Winter Olympics in Sochi!

Hey,

Long time no see...

Today, Manmeet and I (Ritika) are going to share this post together about the Olympics in Sochi. We are going say postive and negative things about it.

2014 Winter Olympics were held in Sochi in Russia from 7 to 23 February 2014 and was the 22 Olympic Winter Games. There were competing in 98 medal disciplines in 15 sports.

Positive:

- Many people follow the Olympics!
- Sportsmen get their chance to show their talent and win for their country.
- All paralympians are united by their life storiesof overcoming, that embody the Paralympic values - courage, equality,determination and inspiration.
-More than 1500 torchbearers and 4000 volunteerswill participate in the Torch Relay. The Torch Realy motto "Overcoming. Winning. Inspiring." was chosen for a good reason.Paralympians, in spite of everything, find the strength to overcome all the difficulties!
- The way the Paralympic flame will be lit in different regions will also differ and surprise as every torch lighting ceremony is unique-from rays of sun, from hammer and anvil, from the Russian stove and even from the volcano spark!

Country Gold Silver Bronze Total
1. Russia 13 11 9 33
2. Norway 11 5 10 26
3. Canada 10 10 5 25

-One more positive thing is that it's encouraging more and more Norwegians to participate in the Olympics.


Negative:

There have been controversies and concerns affecting the 2014 Winter Olympics. There are disputes with Circassians, who demand the events be cancelled or moved unless Russia apologises for the 19th-century deaths that the Circassians regard to be a genocide, environmental and economic issues, lack of political stability and governance and the safety and human rights of LGBT athletes and journalists, in light of Russia's "gay propaganda" laws, which have sparked Olympic-focussed protests.

-Forced evictions
The Russian government is resettling some 2,000 families to make way for Olympic venues and infrastructure. But not all of those evicted received fair compensation for their properties and in some cases, homeowners were forced out with no compensation at all. Many resettled residents lost a portion of their livelihoods because they depended on agriculture or income from seasonal rentals in their seaside homes.

- Migrant worker abuses
The transformation of Sochi from a small resort town to international Olympic host has been made possible by more than 70,000 workers, including tens of thousands of migrant workers from outside of Russia. Many of these migrant workers face exploitation – with employers failing to pay their wages, confiscating workers’ passports, and forcing them to toil up to 12 hours a day with only one day off each month – all in violation of Russian law.

- Press and civil society crackdown
Russia is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for independent journalists, who face threats, harassment, and lawsuits. As reported by CPJ, 56 Russian journalists have been murdered since 1992. Some journalists have been told that reporting on Olympics-related environmental concerns or evictions is taboo. In the past year Russian authorities have not only clamped down on the press by passing new laws on Internet content, they also targeted civil society with laws restricting public assemblies and nongovernmental organizations.

- Environmental destruction
Environmental experts warn that the construction of a new road and a high-speed railway has damaged Sochi’s Mzymta River and the fragile local ecosystem of the surrounding Sochi National Park. The dumping of illegal construction waste and the construction of power lines have resulted in landsides, causing homes to sink and partially collapse, threatening residents' health and safety. In one village, Olympic construction destroyed local drinking wells, leaving villagers with no reliable drinking water source for years.

- Anti-LGBT discrimination
On June 29, 2013, President Vladimir Putin signed into law a discriminatory bill banning the promotion of information about “non-traditional” sexuality. This law clearly violates the Olympic Charter, which states that “any form of discrimination… on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement” (6th Fundamental Pinciple of Olympism) and that the IOC’s role is, among other duties, “to act against any form of discrimination affecting the Olympic Movement” (article 2-6).


The lead-up to the Games were affected by numerous controversies and concerns; primarily concerning workers engaged in Olympic construction; allegations of the illegal dumping of construction waste threatening residents' health and safety; evictions and displacement of residents to make way for Olympic venues; economic issues; and harassment of environmental and human rights activists and journalists who criticise Olympic preparations or the government's anti-LGBT policies;and disagrees with Circassian nationalists, who demanded that the events be cancelled or moved unless Russia apologises for the 19th-century deaths, which Circassians regard to be a genocide.

Immediatelly after the games during paraolympics Moscow court sentenced eight protestors to prison based on protests in anti-Putin rally in May 2012. On Monday when the games were over, as the judge announced the sentences, over a thousand people rallied by the court building and in vicinity of the Kremlin to support of the Bolotnaya prisoners. Over 600 of them have been delayed and are now crowded at police districts across Moscow.


Well, this is the facts! We know that many of our readers are from Russia, so please don't mind...

(Couldn't upload any pictures due to som technical problems).

-Ritika Jaswal and Manmeet Kaur