Tunnel of Oppression

Romy Solomon

Tunnel of Oppression

I absolutely loved the Tunnel of Oppression and was very moved and affected by it. Although I was familiar with many of the topics covered, I learned a lot of new facts, statistics, and other information about the extent of certain oppressions. It’s hard for me to pick a specific station I liked the most because I found all of it so interesting and creatively displayed.

In the station about human and drug trafficking, it was interesting to learn how different experiences are for men and women, and blacks and whites. Human trafficking is a serious issue today in which millions of people from all over the world are bought and sold into slavery. While men are usually more prone to hard slave labor, women and children make up the majority of the sex slave industry. These women and children often are forced to sleep with 30-40 men a night and many can never ask their customer to wear a condom. In my opinion, women and young girls are far more oppressed by the human trafficking industry because they are forced to have their bodies violated on daily basis. Also, in the drug trafficking industry, blacks are responsible for only twenty percent of the drug activity in the United States, yet they make up over fifty percent of the drug convictions in the country. Because of the color of their skin, blacks are seriously more oppressed than whites in terms of the law, in addition to almost all other aspects of society.

Another section I. felt particularly affected by were the sections on feminism and the portrayal of women in the media. Tied in to this were eating disorders, objectification of women, domestic abuse, and women in the military. While men and women are both equally influenced by the media, girls are largely more inclined to have eating disorders, low self-esteem and depression from the media then men. I was extremely surprised how many women are raped in the military by their superiors. The exhibit said that a female soldier in Iraq has a greater chance of being raped than of being wounded. Far worse is that even when reported, disciplinary action is rarely taken. I was shocked by this, and had never realized that such a thing was so common. I was also upset reading that Viagra is covered by health insurance, but birth control pills are usually not. All of these sections showed how women are more oppressed than men in different aspects of society, whether it is the media, the military, or the health care system.

While many of the stations did focus on oppression in the United States, I thoroughly enjoyed the stations that gave a more “world view” of certain issues. I was surprised by the facts I learned about the death penalty. Apparently the U.N. had tried to ban it, and this motion was widely accepted across the world with the exception of only a few (I think four) countries. The United States and Egypt were one of these few countries to oppose the ban on the death penalty. It was interesting to learn this alternative global view on the issue, considering the death penalty is a political issue often brought up by the U.S. presidential candidates. Another moving section revealing world oppression was the one on diamonds and the devastating conflict in Sierra Leone. The pictures and stories of young kids who are forced to join the terrorist groups and brainwashed to kill others was absolutely heartbreaking. Although many people probably know of this conflict because of the movie Blood Diamond, I thought it was an important exhibit to show nonetheless.

The art, music, and overall methods of displaying the information in the Tunnel of Oppression were fantastic. Each section was so creatively done and it really helped to intrigue the audience into learning more about the information. In the section on sexuality and how homosexuals are oppressed in society, I thought it was great that they had an actual “closet” in the center of the station. Written on the inside of the closet were fears and self-conscious attitudes a gay person struggling to conceal their sexuality would typically have. This was a great visual representation to enhance the station and give the audience a small sense of what it really means to “be in the closet.” The station went further to show the oppression that happens even after gay people come out. Along the walls of the station outside of the closet were real life stories of gay murders, bashing, and cruelty that have occurred. This station helped display the extent to which gays are oppressed in society and are not given the same liberties as others to fully express their true selves. Additionally, the visual representation of female mutilation really helped evoke emotion out of the viewers. As gruesome as it was to see, most of the viewers would not have been as affected by the station if they hadn’t seen a true representation of what these women go through.

I really enjoyed the Tunnel of Oppression and felt that it was important exhibition for all students to see. I would even go so far as to say the Tunnel of Oppression should be mandatory for all students. Especially in my world literature class, I witness how ignorant a lot of students are to issues and oppression both in the United States and in throughout the world. The exhibition was so eye-opening and enlightening, I feel like all students would benefit and gain broader horizons about the issues presented. I was so moved by the exhibition that I am hoping to take part in planning next year’s event. While I have always seen myself in the future engaging in social justice and activism around the world, this exhibition increased my determination to make a change. I became a member of the Not for Sale campaign that works towards shutting down the human trafficking industry and helping the victims. I am not only sending a monthly donation to the organization, but also plan on going on one of their global immersion trips where I will actually travel to foreign countries and fight human trafficking first hand.