Multicultural Interactions Human Rights

Activity A

11 points

1. Look at this picture and

imagine where these people
are and why they are
protesting. Write about 25-50
words describing the situation.

2. This short biography of 18 points

Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel

prize laureate and human
rights champion, is missing a
word in each line. Decide
where each word should go.
They are already placed in the
correct line.

FOR
Muhammad Yunus has become internationally renowned his
revolutionary system of micro-credit the extension of loans to SMALL
entrepreneurs poor to qualify for traditional bank loans that has TOO
helped millions to poverty. ESCAPE
Yunus life is motivated his vision of a world without poverty. It began BY
in 1976 he saw village basket weavers living in abject poverty WHEN
despite their skill, because they were considered poor credit risks. SIMPLY
From his own pocket, Yunus made a loan of $27 to a group of women WHO
repaid the funds and, for the first time, a small profit. Yunus MADE
realized that by means of tiny loans and financial services, he help COULD
the poor themselves from poverty. In 1983 he established the Grameen FREE
Bank (Village Bank), founded his conviction that credit is a fundamental ON
human right.
Adapted from: www.humanrights.com

3. Report these statements from various human rights champions. Begin with the
12 points
words/expressions given.

a. Here we are talking about investing billions of dollars in these programs.

Muhammad Yunus stated
b. The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience,
but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
Martin Luther King, Jr. declared
c. I think by now I have made it fairly clear that I am not very happy with the word hope. I dont
believe in people just hoping. We work for what we want.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi explained
Activity B
 Read the text and do the tasks that follow it.

CHAMPIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Twenty-seven million people live in slavery more than twice the number during the peak of the
slave trade. And more than a billion adults are unable to read. Given the magnitude of human rights
violations and those listed in the Violations of Human Rights section of this website are only a glimpse
of the full picture it is not surprising that 90 percent of people are unable to name more than three of
5
their thirty rights. Who, then, with so many unaware of their most basic rights, will make sure that
human rights are promoted, protected and become a reality?
To answer that question, we can draw inspiration from those who made a difference and helped
create the human rights we have today. These humanitarians stood up for human rights because they
recognised that peace and progress can never be achieved without them. Each, in a significant way,
10
changed the world.
Martin Luther King, Jr., when championing the rights of people of color in the United States in the
1960s, declared, Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
The great advocate of peaceful resistance to oppression, Mahatma Gandhi, described nonviolence
as the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction
15
devised by the ingenuity of man.
Thomas Jefferson, inspiration and principal author of the American Declaration of Independence,
declared that The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only
legitimate object of good government.
Jos Ramos-Horta, Noble Peace Prize Laureate, has spent most of his adult life fighting for freedom
20
from oppression for his homeland. Having left Timor-Leste three days before the invasion from Indonesia,
Ramos-Horta spent the next twenty-four years in exile, bringing the plight of Timor-Leste to the attention of the
world. He became the youngest person to address the United Nations, and convinced UN representatives to pass
a resolution supporting the independence of Timor-Leste. Largely through Ramos-Hortas efforts in 2002 Timor-
Leste did ultimately win its independence.
Adapted from: www.humanrights.com

1. Find evidence in the text to support these statements. 16 points

a. The majority of human rights violations are not accounted for in todays world.
b. Most people do not know what the basic human rights are.
c. Human rights ensure that we can live in a peaceful world where progress grows.
d. Each human rights activist has had a profound impact in todays world.

15 points
2. Build questions for the underlined parts of the sentences.

a. He fought for the right that all men are equal despite the colour of their skin.
b. He fought injustice and oppression through non-violence. 10 points
c. Any government must ensure everyone has the right to live and be happy.

8 points

3. Complete these statements with information from the text.

 a. During his years in exile, Ramos-Horta drew
b. As a result of his speech, the UN

4. Explain the meaning of this expression in your own words.

bringing the plight of Timor-Leste to the attention of the world (ll. 21-22)

5. Complete the sentences with the correct tense of the verbs in brackets.
1. If languages _____________ (not/exist), people would be unable to interact with others.
2. Would you contribute to the event if I ________ (ask) you?
3. If you talked a bit more slowly, I ___________ (may) understand your accent.
4. Unless we act now, many endangered languages ________________ (disappear) in the next decade.
5. If he were really my friend, he _________________ (support) our committee.
6. Had the delegates been re-elected, your proposal ________________________ (be) accepted.
7. _______ (be) you to come up with bold inventive solutions, you would be greatly admired by all.
8. Supposing the Youth Committee was a flop, what ___________________ (you/do)?
9. I would have stood by him if he _______________ (show) some respect towards my ideas.
10. He can invite whoever he ________ (like) to our committee.

6. Rewrite the sentences below. Begin with the given word.

1. If you changed your mind, youd be welcome to join our youth committee.
Should...
2. If he fails the final challenge, he wont be able to join our team.
Unless ...

7. Make a sentence for each situation, starting with I wish.

1. I should have gone to the conference.
2. What a pity he was so boring as a speaker.
3. I simply couldnt remember what to say next.

Activity C
80 points

Write a blog entry discussing how each individual can help protect, develop and fight for human
rights. Write about 150-180 words. Use input from Activities A and B to help you.

Activity D Listening

Audio CD 2 Tracks 23-24

 14 points
1. Listen to the first part of this news article and complete the text.

When Human Rights Watch first saw Yemi, the 17-year-old boy was huddled on a
concrete bench in the corner of a ______a______, graffitied holding ______b______
run by the French ______c______ police. Clad in a stiff new leather jacket but
otherwise without clothing ______d______ enough to face Paris in January, Yemi
had been in the cell for ______e______. Yemis testimony, whispered in English
beneath the din of the other detainees, revealed ______f______. He had no idea
why he was ______g______, no grasp of the ______h______ the French had asked
him to sign, and no ______i______ of when or how he would be able to challenge
his______ j______.

Yemis ______k______ and fear in detention is not unusual. Yemi, from Nigeria, is
one of at least 12,000 ______l______ children who arrive in the European Union
irregularly each year without a parent or other guardian. Tens of thousands more
enter with a parent or another family member. Children like Yemi whether
travelling alone or with family are all too often detained, ______m______ their
rights, and left without the ______n______ to which they are entitled.

Adapted from: www.hrw.org

16 points
2. Each of these statements is incorrect. Listen to the second part of the news article and
correct them.

a. According to international laws children can be detained if their parents are illegal migrants.
b. Bulgaria helps unaccompanied children find a family member or a legal guardian.
c. When EU member states detain children with their parents, the family remains together.
d. In many European countries all undocumented children have full access to health services at any
time.