Sex Tourism

Gender and the Economy of Sex Tourism In Kenya’s Coast Province Introduction â€Å"Sex tourism requires Third World women to be economically desperate enough to enter into prostitution; once they do so, it becomes difficult to leave. The other side of the equation requires men from affluent societies to imagine that African women are more available and submissive than women in their own countries. Finally, the industry depends on alliance between local governments in search of foreign currency and local foreign business willing to invest in sexualized travel† (Enloe, 2000:36). Otherwise known as sex prostitution, sex tourism is tourism for which the main motivation of the trip is to consummate or engage in commercial sexual relations (Graburn 1983; Hall 1991; Ryan and Hall 2001). The number of men and women travelling to Third World countries seeking sex tourism has increased tremendously (Herold et al. 2001). In the past, notorious sex destinations have been mainly the South East Asian countries, today it has spread to other regions of the world including Kenya, Tunisia, South Africa, Brazil and The Gambia (Ryan and Hall 2001, Enloe2002; Chissim 1996). This paper discusses gender and the political economy of sex tourism on the Kenyan Coast, its health and socio- economic impacts. International Tourism and Sex Tourism in Kenya Tourists visit Kenya because of several reasons including its beautiful landscape, wildlife safari, the humid climatic conditions along the Kenyan Coast and the beautiful Coastal beaches. International tourist arrivals in Kenya have been increasing tremendously from 69 million in 1960 to 160 million in 1970, 458 million in 1990, and 625 million in 1998 (WTO, 1999). This increase has led to massive increase in sex tourism, a condition evidenced by inclusion of Kenya among the world’s leading sex tourism destinations (Vatican 2003; Boston Globe 1995; East African Standard 1995 and Chessim 1996). Although not officially stated, a good percentage of foreign tourists who visit Kenya often indulge in sex tourism during their trip (Chissam 1996; Sindiga 1999). These tourists mainly come from Germany, the UK, Switzerland, Italy and France. Others are from North America, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and European countries such as Spain and Sweden. Many of these countries have been generating sex tourists to some of the world’s renowned sex tourism destinations such as Thailand (Ryan and Hall 2001). Hence we can conclude that they are likely to engage in the same activity while in Kenya. Kenya is a developing country with agriculture contributing 24. 0% of GDP. Overall, Kenya’s economic performance has been declining since early 1990’s. The country’s per capita is about US$ 260 and more than 70% of Kenyan population currently lives below the poverty line; the worst hit are women (CBS 2001). The Economics of Tourism and Sex Industry The main economic activity in Kenya at independence in 1963 was Agriculture whereby the country relied on cash crop exports. After independence, the government tried to diversify the economy by implementing an â€Å"open door† economic policy to attract foreign investment. However, the limitations of agricultural and manufacturing sectors coupled with the appreciation of employment potential forced Kenyan government to turn to tourism as a central industry. Since 1987, tourism industry has been the leading foreign exchange earner, (CBS 2001) surpassing the traditional export crops of coffee and tea (Gakuhu1992; Weaver 1998 and CBS 2001). The industry employs about 1. 5 million Kenyans, approximately 8% of wage earning labor force (Weaver, 1998 and CBS 1999). In addition, Tourism is linked to many domestic industries and it is a potentially useful tool for generating development in neglected areas. The industry also contributes substantially to government revenues through taxes and import duties. Tourism is therefore officially promoted in Kenya as the main foreign exchange earner, source of employment and general development. Its significance on the Kenyan economy has a lot of bearing on tourism policies including those related to sex tourism. Sex Tourism Market on the Kenyan Coast Sex tourism is believed to be increasing at a high rate in Kenya. This is mainly because of the reality that there is a sex tourism market for female and male tourists. Female tourists, mainly from European countries come to Kenya to meet with local beach boys because they imagine that black men (or men of color) are stronger and more active in bed than men in their home countries. On the other hand, male tourists come to Kenya to meet with black women; mainly young girls who are believed to be ‘hot’ in bed. Child prostitution is also emerging in Kenya involving young boys and girls. This is commonly along the Kenyan coast where many children choose not to go to school but instead go to beaches in search for white men and women from European countries who exploit them sexually. The Kenyan Coast located along the Indian Ocean caters for about 66% of Kenyan tourism activities. Sex tourism is a major activity in Kenyan Coast (Sindiga 1999, Migot-Adhola et al 1982; Bechmann 1985). The Kenya coast as a tourism destination has existed since 1920 attracting mainly the white settlers and colonial government officials who sought holiday excitements. Major tourist attractions at the Kenyan coast include the wildlife, white sandy beaches, sun, sea, sex, scene features, diverse cultures, hospitable people, historical sites, national museums, national parks and reserves near the coast and tourism facilities of international standard such as hotels and airport. The presence and availability of Britons, Germans, Italians, Americans and others in Mombasa and other coastal towns in search of rest, fun and recreation has been the main factor attracting Kenyan girls and children to get involved in sex tourism (Sindiga 1999 and Chissim 1996). Different Forms of Sex Tourism Sex tourism sometimes involves production of videos featuring nude dancing in which no direct physical contact occurs; the tourists engage in voyeurism. There are also casual prostitutes or freelancers who move in and out of prostitution depending on their financial needs. In this case, sex tourism may be regarded as incomplete commercialized and the relationship between sex worker and the client may be ridden with ambiguities (Cohen 1982; Ryan and Hall 2001), particularly if the relationship shifts from an economic to a social base. However, some women entering into sex tourism in Kenya are not financially needy but only seeking fun and ‘social class’, whereby the community views women seen socializing with white men with high esteem and associate them with wealth and success in life. Some of these women have jobs in noble professions while others are college students. There is also the more formalized form of prostitution where the workers operate through intermediaries. Since sex tourism is illegal in Kenya, prostitutes use entertainment establishments such as night clubs, bars, beaches and other retail outlets to get customers. The other type of sex tourism is that of bonded prostitutes. This is more of slavery because it is enforced by people such as family members through abductions and kidnapping. Motivation Factors: Why do Tourists Look for Sex Most tourists tend to behave differently while in the countries they are touring. This is because there is an assurance of anonymity, which releases them from the usual restraints, which determine their behavior in their home countries. Tourism allows people â€Å"to lose their identity† and gives them the freedom to escape realities and live their fantasies. They spend more money, relax more, drink more, eat more and get involved in pleasures they would not at home. Men who would never visit brothels in their home countries will end up doing so in a foreign country where there is negligible chance of detection and penalty. For the same reason, women who would never have sex with boys young enough to be their grand children at their home country would do so in a foreign country. Tourists tend to seek commercial sex services in Kenya because the services are readily available and quite cheap compared to what they would pay for such services in their home countries. Such tourists are able to enjoy lifestyles they could never enjoy in their home countries. Furthermore, some of these tourists may hold menial jobs in their industrialized home countries but because of the disparity in salaries and high exchange rates, they may appear comparatively rich when in a poorer country like Kenya. They would therefore tend to spend their money in sexual activities that they associate with the rich and the famous in their home countries. Chissim has illustrated this in his interview with a German tourist visiting Kenya (Chissim 1996:18). â€Å"†¦. Morco said he was in Kenya for a month but within four days, he boasted of already fucking five girls. He said he fucked one girl on the beach but pretended that he had no money, so he got that one for free. Another girl he fucked on the beach for 100/- (about $1) and told her that he had no more money. The others he said he had to pay 200/- (about $3) †¦Ã¢â‚¬  For some of these tourists, Kenya represents Africa where life is perceived as raw and wild and a place where people are uncontrolled, liberal and polygamous. These reasons partly explain why some European women visit Kenya to look for sex from beach boys young enough to be their grandsons. It is estimated that more than 5% of all European women who visit Kenya go in search of sex, especially those from German, Switzerland and Italy (New York Times Feb. 14, 2002). Many Kenyan communities highly value virginity. This motivates tourists to have sex with younger girls; in the anticipation of having sex with a virgin who may be free from HIV/ AIDS. Some tourists engage in sex tourism because they may be fleeing from unhappy relationships at home and, perhaps, from women who may tend to question male domination. Male supremacy is perceived as a natural kind of authority in many cultures and world religions. Cultural values defining traditional male sex roles are power, dominance, strength and supremacy, while those defining female roles are submissiveness, weakness, inferiority and passivity. Women are perceived as property of men and sex as exchange of goods, which further entrenches male supremacy. This notion also teaches men that females are worthless and less deserving and may be treated as objects of men. The mafia- style drugs and sex industry along the Kenyan coast is another motivating factor for sex tourism. People with a lot of money are capable of bribing their way out of trouble if caught Such people are also responsible for organizing sex services for clients outside the country (Sindiga 1999; Chessim 1996). Supply Factors: Why Do Sex Workers Get Involved â€Å"Many times I don’t feel anything during sexual encounters. It is because I need money for myself and my children that I keep doing it. I have learned to do motions mechanically in order to satisfy my clients. If I do it well, they will come back and that means more money. † (Lin Lean Lim 2000:74). This Filipino woman quoted by Lin Lean Lim expresses the reason why many women from Third World countries practice sex tourism and their feelings about sex work. The main reason for sex tourism for many is poverty. Many Kenyan women are economically desperate. With the increasing rate of unemployment and high cost of living, prostitution is left as the only option for them to earn a living and support their children. Such women migrate to coast with hope of finding white tourists who can pay more for the services or even may end up marrying them. Some girls involved in sex tourism come from broken homes or very poor family backgrounds and are never taken to school to attain formal education. They resolve to sex prostitution as a means of supporting themselves economically. In Kenya, women are generally poorer than men because women have limited access to resources such as land, capital, farm equipments and agricultural inputs. Inheritance practices in most Kenyan communities seem to favor men. This means that men can easily have access to other productive resources because they can use land as security to borrow money if needed to purchase other productive resources. This option is normally not available for women. In many Kenyan communities, illiteracy levels in women are higher than those of men. This is because parents give priority to boy’s education particularly if resources are limited. Along the coast, education is not valued because people from these areas are used to receiving tokens and money from the tourists. Children of school going age therefore prefer to go to beaches in search for tourists who give them tokens in exchange for sex. Other factors affecting education for girls include unwanted pregnancies and the fact that they are forced to early marriages by their parents for economic gains. Kenyan women are discriminated against in most areas of formal employment and more often left with poorly paid jobs or no jobs at all. This makes prostitution an alternative. The HIV/AIDS scourge in Kenya is estimated to claim 500 lives daily leaving many orphans. The young children left become heads of the families and may often turn to sex tourism and prostitution as a means of earning a living to support their siblings. Impact of Sex Tourism in Kenya Sex tourism can be seen as both a risk and an opportunity. Most women in sex tourism face the risk of material loss because their clients may not pay them for the services (ref. The Marco case). Women are generally helpless against such exploitation and take it as part of their business. Sex workers face the risk of losing their money to thieves and police because they have to bribe their way