The Legend that is Nelson Mandela

WRITTEN BY: SHARANYA RAMESH

How do you even begin to describe a personality like Nelson Mandela? Where would you start? In an attempt to convert my awe of a man that almost single handedly led a nation to it’s stature, I shall write my next blog on Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, an activist, a Nobel peace prize winner, president and humanitarian.

Nelson Mandela was born in Transkei, South Africa on July 18, 1918. His father was Chief Henry Mandela of the Tembu Tribe. Mandela himself was educated at University College of Fort Hare and the University of Witwatersrand and qualified in law in 1942. He joined the African National Congress in 1944 and was engaged in resistance against the ruling National Party's apartheid policies after 1948. He went on trial for treason in 1956-1961 and was acquitted in 1961. After joining to ANC (African National Congress), he was later sentenced to life imprisonment after being accused of sabotage of various government activities. He then spent a gruelling 27 years in prison and was released in 1990 after which he led his party to start multi racial democracy talks that then led to him being elected president.

After becoming president, Mandela bought about many changes which included the introduction of free health care for all children under the age of six , launched the development and reconstruction programme, passed various acts such as the Skills Development Act, The Labour Relations act and TBCE act. He also helped bring access to water for more than 3 million people and connected 2 million people to the electricity grid.

Mandela was the oldest elected president of South Africa when he took office at 75. After he retired, he did not rest on his laurels. He went on to work with many social and human right activists. He is also a vocal supporter of the SOS children’s campaign.

In an address at the Olympics, Mandela said one of the most inspiring things I have ever heard. He said, “For seventeen days, they are roommates. For seventeen days, they are soul mates. And for twenty-two seconds, they are competitors. Seventeen days as equals. Twenty-two seconds as adversaries. What a wonderful world that would be. That's the hope I see in the Olympic Games.”

Nelson Mandela is more than just a leader, a human rights activist and a fighter for freedom. To me, he is a role model. One cannot speak about South Africa without praising the legend that is Nelson Mandela.

“Fitting communism onto Poland is like putting a saddle on a cow.”

As hard as he tried to impose communism on Poland post World War II, this famous comment made by Joseph Stalin in 1944 seemed to be almost prophetic when Poland became the first Eastern European state to break free of communism in 1989. As Poland elected the first non-communist Prime Minister in Eastern Europe since the Second World War, it led the collapse of communism and the Soviet Bloc as well as ushering in the end of the Cold War. However, after surviving 45 years of turbulent communist rule, this change was a long time coming.

The Yalta Conference, held in February 1945 between the Big Three, (Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin) decided the fate of several war-affected countries, including Poland. Due to the dominant position of the Soviet Union’s Red Army in Poland at the time, Poland was formally decreed to be under Soviet control. Under Stalin’s rule, almost all Polish war-time leaders were either imprisoned, killed or driven out of the country. While general elections were officially held, these were later proven to be manipulated, and resulted in the communists coming to power. Various communist parties were consolidated with the formation of the Polish United Workers’ Party (PZPR) which continued to rule the country till 1989.

In their bid to communize Poland, the Soviet governments nationalized all commercial and industrial enterprises which employed more than 50 workers. Heavy industry was prioritized in the thrust towards industrialization. The government attempted to enforce collective agriculture, however this was eventually abandoned. These and several other policies of the Communist government were met with resistance in the form of frequent protests throughout the tenure of communist rule. In 1956, a large-scale industrial strike broke out at Poznań, with workers demanding “bread and freedom”. March 1968 saw mass protests by student and the intelligentsia at Warsaw, Kraków, Lublin, Gdańsk and other cities. Fluctuating prices and frequent price hikes resulted in the strikes and protests in 1970 and ’76. The communist government used unrestrained force to suppress these protests. However, they could not change the fact that the social and economic conditions of Poland were collapsing dramatically and political ferment was brewing as support for the opposition grew.

In 1980, when the government announced further hikes in food prices, it triggered off widespread strikes and riots all over the country. The 1980 protests were more widespread and more organized that the protests that had taken place before. Although they started with demands of raising wages, the strikes soon incorporated larger economic and political aspects. By this time, the communist government was no longer in a strong enough position to suppress the protests by force, and eventually, had to concede to several of the strikers’ demands. One of the pivotal outcomes of the 1980 strikes was that the workers obtained the right to form independent trade unions, and to strike. This resulted in the convention of workers from across Poland and the formation of Solidarność or ‘Solidarity’, a nation-wide independent and self-governing trade union, which eventually grew to be the representative body of the entire Polish population with 10 million members, or 60 percent of the then Polish workforce.

