Role of Greed and Grievance in Civil War

Role of Greed and Grievance in Civil War The role that greed and grievance play in civil war is its emergence. Their role is a crucial and controversial one in the creation of civil wars. There have been various arguments concerning their role in its emergence, with most for greed as the key factor as the backbone of all conflict including civil war while a few others also consider grieves role. However, it is my opinion that both work hand in hand to create the violence that is civil war. Some could even see how one begets the other, legitimizing the creation of one through the existence of the other. Either way the role both greed and grieve play is one of an instigator. This paper will illustrates how both factors have intertwining roles in the occurrence of civil war; the aim is to show how one factors role influences the other and how one factors role can overlap and blur the other out. This will be done by looking at various explanations for civil war attributed to greed and grieve individually. To discuss these terms and their role in the emergence of civil war it is crucial to understand what they mean and why they are considered active role players in the creation of civil war. Civil War is conflict that arises when militant groups of people attack a government and or civilians persistently (Collier, 2003:54).What exactly is greed and how does it come into play in the occurrence of civil war? Greed according to the English dictionary (dictionary.com) is ‘excessive or rapacious desire especially for wealth or possessions. It is the need to acquire more than you need taking or having more of what you already have. So who is the greedy in civil war? Based on the definition, do the greedy exist in the sense of the word? If they do, then it is crucial to ‘investigate how the greed generates grievance and rebellion, legitimizing further greed (Keen,2000:32) as part of its role in the occurrence of civil war through, the actions of the greedy. Various economic and political factors contribute to the emergence and creation of civil war starting from inequality in terms of resource allocation to participation in the decision making process. There have been various arguments as to what really causes civil war; the prominent answer is economic inequality. The general idea is that people want more access to resources and because they cannot get it, they take it by force. In this sense, then yes the greedy exist and play a major role in the occurrence of civil war. On the other hand, those who do not have access to recourses at all and just want to enjoy the benefits and access to it in the first place (not more access) are not greedy but needy. The actual participants(people doing the actual fighting, and protesting) of civil war are not acting according to greed, for greed as earlier defined is wanting more of what you already have. They on the other hand just want access to resources denied of them, denoting previous lack. It is easy to link economic need and lack of resources to greed even more so as the focus is often on how the elite manipulate the situations to create civil unrest and strife, and how they and a few others benefit from it. The error is in considering these groups of people to be the only actors of civil war. The aim here is not to diminish the role of greed, for it plays just as important a role as grieve does as will be later discussed. The aim is to point out that it is important to consider those acting from greed and those from grieve, and the role of grievance in causing civil war before giving all the credit to greeds role as the dominant player in the creation of civil conflict. It is impossible for one factor (grieve or greed) to stir up conflict without the presence of the other factor. The greedy, often times are some entrepreneurs, rebel lords and their gangs, and a few elites (including some governments) that have something to gain from civil unrest are motivated by their greed, their desire to hoard more resources, their access to it, and the benefits gained from said resources (in form of employment, education, wealth etc). Their interest is vested in the continuation of war and so they manipulate the grieve that exists in the society which more often than not is a result of their greed. These are the few Collier talks about when he says, ‘civil war creates economic opportunities for a minority of actors even as they destroy it for the majority (Collier, 2000:91). This brings me to the point that the greedy are few but their impact and influence on the occurrence of civil war is big. Greed plays a minor yet visible role in civil war. The greedy few use the genuine grieve of the majority to advance their own economic agenda. According to Collier (2000), gr ieve is used to recruit actors in civil war. To understand the role of grieve; it is important to define it and consider what constitutes the sentiment. Grieve refers to pain over injustice or unfortunate circumstances as used in the English dictionary ‘grieve is to feel great sorrow, be mentally distressed or oppressed and wronged (Dictionary.com). This attribute is evident when considering factors that contribute to civil war. Looking at the case of Rwanda (Caplan, 2007) where the Tutsi had previously oppressed the Hutus during colonialism. The Hutu ethnic group embarked on an ethnic cleansing mission of the Tutsi ethnic group when they gained political power. This example illustrates how grieve came into play for Rwandas civil war. Ethnic differences, which resulted in oppression of one group by the other, created tension and grieve that erupted into violence. The role of Grieve and greed as creators of civil war is evident in that they are the foundations for each explanatory factor given for the occurrence of civil war. They are the driving forces behind factors contributing to civil war like ethnic differences, manipulative leaders and so forth. For each factor attributed to greed, there is grieve working with it making it possible for greed to be pursued, and for each grieve backed reason for civil war, greed is presently active. Both factors work together, greed creates grieve and it is also possible for greed to emerge from that grieve (Cramer, 2002) without one, the other really does not exist in civil war. Thus far, the contribution and role of greed and grieve as individual factors in the occurrence of civil war