out if caught as they mostly work at night. Women can sometimes face attacks by dissatisfied customers. These attacks may be in form of rape, cruelty, violence or even murder. â€Å"Monica Njeri was a 32- year old mother of two and a prostitute in Mombasa. She was brutally murdered by Frank Sundstrom a 19 year old USA navy service man who wanted the kind of sex that Monica could not provide. When he was not satisfied with merely sleeping, he woke up and tried to steal back the money he had given to her plus her own money but she woke up and caught him in the act. In ensuing struggle, he broke a beer bottle to make a weapon and repeatedly stabbed her until she died. † (Migot- Adhola 1982:74). Although Sundstrom admitted the offence, his only sentence was to sign a bond of 500/- (equivalent to US$46 at that time) to be of good conduct. Women in sex tourism industry and prostitution are continually exposed to sexually transmitted infections including HIV/AIDS. Many tourists may not accept to use protection such as condoms because they argue that it interrupts the flow of sex and carrying it may imply that one is promiscuous (Clift and Grabowski 1997). Sex workers are also faced with the danger of susceptibility to anal or cervical cancers, additionally, since many women are forced into sex work, many of them only work under influence of drugs and/or alcohol. This may lead to depression or alcohol addiction. Sex tourism has been blamed in Kenyan coast for increasing rate of school drop-out, poverty and illiteracy. This is mainly because children of school going age choose not to school but to follow tourists who lure them to sex tourism. However, some women that have risked sex tourism have been able to build better houses and invested in urban businesses. This is largely because earnings from prostitution are often more than those from other alternative employment opportunities open to women. Sex workers contribute to national economy by boosting profits of many transnational hotels and airlines, taxi drivers, brothel owners and many other intermediaries. The Kenyan police, the state, as well as the local and international enterprises are well aware that sex has a market value even though they proclaim that prostitution is immoral (Ryan and Hall 2001). Sex tourism has also contributed to cultural exchange because many sea workers are forced to learn foreign languages so that they can communicate with their clients. There are occasions when these temporary relationships ave led to marriages hence removing such girls from prostitution. The other positive impact is that health workers are encouraged to go for regular medical checkups because of the nature of their work, hence paying more attention to their health. Bibliography Awanohara 1975. Protesting the sexual imperialists. Far Eastern Economic Review, 87 (21st March) PP 5-6. Bishop, R. and Robinson, L. S. 1998. Night Ma rket: Sexual cultures and the Thai Economic Miracle, London and New York: Routledge. Boston Globe Thursday November 23, 1995 Cater, E. A 1989 â€Å"Tourism in less Developed Countries†. In Annals of Tourism Research Vol. 16 No. 4. Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), 2001 Economic Survey of Kenya. Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), 2002 Economic Survey of Kenya. Chissim F. 1996. An exploratory and Descriptive Research on Child Prostitution and Tourism in Kenya. EPAT Report, Nairobi. Clift S and Grabowski, 1997 Tourism and Health: Risks, Research and Responses. Biddles Ltd, Guilford and King’s Lynn Cohen, E 1988. Tourism and AIDS in Thailand. Annals of Tourism Research, 15 (4), PP 467-86 Cohen, E. 1982. Thai Girls and Farang men: The Edge of Ambiguity Annals of tourism Research, 9 (3) PP 403-28 Collins Patricia Hills 2000. The Sexual Politics of Black Womanhood. In Disch Estelle(ed). Reconstructing Gender. A multicultural Anthology. Mayfield publishing East Africa Standard September 12, 1995 Enloe, Cynthia (2000) â€Å"On the Beach; Sexism and Tourism† in Bananas, Beaches and Bases: Making Feminist Sense of the International Politics: University of California press (2nd edition) Pp 19-41 Enloe, Cynthia 2002. The prostitute, the colonel and the Nationalist, in: Enloe, Cynthia: Maneuvers: The international politics of militarising women’s lives: London and Los Angeles: University of California Press (2nd Edition) pp 19-41 Ennew, J 1986. The sexual exploitation of children. Polity press, Cambridge Fish, M. 1984 Controlling Sex Sales to Tourists: Commenting on Graburn and Cohen. Annals of Tourism Research 11(4) 615-617. Gakahu C. G and Goode B. E 1992. Ecotourism and Sustainable Development in Kenya. Wildlife Conservation International. Graburn, N. H 1983. Tourism and prostitution, Annals of Tourism Research, 10:437-56 Hall C. M. 1994. Nature and Implications of Sex tourism in South-East Asia in: V. H. Kinnaird and D. R. Hall (ed) Tourism: A Gender Analysis Chichester, John Wiley PP-142-163 Harrison, David 1992, (ed) Tourism and the Less Developed Countries. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons. Jommo, R. B (1987: Indigenous enterprise in Kenya's tourism industry Geneva: itineraires etudes du development , Institute Universitaire d'Etudes du Development). Lim, Lean Lin 1998. Whither the sex sector? Some policy considerations University of California press, pp 49-108. Migot-Adhola, S. E et al ,1982. Study of Tourism in Kenya with emphasis on the attitudes of the Residents of the Coast. Institute for Development Studies Consultancy Report No. 7, Nairobi University Montgomery Heather 2001. Child Sex Tourism in Thailand: In D. Harrison ed. Tourism and the Less Developed World Issues and Case Studies. Pruitt. D. and Lafont S. 1995 For Love and Money: romance tourism in Jamaica, Annals of Tourism research 22(2); 419 – 440. Richter, L. K. 1995. Exploring the political role of gender in tourism research. In W. F. Theobald (ed. ) Global Tourism in the next decade. Oxford Boston: Butterworth Heinemann. Ryan Chris and Hall C Michael (2001): Sex Tourism: Marginal People and Liminalities Routledge London Ryan Chris (1991) Tourism and Marketing. A symbiotic Relationship? Tourism Management Journal pp 101-109. Butterworth –Heinenmann Ryan. C. and Rachel Kinder (1996). Sex, tourism and sex tourism: fulfilling similar needs? Tourism Management 17(7): 507-518. Elservier Science Ltd . Sindiga Isaac 1999: Tourism and African Development: Change and Challenge of Tourism in Kenya. African Study Centre. Leiden The Nertherlands Truong, Thanh-Dam 1983. The dynamics of sex tourism. The case of South-east Asia. Development and change 14, 533-53. Weaver, D. B. 1998 Ecotourism in less developed world. CAB International World Tourism Organisation,1999. Yearbook of Tourism Statistics. WTO, Madrid, Spain. Young, G. 1973. Tourism: Blessings or Blight? Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin. The Vatican representative to WTO (2003). http://www. cathnews. com/news/304/43. php Sex Tourism Gender and the Economy of Sex Tourism In Kenya’s Coast Province Introduction â€Å"Sex tourism requires Third World women to be economically desperate enough to enter into prostitution; once they do so, it becomes difficult to leave. The other side of the equation requires men from affluent societies to imagine that African women are more available and submissive than women in their own countries. Finally, the industry depends on alliance between local governments in search of foreign currency and local foreign business willing to invest in sexualized travel† (Enloe, 2000:36). Otherwise known as sex prostitution, sex tourism is tourism for which the main motivation of the trip is to consummate or engage in commercial sexual relations (Graburn 1983; Hall 1991; Ryan and Hall 2001). The number of men and women travelling to Third World countries seeking sex tourism has increased tremendously (Herold et al. 2001). In the past, notorious sex destinations have been mainly the South East Asian countries, today it has spread to other regions of the world including Kenya, Tunisia, South Africa, Brazil and The Gambia (Ryan and Hall 2001, Enloe2002; Chissim 1996). This paper discusses gender and the political economy of sex tourism on the Kenyan Coast, its health and socio- economic impacts. International Tourism and Sex Tourism in Kenya Tourists visit Kenya because of several reasons including its beautiful landscape, wildlife safari, the humid climatic conditions along the Kenyan Coast and the beautiful Coastal beaches. International tourist arrivals in Kenya have been increasing tremendously from 69 million in 1960 to 160 million in 1970, 458 million in 1990, and 625 million in 1998 (WTO, 1999). This increase has led to massive increase in sex tourism, a condition evidenced by inclusion of Kenya among the world’s leading sex tourism destinations (Vatican 2003; Boston Globe 1995; East African Standard 1995 and Chessim 1996). Although not officially stated, a good percentage of foreign tourists who visit Kenya often indulge in sex tourism during their trip (Chissam 1996; Sindiga 1999). These tourists mainly come from Germany, the UK, Switzerland, Italy and France. Others are from North America, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and European countries such as Spain and Sweden. Many of these countries have been generating sex tourists to some of the world’s renowned sex tourism destinations such as Thailand (Ryan and Hall 2001). Hence we can conclude that they are likely to engage in the same activity while in Kenya. Kenya is a developing country with agriculture contributing 24. 0% of GDP. Overall, Kenya’s economic performance has been declining since early 1990’s. The country’s per capita is about US$ 260 and more than 70% of Kenyan population currently lives below the poverty line; the worst hit are women (CBS 2001). The Economics of Tourism and Sex Industry The main economic activity in Kenya at independence in 1963 was Agriculture whereby the country relied on cash crop exports. After independence, the government tried to diversify the economy by implementing an â€Å"open door† economic policy to attract foreign investment. However, the limitations of agricultural and manufacturing sectors coupled with the appreciation of employment potential forced Kenyan government to turn to tourism as a central industry. Since 1987, tourism industry has been the leading foreign exchange earner, (CBS 2001) surpassing the traditional export crops of coffee and tea (Gakuhu1992; Weaver 1998 and CBS 2001). The industry employs about 1. 5 million Kenyans, approximately 8% of wage earning labor force (Weaver, 1998 and CBS 1999). In addition, Tourism is linked to many domestic industries and it is a potentially useful tool for generating development in neglected areas. The industry also contributes substantially to government revenues through taxes and import duties. Tourism is therefore officially promoted in Kenya as the main foreign exchange earner, source of employment and general development. Its significance on the Kenyan economy has a lot of bearing on tourism policies including those related to sex tourism. Sex Tourism Market on the Kenyan Coast Sex tourism is believed to be increasing at a high rate in Kenya. This is mainly because of the reality that there is a sex tourism market for female and male tourists. Female tourists, mainly from European countries come to Kenya to meet with local beach boys because they imagine that black men (or men of color) are stronger and more active in bed than men in their home countries. On the other hand, male tourists come to Kenya to meet with black women; mainly young girls who are believed to be ‘hot’ in bed. Child prostitution is also emerging in Kenya involving young boys and girls. This is commonly along the Kenyan coast where many children choose not to go to school but instead go to beaches in search for white men and women from European countries who exploit them sexually. The Kenyan Coast located along the Indian Ocean caters for about 66% of Kenyan tourism activities. Sex tourism is a major activity in Kenyan Coast (Sindiga 1999, Migot-Adhola et al 1982; Bechmann 1985). The Kenya coast as a tourism destination has existed since 1920 attracting mainly the white settlers and colonial government officials who sought holiday excitements. Major tourist attractions at the Kenyan coast include the wildlife, white sandy beaches, sun, sea, sex, scene features, diverse cultures, hospitable people, historical sites, national museums, national parks and reserves near the coast and tourism facilities of international standard such as hotels and airport. The presence and availability of Britons, Germans, Italians, Americans and others in Mombasa and other coastal towns in search of rest, fun and recreation has been the main factor attracting Kenyan girls and children to get involved in sex tourism (Sindiga 1999 and Chissim 1996). Different Forms of Sex Tourism Sex tourism sometimes involves production of videos featuring nude dancing in which no direct physical contact occurs; the tourists engage in voyeurism. There are also casual prostitutes or freelancers who move in and out of prostitution depending on their financial needs. In this case, sex tourism may be regarded as incomplete commercialized and the relationship between sex worker and the client may be ridden with ambiguities (Cohen 1982; Ryan and Hall 2001), particularly if the relationship shifts from an economic to a social base. However, some women entering into sex tourism in Kenya are not financially needy but only seeking fun and ‘social class’, whereby the community views women seen socializing with white men with high esteem and associate them with wealth and success in life. Some of these women have jobs in noble professions while others are college students. There is also the more formalized form of prostitution where the workers operate through intermediaries. Since