Narrative Protests in Bangkok

Kanya tries to see what is going on but cannot glimpse what is happening in the first rows of the march. Even when she stands on her toes, she cannot see anything because colourful flags, banners and signs are sticking out of the crowd everywhere. Not much is moving and the Thai woman is growing impatient slowly. The march through the huge and lively city Bangkok has taken four hours already and still more and more people are joining in, even though the streets are stuffed with people already. She can feel the people all around her becoming uneasy and hear the whistling growing even louder but until now everyone has been calm and peaceful. Even if this protest turned out violent and if she got lost in the struggling masses again, if would be worth it. This government, which is hated by all Thai people, cannot stay in power. The protest have been going on for a long time now but the power-hungry Yingluck Shinawatra has not resigned yet.

 

After-Death Avatars

Child psychologists agree on the fact that children growing up without their father or mother often suffer from extreme emotional stress. The loss of one of the parents can even cause mental illnesses. It doesn't have to be like that, however. After-Death Avatars can comfort, support and love your child just as the deceased one would have done.

Paper progress

I can not claim that I am making a great deal of progress with my paper lately. I do know what I want to write about and I know my sources. I even know how my paper is supposed to be structured and I have already written an introduction for it. I am waiting to receive feedback on that and hope that what I did is not too far away from what an introduction should look like. What I have not managed so far, however, is starting to really write. Even if I know what will come first in my paper, I do not know how and when to start. For really writing my paper I would need time, which I unfortunately do not have right now. I suppose that the Christmas holidays will give me enough time for that as I am not making great progress right now.

Surprising Europe - Detention Centres in the Netherlands

The treatment of refugees in the Netherlands goes beyond our imagination. The magazine “Surprising Europe” presented the unbelievable situation of African immigrants that come to the Netherlands. The interviewed prisoners in the detention centre in Zeist illustrated how they were treated badly although they are no criminals. One refugee passed through the Netherlands, intending to go to Canada but was brought to the detention centre in Zeist.

 



Alexander Dolmatov

So, the question is, why are immigrants held in detention centres in this country although they are no criminals? Refugees who are in the asylum procedure are held in these centres to be available for the Dutch government all the time. The conditions in these “prisons” vary of course, but most prisoners are treated very badly. They do not have enough time outside, no contact to their families and if they are ill there is no doctor to care for them. All kinds of resistance and protest (suicide intent, emotional reaction, not eating) lead to violence against them or they are put into an isolation cell, where the conditions seems to be even worse.
A very shocking example was the young Russian Alexander Dolmatov.  He was an anti-Putin activist and fled from imprisonment to the Netherlands. Due to complications and errors, his application was rejected and he had to stay in a detention centre where he committed suicide.

If he had been granted asylum, he would still be alive. Another example where people had to die in vain is the fire of 2005. The huge fire broke out in the Schiphol detention centre, in which 11 people were killed and 14 injured, among them also guards. The fire broke out in one of the cells but as the prisoners alarmed the guards, they were not taken seriously. When the guards finally realized the danger, they had to unlock each cell separately. By then, it was already too late for some of them.

Cell

The Dutch immigration law is visibly a danger, rather than a support, to most refugees and this problem has to be addressed.

EU Paper Topics

• What did Austria do to put  the EU Water Framework Directive into action since 2000?

I would like to write about that topic because I have been active in an action group in Graz for about four  years. This action group tries to prevent the "Energie Steiermark" from building a hydroelectric power plant that would offend this Directive.

• How would the new EU animal health law that was proposed in 2013 change the life of Austrian animals?

This topic is interesting to me because I am vegan and am also active in a society for the prevention of cruelty to animals.

• EU and the deaf: What did the Brussels declaration in 2010 change?

My second language at the ITAT is Austrian Sign Language, so I am very interested in "deaf issues" and how fast or slow things are moving in this area.

• The path of "Ode to joy".

This song has a really catchy tune and I have always liked it. So it would be interesting to find out more about it.

• The path of an "Innocent Smoothie" (from Britain to Austria) without the EU.

I love Innocent smoothies and I thought about what the EU does for me. So the logical answer was: The EU brings Innocent smoothies to Austria!