Bio
My name is Rajiv Singh. I was born on November 16th, 1992, in Queens New York. I am originally from Trinidad and Tobago. I lived in Trinidad for fourteen years, then moved back to New York where I started my high-school education. I attended Kindergarden, Primary, and Secondary schools in Trinidad, prior to attending High School in the United States. I graduated from John Bowne High School in 2011, and is currently attending LaGuardia Community College.
My connection to Language is very complex. The language I speak is English, but with my native background being 'partly' Trinidadian, the English language is referred to as "Broken English". The style, grammar and tone are all different to the English language I now speak living in the U.S. I do today enjoy learning English of this type, something that I appreciate greatly, it allows me to communicate with society. I would like to learn other languages as well, apart from the 'voiced' languages, I would like to learn 'sign language', I believe it would be a personal benefit that in the future I learn this skill. Communicate comes in many different ways, so I would say there is no limit to learning language, it is everywhere.
I personally believe language connects to everything we do in life. In Human Rights, language play a vital role in determining what occurs. The connection we can connect from language and Human Rights, comes in the form of speech and body language. Both of these human characteristics determine both positive and negative circumstances in our world today. Human Rights are the 'rights' we humans are all born with. Daily and throughout history human rights are frequently being changed and challenged, this occurs because of the influence of language.The Language Story
Human Rights are very important rights and privileges every individual around the world are born with. Although the theory is that all Human beings are born with their Human Rights, the reality is very unfortunate, not everyone has access to their rights and privileges. It is one of the most violated crimes around the world, and affects many people. One major way Human Rights are violated comes from the involvement of language. Language comes in many forms; the two most influential languages are our speech and body language. At the age of eleven I personally believe that I was a victim of a Human Rights violation by the used of verbal insult.
I was eleven years old, attending San Fernando Boys RC Primary School in Trinidad and Tobago. I cannot recall the exact date in which the incident took place, but to this day I remember exactly what happened. Attending a RC (Roman Catholic) school was a very special privilege I was fortunate to have, although I am a Hindu, learning and exploring another religion is something I will cherish for the rest of my life. I truly enjoyed my time attending the school, met amazing teachers and friends that guided me through seven years of primary level schooling. At the age of eleven, being a standard five student, I was scheduled to graduate in a couple of months. Every Friday all students and teachers attended the church next to our school, an hour before our lunch break. We used to walk across the street, everyone holding hands, and following our teacher. The pray service at the church was an hour; it consisted of a couple of bible readings and wonderful songs. But in one particular day, I recall something terribly happened, after our regular Friday pray service, walking back to school to have our lunch, my teacher started crying at his desk, no-one knew what had happened. A few students including myself approached his desk and tried to sympathize with him. Mr. Ian was a very good teacher, and father figure in our classroom, he was a very quiet yet powerfully spoken man. It all came as a shock to see someone like him breaking down in tears. One of my friends asked him, "What's wrong Sir?” he didn't respond, he put his head down and continued crying. No-one started to eat; we were all worried and lost for thought. A few minutes later, Mr. Ian approached me and my friend Josh, where we were sitting having our lunch, and yelled out in front of the class, "You people are sick, why do you damn Muslims have these nasty minds for?". The class froze in shock, no-one said a word, I was just as surprise as them, eyes turned towards me and my friend Josh. Mr. Ian walked out the class room, and didn't come back. I sat there in silence with thoughts following through my head, kept saying to myself, "I'm not even a Muslim, why did Mr. Ian say that Muslims have nasty minds?” A few students ran towards the Principle office where they reported what had happened. Our classes were cancelled, and the entire class was dismissed early. We all contacted our parents to pick us up. Upon arriving home after my Grandfather had picked me up from school, sitting in the car, he asked, "What happened in school today, why did you finish early?". I didn't know what to say, so I lied and said Mr. Ian felt ill and left early. My grandfather knew that wasn't the truth, and was later contacted by the school where someone explained to him what had happened. My parents were scheduled to have a meeting with the principle the next day.
A few days after the incident, normality was restored in school, but Mr. Ian was still the absent figure in the classroom, nothing felt right. Although it seemed to the naked eye that I would've been angry or upset, the entire situation didn't really bothered me, I actually missed Mr. Ian, he was a great teacher who I learned a lot from. One night my grandfather who personally knew Mr. Ian received a phone call from him pleading his story and reasons for his sudden outburst on his two students. Mr. Ian explained to my grandfather over the phone that on the day of the incident, it had marked two years since he lost his daughter, who was living in the United Stated and had suffered severe injuries in the September 11th terrorist attack on the Trade Center, she died a few days later Mr. Ian explained his emotions got the best of him and was deeply sorry. He invited my Grandparents, and also my friend Josh's parents to attend have a gathering at his house. Both my grandparents and Josh's parents agreed to attend the gathering.