sex tourism is illegal in Kenya, prostitutes use entertainment establishments such as night clubs, bars, beaches and other retail outlets to get customers. The other type of sex tourism is that of bonded prostitutes. This is more of slavery because it is enforced by people such as family members through abductions and kidnapping. Motivation Factors: Why do Tourists Look for Sex Most tourists tend to behave differently while in the countries they are touring. This is because there is an assurance of anonymity, which releases them from the usual restraints, which determine their behavior in their home countries. Tourism allows people â€Å"to lose their identity† and gives them the freedom to escape realities and live their fantasies. They spend more money, relax more, drink more, eat more and get involved in pleasures they would not at home. Men who would never visit brothels in their home countries will end up doing so in a foreign country where there is negligible chance of detection and penalty. For the same reason, women who would never have sex with boys young enough to be their grand children at their home country would do so in a foreign country. Tourists tend to seek commercial sex services in Kenya because the services are readily available and quite cheap compared to what they would pay for such services in their home countries. Such tourists are able to enjoy lifestyles they could never enjoy in their home countries. Furthermore, some of these tourists may hold menial jobs in their industrialized home countries but because of the disparity in salaries and high exchange rates, they may appear comparatively rich when in a poorer country like Kenya. They would therefore tend to spend their money in sexual activities that they associate with the rich and the famous in their home countries. Chissim has illustrated this in his interview with a German tourist visiting Kenya (Chissim 1996:18). â€Å"†¦. Morco said he was in Kenya for a month but within four days, he boasted of already fucking five girls. He said he fucked one girl on the beach but pretended that he had no money, so he got that one for free. Another girl he fucked on the beach for 100/- (about $1) and told her that he had no more money. The others he said he had to pay 200/- (about $3) †¦Ã¢â‚¬  For some of these tourists, Kenya represents Africa where life is perceived as raw and wild and a place where people are uncontrolled, liberal and polygamous. These reasons partly explain why some European women visit Kenya to look for sex from beach boys young enough to be their grandsons. It is estimated that more than 5% of all European women who visit Kenya go in search of sex, especially those from German, Switzerland and Italy (New York Times Feb. 14, 2002). Many Kenyan communities highly value virginity. This motivates tourists to have sex with younger girls; in the anticipation of having sex with a virgin who may be free from HIV/ AIDS. Some tourists engage in sex tourism because they may be fleeing from unhappy relationships at home and, perhaps, from women who may tend to question male domination. Male supremacy is perceived as a natural kind of authority in many cultures and world religions. Cultural values defining traditional male sex roles are power, dominance, strength and supremacy, while those defining female roles are submissiveness, weakness, inferiority and passivity. Women are perceived as property of men and sex as exchange of goods, which further entrenches male supremacy. This notion also teaches men that females are worthless and less deserving and may be treated as objects of men. The mafia- style drugs and sex industry along the Kenyan coast is another motivating factor for sex tourism. People with a lot of money are capable of bribing their way out of trouble if caught Such people are also responsible for organizing sex services for clients outside the country (Sindiga 1999; Chessim 1996). Supply Factors: Why Do Sex Workers Get Involved â€Å"Many times I don’t feel anything during sexual encounters. It is because I need money for myself and my children that I keep doing it. I have learned to do motions mechanically in order to satisfy my clients. If I do it well, they will come back and that means more money. † (Lin Lean Lim 2000:74). This Filipino woman quoted by Lin Lean Lim expresses the reason why many women from Third World countries practice sex tourism and their feelings about sex work. The main reason for sex tourism for many is poverty. Many Kenyan women are economically desperate. With the increasing rate of unemployment and high cost of living, prostitution is left as the only option for them to earn a living and support their children. Such women migrate to coast with hope of finding white tourists who can pay more for the services or even may end up marrying them. Some girls involved in sex tourism come from broken homes or very poor family backgrounds and are never taken to school to attain formal education. They resolve to sex prostitution as a means of supporting themselves economically. In Kenya, women are generally poorer than men because women have limited access to resources such as land, capital, farm equipments and agricultural inputs. Inheritance practices in most Kenyan communities seem to favor men. This means that men can easily have access to other productive resources because they can use land as security to borrow money if needed to purchase other productive resources. This option is normally not available for women. In many Kenyan communities, illiteracy levels in women are higher than those of men. This is because parents give priority to boy’s education particularly if resources are limited. Along the coast, education is not valued because people from these areas are used to receiving tokens and money from the tourists. Children of school going age therefore prefer to go to beaches in search for tourists who give them tokens in exchange for sex. Other factors affecting education for girls include unwanted pregnancies and the fact that they are forced to early marriages by their parents for economic gains. Kenyan women are discriminated against in most areas of formal employment and more often left with poorly paid jobs or no jobs at all. This makes prostitution an alternative. The HIV/AIDS scourge in Kenya is estimated to claim 500 lives daily leaving many orphans. The young children left become heads of the families and may often turn to sex tourism and prostitution as a means of earning a living to support their siblings. Impact of Sex Tourism in Kenya Sex tourism can be seen as both a risk and an opportunity. Most women in sex tourism face the risk of material loss because their clients may not pay them for the services (ref. The Marco case). Women are generally helpless against such exploitation and take it as part of their business. Sex workers face the risk of losing their money to thieves and police because they have to bribe their way out if caught as they mostly work at night. Women can sometimes face attacks by dissatisfied customers. These attacks may be in form of rape, cruelty, violence or even murder. â€Å"Monica Njeri was a 32- year old mother of two and a prostitute in Mombasa. She was brutally murdered by Frank Sundstrom a 19 year old USA navy service man who wanted the kind of sex that Monica could not provide. When he was not satisfied with merely sleeping, he woke up and tried to steal back the money he had given to her plus her own money but she woke up and caught him in the act. In ensuing struggle, he broke a beer bottle to make a weapon and repeatedly stabbed her until she died. † (Migot- Adhola 1982:74). Although Sundstrom admitted the offence, his only sentence was to sign a bond of 500/- (equivalent to US$46 at that time) to be of good conduct. Women in sex tourism industry and prostitution are continually exposed to sexually transmitted infections including HIV/AIDS. Many tourists may not accept to use protection such as condoms because they argue that it interrupts the flow of sex and carrying it may imply that one is promiscuous (Clift and Grabowski 1997). Sex workers are also faced with the danger of susceptibility to anal or cervical cancers, additionally, since many women are forced into sex work, many of them only work under influence of drugs and/or alcohol. This may lead to depression or alcohol addiction. Sex tourism has been blamed in Kenyan coast for increasing rate of school drop-out, poverty and illiteracy. This is mainly because children of school going age choose not to school but to follow tourists who lure them to sex tourism. However, some women that have risked sex tourism have been able to build better houses and invested in urban businesses. This is largely because earnings from prostitution are often more than those from other alternative employment opportunities open to women. Sex workers contribute to national economy by boosting profits of many transnational hotels and airlines, taxi drivers, brothel owners and many other intermediaries. The Kenyan police, the state, as well as the local and international enterprises are well aware that sex has a market value even though they proclaim that prostitution is immoral (Ryan and Hall 2001). Sex tourism has also contributed to cultural exchange because many sea workers are forced to learn foreign languages so that they can communicate with their clients. There are occasions when these temporary relationships ave led to marriages hence removing such girls from prostitution. The other positive impact is that health workers are encouraged to go for regular medical checkups because of the nature of their work, hence paying more attention to their health. Bibliography Awanohara 1975. Protesting the sexual imperialists. Far Eastern Economic Review, 87 (21st March) PP 5-6. Bishop, R. and Robinson, L. S. 1998. Night Ma rket: Sexual cultures and the Thai Economic Miracle, London and New York: Routledge. Boston Globe Thursday November 23, 1995 Cater, E. A 1989 â€Å"Tourism in less Developed Countries†. In Annals of Tourism Research Vol. 16 No. 4. Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), 2001 Economic Survey of Kenya. Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), 2002 Economic Survey of Kenya. Chissim F. 1996. An exploratory and Descriptive Research on Child Prostitution and Tourism in Kenya. EPAT Report, Nairobi. Clift S and Grabowski, 1997 Tourism and Health: Risks, Research and Responses. Biddles Ltd, Guilford and King’s Lynn Cohen, E 1988. Tourism and AIDS in Thailand. Annals of Tourism Research, 15 (4), PP 467-86 Cohen, E. 1982. Thai Girls and Farang men: The Edge of Ambiguity Annals of tourism Research, 9 (3) PP 403-28 Collins Patricia Hills 2000. The Sexual Politics of Black Womanhood. In Disch Estelle(ed). Reconstructing Gender. A multicultural Anthology. Mayfield publishing East Africa Standard September 12, 1995 Enloe, Cynthia (2000) â€Å"On the Beach; Sexism and Tourism† in Bananas, Beaches and Bases: Making Feminist Sense of the International Politics: University of California press (2nd edition) Pp 19-41 Enloe, Cynthia 2002. The prostitute, the colonel and the Nationalist, in: Enloe, Cynthia: Maneuvers: The international politics of militarising women’s lives: London and Los Angeles: University of California Press (2nd Edition) pp 19-41 Ennew, J 1986. The sexual exploitation of children. Polity press, Cambridge Fish, M. 1984 Controlling Sex Sales to Tourists: Commenting on Graburn and Cohen. Annals of Tourism Research 11(4) 615-617. Gakahu C. G and Goode B. E 1992. Ecotourism and Sustainable Development in Kenya. Wildlife Conservation International. Graburn, N. H 1983. Tourism and prostitution, Annals of Tourism Research, 10:437-56 Hall C. M. 1994. Nature and Implications of Sex tourism in South-East Asia in: V. H. Kinnaird and D. R. Hall (ed) Tourism: A Gender Analysis Chichester, John Wiley PP-142-163 Harrison, David 1992, (ed) Tourism and the Less Developed Countries. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons. Jommo, R. B (1987: Indigenous enterprise in Kenya's tourism industry Geneva: itineraires etudes du development , Institute Universitaire d'Etudes du Development). Lim, Lean Lin 1998. Whither the sex sector? Some policy considerations University of California press, pp 49-108. Migot-Adhola, S. E et al ,1982. Study of Tourism in Kenya with emphasis on the attitudes of the Residents of the Coast. Institute for Development Studies Consultancy Report No. 7, Nairobi University Montgomery Heather 2001. Child Sex Tourism in Thailand: In D. Harrison ed. Tourism and the Less Developed World Issues and Case Studies. Pruitt. D. and Lafont S. 1995 For Love and Money: romance tourism in Jamaica, Annals of Tourism research 22(2); 419 – 440. Richter, L. K. 1995. Exploring the political role of gender in tourism research. In W. F. Theobald (ed. ) Global Tourism in the next decade. Oxford Boston: Butterworth Heinemann. Ryan Chris and Hall C Michael (2001): Sex Tourism: Marginal People and Liminalities Routledge London Ryan Chris (1991) Tourism and Marketing. A symbiotic Relationship? Tourism Management Journal pp 101-109. Butterworth –Heinenmann Ryan. C. and Rachel Kinder (1996). Sex, tourism and sex tourism: fulfilling similar needs? Tourism Management 17(7): 507-518. Elservier Science Ltd . Sindiga Isaac 1999: Tourism and African Development: Change and Challenge of Tourism in Kenya. African Study Centre. Leiden The Nertherlands Truong, Thanh-Dam 1983. The dynamics of sex tourism. The case of South-east Asia. Development and change 14, 533-53. Weaver, D. B. 1998 Ecotourism in less developed world. CAB International World Tourism Organisation,1999. Yearbook of Tourism Statistics. WTO, Madrid, Spain. Young, G. 1973. Tourism: Blessings or Blight? Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin. The Vatican representative to WTO (2003). http://www. cathnews. com/news/304/43. php

