Page - 8 - in Hanadi & Christian - English

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 8 up in those mountains all day,” says Jose. “Somebody should make them disappear. Just thinking that the group of older kids could al- ready be there…. You know, being older isn’t so bad. Just look at their privileges. It’s just not right! We should all be allowed to go.” “Well, I’m quite happy being younger. I wouldn’t like to walk so much or to sleep outdoors in the mountains. That really scares me because you could get eaten by wild animals!” says Silvia. “For me, going to the mountains would be an obligation, or even punishment, instead of a right,“ she says, while making a funny face. Silvia likes fields; well, football pitches in fact. She likes sports in general as long as a ball is involved. Then I say, “Okay, Silvia! But we should have the right to go too, and if someone like you does not want to go, they could give up that right and stay at camp, and that’s it, problem solved.” My thoughts are still a bit confused, though, about the mountains and my friends. “Of course,” says Jose “We have paid the same money for this camp as the older kids.” “Great, José!” says Silvia. “As for you, Hanadi, now that’s what I call being a good friend. But, according to you, if I was the only one who didn’t want to go because I was scared, who would stay behind with those of us who didn’t want to go? What would you do then? And more importantly, what would I do in that case?” “An instructor would have to stay behind with me. It’s his duty,” José answers quickly, happy to see that what he said has been taken seriously. José, like everybody else, likes his opinion to be taken into ac- count. “And don’t they have the right to go to the mountains?” Silvia answers. Maite, our instructor, has just arrived, and she has overheard our last comments. She answers, smiling. “Rights, obligations…life is full of rights that imply obligations and responsibilities. For exam- ple, do you think it is your right that to have clean toilets? Who has the right to use clean toilets?” We look at each other first, and then stare at her, not knowing whether to nod in agreement. In the few days that have gone by