For these days I have been trying to bothsearch and read some news about other countries, for that I’d like to extend mysight and my views on this world, that is to say, I am trying to concern myselfover this great universe where I live. Below is one of the news I found todayfrom the internet.

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SAMBURU, 21 August2007

Poverty and frequentconflicts among pastoralist communities in northern Kenya have prevented thousands ofchildren from enrolling in school and made them more likely to commit acts ofviolence, local leaders and government officials said.

Hassan Noor Hassan, Rift Valley Provincial Commissioner,said school age youngsters have been involved in recent clashes betweencommunities in parts of Samburu, Laikipia and Marsabit Districts.

"The high number of school age children notattending classes and [school] dropouts must be addressed to stop this trendand keep them away from the conflicts," he said. "The Ministry ofEducation and Youth Affairs must urgently initiate programmes to enrol and takethese children back to school."

Noor said a recent government assessment establishedthat 71,000 children were out of school in Turkana District, 25,000 in Samburu District and another 3,800 in Laikipia District.

Raphael Leshalope, executive secretary of the SamburuDistrict branch of the Kenya National Union of Teachers, said conflicts betweenthe Pokot and Samburu communities had adversely affected education in the areaduring the past two years.

He said 29 primary schools were forced to close atvarious times during that period. The disruption affected 6,759 primary schoolpupils who were forced to flee from raids with their parents.

More than 3,000 of the pupils have gone back to school,but 3,615 others were yet to resume schooling. Some 170 primary teachers wereat one time or another forced to flee from their places of work. Three schools,with 700 pupils, remained closed, he said.

"Parents and school-going children suffered a lotin the past two years. Fighting has worsened education standards in Samburu. Wedo not expect good results in national exams," said Leshalope.

Samburu councillor Daniel Legerded said the conflictshad increased poverty and illiteracy levels in the district. Loss of livestockto cattle raiders also meant that parents could no longer pay for theirchildren's secondary education, he said.

He said officials should not be surprised that teenagershave taken up arms. "The government has failed to protect us, our childrenare only protecting themselves and their parents," he added.

Feisal Lekworee, a resident of Laikipia, also accusedthe government of neglecting pastoralists who inhabit the arid and semi-aridrangelands of northern and northeastern Kenya.

"We need a commitment to assist these children. Weneed boarding schools everywhere so that when conflicts erupt children are safeand learning is not disrupted," he said.

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Sometimes I ponder long and …maybe deeply overthe difference in attitude toward going to school between Taiwanese studentsand other overseas students.

</o:p>On account of the poverty and the riots andvarious problems, thousands of Kenyan teen-aged students were forced to dropout of their school. Some tried to flee from the conflicts, while some evenarmed to fight. They have no command over themselves.

</o:p>And on the other hand, as disaster, Taiwan wasattacked by destructive typhoons these months, and it was indeed a tragedy thatit caused floods and deaths everywhere. During this period, some students hoorayedand cheered, not for that they had a close call and were not affected by thetyphoon, but for the holiday during the typhoon time.

</o:p>Are they sick?

</o:p>They are sick.

</o:p>I never say that the disaster in Kenya isworse than that in Taiwan, also I never try to compare the disaster betweenTaiwan and Kenya in bad, because that would be very foolish to do. I just thinkit ironical. How can some people hooray and even cheer for the holiday causedby the disaster, while others hope the disaster can end as soon as possible? Isthere any one cheering for having the chance to go to school in Taiwan? Ithink, after all, there can be some, but is not in high number. Maybe it is becausewe are too lucky and well-being, we easily forgetting we are lucky andwell-being.

Education is important, and in this aspect,generally to say, the education in Taiwanmay be better than that in Kenya.However, there are students educated in Taiwan consider that they gloat over misfortune or disasters.

When a disaster comes, no matter it is atyphoon or conflict or even a war, which will we think first, holiday, orpeace?