Dubliners By James Joyce Essays - Dubliners, James Joyce

Dubliners by James Joyce A collection of short stories published in 1907, Dubliners, by James Joyce, revolves around the everyday lives of ordinary citizens in Dublin, Ireland (Freidrich 166). According to Joyce himself, his intention was to write a chapter of the moral history of [his] country and [he] chose Dublin for the scene because the city seemed to [b]e the centre of paralysis (Friedrich 166). True to his goal, each of the fifteen stories are tales of disappointment, darkness, captivity, frustration, and flaw. The book is divided into four sections: childhood, adolescence, maturity, and public life (Levin 159). The structure of the book shows that gradually, citizens become trapped in Dublin society (Stone 140). The stories portray Joyces feeling that Dublin is the epitome of paralysis and all of the citizens are victims (Levin 159). Although each story from Dubliners is a unique and separate depiction, they all have similarities with each other. In addition, because the first three stories The Siste rs, An Encounter, and Araby parallel each other in many ways, they can be seen as a set in and of themselves. The purpose of this essay is to explore one particular similarity in order to prove that the childhood stories can be seen as specific section of Dubliners. By examining the characters of Father Flynn in The Sisters, Father Butler in An Encounter, and Mangans sister in Araby, I will demonstrate that the idea of being held captive by religion is felt by the protagonist of each story. In this paper, I argue that because religion played such a significant role in the lives of the middle class, it was something that many citizens felt was suffocating and from which it was impossible to get away. Each of the three childhood stories uses religion to keep the protagonist captive. In The Sisters, Father Flynn plays an important role in making the narrator feel like a prisoner. Mr. Cotters comment that a young lad [should] run about and play with young lads of his own age suggests th at the narrator has spent a great deal of time with the priest. Even in death, the boy can not free himself from the presence of Father Flynn (Stone 169) as is illustrated in the following passage: But the grey face still followed me. It murmured; and I understood that it desired to confess something. I felt my soul receding into some pleasant and vicious region; and there again I found it waiting for me. The boy feels the need to get away from the priest, but this proves to be impossible. When he ran away into his pleasant and vicious region, the priest was still therehaunting him. In fact, even before the narrator is thoroughly convinced that the priest is dead, he is worried that Father Flynn will haunt him (Stone 169): In the dark of my room I imagined that I saw again the heavy grey face of the paralytic. I drew the blankets over my head and tried to think of Christmas. These passages convey the idea that the boy was afraid of the priest and felt somewhat freed by his death. Th is is further proven when the boy, after having seen the card announcing the death of the priest, thinks it strange that neither [he] nor the day seemed in a mourning mood and [he] even felt annoyed at discovering in [him]self a sensation of freedom as if [he] had been freed from something by [Father Flynns] death. This feeling of freedom suggests that the boy understood that he was a captive of Father Flynn, and thereby, also a captive of the church. With the Fathers death, perhaps the death of his captivity came as well. The idea of religious bondage can be seen in An Encounter by examining the relationship between the boys and Father Butler. When Leo Dillion is caught reading The Apache Chief in class, everyones heart palpitated as Father Butler frowns and looks over the pages. Shortly thereafter, the narrator claims that [t]his rebukepaled much of the glory of the Wild WestBut when the restraining influence of school was at a distance [he] began to hunger again for wild sensatio ns. This passage demonstrates the control

Free Essays on Haiga Sophia

Hagia Sophia is one of the largest churches in the Byzantine Empire and is the most famous landmark in Istanbul. In Greek Hagia Sophia means  ¡Ã‚ °Holy Wisdom. ¡Ã‚ ± Hagia Sophia has very long and interesting history. This research paper is going to concentrate on bringing the history to life. Justinian I was the emperor who built Hagia Sophia. It was built between 532 to537.The architects were Anthemius of Tralles. Anthemius was from the Asia Minor. The second architect is Isidorus of Miletus who came from near modern Turkey. They came from different places and built a magnificent church. The problems the architects faced were how to put it together in a dome shape, centralized unit with basilican and longitudinal plan. After Hagia Sophia was first completed in February 15, 360 there were 550 people assigned to serve it. There were 80 priests, 150 deacons, 60 sub deacons, 160 readers, 25 cantors, and 75 door keepers. The church was ruined several times during past centuries. Nika Riot on January 15, 532 has destroyed an earlier church that stood where Hagia Sophia is standing now, so Justinian has decided to build Hagia Sophia on its place. Justinian decided to pull the earlier church down because God had inspired him to build a temple, such as had not been built since the time of Adam. After Theoderich ¡Ã‚ ¯s death in 526 the construction of rebuilding Hagia Sophia has began several years later. The