Global Issues: A Windy Introduction
Author: Sailea Nerid
Recently I have been spending quite a lot of time browsing articles in the Library. I would not bore our readers with the reasoning behind those searches, but I would like to share with you what impressed me deeply, and led me to the idea of the series of articles that I and my fellow TVT reporters will present for your attention.
I suppose most of you haven’t read the Membership Manual relatively recently, so allow me to remind you what it states regarding TarValon.Net’s mission: ‘TarValon.Net seeks to not only create real-life friendships and bonds between fans all over the world, but also to be seen as the trusted source for news, research, art, and theories…’
I have always admired the efforts put by our members in order to stay true to this statement. The Tar Valon Times is a fine example of those efforts, and I am sure a lot of you enjoy the new things you learn from it, the entertaining book/games/movies reviews, the curious interviews with other members, etc. I can hardly count the times I was giggling over a particularly witty article. To quote Dr. Seuss, ‘Fun is good’. One can hardly appreciate those moments, however, if fun is the only thing one knows. It’s simply not how life works. This world is colorful and magical, wonderful and full of amazing things to discover, and even more amazing people to meet. Then you see the other side of the coin because this world is also unfair and ugly, this world is full of people who suffer, full of hungry children and lost hopes.
‘That’s how life is’, I wish I had been given a penny every time I have heard this, then I would have been rich. It sounds like a universal formula that solves everything: This is the nature of life and things will never change, it’s just not possible. Our life today, however, is full of impossible things. We are flying, we can talk with people on the other side of the world, we can build machines that can do almost anything. Then why can’t we fight against what is said to be impossible to fight against? Everything starts with a dream and with several little steps, with some efforts put in by each and every one of us.
Our new series, Global Issues, is going to tell you about some of the worst injustice in our world, things that may disgust you, make you angry, or even make you cry. Our aim is not to discuss the economic, political, or cultural reasons behind a particular grave violation of human rights. No. You can discuss those aspects of the situation in the Current Events Forum. Our aim is to raise your awareness, to inform you about things you may not know, to encourage you to spend some time thinking about those people who go through unimaginable difficulties, say a prayer for them if you believe in prayers, and if you want, find a way to help them.
The series will concentrate on topics like forced marriages, female mutilation, refugees, military use of children, and other similar topics. We are open to suggestions by our readers who find a certain topic very close to them and want to share it with the rest of us. We are not looking for heated discussions or to offend anyone’s beliefs. Our main idea and goal is to present before you a human story, without all the figures and numbers behind the specific issue. The fictional stories will be based on real events and we will try to keep them suitable for our younger readers. At the end of the articles we will present to you some very basic facts about the problem and offer to you ways that you can involve yourself further into trying to solve the issues or help. If nothing else, we would be really glad even if we make you think about those people and tell their story to your friends because talking is important, it leads to actions, and eventually to making the impossible possible.
We are aware this is something new, and we anticipate your reactions with a mixture of fear and excitement. We do believe, however, this is a good thing, and the best time to start talking is right now. I will allow myself to quote our beloved Robert Jordan: ‘The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning.’ I can hear the wind blowing so let’s begin.
