Winnipeg Adult Education Centre

This may seem trite, but it has been a beef of mine for the last number of years.  Safeway Club Cards!  That’s right I said it, they are such a scam!  When they first introduced the cards, Safeway was promising discounts and great deals.  Not long after all the prices returned to normal and if you choose to shop at Safeway without the club card you would be gouged beyond belief.  So what is in it for the consumer?  Nothing!  Safeway is collecting information on us, our family size and grocery preferences, all information which other companies are willing to pay for and I am sure Safeway sells it to them.  Does that extra income result in lower prices for the consumer?  No!  Does it result in better wages for their staff?  We might have though so until they brought out all their well paid staff and made them sign contracts for lower wages if they wanted to keep their jobs.  So, in the end Safeway profits from massive amounts of information and everyone else gets the short end of the stick.  Not to mention many Safeways are located near seniors and students who have no other options but to shop there.  It is such a scam and if you can’t already figure it out, I do not shop at Safeway.

by Tina Graham

Why is it that some people feel the need to speak up about things that they know very little about? Or why do they answer a question, when it is clear they do not know the answer? This is a situation I run into constantly.

By day, I work in a very technical industry, which I also have a lot of passion towards. Like with anything I was passionate about, even at a very young age, I wanted to learn as much about whatever it was that had my interest at the time. I’ve always been interested in electronics, so from my self teachings and asking many questions over the years, I have developed a pretty extensive understanding of most things we sell and deal with at my work, as well as going far above and beyond the standard scope of understanding how the things we sell work. To put it simply, I love the technical side of almost anything.

So how does this tie into my initial statement? Well, in all retail, three needs to be salespeople. Some of which are technically gifted and others which I’d like to refer to as “wordsmiths” or fast talkers. At my work, the owner has made it very clear that his work philosophy is about being honest, educational and thorough with each customer. He spends very little to nothing on advertising. It’s the type of service that he wants us to provide that is what brings customers back and has them tell their friends.

So as of late, one of the salespeople have been getting a little creative when dealing with customers. They’ll ask him questions about product, and I’ll hear some very imaginative answers. Usually ones that sound good, but have very little merit behind them. I let this sort of thing just happen, because it is not my place to butt in. But even more recently, he has started to use the same tactics with me, when I ask him questions about installs. He gives me an assumed answer, and when things don’t go how he assumed they would, the onus is on me to make things better. I’ve have dealt with this soo much, that I can tell when he is making up an answer and I call him on it. He just kind of laughs it off as if it’s not a big deal. WHY?!?!?!?! I’m sure, jy4m, that by now, you realize how important honesty is to me, and I have already expressed in my response how I think English assignments should be marked, that communication is the key. I almost think now that he makes up answers just to try to get me off his back about things, but I explain to him that he only makes matters worse. Because bad communication like that is counter-productive.

Then there are the customers. The one piece of credit I give to anyone working retail, is that these people who have decided to serve the public, get the privilege to deal with the lowest common denominator. There are always a few customers a year that come into the car audio department and talk about their buddy’s car whose window blew out ‘cause it was soo loud. But, what they don’t realize when they tell me their story of crap, is that right behind me are my first place trophies for several car audio competitions for the loudest vehicle. And the windshield on my car, at the time, was severely cracked. Not once did it ever seem like the window was in danger of blowing out of the car.

I guess people make things up for many different reasons, but why lie to impress? Most of the time you just make yourself look like a fool in the end. Personally, I’d just rather be real. If I’m asked a question and I know the answer I’ll speak up. If I can’t, I’ll try to get someone who can or I’ll learn the answer on my own.

by David Estabrook

Maybe it’s the poor me syndrome, the world owes me attitude, whatever it may be, it drives me nuts.

I understand people are angry and life can be difficult, but to wear it on your sleeve all day everyday and expect the rest of the world to deal with it, I feel this is wrong.

We are not all wired to be resilient, but we certainly have enough groups and phone services to help individuals in these areas.

People need to apply self help, it’s a useful strategy.  I am sitting in a class room with people from all walks of life, facing their individual struggles, or maybe not, yet as I look around at all these faces not one of them has ever complained, what a wonderful place to be.

I have friends who feel that their every move needs to be recognized and rewarded.  Funny they still come and visit me.