in a country has been show, now focus is directed to illustrate how their individual roles intertwine and work hand in hand. This aspect of the essay is going to examine the roles both grieve and greed play in different gr eed or grieve specific explanations offered for the cause of civil war. The most prominent explanation or contributing factor to civil war in literature and media seems to be economic agenda (Collier 2003) (greed explanation) and inequality (grieve explanation) between groups and people in the society as previously noted. The idea behind this is that people engage in conflict in order to advance their own economic agenda, be it access to previously denied resources or to gain more access to said resources. Collier (2000:93-95) uses a number of proxies to explain how greed motivates conflict. For instance, the availability of primary loot-able resources(also discussed in Collier, 2008) in a country creates an avenue for conflict to develop out of greed because of what is to be gained from looting (be it profit from actual sale of good or use of it). Another proxy used was the number of young men without job prospects whose income earning potentials and educational levels are low (Collier, 2000:95). According to this analogy jobless young men with no prospects living in a country with an abundance or somewhat large number of â€Å"primary resources† is a recipe for conflict in said society because of idleness and availability of loot-able resources and of course greed. These young jobless men without prospects do not have jobs or proper paying jobs because they have been denied access to proper and good or any form of education(also a factor that contributes to grieve). They may even have one but cannot get any or good employment because of inequality in the society. A country with large â€Å"commodity exports† obviously has the resources to make things better for these people or at least the means (sale of said commodity resources) to make things better. The availability of young men and primary export commodities shows how greeds role as a generator of civil war works. The explanation also illustrates how grieve (also an instigator of civil war) plays its role i n this dominantly greed backed explanation. Grieve experienced over the unfavorable conditions and employment status or lack thereof of these â€Å"young men† led them to resort to conflict to acquire some of the economic resources not made accessible to them. Colliers argument is that countries with â€Å"large primary resources† are prone to more civil war. The logic of his argument is that ‘resource-rich countries have a higher probability for conflict than resource-poor ones (Soya, 2000:120). Well certainly, there is some credit to this logic because resource poor countries have little or no resources. The difference between these two types of countries is that resource rich countries have resources. The scarcity of said resources within the country where the benefits of such resources are not visible or made equally available to its citizens are bound to experience rebellion from the majority of the population considering how only a minority benefits. The sense of injustice and feeling of unfairness likely to arise from the knowledge that certain resources are available but to only a few elite is enough to bring about grieve. This is also likely to motivate rebels and cause an uprising, and not only the idea that there is excess to acquire and more to be made from black market so let us loot and make our own profits like Collier and Soya would have us believe. The greed proxies (available young men, primary resource and education level) and explanations show greeds role at work, and shows that of grieve in civil war, illustrating how one cannot work without the other. The grievance factors of civil war and some of the grieve backed explanations for civil war like differences and animosity existing between groups in the society, and how they contribute to the emergence of civil war also illustrate the role of greed. The first of many is ‘raw ethnic or religious hatred (Collier, 2000:95). The logic behind this is that people are afraid of what they do not know or understand. Therefore, a society that is deeply separated based on different ethnicities and religious views will experience civil unrest at some point or the other because the society is invested in the differences that exist. Take for instance the Biafra war of Nigeria. The Biafra civil war broke out because of the three major ethnic groups (Hausa, Yoruba, and Igbo) in the country, out of which the Igbo were not represented in government. They no longer were actively included in politics after years of being at the forefront of Nigerian politics, and running the country with the las t president (removed through a coup dà ©tat) being from the Igbo ethnic group (Ralph, 2004). Their lack of representation meant their access to certain resources were limited. The ethnic groups in power based on solidarity-favored members of their own ethnic group, their regions had better systems of education, and employment opportunity was regularly based on whom you knew and what ethnic group you belonged to. They only cared about and helped â€Å"their own people† while members of other ethnic groups were being slaughtered and maltreated. This goes to show how deeply rooted the society was in ethnic identities and differences. So much so, that the Igbo felt oppressed and resentment grew. The situation escalated because of problems surrounding the presence of crude oil in the region of the country occupied by the Igbo. The profits made from the resources found in their regions or â€Å"their lands† was not distributed equally around the regions of the nation and es pecially not in the regions, they were found in. In addition, the Igbo leaders decided to keep the profits to themselves to improve the standard of living of maltreated ethnic group members (Global Security.org). Out of grieve over the extent of inequality in the nation the Igbo felt the need to secede. The Nigeria Biafra war illustration of ethnic identities and differences creating civil strife supports the idea that ‘societies that are highly fractionalized by both ethnicity and religion (Collier, 2000:95) will have more incidence of civil war. Furthermore, the illustration not only shows grieve playing its role as a creator of civil war by supporting the grieve backed