Essay: Birkensh

In the country of Birkensh, an island located off the north coast of East Africa, you’ll find one of the most beautiful societies enriched with a unique culture. The people from Birkensh are referred to as Birkenshian and speak Birk as their native LANGUAGE as a method to communicate with their people. Birkenshians have the most archaic alphabet system known as Bire. They are well known for having a blue and white flag as a symbol of peace because they have never engaged in war and violence with other countries. The population is approximately 1.5 million, while the land area is about 650,000 square miles. Although Birkenshians are allowed to use cars as a mode of transportation, the primary form of transportation in Birkensh are electric bicycles and mopeds. Birkensh is making an eco-friendly choice since they are not only helping the environment by reducing air pollution but improving the overall well-being of the country. Personal cars are only allowed if your destination is not walking distance, and if you abuse the privilege, then you will be fined a ticket. There are also other forms of transportations available such as a trolley bus or ridesharing; however, these are rather infrequent due to the expensive price, and it’s usually done with large groups. In cities and large town’s western styled clothes are becoming increasingly popular, but traditional clothes are worn on a day to day basis in the countryside. Men wear kiton over their undergarment that covers their upper body, and women wear dresses called kitonela over their undergarment. The clothes are handmade out of cotton and incorporate the colors of their flag and the cross into their traditional clothes. The people of Birkensh practice a MONOTHEISTIC RELIGION called Birism, which means that they believe and worship only one God. The music of Birkensh is about their praise towards God, patriotism, and love with beautiful melodies/lyrics. All of these tunes and beats are performed using various traditional instruments. The most widely used instruments are the tinko, koru, gebere, and trikuru. The tinko is a fiddle made from the hair of donkey’s and cow skin. The koru is a traditional lyre with four strings. The gebere is a drum mostly used to express their devotion and commitment to God. The trikuru is a flute played by Birkenshian shepherds while herding cattle. The PASTORALISTS on Birkensh engage in sheep herding as a way of life. One aspect of their social system is PATRILINEAL DESCENT which means that only males inherit sheep from their fathers. Sheep are significant to marriage arrangements because they are used for BRIDEWEALTH. The groom and his family present them as gifts to the bride and her family before marriage. Birkenshians have two predominant styles of dancing known as kinta and kunte. Kunte is dance style commonly performed in groups during special occasions like weddings and festivals. It is mainly characterized by shaking the legs and intense movement of the hips. Kinta is a dance commonly performed in groups, but it doesn’t need a special occasion. It is characterized by shaking the shoulders and intense movement of the chest. Both dances have people verbally saying a “dance cry” to express their love for the culture. Birkenshian cuisine mostly consists of vegetables and spicy meaty dishes. The main traditional food is fokuna which primarily composed of a spice called chinchina, which is found in the rural regions of the northern part of BIrkensh. It can be made with chicken and beef and is usually served with sauce. This dish is traditionally served on a large plate and eaten between families as a symbol of love and care. The people of Birkensh avoid eating sour patch and skittles due to their religion. Sour patch and skittles is considered to be unclean in their religion. Siftar is Birkensh’s most successful and popular sport, where the people have won many medals in competitions and tournaments. Siftar consists of two players on opposite ends of a court who use their feet to kick a small ball over a net. If the player fails to kick the ball over the net, then you score a point. The game goes up to fifteen points. Birkenshians celebrate Buna, birthdays, and fikur. Birthdays are celebrated for one day where the people engage in GENERALIZED RECIPROCITY and shower the person with gifts without the expectation of an immediate return. It’s usually celebrated with close family and friends. Buna celebrates the culture and history of Birkensh, and this often happens in the first week of June. Birkenshian families have a huge feast and invite their EXTENDED FAMILIES such as their cousins, grandparents, etc. Birkensh has the same number, calendar, and metric system in the U.S, but they use kilograms, meters, and celsius. The educational system in Birkensh is similar to the United States. Once you reach high school, Students can pick their classes based on their interests and ambitions. Students are required to take computer science, AP Calculus, and AP Biology or Chemistry. Post-secondary education will cost up to $8,000. The school hours are Monday to Friday and from 8:30 to 5:00. We need these subjects to be able to further our technical and medical programs. Technology is highly essential because in our growing health system you need to excel in computer science. Their age and  intellectual capabilities separate the students into a grading system precisely like the U.S. After high school students are trained for the jobs they choose through a mix of internships and formal education. They will first attend college where the classes will be a condensed version of the U.S college classes. After they complete their courses, they will go through an internship program that will help mentor them. After they complete the necessary training, they will have a skill test that is 40% written, 40% oral and 20% physical. If they pass then they will get the job, if they don’t, they will have the opportunity to retry it until they pass. They offer career training that is funded by the government. The program consists of multiple teams of experts who will help you find a job for you and the path to get there. For instance, if you find a career and it doesn’t work out for you, you can contact the program, and they will help you find the best routes to take. If you don’t have a job after nine months, the career training program will contact you and start the process regardless of whether you want it or not. This is to ensure that CITIZENS are contributing since they are members of the community. They will receive unemployment aid for a maximum of nine months. The unemployment rate in Birkensh is 1% because it is against the law to be unemployed for longer than nine months. The political/governmental system that we have is a blend of democracy and dictatorship. The country has elections and shares their opinions and ideas, but the leader makes the ultimate decisions. The leader will take into account the desires and needs of the people. The leadership is decided by a test that measures their commitment, attitude, character, etc. Despite this, Birkensh still suffers from corruption in the public sectors. People bribe police officers to avoid tickets and fines, display nepotism in the employment field, and government personnel skim off money from the federal budget. The economic system of Birkensh is a blend of capitalism and socialism. The monetary value we use is qenche and is equal to two US dollar. Anyone can suggest laws by writing their comments and concerns in a box that is held in a government building that can be found in every city/town. They are collected every month, and the leader considers each one and will make them laws if they believe if it is a good idea. Birkensh provides health care to their people and other countries. Birkensh is an independent country with no military because we are peaceful. We rely on the protection of our allies, which is why we provide health care to them. Birkensh is one of the leading providers of health care making it our most substantial profit. Recently, In 2015 there was an attempted coup d’état in Biraba, the capital of Birkensh. The coup d’état was due to the genocide that occurred between the Skini and Boniti tribes in 2014. The genocide caused the death of 300,000 Birkenshians and incited the Boniti tribe to try to overthrow the leader. The leader of the country, Mr. Okutu, who is from the skini tribe himself was repeatedly accused of using the UN Aid money to favor the skini tribe in the aftermath of the genocide. Mr. Okutu was convicted as a war criminal by the International Court of Justice for targeting Bonitian civilians during his 2015 speech at the political forum in the aftermath of the attempted coup d’état. Mr. Okutu’s ETHNOCENTRISM is what caused the coup because he believed his ethnic group was the only real ethnic group.