The last decade of communist rule in Poland was a period of great turmoil, with the clash between the demand for significant economic reforms and the attempt to maintain communist control. The formation of Solidarity gave the Polish people a glimpse into democracy that had so far been doggedly suppressed by the communist government. Debates on reform policies took place in public forums, the independent press flourished. With growing public dialogue, the pressure on the government to implement social and economic reforms intensified, resulting in large scale social tension. In order to suppress this growing dissent, martial law was imposed on Poland in December 1981. Poland was under martial law for a period of close to two years, during which the government first suspended and eventually dissolved Solidarity. Military rule was finally lifted in July 1983, however, it wasn’t until the election of Gorbachev in the Soviet Union in 1985 that the democratization of Poland became a possibility.

In 1989, the government, the opposition and the Polish Church convened for the Round Table Talks, through which Solidarity was re-established and the opposition was allowed to stand for parliamentary elections. The elections that followed were not entirely free, as the communists had reserved 65 percent of the seats in the lower house of Parliament for themselves. Despite this however, Solidarity won an overwhelming majority in the Upper House in the elections, and subsequently put up a non-communist representative, Tadeusz Mazowiecki, as Prime Minister, even as the Presidency was held by the former Prime Minister of the communist party, Wojciech Jaruzelski. Eventhough they weren’t completely free, it was these elections that eventually led the way to a Poland that was free of Soviet-communist control, as the PZPR, losing members and confidence, dissolved itself in 1990. In November 1990, the first fully free elections were held for the post of President, which were won by the Solidarity leader Lech Wałęsa.

After 45 years of the former Soviet Union trying to saddle a cow, Poland ultimately emerged as a Parliamentary Representative Democratic Republic.

Iran: The Status of Women

Before 1979, Iranian women were no different from their European counterparts at least in terms of lifestyle. They went dancing, attended parties, wore ‘western’ outfits and were as 'modern' as they come. But all this changed in 1979, with the establishment of the Islamic Republic, women who were doctors, judges and diplomats etc. found themselves without a job as they were considered too ‘emotional’. There were twenty-two women in Parliament before 1979, now reduced to just a few members.  

In the newly formed Islamic Republic, women were restricted to their homes, barred from practising their profession and were told to adhere to a strict dress code when out in public.

The veil has often been seen as the symbol of suppression in Islamic countries, Turkey is considered quite modern as it has banned the veil and hejab in public places, and likewise Saudi Arabia and Iran are considered ‘conservative’ as they have laws that make the Chadors and Hejab compulsory.  But it’s important to note that wearing of the veil was not based on interpretation of religion but social class. Before the coming of Islam in the seventh century, it was only the upper-class women in Byzantine Empire that wore the veil as a mark of their high status. Even today, the veil is wore differently in different cultures, some cover the whole face, some cover the face partly or some not at all. The Koran very clearly lays out that men and women are considered equal in the eyes of God. The Prophet himself was married to a trader, a warrior, a leatherworker and an imam. He made female infanticide which was quite common at the time unlawful, he made the education of girls a sacred duty and gave them the right to own and inherit property. A religion that called for equality has been twisted and is now used as the reason to establish inequality.

The women’s rights movement in Iran began at the turn of the 20^th century. Reza Shah Pahlavi for all his despotism was a man that pushed - albeit with force - for modernism in Iran.  Under his rule (1925 onwards) Women’s movement was given a new lease of life, he started many State run secondary schools and vocational schools for girls, he also gave access to Women to attend Tehran University.  In 1936, he passed a policy called kashf-i-hejab which required women to unveil, women with veils were not allowed on buses or baths, shops were not allowed to sell veils to women and women found wearing veils were beaten up.

This ‘openness’ continued into the rule of his successor, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, under his rule the Parliament passed the Family Protection Law (FPL) in 1967. The law gave women decent rights in marriage, divorce and child custody. Amendments were made to FPL in 1975 allowing women to become judges and represent clients in court.

But soon enough the things that made them modern, became symbols of ‘western’ powers and imperialist culture, along with being representative of the repressive regime of the Shah and in a way this belief served as a platform for the comeback of the Veil and Chadors.