Another comes for advice and wants to hear my opinion, yet never uses it!  And, on countless occasions, blames me for his situation.  He is being abused.  He uses the excuse he can’t afford help, yet there are lots of free clinics in the city.  He never wants to face the truth.

A couple of others feel the world owes them, what I’m not sure about, but damn it they want what is theirs.  So in a nut shell, self pity destroys all around it, pick yourself up and dust yourself off and get help, it’s out there just get up and find it; are your fingers broken?  I must sound like a hard ass bitch; actually I’m quite the opposite.  But I can’t stand self pity.

 by Linda Martin

If there is anything in this world that just pisses me off, it would have to be dead beat dads.  Don’t get me wrong, I do realize there are also dead beat moms as well, but my life has crossed paths with so many dead beat dads.

So often, young children have to suffer the effects of not having a child in their lives.  Or having the father in their life, but him failing to focus on his children.

While single mothers struggle to raise their children alone, the father is often a no show.  I guess most of my anger comes from personal experience.

My own 8 year old son, the only boy in a house of three women, has already started to express his own anger and sadness, due to his own father’s abandonment.  For no good reason, my son’s father made the choice to stop seeing him.  This is his only child, and he can also never have another child again!  I guess this is for the best anyway.  Dead beat parents should not be allowed to have more children anyway.  Considering that they cannot take care of the ones they already have.

I seem to be the only one who is cognisant of the effects this has on my own son.  Some of the effects are short term, but some of them are long terms effects and damaging.

If only the dead beat dads realized exactly what their actions do to their children, maybe they will turn into dead beat dads!

Makes me ill!! The innocent children are the ones who suffer.

 by Shila Sims

Do other kids do what they are told from your child?  Are they scared or hesitant of your child?  And does your child consider other people’s feelings?  Those are some of reasons why kids bully other children.  One of today’s major issues in school is bullying.  However, it doesn’t always just happen just in schools. It can have a great effect on the victims and it has effects on the bullies themselves.  A bully is the act to others using one or all of the following: verbal abuse, physical abuse and intimidation.

Helping a bully to stop picking on kids is a whole other situation than those being bullied.  Persistence and patience is a virtue.

One thing to do is to put bullies in activities that are cooperative tasks.  They can learn to interact in a healthier manner. Supervision is necessary.  Teachers and parents should give praise and reinforce them every time they show positive social behavior.  It will be easier to set down authority after they learn that they can get positive reactions with positive interactions.

If you think you may be a parent of a bully, you should ask, “Why are they so aggressive?” Bullies may be coping with some kind of difficult situations.  They could be encouraged to be a bully by a person they respect.  Also, it might be that they are being bullied or abused themselves, so they need to gain some control or power back in their life.  There could be big changes in their family situation like a death, divorce, family violence or perhaps a parent lost a job.  These are just some of the reasons that could trigger your child to act out towards their peers.

There are many ways to tell if your child is being bullied.  There are signs that a parent should look out for such as: your child does not like going to school, is not happy, does not seem to have any friends, has bumps, bruises, cuts, torn clothing, is conveniently sick to avoid school, acts irritable, withdrawn, has trouble sleeping, or has sudden changes in friends.  Those are the common signals that can show there is a possibility that your child is being bullied.

There are some steps that can be taken to help victims of bullying.  As a parent, the first thing to do would be to ask how their day was. Don’t settle for one word answers and reach out and tell them that you are there to listen.  Talk to the teachers. They can also offer some solutions. Sometimes schools needs to take a step in to help.  Some children are bullied by their teachers.  If so, set a teacher and principal meeting. 

Do what you can to help brighten the situation and don’t settle for less in helping your child because, after all, they are worth it aren’t they?

 Nadia Sumar

Have any of you ever experienced a suicide in your, or someone you know, life? Suicide is a very serious issue and one of the big concerns we have as a community. We all need to be aware of the symptoms and traits that can lead to suicide. There are many things that can contribute to a suicide whether it be loneliness, anger and even depress. We all have to work together to narrow down the factors of suicide. I would like to point out a few tips to help you or someone you know reduce the risks of suicide. Are you familiar with noticing any changes? Or behaviour problems a loved one may be demonstrating? If not, read on. This may save a life.

