“I throw what I can’t eat into the bin. I THROW WHAT I CAN’T EAT INTO THE BIN! I THROW WHAT I CAN’T EAT INTO THE BIN! And children in Tanzania fight for a cup of rice.”

These were the words I kept reiterating to myself as I watched Darwin’s Nightmare by Hubert Sauper.

The Nile perch, a voracious predator, was released into the lake in the 1960s[1] and as a result other species of fish have become extinct in Lake Victoria. Believed to be an experiment, release of the Nile perch caused the extinction of all other species of fish in the lake, and the Nile perch has become Tanzania’s best selling export to European markets. “ [However] economically it’s good ” says the European Commissioner.[2] This new flourishing industry of the country has created new characters; an army of local fishermen, factory workers, civil servants, pilots of cargo aircrafts, delegates of the European Commission, and communities living around Lake Victoria. Because the Nile perch is farmed commercially, all the prime fillets are sold to European supermarkets, leaving the local people to survive on the festering carcasses of the gutted fish.[3] Carcass consumption, which leads to more illness in the country, is eaten because of the ecological wasteland Lake Victoria has become.

Increased weapons in Tanzania are another problem. This problem has led to increased violence in the country. Massive epidemics, food shortages and of course civil wars rage in this area, taking place in a kind of moral oblivion.[4] There is increased power in the wrong hands, and these people’s wishes lead to the formation of child soldiers. Boys are not the only ones suffering from this socioeconomic system; girls become prostitutes in order to earn any kind of living. Increase in prostitution causes an increase in sexually transmitted diseases, since there are no effective ways of health protection. However, these sexually transmitted diseases do not stay within the country. Popular clients of these prostitutes include Russian pilots. But why are these Russian pilots in Tanzania? Answer: Because they are the ones who fly guns into Africa. Hence, we have come full circle.

It may seem so. But in fact, these pilots’ primary objective is to fly out the Nile perch.

Over-fishing, environmental degradation, and rampant use of unsustainable means to fish have combined to cause decline of the Nile perch. Tanzania lost about 9.2 million U.S. dollars as export revenues dropped nearly 10 percent from Nile perch. [5]

I find it incredible that wherever prime raw material is discovered, the locals die in misery. If it is a “survival of the fittest” world, as Darwin concluded, then the capitalist interests that fund the gunrunners are climbing the evolutionary ladder on the backs of the Africans in this Darwinian example.[6] Anybody who has watched the documentary Darwin’s Nightmare will understand that the film shows Darwin’s theory of “the survival of the fittest” in two different contexts: in Lake Victoria it is the domination of the Nile perch; in our world it is the domination of imperialistic countries over countries like Africa.

Hubert Sauper says he could have made the same kind of documentary in Sierra Leone, only the fish would be diamonds; in Honduras, it would be bananas, and in Libya, Nigeria or Angola, it’s crude oil. Most of us claim to know about the destructive mechanisms of our time, but we cannot fully envisage them. We ‘want’ to believe the fact that imperialism ended with the Second World War. However, it didn’t!

Imperialism continues at full speed, and most of the global issues we face nowadays, such as poverty, inequality, lack of basic health and education, arise from imperialistic acts of capitalist countries. The arrogance of rich countries towards the third world is creating immeasurable future dangers for all people.

Yet, we are unable to “get this”, unable to actually believe what we know. Deadly socioeconomic systems don’t have ugly faces, nor for the most part, bad intentions. Such participants include you and me. Some of us are ‘only doing our job’, some of us simply fight for survival, while others just don’t want to know, but we all need to know and take steps to help end these horrific practices of inequality, before globalization ends in Armageddon. Because otherwise, our children will continue to receive toys for Christmas, while children in Tanzania receive guns. We will continue to eat the delicious prime fillets of the Nile perch, while they eat the carcasses of the gutted fish.

So Merry Christmas to you all. Bon-appétit!

Basak Tulga

You can visit http://www.american.edu/ted/PERCH.HTM, if you would like to learn more about the current situation in Tanzania, and help people suffering from this deadly system.

[2] http://worldfilm.about.com/od/documentaryfilms/fr/darwnsnightmare.htm, Jürgen Fauth

[3] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwin’s_Nightmare)

[4] http://www.caprifilms.com/images/press/Darwin/DARWIN_press_kit.pdf

[5] http://worldfilm.about.com/od/documentaryfilms/fr/darwnsnightmare.htm

[6] (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0424024/plotsummary)