Last Sacrifice Chapter Four

AND WHEN I SAY THEY blew up, I mean they blew up. Flames and smoke unfurled like petals from a newly opened flower as those poor monarchs exploded into pieces of rock. For a moment, I was stunned. It was like watching an action movie, the explosion cracking the air and shaking the ground. Then, guardian training kicked in. Critical observation and calculation took over. I immediately noticed that the bulk of the statue's material blew toward the outer sides of the garden. Small stone pieces and dust rained down on the funeral procession, but no large chunks of rock hit Lissa or anyone standing nearby. Assuming the statues had not spontaneously combusted, whoever had blown them up had done so in a precise way. The logistics aside, huge billowing pillars of flame are still pretty scary. Chaos broke loose as everyone tried to get away. Only, they all took different routes, so collisions and entanglements occurred. Even the pallbearers set down their precious burden and took off. Ambrose was the last to do so, his mouth agape and eyes w ide as he stared at Tatiana, but another look at the statues sent him off into the mob. A few guardians tried to keep order, herding people back down the funeral path, but it didn't do a lot of good. Everyone was out for themselves, too terrified and panicked to think reasonably. Well, everyone except for Lissa. To my surprise, she wasn't surprised. She had been expecting the explosion. She didn't run right away, despite people pushing past and shoving her aside. She stood rooted where she'd been when the statues blew up, studying them and the wreckage they'd caused. In particular, she seemed concerned about anyone in the crowd who might have been hurt by the blasts. But, no. As I'd already observed, there seemed to be no injuries. And if there were, it was going to be because of the stampede. Satisfied, Lissa turned and began walking away with the others. (Well, she was walking; they were running). She'd only gone a little distance when she saw a huge group of guardians hurrying toward the church, faces grim. Some of them stopped to aid those escaping the destruction, but most of the guardians were on their way to the blast site to see what had happened. Lissa paused again, causing the guy behind her to slam into her back, but she barely felt the impact. She intently watched the guardians, taking note of how many there were, and then moved on once more. Her hidden thoughts were starting to unravel. Finally, I began to see pieces of the plan she'd kept hidden from me. She was pleased. Nervous, too. But overall, she felt– A commotion back at the jail snapped me into my own mind. The usual quiet of the holding area had shattered and was now filled with grunts and exclamations. I leapt up from where I'd been sitting and pressed against the bars, straining to see what was happening. Was this building about to explode too? My cell only faced a wall in the hallway, with no view of the rest of the corridor or its entrance. I did, however, see the guardians who usually stood at the hall's far end come tearing past me, toward whatever altercation was occurring. I didn't know what this meant for me and braced for anything, friend or foe. For all I knew, there could be some political fringe group launching attacks on the Court to make a statement against the Moroi government. Peering around the cell, I swore silently, wishing I had anything to defend myself. The closest I had was Abe's book, which was no good at all. If he was the badass he pretended to be, he really would have slipped a file into it. Or gotten me something bigger, like War and Peace. The scuffling died down and footsteps thundered toward me. Clenching my fists, I took a few steps back, ready to defend myself against anyone. â€Å"Anyone' turned out to be Eddie Castile. And Mikhail Tanner. Friendly faces were not what I had expected. Eddie was a longtime friend from St. Vladimir's, another new guardian like me and someone who'd stuck by me through a lot of misadventures, including the Victor Dashkov prison break. Mikhail was older than us, mid-twenties, and had helped us restore Dimitri in the hopes that Sonya Karp–a woman Mikhail had loved who had turned Strigoi–might be saved as well. I glanced back and forth between the two guys' faces. â€Å"What's going on?' I demanded. â€Å"Nice to see you too,' said Eddie. He was sweating and keyed up with battle fervor, a few purple marks on his face showing he'd met someone's fist tonight. In his hand was a weapon I'd seen in the guardians' arsenal: a baton-type thing used to incapacitate people without killing them. But Mikhail held something much more valuable: the keycard and mechanical key to open my cell. My friends were staging a prison break. Unbelievable. Crazy was usually my specialty. â€Å"Did you guys †¦' I frowned. The thought of escape filled me with joy, but the logistics were sobering. Clearly, they'd been responsible for the fight with my guards that I'd just heard. Getting down here in the first place wasn't that easy either. â€Å"Did you two just take on every guardian in this building?' Mikhail finished unlocking the door, and I didn't waste any time in hurrying out. After feeling so oppressed and smothered for days, it was like stepping onto a mountain ledge, wind and space all around me. â€Å"Rose, there are no guardians in this building. Well, maybe one. And these guys.' Eddie gestured in the direction of the earlier fight, where I assumed my guards lay unconscious. Surely my friends hadn't killed anyone. â€Å"The rest of the guardians are all checking out the explosion,' I realized. Pieces began coming together–including Lissa's lack of surprise over the commotion. â€Å"Oh no. You had Christian blow up ancient Moroi artifacts.' â€Å"Of course not,' said Eddie. He seemed shocked that I would have suggested such an atrocity. â€Å"Other fire users would be able to tell if he did.' â€Å"Well, that's something,' I said. I should have had more faith in their sanity. Or maybe not. â€Å"We used C4,' explained Mikhail. â€Å"Where on earth did you–‘ My tongue locked up when I saw who was standing at the end of the hallway. Dimitri. Not knowing how he was during my imprisonment had been frustrating. Christian and Tasha's report had been only a tease. Well, here was the answer. Dimitri stood near the hall's entrance in all his six-foot-seven glory, as imperious and intimidating as any god. His sharp brown eyes assessed everything in an instant, and his strong, lean body was tensed and ready for any threat. The look on his face was so focused, so filled with passion, that I couldn't believe anyone ever could have thought he was a Strigoi. Dimitri burned with life and energy. In fact, looking at him now, I was again reminded of how he'd stood up for me at my arrest. He wore that same expression. Really, it was the same one I'd seen countless times. It was the one people feared and admired. It was the one I had loved. â€Å"You're here too?' I tried reminding myself that my muddled romantic history wasn't the most important thing in the world for a change. â€Å"Aren't you under house arrest?' â€Å"He escaped,' said Eddie slyly. I caught the real meaning: he and Mikhail had helped Dimitri escape. â€Å"It's what people would expect some violent probably-still-a- Strigoi guy to do, right?' â€Å"You'd also expect him to come bust you out,' added Mikhail, playing along with the game. â€Å"Especially considering how he fought for you last week. Really, everyone is going to think he busted you out alone. Not with us.' Dimitri said nothing. His eyes, while still carefully watching our surroundings, were also assessing me. He was making sure I was okay and uninjured. He looked relieved that I was. â€Å"Come on,' Dimitri finally said. â€Å"We don't have much time.' That was an understatement, but there was one thing bugging me about my friends' â€Å"brilliant' plan. â€Å"There's no way they'll think he did it alone!' I exclaimed, realizing what Mikhail was getting at. They were setting Dimitri up as the culprit in this escape. I gestured to the unconscious guardians at our feet. â€Å"They saw your faces.' â€Å"Not really,' a new voice said. â€Å"Not after a little spirit-induced amnesia. By the time they wake up, the only person they'll remember seeing will be that unstable Russian guy. No offense.' â€Å"None taken,' said Dimitri, as Adrian stepped through the doorway. I stared, trying not to gape. There they were together, the two men in my life. Adrian hardly looked like he could jump into a fistfight, but he was as alert and serious as the other fighters here. His lovely eyes were clear and full of the cunning I knew they could possess when he really tried. That's when it hit me: he showed no sign of intoxication whatsoever. Had what I'd seen the other day been a ruse? Or had he forced himself to take control? Either way, I felt a slow grin creeping over my face. â€Å"Lissa lied to your mom earlier,' I said. â€Å"You're supposed to be passed out drunk somewhere.' He rewarded me with one of his cynical smiles. â€Å"Well, yes, that would probably be the smarter–and more enjoyable–thing to be doing right now. And hopefully, that's what everyone thinks I'm doing.' â€Å"We need to go,' said Dimitri, growing agitated. We turned toward him. Our jokes vanished. That attitude I'd noticed about Dimitri, the one that said he could do anything and would always lead you to victory, made people want to follow him unconditionally. The expressions on Mikhail and Eddie's faces–as they grew serious–showed that was exactly how they felt. It seemed natural to me too. Even Adrian looked like he believed in Dimitri, and in that moment, I admired Adrian for putting aside any jealousy–and also for risking himself like this. Especially since Adrian had made it clear on more than one occasion he didn't want to be involved with any dangerous adventures or use his spirit in a covert way. In Las Vegas, for example, he'd simply accompanied us in an observer's role. Of course, he'd also been drunk most of the time, but that probably made no difference. I took a few steps forward, but Adrian suddenly held out a hand to stop me. â€Å"Wait– before you go with us, you need to know something.' Dimitri started to protest, eyes glinting with impatience. â€Å"She does,' argued Adrian, meeting Dimitri's gaze squarely. â€Å"Rose, if you escape †¦ you're more or less confirming your guilt. You'll be a fugitive. If the guardians find you, they aren't going to need a trial or sentence to kill you on sight.' Four sets of eyes rested on me as the full meaning sank in. If I ran now and was caught, I was dead for sure. If I stayed, I had the slim chance that in my short time before trial, we might find evidence to save me. It wasn't impossible. But if nothing turned up, I was also most certainly dead. Either option was a gamble. Either one had the strong possibility of me not surviving. Adrian looked as conflicted as I felt. We both knew I didn't have any good choices. He was simply worried and wanted me to know what I was risking. Dimitri, however †¦ for him, there was no debate. I could see it all over his face. He was an advocate of rules and doing the proper thing. But in this case? With such bad odds? It was better to risk living as a fugitive, and if death came, better to face it fighting. My death will not be penciled in on someone's calendar. â€Å"Let's go,' I said. We hurried out of the building, anxious to get moving with the plan. I couldn't help but comment to Adrian, â€Å"You've got to be using a lot of spirit to pull off all those illusions on the guards.' â€Å"I am,' he agreed. â€Å"And I don't really have the power to do it for very long. Lissa could probably make a dozen guardians think they'd seen ghosts. Me? I can barely make a few forget Eddie and Mikhail. That's why there had to be someone they remembered to attract the attention, and Dimitri's the ideal scapegoat.' â€Å"Well, thank you.' I gave his hand a gentle squeeze. As warmth flowed between us, I didn't bother telling him I was a long way from being free yet. It would diminish his heroics. We had a lot of obstacles ahead, but I still appreciated him stepping up like this and respecting my decision to go along with the escape plan. Adrian shot me a sidelong glance. â€Å"Yeah, well, I'm supposed to be crazy, right?' A flash of affection shone in his eyes. â€Å"And there isn't much I wouldn't do for you. The stupider, the better.' We emerged to the main floor, and I saw that Eddie had been right about guardian security. The halls and rooms were virtually deserted. Without a second glance, we hurried outdoors, and the fresh air seemed to renew my energy. â€Å"Now what?' I asked my rescuers. â€Å"Now we take you to the getaway car,' said Eddie. The garages weren't far, but they weren't close either. â€Å"That's a lot of open ground to cover,' I said. I didn't bring up the obvious problem: me being killed if spotted. â€Å"I'm using spirit to keep us all vague and nondescript,' said Adrian. More testing of his magic. He couldn't handle much more. â€Å"People won't recognize us unless they stop and stare directly at us.' â€Å"Which they probably won't,' said Mikhail. â€Å"If anyone even notices us at all. Everyone's too worried about themselves to pay much attention to others in all this chaos.' Looking around outside, I could see he was right. The jail building was far from the church, but by now, people who'd been near the blast had made their way to this part of Court. Some were running into their residences. Some were seeking guardians, hoping for protection. And some †¦ some were going the same direction we were, toward the garages. â€Å"People are freaked out enough to actually try to leave Court,' I realized. Our group was moving as fast as we could with Adrian, who wasn't in the shame shape as dhampirs. â€Å"The garages will be crowded.' Both official Court vehicles and visiting guests parked in the same area. â€Å"That could help us,' said Mikhail. â€Å"More chaos.' With so many distractions in my own reality, I couldn't plunge completely into Lissa's. A light brush of the bond found her safe, over in the palace. â€Å"What's Lissa doing during all of this?' I asked. Believe me, I was glad she wasn't involved with this busting-me-out-of-jail madness. But, as Adrian had noted, her ability with spirit could have gone much farther than his here. And now, looking back on it all, it was obvious she had known about this plan. That had been her secret. â€Å"Lissa needs to stay innocent. She can't be linked to any part of the