construction lasted about 5 years. After two major earthquakes the central dome fell. One of the earthquakes was on August 533 to December 557. After an earthquake a dome was quickly replaced in 563. The religious figures were added in the late 800 ¡Ã‚ ¯s. In 1453 the ottoman Turks converted the cathedral in to a mosque (Islamic house of worship) and plastered the images. In 989 an earthquake occurred. Romanus III Argyrus (1028-1034), he decorated the capitals with gold and silver. Twenty years later a severe earthquake occurred. The earthq... Free Essays on Haiga Sophia Free Essays on Haiga Sophia Hagia Sophia is one of the largest churches in the Byzantine Empire and is the most famous landmark in Istanbul. In Greek Hagia Sophia means  ¡Ã‚ °Holy Wisdom. ¡Ã‚ ± Hagia Sophia has very long and interesting history. This research paper is going to concentrate on bringing the history to life. Justinian I was the emperor who built Hagia Sophia. It was built between 532 to537.The architects were Anthemius of Tralles. Anthemius was from the Asia Minor. The second architect is Isidorus of Miletus who came from near modern Turkey. They came from different places and built a magnificent church. The problems the architects faced were how to put it together in a dome shape, centralized unit with basilican and longitudinal plan. After Hagia Sophia was first completed in February 15, 360 there were 550 people assigned to serve it. There were 80 priests, 150 deacons, 60 sub deacons, 160 readers, 25 cantors, and 75 door keepers. The church was ruined several times during past centuries. Nika Riot on January 15, 532 has destroyed an earlier church that stood where Hagia Sophia is standing now, so Justinian has decided to build Hagia Sophia on its place. Justinian decided to pull the earlier church down because God had inspired him to build a temple, such as had not been built since the time of Adam. After Theoderich ¡Ã‚ ¯s death in 526 the construction of rebuilding Hagia Sophia has began several years later. The construction lasted about 5 years. After two major earthquakes the central dome fell. One of the earthquakes was on August 533 to December 557. After an earthquake a dome was quickly replaced in 563. The religious figures were added in the late 800 ¡Ã‚ ¯s. In 1453 the ottoman Turks converted the cathedral in to a mosque (Islamic house of worship) and plastered the images. In 989 an earthquake occurred. Romanus III Argyrus (1028-1034), he decorated the capitals with gold and silver. Twenty years later a severe earthquake occurred. The earthq...

City of Newark, New Jersey Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

City of Newark, New Jersey - Research Paper Example Old English religion, commonly referred to as Puritan Congregational Church influenced several aspects of the emergent community for several decades. Commercial and other sociocultural events in the emerging town in the 118th Century took a Puritan influence until other incoming religions diluted the strict cultural and religious values in the second decade of the century (Internet Archive, n.d.). Today, the city of Newark is as shown in figure 1 below. Figure 1: City of Newark, NJ Map Courtesy of http://www.njtransit.com/rg/rg_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=SystemMapsTo Iron deposits discovered in the nearby mines changed the economic fortunes of the town, making an important commercial feeder for New York via ferry. The special relationship in the two Cities perhaps facilitated the growth of Newark than if it were not a raw material producer and feeder to other major cities like New York. When the Revolution occurred, the town had sufficient commercial establishment to sustain its conve rsion into a number of industries including agriculture, banking, insurance, brick making, plaster and corset industries, textile, jewelry, leather and brewery supported by an efficient transport system. Its growth as a leading City in the whole of New Jersey traces back to the days when it started to emerge as nan important business center supporting other settlements as far as New York. Its emergence as a modern City was precipitated by commercial interests from major investors such as Thomas Edison’s bulb and electrical innovations industry nearby, Stephen Crane’s literary works and library products leading to a popular printing press among several other investors (Gombach, 2012). Geography Newark is a City in State of New Jersey, towards the northeast of the State at 40Â °43?27?N 74Â °10?21?W and has a geographical stretch of 26.107 miles2 (67.617 km2). A significant fraction of its area (7.35 per cent) is water towards the Passaic River and Newark Bay, with neig hborhoods including Belleville Township to the North, Elizabeth to the South, Jersey City to the East and Maplewood Township to the West. Newark City is among the few cities in the US hosting huge populations in their relatively small size when compared to other major cities around the country as shown on Figure a. Downtown positions of the busy city include Market Street junction with Broad Street and provide numerous business locations in broad street view. Submerged areas along the Newark Bay had to be reclaimed from marshy surface to usable areas on which several projects such as airports and ports have been established. Wards distinguish the various sections of the City into administrative regions, with Central Ward occupying the old town’s historical location that houses monumental properties including Lincoln Park and Military Park. The North Ward has the Branch Brook Park, West Ward contains the Fairmont Cemetery and the South Ward has three neighborhoods with Jewish communities as the dominant occupants. City Population Newark City ranks as the 62nd most populous city in the entire country, which is based on the population comparisons with other cities. The population of Newark City with respect to the 2010 census data is estimated at 279,555, with a population growth of about 1.3 per cent since 2000 (CLR, 2012). These figures imply that the city continues to be host to more people within its small space, making it one of the

