The loss of the Great Barrier Reef will have a huge impact on the areas that surround it, completely changing their livelihood. People from all over the world travel to these places so that they can experience the food and natural beauty that this area has to offer; things that they can’t necessarily get at home. If they lost the Great Barrier Reef, this would impact their tourism in a negative way, which is a huge driving factor for their economy. Not only would it effect tourism, but it would also affect the people who live there as their food source would change, they would have to find new sources for their own personal intake and for their businesses as well. People would have to quickly find a new source of income as tourism would inevitably decrease.

            Tourism would also decline if we started to bulldoze traditional cultures. Earlier this summer, I went on a cruise and one of our port stops was in Mexico, where we were went to see the Mayan Ruins. Thousands of people from all over the world come to see the Mayan Ruins, to learn about their culture and history, but if we started bulldozing areas like this, that are so rich in culture, people will lose interest in visiting. People love going to places like this; they’re something we’ve grown up learning about and can take photos to post all over social media.

            The pollution dumped into the Great Barrier Reef will also lose tourism and more importantly will destroy it. If the areas are full of trash or ruined by the trash, the area will lose its natural beauty, ultimately losing the draw to that place. It is so important to take care of these places and to preserve their natural resources and beauty so that they can be enjoyed long after we’re gone.

Migration has occurred all over the world all throughout our history and will continue into our future as well. Many people came to Latin America as it could offer a better life for themselves and future generations to come. Latin America is the world’s second most urbanized region and has vast rainforests and deserts. People from all over the world have come to Latin America, showcasing a mix of indigenous and European influences, but we also see gaps in wealth and power. People have come to Latin America for years to escape religious persecution in their homes or other poor treatment and want to create a better livelihood for themselves.

Personally, I believe that we do not live in a “melting pot” but more of a “salad bowl” society. The melting pot idea indicates that different people come together, from all over the world, and “melt together”, losing their individuality and what makes them different. I believe we live in more of a salad bowl society as each different race and community makes up each ingredient but when it is all mixed together, they are still the same, just mixed in with everyone else. Sadly, this is not always the case; when people migrate to a new area, they are normally not welcomed with opened arms, they face segregation and verbal abuse as they are seen as different. It is also difficult for those who migrated to a new place as they have practiced certain traditions and lived with a certain type of government and now have to adopt a new way of life. It is important that everyone comes together and celebrates our differences; learning about new cultures so that we can all grow and learn together.

Throughout this chapter, the reader learns about a soccer player Edward Anyamkyegh, from Nigeria and his career playing all over the world. Edward first describes how his family was farmers and how he lost his dad when he was seven years old. He would’ve followed in his late father’s footsteps but at this time agents began looking for boys to buy for European soccer leagues; his older brother was bought by Queen’s Park Rangers of London. Edward had a natural talent for soccer, “he could outrun the older players and out-muscle the younger ones”, according to the author. He was sent to play for the Under-17 World Cup in Ecuador but his team lost to Ecuador in the final. After the loss, he went to France and went through various tryouts for two weeks but unfortunately could not play for the team. Edward was sold to Karpaty Lviv and later the team had received another Nigerian soccer player, Samson Godwin. Amongst the team there was racial tension as they sat apart from each other on the bus and field on breaks and also ate at different tables. Edward and Samson were looked at differently by the fans too as people would call them “monkey”. Even with high tensions, Edward was still being paid much more than his fellow teammates, the chapter states that, “Edward had been the most expensive acquisition in the history of the club”. Edward, although the most expensive player, was still treated differently as he barely played and would be the only player on the team weighed, then told to lose weight even though he weighed less than when he first arrived. It is clear that there were racial tensions between the team and even some from the fans as well.

There always seems to be a scapegoat, a group of people that are belittled and treated with no respect and for many years this was the Jewish community. The chapter talks about how there were a myriad of famous amazing Jewish soccer players and other athletes, but there were less and less as time went on. This could’ve been a result of people being too afraid to come forward as Jewish in fear for their lives and how they would be treated. They could not even play with other teams, so they created their own with some being very popular and successful, for instance MTK. Opposing teams would yell racial slurs at the players, many made references to the Holocaust, saying how the Jews will burn in gas chambers. For a while, Tottenham tried to ignore such chants and slurs but eventually they had had enough and came up with their own. According to the chapter, Tottenham’s opponents then chanted, “We’ll be running around Tottenham with our pricks hanging out tonight…singing I’ve got foreskin, I’ve got foreskin, I’ve got foreskin, and you ain’t…”; Tottenham responded by pulling down their pants, flaunting their circumcised members.

            Jewish clubs and team members were treated incredibly poor, following how Hitler had treated his Jewish prisoners during the Holocaust. At this time the Nazi leaders had enlisted Gerron to direct a film about what was happening at the concentration camps, but he could not create the script or anything. He filmed men and boys playing soccer with the narrator talking about how they could only have seven players as there was not enough room for more and how women and children would come watch them play as well. Jewish soccer players were treated terribly on the field and off the field for years.

This was more than just a simple game of soccer. This was war; war to be the best soccer team, war to make the most money, war to be the most famous soccer club in the world. This was bigger than just soccer. Their love for their home team and country was deeper than anything else at the time. They would do whatever they had to in order to assure their team was the best; they would “escort” refs to the games, threaten players or make them miss games, and attack rival fans. In their eyes they were fighting for their country, through soccer.

            Clubs like the Red Star were hard core protectors of their teams, they would show no mercy to their rivals, they were constantly at war. After Red Star refused to be bought by infamous gangster Arkan, he set out to buy his own club, then traded up for the club Obilic. He used intimidation and fear to win his team the national championship a year after buying the team. He would not let his players drink before the game, made them shave their heads, and would even go into the rival team’s locker rooms during half time, threatening them. Eventually, the opposing team stopped leaving the field so Arkan could not come in and attack them.

            Akran was just one of many examples of leaders at this time that had their own view on nationalism, fighting to protect their national pride. To these people, this was the best way that they could show their nationalism, through violence and war. They thought that they were doing everything right for their country, attacking others and beating them down before they could rise up and do it to them. This was how they saw the world, the only way to obtain wealth, fame, and glory. While Akran was a powerful man capable of horrific things, buying the Obilic soccer team lead to his inevitable murder in a hotel lobby. The following years, his wife Ceca continued to lead the team, continuing Akran’s ideology of nationalism.

Hello! My name is Hayley Whitman and I will be a junior at Texas Tech in the Fall studying elementary education. I am also an active member of Alpha Delta Pi at Tech as well! I’ve always enjoyed working with children, for the past few years I have been a camp counselor for a local outdoors came in my hometown. I was born and raised in San Francisco, California along with my older sister and brother. In my free time I like to be with my friends or be at home watching Hulu or Netflix!

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton