Dear Sir or Madam,
My name is Mark Hargrove. I am a senior at High Tech High International in San Diego, California. I am a chartered member of the Global Youth Council for Wildlife Conservation (youthforwildlife.org) and am working to sponsor wildlife rehabilitation in Kathmandu, Nepal.
With the governmental transformation in 2006 (when Nepal dethroned its monarch, King Gyanendra, and ultimately became a democratic federal republic) came a spike in the poaching of endangered species. During the nine month period following the government shift, the federal Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation verified that more than twenty endangered rhinos were poached for their horns. Other conservation groups believe the unofficial number to be much higher. They fear that nearly all of the eighty rhinos in the Babai Valley in western Nepal have been slain. During this time, government agencies also seized about twenty tiger skins, ten leopard skins and over 100 pounds of tiger bones in various places including the capital, Kathmandu.
The revolution in Nepal has liberated the country from rebel violence, but has enabled the sharp rise in animal poaching. During the ten year conflict between Maoist insurgents and the standing constitutional monarchy, patrols on each side secured conservation areas and national parks (. Now that the government and the rebels have negotiated peace, no one patrols these areas, leaving them easily accessible to poachers. To make matters worse, the new cabinet recently released around twenty poachers in celebration of restored democracy in Nepal. And with no patrols in national parks, the released poachers have strong incentive to use the parks as poaching grounds. These grounds comprise twenty percent of the country’s land area which is divided into sixteen protected zones. Unfortunately, the revolution drew military guard away from these areas. While the new government scrambled to reestablish this protection, poachers operated unchecked. ‘“Time and time again, whenever there has been political uncertainty in the country, wildlife conservation has been one of the biggest casualties,’ said World Wildlife Fund Nepal chief, Anil Manandhar. ‘This time, it has become even clearer and what we need now is to focus on wildlife traders.’” Wildlife Conservation Nepal, a non-governmental organization, conducted undercover operations that led to the arrests of fifteen poachers in 2006. Still, poaching remains highly unregulated in Nepal.
I am writing to you in hope that you will push enforcement of anti-poaching laws. I also hope that the nearly two dozen poachers that the freshly established cabinet freed in celebration of the new government will serve out the rest of their sentences.
Respectfully,
Mark Hargrove
Friday, April 24, 2009
Nepal Endangered
Native wildlife has struggled to survive since human civilization began encroaching on natural habitats. This began in America during the Industrial Revolution, but did not begin plaguing Nepal for another half century. Population growth and community development and have endangered local wildlife, and it now finds itself subject to a rise in illegal poaching. Moreover, the recent Civil War in Nepal has left a shaky democratic republic in place, and conservation is not considered a top priority. Wildlife mismanagement is a global issue that typically clashes with legislative resolutions. If there is any hope of preserving and protecting the animal species in Nepal, it will come as a combination of enforced legislative protection and grassroots conservation.
One root of wildlife destruction in Nepal is the decimation of natural land. In just thirty years (1950-1980) Nepal lost fifty percent of its forest habitat to land development, which accommodated the 100 percent increase in population during this time (“Save Wildlife”). Whenever a new wave of population arises, land must be developed, and habitats suffer. When habitats are destroyed, the natural species that lived there cannot survive and their homes literally dissolve around them. While asking a country to reverse its economic growth in the name of conservation would be impractical, federal and nongovernmental regulation is not too much to ask. Destruction of natural habitats injures wildlife, but Nepal’s natural creatures have another enemy in addition to developers: poachers.
Even more troublesome than the problem of the rapidly growing Nepalese populace is the now common practice of poaching. With a governmental transformation in 2006 (when Nepal dethroned its monarch, King Gyanendra, and ultimately became a democratic federal republic) came a spike in the poaching of endangered species (Khadka). During the nine month period following the government shift, the federal Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation verified that more than twenty endangered rhinos were poached for their horns (Khadka). Other conservation groups believe the unofficial number to be much higher. They fear that nearly all of the eighty rhinos in the Babai Valley in western Nepal have been slain. During this time, government agencies also seized about twenty tiger skins, ten leopard skins and over 100 pounds of tiger bones in various places including the capital, Kathmandu (BBC).
The revolution in Nepal has liberated the country from rebel violence, but has enabled the sharp rise in animal poaching. During the ten year conflict between Maoist (communist) insurgents and the standing constitutional monarchy, patrols on each side secured conservation areas and national parks (BBC). Now that the government and the rebels have negotiated peace, no one patrols these areas, leaving them easily accessible to poachers. To make matters worse, the new cabinet recently released around twenty poachers in celebration of restored democracy in Nepal. And with no patrols in national parks, the released poachers have strong incentive to use the parks as poaching grounds. These grounds comprise twenty percent of the country’s land area which is divided into sixteen protected zones. Unfortunately, the revolution drew military guard away from these areas. While the new government scrambled to reestablish this protection, poachers operated unchecked. ‘“Time and time again, whenever there has been political uncertainty in the country, wildlife conservation has been one of the biggest casualties,’ said World Wildlife Fund Nepal chief, Anil Manandhar. ‘This time, it has become even clearer and what we need now is to focus on wildlife traders’” (BBC). Wildlife Conservation Nepal, a non-governmental organization, conducted undercover operations that led to the arrests of fifteen poachers in 2006 (BBC). Still, poaching remains highly unregulated in Nepal.
When it comes to resource management, solutions are much more pragmatic if they are well defined. The difficulty with wildlife is that objectives are so vague that success is unclear. In places like Nepal, the ongoing battle entails preventing wildlife extinction. So is every day the snow leopard remains alive considered a victory? It is certainly not. What defines objectives and successes varies by scenario. Conservation success is particularly elusive because conservation requires an infinite and ongoing amount of work; it is never conclusive. This in turn means that governments, nongovernmental organizations, and ordinary citizens could always do more to conserve natural species. Even so, two countries in particular have seen substantial successes.
In 1973 the United States of America passed the Endangered Species Act. In essence, the Act sanctioned the listing of threatened and endangered species, authorized incentives and agreements with states to preserve endangered species, allowed for the enforcement of financial penalties for violators, as well as for payment to anyone who reports violators (U.S. Fish and Wildlife). The Act also expressly “prohibits unauthorized taking, possession, sale, and transport of endangered species” and “provides authority to acquire land for the conservation of listed species, using land and water conservation funds” (U.S. Fish and Wildlife). The federal government took this massive legislative step to preserve native wildlife in America. The passage of the Act was paramount in establishing conservation as a national priority. The Endangered Species Act refers directly to the wildlife included in the Endangered Species Act. With financial deterrents in place that prevent illegal animal trade, the Act was effective in bringing endangered species populations high enough to be removed from the Endangered Species List. Since the Act employed penalties for violations of the Act and gave incentives to laymen to help enforce it, the laws were enforced and effective in preserving native wildlife. The Endangered Species Act of 1973 worked because it took a systematic and simple approach to wildlife conservation: killing endangered species would fine poachers far more money than they could make selling dead animals. With the assumption that Nepal will soon have a stable government, similar legislation could work well for Nepalese wildlife. Nepal and the United states are very different countries, so perhaps it is more prudent to consider a country closer to Nepal in geography and economic background.
Pakistan lies west of Nepal on the other side of India. Following the abolition of a hunting ban in Pakistan in the 1970s, the Himalayan ibex was hunted nearly to extinction (WWF-P). Governmental control was weak in the Karambar Valley, and the native Pakistani people were poor farmers and herders. These villagers faced two dilemmas: most of them lived well below the poverty line, and they were losing a native species to poaching. Fortunately, nongovernmental organizations enlightened the local Pakistanis, who started the Karambar Social Welfare & Conservation Development Organization in 1996 (WWF-P). The KSWCDO acquired Community Controlled Protected Area status, which licensed them to sell ten Himalayan ibex trophy hunting permits between 1998 and 2004. “The community has so far earned the equivalent of $6,700” (WWF-P). This money is spent specifically on ibex conservation and that of other local natural resources (WWF-P). Most importantly, the ibex population has exploded (in relative terms) from about 100 in 1997 to roughly 800 in 2003 (WWF-P). This success is relevant to Nepal because the two nations have similar geographies and comparable economic demographics. It is evident here that environmental conservation on the whole is more effective when backed by economic incentive. Nepal might use trophy hunting to develop its economy and as it worked in Pakistan, to restore endangered species.