escape or explosion,' replied Dimitri, eyes fixed ahead on his goal. His tone was firm. He still regarded her as his savior. â€Å"She has to keep herself visible with the other royals. So does Christian.' He almost smiled. Almost. â€Å"Those two would certainly be my first suspects if something exploded.' â€Å"But the guardians won't suspect them once they realize the blast wasn't caused by magic,' I mused. Mikhail's earlier words returned to me. â€Å"And hey, where did you guys get a hold of C4? Military grade explosives are kind of extreme, even for you.' No one answered me because three guardians suddenly leapt out into our path. Apparently, they weren't all out at the church. Dimitri and I surged ahead of our group, moving as one, just as we always had in battle together. Adrian had said the illusion he'd stretched over our group wouldn't hold if anyone was facing us directly. I wanted to make sure Dimitri and I were the first line of contact with these guardians, in the hopes they wouldn't recognize the others behind us. I threw myself into the fight without hesitation, defensive instincts kicking in. But in those milliseconds, the reality of what I was doing truly sank in. I'd fought guardians before and always felt guilty about it. I'd taken on the ones at Tarasov Prison, as well as the queen's guard during my arrest. I hadn't really known any of them, though. Just realizing they were my colleagues had been bad enough †¦ but now? Now I was facing one of the most difficult challenges in my life, as small as it seemed. After all, three guardians were an easy match for me and Dimitri. The problem was–I knew these guardians. Two of them I'd run into quite a bit after graduation. They worked at Court and had always been kind to me. The third guardian wasn't just someone I knew–she was a friend. Meredith, one of the few girls in my class at St. Vladimir's. I saw the flash of uneasiness in her eyes, a sentiment mirroring my own. This felt wrong to her too. But, she was a guardian now, and like me, she had had duty drilled into her throughout her life. She believed I was a criminal. She could see I was free and in attack mode. Procedure dictated she take me down, and honestly, I wouldn't have expected anything less. It's what I would have done had our roles been reversed. This was life and death. Dimitri was on the other two guys, as fast and badass as ever. Meredith and I went for each other. At first, she tried to knock me down by virtue of her weight, probably in the hopes of pinning me down until backup could help grab me. Only, I was stronger. She should have known that. How many times had we sparred in the school's gym? I'd almost always won. And this was no game, no practice drill. I pushed back at her attack, punching her on the side of her jaw and desperately praying I didn't break anything. She kept moving through the pain, but–again–I was superior. I caught a hold of her shoulders and threw her down. Her head hit hard, but she remained conscious. I didn't know whether to be grateful or not. Maintaining my grip, I put her in a chokehold, waiting until her eyes closed. I released as soon as I was sure she was out, my heart twisting in my chest. Glancing over, I saw Dimitri had also taken down his opponents. Our group kept moving as though nothing had happened, but I glanced at Eddie, knowing there was grief on my face. He looked pained too but sought to reassure me as we hurried along. â€Å"You did what you had to,' he said. â€Å"She'll be okay. Banged up, but okay.' â€Å"I hit her hard.' â€Å"The medics can deal with concussions. Hell, how many did we get in practice?' I hoped he was right. The lines between right and wrong were getting confusing. The one good thing, I supposed, was that Meredith had been so occupied by the sight of me that she probably hadn't noticed Eddie and the others. They'd held back from the fight, hopefully keeping on Adrian's veil of spirit while Dimitri and I took the attention. We finally reached the garages, which were indeed more crowded than usual. Some Moroi had already driven off. One royal was hysterical because her driver had her car's keys, and she didn't know where he was. She was shouting to passers-by to see if anyone could hotwire the car for her. Dimitri led us purposefully forward, never wavering. He knew exactly where we were going. There had been a lot of planning, I realized. Most of which had probably happened yesterday. Why had Lissa obscured it from me? Wouldn't it have been better for me to have a heads-up on the plan? We scurried through the people, heading toward the garage on the very farthest side. There, sitting just outside of it and seemingly ready to go, was a drab gray Honda Civic. A man stood near it, arms crossed as he examined the windshield. Hearing our approach, he turned around. â€Å"Abe!' I exclaimed. My illustrious father turned and gave me one of those charming smiles that could lure the unwary to their doom. â€Å"What are you doing here?' demanded Dimitri. â€Å"You'll be on the list of suspects too! You were supposed to stay back with the others.' Abe shrugged. He looked remarkably unconcerned at Dimitri's angry expression. I wouldn't have wanted that fury directed at me. â€Å"Vasilisa will make sure a few people at the palace swear they saw me there during suspicious times.' He turned his dark eyes toward me. â€Å"Besides, I couldn't leave without telling you goodbye, could I?' I shook my head in exasperation. â€Å"Was this all part of your plan as my lawyer? I don't recall explosive escapes being part of legal training.' â€Å"Well, I'm sure it wasn't part of Damon Tarus's legal training.' Abe's smile never wavered. â€Å"I told you, Rose. You will never face execution–or even a trial, if I can help it.' He paused. â€Å"Which, of course, I can.' I hesitated, glancing toward the car. Dimitri stood by it with a set of keys, looking impatient. Adrian's words echoed in my memory. â€Å"If I run, it's just going to make me seem that much more guilty.' â€Å"They already think you're guilty,' said Abe. â€Å"You wasting away in that cell won't change that. This just ensures we now have more time to do what we need to without your execution looming over us.' â€Å"And what are you going to do exactly?' â€Å"Prove you're innocent,' said Adrian. â€Å"Or, well, that you didn't kill my aunt. I've known for a while you aren't all that innocent.' â€Å"What, are you guys going to destroy the evidence?' I asked, ignoring the dig. â€Å"No,' said Eddie. â€Å"We have to find who really did kill her.' â€Å"You guys shouldn't be involved with that, now that I'm free. It's my problem. Isn't that why you got me out?' â€Å"It's a problem you can't solve while you're at Court,' said Abe. â€Å"We need you gone and safe.' â€Å"Yeah, but I–‘ â€Å"We're wasting time arguing,' said Dimitri. His gaze fell on the other garages. The crowds were still chaotic, too busy with their own fears to notice us yet. That didn't affect Dimitri's concern. He handed me a silver stake, and I didn't question the reasons. It was a weapon, something I couldn't turn down. â€Å"I know everything looks disorganized, but you'll be amazed at how quickly the guardians will restore order. And when they do, they're going to lock this place down.' â€Å"They don't need to,' I said slowly, my mind spinning. â€Å"We're already going to have trouble going out of Court. We'll be stopped–if we can even get to the gate. There are going to be cars lined up for miles!' â€Å"Ah, well,' said Abe, idly studying his fingertips. â€Å"I have it on good authority there's going to be a new â€Å"gate' opening up soon over on the south side of the wall.' The truth dawned on me. â€Å"Oh lord. You're the one who's been doling out C4.' â€Å"You make it sound so easy,' he said with a frown. â€Å"That stuff's hard to get a hold of.' Dimitri's patience was at an end. â€Å"All of you: Rose needs to leave now. She's in danger. I'll drag her out if I have to.' â€Å"You don't have to go with me,' I shot back, kind of offended at the presumption. Memories of our recent arguments emerged, of Dimitri saying he couldn't love me and didn't even want to be friends. â€Å"I'll take care of myself. No one else needs to get in trouble. Give me the keys.' Instead, Dimitri gave me one of those rueful looks that said he thought I was being utterly ridiculous. We could have been back in class at St. Vladimir's Academy. â€Å"Rose, I can't really get in any more trouble. Someone has to be responsible for helping you, and I'm the best choice.' I wasn't so sure of that. If Tatiana really had made progress in convincing people Dimitri wasn't a threat, this escapade would ruin it all. â€Å"Go,' said Eddie, surprising me with a quick hug. â€Å"We'll be in touch through Lissa.' I realized then that I was fighting a losing battle with this group. It really was time to leave. I hugged Mikhail too, murmuring in his ear, â€Å"Thank you. Thank you so much for your help. I swear, we'll find her. We'll find Sonya.' He gave me that sad smile of his and didn't reply. Adrian was the hardest to leave behind. I could tell it was difficult for him too, no matter how relaxed his grin seemed. He couldn't be happy about me going off with Dimitri. Our hug lasted a little bit longer than the others, and he gave me a soft, brief kiss on the lips. I almost felt like crying after how brave he'd been tonight. I wished he could go with me but knew he'd be safer here. â€Å"Adrian, thank you for–‘ He held up his hand. â€Å"It's not goodbye, little dhampir. I'll see you in your dreams.' â€Å"If you stay sober enough.' He winked. â€Å"For you I just might.' A loud booming noise interrupted us, and we saw a flash of light off to my right. People near the other garages screamed. â€Å"There, you see?' asked Abe, quite pleased with himself. â€Å"A new gate. Perfect timing.' I gave him a reluctant hug too and was surprised when he didn't pull back right away. He smiled at me †¦ fondly. â€Å"Ah, my daughter,' he said. â€Å"Eighteen, and already you've been accused of murder, aided felons, and acquired a death count higher than most guardians will ever see.' He paused. â€Å"I couldn't be prouder.' I rolled my eyes. â€Å"Goodbye, old man. And thanks.' I didn't bother asking him about the â€Å"felons' part. Abe wasn't stupid. After I'd asked him about a prison that had later been breeched, he'd probably figured out who was behind Victor Dashkov's escape. And like that, Dimitri and I were in the car, speeding off toward Abe's â€Å"new gate.' I regretted not being able to say goodbye to Lissa. We were never truly apart with the bond, but it couldn't take the place of face-to-face communication. Still, it was worth it to know she would be safe and free of any connection to my escape. I hoped. Like always, Dimitri drove, which I still thought was totally unfair. It had been one thing when I was his student, but now? Wouldn't he ever give up that wheel? This didn't seem like the time to discuss it, though–particularly since I didn't plan on us staying together much longer. A few people had come out to see where the wall had blown up, but no one official had surfaced yet. Dimitri raced through the gap as impressively as Eddie had when he'd driven through Tarasov Prison's gate, only the Civic didn't handle the bumpy, grassy terrain as well as the SUV in Alaska. The problem with making your own exit was that it didn't come with an actual road. Even that was beyond Abe. â€Å"Why is our getaway car a Civic?' I asked. â€Å"It's not really great for off-roading.' Dimitri didn't look at me but continued navigating over the rough ground toward a more drivable area. â€Å"Because Civics are one of the most common cars out there and don't attract attention. And this should be the only off-roading we do. Once we hit a freeway, we're putting as much distance between us and Court as we can–before abandoning the car, of course.' â€Å"Abandon–‘ I shook my head, letting it go. We reached a dirt road that felt like the smoothest surface on earth after that jolting start. â€Å"Look, now that we're out of there, I want you to know that I mean it: you don't have to come with me. I appreciate your help in the escape. Really. But hanging out with me won't do you any favors. They'll be hunting for me more than you. If you take off, you can live somewhere around humans and not be treated like a lab animal. You might even be able to slink back to Court. Tasha would put up a fight for you.' Dimitri didn't answer for a long time. It drove me crazy. I wasn't the kind of person who handled silence well. It made me want to chatter and fill the void. Plus, the longer I sat there, the more it hit me that I was alone with Dimitri. Like, really and truly alone for the first time since he'd become a dhampir. I felt like a fool, but in spite of the dangers we still risked †¦ well, I was still overwhelmed by him. There was something so powerful about his presence. Even when he made me angry, I still found him attractive. Maybe the adrenaline pounding through me was addling my brain. Whatever it was, I was consumed by more than just his physical aspects–though they were certainly distracting. The hair, the face, his closeness to me, his scent †¦ I felt it all, and it made my blood burn. But the inner Dimitri–the Dimitri who'd just led a small army through a prison break–captivated me just as much. It took me a moment to realize why this was so powerful: I was seeing the old Dimitri again, the one I'd worried was gone forever. He wasn't. He was back. At long last, Dimitri replied, â€Å"I'm not leaving you. None of your Rose-logic arguments are going to work. And if you try to get away from me, I'll just find you.' I didn't doubt he could, which just made the situation more confusing. â€Å"But why? I don't want you with me.' I still felt a lingering attraction for him, yes, but that didn't change the fact that he had hurt me in breaking things off between us. He had rejected me, and I needed to harden my heart, particularly if I wanted to move on with Adrian. Clearing my name and leading a normal life seemed far away right now, but if it happened, I wanted to be able to return to Adrian with open arms. â€Å"It doesn't matter what you want,' he said. â€Å"Or what I want.' Ouch. â€Å"Lissa asked me to protect you.' â€Å"Hey, I don't need anyone to–‘ â€Å"And,' he continued, â€Å"I meant what I said to her. I swore I'd serve her and help her for the rest of my life, anything she asks. If she wants me to be your bodyguard, then that's what I'll be.' He gave me a dangerous look. â€Å"There's no way you're getting rid of me anytime soon.'

