Whaling (Unit 5)

The original source for the whaling article was the New York Times. Find the original unedited, longer article here or here.

LNKGYfN (Long-Necked Karen Girls Yearn for Normality)

This news story appeared in the Brunei Times on April 30, 2007, with the byline of "Shino Yuasa". A slightly different version --with no byline-- appeared in the Sawf news on May 1. This version has many pictures of Muko, Amy, Mari, and the village where they live, taken by AFP photographer Pornchai Kittiwongsakul. Both versions are longer than the edited version in our textbook. The story continues…

Amy complains the rings bring her constant, and unwanted, attention.

"When I ventured out to a nearby Thai city with my friends, people pointed their fingers at us, saying 'here come the long necks'," recalls Amy.

"I kept quiet, but was very angry at them. I got hissed at by total strangers only because of my neck rings," she says.

Karen long-necked teenagers Muko(L) and Amy
© AFP/File Pornchai Kittiwongsakul

But Muko and Amy explain that the rings are coiled around their necks so tightly that they cannot remove them on their own.

The younger girls said they were told when the first rings were placed around their necks that they would make them look more beautiful and help them attract good husbands -- not unlike the justification for Chinese footbinding, a crippling practice that endured for 1,000 years until the communist revolution of 1949.

The rings cause the girls constant pain and discomfort, including headaches, stiff shoulders and muscles.

While the rings effectively make the neck look longer, in fact their weight pushes the shoulders and collarbones down by several centimetres. According to tradition the girls are never permitted to remove the rings, which force them to look straight ahead as they cannot move their heads.

To take them off, the girls have to see a specialist who charges 500 baht for the service. After some time, their shoulders and collarbones usually return to normal.

"I am secretly saving money for the ring removal," Amy confides. Muko, sitting next to Amy, says she plans to remove her rings when she finishes middle school next year.

"My mother does not know my plan. It's my secret," Muko says.

For 22-year-old Mari Muri, who wears 16 rings, the pressure to keep the rings died with her mother three years ago.

"My mother used to say neck rings would make me beautiful. But I've never believed in that," says Mari Muri, who sells colourful textiles, postcards and long-necked dolls, and has had the rings since she was five.

"I am supposed to add to my neck rings, but I've stopped doing that since my mother passed away," she said.

She said her 19-year-old sister Mu Ba removed her rings as soon as their mother died and moved to another refugee camp, says Mari Muri, who has no family name, adding that she is ready to take hers off "any time".

For Mayao, the 52-year-old, girls like Muko, Amy and Mari Muri are a disgrace to the Karen tradition.

"More and more girls are removing their rings. They don't appreciate our culture, which has been passed down through generations," says the petite woman, who proudly shows off her 25 brass rings.

"I'm worried our Karen tradition will disappear," says Mayao.

Amy, for different reasons, also expects the tradition to end.

"It's enough for me. I will not put neck rings on my daughter," she says.

More Links:

"Peoples of the World" - a short description of the Karen
http://www.peoplesoftheworld.org/text?people=Karen

Photography of Ban Nai Soi village
http://www.panasia.net/photo/thailand/bannaisoi/

Tourist-oriented website in Northern Thailand introducing the Karen
http://www.chiangmai-chiangrai.com/longneck_karen.html

Picture and Thai tour info
http://www.chiangdao.com/chiangmai/karenlongneck.htm

More Turban News!

Here is the original New York Times article by Amelia Gentleman which was reprinted in our textbook (Young Sikh Men Get Haircuts, Annoying Their Elders).

At SikhiWiki you can read about the latest "International Turban Day" - in English or Japanese (GoogleTranslate).

If you wondered what Punjabi pop star Pammi Bai looked like, you may have looked up his web site. It has pictures, videos, and music. I will embed his turban-boosting song "Pagg Patiala" here. It seems to be Bhangra -- a rhythmic type of music which is also somewhat popular in London.