explanation for causes of civil, in this case ethnic differences and inequality, it also shows greeds role in the occurrence of the Nigerian Biafra civil war. The Igbo were oppressed, agreed but they did not threaten to secede up until they lost their position of power in government (an Igbo was in the presidential office) and found an excuse (Using the proceeds to help the oppressed) to keep the benefits and profits from the valuable natural resource found in the southeast region of Nigeria, where the Igbo reside to themselves. The presence of such a valuable resource like crude oil turned the Igbo greedy an d their state of oppression created an avenue for that greed to show. They wanted to keep the benefits from crude oil to themselves and break from the country. With the already existing situation of the ruling ethnic groups (Hausa and Yoruba), isolating resources based on ethnicity, and their greed in taking and keeping the benefits of the resources without any of it trickling down to the Igbo added to the existing rage and grieve over inequalities that abound in the society and oppression. More importantly, it legitimized the greed of the Igbo group; if it was all right for the ruling groups to hoard resources, it was all right for them to take their resource and keep it for themselves. The ruling groups out of greed kept resources for themselves, this resulted in the neglected groups (Igbo) grieve. Because of their greed, the ruling ethnic groups (Hausa and Yoruba) desired to keep the resource within their grasps and power so they can benefit more from it. This greed possibly led them to resist the secession of the Igbo group away from the nation. The Igbo on the other hand out of grieve over limited access to resources grew greedy and wanted to break from the country at the discovery of a valuable resource (crude oil) they wanted to keep to for themselves. This just goes to show how greed causes grieve and how both factors work together to manipulate situations in a way that results into violence. Another grieve backed factor for civil war that shows the role of both grieve and greed as creators of civil war is the idea of economic inequality again. This factor shows the perfect relationship between the roles of greed and grieve. The latter stemming from the unavailability of certain things like land for instance which Collier (2000) uses as proxy for inequality to others because the elite of the society have access to it. The greed of some in accumulation of resources for themselves and in the process causing grieve for those who do not have access to or are unable enjoy certain benefits derived from it. Ultimately greed from one side coupled with grieve from another equals civil war or at least leads to some form of conflict and even more so in a country with weak governance. A weak government implies ‘government economic incompetence (Collier, 2000:96) and an inability to control or prevent an outbreak of conflict in case one arises from said incompetence. Where there is an incompetent government, greed and grieve have an avenue to breed and reinforce each other in the creation of civil war. An incompetent government is to some extent responsible for economic inequality. The government is tasked with the duty of making resources available to its citizens equally or at the very least provides social safety nets when and where needed. If the government fails to provide these resources in an equal manner and create an equal atmosphere, inequalities are bound to be more apparent in the society and grieve from such inequalities as explained earlier may erupt into civil war. In addition, having a government that supports greed and is itself greedy and corrupt is another aspect in which a weak governance can and often adds to the incidence of civil war an d reinforce the role of greed and grieve as its creators. Through its greedy activities like accepting bribes from elites to maybe get more electricity in certain parts of the country or a government that fails to maintain public amenities such as the public school system because funds for such maintenance out of greed are diverted into their personal accounts creates grieve. Those that cannot afford private school for their kids or those that cannot afford to bribe them are ultimately denied the use of and access to basic resources. This type of behavior creates the foundation for inequality starting from basic education, which would later reflect in other areas of life like employment and income amongst other things. Government incompetence enhances the role of grieve and greed and creates a breeding ground for them to fester. A government with no desire to end conflict because of how they benefit from it be it through bribes from those that want to keep the situation the way it i s or based on their own interest legitimizes greed which goes on to create grieve which may or may not turn into greed and the cycle continues. Ultimately the role of greed and grieve in civil war is the creation of civil war. Factors that explain why civil wars occur are based on greed or grieve and are generally categorized as grieve based or greed based showing how important their role is in civil war. Without the presence of these factors (Greed and Grieve) civil war does not exist, it does not escalate and it does not continue. They are the fuel to the fire that is civil war. In conclusion, greed and grieve as creators of civil war reinforce each. One does not exist without the other and so to ignore the role of one in causing civil war is to leave the glass half-empty. To understand how various explanations of civil war factors work, it is important to recognize that both grieve and greed work together to effectively create the situation. For without greed, grieve cannot effectively play its role and create civil war, and neither can greed without grieve. Bibliography Amartya Sen. (2008). Violence, Identity, and Poverty. Journal of Peace Research. 