Reflection paper about course Entrepreneurship101 Essay

Reflection paper about course Entrepreneurship101 - Essay Example In addition, I was hopeful that I would meet a good number of successful entrepreneurs, engage them in debate with an intention of having a clear understanding of their lives and work. In this course, we received a number of guest speakers who also included successful entrepreneurs hence my expectations were achieved. It is of significance to posit that I was also hopeful that I would gain relevant skills, knowledge, and abilities that would be necessary in my career as an entrepreneur. Subsequently, I was also hopeful that I would gain expertise on how I can apply my acquired skills and abilities in my areas of interest in entrepreneurship. I was able to achieve these through being actively engaged in learning, and engaging in dialogues with instructors. This course is intended to help students incorporate all modules comprised in liberal arts education such as critical thinking, comprehension of various situations, teamwork, and reflecting. As a result, I was optimistic I would comprehend how to integrate all these modules in learning. These expectations were all met. In my course, I was exposed to different aspects of entrepreneurship and asked to reflect what I have learnt, as well as how that could impact me and the society. Through this, I was able to comprehend how to integrate these modul es of liberal arts education What I liked most in this course is the structure and sessions. The structure involved a lot of interactions and lectures. I have always been able to learn more through engaging myself actively and also engaging in chats and discussions with lecturers and other instructors. Guest speakers helped break the monotony created by our lecturers. Having guest speakers is a new experience that all students look forward to. Guest speakers give first hand experiences in the work and the problems they have encountered in their work. Therefore, I liked it more learning various components and skills in entrepreneurship from

