ISSUE 3

12 INTERNATIONAL
Wed. Nov. 20, 2019
Sentenced to death at age 15
Students write letters to advocate for minor on death row
BY BROOKE FEKRU
International Editor
Two years ago in South Sudan,
when Magai Matiop Ngong was just 15
years old, he was convicted of murder.
The murder he was on trial for was of
his cousin, whom he accidentally shot.
According to Amnesty International,
Ngong was attempting to ward off his
cousin who was trying to stop Ngong
from fighting with one of his neighbors.
In court, Ngong inadequately represented
himself because of his inability
to get access to a lawyer. At just the
age of 15, the judge sentenced Ngong to
death by hanging.
There are many issues that arise
while looking at this case. The first and
foremost is that Ngong was a minor
at the time of sentencing and is still a
minor as he awaits the country’s brutal
death penalty.
This is not an isolated incident
in South Sudan. In fact, according to
Amnesty International, in the past two
years, the South Sudanese government
executed three juveniles.
This goes against not only international
human rights law that prohibits
the execution of prisoners under the
age of 18, but also South Sudanese law
which states the same thing.
The other issue at hand is the access
to legal representation during a trial.
According to Human Rights Watch, the
majority of lower-income South Sudanese
end up being incarcerated due to
the fact that the majority go through
the criminal justice system without
legal counsel.
Unlike in America where the right
to a lawyer is embedded in the Sixth
Amendment of the Constitution, in
most countries such as South Sudan,
the privilege to
a lawyer is only
accessible to
upper class citizens.
Ngong’s case
was among the
many AHS students
wrote
about during
Write for Rights
event last Tuesday.
Write for
Rights is a letter-writing
campaign
sponsored
“Write for
Rights is
a way for
students
to be global
citizens
by standing up for social
justice.”
--CHIRSTINE TRIEU
senior
by Amnesty International to shed light
on various cases across the world in
which people’s basic human rights are
being infringed upon.
Each year, the non-profit chooses
10 cases and distributes them to 170+
countries and regions to take part in
this campaign.
“This year was incredible because
we saw that all the cases were of young
people who are similar to our ages, and
their rights were being violated in different
ways by their government,” Just
World Vice President and senior Rudha
Fareed said.
Highest
number of
executions
in 2018
1. China (1,000+)
2. Iran (253+)
3. Saudi Arabia (149+)
4. Vietnam (85+)
5. Iraq (52+)
6. Egypt (43+)
7. USA (25)
8. Japan (15)
This year’s cases ranged from advocates
demanding change from their
government about climate change, to a
young woman jailed for improper clothing,
to a student fighting for the right
of property ownership. Amid all of
these cases however, the trial of Ngong
caught the attention
of many students.
This is because
the case of Ngong
was not something
that was completely
foreign.
The death penalty
is a larger
problem that is
prominent across
the world as it is
passed down as
a form of punishment,
often times
when the laws that
are being broken are not that severe.
This can be specifically seen in the
Philippines.
In 2016, Rodrigo Duterte came into
power after campaigning mainly on the
issue of tough crimes on drug traffickers.
After coming into office, his administration
has been accused of human
rights violations, as thousands of citizens
were killed as a crackdown on the
drug problem that is rampant in the
country.
Again, this administration mostly
targets the lower class who are unable
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
to get fair due process.
Issues revolving the death penalty
are not only relevant in developing
nations. The death penalty causes strife
and controversy right here in the U.S.
as well.
In just 2019, the United States has
executed 19 people. States across the
U.S. have continued to execute convicted
criminals even when at times, even
when there is a lack of evidence.
An example of this was the case of
Larry Swearingen, who was executed
in Texas in August of this year after
being convicted of murdering a woman
by the name of Mellissa Trotter. New
evidence that has emerged, however,
suggests that Swearingen was under
police custody during the time of the
victim’s death.
In the past few months, the U.S.
federal government announced its plan
to continue federal execution after a
16-year hiatus. The decision, which is
being criticized by many officials across
the country, was pushed by President
Donald Trump.
It is important to ask if the death
penalty is an ethical way of punishment.
With the emergence of new evidence,
faulty witnesses and unfair trials,
many across the world are sentenced
to death unjustifiably. It is
important for an international governing
body such as the United Nations to
condemn this method of punishment.
and abolish it altogether.
Immigrant stories: coming to America
How senior Daiany Salomon made her journey from Bolivia to the United States
PHOTO CREDIT: BRENDA HUAMANI
Around the world
#FreeSowore
Nigerian Security Forces are
refusing to release a journalist
who is being held despite being
granted bail. The Department of
State Services convicted journalist
Omoyele Sowore with treason
after he organized a protest
against the government. Amnesty
International has continually
criticized Nigeria's government,
which has a history of attacking
freedom of speech and press
within the country.
