'KIDLINK IRC' (INTERACTIVE RELAY CHAT)
EXAMPLES FROM SPRING, 1994

Date: Fri, 10 Jun 1994 06:47:00 BST
Sender: Special KIDLink Projects

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KIDCLUB IRC
African Street Children
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We hope to bring you a very special guest this week. He is Father Pat Shanahan a catholic priest who works in Accra the capital city of Ghana in west Africa. He has started a school for children who live on the streets of the city and has come to the UK to raise funds for a second school/refuge. Fr Pat will, we hope, be on-line to answer questions about the plight of these children and to tell you something about his work.

We hope that we can convince him that he should take a computer and modem back to Africa with him so that he can set up a KIDLINK node in his street school. Please visit our conference and demonstrate the power and reach of our network

A person in Maryland will be the moderator for the session keeping us all on focus with the topic and there may also be a visiting journalist who like her will be collecting material to make KIDLINK conferences known through the printed media.

Hope to see you all there

PS the club meets at 17:00 GMT on channel #KIDCLUB

Date: Sun, 19 Jun 1994 18:40:44 BST
Sender: Special KIDLink Projects

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KIDCLUB IRC
Lebanese Refugee Project
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We are three of the young people who you helped when we held our Peace Vigil to raise money for refugee children in camps in the Lebanon. Very many thanks for all your efforts which enabled us to send UNICEF a cheque for 100 pounds sterling.

We hope you will join us on-line here on KIDPROJ and on #KIDCLUB IRC during the weekend of July 29th to 31st when we will link you into a UK National Conference for Youth Groups which is being organised by the Charity 'Save-The-Children'.

Next weekend (25th June) we will be holding another preparatory discussion on the subject of Children's Rights on IRC #KIDCLUB as part of the lead up to the UK Conference on Children's Rights and hope you will join us.

We have been away at a meeting to prepare us for travelling in August with a UNICEF and National Youth Agency sponsored group to the Lebanon where we will stay in a Peace Camp.

The aim of this trip is to provide young people with experimental learning opportunities and a chance to live and work with young people and workers from different cultural backgrounds. For many Lebanese people in these camps - 'Peace' is a new and wonderful experience. We are trying hard to get some sponsorship to take a computer and modem out with us so that we can talk to you from the Peace Camp but meanwhile would like to gather together 'PEACE PLEDGES' to take with u to demonstrate the solidarity of the world community behind efforts to help refugees.

We would like to show the Lebanese people a collective global wish for peace.Please send your pledges stating clearly the country, community and ethnic group you represent to

Many thanks for any support you can give 'The Article 12 Group'

Date: Thu, 26 May 1994 21:53:19 -0400
Sender: Special KIDLink Projects KIDPROJ@NDSUVM1.bitnet
Subject: *KIDCLUB: Sudanese Children

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KIDCLUB IRC
Sudanese children
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This Saturday M B will be at the American College in London for the launch of the Sudanese People's Support Association. This is a non-political organization which is attempting to support Sudanese children who are refugees in neighboring countries of Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Egypt and Zaire.

We will be online with Sudanese children at 17:00 GMT on channel #KIDCLUB.

Please join us then and meet our guests...telnet 165.190.8.35 Login: irc password:

Date: Sat, 30 Apr 1994 21:15:25 -0400
Sender: Special KIDLink Projects KIDPROJ@NDSUVM1.bitnet
Subject: *KIDCLUB: Bosnia chat...brief sections

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KIDCLUB IRC April 30, 1994
Topic: Bosnia and War
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---------------------- edited sections of the chat ------------------