Are Nietzsche's criticisms of morality convincing Essay

Are Nietzsche's criticisms of morality convincing - Essay Example According to him they were a dominant class that he calls â€Å"masters† who created a moral code that the subordinates in the society had to follow (Danto, 1994). Master morality is the morality of the strong willed. To those who practice master morality, the basic principle is that what is good is helpful and that which is bad is harmful. In the ancient times, the value or otherwise of an action was determined by its consequences. This basically implies that morality does not exist per se but rather, there are only moral interpretations of situations and occurrences. According to Nietzsche, the essence of morality is nobility. For the strong willed in the society that which is good is noble and powerful while the bad is weak, timid and cowardly. For the Master morality, the defining factor is the idea of what is good and later the nature of bad is defined as that which is not good. In master morality, open mindedness courage and an accurate sense of self worth are attributes that are highly valued. Hence, masters are creators of morality and master morality is self-determinant (Hooker, 2000). Master morality embodies living life to the fullest a completely natural human functioning. It has little concern for the outside and as such, lives a life free from external restrictions. Masters affirm themselves from the onset and then enforce their morality to everyone below them. Essentially, masters are more concerned about that which their self deems right. The other issues that are nonrelated are considered secondary and insignificant. In a way, the masters define what they want and everything else that is not aligned to their perspective and beliefs is non consequential. The ideals of the society and other people do not affect their morality. In fact, the superior people are not afraid to express their will to power. They are determined to let their self serving morality be the one that the others follow. Master morality does not let the will of the herds to determine their lifestyle and moral direction. On the contrary, these superior people consider the values of other people to be of little or no significance and their sole objective is to advance their self interests. Those who follow master morality subscribe to their self defined rules and are not bound by the values of the society or institutions. Thus, it is imperative that the masters craft their own reality and morality. Nietzsche argues that those who follow the master morality are the ones who determine the development of human race to higher levels. Even from the historical background, men who have had the greatest impact in the history of mankind are the strong-willed. The timid and weak simply do not have the capacity to make things happen. Transformation and authority requires a higher degree of self worth and belief in order to convince the followers (Ridley, 1998). Suffice to say, Nietzsche paints those who follow master morality as stiff necked people with a high sense of self imposed supremacy. They do not have room for reason as they deem their ideas to be the most superior of all. The masters are close minded and they do not have room to change their set beliefs. He further argues that these superior people do not even belief that new knowledge can make them revise their previous positions. Morality for the masters is a personal issue rather than a communal beliefs system. This means that those who practice

Research Critique Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Research Critique - Assignment Example It also provides a basis on how two parties can negotiate their responsibilities. The study highlighted some responsibilities that parents play in the care of their children with asthmatic condition and roles of the children for their self-care. Staying with asthma have need of the implementation of a variety of responsibilities as well as keeping an eye on signs, supervising medicine, looking for medical help and working mutually with health care personnel. This paper suggests that the responsibilities of parents in taking care of children suffering from asthma should be clear. The parents and caregivers must play their roles fully because young children have little understanding about their health condition. Children’s ability to take responsibility for their condition is reliant on what they are acceptable and instructed to do by their parents and caregivers. Children get involved in different activities like playing and going to school. The kind of independence that was discovered through the study is only limited to the simple things that children can do without much knowledge about what they are doing. The level of understanding that children have is not enough to allow them take responsibility of their asthmatic condition. Children’s understandings, mutually of their own bodies and their asthmatic state could be very diverse to those of their parents, which have repercussion for their advance to self-monitoring. This critical analysis paper will extract some points from the research paper to indicate important things this research considers. Direct quotations from the research paper are useful to analyze the findings and the conclusion of this study. The argument of this paper is that the roles of children aged between seven and twelve are not clear enough. The research used open-ended interviews to children and their parents. The children interviewed said what they were able to do now as opposed to what they

Oxaliplatin Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Oxaliplatin - Essay Example This was developed following discovery of cisplatin in an attempt to reduce the problematic side effects of cisplatin. This is administered intravenously, and till date, no commercially viable orally active agent has been reported to be accepted for therapy3,4. Like cisplatin, oxaliplatin is also associated with quite a few dose-limiting adverse effects, which include myelosuppression along with others5. These are neurotoxic side effects that include sensory peripheral neuropathy which can be dose limiting. The other side effects include gastrointestinal disturbances and ototoxicity, while renal function may be normally monitored during therapy6. In this assignment contemporary literature will be reviewed to address the effects of oxaliplatin genotoxicity on human lymphocytes by using various cytogenetic techniques. Oxaliplatin contains a cyclohexyl and a pentadilactone ring, which will be evident from its chemical structure in a later section7. This has been approved for treatment of metastatic colon cancer in combination with 5-fluorouracil and folinic acid8. Therefore, this is a diaminocyclohexane (DACH) platinum compound9. This was considered as a probable chemotherapeutic agent since it demonstrated preclinical activities in some cisplatin-resistant cell lines and xenografts10. Oxaliplatin is an important member of this DACH platinum group of compounds. Its preclinical activity against colorectal cancer has been studied in great detail. It has been suggested that oxaliplatin has a greater extent of cell kill in resistant cancers since therapy with this agent may result in greater resistance to repair mechanisms leading to affected recovery of cancer cells11. This has been attributed to the size of the DACH carrier ligands, resulting into a bulkier platinum-DNA adduct in comparison to that created by cisplatin12. The inhibitory effects of platinum compounds have been ascribed to formation of inorganic platinum compounds in presence

The Variability Of Sound Velocity Through Cycles Of Neap And Spring Essay

The Variability Of Sound Velocity Through Cycles Of Neap And Spring - Essay Example METHODS Because a variety of water conditions were used to obtain data for the study, it was possible to obtain a wide range of results. The study was an oceanographic survey, which was conducted during the spring and neap phase of the tidal cycle at the Dart and Tamar estuaries. This offered a thorough observation of water column through a period of low water and high water. The table below shows the details of the project: Location 1: River Tamar is found in southwestern England, and forms the border between Devon (to the east) and Plymouth city (to the west). Before entering Plymouth Sound, River Tamar at its mouth, flows into the Hamoaze where it joins with River Lynher. The source of River Tamar is less than four miles (6 km) from the north Cornish coast, and it drains southward. Having a tidal length of thirty-two kilometres from its seaward end, the Tamar estuary is a partially mixed, mesotidal estuary. For about fifty miles, the River Tamar flows south to the English Channel, coursing its way through steep wooded country in its middle reaches. This location was used to collect data profiles during spring tides on December 07, 2005, between the time range of 09:40am to 16:00pm, and during neap tides on December 11, 2005 between the time ranges of 08:00am to 14:10pm.

Homosexual Stereotypes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Homosexual Stereotypes - Essay Example Homophobia is a feeling of apprehension, worry, aversion, abhorrence and revulsion with the act of being homosexual. This fear and apprehension let the heterosexual believe that the homosexuals are inferior beings and their attitudes, their behaviours, their societal articulation, media and other texts project this. When the homosexuals experience such a dislike and abhorrence, they either have then nothing to do except to hide their sexual orientation or led a life of an inferior being. This inferiority complex when materializes, it hinders these individuals to get to know themselves and accept what they truly are. The problem of homophobiais the result of many false propaganda and many myths about homosexuals and the societal non-acceptance of these attitudes, at some places in the name of law, and at other in the name of religion. Dirty gay 'jokes' and other physical and oral persecution lead many to commit either suicide or to hide their orientation all through their lives. While the available studies have shown post-dissolution relationships to be important and challenging to formerly dating partners, more research on these relationships is needed. Initial descriptions of post-dissolution relationships (Metts, et al, P. 265-278, 2002; Schneider & Kenny, 451-466, 2000) and the role of post-dissolution relationships in social networks (Foley & Fraser, 1998) utilized samples of heterosexual ex-partners only. In other aspects of relating, same-sex and opposite-sex, romantic relationships have been found to share more similarities than differences. Specifically, similarities between same-sex and opposite-sex romantic relationships have been found in studies of closeness (Peplau & Cochran, P.321-349, 2002), commitment (Duffy & Rusbult, 1-23, 2000), jealousy, love level, maintenance behaviours (Haas & Stafford, 1998), satisfaction and sexuality. Yet, because same-sex romantic relationships exist in an environment that often does not condone, rarely encourages, and offers few relational role models, the differences in the social context of same-sex and opposite-sex romantic relationships may lead to significant differences between the qualities of and influences on the two types of post-dissolution relationships. Many people believe that these gays are bad or else they are deviant heterosexual individuals. There is a wide degree of intolerance towards gay men. This is due to extensive negative image propagation in the media, the defiance and indifference of church towards the religious orientation of these men and women and stereotypes of a rigid society. The heterosexual individuals commonly take these stereotypes, regarding the homosexuality and the inferiority of gays, as true. As Arthur Dong illustrated in his documentary titled "Licensed to kill", he showed that these stereotypes appear and increase social