45 (1), p Caplan, Gerald. (2007). Rwanda:Walking the Road to Genocide. In: Allan Thompson The media and the Rwanda genocide. London: Pluto Press. p20-40. Collier, Paul. (2008). The Conflict Trap. In: Collier The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About It. New York: Oxford University Press. p17-37. Collier, Hoeffler, and Sambanis. (2005). The Collier-Hoeffler Model of Civil War Onset and the Case Study Project Research Design. In: Paul Collier, and Nicholas Smbanis Understandying Civil War. 2nd ed. Washington DC: World Bank. p1-35. Collier, Paul. (2003). What makes a country Prone to Civil War. In: Paul Collier,World Bank Breaking the conflict trap: civil war and development policy. Washington, DC: Oxford university press and World Bank. p53-91. Collier, Paul. (2000). Doing Well out of War: An economic Perspective. In: Mats Berdal and David M. Malone Greed and Grievance: Economic Agendas in Civil Wars. London: Lynne Rienner. p91-112. Cramer, C. (2002). Homo Economicus Goes to War: Methodological Individualism, Rational Choice and the Political Economy of War. World Development. 30 (11), p1845-1860. David Keen. (2008). Greed: Economic Agendas. In: Keen Complex emergencies. Cambridge: Polity Press. p25-50. David Keen. (2008). Combatants and their Grievances. In: Keen Complex emergencies. Cambridge: Polity Press. p50-62. David Keen. (2000). Incentives and Disincentives for Violence. In: Mats Berdal and David M. Malone Greed and Grievance: Economic Agendas in Civil Wars. London: Lynne Rienner. p19-42. Global Security. (nd). Biafra War. Available: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/biafra.htm. Last accessed 5 January 2010. Indra de Soya. (2000). The Resource Curse: Are Civil Wars Driven by Rapacity or Paucity. In: Mats Berdal and David M. Malone Greed and Grievance: Economic Agendas in Civil Wars. London: Lynne Rienner. p113-136. Jacoby, Tim. (2008). Grievance. In: Jacoby Understanding Conflict and Violence: Theoretical and Interdisciplinary Approaches. London: Routledge. 103-123. Raph Uwechue. (2004). The Revolution of January 1966- Mismanaged and Misunderstood. In: Reflections on the Nigerian Civil War: Facing the Future. Victoria: Trafford. p23-33.

The Sexual Expression of Women in Thomas Hardys Writing Essay

The Sexual Expression of Women in Thomas Hardy's Writing The nineteenth-century woman was defined by her adherence to submission and resistance to sexuality. She was portrayed by most writers as a naive, accepting figure with strong concerns about living up to the prescribed societal ideals for a respectable woman. The women in Jane Austen's novels offer a clear representation of the nineteenth-century woman. Austen refuses these women any sexual expression and focuses more upon their concern with marriage and society. Thomas Hardy resists Austen's socially accepted depiction of the female with his radically independent heroines. Hardy redefines the role of women in his novels, focusing on sexuality. By emphasizing the physical aspect of femininity in his unorthodox representation of the sexual female, Hardy threatens the Victorian model of women. Sexuality is evident in Far From The Madding Crowd when Bathsheba unknowingly admits her passion to Sergeant Troy. "If you can only fight half as winningly as you can talk, you are able to make a pleasure of a bayonet wound!" Baths...

Black Holes Essay -- Essays Papers

Black Holes Every day we look out upon the night sky, wondering and dreaming of what lies beyond our planet. The universe that we live in is so diverse and unique, and it interests us to learn about all the variance that lies beyond our grasp. Within this marvel of wonders, our universe holds a mystery that is very difficult to understand because of the complications that arise when trying to examine and explore the principles of space. That mystery happens to be that of the ever elusive, black hole. This essay will hopefully give you the knowledge and understanding of the concepts, properties, and processes involved with the space phenomenon of the black hole. It will describe how a black hole is generally formed, how it functions, and the effects it has on the universe. By definition, a black hole is a region where matter collapses to infinite density, and where, as a result, the curvature of space-time is extreme. Moreover, the intense gravitational field of the black hole prevents any light or other electromagnetic radiation from escaping. But where lies the â€Å"point of no return† at which any matter or energy is doomed to disappear from the visible universe? The black hole’s surface is known as the event horizon. Behind this horizon, the inward pull of gravity is overwhelming and no information about the black hole’s interior can escape to the outer universe. Applying the Einstein Field Equations to collapsing stars, Kurt Schwarzschild discovered the critical radius for a given mass at which matter would collapse into an infinitely dense state known as a singularity. At the center of the black hole lies the singularity, where matter is crushed to infinite density, the pull of gravity is infinitely strong, and space-time has infinite curvature. Here it is no longer meaningful to speak of space and time, much less space-time. Jumbled up at the singularity, space and time as we know them cease to exist. At the singularity, the laws of physics break down, including Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity. This is known as Quantum Gravity. In this realm, space and time are broken apart and cause and effect cannot be unraveled. Even today, there is no satisfactory theory for what happens at and beyond the rim of the singularity. A rotating black hole has an interesting feature, called a Cauchy horizon... ...rams were made showing how astronomers believe that if somehow you were to survive through the center of the black hole that there would be enough gravitational force to possible warp you to another end in the universe or possibly to another universe. The creative deas that can be hypothesized from this discovery are endless. Although our universe is filled with many unexplained, glorious phenomena, it is our duty to continue exploring them and to continue learning, but in the process we must not take any of it for granted. As you have read, black holes are a major topic within our universe and they contain so much curiosity that they could possibly hold unlimited uses. Black holes are a sensation that astronomers are still very puzzled with. It seems that as we get closer to solving their existence and functions, we only end up with more and more questions. Although these questions just lead us into more and more unanswered problems we seek and find refuge into them, dreaming that maybe one far off distant day, we will understand all the conceptions and we will be able to use the universe to our advantage and go where only our dreams could take us.

