Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childish days; that can recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth; that can transport the sailor and the traveller, thousands of miles away, back to his own fire-side and his quiet home! ~Charles Dickens, The Pickwick Papers, 1836
What about sunrise What about rain What about all the things That you said we were to gain... What about killing fields Is there a time What about all the things That you said was yours and mine... Did you ever stop to notice All the blood we've shed before Did you ever stop to notice The crying Earth the weeping shores?
…
What have we done to the world Look what we've done What about all the peace That you pledge your only son... What about flowering fields Is there a time What about all the dreams That you said was yours and mine... Did you ever stop to notice All the children dead from war Did you ever stop to notice The crying Earth the weeping shores
…
I used to dream I used to glance beyond the stars Now I don't know where we are Although I know we've drifted far
(…)
Hey, what about yesterday What about the seas The heavens are falling down I can't even breathe What about the bleeding Earth
(What about us)
Can't we feel its wounds What about nature's worth It's our planet's womb What about animals We've turned kingdoms to dust (What about us) What about elephants Have we lost their trust What about crying whales We're ravaging the seas What about forest trails
(What about us)
…
Burnt despite our pleas What about the holy land Torn apart by creed What about the common man Can't we set him free (What about us) What about children dying Can't you hear them cry Where did we go wrong Someone tell me why What about babies (What about us) What about the days What about all their joy What about the man What about the crying man What about Abraham (What was us)
What about death again Do we give a damn
Comment on Earth Song
This song was written in the 1990s and the singer, Michael Jackson, is warning us of some world problems. He tries to draw our attention to them and he explains what we have been changing and how these endangered things are important for our well being on Earth.
He feels pain caused by Man because he sees people in the world destroying what is of everybody. He asks what’s going on about sunrise, rain, fields, children, seas, animals and so; and he didn’t have any answers. He is defeated, he misses these simple things and he warns Man of the end of Mankind.
From his point of view, things have changed not only in nature but also in people’s mind. They are more and more greedy, they only feel worried about making war, money and material things. Man’s rights have been lost and it’s very hard to replace them.
I agree with Michael Jackson, it’s high time we did something and helped Earth but it’s harder when there are people who don’t care about it, it’s sad. And this is not a brand new problem, it has been lingering during decades and decades. Man’s evolution power is very strong but I believe that if every person tried to help each other and the Earth, we could live on a better place. We just need to learn how to live with powerful things and keep dignity.
Dear Professor Serraninho and Students at Escola Secundaria c/3 ciclo de Diogo de Gouveia--Beja, Portugal,
I was wonderful to receive your letters via my friends Gilbert and Shirley Saint-Leon. They have known me and my parents since I was 8 or 9 years old.
I am so happy that you are studying ecology and the environment at your school. I wish that schools here in the United States were all doing that as well. I have spoken with some of the people in your government, especially concerning the terrible fires that seem to come every late summer/early autumn season both in Portugal and in Northern California. But I did not know that I and my Tree/People Organization were covered in your text book.
I have learned that next March Portugal is hoping to have a million volunteers working in your forests in an efforts to clean out old trees and plant new young trees to replace them. Perhaps you and your school mates will be taking part in this effort. It is the only way to prevent the forest from burning up.
The email for us is Treepeople.org, and our BLOG is attached.
Again, I want to thank each of you for writing to me. It made me very happy.
Our school has hosted two wonderful Global Volunteers: Mr. and Mrs. Saint-Leon. They have enriched our lives with their stories and knowledge. On leaving back to Los Angeles they surprised us all by telling us they happened to know Andy Lipkis, the president of TREEPEOPLE, and we took the chance to congratulate him for the wonderful job he has been doing for the environment by writing him a letter that they would personally deliver and... guess what...! Andy Lipkis has already answered back.
After our refreshing and inspirational holidays we're back again and we start by celebrating the European Day of Languages with English which is our bridge to multulcuralism and togetherness. At ESDG we have built the Tree of Languages in several languages and messages as the following by Teresa Brissos:
"There are many words to describe what English is, but none of them would do it fair justice. Long goes the time when English was the British and American language. Today, the world is linked by it, and therefore the British and American people are too. It became a huge, unprejudiced gate for everyone to freely walk through. And even though they say Mandarin will be the next lingua franca, right now, if you have English at your disposal, you have the whole wide world at your feet."
Another school year has ended. For some, there are still examinations to come, for others this is it.For many there are no more English lessons in sight. We (11th graders) are an example of that. Through out all these years of learning English I never gave much thought to the day when they would come to an end. And that day was today. This isn't definitive, though. I will never give up on English because, aside from speaking my own language, learning and communicating in English is one of the most pleasant things I can do and, I am sure, one of my best tools. Like I've written today, still in class, English is culture. For the last two years we've discussed so many subjects that I am thrilled with the depths of our conclusions. We've been visited by North American people (our nice Global Volunteers) and, I confess, those were the lessons where I felt the excitment of speaking with a foreigner, specially one who spoke a better English than I do. I still remember our first lesson with Mrs. Rocha. The topic of our conversation was the importance of the English language in our modern world and the reason why we had chosen English as a second language. My answer was, basically, that I had always adored English, because it widened my horizons and it increased my odds in every area of life, and also because I very much appreciated English speaking countries (the words were not exactly these ones because I didn't know them at the time although I meant them), being my favourite the UK. Among other things, Mrs. Rocha told me "The grass is greener on the other side of the hill". This proverb kept popping out every once in a while in my mind and, for some unknown reason, I didn't forget it.Now I understand that the first words exchanged between people who don't know each other are, in fact, the most important ones. And now that communication has got so far that people who are in different and distant parts of the Earth can actually talk and share values, ideas and cultural aspects of their lives, we have reached a turning point: we are no longer just Portuguese, or British, or Cuban, or Chinese, or Russian, or Greek, or South African. We are global citizens and communication is pivotal to overcome all the prejudice that still has a strong presence in our world. Therefore, if we learn a new language, speaking and communicating, in general, will become easier tasks to accomplish. Due to a better understanding we will bridge our differences, foster tolerance and respect, perhaps build a better world where there is room for everybody and where no one will be discriminated because they have a different skin color or a different religion.Nevertheless, it seems that our main problem is communication and it is not that simple, whether it is because we're narrow-minded, or because we're not understood. So, as someone said before me, "what we have here is a failure to communicate". What better solution than learning first and speaking only after we're prepared for that? Hey! Listening is also a very important step! Joining both qualities looks pretty attractive and, guess what?! It is possible! I believe that many of our global riots would find better solutions if those involved cared about listening and understanding. Many people suffer and get angry with the world apparently for no reason, when what they need is to be heard ("Freedom Writers" is really an awesome example). Listening, trying to understand, learning how to communicate and being careful with our words (so that we won't hurt anybody's feelings) are some of the aspects we all should take into consideration. Attention, people! We need education if we want to do all this! What better place to start than our school?! Let's listen carefully to our teachers, make some effort to understand their work, focus on the important subjects, collect knowledge and, hopefully, we'll be ready to communicate.