Loneliness us a strong factor that can lead to suicide, feeling alone, and distance can really bring down the spirits of a person. For example, if someone has experienced a death it can lead them to feeling lonely. Questions you can ask yourself are do they distance themselves from people, are they sad and quiet and look like they are yearning for someone to talk to.  Another factor may be anger. Anger is a really strong sickness that can be very dangerous too. Anger can bring out the strength of courage to go through with a suicide. A person’s anger is very easy to notice. You will see that he/she is very angry about many things. A person may lash out in verbal or abusive anger for little reasons. When a person has anger set inside of them you will notice that they avoid smiling, they are very mean and do things they don’t mean to do . A person may also use swear words to express their deep emotions.

One of the biggest factors that also contribute to a suicide is depression. Depression is a sickness within the emotional feelings of one’s spirit. Depression is a very serious issue that many people experience; it eats away all the good experiences and feelings a person has. When a person is depressed they are sad and lonely at heart. They show symptoms of wanting to be alone. Being alone is comforting to them because it gives them time to think about all the concerns or problems they may be experiencing. When a person is depressed they may also cry a lot, which can lead to a breakdown. A person may also gain or lose weight as a result of depression, because they may try to eat away their emotions.

There are only a few of the emotional factors that can cause a suicide; a person will also show physical evidence of attempting suicide. Many are noticeable but sometimes they can go unnoticed. A person may have self inflicted wounds whether it is on their writs or legs. There may be evidence of bruises on their neck from choking. And you will notice that he/she may hide his/her body with excessive clothing.

These factors play a big role in suicide because they are very serious effects to one’s well being. A suicide is not something someone wants to do on purpose, but it is done out of stress from life. When a person can’t deal or doesn’t want to deal with their emotions they turn to suicide because it is a way of escaping from their problems and emotional stress. These factors also contribute to suicide because they bring down a persona physically, emotionally, and mentally. They strain someone from the happiness and enjoyment of life.

Again suicide is a reality and we all need to be aware of the symptoms and factors that can cause a suicide. Now that you are a bit more familiar with the factors you might be able to help a person in need. If you need any further assistance please contact your local councillor or health services department.

Ashley was a student in O. Zirka’s English 30A Class

Five years ago, before I came to Canada, I lived in Sudan for three years. Sudan is one of the biggest countries in Africa. Many Eritreans live there because of the border conflict with Ethiopia. While I was living in Sudan, I had a dream to immigrate to Canada and  that dream has come true. However, before I came to Canada, I had gone to Libya to try to cross the Mediterranean Sea to seek resettlement in a European country.

The decision I made was very tough as what I was doing was illegal, and it wasn’t as easy as I’d expected.  I had agreed to pay some people 200 US dollars to help us reach the border of Libya. Then I would pay them 300 US dollars more upon reaching the capital city of Libya. The drivers of the vehicles had guns. They shouted at all of the people who had paid money to travel with them: “Give us more money or we are going to leave you in the desert.”  We had reached the middle of the desert, so we were very worried about our safety.  We didn’t have a choice. They could kill us if they wanted, and no one would ask any questions.

We travelled during the day and at night we slept.  The situation we were in was very dangerous. No one could sleep because all of us were worried that they would leave us in the desert. They didn’t care about us; they only cared about money. However, that wasn’t the only problem. Forty-eight people were squashed into one small Land Cruiser. It was a miracle that the car held all of us and our belongings. We were stacked like a bundle of sticks. People were lying on top of others.. One lady screamed out, “Oh, my leg is broken!” but no one could help her because all of us were sandwiched together and in pain ourselves.

On the fifth day of our journey, we reached the border of Libya. Our drivers shouted out: “Do not move from here! We are coming back tonight.” We had to trust them because there was no other option.  I knew they had guns. I started to pray to God. Several times, they came back with one bottle of water for each of us.

Then they said, “We can’t take you today. There are too many police.”

I asked, “Do you realize that we don’t have any food, and we need more water.”

One of them said, “Okay. We’ll bring food and water tonight.”

That night no one came, and on the second day it was the same. I started to become very worried and I prayed to God to save us. I didn’t know what had happened to the men. We were in the desert and the sun was overhead, so we had no shelter.