Atlantic Bluefin Tuna

The Atlantic bluefin tuna is one of the largest and fastest fish in the world. Atlantic tuna are built for speed; they can reach speeds up to 50 mph. Atlantic tuna have very large appetite, the average size of an Atlantic tuna is 6. 5 feet and they usually weigh around 550 pounds. The largest Atlantic bluefin tuna ever caught was caught in Nova Scotia and weighed 1,496 pounds. Atlantic tuna are a gray and silver colour on their underside and then a dark blueish colour on the topside, this helps them with camouflage because from under them it looks like they are part of the sky and the dark blue from a top view makes them look like part of the dark water. Atlantic bluefin tuna is also very delicious, so tuna have been affected by over-fishing and that has lowered the population to drop critically low. Tuna positively affects humans because we use them for food and sport, tuna are huge and you don’t need a lot of them to have a large amount of meat and that’s one of the main reasons humans like to eat tuna. Atlantic tuna have been eaten by humans for along time, but in the 1970s the demand for tuna went up so commercial fishing operations found a new way to catch them. The way fishing industries caught fish was with fleets of giant ships with huge nets to catch large amounts of fish; this act of over-fishing almost caused this species of fish to go extinct. Atlantic tuna are also affected by many other problems, such as acidification and ocean debris. Tuna are affected by acidification because smaller animals that tuna rely on as food die because of acidification. If there is not enough food for tuna to eat then bigger predators that rely on tuna as food will starve, ways we can stop this from happening include; banning offshore drilling and conserving energy. Atlantic tuna are affected by ocean debris because when commercial fishing boats drop their nets in the ocean sometimes when they are done with the net they will just leave it in the ocean, this results in many ocean animals (such as tuna) to be caught in the net and die. It is now more important than ever for people to do what the politicians failed to do – stop consuming bluefin tuna,† Dr. Tudela, Head of Fisheries at WWF Mediterranean Atlantic bluefin tuna are mainly found in the western Atlantic, but they are also found around Newfoundland and the Gulf of Mexico. Tuna usually live in the open ocean, but they can be seen jumping out of the water catching small fish. Tuna mostly live in groups; schools of tuna can be found feeding, just hanging out or migrating thousands of miles across the Atlantic. Atlantic tuna faces many problems such as the ones I previously wrote about, but if we want to put a stop to those problems we need to find a solution. One of the things we can do is make fishing seasons, if the government was to make a certain time when it was okay to fish for tuna and then once the season was over fishermen couldn’t fish for tuna anymore. I think that that is a pretty good plan but we would have to do more than that, for example they could ban tuna fishing for a year or a designated time duration and then check to see if the tuna population increases. Ocean debris and Acidification is also a problem, the way to stop that is not very hard, people just need to take the initiative to stop dumping harmful chemicals, non-organic waste material, ect. â€Å"After overwhelming scientific justification and growing political support in past months – with backing from the majority of catch quota holders on both sides of the Atlantic – it is scandalous that governments did not even get the chance to engage in meaningful debate about the international trade ban proposal for Atlantic bluefin tuna,† –Dr. Sergi Tudela, Head of Fisheries at WWF Mediterranean

Food Safety Essay

Complete the food safety interactive quiz. Use the information from the interactive quiz to complete the following responses regarding food safety practices. For each of the following food safety practices, share at least 2 statements from the interactive quiz. Be sure to put these statements in your own words and explain why they are helpful in preventing food borne illness. An example would be: When dining from a buffet, make sure hot food is hot and cold food is cold. Food that is 40 – 140 degrees Fahrenheit has already begun to grow bacteria and pathogens. Clean (16 points): 1. Make sure to never use the same cooking utensils for food that is cooked and food that is raw. 2. Wash your hands before and after working with different food such as when you are preparing meat Separate (16 points): 1. Separate meat that is raw and meat that is cooked. 2. Keep meats and vegetables separated. Dont just judge food by how it looks, instead use a thermometer to make sure that the food is cooked completely . Keep food at their required temperature so that it doesn’t grow any harmful bacteria. Chill (16 points): 1. Keep an ice pack next to refrigerated food when you pack lunch. 2. Have the refrigerator at 40? F or below and the Freezer at 0? F In your own kitchen, explain 2 food safety practices you feel your family can improve and 2 food safety practices you feel your family does well. (16 points) In my house we always chill left overs and separate raw food from cooked food. Some of the things we can improve in orther to have healthier and safer cooking practices include washing our hands more frequently and using a food thermometer rather them just using our eyes to inspect how cooked it is. In what ways do your school and community practice or promote food safety to contribute to your personal health? (20 points) My school school offers lunch to those students who want it and they practice food safety by always keeping food chilled and warmed at the temperature required. They also wear gloves and hair nets to keep bacteria from the food that is being served.