(Andraz) Well... In Slovenia war was "only" 10 days but we were all wery scared
(A-MikeB) Here in the UK I find it hard to watch TV pictures night after night of people being so cruel to one another..people who have been neighbours often for all their lives.
(RobbertU) Mike: I understand it!! I don't like it either!! It is so weird people who know each other so well start to fight!!
(Andraz) OK.. Now we live almost normal lives. In Yugoslavia we almost didn't know that things exist like computers or they were wery expensive so when we were independent we were suprised.
(A-Michael) After each horrible story of bloodshed, or destruction we kept thinking that now the rest of the world will step in to help somehow.
(A-MikeB) Bosnia seems to have once been a VERY successful multi-cultural society.......and if that can happen there...it can happen anywhere.
(RobbertU) Michael: That's right!! The Navo had to attack sooner!! Then there wouldn't be so many innocent people have died!!
(A-MikeB) Is the balance of your society being altered by the in flow of displaced persons from the Bosnian war?
(Andraz) Well we have about 60 000 refugees from Bosnia 80% and Croatian 20%
(Andraz) They live with relatives and at gasthomes
(A-MikeB) Will these people be staying in your country?....
(Amber) What are gasthomes?
(A-MikeB) Has your country decided to integrate them into your society.?
(Robbert) I spoken with some people from Bosnia lately! They came to us at school to talk about the war1! They were refugees?!
(Andraz) The Red Cross and Caritas help them to live easier
(Amber) Are Redcros and Karitas groups that help the refrugees?
(A-MikeB) Yes Robbert....tell us about your visitors
. (Robbert) On the other side, there was a man who told us he wanted to go back, fighting for his people
(Robbert) Patti: Some of them can stay in Holland, but there are lot's of people who want to stay.. The girl I spoke too is in Holland now and lives there
(Andraz) The refrugees want to go back but they don't have anything more there
(Robbert) The man ?! I don't now really, he didn't speak english nor Dutch very well.. I guess he just want to fight for his land!!
(Robbert) Andraz: Do you think just talking helps to get the war done?!
(Andraz) No I think not I mean it kepps people nformed but to end wor no :-(
(Andraz) Talks betwen politicions mybe
(Robbert) Andraz: I think you're right!! Just talking doesn't seem to help..
(Robbert) But fighting isn't the solution too!!
(Robbert) ?!
(Robbert) what does that mean Patti?!
(Ben) It means that we will be leaders eventually, or at least our generation.
(Robbert) Aha... I get it!!
(Robbert) Patti: I think more people should use internet (kidlink)!! You learn a lot from other people!!
(A-MikeB) The important thing is that you are all beginning to think of yourselves as citizens of a global village and your nationalities are not so important to you.
(Robbert) That's right!! I think thinking your own people are/is the best is wrong!! Everyone is the same!!
(Robbert) Patti: just my opinion ;-)
(Ben) No, I don't Patti. Unfortuantly too many people are of the view that they know better, simply because they are older
. (Robbert) Patti: Hmm.. I don't know... There will always be people who are thinking their people is better than other people!!
(Ben) When they should realise that perhaps they are wrong for that very same reason.
(A-MikeB) BUT if you kids all start writing to newspapers and demanding a voice in the media as a 'right'!
(A-MikeB) Children should be able to be heard without being patronised.
(Robbert) I agree.. age doesn't matter!! It's just the way people think.. most older people think children can't think!! But I think children CAN think!!!
(Ben) I know. KIDLINK seems to take place outside of everyday values and opinions.
(Ben) I think we forget this as we grow old though. Already I can't remember how it was when I was, say, 11. I can only remember being angry with people then for treating me like I didn't know anything.
(Robbert) At my school we have posters againt racisms and nazi's!!
(A-MikeB) and I know that Patti operates in the same way as you can tell from her interactions with you all here.
(Ben) I think that is right Patti. Because we are all just dots of phosphurus on each others screens, we have to form our opinions based on ..
(Robbert) People are not 'stupid'.. they just learn to do/think stupid!!
(Ben) how we eah really are, rather than how we look.
(Robbert) My history teachers says: people don't learn from history! As you can see, we don't!! *** Action: Ben smiles
(Robbert) PAtti: yes we do! Just think of world war 2 ... the same thing happens again now.. In Bosnia, and in the rest of the world people start to think as nazi's (we are the best)