tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74772532169789445922023-11-16T09:32:02.076+03:00Reckoning with WanderlustEverywhere but homegypsy rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15104444838726435058noreply@blogger.comBlogger88125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477253216978944592.post-88091358247659817142012-07-07T17:04:00.001+03:002012-07-07T17:04:31.804+03:00Responding to Emergencies with Cash not Goods<div style="text-align: justify;">
Have you seen those AllState ads about the fires in Colorado? They say "We didn't just show up with cold water and checks..." and then continues about how they brought teddy bears to help children get back to normal. Good child protection practice, hopefully they're doing more for kids, but beside the point. Your house burns down and someone helps you access clean water and money to help you get back on your feet. That makes sense. That's what I'd want. So why isn't that what we do in other countries? Why can't we give people cash when their homes are destroyed by war or disaster? Why do we feel the need to <i>give </i>them the things we <i>think </i>they need? </div>
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If I experience hardship, I know better than you do what I need. Maybe my home has been washed away in a flood, but I don't want you to build me a new home, because I was going to move anyway, or my family is growing, or you build crappy houses. Maybe my family does need food to eat, but I need cash to buy medicine for my baby, and you're just bringing me food from your country that I don't know how to cook, nor will my children eat. Maybe you think my children need recreational activities, but I need them in the field to replant after the crops were destroyed, but I can't replant until I buy new seeds. People are resilient, but they are only able to employ their resiliency when allowed to make their own decisions. </div>
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My first response to this AllState ad was that we must not trust poor people. People in Colorado will obviously use the checks you give them to repair their homes (yes I know they are home insurance checks, but it occurs to me that we have home insurance in case of disasters, whereas countries in the global South often rely on humanitarian aid for similar support) but for some reason, people in other countries won't know how to spend the money? Are we worried they will spend it improperly? That happens where we live too, corruption and misuse of government funds is often connected to disaster. Is it because we feel the need to help, and writing a check isn't as exciting? </div>
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In many places, especially in urban settings, cash is sometimes being used, so that both the economy and the population can start to rebuild. I won't argue that the only answer is cash grants. Sometimes the needed supplies aren't available during or after a complex emergency. Steps have already been made toward ensuring that food and supplies are well used by (often) giving them to women to ensure that the goods go to support children and to be sure that female headed households receive goods.. But giving food and tent supplies to people in refugee camps doesn't restart lies, it simply sustains them during an emergency. Helping people rebuild and recover takes more than that, and if your world got turned upside down, wouldn't you hope that people trying to help would trust you to identify your own needs?</div>gypsy rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15104444838726435058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477253216978944592.post-69563079275462334702012-05-30T23:44:00.002+03:002012-05-30T23:45:14.204+03:00Charles Taylor: Punishment vs. JusticeThe International Criminal Court (ICC) handed down <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-18259596" target="_blank">Charles Taylor's sentence</a> today, 50 years in prison. Mr. Taylor was convicted of multiple charges of aiding and abetting fighters in Sierra Leone during the war there. While the prosecution was unable to prove that Charles Taylor gave direct orders for the atrocities committed, nor did he personally commit violent crimes in Sierra Leone, his funding and participation in the leadership structure did contribute to the violence and atrocities committed.<br />
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So now Charles Taylor is going to spend the rest of his life in prison in the UK, barring an appeal (said to be forthcoming) and the overturning of his conviction. So imagine it, Charles Taylor suffering through beans and toast for breakfast and bangers and mash for dinner. Okay fine maybe that's not what they give you in prison in the UK. But it just doesn't seem fair. Mind you this is entirely speculative, but I imagine that the prisons in the UK are quite nice compared to those in Sierra Leone. Charles Taylor will probably get more square meals per day while imprisoned than the average citizen of either country. He will have electricity, occasional access to telephone and television, and I imagine he might even be segregated from the general population, sparing him some of the worst things that can happen to a person in prison.<br />
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So why, despite the fact that this is a landmark conviction, it is the first time a former head of state has been convicted by the ICC while still living, do I feel so dissatisfied? Charles Taylor has been imprisoned, his physical freedom has been taken away, but where does that leave us? True, it avoids the possibility that he will return to West Africa, run for president of Liberia (as was predicted) and return the nation and region to turmoil. But what else? Charles Taylor sitting in jail munching on marmite sandwiches doesn't help the people in Sierra Leone who lost limbs or parents or children or homes. It doesn't help the children forcibly associated with fighting forces, some of whom have recovered, many of whom continue to struggle, with few skills other than waging war and using drugs, they are a generation who were most powerful and successful during the war, which is dangerous. Unemployed, angry, psychologically scarred young men with access to former leaders of fighting forces, and potentially to arms, are one of the most volatile groups, with the capacity to return country to conflict when they get tired of driving moto-taxis and being looked down upon. Or how does Charles Taylor in jail help the people who were physically disabled during the war, who lost limbs or were blinded? How does it help the girls and women raped by fighting forced? What about those who got pregnant and now are young mothers with no one to support them and children who are products of war and terror.<br />
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Punishment is not the same thing as justice. Charles Taylor has been punished, but other than possibly sparing the people of Sierra Leone and Liberia the consequences of his return, there has been no justice. It is common knowledge in Liberia that all those responsible for crimes during the wars cannot face the judicial system, because there would be no one left in government to run the country. Sierra Leone has felt the satisfaction of the acknowledgement of Charles Taylor's role in the conflict, but this was accompanied by the fact that he wasn't in the country. The people who committed crimes against civilians on a day to day basis were not on trial at the ICC.<br />