Book Report Writing Template Essay

This is a guide only. It is not meant to write the report for you. It gives you a format or template for writing your own report. The original draft was developed by a teacher friend of mine to use with her own students. I have made a few additional enhancements which I believe make the model more clear and complete. A note of caution here. Your instructor may have another book report format that he/she prefers. So, make sure they approve of this format before using it. The following book report format template is appropriate for students at the pre-college level who are required to write a report about a book they have read. For the type of book summaries applicable to college and university level (undergraduate and post-graduate), as well as for business and professional situations, you can check out the following book summary sample. 1. Introductory Paragraph The first sentence should state for which instructor and class the book-report is being written. The second sentence should state the title of the book and the author’s name. The third sentence should tell how many pages the book has and the name of the publisher. The fourth sentence can state basic bibliographic information about the book. Bibliographic information means not only the author and title but also what company published the book, what year it was published in and any other relevant information such as the edition and if the book has been translated, simplified or abridged. (see copyright page and the back of the title page. ) The next sentence should state the reason(s) you decided to read this book. Why did you choose this particular book? Typical reasons might be: You like the author. You like this type of book (i. e. mystery, western, adventure or romance, etc. ). Read more:  How many sentences in one paragraph. Someone recommended the book to you. It was on a required reading list. You liked the cover. These reasons do not have to be complex. Most people choose the books they read because they like the author or somebody recommended it to them. If you chose the book because you like the author, then state why you like that author. An optional sentence can be used if the cover (back cover) of the book gives you any additional information then add a sentence with that information. Was the book a best seller? Are there X million copies in print? Did it win any major awards? 2. Main Character(s) Paragraph The first sentence of this paragraph should state who the main character or characters of the book are, and why they are important. Refer to this person or these persons as the Main Character or Main Characters. You will need at least a complex sentence for this, and probably more than one sentence. 3. Other Characters Paragraph You should compose at least one sentence for each of the other prominent or important characters in the book. State the name of each of the other important characters, and the key role that each one plays in the book Most books have five or six prominent characters besides the main character, so simply listing each one and stating their role in the book will give you a good sized paragraph. 4. Plot Summary Paragraph This is perhaps the hardest paragraph to write in five sentences or so. If you have to write a bit more don’t worry. Here are the main points to cover: State the type of book (Mystery, Western, etc. ). What place or country was the book set in? What time period was the book set in? (19th century, the present, ancient Rome, the 23rd century). Other physical locations which are important, like: ships, airplanes, houses, or buildings. Other notable attributes of the book. (Was it violent, scary, fast paced, etc. ). What is the main character trying to do? What is the outcome of the book? etc. Make sure you cover all of the major parts of the plot. You might have to go back through the book, chapter by chapter, and make a few notes. 5. Personal Impressions and Conclusion Paragraph Simply talk about what you liked or did not like about the book. Use this paragraph as your conclusion. It should summarize your overall impressions of the book and bring the report to a close. Start with a sentence that states that you are now writing a conclusion. (For example: â€Å"My final thoughts on ‘A Fine Balance’ are that it is a fascinating book but I am not entirely sure if I completely understood the thematic message of the book. † Restate your reasons why you liked and/or disliked the book using different words. Write two sentences that talk about the books good points and weak points. Write a sentence or two about what you learned from the book. Close with a sentence that states whether you would recommend the book to others. Don’t be afraid to give your own honest impressions of the book. After all, if you’ve read the book thoroughly, you are entitled to your own interpretation of it. Typically, your book report should not exceed two double-spaced pages, and it should be somewhere between 600 and 800 words in length. Research Assistance This site, which claims to be the best single research source online, maintains an inventory of more than 25,000 research reports on thousands of subjects; many of which are book summaries. Most are available for immediate download. If your subject isn’t already in their archives, they will do custom research and writing for you. You can download existing papers and/or order custom research papers 24 Hours a Day!