And so when the clerics came to power, they rolled back all the progress that was made in Iran towards growing freedom for women. On 26^th February, 1979, Ayatollah Khomeini suspended the FPL calling it ‘un-islamic’, he also reverted back the marriageable age for women to nine (it had become 18 under FPL). Women could also no longer initiate divorce proceedings, they were not allowed to serve in the army, and women could work outside their homes but had to wear the hejab to work. Many Iranians responded at the time with protests and sit-ins, but they were often attacked and beaten by conservative men and women. By 1983, the Majlis (Iranian Parliament) passed a law that any women caught without a hejab would be charged on a criminal offence and punished with seventy-four lashes.

Under Mohammad Khatami, the President of Iran from 1997 to 2005, things started to take a turn for the better, he supported many women rights and NGOs, many new laws were implemented like relaxation in hejab rules, and marriage age for girls was raised from nine to fifteen although later it was again reduced to thirteen.  The limitations of the President to do anything came from branches of the regime that was still dominated by radical conservatives; it’s no secret that the president is more or less a figurehead, as the real power lies with the supreme leader.

But the little progress that was made under Khatami met a dead end called Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who became the President of Iran in 2005, he restricted women’s freedom pertaining to employment, increased the strictness relating to dress code and most importantly his government introduced the Family Protection Act, which reduced the rights that women had fought for over the years under family law, the women’s rights movement gave it the name of anti-family law as under the law, polygamy and temporary marriages became easier for men, getting a divorce became a process much worse than getting a passport in India and it also, criminalized the marriage of non-Iranian to an Iranian woman without proper authorization. Although, after many requests and protests by women’s rights activists, the parliament committee did put on hold some controversial parts of the bill.

The regime during this time also shut down many women’s magazines and websites like, Zanestan and in 2008, it shut down what was considered the most important women’s magazines for sixteen years – Zanan.

There has been progress; I can call it progress when compared to Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Iraq. But nevertheless, women in comparison to men are treated as second class citizens by the constitution and the government. Women have to wear the hejab in public, regardless of any religion. The men may have up to four permanent wives and infinite temporary wives. In the case of divorce, mothers have custody of their children only till they are the age of seven after which the father gets automatic custody. Women who get convicted of adultery are stoned to death, whereas men, enjoy complete immunity from punishment and if they murder their adulterous wives and their lovers even then they are liable to walk free.

Defiance is the only thing that separates the Iranian women from women in many Islamic countries in the region that are what we can call ‘conservative’. They find creative ways of pushing back the boundaries of dress code, if they wear headscarves, they are often transparent, and since only eyes are often visible, it will be hard to find anyone in the world having as beautiful eye makeup than Iranian women. They drive cars, make documentaries, and run their own businesses. Today, women in Iran make up 70% of University intake, although they often do not translate into jobs as they make up only 25% of the work force, but even still it’s an improvement to what their situation was in the early years of the Islamic Republic.

Bloggers, Beware In Bahrain

On the anniversary of protests in Bahrain on 14^th February, security forces fired tear gas and threw grenades at protestors trying to retake at the epicenter, the Pearl Square, and arrested dozens of people.

President of the Bahrain Centre of Human Rights, Nabeel Rajab, who led a demonstration towards the Square was among those attacked and also briefly detained. After his release several hours later, he updated his Twitter feed with just one word: “Resistance.”

On the morning of 15^th February, his tweet said that he had been accused by the prosecutor for encouraging people to protest and taking part in an unauthorized gathering.

Bahrain’s Internet Freedom Status: 2010

Internet Freedom Status: Not Free

Population:1.3 million

Internet Penetration: 54%

Substantial Political Censorship: Yes

Bloggers Arrested: Yes

Press Freedom status: Not free

Bahrain is the second most connected country in the Arab world with one of the highest internet penetration rates. This tiny island got its internet connection in the year 1995.  Just two years later, in 1997, an internet user was arrested for the first time, for sending information to an opposition group outside the country.

In 2002, the Ministry of Informaton (MOI) made its first official attempt to block websites comprising content that was critical of the government. Today, over a 1000 websites are blocked in Bahrain.

The county also has one of the highest mobile phone penetration rates in the region with 118 mobile phone subscriptions per 100 inhabitants. I-Phones, though available, are still very expensive. Use of Blackberry services is on the rise, however the authorities in April 2010 banned users from sending news bulletins through text messages, and failing to comply with the rule, individuals and newspapers would threatened with legal action.

Access to the video sharing, social networking and microblogging sites like YouTube, Facebook  and  Twitter is available, although individual pages on each of these platforms are often blocked.

The Arabic regional portal and blog hosting service Al-Bawaba has been blocked since 2006, and the Bahraini blog aggregator Bahrainblogs.org that served as a means for Bahraini bloggers to interconnect was blocked in 2009.