Nanoprobes used to Fight Breast Cancer Tumors Essay

Nanoprobes used to Fight Breast Cancer Tumors - Essay Example The prevalence rates are quite similar throughout the world with the United States leading in the number of incidences and China showing the least. Historically, Eastern Europe and the Far East have had low rates of breast cancer which however, have begun to rise rapidly (Babb et al, 2001). The age related incidence is also very significant in this disease as, the age group most at risk are women over 50 years old (80% of cases) and the highest number of cases is in this 50-69 age group (Office for National Statistics, London, 2008). The treatment for breast cancer is dependent on various factors like, the type of breast cancer, the size and histopathology of the tumor, the stage of the disease and the presence or absence of certain biomarkers. The general health of the patient is also a major factor in determining the mode of treatment. The options range from unilateral to bilateral mastectomies, lumpectomy, with additional chemotherapy or radiation therapy or chemotherapy and radiation on their own. Tamoxifen, an endocrine targeting drug which acts by interfering with the activity of estrogen, a female hormone is the largest selling drug for breast cancer. Tamoxifen has been used for more than 30 years to treat breast cancer in women and this too, has side effects that cannot be overlooked and in most cases is usually an additional therapeutic drug. All these treatments are painful in different degrees both physically and emotionally. The recovery time is long, especially in older patients and the nature of th e disease, that it could reoccur, is an emotionally exhausting variable to live with. The invasive and painful features of the currently available treatment options and the high incidences, makes this a very important disease in which to fund research. The awareness, on the rising numbers and the need to address the methods of diagnosis and treatment has been heeded by many countries and organizations. Technological advances in one area serendipitously affect applications in other areas. Nanotechnology is one such science that has influenced developments in many spheres of science, technology and medicine. Nanotechnology involves the creation of practical substances, devices, and systems which can be used in different applications on an incredibly small scale. The size and scale we are referring to here is in nanometers and hence the name nanotechnology. Nanotechnology works between 1 and 100 nanometers, a nanometer being, one billionth of a meter. To put this in proportion we can compare this to being the same as about ten times the diameter of a hydrogen atom. Advances in this technology have had applications in treatment options for many diseases including cancer. Introduction Significance of the Issue Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer death in women (http://www.cancer.gov/statistics/). Breast cancer incidences and statistics are calculated and processed by gender, age, geographic variation, trends over time and prevalence. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the United Kingdom although the incidence in men is minute compared to other cancers. In 2005 there were 45,947 new cases of breast cancer that were diagnosed, of these 45,660 (over 99%) were in women and 287 (less than 1%) in men. As mentioned earlier the lifetime risk of being diagnosed with

The Phantom of the Opera Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Phantom of the Opera - Essay Example The performers wore colorful and rich costumes. The style of costumes changed depending on the scenes. Some of them represented parts of other operas inside the musical. For example, the rehearsal of the opera Hannibal takes place in the Ancient Rome, and the costumes had a luxury Roman and Carthaginian style. In the opera Il Muto, the performers wore eighteenth-century clothing. The musical offers a great visual interest in the group scenes, specially in the number â€Å"Masquerade†, where the cast showed different costumes, like ballerinas, buffoons, clowns, mythological figures, and the â€Å"Red Mask† of the Phantom. The Phantom of the Opera does not have the traditional concert setting. The audience does not just listen quietly, like in a concert of classical music. The scenario is partly integrated with the rest of the theater. It is important to notice that The Phantom of the Opera is a musical about a theater, which takes place within a theater. In some moments, the public could feel that they belonged to the same fictional audience who witnessed all the events in the Paris Opera. For example, the fall of the chandelier, the appearance of the nobleman Raoul in a balcony, from where he sees Christine singing; the representation of Don Juan Triumphant, the opera written by the Phantom, or in the other opera Il Muto, when the diva Carlotta loses her voice.