There are currently some influential nongovernmental organizations working to conserve wildlife and stop poaching in Nepal. The country needs two primary assets to preserve its wildlife: enforcement of protected areas and money to keep the conservation agencies running. However, if Nepal (or any country) were able to manage wildlife perfectly, it could focus on continued preservation of species. Unfortunately, there will always be some poaching. It follows then that there needs to be a system of response for rescued animals. That is why wildlife rehabilitation centers would greatly aid the cause of conservation. After all, rehabilitation of species is particularly crucial for restoring endangered animal populations. So what is required to start wildlife rehabilitation centers? They need volunteers and they need funds. With care centers already in place however, this leaves only the money. Having grassroots care centers creates an atmosphere of public service and local conservation. That is why one potential solution to managing Nepal’s natural creatures is to sponsor the care centers where possible. With ordinary citizens promoting conservation, Nepal could be an exemplary conservation nation. Awareness of the poaching problem would also spike, which may even lower the demand for illegal animals.
The practical significance of preserving the world’s natural wildlife goes nearly beyond explanation. Forcing endangered species to extinction severely alters the natural cycle of ecosystems. Not only does each species have a designated role on earth, but also has cultural value. No one wants to have to describe to his children what African elephants or leatherback sea turtles were like before they went extinct. As the dominant species on the planet it is man’s responsibility to protect the earth and its native wildlife.
One root of wildlife destruction in Nepal is the decimation of natural land. In just thirty years (1950-1980) Nepal lost fifty percent of its forest habitat to land development, which accommodated the 100 percent increase in population during this time (“Save Wildlife”). Whenever a new wave of population arises, land must be developed, and habitats suffer. When habitats are destroyed, the natural species that lived there cannot survive and their homes literally dissolve around them. While asking a country to reverse its economic growth in the name of conservation would be impractical, federal and nongovernmental regulation is not too much to ask. Destruction of natural habitats injures wildlife, but Nepal’s natural creatures have another enemy in addition to developers: poachers.
Even more troublesome than the problem of the rapidly growing Nepalese populace is the now common practice of poaching. With a governmental transformation in 2006 (when Nepal dethroned its monarch, King Gyanendra, and ultimately became a democratic federal republic) came a spike in the poaching of endangered species (Khadka). During the nine month period following the government shift, the federal Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation verified that more than twenty endangered rhinos were poached for their horns (Khadka). Other conservation groups believe the unofficial number to be much higher. They fear that nearly all of the eighty rhinos in the Babai Valley in western Nepal have been slain. During this time, government agencies also seized about twenty tiger skins, ten leopard skins and over 100 pounds of tiger bones in various places including the capital, Kathmandu (BBC).
The revolution in Nepal has liberated the country from rebel violence, but has enabled the sharp rise in animal poaching. During the ten year conflict between Maoist (communist) insurgents and the standing constitutional monarchy, patrols on each side secured conservation areas and national parks (BBC). Now that the government and the rebels have negotiated peace, no one patrols these areas, leaving them easily accessible to poachers. To make matters worse, the new cabinet recently released around twenty poachers in celebration of restored democracy in Nepal. And with no patrols in national parks, the released poachers have strong incentive to use the parks as poaching grounds. These grounds comprise twenty percent of the country’s land area which is divided into sixteen protected zones. Unfortunately, the revolution drew military guard away from these areas. While the new government scrambled to reestablish this protection, poachers operated unchecked. ‘“Time and time again, whenever there has been political uncertainty in the country, wildlife conservation has been one of the biggest casualties,’ said World Wildlife Fund Nepal chief, Anil Manandhar. ‘This time, it has become even clearer and what we need now is to focus on wildlife traders’” (BBC). Wildlife Conservation Nepal, a non-governmental organization, conducted undercover operations that led to the arrests of fifteen poachers in 2006 (BBC). Still, poaching remains highly unregulated in Nepal.
When it comes to resource management, solutions are much more pragmatic if they are well defined. The difficulty with wildlife is that objectives are so vague that success is unclear. In places like Nepal, the ongoing battle entails preventing wildlife extinction. So is every day the snow leopard remains alive considered a victory? It is certainly not. What defines objectives and successes varies by scenario. Conservation success is particularly elusive because conservation requires an infinite and ongoing amount of work; it is never conclusive. This in turn means that governments, nongovernmental organizations, and ordinary citizens could always do more to conserve natural species. Even so, two countries in particular have seen substantial successes.