Online media is Bahrain is governed by the Press and Publication Law of 2002 which lays down prison sentences of up to five years for publishing material that is offensive to Islam or the King, or that is perceived as threatening the State security or monarchy.

Transgressors should be hanged, said one of the members of the Parliament referring to people breaking the law of sending news through Blackberry services.

The 1000 websites that have been blocked are shut down because they were critical of the Bahraini government, Parliament and the ruling family. In practice, many websites run by the national or international non-governmental  (NGOs) organisations are inaccessible. The Arab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) and the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) have been blocked.

The MOI has also issued orders to ban material about certain cases that are concerned with members of the royal family, such as the alleged anti-Shiite conspiracy and a case involving alleged corruption by a government minister.

This fact is a little surprising. Google Earth was briefly rendered inaccessible so that Bahraini citizens could not scan through the estates of the royal family. It was unblocked after intense public and media pressure.

Bahrain’s constitution does recognize the freedom of expression, however, like every coin has two sides, the law is accompanied by a phrase, “under the rules and conditions laid down by law,” which essentially negates all the freedom granted.

SINGING FOR PEACE: THE NATIONAL YOUTH ORCHESTRA

If you had to use one word to describe Iraq, what would you say? Oil, Saddam Hussein, American Soldiers, Unsafe, Must visit? These would just be some of the apparent words that would feature in ones thinking process. However would one think of an orchestra? An orchestra which was founded by a 17yr old Iraqi girl does not seem to fit into the frame when one defines ‘Iraq.’

In 2008, Zuhal Sultan, an Iraqi student from Baghdad, decided to begin a National Youth Orchestra, which brought about 33 young musicians from all over the war-torn country to create a symphony. In the chaos that descended on her native Baghdad, as the war began in 2003, Zuhal experienced little in the way of a normal childhood. She was a scholarship student at the once prestigious Baghdad Music and Ballet School, which was on the brink of collapsing. The reputation and existence of the school was rapidly declining as most of the teachers fled the country in fear of being killed. Being seen with an instrument on the roads of Baghdad was seen as a sign of Western Culture and could prove dangerous for one’s survival. In the absence of a strong staff, it was Zuhal and her classmates who managed to keep the school alive.

It was this inability to learn peacefully, that drove her into beginning the National Youth Orchestra. It was through the social networking site Twitter, through which Zuhal was able to contact the Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq at that time, Barham Salih. After a meeting arrangement was made, Zuhal managed to convince him about the need of expressing thoughts of peace through music, which made him offer her a sum of US & 50,000 as seed money for the orchestra.

The Musicians for Harmony Foundation, launched by Allegra Klein shortly after September 11^th 2001, also played an important role in financing the National Youth Orchestra. Zuhal Sultan had helped them start their Mentorship program and in-turn they helped her spread awareness and finance the Youth Orchestra.

Then came the challenge of finding an instructor who was experienced as well as willing to teach students in Iraq. After advertising in newspapers, and approaching various councils, the British Council managed to draw the attention of Paul MacAlindin, a Scottish conductor living in Cologne, Germany. As he read the headlines in a newspaper which said 'Teenagers from Iraq are looking for a conductor for their orchestra,' he claimed that he immediately knew he would be the man for the job. In 2009, he decided to run a test phase of the project, and together he and Zuhal through means of You tube, and travelling Iraq, created a multi-cultural and multi-religious orchestra comprising of Kurds, Arabs, Christians, and Muslims. The Kurdish people had faced heavy repression under Saddam Hussein's regime, while tensions between the various ethnic and religious groups within Iraq had grown since the start of the war in 2003. The bringing in of the orchestra made the concept of ‘peace and survival as a team’ more plausible.

Most of the students were self taught and had gained their skills by way of reading websites and learning to play online. Paul MacAldin stated that the youthful pleasure of making music was missing in the students due to the harsh conditions they were living in. His aim was to ensure that the workshops would prove music could help the young players overcome the traumas of the war while also easing some of the tensions amongst the various ethnic groups in the orchestra.

Zohal’s dream finally turned into reality on 2^nd August 2009 when the ‘test’ summer program finally became an official one. Two weeks of intensive rehearsals, workshops and classes culminated in a public concert on 16^th August, held in Northern Iraq. As MacAldin would conduct, he said that he relied on two translators at his side who would repeat his words in Kurdish and Arabic.

