Boishaaier 2018

Stopping a Bomb with Paper Humans have gone from hurling sharpened sticks at each other, to leveling city blocks with a single payload. We’ve developed long ways to make war more efficient, but apparently not enough to make war obsolete. Even in the twenty-first century conflict is unavoidable. The question is how we resolve it. The one route lies in “the boardroom” or diplo- macy. In order to have peace between warring factions, we ought to use mechanisms such as summits and treaties, as opposed to guns and missiles. No one would be absurd to purpose this. Almost all of the conflicts in the last 200 years were ended with two sides signing a treaty. Yet there is a fundamental problem with ne- gotiation. Both parties need to co-operate and be open to talks, which in a large amount of cases isn’t going to happen. Nations with impe- rial motives will only turn to peace talks if you defeat their army first. Dictators and extrem- ists might never come to the table at all. It took Japan not one, but two atomic bombs before it signed the treaty ending World War II. In those instances the only way to achieve peace seems to be brute force. However, sometimes the problem isn’t black and white. In the major- ity of conflicts that happen today, the situation is so complex that any option seems like a bad one. Take Syria for example: the despot Bashar Al- Assad is too far gone to be approached with di- plomacy. But the Syrian government is backed by Vladimir Putin’s Russia, so an intervention more serious than arming anti-government re- bels could see a full-on war between global su- perpowers. Add religion’s extremists amongst rebels, the Kurdish fighters and ISIS, the prob- lem becomes a diplomatic nightmare. And while world leaders scratch their heads, thou- sands of Syrians lose their homes, their families and their lives. Thus, if the problem becomes so complex we can’t possibly solve it. The solution is a pre- emptive one. Achieve peace by ensuring war doesn’t break out in the first place. This looks like diplomatic bodies such as the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organi- zation. They’ve been successful in keeping the peace between what used to be the most war- inclined countries on earth, and today they ward off any expansionist nations through the mutually assured destruction of nuclear weap- onry. This approach works, as the world is cur- rently the most relatively peaceful it’s ever been. KENT FOBIAN (GR. 11C)