‘Culture’ is the behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, or age group, or the sum total of ways of living built up by a group of human beings and transmitted from one generation to another. [1] Culture, therefore, affects people’s point of views and decisions on certain concepts. In 1915 the Turks forcibly deported 1,750,000 Armenians to the deserts of Syria and Mesopotamia; more than 600,000 were killed or died on forced marches.[2] However, it is still discussed between scholars, journalists and intellectuals if this ‘forcibly deportation’ is a ‘genocide.’ ‘Genocide’ is the deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially those of a particular ethnic group or nation.[3] Nobody, except people who experienced what happened in 1905 can know what really happened there and then. Yet historians easily declare their opinions. But how do they know? Also there are many historians who have completely different opinions about the issue. Who should we believe in? In our history class we talked about ‘Armenian genocide.’ Our teacher strongly believed that genocide was something different, and such a thing didn’t happen at that time. Our history teacher is raised in Turkish culture, with common Turkish beliefs that what happened in 1915 was not genocide. I wondered: if she were an Armenian, would she think the same way as she did now? My answer was no, because a bias was formed due to her being raised as a Turk, since most of the Turks does not believe there was genocide in 1915. The same thing applies to everyone on similar topics. This is a clear example of cultures influencing opinions.

It is true that we are being raised with specific values, beliefs, and traditions. However, is it possible to think by putting them aside? Is it possible for someone to put aside his/her beliefs and values and really try to understand? I was always interested in how the biological differences between genders affect their ways of thinking. To support the argument that men and women have generally different cognitive strengths there must be an underlying mechanism.  There is evidence that biology plays at leas some role in the cognitive differences between men and women. The first piece of evidence is that the biological mechanisms are different.  If we were to believe that the cognitive differences between males and females are innate then we would expect to see some biological differences, which could account for them.[4] Women have been shown to have bigger corpus callosum and anterior commissures, structures, which connect two hemispheres of the brain. Another difference is in an area of the hypothalamus known as the sexually dimorphic nucleus. This area is significantly larger in men containing more as well as larger cells (Kimura, 2002). High levels of estrogen have also been linked to relatively depressed spatial abilities as well as to enhanced speech and manual skill related tasks. This has been tested in females using the natural hormone fluctuations over the menstrual cycle as well as over longer periods of time and hormone fluctuation.  Studies have also been done in males whose hormone fluctuations tend to be seasonal (Pinker, Spelke, 2005).[5] According to these studies, these differences lead to differences in cognition. Yet it is impossible since there are biological differences between them that affect hormones, looks, ways of thinking, emotions, etc. Therefore it is impossible to change them and think objectively by putting aside our gender identities. If one is born as a girl than she has some features that cannot be reshaped, and this restricts the move toward the objective truth. In some cases there are irreconciliable differences that stop us from ever connecting with other points of view.

Although the reason is biological when it comes to communication between sexes, not everything that forms our opinions and knowledge has this kind of a difference that cannot be changed. Furthermore, despite the differences it is possible to move towards objectivity. It is true that everyone of us are raised in different ways. ‘Experience’ is the process or fact of personally observing, encountering, or undergoing something.[6] Besides being a Spaniard, a person may be Jewish, may go to a public school, eat his dinner with his family as a tradition, work after school, etc. Therefore he may experience different things than others. Identity is the fact of being who or what a person or thing is.[7] Everyhing we have in our lives shape our identities. Certain beliefs, values, families, traditions, religion add to our identities and all these factors form the way we think. My home country, Turkey, is a predominantly Islamic but secular republic; none of the women in my family wear a headscarf and I do not see any of them associating with women who do. That is why I have always assumed that women who wear them have nothing in common with women who don’t. For a long time my beliefs stayed in the same way. I just couldn’t seem to accept that many of these women are intelligent, cultured, well read, interesting, and cover themselves voluntarily. I still cannot understand why their cover their heads, yet I accepted the fact that I can communicate with these women, while respecting their beliefs. Although it is impossible to reach objectivity, my personal example shows how one can move towards objectivity.

‘Knowledge’ is acquaintance with facts, truths, or principles, as from study or investigation, yet how do we gain knowledge?[8] What is the difference between knowledge and understanding? Can we understand something without knowing it? Isn’t knowledge itself a subjective term itslef? Although knowledge is defined as facts, truths, or principles, it should be taken into consideration that even ‘truths’ are subjective. My truth and somebody else’s truth can be absolutely different. This makes it impossilble to have an hundred percent objectivity in most cases. Facts become facts when findings are interpreted. Therefore our knowledge is formed with some degree of subjectivity. However, understanding is a different thing; it means perceiving the intended meaning of something. ‘Understanding’ can be done in any occasion.

It is impossible to say objectivity fully exists. Our opinions are formed with specific values, beliefs, and traditions. However, we can move towards objective truth. Or it is also possible that we share the same prejudices. Either way people can meet at the same conclusions and this can be considered as a move towards objectivity. While it is impossible to have objective knowledge, finding a truth that is provisional is possible. And this shared truth can then be the starting point for a search for another truth closer to objective knowledge.