Apart from the two-week orchestral course, The National Youth orchestra also began to offer courses in conducting, chamber music, and Master classes for woodwinds and string players. Several willing coaches were brought in from USA and UK. The August debut of the orchestra included European and Iraqi orchestral works such as: Beethoven- Prometheus Overture, Ali Khassaf- Iraqi Melodies, Dr.M.Zaza Chakar- Kurdish Dances and Haydn- Symphony No.99.

Taking into account the political and security situation, the support of the Kurdish Government and the British Council was imperative for the success of the program. Following the overwhelming success and given the high level of motivation amongst the students, a second working session was organized for the summer of 2010 in Erbil, Northern Iraq. This attracted widespread national and international interest.

In 2011, the orchestra got the opportunity to play abroad at the Beethovenfest in Bonn. This took place due to the fact that the festival had decided to sponsor an ensemble from a crisis region. The crucial factor in choosing the National Youth Orchestra of Iraq to play was due to the private, and dedicated commitment of the teachers, organizers, and students along with the favorable social and political outlook for the country. In honor of the trip, two works were commissioned for the group, one by an Iraqi Arab composer and another by an Iraqi Kurd.

This year, the group will be performing in the Edinburgh Festival. MacAlindin stated that it was still too dangerous for them to play in Baghdad, but he hoped for a concert in the Iraqi capital within a year or two.

Another major accomplishment achieved by the Youth Orchestra has been its ‘Distance Learning Program.’ The program which is an outgrowth of the Mentorship Program started by Musicians for Harmony, has enabled students to pair with music tutors in the U.S. and Europe. The visionary Mentorship Program, recently referenced in The Wall Street Journal, is seen as a landmark initiative, marking the first time that American and British musicians are teaching Iraqi students via webcam/ Skype.

The Youth Orchestra of Iraq has enabled there to exist a dialogue established through music, creating a strong and identifiable bond as ‘Iraqi Musicians,’ and not people from different parts of a war-torn country. Creating a strong base for music to be learnt and felt in a suppressed region is the long term goal of the Orchestra. Ending with a quote said by conductor MacAldin, seems to be the apt way to end an un-ending success story-

“'A safe space to make music together – that’s all we want. Playing together, we can concentrate on listening and hence, enjoy silence. Learning to conduct, we can learn to lead. It is through this that we will be able to share our music with everyone.”

ZAHRA AMIRUDDIN-3742

Christmas in England

Christmas in England is one of the major festivals in England among all the local people. Christmas in England began in AD 596, when St Augustine landed on her shores with monks who wanted to bring Christianity to the Anglo Saxons.

It is when the Christians all over the world celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Christmas in England hold a lot of significance among the Christian community in England. The word Christmas is derived from the English word Christ Masses which means Christ’s Mass. Christmas in England has a long historical background. It has been celebrated in England for hundreds of years. It is in fact Britain’s most popular festival.

One of England's customs is mumming. In the middle Ages, people called mummers put on masks and acted out Christmas plays. These plays are still performed in towns and villages. The English gift giver is called Father Christmas. He wears a long red or green robe, and leaves presents in stockings on Christmas Eve. However, the gifts are not usually opened until the following afternoon. In England the day after Christmas is called Boxing Day because boys used to go round collecting money in clay boxes. When the boxes were full, they broke them open. In England the traditional Christmas dinner is roast turkey with vegetables and sauces. For dessert it is rich, fruity Christmas pudding with brandy sauce. Mince pies, pastry cases filled with a mixture of chopped dried fruit.
It is cold, wet, and foggy in England at Christmastime. Families welcome the warmth and cheer of a Yule log blazing on the hearth. They decorate their homes with holly, ivy, and other evergreens and hang a mistletoe "kissing bough." Throughout the holidays, carols go from house to house at twilight ringing hand bells and singing Christmas songs. "The Holly and the Ivy" and "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" are their favourite carols. People give the carols treats, such as little pies filled with nuts and dried fruits.

MISTLETOE, considered sacred by the British Druids, was believed to have many miraculous powers. Among the Romans, it was symbol of peace, and, it was said that when enemies met under it, they discarded their arms and declared a truce. From this comes our custom of kissing under the mistletoe. England was the first country to use it during the Christmas season.