Trafficking in women

Trafficking in women INTRODUCTION Trafficking in women for the purpose of sexual exploitation is not a new problem. It existed for centuries and it still exists everywhere in the world. â€Å"Sex trafficking is an epidemic which does not limit itself to one place or one group of people.†Trafficking in women is very serious problem and it cannot be approached ‘from the behind/only on the surface. The seriousness of this topic requires careful research and great attention. Womens trafficking as a global problem appears both in countries in political and economic transition, as well as in countries that are in post-conflict periods. Moreover, it also affects the economically developed and countries and affects all major industrialized nations in the world.Many of the developing or the ‘third world countries are trying to hide this problem ‘under the rug due to lack of legislative or lack of financial sources. The question/problem is that although we are aware of the existence of the victims of t rafficking around us in society, why is such little progress being made? Nevertheless, in the period between 1970s and 1980s the traffickers destinations were the Western European countries.Victims of trafficking usually were brought from Asia and Latin America.However, after the fall of the communist regimes, in the 90s, there been an evident change in the situation. Now women from Eastern Europe represent the main ‘goods of trafficking in Western Europe.This is the case also for Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania, two post-communist Balkan countries. As much we can say that trafficking in women for the so called sex industry is very old matter, the exposure of this problem in these two countries is not from the distant past. It started emerging after the post-communist period and escalated in the transition that is currently going on in both of the countries. I am working on the topic of trafficking in women and the democratic transition, with a special overview on two countries: Bosnia and Albania, because I want to find out if these countries are doing enough and everything that is in their power to combat this problem. The questions that are needed to be set/appointed here, are, will the democratic transition and the democratic development of the Western Balkan countries, especially in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania the two countries I will be taking as a case studies, help in making this problem smaller in range? Is new and improved legislation and new law going to help in combating this problem? Moreover, is the further development and the possible EU integration of these countries going to suppress this problem? In this paper, I will try to analyze the problem of trafficking in women, mainly concerning the sex industry (prostitution), as a global problem and then referring to it on local level. Comparing two countries that are post communist countries and are still in what seems to be everlasting process of transition; will show what the home governments are doing concerning this problem. Moreover, it will show what more can be done in the field of combating trafficking on local and even on global level; as a path towards the European Union. Firstly, in the first chapter, I will address this problem from the international perspective. Taking in consideration conventions, reports of many international organizations and also from non governmental organizations; will show what has been done so far in combating trafficking in women in the international society. Secondly, I will try to present this problem as one of the main issues of every country. Following, in the second chapter, I will compare two transitional Western Balkan countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania and how they handle this problem. Also, are these countries following the European Union directives in combating trafficking, as part of the organized crime, as one of the conditions in becoming a member state. There is a lot to say on this topic and there are a lot more examples on this subject, but due to limited time and resources, I will keep my research and my analysis short and within these frames. My research is contained mostly from exploring the conventions on anti-trafficking that are part of the international legal system, conventions on the same subject on European level, the home legislative of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania concerning this problem, relevant articles concerning trafficking in women, research papers from international organizations who worked on projects of trafficking in women (primary and secondary sources). 1. TRAFFICKING IN WOMEN: A NEVER ENDING PROBLEM Womens trafficking has been described as a modern day form of slavery.â€Å"Too often the crime of sex trafficking is ignored because it is termed prostitution.†The distinction between the term trafficking in women and the phenomenon of prostitution is form a great importance, taking into consideration the fact that the common people still have delusions in the existence or non existence of these two aspects. This is confirmed by the survey made for IOM in which the results showed that the biggest percentage of the answers (61.6%) were that prostitution was voluntary and paid and trafficking is forced.Only 24.6% answered that they know the difference between prostitution and trafficking in women. But what is the main difference in fact? The general characteristic is the voluntariness in exercising prostitution. It is an opinion that these persons (women) can give up doing the ‘oldest business in the world if they want to. On the other hand we cannot disregard the economi c pressure they are in and the forced actions from the traffickers. On the contrary, in the situation of trafficking this opportunity is lost together with the passports, ID cards and other documents that these women used to posses, as is also the fear of rejection and despise from the family and the community. Another confusion made is that of equating trafficking as a crime that goes only beyond national borders. Trafficking also happens within a domestic territory of one country, which is basically moving women from one part of the country to another. It is often the case where women coming from rural environment are moving to the big cities in search for a better life and better earnings easily become pray for traffickers who deceive them with promises for ‘bright future. In conclusion, trafficking in women is not just a transnational issue, but a national also. Hence, under victims of trafficking we put not only women that are transferred from domestic countries to foreign ones, but also the citizen of one country that are moved within it. Generally speaking, trafficking in women for sexual exploitation has always been a ‘un solved matter and a very ‘hard task for most of the countries. Trafficking in women and in human beings in general, is on regular basis supported by the corruption in the domestic governments, as much in the countries of origin of the trafficked victims, also in the countries of transit and final destination.This fact is not so astonishing/unbelievable considering the reality that the ‘business of trafficking is the one of the most profitable ones in the world with approximated income of over 7 billion US dollars per year from prostitution only. Furthermore, two main factors: supplementing and demanding; promote the growth of trafficking, in particular the commercial sex work. â€Å"Male demand for the services of sex workers, combined with male perceptions about womans societal role, lead to exploitation of women.