In 1973 the United States of America passed the Endangered Species Act. In essence, the Act sanctioned the listing of threatened and endangered species, authorized incentives and agreements with states to preserve endangered species, allowed for the enforcement of financial penalties for violators, as well as for payment to anyone who reports violators (U.S. Fish and Wildlife). The Act also expressly “prohibits unauthorized taking, possession, sale, and transport of endangered species” and “provides authority to acquire land for the conservation of listed species, using land and water conservation funds” (U.S. Fish and Wildlife). The federal government took this massive legislative step to preserve native wildlife in America. The passage of the Act was paramount in establishing conservation as a national priority. The Endangered Species Act refers directly to the wildlife included in the Endangered Species Act. With financial deterrents in place that prevent illegal animal trade, the Act was effective in bringing endangered species populations high enough to be removed from the Endangered Species List. Since the Act employed penalties for violations of the Act and gave incentives to laymen to help enforce it, the laws were enforced and effective in preserving native wildlife. The Endangered Species Act of 1973 worked because it took a systematic and simple approach to wildlife conservation: killing endangered species would fine poachers far more money than they could make selling dead animals. With the assumption that Nepal will soon have a stable government, similar legislation could work well for Nepalese wildlife. Nepal and the United states are very different countries, so perhaps it is more prudent to consider a country closer to Nepal in geography and economic background.
Pakistan lies west of Nepal on the other side of India. Following the abolition of a hunting ban in Pakistan in the 1970s, the Himalayan ibex was hunted nearly to extinction (WWF-P). Governmental control was weak in the Karambar Valley, and the native Pakistani people were poor farmers and herders. These villagers faced two dilemmas: most of them lived well below the poverty line, and they were losing a native species to poaching. Fortunately, nongovernmental organizations enlightened the local Pakistanis, who started the Karambar Social Welfare & Conservation Development Organization in 1996 (WWF-P). The KSWCDO acquired Community Controlled Protected Area status, which licensed them to sell ten Himalayan ibex trophy hunting permits between 1998 and 2004. “The community has so far earned the equivalent of $6,700” (WWF-P). This money is spent specifically on ibex conservation and that of other local natural resources (WWF-P). Most importantly, the ibex population has exploded (in relative terms) from about 100 in 1997 to roughly 800 in 2003 (WWF-P). This success is relevant to Nepal because the two nations have similar geographies and comparable economic demographics. It is evident here that environmental conservation on the whole is more effective when backed by economic incentive. Nepal might use trophy hunting to develop its economy and as it worked in Pakistan, to restore endangered species.
There are currently some influential nongovernmental organizations working to conserve wildlife and stop poaching in Nepal. The country needs two primary assets to preserve its wildlife: enforcement of protected areas and money to keep the conservation agencies running. However, if Nepal (or any country) were able to manage wildlife perfectly, it could focus on continued preservation of species. Unfortunately, there will always be some poaching. It follows then that there needs to be a system of response for rescued animals. That is why wildlife rehabilitation centers would greatly aid the cause of conservation. After all, rehabilitation of species is particularly crucial for restoring endangered animal populations. So what is required to start wildlife rehabilitation centers? They need volunteers and they need funds. With care centers already in place however, this leaves only the money. Having grassroots care centers creates an atmosphere of public service and local conservation. That is why one potential solution to managing Nepal’s natural creatures is to sponsor the care centers where possible. With ordinary citizens promoting conservation, Nepal could be an exemplary conservation nation. Awareness of the poaching problem would also spike, which may even lower the demand for illegal animals.
The practical significance of preserving the world’s natural wildlife goes nearly beyond explanation. Forcing endangered species to extinction severely alters the natural cycle of ecosystems. Not only does each species have a designated role on earth, but also has cultural value. No one wants to have to describe to his children what African elephants or leatherback sea turtles were like before they went extinct. As the dominant species on the planet it is man’s responsibility to protect the earth and its native wildlife.
MDMA Short Story
Colorado High
Foreword
Jenna Reed had never been to Amsterdam—she had never been to Europe at all. She had however heard wild stories of its lawlessness in the red light districts, the thought of fun without accountability excited her.
She was more than ready to leave her home in snowy Vail, Colorado to the temperate, pleasant Deutsch air. She loved her home, and had adapted to its snowy mountains and sharply cold climate after she and her family had moved there six years prior. But now she was ready to see beyond her small sphere of school and skiing. She knew that while she was abroad she would not miss the hoards of west coast tourists making the pilgrimage to North America’s second largest ski mountain, Vail resort. But now she had just graduated high school.