PRAJAKTA KAVDE

3749

The British working class

Britain was once a class-ridden society. Today, multiculturalism and a changing economy are gradually eroding the British class system, but some features of the system still remain. The social structure of the United Kingdom has historically been highly influenced by the concept of social class, with the concept still affecting British society in the early-21st century. British society has experienced significant change since the Second World War, including an expansion of higher education and home-ownership, a shift towards a services dominated economy, mass immigration, a changing role for women and a more individualistic culture, and these changes have had a considerable impact on the social landscape. Traditionally, these people would work in blue collar jobs. They would typically have left school as soon as legally permissible and not have been able to take part in higher education. Many would go on to work semi-skilled and unskilled jobs on the assembly lines and machine shops of Britain's major car factories, steel mills, foundries and textile mills in the highly industrialised cities in the West Midlands and North of England. Since the mid-1970s de-industrialisation has shattered many of these communities, resulting in a complete deterioration in quality of life and a reversal in rising living standards for the industrial working class. Many either dropped in status to the working poor or fell into permanent reliance on welfare dependence. Some dropped out altogether and joined the black market economy, while a limited few did manage to climb up to the lower middle class. There have been enormous changes in the lives of people in the last 50 years or so in Britain, especially when one considers the work patterns. These have shifted away from one solid and dependable factory or unskilled labouring job work in the professions.

Although some people in the UK still refer to them as working class, lower-middle or upper-middle there are those who think of themselves as the “elite”, to the majority of the British the meanings don’t seem to matter much these days. Comparing British life of the 50s with today is a very instructive exercise in which the historical imagination can be unleashed and given a free reign.

PRAJAKTA KAVDE

3749

crimes against women in Afghanistan

Afghanistan and its laws have been known for suppression of women. Violence against women is not only common in this nation, India and other countries are also known for it. In most countries, women are the weaker sex and nations that follow the patriarchal society norms lead to oppression of women to an extent of torture. Recently, the country was in news due to the Sahar Gul case. The country sent shockwaves across the world with this news.

Sahar Gul, a 15 year old married girl was rescued from her in-laws house in the northern Bhagian province in December 2011. The girl was in a critical condition for over a month. Later when she was interviewed, she said that her husband and his family tortured her as she refused to work as a prostitute. Her in-laws gave her electric shocks and more over pulled out her hair and ripped off her fingernails. She was brutally beaten with cable wires and was barely given food and water. What was more shocking was that the teenager was stubbed all over her body with cigarettes and chunks of her flesh were cut out with pliers. This young girl suffering both physically and mentally has become a bruised face of women’s rights in Afghanistan.

One of the other shocking incidents which come under crimes against women in Afghanistan is of Gulnaz. She filed a case against a man who raped her and was imprisoned for adultery. She was later forced to marry the man who raped her so that the society doesn’t look down upon her family.

Instances of violence against women still persist till date and the women’s committee in Afghanistan is now helping women in such conditions to fight for justice denied to them.

Kruger National Park - The BOSS of all National parks.

WRITTEN BY: SHARANYA RAMESH

When one thinks of South Africa, one of the first things that pops into their mind is the Kruger national park. In 1895, Jakob Louis van Wyk introduced in the area of the old South African Republic, a motion to create the game reserve which would become the Kruger National Park. Lying in the heart of the Lowveld is a wildlife sanctuary like no other, its atmosphere so unique that it allows those who enter its vastness to immerse themselves in the unpredictability and endless wilderness that is the true quality of Africa. To give you an idea of how large this vast national park is, think of it like this – The Kruger National park is larger than Israel. That’s how large this national park is.

The Kruger National Park lies across the provinces of Mpumalanga and Limpopo in the north of South Africa, just south of Zimbabwe and west of Mozambique. Very broadly speaking, the Kruger National Park is flat with a few gentle hills, and people tend to classify the area of the Kruger as unvaried and dry, which is rather like saying South Africa is sunny - it conceals an amazingly rich diversity. The Kruger National Park is divided into no fewer than six ecosystems - baobab sandveld, Lebombo knobthorn-marula bushveld, mixed acacia thicket, woodland on granite, and riverine forest. The entire park can be divided into 4 regions, northern, eastern, western and southern.

North of the Orange River is a semi-arid region covering 7 000 square kilometres that sees very little rain. Vegetation here changes very little from the unvarying shrub mopane, which thrives in hot, low-lying valleys. This is the northern region. The southern region encompasses of the Crocodile River in the south and the Sabie River in the north. The southern region is also host to the jagged ridge of the Lebombo Mountains along the border with Mozambique, and the highest point in the park, Khandzalive, in the southwestern corner - almost in counterpoint to Pretoriuskop that lies in the west of the southern region of the Kruger National Park.

