Highway 16 is known as “The Highway of Tears”.  The highway of tears is in British Columbia, it streches from Prince George to Prince Rupert. Eighteen young women have either gone missing or been found killed on this highway since 1969. The women have all been between the ages of fourteen and twentyfive. A good percent of the women have been Aboriginal.

The city has now put up signs on Highway 16, warning women to not hitch hike. I think these signs will not be very affective considering most people hitch hiking on this highway probably already are aware of  what has been going on. Its common sense not to get in a car with a stranger but some women or men will get in the car with anyone to get a ride instead of walking. I think they should have people to watch the highway for hitch hikers. They could drive around and make sure there isnt and if there is, the hitch hiker should get a fine.

A newer and case that I found really sad was Aielah Saric-Auger, a fourteen year old Aboriginal girl from Prince George. She had last seen her parents Febuary 2, 2006 and was found on the side of the road by a passing motorist eight days later. Her remains were found just east of Prince George near Tabor Mountain. I find it sad that someone could take the life of someone so young.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060215/saric_remains_060215

Although the investigation is still on going, they have no leads or suspects at this moment.

The Rights:

Children are entitled to all the rights guarenteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. A child (under the age of 18) must  be able to depend on a adult to protect them , defend there rights and help them develope. The Convention of the Rights of a child is the most endorsed human rights treaty in the world which is followed by all but two countires. This convention of rights was put together on November 20, 1989.  

  In my research I discovered many articles on the rights of a child such as :

Survival and Development Right: to have enough food, proper shelter, formal education and health care.

The Protection Right: protectionn from abuse, neglect and cruelty and special protection due to war.

Participation Right: the freedom to express opinions, to be heard on matters of religion, social , economic, cultural and political life.

Children are not the property of there parents or are they objects of charity, they are human beings with rights. The convention of rights see’s the child as a individual, family and community member with not only rights but responsibilities that are age appropriate. I believe that all children everywhere have a right to all the above as it is not a lot to ask.

The violations:Children suffer many of the same human rights abuses as adults, but are often targeted because they are dependent and vulnerable or because children are not seen as individuals with their own rights.Thousands of children are forced by poverty or abuse to live on the streets where they are vulnerable to abuse. Millions more work at hazardous jobs or are victims of child trafficking and forced prostitution. Girl children suffer gender-specific abuses, such as female genital mutilation, and are particularly vulnerable to other forms of abuse, including rape.

I have read many articles on the olympics and how it affects not only “Our” homeless but host cities in the past. The majority of host cities share a common problem with housing there homeless and even when the olympic committees include a positive solution for our homeless it rarely occurs. In fact the situation becomes worse. In 1999, the international Olympic committee adopted “Agenda 21, Sport for Sustainable Development” which cites the importance of protecting the health of vulnerable populations, including local housing strategies, and giving community groups access to information which would help them provide such services. All talk no action as Agenda 21 wasent made compulsory for the Olympic host cities.

In order for the 2010 games to be held in Vancouver, the Vancouver Olympic partners made some bold promises……Part of the Olympic bid was to :

:create an affortable housing legacy, protect rental housing

: make sure homelessness doesnt increase

: lastly make sure poor residents are not involuntarily displaced, evicted or subject to unreasonable rent hikes as a result of the games.

It appears there are a lot of broken promises, Vancouver has done nothing but trick our homeless out of there boarding rooms and low budget motels/hotels in order to clean them, redecorate so they can accommidate the incoming tourists and journalists. Five residential hotels with about 350 rooms downtown have evicted their tenants in order to accommadate for the olympics. It seems the homeless are to be picked up and placed in homeless shelters or moved to other areas as they are to be out of sight in order for Vancouver to look good. ,

Perspective of the oppressed: I believe that the oppressed is the people who are living on the down town streets or living in low income rooms/hotels and the tax payers. Our needy people are getting pushed out of their homes with no where to go to make room for tourists to stay at during the Olympics. The poverty problem isn’t being solved with the Olympics coming, but just being hidden. The tax payers are also the oppressed because they are the ones having to pay for all the construction of the Olympics and wont get anything back for it.

http://povertyolympics.ca/?page_id=2

http://wiww.forbes.com/2004/06/23/cx_da_0623topnews.htmlI was suprised that a company as large and succesful as Walmart, would be discrimanating against their female employees. I believe that our biases do affect the way we address social justice issues.In this particular case the bias is against the female employees as they are not being treated the same as the male employees. I strongly believe that a position with any company large or small should be given to the employee who offers the best qualifications not wether they are male or female, that should never be a factor.