†The supplementation side includes such factors as womens weaker economic position, lack of real employment and educational opportunities, increased militarization of specific regions after conflicts and the expansion of transnational crime, push women toward work in the commercial sex industry and to situations where they are at risk of being trafficked. 1.1. What is trafficking in women? More than a half of century ago since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was introduced, which proclaimed that â€Å"no one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms,†we are witnesses of the unscrupulous violations of this human rights. Being very sensitive and serious problem, trafficking requires a definition that will incorporate all the key elements of this criminal act as such. Basically the definition for the term trafficking can be found in international legal instruments dedicated to the subject.   For example, Article 3, paragraph (a) of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons (known as the Palermo Protocol) defines trafficking in the following way: Trafficking in persons shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs. This original definition was a model from which in many countries in the domestic criminal code the definition for trafficking has been derived. On the other hand, it was intentionally decided that the Protocol not define ‘exploitation of prostitution of others and other forms of sexual exploitations more precisely, because there was no consensus among government delegates to the negotiations on the common meaning of the phrase.Furthermore, the delegates agreed that involuntary forced participation in prostitution would constitute trafficking, but most of the government delegates rejected the idea that voluntary, non-coercive participation by adults in prostitution is tantamount to trafficking.This means that the states define only forced prostitution in their domestic legislature. Moreover, the Protocol makes a clear distinction between sex work and trafficking and between trafficking and smuggling, which is addressed in different protocol. Smuggling concerns facilitating illegal stay or entry, while the aim of trafficking is the exploitation of human beings under forced labour or slavery-like conditions. Yet, trafficking does not always involve the illegal crossing of borders.It can also appear within a country; in other words without crossing any national borders.Moreover, â€Å"in many cases trafficked persons enter a country legally, for example as tourists, spouses, students, domestic workers or au pairs.†Sometimes they only become illegal when they remove themselves from the power of their exploiters, e.g. in the case of au pairs or women who are forced into prostitution by their husband.Hence, trafficking is a crime against the person, while smuggling is primarily a crime against the state, infringing upon its borders. Another definition we can take in mind is the U.S. government definition of trafficking in persons which encompasses â€Å"All acts involved in the transport, harboring, or sale of persons within national or across international borders through coercion, force, kidnapping, deception or fraud, for purposes of placing persons in situation of forced labor or services, such as forced prostitution, domestic servitude, debt bondage or other slavery like practices†. In other words, the definition of trafficking consists of three core elements: the action of trafficking, the means and the purpose.If all the elements of human trafficking are present, the fact that an adult initially consented is irrelevantIt is also considered trafficking if the victim had no real or acceptable alternative but to submit to the abuse. 1.2. Trafficking in women as a international problem The international community is actively working on the issue of fighting this form of organized crime. The United Nations, the Council of Europe, OSCE and the EU, as well as some other international organizations, became involved in dealing with this matter on a global plan.On international plan many Conventions were produce for the purpose of combating the crime of trafficking in women. In the system of United Nations the start was made firstly with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights from 1948.   Among the other conventions on UN level is the 1949 United Nations Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others, which â€Å"deems prostitution and the ‘accompanying evil of the traffic of persons for the purpose of prostitution incompatible with the dignity and worth of the human person.†The main objective of the Convention is to provide effective measures against all forms of trafficking in women and the exploitation of prostitution.Another convention that is important is the 1979 Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which in Article 6 prescribes the obligation for all the state parties to â€Å"take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to suppress all forms of traffic in women and exploitation of prostitution of women.† Connecting human rights with the problem of trafficking resulted in the need of the UN for a multi disciplinary approach in the fight against trafficking in women. For that, in June 2000 the Convention against Transnational Organized Crime was issued; later that year Protocols for Preventing the Trade with Women and Children and Against Illegal Trade and Transportation of Immigrants were issued.They were adopted in 2001 and with that started the new era of the work of the national institutions (Law enforcement institutions). In the same way, other international organizations also incorporated the issue of trafficking in their own constitutions/organizational structures. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) adopted the Convention concerning forced labor (Convention no.29) in 1930 and the Abolition of Forced Labor Convention in 1957. On European level, the most recent legal instrument introduced for combating trafficking in women is the Council of Europes Convention on Actions against Trafficking in Human Beings,adopted 2005. Following this further, the European Union also made instruments about the issue of trafficking: Council Framework Decision of 19 July 2002 on combating trafficking in human beings,instruments such as Investing in People, European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) and European Neighborhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI),etc. In conclusion, a mutual statement from all the EU member states is that under trafficking should be put all the cases where the o nes that commit this crime are recruiting their victims for forced labor or prostitution, no matter the means, even by just enticement or abusing their weak situation or position. Other international organizations that are involved in the matter of trafficking are OSCE (The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe), UNDP (the United Nations Development Program), ICITAP (International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance), OPDAT (The U.S. Department of Justices Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training), USAID (TheUnited States Agency for International Development), ICMPD (The International Centre for Migration Policy Development). On the other hand, there are the non-governmental organizations, which are important in building civil society by fostering governance, whereby actions are framed not simply by governments, but with the participation of other organizations, with which information is shared.Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) around the globe are engaged in combating trafficking by taking part in variety activities including prevention, prosecution, protection, rescues/raids, reintegration, and repatriation.â€Å"NGOs often work with few resources yet can be effective in complimenting the activities of governments, or even taking the place of government efforts.†NGOs appear to be ‘watchdogs against trafficking in women. Worldwide NGOs in this area are Amnesty International, The International La Strada Association (La Strada International), Anti Slavery International, The Churches ´ Commission for Migrants in Europe (CCME), Global Alliance against Traffic in Women (GAATW), Save th e Children Europe Group, Terre des Hommes International Federation, ECPAT International, etc. â€Å"It is helpful for NGOs that engage in preventive and rehabilitative work with women, children and communities to be able to identify common characteristics of trafficking.† Despite the international level of fighting against the crime of trafficking, every country has prescribed this act as a criminal one in the domestic criminal codes. Almost all democratic countries are signatories of the conventions mentioned above and had implemented them in their home legislative.   This is the case also with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania,which incorporated trafficking in women in their criminal codes as a punishable crime by all means, which I will show later in the paper. 2. TRAFFICKING IN WOMEN IN THE TRANSITION OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA AND ALBANIA The geographical map of Southeastern Europe, step by step, has been changing in the past decade. The fall of the iron curtain created a flow of migration from east to west,and vice versa, if we consider the international missions and special delegations residing in the Balkan region. Contributory factors that have helped cause the problem of trafficking in women have been â€Å"globalization of economic sector, followed by globalization of crime, as well as the outbreak of conflicts in the region.†The fragmentation of Yugoslavia intensified the impact of processes of transition, globalization and regionalization.Turbulent ethnic conflict, external interventions (often involving force), and the persistent use of violence by criminal elements, provided waves of challenges to civil society in the region.The Yugoslav wars intensified the scale of transnational organized crime, here including trafficking in women mainly for prostitution, and the levels at which criminal networks p reyed on the population.The area has been military, politically and economically divided: new states have been created and new borders established.The countries of SEE have been seriously affected by the problems of organized crime and corruption, which have been the main obstruction to further development and regional stability. Because of the limited economic resources available, governments in the region have not been able to establish an effective control over economic fraud and other forms of organized crime, including trafficking in women.Therefore, â€Å"organized criminal groups in the region have successfully exploited insufficiently controlled borders, corruption, a legislative vacuum and the lack of regional cooperation in the fight against organized crime.† To emphasize, within the structure of organized crime the countries are classified weather they are countries of origin, destination or transition. The origination countries of trafficking of women can be classified by the regions of the world. Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania are part of the East Europe region and are mostly considered originating countries, although the trafficking to and within the country is stacking up. On the other hand, as destination countries for trafficked women are the Western European countries, the Nordic countries, the Middle East, even United States of America, where the women from BIH and Albania are trafficked to. 2.1. The case of Bosnia and Herzegovina For Bosnia and Herzegovina the collapse of the communism was not the only overturn of the society. Right after the dissolution of Yugoslavia, BIH experienced a civil war on its territory. Therefore, it is excusably to say that BIH went through double transition period. Furthermore, the breakdown of the social, economic and political structure resulting from the civil war in BIH caused the expansion of various forms of organized crime, including trafficking in human beings.On the other hand, â€Å"in the pre war period this kind of crime was not present in BIH to the degree to which it is now, according to official statistics and available sources.