ChrisAshworth

So it's almost over, only one more evening of watching what I say and avoiding the internet.

I must say not having an opinion when spending the whole weekend with friends seemed almost impossible. I may have let my guard down once or twice, it's even harder after a beer or two! I've spent today browsing the job market the old fashioned way, by handing in CV's in the places themselves. A few of them did say "just check the website" though. I also went to the Peoples History Museum http://www.phm.org.uk/ which is a museum all about how people have rallied togethor to implement positive change over the centuries. The right to vote, trade unions and the welfare state are just some of the things that have come about in this country through people coming togethor and demanding change. So if you ever doubt that you can make a difference on the things that really matter to you, that's the place to go. I left with a heightened sense of power and purpose (Thanks to Shehan for recommending it)

One of the biggest global problems in todays world is Climate Change. It's already costing lives and destroying peoples livelihoods on a huge scale, and it's going to get worse. Unfortunately the people it's hitting hardest (those living in poverty) are least equipped to deal with it. They have little education or voice, and certainely aren't lucky enough to have resources like the Peoples History Museum to inspire them. So they need help from the people who have the resources to do so, like most of us in the Western World. Now is a particuarly important time for people to get togethor and vent their concerns on this issue, as the latest meeting of world leaders about Climate Change is only a couple of weeks away. http://unfccc.int/2860.php

If you want to know what you can do, this link will give you some ideas. http://www.oxfam.org.uk/get_involved/campaign/climate_change/

This is an iconic image from the Spanish Civil War, calling people to fight against the fascist rebels of the 1930's. The message "If you tolerate this your children will be next" can be applied to any injustice however, and it's a slogan we shoud all keep in mind as responsible humans.

OK, my brief spell on the net is over. I gave myself a rule that most of the things I had use it for must Oxfam/Charity related.

Apart from the e-mail I sent to Tony Lloyd, I also rang up the MEN this morning (on Serenes request) to try and get them to do a story on the Poverty Week. I was pretty nervous when I rang (not really sure why) had a quick chat with someone about it and they asked for a number of the people who were organising it, so hopefully Serena/the Oxfam office will be getting a call.

One great way to express opinions is music. I haven't restricted myself from singing along to Manic Street Preachers songs this week (not sure if I could manage without them at the moment) However music is another thing that is fundamental to many of our lives, but people in poverty have to do without  most/all of the time. As Music is such a powerful thing, it can be a force for both good and bad.The energy expressed through it transmits to anyone who listens to it, and this can lead to positive or negative states of mind, creative or destructive. The fact that music is banned in some parts of the world is as wrong as opinions being banned (in my opinion).

One of the biggest global movements to make the world a better and more humane place is set out in the UN's Millenium Development Goals. http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/ There are 8 specific goals that the UN has commited itself to, that represent the very fundamentals of human progress. The goal that is currently doing worst is Maternal Health. 1000 women across the world are still dying every day from child birth related issues. In order to try and drive more progress on this issue (the number has fallen from 1400 in 2008) The Manchester Oxfam Group http://www.manchester-oxfam.org/ are organising a big relay-walk from Manchester to London, whilst transporting 4 big cubes in 4 'Ox-prams'. These cubes will be presented to David and/or Samantha Cameron on Mothers Day (April 3rd). If you want to help with this (huge) campaign, please get in touch via this blog :-)

A pregnant statue of Liberty, which was designed to raise awareness of Maternal Mortality in the build-up to the summit that took place in New York last September. See what was discussed at this summit here - http://www.un.org/en/mdg/summit2010/

Dear Tony,

I wanted to share with you what me and hundreds of other people across the country are doing this week to raise awareness of the terrible poverty and suffering over a billion fellow humans on this planet live in.

For 1 week we are depriving ourself of 1 thing (or more) which will give us and others just a small snapshot into what living in poverty is like. Examples include living without hot water, living on £1 a day, living without electricity and in my case living without both the internet and opinions (apart from today so I can e-mail you!).

I would be very grateful if you could take a minute to look at my blog and leave a comment on there.

http://povertychallenge.21publish.com/ChrisAshworth


I would also like an opportunity to meet with you in person to discuss the issues of poverty and climate change. Could you please let me know when you'd be free to do this?

Kind Regards,

Chris Ashworth.

So this is my first day with no internet or opinion, and certainly the toughest.

The main thing that has occupied my mind today is, what counts as as opinion? Technically you could say any decision you make does, but without decisions there is no life at all. My housemates thought it was funny I was doing this as they say I'm a very opinionated person. Indeed most of our conversations in the house are full of opinions, especially when something is on TV. I have just watched the apprentice with one of my housemates. Usually throughout I would have been making comments about the candidates, the presentation and my general disregard for the culture of sales and greed that dominates it. Tonight it was even more difficult as they were doing a challenge in the fashion industry, which to me is basically an industry that plays on peoples insecurities, and makes people spend a lot of money on things they don't need. Instead they could be spending this on more important things like, urrm, saving lives. I try and buy as many of my clothes as possible from charity shops as it's cheap and doesn't fuel greed. One such shop is http://www.oxfam.org.uk/shop/default.aspx

I've always found these kinds of adverts disgusting. A strong word perhaps but to me they only give people false ideas, and encourage a greedy and egotistical culture.

I found it impossible not to make faces or noises of general frustration throughout watching the apprentice though, I'm not sure if this counts as an opinion? The other difficult thing was having to stay silent when someone was trying to have a conversation with me, it seemed a bit rude but (I think) they understood why.

I don't know how anyone could cope with not being able to speak their mind on a pemanent basis, but I am convinced it is an inhumane restriction to put on anyone. Rational judgement is what seperates humans from animals, and so is fundamental to our being. Billons of people have to live under dictatorship, where if they speak out against anything they are told is right by the government they can be severely punished. Indeed the worlds most populated country and fastest growing economy, China, is said by many to still have large elements of a dictatorship in it's governance. Last month the distinguished Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Liu Xiaobo - http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2010/press.html, for his continued campaign against Chinas evils, despite being imprisoned for the same. I hope this gives you an idea of the huge scale this problem still exists on. Personally I think if I had my opinion permanently restricted, eventually I would just cave in and rather risk imprisonment or worse than not have a voice. 

It can't be underestimated how fundamentally wrong these kinds of dictatorships are. We must all appreciate our right to free speech, and just as importantly, use it wisely.

I've started to miss it a bit. I'd estimate I had an urge to check the web around 6 or 7 times today so far during my lunch break and luls at work. In my lunch break I had my sandwiches as usual and rather than go back to the offie and check e-mails/facebook, I had 30 mins to kill and really wasn't too sure what to do with myself. I ended up browsing some noticeboards in the Computer Science building, which gave me the idea to check similar information in buildings which do subjects that I may want to move into a similar career for. So this week I'm going to see if there are any job opportunities/ideas where the Uni does International Development, as well as where the University runs it's meditation/Yoga classes. I doubt I'd have thought of these things if I wasn't forcing myself from the internet.

However many of the things people in poverty have to do without do not have a silver lining, and my inconveniences are only minor. This is why for the rest of the week I will not have an opinion (apart from this blog and work), as well as no internet. This should be interesting...