This is the land of baobabs, fever trees, knob thorns, marula and mopane trees underneath which lurk the Big Five, the Little Five (buffalo weaver, elephant shrew, leopard tortoise, ant lion and rhino beetle), the birding Big Six (ground hornbill, kori bustard, lappet-faced vulture, pel’s fishing owl and saddle-bill stork) and more species of mammals than any other African Game Reserve and any other place in the world.

The Kruger National park is undeniably one of the most talked about national parks in the world and even through just pictures, one can see how absolutely breath taking it is. A visit to the Kruger National Park, is something this student is hoping will happen very soon!

ECONOMIC FRAMEWORK IN SPAIN

Spain is described as a mixed capitalist economy and is the fourth leading economy in Europe. Due to this, its role in global economics affects not only its own population but has major impacts on trade and stock amongst other nations and worldwide. According to the World Bank, Spain is the 8th most powerful economy in the world and has a GDP per capita of $25,000, approximately 80% that of Europe's three foremost nations. Madrid is the capital of Spain. Barcelona is the largest commercial centre and tourist destination. Spain has been progressing economically since the Spanish Civil War in 1939 when its economy was devastated. Today, tourism, industry and agriculture play a major role in the country’s economy. Spain has seen the fastest economic development in Western Europe since the 1960’s. Tourism has played a major role since the 1960’s and in the last 40 years, tourism has been the fastest growing economic sector of the country’s GDP, helping to accelerate growth overall. Millions of visitors flock to Spain and contribute almost $50 billion USD to Spain’s economy each year.

In the late 1970s, a series of serious economic problems affected the press: paper prices, heavy losses in advertising, and circulation revenue. All of the press suffered the consequences of this economic crisis.

 During the twentieth century, Spain changed from an agricultural to manufacturing and to a services oriented economy. In 2002, the Spanish economy is based on the services sector, which accounts for 60 percent of the country's wealth. In 1996, the GDP per capita was estimated to be around $13,660. Much of the services sector is related to the importance of tourism, the most important part of the economy. The industrial sector is motor manufacture.

Rapid change and transition have in the twentieth century characterized the modern economy of Spain. During the last years of the Franco government, there was uneven expansion, followed by a period of reform and restructuring. After the 1980s, and well into the 1990s, Spain struggled to modernize its industries. Among the most significant problems are those of energy, inflation, and growing unemployment. Not surprisingly, Spain's international trade experienced important growth after the country joined the European Union (EU) Trade. As of 2002, the EU accounts for around 70 percent of international trade.

Without a doubt, one of Spain's most serious economic problems is chronic unemployment. In 1996, Spain's rate of unemployment was 22 percent, one of the worse in the EU. The number unemployed reached over three million in the 1990s. Nonetheless, a large sector of the Spanish population enjoys a standard of living that is comparable to that of other developed European economies, and in many ways, higher. It is certain that the standard of living for most Spaniards has improved in the past 30 years. Using all traditional measures such as life expectancy, literacy, educational enrollments as well as per capital income, Spain enjoys a relatively high standard of living. Salaries and wages in Spain have improved with the economy. With a GNP per capita of $14,070; thus, Spain occupies the twelfth position in the EU. Geography is also an indicator of income. The wealthiest region per capita GDP is the Balearic Island. Next come the areas of Madrid and Catalonia. The poorest regions are Extremadera and Andalusia. According to Schulte, reporters in Spain earn around $1,000 per month, while salaries for experienced newsmen would range up to $2,000 in cities like Madrid and Barcelona.

Spain's national debt is estimated at around 68 percent of its GDP. Although this is a high rate, the government has been somewhat successful in decreasing this percentage in the past years. Privatization of different companies, which proved to be controversial as reported in the press, was helpful in reducing the debt. Spain’s growing economic crisis shows Eurozone can’t escape debt trap and that its future is unpredictable.

MEDIA IN SPAIN

The press of Spain like its contemporary culture and politics, is coming out of a period of transition. Salient characteristics of this press are low circulation and equally low per capita readership, in comparison to presses in other modern European countries. During the twentieth century the press became decentralized, and newspapers were established that focus more on the concerns of Spain's regions and autonomous communities often publishing in regional languages. Newspapers have evolved from traditional print media to electronic versions published on the Internet. Another significant feature is the fact that most Spaniards rely on television rather than newspapers as their primary source of news.