Mr. Ian welcomed everyone openly, but there was massive tension within his home. Josh's parents had not heard Mr. Ian’s side of the story and were eagerly waiting what he had to say about his actions. Mr. Ian told the story in front of us. Mr. Ian stated, "By no means have I hated anyone or their religion, it just happened so quickly that a rush of blood to my head led to this unfair outburst on your children, who I deeply love". He broke down crying, the emotions were overwhelming, he kept repeating, "Please forgive me!” The tension from the room disappeared with a new view on the incident. Almost a surreal atmosphere filled the room, a moment of anger transformed into love and understanding. Both parents now understood the reasons why Mr. Ian said the things he did and had forgiven his actions. Things soon returned to normal, Mr. Ian's case was withdrawn from the court appeal and he came back to teach regularly, this happened thankfully because of our parents who now understood the entire story.
This is a very significant moment in my life I still recall today, thankfully now while recalling the incident I can clearly highlight that what was said to me at the age of 11 by my former teacher Mr. Ian was a form of racial and religious stereotyping. Although it is stated in article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights," Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impact information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers" (UDHR 19). I personally think it a violation against humanity, but having heard and understood the entire story I can reason with Mr. Ian's actions. What Mr. Ian said was something that could have and would've been protected in the court of law. I personally understood his case and situation, but again this is just my opinion, and will vary with another individual's view of the incident. In this case the role of Language is the most influential aspect of a violated against Humanity, and could be today still make a case of a violation of someone's Human Rights.
There are many reasons why people do not enjoy their Human Rights; it varies around the world with different cases and reasons. More often than not, many individuals around the world do not know what 'their' Human Rights are; I was a victim of this. Prior to my first semester in LaGuardia Community College, I was an individual with little knowledge about my 'own' Human Rights'. I did not know the many privileges and freedoms that protected me and my identity. Today I can proudly say with the knowledge I acquired in my first semester of College, I know now my basic rights and privileges that I can enjoy without reasons to be fearful of someone violating them.
A few days after the incident, normality was restored in school, but Mr. Ian was still the absent figure in the classroom, nothing felt right. Although it seemed to the naked eye that I would've been angry or upset, the entire situation didn't really bothered me, I actually missed Mr. Ian, he was a great teacher who I learned a lot from. One night my grandfather who personally knew Mr. Ian received a phone call from him pleading his story and reasons for his sudden outburst on his two students. Mr. Ian explained to my grandfather over the phone that on the day of the incident, it had marked two years since he lost his daughter, who was living in the United Stated and had suffered severe injuries in the September 11th terrorist attack on the Trade Center, she died a few days later Mr. Ian explained his emotions got the best of him and was deeply sorry. He invited my Grandparents, and also my friend Josh's parents to attend have a gathering at his house. Both my grandparents and Josh's parents agreed to attend the gathering.
Mr. Ian welcomed everyone openly, but there was massive tension within his home. Josh's parents had not heard Mr. Ian’s side of the story and were eagerly waiting what he had to say about his actions. Mr. Ian told the story in front of us. Mr. Ian stated, "By no means have I hated anyone or their religion, it just happened so quickly that a rush of blood to my head led to this unfair outburst on your children, who I deeply love". He broke down crying, the emotions were overwhelming, he kept repeating, "Please forgive me!” The tension from the room disappeared with a new view on the incident. Almost a surreal atmosphere filled the room, a moment of anger transformed into love and understanding. Both parents now understood the reasons why Mr. Ian said the things he did and had forgiven his actions. Things soon returned to normal, Mr. Ian's case was withdrawn from the court appeal and he came back to teach regularly, this happened thankfully because of our parents who now understood the entire story.
This is a very significant moment in my life I still recall today, thankfully now while recalling the incident I can clearly highlight that what was said to me at the age of 11 by my former teacher Mr. Ian was a form of racial and religious stereotyping. Although it is stated in article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights," Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impact information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers" (UDHR 19). I personally think it a violation against humanity, but having heard and understood the entire story I can reason with Mr. Ian's actions. What Mr. Ian said was something that could have and would've been protected in the court of law. I personally understood his case and situation, but again this is just my opinion, and will vary with another individual's view of the incident. In this case the role of Language is the most influential aspect of a violated against Humanity, and could be today still make a case of a violation of someone's Human Rights.
There are many reasons why people do not enjoy their Human Rights; it varies around the world with different cases and reasons. More often than not, many individuals around the world do not know what 'their' Human Rights are; I was a victim of this. Prior to my first semester in LaGuardia Community College, I was an individual with little knowledge about my 'own' Human Rights'. I did not know the many privileges and freedoms that protected me and my identity. Today I can proudly say with the knowledge I acquired in my first semester of College, I know now my basic rights and privileges that I can enjoy without reasons to be fearful of someone violating them.
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