As a graduation gift, Jenna’s grandmother, who lived back in Akron, Ohio, had purchased a two way ticket to Amsterdam, Netherlands. Jenna’s mother, a traveling fiend who despite her love of seeing new places never took Jenna anywhere, had wanted to buy another ticket so she could accompany her daughter. Unfortunately, the American—and global—economy experienced a terrible collapse just as Jenna’s mother was searching for flights online. How convenient this was for Jenna; she would be free to experience the aspects of Amsterdam that all young adults flocked there to see.
Until now Jenna had always been a well behaved young student. Though she had experimented with marijuana and alcohol several times—as most nearly every teenager does—she had always maintained a high GPA. She would attend the University of Colorado at Boulder. Yet contrary to the high marks on her transcript, Jenna was always curious about what it would be like to abandon her inhibitions and throw her boundaries to the cold Colorado wind; but she never had. In the Netherlands, she hoped she would.
Part 1
A calm, confident voice buzzed over the intercom.
Good evening folks. This is your captain speaking. We’ll be cruising at an altitude of 36,000 feet and be on the ground in Heathrow in twelve hours and twenty two minutes.
My G-d that’s a long time, thought Jenna as she sat in the middle seat between two frustratingly obese passengers. The fat thing on her right pulled a small packet from her tiny purse—Jenna always wondered why fat women carried tiny handbags and how they didn’t lose them in their flowing jelly rolls—and popped from it two pink and white capsules.
She turned to Jenna and said, “I always take Benadryl before a flight—helps me sleep.” Jenna nodded and smiled timidly. The massive woman began to make conversation with Jenna.
“So are you going to London or traveling somewhere else from—the woman immediately lapsed into unconsciousness like a fat narcoleptic puppy.
The plane straddled the runway and took off. Jenna’s ears popped; she knew she wouldn’t sleep for a second of those twelve hours and twenty two minutes.
Part 2
A large pixilated screen sat on the wall in front of the bulkhead seats. Jenna wished she had gotten one of those… The screen showed their white plane with a yellow, curved tail leading back to New York, New York where they had begun this seemingly endless journey. It also flashed several numbers, most of them useless to the typical passenger. But Jenna kept her eyes on the miles/kilometers to destination. Because of the intense headwinds, the plane was in fact merely hovering in midair rather than gaining ground. …it may have actually been flying backwards. The Boeing inched a mile closer after what seemed like hours. Jenna really wished that the narcoleptic puppy woman next to her had offered her some of those magic little pills.
Jenna’s connecting Boeing 767 finally touched down in Amsterdam. She rubbed her heavy red eyelids and mused, I bet dying and flying must feel really similar. Jenna had always been overly dramatic. But finally, I’m here, she thought.
Jenna stepped out of the airport and onto the street where she waved down a taxi. The driver took her to a block of multicolored but modest hostels near the river Amstel, which flowed to the center of the city. He charged her 25 Euros for the fifteen minute ride—an insulting overcharge. But Jenna was too tired from the grueling journey to care. The tweaked out cab driver retrieved Jenna’s enormous pink suitcase from the trunk and thrust it at her. His wheels screeched as he pulled away from the curb.
Jenna turned around and walked into the slender purple building that she had arranged to stay in before she left Vail. She ascended the three flights of stairs to the top floor—the three by three by six foot elevator was far too small to accommodate her massive pink, American suitcase. She opened the door to her small room and collapsed onto bed. Her rest was intermittent with sleep, and when she woke up she could see darkness falling outside her window.
She had two weeks of free time to see Amsterdam and did not want to lose another minute to sleep. She opened her pink American laptop and logged onto the hostel’s WI-FI—it required a password that was incomprehensible to the American mind, but Jenna had studiously written it down when the hostel’s owner emailed it to her.
She (very cleverly) typed “RAVES IN AMSTERDAM 2009” into Google—a popular search engine—and was pleased to see that there was one beginning at ten o’clock that evening featuring a Deutsch techno artist called Impulz. It would take place in one of the city’s old warehouses. Jenna drew a line to the warehouse on her street map and found that it led into the heart of one of the notorious red light districts.
Part 3
The small digital clock on the nightstand struck 10:15. Jenna eagerly applied copious amounts of make-up to her gentle features and lined her bright green eyes with black. She wore a skirt a white tank top. She took the tiny, slow elevator to the bottom floor and, map in hand, began walking to the warehouse.
