The Buccaneer - Osseo Area Schools

Burma
By Annette Gabriel
While most people were dreading the start of another school year, conflict was abundant in Southeast Asia. In the
country of Burma, bordered by Thailand and India, riots broke out and the world sprang to attention.
The Buddhist monks, wearing their saffron robes, led protests in late August against the unreasonable rise in food
costs. People were donating less food, and without donations from the public, their beloved monks would starve because
they are not allowed to handle money. There were more protests that followed, but they were not about food. These protests
were instead anti-government movements. Burma has a strict totalitarian government, which is a single party government or
the regime has taken many prisoners into custody because of their participation in the protests. Burma’s government claims
that ten people died when the protests turned into riots, but outside estimates are much higher. One journalist has died so
far, and the rest of the journalists have been barred from entry. More than ten monks have been killed while even more are
still detained by the government in substandard facilities.
Because of the death of one of its journalists, Japan has retracted its funds from Burma. Japan is not the only country
to respond to Burma with sanctions; the U.S. and E.U. have placed trade and travel restrictions on Burma while the international
community is pressuring China and India to put more pressure on the regime.
Government controlled Burmese newspapers recently reported: “The colonialist bloc and national traitor…
instigated mass protests in September. Now…peace and stability has been restored…The government is building a peaceful,
modern and developed democratic nation with flourishing discipline.” The government decided that Burma will hold a referendum
on a new constitution in May. There have not been elections of any sort in Burma in eighteen years, and those results
were ignored by the government. It is not known what the constitution contains because it was written in secret. It was also
announced recently that Burma will hold national elections in 2010. However, no one has any faith in the elections, including
the Burmese people.
This is an issue that is evolving and changing often. If you want more information, including updates about the situation,
you can go to the BBC website, (http://news.bbc.co.uk/#top), where you can see footage of the riots and articles about
this political issue.
Park Center Book Club
By Natasha Chiinze
There is a new book club here in our own Park Center Senior High. The Book Club gathers every Thursday during
intervention. All it takes is a recommendation from a teacher to join. It’s the first book club that Park Center has had so far,
and it has settled into a nice easy-going rhythm.
Do you love to read? Well, you don’t have to. Anyone can join whether you love to read or you just want to get
some experience in reading. You know, getting a feel for it. There are no requirements other than to show up, or say when
you cannot make it. The book choice is open, meaning there aren’t any set schedules of what books the members are going
to read and when. When it’s time to choose one, the club members vote for the two books they would like to read the most
and choose among the two. They also decide on when to hold the book discussions. If someone doesn’t like the book or
didn’t have time to finish it, it’s okay. Not everyone will like every book the club reads and the members don’t expect them
to either. Luckily, Park Center received a grant from the government, so the Book Club can order a number of books from
Barnes & Noble.
The first book they read was The Boy in the Stripped Pajamas. It was about a nine-year-old boy named Bruno whose
father was a Commander of the Nazi forces. He was suddenly moved from the place he’d called home to a military post with
the rest of his family. It was surrounded by a fence and on the other side of the fence were these people in the stripped pajamas.
One day he met a boy named Shmuel on the other side. They became best friends. The book was a good read on how
the young mind was ignorant of all that goes on but is able to make friends with another little one that was thrown into a
harsh world without knowing the reasons why he was being cast as the enemy. Another book they’ve read is called The Absolutely
True Confessions of a Part Time Indian. It’s by Native- American author Sherman Alexi. It’s like a partial bibliography
about himself as a kid growing up on a poor reservation. He was bullied, he was hungry, and he also had a huge head and
big feet. Their third read at the moment is Broken China. This book is about fourteen-year-old China Cup Cameron who
tried her hardest to care for her child and keep up with her school work. She manages somehow through the prejudices
against her until tragedy hits hard. The choices she makes hurt her, but thankfully there are people willing to bring her back
to the light. These books can all be found in the school library.
If you really want to join, you can go to the front desk at the library and ask for Ms. Teeple, Ms. Hobbs, or Mrs. Borgeson.
They are the Book Club’s advisers and would love to be of assistance. So drop by if you want to join Book Club and
discover the world of books.
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