Unit 4 -- Society and Culture: Old Ways, New Ways

Topics: Newspaper English, Sihk Haircuts, Karen Girls

Here you can read a little background information about turbans. It's actually very long. Also, did you know that the Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh, is a member of the Sihk religion?

The Karen of Thailand, Burma, and nearby areas are also known as Kayan. In order to see some pictures of Kayan, please visit Flickr photos from Mae Hong Son, Thailand tagged with Kayan.

The grammar of newspaper headlines is not like ordinary English grammar. You can read more about it here or here.

Juries in Japan (Unit 10-related readings)

Japan Gets Ready for New Jury System

By Akiko Fujita

Tokyo

01 July 2009

VOA News

http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-07-01-voa27.cfm

A new jury system in Japan is changing the way the country tries criminals. Six citizen judges will now decide the fate of those accused of violent crimes instead of professional judges alone. It is the first major overhaul to the country's legal system in more than 60 years. The new system has not been tested in trial yet but it is already causing a debate.

When suspected murderer Katsuyoshi Fujii takes the stand in his trial next month, public attention may focus not be on the 72-year-old but on the jurors deciding his fate. Six people will be called to hear testimony in the case. At the end of the trial, those six will become the first citizen judges to reach a verdict in Japan since World War II.

Defense attorney Satoru Shinomiya will be among a group of lawyers watching the case closely.

"The aim of justice reform is to make our society more free, more fair, and more responsible," said Shinomiya.

Citizen judge system

Shinomiya has been pushing for the "Saiban-in" or citizen judge system for years, and calling for more transparency in the judicial process.

"They say that I am the most optimistic person in the bar but I really do believe in the people," said Shinomiya.

Japan abolished its jury system during World War II, and cases have been decided by a panel of professional judges.

The current system gives prosecutors extensive powers, but defense attorneys argue those powers go to far too far. Prosecutors are allowed to detain and interrogate a suspect for 23 days, without a defense attorney present, and force them to make

written statements and confessions. Nearly 100 percent of indictments resulted in convictions.

Makoto Miyazaki, the president of the country's bar association describes those cases as "hostage trials" where suspects were detained until they confessed.

He says that anyone who has witnessed trials in Japan knows that they are not trials where lawyers and prosecutors debate the facts. It is simply a forum for prosecutors to hand over documents to the judge.

That criticism has grown louder since a 62-year-old man who was wrongly convicted was released from prison last month. Toshikazu Sugaya served 17 years behind bars for the murder of a young girl. He said prosecutors forced him to confess to a crime he did not commit. He was freed after a new test revealed his DNA did not match that on the victim's body.

"If the 'Saiban-in' were there, at least they would have listened to the argument seriously, carefully," said Sugaya.

Legal process

Six jurors will now decide cases involving serious, violent crimes. Three professional judges will work with them to guide them through the legal process. Jurors will be chosen randomly from voter registration rolls, although politicians, legal professionals, the elderly and students will be exempt from serving.

The hope is this new process will increase understanding of the country's judicial system, keep prosecutors in check, and promote civic responsibility.

Former Supreme Court Judge Kunio Hamada says it forces Japanese to think independently.

"This is a great social experience," said Hamada. "Hopefully by going through this process there will be more Japanese citizens capable of formulating their opinion in international scenes."

But potential jurors are not exactly eager to give those opinions. Polls conducted in April showed about half of the public did not want to serve. Hamada says that is not surprising in a society that does not promote independence. He says people often worry about public opinion and do not like to separate from the pack.

More than 130 suspects are scheduled to stand trial under the new system. But those who supported it are already pushing for more changes. They want police interrogations video-taped and checks in place to make sure judges do not influence jurors in deliberation rooms.

They also want to require jurors to give a unanimous decision. The Saiban-in law only requires a majority opinion to decide cases, including death penalty cases. That means debate about the new system is likely to continue even after the first jury trial begins.

Here are some related pages:

The Wikipedia page for Jury Trials tells about the international and historical status of jury trials from ancient Athens to Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Gibraltar, India, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Russia, and Switzerland.

The Ministry of Justice explains jury trials with an animation.