She arrived at 10:47 and could almost feel the bass of the music pumping through the sidewalk. Around her were countless brothels and sex shops, all busy with drunk, high tourists enjoying their forbidden humanity. Jenna approached the door and waited in the line streaming out of it for twenty minutes or so. She paid the ten Euro cover charge and found herself in a massive room with flashing neon pink and green lasers. She saw women wearing lipstick that glowed in the dark and men with glowing tubes around their wrists and necks. The electric music was so loud that Jenna barely felt she could stand on her feet—but she found that it this was easier if she was dancing. She felt Impulz’s deep bass beat and high, intricate keyboard notes vibrating in her body and was absorbed into giddy joy. She danced among the huge crowd of people and caught the attention of a black haired Deutsch youth. He began dancing with Jenna, which she didn’t mind, as she found the boy attractive.
Just then Jenna saw three people each pop a small, orange-pink tablet into their mouths. The boy took two from his jeans pocket and held one out to Jenna. On it was stamped the outline of a monarch butterfly.
“What is it?” she shouted. Her voice was barely audible against the upbeat techno music.
“It’s E,” said the boy in slightly accented English. “You’ll dance all night.”
They each swallowed the E together and continued dancing. Jenna wondered when she would feel the pill’s effects.
Part 4
Jenna had been dancing for an hour. Just as she was growing tired she began to feel a tingling sensation all over her body. She had never felt this way, and experienced extreme joy and tranquility. Never had she felt so content before.
Jenna had had so many questions. She had been nagged by questions of human consciousness and of why people lived and died; questions of purpose. But as she danced to the deep rhythmic base with 200 other young, high Europeans and tourists, she felt entirely at peace with her surroundings. For the moment, worries of death and loss could not have entered her consciousness. No one could have persuaded her that the closeness she felt to everyone was articficial.
The Deutsch boy remained close to Jenna, and was experiencing the same pleasurable sensations that she was. Jenna abandoned all inhibitions, as did the boy. They began dancing very close. She felt a tingling pleasure as he touched her arm. They danced for another four hours.
Part 5
Jenna woke up in the bed in her hostel. She was groggy, but grateful that she had ended up in her room, and amazed that she had been able to find it while still recovering from the drug’s effects. She had come home and slept for eight hours. It was the middle of the afternoon.
Afterword
Jenna was lucky. She went to several more dance clubs during her stay in Amsterdam, taking MDMA each time. She was fortunate to never come across a laced substance. She did not party heavily, and was able to enjoy the sights that the Netherlands had to offer.
Jenna stayed for a month and then returned home to Colorado for the rest of summer.
In college Jenna realized she had contracted dependency on MDMA. She found that the more she took it, the more she needed to get high. Jenna depleted her serotonin supply and experienced bouts of depression. She became unhappy more often, and college became more difficult to enjoy.
Jenna’s parents never learned of her drug use.
Her life was neither bad nor depressing, but it was not the same as it was before Amsterdam. She pondered her MDMA use and her mind glazed over its health risks.
Yeah, she thought, I would do it again.
Foreword
Jenna Reed had never been to Amsterdam—she had never been to Europe at all. She had however heard wild stories of its lawlessness in the red light districts, the thought of fun without accountability excited her.
She was more than ready to leave her home in snowy Vail, Colorado to the temperate, pleasant Deutsch air. She loved her home, and had adapted to its snowy mountains and sharply cold climate after she and her family had moved there six years prior. But now she was ready to see beyond her small sphere of school and skiing. She knew that while she was abroad she would not miss the hoards of west coast tourists making the pilgrimage to North America’s second largest ski mountain, Vail resort. But now she had just graduated high school.
As a graduation gift, Jenna’s grandmother, who lived back in Akron, Ohio, had purchased a two way ticket to Amsterdam, Netherlands. Jenna’s mother, a traveling fiend who despite her love of seeing new places never took Jenna anywhere, had wanted to buy another ticket so she could accompany her daughter. Unfortunately, the American—and global—economy experienced a terrible collapse just as Jenna’s mother was searching for flights online. How convenient this was for Jenna; she would be free to experience the aspects of Amsterdam that all young adults flocked there to see.
Until now Jenna had always been a well behaved young student. Though she had experimented with marijuana and alcohol several times—as most nearly every teenager does—she had always maintained a high GPA. She would attend the University of Colorado at Boulder. Yet contrary to the high marks on her transcript, Jenna was always curious about what it would be like to abandon her inhibitions and throw her boundaries to the cold Colorado wind; but she never had. In the Netherlands, she hoped she would.
