Dear Society,

An Introduction for What’s to Come

Hello, all! My name is Raisa Sarang Deotale. As I write my first blog post, I am overwhelmed with excitement, anxiety, and hope. Previously I worked for Generation Human Rights (GenHR) as a social media intern. This provided me with the insight to write about GenHR’s upcoming curricula and to interview youth activists around the world. While this internship was an opportunity I will never forget, I am thrilled to continue writing, but this time for me. Having the choice to pick what topics I cover and express my position is important to me because it gives me a chance to feature voices that haven’t been heard.

My dream has always been to protect and serve the underprivileged. I believe that writing my thoughts about current issues, human rights abuses, and mental health will serve as a stepping stone in my dream of becoming a journalist. Truth, justice, and peace are all attributes I value and embody in whatever I do. I want to uplift marginalized voices while simultaneously calling out the inaction of those in power. Today news outlets use fear and misinformation as tools to benefit from their own agendas. Determining the truth is important to me because informing the public about the reality many face is the first step in recognizing that something is wrong with the system in which we live. Following this is initiative and action.

I am often reminded that there is much work to do. Racism, poverty, war, and climate change are just a few issues that plague our world. Now that social media highlights these dilemmas, it has become difficult to escape a nihilistic attitude. Scrolling through videos of police brutality, misogyny, and xenophobia, I feel lost and demoralized. There’s this encompassing hopelessness about seeing people suffer and having no way to help them.

I recently read an article titled “Teenagers Are Telling Us There Is Something Wrong With America” by Jamieson Webster. Dr. Webster, a clinical psychiatrist, writes about the adolescent patients she has interacted with. She discovered that the mental health of most of her teen patients was affected by current issues. The COVID-19 pandemic gave many the time to explore not only themselves but the world. Teenagers in the United States began to become more cognizant of the political divide in our country.

Throughout the pandemic, I noticed that corruption and injustice were not unique to the United States. There are millions of people around the world who are oppressed, exploited, and persecuted. Whether those are women in Iran, underpaid workers in Bangladesh, or children in Palestine, I want to spotlight those who have been silenced. As overwhelming as this may feel, it’s crucial that we continue to stand in solidarity against such injustices. 

Through my work, I’d like to remind everyone that while we may feel overpowered, overworked, and overlooked, we are one, and in that, there is hope.

~ Raisa S. Deotale

Freshman at Purdue University, Journalist, Human Rights activist