While the tradition of the press in Spain truly dates back to the eighteenth century, its roots are to be found in the seventeenth century. The first periodical publications in Spain belong to the so-called gazette tradition. This political and military news source appeared annually until in 1667 it became a weekly. Later it was published biweekly and in 1808 it became a daily. Newspapers in Spain continued to proliferate in the nineteenth century. Readers were attracted by general and political news as well as by articles by well-known writers. A whole literary movement, known as Costumbrismo , based on character sketches and articles on Spanish customs and manners, arose out of the press of Spain during the nineteenth century. By 1878, there were already some 380 newspapers in Spain. By 1882, this number had grown to 917. In 1920 there were more than two thousand. With respect to dailies, in 1900 there were around 300 papers. However, this number dropped to 290 in 1920. In the nineteenth century, Spain's newspapers faced difficulties. Spain's transportation system and railway network were unreliable. Coupled with its rough terrain, the underdeveloped transportation system limited the distribution of the press. Also, the literacy rate was low, about 25 percent of a population of 16 million. Perhaps the most important obstacle was the issue of freedom of the press. In Spain, full freedom of the press was not achieved until the revolution of 1868 and the First Republic (1871).Newspapers became closely affiliated with specific political groups and also linked to particular business interests. During the later part of the century, the press became a for-profit enterprise.

Three important political events helped shape the press of twentieth century Spain: the rise of the Second Republic; the Spanish Civil War and subsequent triumph of General Francisco Franco; and the death of Franco and the transition to democracy.

The press in Spain is divided into national and regional newspapers. There are three important newspapers: El País , El Mundo and ABC . Most newspapers and a lot of the electronic media are owned by the major media groups: PRISA, Grupo Correo Prensa Española, UNEDISA, and Grupo Godó. Newspapers, which concentrate on economic and business content, have had a great success in the 1980s and 1990s.

Spanish newspapers register a marked increase in circulation on weekends, especially on Sundays. This increase in readership is due to the great interest in Sunday supplements.

Newspapers as well as other periodical press form part of what has been called "kiosk literature" in Spain. This literature dates back to the nineteenth century and is related to the Spanish tradition of buying, selling, and reading. This type of literature usually refers to both serious and popular literature that is sold in kiosks. It is a literature of mass appeal which includes serious newspapers, sports press, economic, and travel magazines as well as what is referred to in Spain as "prensa del corazón" (Press Of Heart).

The Spanish government has also controlled the import and distribution of newsprint. Of the more than 200 metric tons consumed, more than half is produced in Spain. Spanish journalists are organized into a national group of Associations of the Press. There is a National Federation of Associations of the Press, as well as regional and local Associations of the Press.

The most important press legislation in Spain in the twentieth century began with the Law of 1938, which Franco decreed during the Spanish Civil War. This law put the press under the direct control of his military forces. The next important piece of press legislation was the 1966 Ley Fraga (Fraga Law) after its principal author, Manuel Fraga Iribarne. This law constituted a form of controlled liberalization with respect to censorship and freedom of the press. While it relaxed some of the repressive aspects of earlier legislation, it still maintained significant aspects of the prior censorship. Because of this law many journalists and some newspapers suffered sanctions, especially fines, suspensions of publications, and closures.

The most important political pressure groups in Spain include business and land owning interests. Agencia (EFE) is the oldest and most important of the Spanish media resources. Founded by the Franco government in 1938, it was controlled the flow of news, including news from foreign agencies. After the transition to democracy, this agency remained closely associated with the government. It operates as the official news agency of the state and is one of the largest news agencies in the Spanish-speaking world.

RADIO:

Radio has had a profound impact on Spanish media. During and after the Civil War, radio was used primarily as an instrument of government propaganda. Unlike the Spanish print media, radio did not experience a process of liberalization, during which restrictions were eased. The most important radio networks in Spain are RNE, Cadena de Ondas Populares (COPE), Sociedad Española de Radio Difusión (SER) and Onda Cero. SER is the most popular of all the radio networks. It commands a high audience (9.6 million) and is known for its music (rock and popular) and its news programs. The audience for radio news in Spain is greater than that of print media, but smaller than that of television. As in the case of print media and television, radio has figured prominently in consolidating culture and identity in Spain's regions and autonomous communities.

TELEVISION:

It is estimated that over 90 percent of the population watches television daily. On average Spaniards watch more than three hours of television per day. Like newspapers and radio, television was controlled and censored during the Franco regime. The major development in Spanish television after the death of Franco was broadcasting in regional languages and the arrival of commercial national stations.

INTERNET:

Online newspapers in Spain are a recent phenomenon, and they account for 17 percent of the distribution of web traffic. The history of online publications is closely tied to the beginnings of the Internet and computer technology in Spain. With the passage of time, Spaniards are reading more and more newspapers online.