Part 1
A calm, confident voice buzzed over the intercom.
Good evening folks. This is your captain speaking. We’ll be cruising at an altitude of 36,000 feet and be on the ground in Heathrow in twelve hours and twenty two minutes.
My G-d that’s a long time, thought Jenna as she sat in the middle seat between two frustratingly obese passengers. The fat thing on her right pulled a small packet from her tiny purse—Jenna always wondered why fat women carried tiny handbags and how they didn’t lose them in their flowing jelly rolls—and popped from it two pink and white capsules.
She turned to Jenna and said, “I always take Benadryl before a flight—helps me sleep.” Jenna nodded and smiled timidly. The massive woman began to make conversation with Jenna.
“So are you going to London or traveling somewhere else from—the woman immediately lapsed into unconsciousness like a fat narcoleptic puppy.
The plane straddled the runway and took off. Jenna’s ears popped; she knew she wouldn’t sleep for a second of those twelve hours and twenty two minutes.
Part 2
A large pixilated screen sat on the wall in front of the bulkhead seats. Jenna wished she had gotten one of those… The screen showed their white plane with a yellow, curved tail leading back to New York, New York where they had begun this seemingly endless journey. It also flashed several numbers, most of them useless to the typical passenger. But Jenna kept her eyes on the miles/kilometers to destination. Because of the intense headwinds, the plane was in fact merely hovering in midair rather than gaining ground. …it may have actually been flying backwards. The Boeing inched a mile closer after what seemed like hours. Jenna really wished that the narcoleptic puppy woman next to her had offered her some of those magic little pills.
Jenna’s connecting Boeing 767 finally touched down in Amsterdam. She rubbed her heavy red eyelids and mused, I bet dying and flying must feel really similar. Jenna had always been overly dramatic. But finally, I’m here, she thought.
Jenna stepped out of the airport and onto the street where she waved down a taxi. The driver took her to a block of multicolored but modest hostels near the river Amstel, which flowed to the center of the city. He charged her 25 Euros for the fifteen minute ride—an insulting overcharge. But Jenna was too tired from the grueling journey to care. The tweaked out cab driver retrieved Jenna’s enormous pink suitcase from the trunk and thrust it at her. His wheels screeched as he pulled away from the curb.
Jenna turned around and walked into the slender purple building that she had arranged to stay in before she left Vail. She ascended the three flights of stairs to the top floor—the three by three by six foot elevator was far too small to accommodate her massive pink, American suitcase. She opened the door to her small room and collapsed onto bed. Her rest was intermittent with sleep, and when she woke up she could see darkness falling outside her window.
She had two weeks of free time to see Amsterdam and did not want to lose another minute to sleep. She opened her pink American laptop and logged onto the hostel’s WI-FI—it required a password that was incomprehensible to the American mind, but Jenna had studiously written it down when the hostel’s owner emailed it to her.
She (very cleverly) typed “RAVES IN AMSTERDAM 2009” into Google—a popular search engine—and was pleased to see that there was one beginning at ten o’clock that evening featuring a Deutsch techno artist called Impulz. It would take place in one of the city’s old warehouses. Jenna drew a line to the warehouse on her street map and found that it led into the heart of one of the notorious red light districts.
Part 3
The small digital clock on the nightstand struck 10:15. Jenna eagerly applied copious amounts of make-up to her gentle features and lined her bright green eyes with black. She wore a skirt a white tank top. She took the tiny, slow elevator to the bottom floor and, map in hand, began walking to the warehouse.
She arrived at 10:47 and could almost feel the bass of the music pumping through the sidewalk. Around her were countless brothels and sex shops, all busy with drunk, high tourists enjoying their forbidden humanity. Jenna approached the door and waited in the line streaming out of it for twenty minutes or so. She paid the ten Euro cover charge and found herself in a massive room with flashing neon pink and green lasers. She saw women wearing lipstick that glowed in the dark and men with glowing tubes around their wrists and necks. The electric music was so loud that Jenna barely felt she could stand on her feet—but she found that it this was easier if she was dancing. She felt Impulz’s deep bass beat and high, intricate keyboard notes vibrating in her body and was absorbed into giddy joy. She danced among the huge crowd of people and caught the attention of a black haired Deutsch youth. He began dancing with Jenna, which she didn’t mind, as she found the boy attractive.