Suddenly, the border patrol police came and they noticed us. At that time I was too weak to explain how I was feeling. The policemen first called for help and then they gave us first aid. Afterwards, they took us to prison and asked us for our passports, but we didn’t have them because we were trying to enter Libya illegally. Then, the policemen did us a favour and asked us to pay them 500 US dollars or spend two years in prison.

I told him, “We don’t have any money at this time.”

He replied, “You can all phone your families to send money to you.”

“Okay,” I said. “We will try.” We did as he asked.

Finally, I reached the capital city of Libya, Tripoli. I stayed there for 10 months and I tried several times to cross the Mediterranean Sea in a small boat. However, I couldn’t cross due to bad weather and I turned back in the middle of the sea to return to Libya. I waited until the following year to try again, but I had to wait because the weather was bad from the end of November until the end of May.

One day, a cousin of mine wrote to tell me to go back to Sudan because my sponsor had arrived there.  I returned to Sudan the same way that I had left, but it was not as tough as it had been the first time. I learned some valuable lessons from that experience. In life, things do not always turn out as we hope or expect. Be careful whom you trust and try not to put your life in danger. Life is precious.

 Million Mered is a student in Sheila Morris’
Grade 11 English Class.

The first time I tried to escape from my homeland was on Good Friday in April of 2005. I was with two friends at that time. It was a tough and very dangerous journey. We set off from the capital city of Eritrea, Asmara. We had decided to travel separately on different buses because we didn’t want suspicious eyes on us.

We finally reached the checkpoint station at the border. We had to face the military police. Our hearts started pounding when the military police came onto the bus and asked us to show them our IDs or government papers which would allow us to travel legally from place to place within the country. Everyone on the bus started showing their papers.

Then, it was our turn. We showed our papers to the officer, but he wasn’t satisfied.

 “Get off the bus!” he ordered. We did as he said, but we were shaking. They could easily order us to go to jail. Fortunately, they gave us a stern warning and let us return to Asmara. It was a good thing that they released us without giving us any form of punishment.

A month later, we planned our escape again. We used another trick. We would travel on a truck which would set off in a different direction, but it would end up at the same destination. It turned out to be a surprisingly smooth trip. Nothing terrible happened. We crossed the border disguised as old women. I wore my mom’s long traditional dress and a big scarf (netsela). We acted like the people in that area and luckily nobody recognized us.

Finally, we crossed the border of Eritrea and Sudan and reached safety. Now we could look forward to a brighter future. 
      

 SN is a student in Sheila Morris’
Grade 11 English Class.

My sister’s wedding ceremony was held in Eritrea in 2004.  Many preparations had to be made for that special day. One of my jobs was to go to see all of my cousins to give them their invitation cards. First, I went to one of my father’s friends to give him his invitation and to request his help.  At that time, he worked in a factory which made household items like dishes, plates, and so on.

When I found him, I gave him his invitation and asked him if he could provide some dishes and plates for the wedding celebration. He happily agreed. He made his way toward his factory and I walked alongside him. I followed him into the machinery area and he asked one of his co-workers to give me some household items. While he was speaking to his co-worker, he was standing near one of the big machines.  Suddenly, the big machine grabbed his jacket. His work-gown was being swallowed up by the machine!   We all began to shout: “Help! Help!”  His co-workers began screaming, “Stop the machine!” but the machine was running very fast, so no-one could stop it. Everyone tried hard to save him, and he struggled to take off his gown, but he couldn’t. As we started to pull it off him, the machine grabbed his hand. All the workers and I tried to save him, but the machine was still running and started to pull in his entire body. All the workers were screaming and running for the emergency controls. We were all struggling to stop the machine, but the power was on so high that it wouldn’t stop.

By that time, my father’s friend was starting to choke, and although the emergency workers had been called, they had not yet arrived. I started to scream and fight with the electricians. I yelled over and over, “Stop the machine! Stop the machine!”

Then, something happened which shocked us all. The machine suddenly became stuck and stopped. The machine had swallowed up one of his calculators which was in his gown pocket. At that moment, the emergency workers rushed in. They immediately took him to hospital. He was bleeding profusely.  Just one day later, he was released from hospital.

