Before December

December. Apparently it is supposed to mean something to me. It is part of my life after all, 31 days of it. Maybe something meaningful is going to happen but most likely not. Then why does it have to mean so much? November, this month, happens to be my internal exam. I need to see where I am academically and then use this December to do the work. To prepare for IGCSE. That is what is in most student's mind right now. Use this month to rigorously build the mental power, fill the memory palaces, and most of all not missing important details. 

However, this is where it gets interesting. We are so self-centered. This December crisis from all over the world that had been dragging on for years is still continuing. The Boko Haram cases and the girls that we all forgot about. The ISIS recruitments that is still happening all over the world. I do not want to talk about politics so I will not mention the impact of Donald Trump's success in the U.S.A election. Moreover, the on-going denial and refusal to fight global warming as some people still thinks it is a hoax. The deforestations and poisoning of our environments.

There are so many problems, yet no answers or even if there is, corporations would do their finest to undermine anything that does not profit them. For example, the 3 million tons of oil spills in the Niger Delta had devastated local people, destroyed their well-being, blundered the children's education, no livelihood in the area. Where was the government in all this? Apparently, they are too filled with Shell's informants to pass anything forward to save the people. They even harassed local people that have tried to use their free speech with their own military units.

Our world seems to be getting worse everyday. It is hard to find a glimmer of light these days. We hope for the best but we do not prepare for the worst. After looking at all these problems and cannot find a solution, I feel rather obsolete. These problems are all around us but we pretend to be ignorant as ignorant is bliss. While writing this I attempt to really find something to restore my hope in humanities and I found the glimmer of lights. But do you know what happened to those glimmers? Overcame by shadows. The complete and absolute control that people with power has over us is unimaginably huge. When you look at all those glimmers, you can even say that the free will is an illusion. All those people with ideas but no power. August had shown me that those glimmers are hopeless. However, I also notice something. Something that is rather obvious but worth mentioning all the same. Those glimmers are all separated. The dispersion of light all over the shadow, the shine brightly for a few second then was extinguished. They are like sparks rather. Those over powering shadow will put out any material that the spark is trying to light before it becomes a problem for them. I know this personally since I am Cambodian. Cambodia had been under one single powerful political party for a long time and now there is finally a competitor. In August, a Cambodian political analyst: Kem Ley who is trying to speak out had been assassinated. In gas station where there was security camera all over the place but somehow the public never gets to review it to its fullest extent. The murderer's name just happened to be Choub Somlab which mean "meet and kill" in Khmer. These all just seem too fishy and while both sides had motives to carry out to assassination it is really hard to determine which one did it. However, finding out who did it is not a problem but the main problem is to get every citizens of to unite and fight against oppression. To get everyone to march the street and fight for the people. We need to make Kem Ley's death meaningful. This is a turning point. We need a clean government.

This December has to be a December of actions. Either you fight your way for free speech or modifying your lifestyle to release less carbon dioxide, it does not matter how you do it but it needs to be done. For the future of next generations we need to do something. We can not just stand still and be ignorant while everything else is going to hell. My life alone maybe obsolete but a group of people's lives matter. We need to stand strong and fight for our world.

By Sewen Thy

P.S. Get better soon Mr. Raisdana!!

Lacking Water in the Future

While three little kids are brushing their teeth, one kid starts to fight another one in order to get into the first tap to get the water first, but after one fight one, the other try to fight back and then run away leaving the tap open, leaving the water to run all over the floor.

Is this a kind of wasting water? Of course, water is the most important source for us to survive, without water, there would be no other living creatures on the world. So have you ever imagine of a time when people will fight each other for only a glass of water? This is the question to ask when the scientists have claimed that water will be lacked in the near future. But what reasons that inspire scientists to claim like that?

According to CIA source, it reveals that on Earth, the freshwater only makes up just three percent of the water supply. And it becomes more clear that less than one percent is freely available; the rest is tied up in ice, as in icebergs, glaciers, and snowcaps. This means that all of the rivers, streams, lakes, aquifers and groundwater expected to sustain 6,602,224,175 people on Earth.

What caused the water lacking? It will happen because of two important factors:

Global Warming: It is the most serious environmental issue that the world always concerns about. If the world become hotter and hotter, the water on the surface will dry up quickly. Furthermore, the ice at the Arctic Circles starts to melt.Therefore, in the future, we have only salt water that we can not use. As you have known the first point, the second point also links with the point above.

Deforestation: Based on WWF Survey, it illustrates that about 60 hectares of the world’s rainforest are being destroyed to clear land for cattle, oil rig, and mine. The more trees are destroyed, the less chance the rain will fall. At that time, drought will happen everywhere. And it will have a really bad effect on humans, animals and plants in the world.

Things that is even worse and unbelievable, in 2070:

The people who are 50 years old will look as old as the people who are 85 years old, in addition, they’ll have many serious illnesses because of lacking water in their bodies. All of the people will look as ugly as the zombies. Bodies are full of viruses from the sunlight ( ultra violet), because there is no ozone layer. Life expectancy will be only 35 years.

People will use towel with mineral oil to clean their skin instead of water.

All of the people must shave their hair off, accordingly, they don’t need to wash them by using water.

Everywhere all around us will have no more people like the desert. Employees will work for water instead of money.

Usually people drink at least 8 glasses of water, but at that time, only half a glass of water will be given to each person.

In some countries, where there are still some green zones crossed by rivers, they will be guarded with heavy armed soldiers. Then, water will become a very coveted treasure, even more precious than gold or a 100-carat diamond.

In spite of that, some places like Africa and some parts of some developing countries are facing this unfortunate event. However, why were most of the people enjoying themselves by pouring litres and litres of water on their bodies uselessly at the same time that Africans are lacking clean water? So it indicates that the events described above is likely to happen if we continue this things to happen. Well, not many people ever think about this issue since they live in a place that have plenty of water. But just because they are not involved in this event, and they don’t care about it. However, this idea is totally wrong. Like Bill Gates, CEO of Microsoft and a philanthropist, said that, “ Do we really not care because it doesn’t affect us…? I refuse to sit there and say, Okay, next problems, this one doesn’t bother me. But It does bother me very much! ”. That’s why we cannot just sit and ignore it because it does not bother us. We MUST take actions on it.

So can we do anything to help? Of course, we can!!!!

Stop cutting and start growing more trees, stop polluting the environment, start using public transportation or riding bicycles and try to save water!!!!

By these 5 easy things, if you can do it and continue to do it consistently, you will become one of the hero in this world. You are helping yourself, your family, your friends, your world and everybody!!! So, go and get started!!!

Written by Khantey