Jihad leader dead
An Israeli air strike launched on
Nov. 12, killed prominent Islamic
Jihad leader Abu al-Ata. Abu al-
Ata is thought to be responsible
for numerous rocket fires from
Gaza aimed at Israel in the past
year.
Capitalism on trial
Protests were started in Chile
after the government raised the
price of metro tickets early October.
Although the protests were
initiated by this event, the issue
speaks much louder about the
wealth disparity that is present
within the country. Many protesters
are demanding a reform to
the constitution, which incorporates
capitalist principles.
Researchers denied
Canadian government is facing
backlash after denying visas to
researchers from Africa, who
were invited to participate in a
conference on Artificial Intelligence
(AI). This has been an
issue that occured last year as
well, with 100 attendees failing to
attend because their visas were
denied. In response to this, a
major AI conference named International
Conference on Learning
Representation has chosen Addiss
Ababa, Ethiopia for its 2020
location.
Should the death penalty be
allowed around the world?
JOHN LUSENI
freshman
"I feel like it depends
on what kind of crime
you did and the severity
of it all, but overall
I don't believe it is a
good idea."
MICHAEL BEKELE
sophmore
"Personally, I don't
believe the death penalty
should be used as
a form of punishment
because regardless of
the situation, their life
should not be taken
from them."
FATU KALOKO
sophmore
"Yes, I think the death
penalty should be used
based on what crime
the person committed.
If they killed so many
people, then yes."
MELEK
MOHAMMED
junior
"No, because people
can learn from their
mistakes and usually
new evidence come
into light that can prove
people innocent."
ANDREAS
PACHCO-RIVERA
senior
"Yes, but I think it only
should be allowed in
some cases depending
on the crime committed."
BY BROOKE FEKRU
International Editor
Senior Daiany Salomon moved to the
U.S. at the age of seven from Santa Cruz,
Bolivia. The decision for the move was a
plan that was first initiated by her mother
when Salomon was just a toddler.
As Salomon entered preschool, her
mother made a monumental decision to
leave Bolivia and move to America. The
reason for her move was the hopes to provide
Salomon and her sister a better future.
During this time, Salomon and her sisters
stayed with their grandmother, whom
she calls their second mom.
“My grandma has been our mom for
most of our lives, especially the years that
my mom was not there to take care of us,”
Salomon said.
After two and a half years, Salomon’s
mother was ready to take her daughters to
the U.S.
Salomon remembers the emotional
moment at the airport when she had to bid
farewell to her relatives. Salomon especially
remembers the immense sadness she felt
when she said bye to her grandmother. Her
mother, wishing to lighten the mood, began
talking about how better things are waiting
for them in America.
“My mom told me how my sister and I
had our own rooms and that we were going
to get a lot of toys to make us feel better,”
Salomon said.
The flight from Bolivia to the U.S. took
approximately 15 hours. During her flight,
Salomon recalls how her ears keep popping
because of the elevation.
After spending almost a day and a half
in a plane ride, Salomon and her family
stopped in Miami, Florida to transit to
another flight to Virginia.
As Salomon finally got out of the airport,
she saw a familiar face waiting for
her. “I saw my grandfather after years of
not seeing him,” Salomon said, recalling
the joy she felt. With her grandfather, her
stepfather was also waiting, whom she was
excited to meet after hearing about him
from her mother.
After leaving the airport, Salomon
and her family began making their way to
Burger King to eat their first meal in America.
Salomon and her sister were excited to
go there because unlike in America, Burger
King is a very expensive place to eat in
Bolivia.
One difference that stood out and surprised
Salomon the most was the driving
etiquette present in America.
“The roads were much cleaner in America
and most people obeyed traffic laws
which was so different from Bolivia, where
people's driving etiquette was extremely
bad,” Salomon said.
Another difference Salomon noticed was
the schooling system. In Bolivia, private
schools were more common in order to get
a good education. However, when she came
here, she noticed many students attended
public schools.
“Here, the public schools are well
resourced and provide a good education for
students, but it was not like that in Bolivia,”
said Salomon.
One hardship Salomon faced when she
came to America was getting learning English.
“It took me a few years to fully understand
and use the language well,” said
Salomon who spoke Spanish all of her life.
Planning to visit soon, Salomon says
she is excited to see her relatives again.
“I really miss my family because I
haven’t seen them in 9 years,” said Salomon.
As she is preparing to finish her final
school year, Salomon says she is working
hard to show to her mom that the sacrifices
she made when deciding to come here were
not all in vain. “I was given a chance to get
a better life because of my mom, and I work
hard every day to get it,” Salomon said.
PHOTO CREDIT: DAIANY SAOMON