My broer Dit is nou al twee jaar na die vliegtuigongeluk. Ek kon myself leer om sonder sig oor die weg te kom, maar ek sukkel nog om aan te pas sonder my ouers. Die ongeluk het my nie net van my sig en my ouers beroof nie, maar het my ook aan my ouma se sorg oorgelaat. Sy het van die eerste dag af geen troos of liefde getoon nie en die enigste ding wat haar yskoue tuiste kon vul, was die gejuig van my broer, die klavier. Die klavier is al wat Ouma in haar huis toegelaat het. Gelukkig is dit al wat ek benodig het. Dit het my wel ’n tydjie geneem om weer te begin speel, siende dat ek nie meer die klawers kon sien nie. Ek het geleer dat klavierspel nie daaroor gaan nie. Dit gaan nie oor note soos ’n robot onthou en dan speel nie, maar om deel te word van die klawers en saam met hulle te werk om jou emosies in ’n lied te omskep. Elke nuwe simfonie wat ek saam met hom orkestreer, vul ’n deel van die leegheid binne my. Dit is die plek waar ek vrede vind en ek weet dat ek myself kan wees. Die brandende gevoel van woede en angs word geblus met die salige gevoel van dankbaarheid as ek onthou dat die Here my hande gespaar het en ek nog in staat is om te kan speel. Sommige aande as die nagmerries my wakker hou, gaan sit ek net voor hom en speel, sonder om die klawers te raak, my gunstelingmelodie, “You’ll never walk alone”. Ek word dan opnuut weer herinner dat my ouers altyd by my sal bly en dat ek net ’n noot moet speel om hulle aanwesigheid te voel. As ek speel, is dit asof hy my laat vergeet van wat om my aangaan en dat Ouma my die hele tyd gebruik vir fisiese arbeid. Die deuntjies wat ons skep, ontfermmy en moedig my aan om aan te hou veg. Hy hou my aan die lewe. Op die einde is dit ek en my broer teen die wêreld. EMILE SCRIBA (GR. 11D) Ek dink terug aan my oupa se huis ’n Tossel hordes los draadjies en wolletjies, maar iewers kom alles bymekaar. Dié plek ... my oupa se huis. My oupa se huis is die plek waar alle probleme opgelos word en hartseer in vrolikheid ontaard. Dit is ’n deurmekaar plek waar ek heel voel. Dit is hemel vir my. Jy word vroegoggend wakker gemaak deur die papegaai wat oupa se stem naboots: “Kom eet!” Almal sit aan vir ontbyt. Behalwe vir die “kling-kling” van messe en vurke is daar stilte rondom die tafel soos ons weglê aan die heerlike ontbyt. Daar is altyd genoeg, want hier is dit hemel. Vir almal! Hond en donkie, mens of skaap, swart en wit. In die vensterbank van my ouma se kamer is daar ’n portret van elke kleinkind, iets wat jou elke keer wanneer jy dit sien, opnuut laat waardig voel. By die venster is daar pragtige duifies wat on- der die doringboom paradeer. Die tuinsproeier gaan skielik aan en die duifies vlieg in perfekte harmonie weg. Elke dag en elke nag hier is dieselfde. Hier is storms en rus, maar altyd lewe, lig en liefde. My oupa se huis is ’n deurmekaar plek waar ek heel voel. Dagbreek: verveelde bokkies in die verte, kiewiete hoog bo die dor, kort gras wat spore in die dou los … Saans daal die dag neer en hees hadidas en tarentale wag desperaat om hul mae vol te kry voor hul bome toe vlug vir die nag. Die Aga-vuurtjie brand en dit is badtyd. In die warm bad kry jy weer jou tone terug. In die verte kondig ’n koei die nag aan en hier binne gooi die kerslig skadu’s teen die muur. Dít is huis. Vroeg gaan loop ons ’n ent in die veld en besef hoe groot God is. Oupa tel die skape en Ouma wys ons waar begin en eindig die lewe … soos ’n handbreedte, het Oupa gesê. Ons gaan sit op die damwal en drink uit die koppie van die fles en geniet Ouma se beskuit. ’n Deurmekaar plek waar jy heel voel. My oups se beste vriende, Petrus, Johannes en Tiekie wat my leer perdry het, sal my altyd bybly. Susanna, wat my ma grootgemaak het, se kos sal ek altyd onthou … Ek sal altyd my oupa se huis onthou. ’n Tossel hordes los draadjies en wolletjies, maar iewers kom alles bymekaar. Dit wat vir ons soos die lewe lyk, is dikwels hemels. DEHAN HAY (GR. 11D)

Should Cellphones Be Used As A Tool In Education?

You have probably heard the saying, “Google is my friend”. Any questions or piece of information out there will be on the internet. To any question there is an answer online. Many old question papers and practice work- sheets are loaded onto specific websites that are accessible for free. Cellphones can be used for the wrong reasons, however. They could be used to access social media during class time. This distracts learn- ers from the work they should be doing. A simple solution to solve this problemwould be to monitor all cellphone activities as well as block any third party application or website from being accessed through the net- work. I feel that cellphones could be very effective in the learning process and greatly benefit children growing in this new technological world. It teaches them how to access information in different ways and to com- pare sources. The only disadvantage is that children could get distracted. JULIAN MUNZ (GR. 12D)

The world is becoming more technologically integrated day by day. This is because technology is faster and more efficient than older and more analogue methods. Cellphones in an educational environment can be very beneficial. They unlock access to immense amount of in- formation and allows effective communication. The cellphone was created for communication. In a learning envi- ronment children would be able to communicate with teachers dur- ing and after school with whatever questions they might have. Group chats could also be created to allow communication between groups of people to discuss questions as a group (with the teacher). Teachers can also email homework, old test papers and important information to students faster and more efficiently than printing it.

BOISHAAIER 2018 / Kreatiewe Skryfwerk / Creative Writing

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BOISHAAI 150 YEARS