Divorce Bill Essay

Underpinning this proposal is a commitment to the policy of the State to protect and strengthen marriage and the family as basic social institutions, to value the dignity of every human person, to guarantee full respect for human rights, and to ensure the fundamental equality before the law of women and men. In the Filipino culture, marriage is regarded as a sacred union, and the family founded on marriage is considered as a fount of love, protection and care. Philippine society generally frowns upon and discourages marital break-ups and so provides cultural and legal safeguards to perserve marital relations. Cultural prescriptions and religious norms keep many couples together despite the breakdown of the marriage. But the cultural prescriptions for women and men differ. Women are traditionally regarded as primarily responsible for making the marriage work and are expected to sacrifice everything to preserve the marriage and the solidarity of the family. While absolute fidelity is demanded of wives, men are granted sexual license to have affairs outside marriage. Yet when the marriage fails, the woman is blamed for its failure. Reality tells us that there are many failed, unhappy marriages across all Filipino classes. Many couples especially from the marginalized sectors, who have no access to the courts, simply end up separating without the benefit of legal processes. The sheer number of petitions that have been filed since 1988 for the declaration of the nullity of the marriage under Article 36 of the Family Code (commonly known as â€Å"annulment†) shows that there are just too many couples who are desperate to get out of failed marriages. Even when couples start out well in their marriage, political, economical and social realities take their toll on their relationship. Some are not prepared to handle the intricacies of the married life. For a large number of women, the inequalities and violence in marriage negate its ideals as the embodiment of love, care and safety and erode the bases upon which a marriage is founded. The marital relations facilitate the commission of violence and perpetuate their oppression. Official figures in 2009 showed that nineteen women were victims of marital violence everyday. Among the different forms of violence and abuse against women committed in 2009, wife battery ranked highest at 6,783 or 72% according to the Philippine National Police (PNP). The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) likewise recorded marital violence as highest among different forms of violence against owmen at 1,933. Previous reports of the PNP about three of ten perpetrators of violence against women were husbands of the victims. Husbands accounted for 28 percent of the violence against women crimes. Given these realities, couples must have the option to avail of remedies that will pave the way for the attainment of their full human development and self-fulfillment and the protection of their human rights. Existing laws are not enough to guarantee and protect these rights. To quote the Women’s Legal Bureau, Inc. , a legal resource NGO for women: â€Å"The present laws relating to separation of couples and termination of marriage are inadequate to respond to the myriad causes of failed marriages. Particularly, the remedies of declaration of nullity and annulment do not cover the problems that occur during the existence of marriage. Legal separation, on the other hand, while covering problems during marriage, does not put an end to marriage. † â€Å"Though both divorce and a declaration of nullity of a marriage allow the spouses to remarry, the two remedies differ in concept and basis. A declaration of nullity presupposes that the marriage is valid from the beginning and the court declares its non-existence†¦ Beyond [the] grounds specified [in the law], declaration of nullity is not possible. † â€Å"In annulment, the marriage of the parties is declared defective from the beginning, albeit it is considered valid until annulled. The defect can be used to nullify the marriage within a specified period but the same may be ignored and the marriage becomes perfectly valid after the lapse of that period, or the defect may be cured through some act. The defect relates to the time of the celebration of the marriage and has nothing to do with circumstances occurring after the marriage is celebrated. In annulment, the marriage is legally cancelled, and the man and woman are restored to their single status. † â€Å"Since August 3, 1988, couples have been given a way out of failed marriages through Article 36 of the Family Code†¦Ã‚  The remedy provides under Article 36 is declaration of nullity of the marriage. The article voids a marriage where one party is â€Å"psychologically incapacitated† to comply with the essentials of marital obligations. Consistent with the concept of void marriages (where the remedy is declaration of nullity), the law requires that the incapacity must have existed at the time of the celebration of the marriage†¦ In practice, Article 36 has become a form of divorce, as valid marriages are declared void every day in the guise of â€Å"psychological incapacity. The innumerable Article 36 cases brought to trial courts is an indication of the elasticity of Article 36 to accommodate the needs of many couples desiring to terminate their marriages. It is proof that divorce is needed in the Philippines. Article 36 provides a remedy only for spouses who can prove â€Å"psychological incapacity†. The concept certainly cannot accommodate all cases where divorce would be necessary. What we need is a divorce law that defines clearly and unequivocally the gr ounds and terms for terminating a marriage. That law will put an end to the creative efforts played daily in courtrooms across the country to accommodate a wide range of cases in order to prove â€Å"psychological incapacity. † (Women’s Legal Bureau, Inc. , The Relevance of Divorce in the Philippines, 1998) Thus, the bill seeks to introduce divorce as another option for couples in failed and irreparable marriages. The bill was crafted in consultation with women