a CEO of an IT company. They were interested in me. Yes, indeed, you read it well, they were interested in me. Unfortunately luck wasn’t with me that day either; apart from their interest in me as an employee, there was another candidate too. My fellow candidate, unfortunately for me, but fortunately – the p-word – for him or her…had more experience in the IT field.

On 31st I received an early morning call from a costumer of my parents. This gentleman saw that a government organization was going to put up a whole new branch of their organisation. He had to think of me. Hence the phone call. So, this morning I wrote an open application letter, hoping they will see my potentials – this sounds like the p-word -. A few more letters to write are on my schedule today. Let’s hope that at least one of them will read it from the right perspective and give me a chance to get the job I applied for.

Let’s hope that soon the perspective of many will change to – and match – our perspectives, what do you say? 😉

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

 

Is it insulting or just funny?

Just visualize this: you are walking around in a neighbourhood whose residents are on the lowest steps of the social ladder. Most of them have a low level of education or are highschool drop outs. Due to the crisis most people here are jobless. And on top of it most of the people living there are from immigrant groups. While walking through the streets, you find yourself a cute grocery shop. You enter the store and you are smiled at kindly and welcomed into the store by a young lady.

She speaks the native language profoundly. Actually, if you’d speak to her on the phone, without even hearing her name, you would never even image that she belongs to an immigrant group. You start speaking to the young lady and suddenly the subject is about the crisis and how difficult it is to find a job. While telling her about your struggles on the labour market, she says she can totally relate too, as she is going through the same for a couple of years now.

This triggers your curiosity, what did she study? Did she study at all? If so, at which level did she graduate? Since curiousity killed the cat and you are not fond of cats (just kidding)… You decide to ask her, what did you study? (Yeah well, you guys are having a decent conversation, you don’t want to insult, now do you?). The young lady tells you that she graduated from university and that she holds a Masters degree in Science. You are astonished, this young lady holds a Masters degree?!? You have trouble holding keeping your mouth closed from falling open out of astonishment. But why, why are you astonished?

Well, keeping the environment wherein you met this young lady in thought, it’s actually not so surprising that the following is what you thought. She works in a grocery store, the grocery store stands in an area where people of a low social status live and she herself is from a immigrant group. Whats happening here? “Prejudice” is whats happening here.

“Prejudice; preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience”; that is the first definition you find on Google, when you search on prejudice. I think when speaking about persons, we should add the next to this definition: “with a specific person”. When we look at nature’s ways, the prejudice issue can be seen as a tool to make life easy. Just imagine living in caves, travelling the continent, meeting new groups of people. Unfortunately not every community has been a peaceful one. Prejudice plays a role in this, since it’s about staying alive, one needs to decide quickly if the unknown group is safe to approach. Prejudice is in this case a positive tool of the brain. Unfortunately, this positive tool can be used in a negative way too. And in current society, that’s the way it is used mostly.

Coming back on the topic of the young immigrant lady. It is a shame that society looks at her, belonging to a person who isn’t of much worth to society, not knowing she has an academic degree. She is an intelligent person who wants to make a contribution to society. The reason for being in the environment she is in, is that sitting at home makes her go crazy, so she hangs out at the store her parents own. And apart from that, she is a volonteer. So, she already gives society something back.

For me, this whole situation makes me laugh. I have been in such situations myself, and seeing the same reactions, I have learnt to laugh about it; thank you for thinking that I’m a misery for society, I can proof you wrong. And apart from that it shows that I am a fine example that immigrant offsprings are intelligent too and that not all members of this group are busy with doubtful activities. I find the reactions funny indeed, but yes, the thoughts behind it can be insulting.