Just then Jenna saw three people each pop a small, orange-pink tablet into their mouths. The boy took two from his jeans pocket and held one out to Jenna. On it was stamped the outline of a monarch butterfly.
“What is it?” she shouted. Her voice was barely audible against the upbeat techno music.
“It’s E,” said the boy in slightly accented English. “You’ll dance all night.”
They each swallowed the E together and continued dancing. Jenna wondered when she would feel the pill’s effects.
Part 4
Jenna had been dancing for an hour. Just as she was growing tired she began to feel a tingling sensation all over her body. She had never felt this way, and experienced extreme joy and tranquility. Never had she felt so content before.
Jenna had had so many questions. She had been nagged by questions of human consciousness and of why people lived and died; questions of purpose. But as she danced to the deep rhythmic base with 200 other young, high Europeans and tourists, she felt entirely at peace with her surroundings. For the moment, worries of death and loss could not have entered her consciousness. No one could have persuaded her that the closeness she felt to everyone was articficial.
The Deutsch boy remained close to Jenna, and was experiencing the same pleasurable sensations that she was. Jenna abandoned all inhibitions, as did the boy. They began dancing very close. She felt a tingling pleasure as he touched her arm. They danced for another four hours.
Part 5
Jenna woke up in the bed in her hostel. She was groggy, but grateful that she had ended up in her room, and amazed that she had been able to find it while still recovering from the drug’s effects. She had come home and slept for eight hours. It was the middle of the afternoon.
Afterword
Jenna was lucky. She went to several more dance clubs during her stay in Amsterdam, taking MDMA each time. She was fortunate to never come across a laced substance. She did not party heavily, and was able to enjoy the sights that the Netherlands had to offer.
Jenna stayed for a month and then returned home to Colorado for the rest of summer.
In college Jenna realized she had contracted dependency on MDMA. She found that the more she took it, the more she needed to get high. Jenna depleted her serotonin supply and experienced bouts of depression. She became unhappy more often, and college became more difficult to enjoy.
Jenna’s parents never learned of her drug use.
Her life was neither bad nor depressing, but it was not the same as it was before Amsterdam. She pondered her MDMA use and her mind glazed over its health risks.
Yeah, she thought, I would do it again.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Social Experiment
Essential Questions: How will adults react to teenagers holding a public silent rave? How will other teens react?
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Refugee Camp
My teacher surprised me. She gathered a senior meeting to tell us that due to a drought, my school (High Tech High International) was shutting off the water. She assured us that the school would soon import portable toilets—this was not reassuring. We were disappointed, but what could we do? I suppose the joke was on us. The school did not really shut the water off. My teacher was making the point that drought is very real to many people. The other half of the surprise was that the teachers had chartered a bus for that day that would take us to see a refugee exhibit put on by Doctors Without Borders (doctorswithoutborders.org).
The conditions in refugee camps I learned are not pleasant—I could have guessed. The most shocking tidbit of information I learned at the pseudo refugee enclosure was about the mines. Throughout the hot countries (that is the African nations in conflict), militants set mines specifically designed not to kill, merely to maim. This way, three people (intended to be soldiers) are taken out of commission—the victim and the two others required to carry him. This disturbed me as much as the living conditions in the camps themselves.
In such circumstances, I am glad to have aid organizations providing care in refugee camps. They establish efficient systems for hygienic and medical aid, and do the best they possibly can with the materials and people they have. It is good that the care tents are spread out so that all refugees seeking assistance are not concentrated into one place. If at all realistic, I wonder if it would be possible to educate the inhabitants in how to care for each other as well as care for them. This would localize aid and make it more self sustaining.
The conditions in refugee camps I learned are not pleasant—I could have guessed. The most shocking tidbit of information I learned at the pseudo refugee enclosure was about the mines. Throughout the hot countries (that is the African nations in conflict), militants set mines specifically designed not to kill, merely to maim. This way, three people (intended to be soldiers) are taken out of commission—the victim and the two others required to carry him. This disturbed me as much as the living conditions in the camps themselves.
In such circumstances, I am glad to have aid organizations providing care in refugee camps. They establish efficient systems for hygienic and medical aid, and do the best they possibly can with the materials and people they have. It is good that the care tents are spread out so that all refugees seeking assistance are not concentrated into one place. If at all realistic, I wonder if it would be possible to educate the inhabitants in how to care for each other as well as care for them. This would localize aid and make it more self sustaining.
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