It was a miracle that his life was saved by something he had casually placed in his pocket. I strongly recommend that anyone who works in a factory be extremely careful when working or standing close to powerful machines.

Georgis Negassi is a student in Sheila Morris’
Grade 11 English Class.

When I was in my home country, Ethiopia, I bought a tiny monkey. His name was Hanko and he lived with us for about a year and a half. He was a very friendly and amusing pet. However, he could be a trouble-maker which caused my family and me many problems.

When I first bought him, many people were opposed to what I’d done because they knew about the disadvantages of keeping wild animals. However, my father had a photography studio, and as I’d graduated from the Photography and Videography Institute, I decided to buy a monkey to use in photographs and videos.   I looked after Hanko very well and he began to grow bigger. Most people offered him food because he was so friendly to everyone. Hanko’s favourite foods were candy and cereal.

Hanko could be very entertaining. He was very funny, so many people loved him. Hanko was incredibly intelligent, and my father trained him very well. Because of Hanko, we received many benefits. For example, the income from our photography studio rose, and I made a wonderful three-hour documentary film about Hanko’s antics which became very successful. Also, we had so much fun with Hanko, especially when we were in restaurants. Hanko used to sit beside me as he ate his food.  Hanko attracted people’s attention and a lot of people asked me questions regarding my interesting pet. Hanko even knew how to approach kind-hearted people in order to get some food. He was also a good listener. All my family loved him.

Shortly after that, Hanko’s behaviour began to change. Children loved to see Hanko, but some of them taught him bad habits, and Hanko acted dangerously towards some of them. Hanko would react violently to those who tried to hurt him or bite him. Hanko clearly knew the difference between a good person and a bad one. Some kind children were his best friends, so many children had a great relationship and so much fun with him.

After a while, small amounts of food no longer satisfied him and he began to steal the neighbours’ food.  His behaviour became much worse and the number of complaints grew. Things spiralled out of control. I was arrested by the police and held for 24 hours. All my family was worried about the problems. All our neighbours were very angry. Hanko never stole from my family; he only stole from my neighbours. Unbelievable! We were becoming so angry with my monkey because he was causing us so many problems. Things became really tough, and my father and I wondered what to do.  Hanko had special respect for our family members, so that made our decision even more difficult.

Hanko’s  physical appearance changed, too.  He became huge. At that time, things became very tough. My father, my mother, and I worried so much about what Hanko might do because he had become such a dangerous thief. Some people said,” Hanko ate my lunch!”

Others said, “Hanko ate my husband’s lunch!” So many  people complained to my mother. Finally, my mother began to tell them, “Talk to Megersa .” The number of complaints grew. I developed severe headaches. All my neighbours had begun to hate me and began to be verbally abusive to me. It was very hard to stop what Hanko was doing. Finally, my father, my mother  and I sat down to discuss the situation. My mother had become so tired and depressed that we decided to make Hanko stay in his room.

One day, I decided to allow him to relax outside. However, shortly afterwards he killed a neighbour’s cat. The following day, he ransacked two neighbours’ houses. At that time, the owners were not at home. He ate a lot of their food and destroyed a lot of property. As a result, our neighbours went to the local government office and told the officials what had happened. They arrested me and held me for 24 hours. After that, they gave me a warning and said, “We don’t want to see this dangerous wild animal again.”  My family had to something.  As a result, my older brother took my monkey to a nearby forest and set him free in the wild to fend for himself.  We were very sad to have to do that. Three weeks later, we heard about the death of  our monkey.

Truly, I cried and cried. Many people felt sad, except for some of the neighbours. Hanko had a lot of good characteristics, didn’t he?  But his bad habits led to his death. After a while, I heard how he’d died. He had been killed by two dogs.

When I look back, even though my monkey gave me a hard time, he did so many interesting things and he has left me with some wonderful memories. Now my question is this, “Should I have taken a wonderful but wild animal like Hanko as a pet?” The answer is “No!” When I first bought him, people predicted the result, but I didn’t listen. A lot of people had made recommendations and given me advice. What happened at the end was certainly very sad.

If Hanko had been treated fairly, he would not have endured all those difficulties. Anyway, I am still proud of him and I will always love and remember him.          

Megersa  Hunduma is a student in Sheila Morris’ Grade 11 English Class.