How injustice impacted my life

    I saw a movie called "The Bang Bang Club" a few months ago. It is about four war photographers that, accidentally, created a club in the 90's that covered the Apartheid in South Africa. Because of personal problems, one of them, Kevin Carter, flew to Sudan to cover the famine in 1994. Watching the movie, I remembered seeing the picture before. It is one of the earliest memories that I have of injustice in this world and how impacted in my life.

    Africa is the richest continent in the world but also the poorest. The richest because of its natural resources. They have diamonds, oil, gold, uranium, salt, among others. All of them are highly priced in the international market. Then, why is it the poorest? According to Charles Mutasa, executive director of the African Forum and Network on Debt and Development (AFRODAD), "The ecological debt caused by natural resource exploitation plays a crucial role in this scenario. It keeps the continent down, prevents the region from breaking out of the circle of poverty, and triggers the need for more aid."

     I was like 15 years old when I decided to learn more about the picture. I discovered that the photographer didn't do anything to help the child in that silent cry of help. I talked to my father about this and told me that we don't need to go that far to see that kind of injustice. You can see it everyday in our country. The man in a wheelchair near a traffic light, the boy that cleans the windshield instead of being at school, a mother that doesn't have money to buy her son's medicine.

     Because of that picture, I started to acknowledge that we can do more. Not only feed the circle of poverty by giving away money but to make a positive impact. When I was in high school, I taught English to orphan children for a year. I felt great because I know that they were able to have fun and acquire knowledge. Unfortunately, I didn't keep in touch with the girls but I hope that they have used that knowledge in a positive way.

Here is the link from the story behind the photo: http://rarehistoricalphotos.com/vulture-little-girl/

Sons of Anarchy.

Recently, I started watching Sons of Anarchy. It is a drama-action series from FX Network that finished last year after seven years. From the beginning, it caught my attention because of the main character, Jax Teller. He belongs to this Motorcycle Club called SAMCRO (Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club Redwood Original) and they contraband guns from Ireland and, later in the show, drugs from a Mexican cartel. 

His stepfather, Clay Morrow is the president of the club and he is in desperate need of money and power so he can retire. Jax is vice president on the first four seasons and he is trying to turn the club business around to more legal activities, for example, to invest in the adult industry. Jax's mother, Gemma, married Clay after Jax's father past away in a motorcycle accident. She is some sort of "the" mother figure of the club and the plot evolves around these three characters. 

The show is filled with drama, action and secrets. Every season the club, but specially Jax, has a new enemy, whether physical threats (federal agents, cartels, gangs) or not (secrets). Season three, is for me, the best season yet. Jax has to travel to Ireland because an IRA (Irish Republican Army) member kidnapped his six-month-old son in retaliation of this member's murdered son.  

It is this good guy versus bad gay issue that is interesting because here is a beloved character that murders bad guys (this is, of course, debatable) or lie to police officers so they don't get caught in illegal activities. As in life, I truly believe that nobody is entirely good or bad and Jax's intentions are good for his family but he always does reprehensible actions (such as killing, intimidation among others). This is a fine line that gets you thinking, the club is their life and their family, so if you were in that position what would you do?