Works Cited:

• http://www.answers.com/topic/genocide

• http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/experience

• http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/culture

• http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-identity.html

• http://www.genocide1915.info/
• Kimura, D. (1987) Are men’s and women’s brains really different? Canadian Psychology, 28, 133-147
• http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/2485
• http://www.wordinfo.info/words/index/info/view_unit/4353

[2] http://www.genocide1915.info/

[3] http://www.answers.com/topic/genocide

[4] Kimura, D. (1987) Are men’s and women’s brains really different? Canadian Psychology, 28, 133-147

[5] http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/2485

[6] http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/experience

[7] http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-identity.html

[8] http://www.wordinfo.info/words/index/info/view_unit/4353

If I were to visit Iran and pass Simin Behbahani walking on the street, I would not recognize her, she would be covered from head to foot as required by law in her country and I would pass her by without a thought.

And yet, Simin Behbahani is the most iconic Iranian poet alive, a highly intellectual woman, a revolutionist, and one of my favorites. In one of her poems she said “to stay alive, you must slay silence, to pay homage to being, you must sing.” I would definitely have stopped and talk to her if I had known who was behind that veil.

In some Islamic countries women are required to cover their heads; in others, women do it by choice. My home country, Turkey, is a predominantly Islamic but secular republic; none of the women in my family wear a headscarf nor do they associate with women who do. That is why I have always assumed that women who wear them have nothing in common with women who don’t.

But one day, while I was thinking of Simin Behbahani, my opinion started to change.

Although I like to think that I am broad minded, I just can’t seem to accept that many of these women are intelligent, cultured, well read, interesting, and cover themselves voluntarily.

This led me to another thought. I am applying to most competitive US colleges. If I arrive on campus veiled, will I be accepted by my classmates or will the same prejudice apply to me that I show to other women who have chosen to cover; even though there might be much that we can talk about together?

So now I am asking myself: Who is behind the veil? Can we communicate? Can we share ideas, like each other, respect each other’s beliefs?

I would like to come up with a resounding YES to my question but change comes slowly. I am now trying to cross the borders of my mindset and think more widely. As captain of the national basketball team, I play with women of different views but one common goal. Everyone on the team comes from different backgrounds. Some of us are wealthy, some are poor, some are educated, and some are not. The wonderful thing is, we find common ground on the court, where all of us talk the same language. My hope for all Muslim women, whether we choose to cover, have to cover, or do not cover at all, is that over time we too can find common ground to communicate, and in communicating, help resolve differences.

We all make different choices in life. If I saw a woman with her hair covered a few months ago, without any doubt, I would have shrugged her off. However, now I am aware of the fact that the woman behind the veil might be another Simin Behbahani.

     ‘Control’… What a powerful word! Plus it is everywhere. But the part that I focus is the control of citizens via religion.

     I am a Muslim, living in Turkey. Religion was always an important factor in our culture and history. The great Ottoman Empire ‘used’ Islam in order to get bigger and bigger. I believe Turkey, as the following nation of Ottoman Empire, is following what they have left. Leaders in Turkey have an easy weapon which works in any time and in any place: it’s religion. 

   Why is religion so powerful and unbeatable? We, as human beings, seek comfort, and sometimes we cannot distinguish religion from reality. I pray every night because I want things and the person I ask for is God. I ‘know’ most people are like that but another ‘role’ of religion, which I cannot understand, is to keep people under pressure and prevent them from doing something ‘wrong’.

    First of all what is ‘wrong’? Who decides whether what is ‘wrong’ or ‘right’? In my opinion, the concept of ‘wrong’ and ‘right’ is changeable. What seems right for you may not seem right for somebody else. That is what happens when our ‘leaders’ are ‘using’ religion to carry out their own ‘rights’, and religion is an effective way to do this.

         I’ll write more on this topic on upcoming days.

       Do people score above 2000 are ‘intelligent’, and other are ‘dummies’? Does this test determines how successful the students are going to be in life? 

       I am a good student in school, but I know the fact that in real life my grades will be ‘useless’. They will only open a new, and maybe a beneficial door for me. Nobody gives you any grades in life. If you are kicked out of your job, you are kicked out! There is no score, no second chance. The beauty of school for me is ‘learning’, not ‘testing’. By ‘learning’ I don’t  mean ‘academic learning’ only. I meet new people, get to know new characters, learn enormously important life lessons. I learn how to be a good leader, how to treat people in a right manner, how to communicate. School teaches me valuable lessons other than constantly giving grades. These are the things which will get us further.

       People were ‘different’ today; not only ‘stressed out’, but also they were impossible to communicate with. Can somebody please tell me who will ask our SAT scores when we get older? I am sad, because I get the feeling that these kinds of ‘testings’ take us to a different level. SAT scores don’t determine ‘who we are’ or ‘what we are going to be’.  That’s why I find it absurd when people give extreme importance to them.