Nahum and his commitment to Human Rights

Nahum is a grade 11 student from the MET Exchange school, having immigrated from Mexico to Canada, his main interests are in History, Anthropology, and Geopolitics, where he has done multiple student research-based projects on these topics, to further his pursuit of an education based on these topics. Since Human Rights plays a big part in his interests, with the MET school’s internship program, he is a practicum student looking into the nature of civil conflicts as a school project. 

My name is Nahum, I am a grade 11 student of the MET Exchange. I was born in Mexico City and moved to Canada in 2013 when I was six, my family had to move due to the rise of local crime, fewer educational opportunities, rarer job options, governmental corruption, and the ongoing war against drugs. I believe that because of this experience, I began getting involved in local communities while growing up. Even after moving to Canada, I have wanted to learn more deeply about civil conflicts like the ones in Mexico, as it is a very prevalent issue worldwide that affects everybody in some way or another. And also, to explore the common signs with current civil conflicts so that we could attempt to decrease potential civil wars in the future.  

To me, Human Rights mean having the freedom to live in a fulfilling manner, to be able to pursue and achieve our dreams in some way or manner. The end goal of Human Rights is, for everyone, to live on equal terms ideally; since my main passions are History and Geopolitics, Human Rights plays a big part in my topics of interest. This led me to be involved, mostly through school, from volunteering at Winnipeg Harvest to organize food, to going on bear clan patrol walks, and attending Indigenous protests. I’ve gotten the opportunities to experience how my local communities look like, what is great about them and their issues. This, in turn, has reinforced in me the idea that each person has a lot to contribute to their community even if they do not realize it. By just being there, they can impact people around them and learn how connected we all are to each other. 

This year with MARL, I want to explore further the origins, effects, and causes of civil conflicts, as it is a very relevant topic today and has major implications for everyone worldwide. My own country of origin faces its internal war that has degraded and destroyed tens of thousands of lives. That is why this project has some personal impact on me. I also want to explore the sort of mass societal psychology, that leads to neighbours murdering each other for having different ideas about their nations, as well as the main causes that lead to civil wars, weak political legitimacy, governmental neglect, ethnic/religious differences, growing radical ideologies, and the rise of a charismatic ‘strongman’ archetype leader. They are all common possible traits of a nation that has fallen into infighting.