lawyers and inspired by the studies and inputs of various women’s groups and the experiences of spouses gathered by GABRIELA from its various chapters nationwide. The bill seeks to introduce divorce in Philippine law with a strong sense of confidence that it will be used responsibly by Filipino couples. This confidence stems from the experiences of Filipino families that show that separation is usually the last resort of many Filipino couples whose marriage has failed. Cases of battered women also support this. Battered women invariably seek separation only after many years of tring to make the marriage work. Separation only becomes imperative for them when they realize that it is necessary for their and their children’s survival. Divorce could actually provide protection to battered women and their children from further violence and abuse. With the predominance of the Catholic faith in the Philippines, the fear that divorce will erode personal values on marriage appears unfounded. The experience of Italy, where the Vatican is located, and Spain, two predominantly Catholic countries which practice divorce, supports this. Those countries have a low rate of divorce. Italy registers a 7% rate while Spain registers 15%. The figures reflect the strong influence of religious beliefs and culture on individuals in deciding to terminate marital relations. Historically, divorce had been part of our legal system. In the beginning of the 16th century, before the Spanish colonial rule, absolute divorce was widely practiced among ancestral tribes such as the Tagbanwas of Palawan, the Gadangs of Nueva Vizcaya, the Sagadans and Igorots of the Cordilleras, and the Manobos, B’laans and Moslems of the Visayas and Mindanao islands. Divorce was also available during the American period, starting from 1917 (under Act No. 710 enacted by the Philippine Legislature), and during the Japanese occupation (under Executive Order No. 141) and after, until 1950. It was only on August 30, 1950, when the New Civil Code took effect, that divorce was disallowed under Philippine law. Only legal separation was available. The same rule was adopted by the Family Code of 1988, which replaced the provisions of the New Civil Code on marriage and the family, although the Family Code introduced the concept of â€Å"psychological incapacity† as a basis for declaring the marriage void. In recognition of the history of divorce in the Philippines, the farmers of the 1987 Philippine Constitution left the wisdom of legalizing divorce to the Congress. Thus, the 1987 Constitution does not prohibit the legalization of divorce. This bill is respectful of and sensitive to differing religious beliefs in the Philippines. It recognizes that the plurality of religious beliefs and cultural sensibilities in the Philippines demand that different remedies for failed marriages should be made available. For this reason, the bill retains the existing remedies of legal separation, declaring of nullity of the marriage and annulment and only adds divorce as one more remedy. Couples may choose from these remedies depending on their situation, religious beliefs, cultural sensibilities, needs and emotional state. While divorce under this proposed measure severs the bonds of marriage, divorce as a remedy need not be fo the purpose of re-marriage; it may be resorted to by individuals to achieve peace of mind and facilitate their pursuit of full human development. This bill also seeks to make Philippine law consistent in the way it treats religious beliefs with respect to termination of marriage. Philippine law through the Code of Muslim Personal Laws of the Philippines (Presidential Decree No. 1083 [1977]) allows divorce among Filipino Muslims, in deference to the Islamic faith which recognizes divorce. Non-Muslim Filipinos should have the same option under Philippine law, in accordance with their religious beliefs. The bill proposes five grounds for divorce. All the five grounds are premised on the irreparable breakdown of the marriage and the total non-performance of marital obligations. Thus, the bill provides that a petition for divorce may be filed when the petitioner has been separated de facto (in fact) from his or her spouse for at least five years at the time of the filing of the petition and reconciliation is highly improbable, or when the petitioner has been legally separated from his or her spouse for at least two years at the time of the filing of the petition and reconciliation is highly improbable. Not all circumstances and situations that cause the total breakdown of a marriage could be defined in this proposed measure. Thus, the bill also provides that divorce may be granted when the spouses suffer from irreconcilable differences that have caused the irreparable breakdown of the marriage. Spouses living in a state of irreparable marital conflict or discord should be given the opportunity to present their marital contrarieties in court and have those differences adjudged as constituting a substantial ground to put an end to the marriage. Another ground for divorce included in the bill is when one or both spouses are psychologically incapacitated to comply with the essential marital obligations. This provision will consequently repeal Article 36 of the Family Code. The bill seeks to include â€Å"psychological incapacity† in the grounds for divorce in the belief that the concept is consistent with the termination of marital ties rather than with a void marriage. This bill seeks to eliminate â€Å"condonation of the act† and â€Å"consent to the act† as grounds for denying a petition for legal separation and, by extension, a petition for divorce. Many spouses especially women ignore the offense because of the social and economic conditions they are in. Many women in the marginalized sectors tend to condone the offense because they are economically dependent on their spouses or because of the stigma attached to failed marriages. Some women who are perceived to be condoning the acts of their husbands actually suffer from the cycle of spousal abuse such that they have become so disempowered to address their situation.