†The two dramatic changes in the countrys past brought up rise in trafficking in women. The country was and still is â€Å"a fertile ground for the criminal abuse of women†mainly for sexual exploitation. â€Å"Economic hardship, global market penetration and transitional economic conditions along with conflict and post-war trauma have transformed many traditional relationships into service exchanges.†] Moreover, the almost four year long war caused collapse of the economy and social collapse which emerged in great unemployment. Therefore, people in BIH, mostly women, felt jeopardized for their survival so they started looking for any kind of job just to support their families. Sexual exploitation for prostitution, and human trafficking in general was a taboo in BIH until recently. In early 1998, human trafficking to BIH did not officially exist, â€Å"it inhabited an invisible netherworld unacknowledged, unreported and unnamed.†According to experts of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH), trafficking first began to appear in 1995.Human Rights Watch investigators first learned of trafficking of women to B osnia and Herzegovina in 1998, while on a research mission to investigate post-conflict discrimination against Bosnian women.As public attention began to increase and more cases emerged, trafficking finally became visibly in the early 1999.In fact, by early 2000, â€Å"human trafficking for forced prostitution had become blatant and notorious, but this visibility did not result in coherent anti trafficking policies.† Another factor that bolstered trafficking in women was the post war peacekeeping missions and the international influence in BIH. The placing of peacekeeping forces in BIH encouraged the sex industry there, especially in the early years after the war.This is a very sensitive issue concerning the fact that the peacekeepers and other stuff of the international missions enjoyed immunity,plus there were insufficient evidence of such conducts by the missionaries. Along with this, the lack of state responsibility concerning the involvement of members of the peacekeeping force in trafficking, doubtlessly contributed to the problem.UNMIBH has â€Å"denied any participation of its personnel in trafficking but acknowledges that several members of its staff have been let go for sexual misconduct.†The promotion of prostitution by the forces of UN, who were directly involved in the sex industry and the sexual exploitation of Bosnian women, was contradicting with their main mission of prot ecting them and providing them with a peaceful life. There is no doubt that there was a existing correlation between the phenomenon of trafficking in women and the settlement of a peacekeeping force in BIH, but it would be wrong to observe the settlement of peacekeeping force as a primary cause of the phenomenon.Trafficking in women, as a problem and concern, existed and exists in other parts of the Balkan, as well as all over the world, where peacekeepers were and are not based. To conclude, BIH has been politically unstable during the post war period. Laws have been made to control traffickers, but regional conflicts still exist and the lack of cooperation between entities, and entities and the state in general, in suppressing organized crime has been high.The high profits available, the low risk of detention and minor penalties exacted have made trafficking in human beings for the purpose of prostitution very attractive on the ‘black marketin BIH.oday, the lack of political will has been replaced with the â€Å"building of collaboration between BIH law enforcement agencies and the creation of new BIH state institutions for enforcing the law.†Furthermore, BIH is now participating in regional and international initiatives against organized crime, especially within Stability Pace (a benchmark for bringing peace and normalcy to the region) in Southeastern Europe, as a way towards reaching EU and insuring its place as future member state.. The loc al government is trying to harmonize the domestic legislative with the international and to improve the cooperation between the entities and the state. However, the suppression of trafficking in women is not just a legislative problem, but also a practical one.In addition, another future in combating trafficking is awareness of the problem, such as public education, that the state has to make sure to provide it. 2.2. The case of Albania Human trafficking is relatively ‘new social phenomenon, which emerged in Albania after the early 1990s right after the failure of the dictatorship regime of Enver Hoxa. The â€Å"process of democratization started in Albania only in 1990, after the fall of the Berlin wall, when independent political parties were created and the freedom to travel for citizens was granted.†The economic and political instability increased in 1997 with the explosion of civil disorders and soon after the war in Kosovo in 1999 that brought many refugees to Albania. From then on, this phenomenon spread rapidly in the countries in transition or development including Albania.With the sudden intensive influence from the Eastern and Western European countries, it is understandable for a country that was once in total isolation, moreover, was a poor one, to become a target for many organized criminal groups and face new and different wave of criminality. The isolation encouraged the Albanian people to go across the borders of their homeland. Dreams for better lives, jobs and education for their children were overwhelming for many Albanians, while others sought reunification with family members that has already migrated to Western countries.Nevertheless, â€Å"Albanias role in trafficking appears easy to attribute to the difficult political and economic transition from an authoritarian to a pluralistic system.†Other factors than changes to the system of governance, which facilitated the rise of trafficking in Albania were the bad economic conditions. For some Albanians who had lost property, human trafficking and particularly exploitation of women, became a way of re-accumulating the wealth they lost, while for others, trafficking was considered as a solution to end their poverty and suffering.Women faced the greatest impact of unemployment as well as additional burden of maintaining their families as their spouses sought employment through emigration.Hence, women became increasingly vulnerable and these factors emerged trafficking, especially for women who turned to prostitution with the intent of doing it only temporarily.The once traditional values of the Albanian society were lost. Women easily become prey of traffickers with the help of their close family, which most of the time promised to find them husbandsas a way out of the heavy situation they were in. In addition, as middle men sometimes figured the spouses of these women, who saw ‘easy money by selling their wives, â€Å"without being aware of the consequences of the trafficking.