Leonardo da Vinci Lifepath and Activity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Leonardo da Vinci Lifepath and Activity - Essay Example In Milan, he began various projects for the duke and managed to complete six paintings among them there was one called the Virgin of the Rock, which showed figures from the bible including the Virgin Mary, the baby Jesus together with John the Baptist which he finished in approximately 1485. In Milan, Leonardo did not just work as an artist, but he also advised other people on subjects such as engineering and architecture. He was fond of writing notes and filled many pages with observations and thoughts on everything from the human body to astronomy. Leonardo came up with inventions in his notebooks, which could not be made at the time. For instance, he designed a helicopter, an underwater breathing device, a tank and a submarine which showed that he was way ahead of time (Joanne 6).Leonardo wrote most of his personal notes in mirror writing. He only used normal writing if he wanted his texts to be read by others. It is not clear why he did this, but several reasons have been suggest ed. His friends wrote that he wrote and painted using the left hand. In those times, writing left handed was a mess since the wet ink would smear as his hand moved across the paper; therefore, writing in reverse would stop the ink from smudging. It is also suggested that he did this so that people could not read.Leonardo was said to be tall with long blonde hair whose abilities were beyond the ordinary that he could readily solve any difficulty. In addition, Leonardo was said to be able to sing divinely.... Leonardo came up with inventions in his notebooks, which could not be made at the time. For instance, he designed a helicopter, an underwater breathing device, a tank and a submarine which showed that he was way ahead of time (Joanne 6). Leonardo wrote most of his personal notes in mirror writing. He only used normal writing if he wanted his texts to be read by others. It is not clear why he did this, but several reasons have been suggested. His friends wrote that he wrote and painted using the left hand. In those times, writing left handed was a mess since the wet ink would smear as his hand moved across the paper; therefore, writing in reverse would stop the ink from smudging. It is also suggested that he did this so that people could not read and steal his ideas (Jill 18). Leonardo was said to be tall with long blonde hair whose abilities were beyond the ordinary that he could readily solve any difficulty. In addition, Leonardo was said to be able to sing divinely and his charming conversation worn all hearts. Leonardo did more to create the concept of the artist genius than anyone else of his times. He constantly stressed the intellectual aspect of the art and creativity. Leonardo is said to be so curious, this curiosity made him shift from a project to another (Joanne 8). Back in Florence, Leonardo painted an artwork that became one of the most recognized art images in the world, the Mona Lisa; for a long time no one knew who the woman was. However, it is now known that she was Lisa di Gherardini, the wife of Florentine silk trader named Francesco Del Giocondo. It is said that Leonardo took the painting with him everywhere. Francesco commissioned the portrait with the aim of

African Traditional Literature Essay Example for Free

African Traditional Literature Essay Indigenous literature whether oral or written is the cultural heritage of most societies. Unfortunately, African traditional literature overtime has been treated as something inferior to their Western counterparts. But to a large extent, both traditional African literature and their European counterparts have similar socio-artistic values. Both express interest in the events happening in their society because they recognize their role as social barometer, hence, they need to express themselves properly to their audience no matter the language they use. African traditional literature shares a lot with similar literature from other parts of the world. More recent studies have indeed revealed that the old view that rural societies are not capable of producing elegant literature expressing the responses of men in an advanced culture to events around them is no longer tenable. This view was upheld by Westerners who studied traditional African literature with racial prejudice. They believed that African culture was still struggling for elementary problem of existence and was yet to attain the level of civilization that will facilitate the pursuit of literary achievement. But this view was met with a lot of controversial criticisms, as African Scholars began to argue the importance of African traditional literature in the literary world, stressing the fact that traditional literature is not only relevant, but should also be accorded a literary status in the literary world. Their reasons being that African literature perform certain functions in the society; the noticeable variety in the existing genre and; the competent evidence in the elegant use of language exhibited in the cause of performance with the resultant aesthetic effect, and with time, African traditional literature began to be accepted. But it was not wholly accepted by these Europeans. They began to employ their foreign concepts in the critical evaluation of African traditional literature. They believed that Africans do not possess adequate tools for the appraisal and evaluation of their literature. Hence, they began to employ these foreign approaches in the study of African traditional literature.

Controlling Obesity in Canada

Controlling Obesity in Canada Public Health Policy: Controlling Obesity in Canada The World Health Organisation defined health in its constitution as â€Å"a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.† (WHO, 1946) The health of an individual is affected by multiple factors like personal hygiene, access to health care, socio-economics, genetics, living and working environment. The term public health is used for the efforts which are made to promote individuals health. Public health The field of Public health can be described as the science of wellness of society, community or an organisation by disease prevention to promote health by collective efforts and choices of a society. Public health is different from medicine as it is mainly concerned with the promotion of health and well-being of a society not by treating the sick but by preventing the spread of a co-morbidity or morbidity. The community benefited by public health department can be of any size. Promotion of health involves multidisciplinary approach involving other fields of community medicine like epidemiology, economics, biostatistics, behavioural sciences, healthcare providers, public policy, environmental health, community health and occupational safety. (Winslow and Amory, 1920). By using health indicators as a source of information about the health status of a society public health increases the health of the society by preventing the diseases and promoting a healthy life style. Public health measures can be exemplified as hand washing, use of condoms, breast feeding, promoting hygiene, vaccination, promoting exercise, use of boiled water etc. Public health ethics Public health decreases the cost of healthcare by preventing the diseases keeping in view the ethics and norms of a society. While implementing a health policy there can be a conflict of some moral issues and restrict the choice of living for an individual. For an individual a policy may appear to have some negative effects but if we see society as a whole it proves beneficial. The ethics and mortalities are incorporated in the field of medical practice, health policies and medical research. With the advancement in the field of science, the study of application of moral values ethics by the scientists lead to formation of a new discipline called bioethics and medical ethics. Medical ethics are taken into consideration while making a health policy by public health departments worldwide. This subsidiary is called public health ethics. Public health policy The Nuffield Bioethics Council has identified following ethical and moral points that should be taken into consideration while making a health policy. A policy should have following characteristics: Produce health benefits Prevent health morbidities Encourage participation and distributes its benefits to all factions of the society without disparities Be founded on the principles of justice and transparency Respect individuals liberty of action Respect individuals privacy, confidentiality, respect minorities and universal human rights Build and maintain trust (The Nuffield Bioethics Council) Besides this the any health policy must be implemented by government involving the public sector and third party approach. Unlike developed countries developing countries still lack the monetary resources and trained staff in their public health departments. Fundamentals of Public Health Policy While forming a public health policy first there should be evidence of the cause of the disease. The evidences in this case are authentic peer review research works. After that there is scientific assessment of the risks, cost estimation and transparency. Obesity Obesity A Cause Of Many Diseases Obesity is proved to be a main cause of increase in mortalities as it causes many co morbidities. (David et al. 1999) But the good thing is that obesity is a preventable morbidity. Obesity increases the risk of a list of diseases which are beyond the scope of this paper. To be concise obesity increases the risk of ischemic heart disease, diabetes mellitus type 2, infertility, stroke, osteoarthritis and many more. Libraries are stuffed with the research reviews suggesting obesity as a cause of different diseases. Since 1980 the individuals suffering from obesity has been doubled as in 2008, 1.4 billion adults and 40 million children have been found to be suffering from obesity. (EASO, 2014) Obesity In Canada In Canada 50% adults are obese or over weight. In the years 1981-1996 obesity among children ages seven to 13 has tripled. The percentage of obesity in agults is increasing since 1978. Till 2007 the percentage grew from 15% to 29%. (Statistics Canada, 2009) and if this keep on growing then by 2040 70% of the adult Canadian population will be obese. Obesity costs Canadas economy $2.7 billion and the health care system $1.6 billion in 2000-01. From 1985 to 2000 about 57,000 deaths in Canada were caused by obesity. (Katzmarzyk, Ardern. 2004) Recommended Health Policy For Obesity Controlling obesity will require some drastic measures by the government as the problem is so adverse and will become worse in the future. The government have to implement such measures that address a large group of population. Following are my recommendation about controlling obesity in Canadian population. Hate Obesity Education Campaign Government must launch an effective campaign for increasing the awareness about obesity among individual this can be implemented by organising seminars, workshops and lectures in schools, colleges, universities, work places and in community gathering. By involving teachers and mothers this strategy can be proved very effective, one proposal from my side is the labelling of food products which are high in fats and calories. We can label the amount of product which can be taken by an individual in a day. â€Å"Hate Obesity† campaign will be very helpful by affective advertisement by out health department like we conduct no smoking campaign. Food Policy Food policy should be reviewed particularly regarding the increase in use of junk food and canned food. Over the years the population is increasingly more attracted toward the junk food. The food companies must me taken under taken under regulation and they must provide the information about food ingredients and calories to their consumer. This would be very hard for the government due to immense revnue and tax they generate. Huge motivation and courage at the government side is needed to control this elephant. Promotion of Physical Activity According to recent research majority of children and adults donot fit in the international guideline of physical activity. One of the reson is the access to the playground and parks. This would need some huge funding from the government for providing these facilities. Moreover private organisations can be involved to provide the oppurtunities to their workers like physical fitness competitions and benefits against the physical fitness. This also need regulations and legislation. Politicians and civil society can come up with a solution to this problem. Promotion of Home Made Diet The use of premade food is a very unhealthy culture growing in our society. Community awareness program for the mothers can be conducted to educatye the mothers. If mothers are convinced that obesity is a disease not an ordinary problem then this fear can be used to promote home made food. The people must know what they are eating. The choice of food to eat must be in the hands of the motrhers References Preamble to the Constitution of the World Health Organization. (1946) Winslow and Amory. (1920). The Untilled Fields of Public Health. Science. http://www.sciencemag.org/content/51/1306/23 The Nuffield Bioethics Council. 2007  www.nuffieldbioethics.org David B. Allison, PhD; Kevin R. Fontaine, PhD; JoAnn E. Manson, MD, DrPH; June Stevens, PhD; Theodore B. VanItallie, MD. Annual Deaths Attributable to Obesity in the United States. (1999) Ontario obesity reaches epidemic proportions  November 24, 2004, Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. Katzmarzyk PT Ardern CI. Overweight and obesity mortality trends in Canada 1985-2000. Canadian Journal of Public Health. 2004. European Association of Study of Obesity. Obesity Facts Figures. 2014.  http://easo.org/obesity-facts-figures Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey, 2009, 2010. Le Petit C, Berthelot JM. Obesity: A Growing Issue. Statistics Canada. 2005 Adult Vaccination: An Important Step in Protecting Your Health (2014)  http://www.cdc.gov/features/VaccinesChronicConditions Rankin, S. H., Stallings, K. D., London, F. (2005). Patient education in health and illness. London: Lippincott Williams Wilkins.