† Furthermore, the heightened trafficking of Albanian women, within and out of the country, has been facilitated by the erosion of social controls in society and the ‘chronic weakness of the state.The government was incapable of projecting its authority to fight crime, protect crime victims, control its borders and curtail corruption among its security forces.As shown above, trafficking in women for sexual exploitation surfaced as new problem in the early 1990s. In that time few people believed in the treat of rising and that trafficking will escalate in a measure that is today. During the transition from communism and dictatorship, Albania was not only a transit country for the trafficking of human beings, but also a source country.Trafficking of Albanian women was and continues to be widespread.â€Å"The absence of legal provisions and official statistics on trafficking inhibited recognition of the problem.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"In 1995, legislators added penalties for prostitution and operation of facilities for prostitution to the Criminal Code of the Republic of Albania, but did not include a definition on trafficking.†It was necessary for improvements to be implemented in the legal system and the reform was the first important step in combating trafficking. Amendments in 2001, however, began to bring Albanian law in the line with the Palermo Protocol, and further steps in 2004 boosted up that process.Albanian penal legislation concerning trafficking has been improving continuously in accordance with international legislation and the international efforts of the Albanian state.The ratification of several conventions concerning this issue, â€Å"demonstrates that the legal framework of the fight against the trafficking of human beings, especially of women and children, is almost complete.†The ratification of these conventions facilitated more effective regional and international cooperation in the efforts against organized crime and constitutes a concrete step in the process of making Albanian legislation compatible with international standards.However, despite the tendency for international cooperation, â€Å"international assistance for the Albanian Government has not been well coordinated.Following this further, ensuring of complementarities, avoiding duplication and facilitating the effective use of resources, will possibly improve this coordination.Moreover, introducing legislation and practice in accordance with European Union standards â€Å"remains imperative and is an important step towards the eventual free movemen t of people across borders†and the acceptance of Albania to the Union. 2.3. Analysis and possible future improvements As already mentioned, the developing transition countries, as BIH and Albania, are not exception of the influence of trafficking in women. Moreover, they are a prolific ground for this ‘business. HERE I WANTED TO MENTION THE FURUTRE REFORMS IN LEGISLATIVE MEASURES FOR EX. BIH SHOULD HARMONIZE THE STATE AND ENTITIES LAWS.ALSO THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE EU AND WHAT MORE IS THERE TO BE DONE IN THIS AREA. I WANTED TO ASK YOU SHOULD I KEEP THIS POINT (SUB-CHAPTER) OR IS IT SMARTER TO INCORPORATE THOSE THINGS IN THE PREVIOUS ONES CONCLUSION Following the democratic development, exiting from the ongoing transition, and the implementation of the international instruments for combating trafficking in women, and in human beings in general, can be very helpful for countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania in suppressing this major problem. The measures taken by the home governments and legislators of these two countries can improve the control over trafficking, reducing it, by implementing the international legislative and maybe making more strict penalties for the violators/ criminals.

Comparing Female Sexuality in Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar and Alice Mun

Comparing Female Sexuality in Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar and Alice Munro’s Lives of Girls and Women In Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar and Alice Munro’s Lives of Girls and Women, Esther and Del try to take control of their sexuality and their sexual lives. These two female protagonists attempt to gain sexual confidence by quietly rejecting the societal images of women. They are able to seduce men and pilot their own sexual lives. These women are also able to ignore the popular beliefs about marriage and motherhood, thus freeing them from the traditional, restrictive female sexual roles. By rejecting the popular notions of womanhood, sexuality, and marriage, Esther and Del become the mistresses of their sexuality and sexual lives. Female sexuality is often equated with physical beauty. In The Bell Jar, the protagonist Esther works for an â€Å"intellectual† fashion magazine The Ladies’ Day and receives bonuses such as clothing and make-up kits. These false enhancers of female sexuality only make her feel â€Å"very empty† (Plath, 3). To fill the empty void in her sexual wellbeing, Esther stows away these beauty products and privately envies the â€Å"stern muscular Russian girl with no make-up† at the U.N. (78). As well, Esther admires Jay Cee, the editor who has brains so that â€Å"her plug-ugly looks didn’t seem to matter†(6). Esther sees that once a woman is rid of her make-up, she may appear masculine, but her strength will shift towards useful talents such as simultaneous interpretation, which enhances her true feminine value. Indeed, Esther is insulted when she reads a magazine article which insists: â€Å"The boy thinks of the universe, its immensity and myste ry; the girl thinks, ‘I must wash my hair’†(177). Esther does not belie... ...g her successful control over her sexuality. As Del remarks in Lives of Girls and Women, â€Å"There is a change coming I think in the lives of girls and women. Yes. But it is up to us to make it come† (Munro, 173). Del and Esther are women who answer this call to repossess their sexuality and reclaim their sexual lives. They take the initiative to stray from the mainstream definition of femininity, and they learn to make men dance to their tune in the game of sex. Uninterested in the traditional domestic roles of women, Del and Esther reject the institution of marriage and reshape their attitudes towards motherhood. The change is not merely coming; it has already taken root in the psyches of these two women. WORKS CITED Munro, Alice. Lives of Girls and Women. London: Penguin Books, 1982. Plath, Sylvia. The Bell Jar. London: Faber and Faber, 1966.