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To quote a friend of mine, there needs to be restitution, not just punishment. How about we take some of Charles Taylor's millions and create scholarships for those affected by the war? What if he funds prostheses for victims of amputation? Money, even to good causes, doesn't fix what happened, but in addition to condoning and perpetuating violence, Charles Taylor stole millions. Since we're punishing him already, and what's he going to do with all that money while in prison anyway, let's redistribute it to some of the people he hurt. Personally, I'd rather he spent his days doing the work to help those people himself, but since that's not possible, I'll settle for his money.gypsy rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15104444838726435058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477253216978944592.post-78985025300698819582012-05-09T20:31:00.000+03:002012-05-10T22:29:39.551+03:00De anochecer a la albaIt was our last night in the town, where we had been for five days now, getting to know people and collecting data. I came across a boy on the porch of the house where I was staying, he was about 14. During the focus group discussion he had participated in, he emphasized that children living with adults other than their biological parents often are treated unfairly. I sat down on the porch next to him to relax and enjoy the dusk, as the temperature finally started to cool. I asked him what he was doing this evening, and didn't he have any homework? (Encouraging kids to study is pretty much my go-to casual chat.) It was Thursday evening and he said he needed to be back in his hometown by Friday morning. He was walking there with two of his friends. <div><br></div><div>Me: Is it far? Will it be a long way?</div><div>Him: Yes it is about five hours all through the bush.</div><div>Me: Ah, for this you have a cutlass? But how will you reach by tomorrow?</div><div>Him: We will leave soon when my friends come.</div> <div>Me: You will walk in the dark? All night?</div><div>Him: Yes. I must dig and burn (farming) in the morning, so we walk tonight.</div><div>Me: Do you have any food or water to bring with you?</div><div>Him: No. </div> <div><br></div><div>I go to the room I am sharing with a colleague and find a used plastic water bottle. I fill it with water we have drawn from the hand pump in town. The house I'm staying in drinks water from a nearby creek. I give him the bottle. He smiles and nods. He then asks if I still want to learn some of the local language. He starts naming words, which I struggle to jot down phonetically, along with their definitions. He teaches me the words for animals, body parts, and foods. More children join and help him, laughing at my pronunciation, but encouraging me to continue. </div> <div><br></div><div>My female colleague, with whom I am sharing a room, asks if I want dinner. Dinner is leftover lunch, which was dry rice: white rice, oil, onion, chilies, and canned sardines. As we eat, the three teenage boys who will spend the night walking through thick jungle sit and chat, actively not watching us spoon the rice out of one pot into our mouths. It starts to rain. My colleague tells me that she has told the boys (in local language) not to leave until the rain has stopped. The snakes come out when it rains and if one bites them they could die. This is a very real and legitimate fear from what I have heard. During the FGD these boys also told us about men in the bush who can prey on young people or people walking alone, hurting them or killing them to steal body parts for ritual sacrifice. She teases them, asking if they aren't afraid? I ask too, hoping we can scare them into waiting until morning. I stop eating, knowing that these boys will get whatever we don't eat. They take the pot and our used spoons and dig in hungrily, their spoons making loud scraping sounds as they make sure to get every grain of rice and drop of oil.</div> <div><br></div><div>Two of the boys want to ask me questions, but are shy, worried I won't understand their English, as they often don't understand mine. The boy I was chatting with earlier asks "Why you so light and I so dark?", I don't understand at first, but my colleague repeats in formal English, I shake my head not sure how to answer. "Why you so fine (this just means nice in Liberia) and I so ugly?" I shake my head again, contradicting his assumption. This boy has never left this small region of Liberia. It is likely that I am among the first white people he has ever spoken to; he doesn't have television or access to visual media. So where did he get the idea that being white is good and attractive and black is bad and ugly?</div> <div><br></div><div>Then this same boy starts to study. I ask him what he is reading and he shows me the book, he is learning about the war here, World Wars 1, 2 and 3 in local speak. I ask him if he will read it to me, so I can learn too. I have forgotten to ask what grade he is in (at 14). He is in third grade, shaking his head, saying he doesn't want to read. Then he asks my colleague to ask me if I will read it. I start, reading slowly and enunciating, there are still many words he doesn't understand. "She must be white! Girl can read!" I read, showing him the book, pausing at words I suspect he may not know (like faction or dissolve), asking if he knows, explaining what they mean. We finish the chapter and start the review questions, he knows none of the answers. I suggest we go back through the chapter, with him reading so he can find them. Rather than skim for key words as I might do, he flips to the beginning of the chapter and begins to read again. He stumbles over words regularly. The vocabulary is far beyond his reading skills, and is not appropriate for his grade, causing him frustration. When he hits a word he doesn't know, he says the letters aloud: fierce - F-I-E-R-C-E. Sometimes he recognizes the sound of the letters in order and identifies the word, but when he doesn't he stops, looking at me. I try to go slowly, covering up parts of words and asking him what sounds the letters make. He and the boys watching are amazed, no one has ever taught them how to sound out words before. I can't imagine learning to read, and only ever being able to read the words someone has taught you, not being able to learn new ones on your own by sounding them out and identifying parts of words you know, can you?</div> <div><br></div><div>Eventually I go to bed, leaving the boys on their own, laughing among themselves at my reading skills and teasing each other for being dumb. In the morning I hear from my colleagues that the boys left for home late in the night, when the rain let up, but still in the pitch dark. They are all living with relatives in order to attend school, because there is no school where they are from. But, there is no one to plant their fields at home, so they must go home and burn and plant before the season passes. This food goes to feed the family members still in their original villages, and along with their daily labor, pays the families they stay with for their rooms and school supplies.</div> <div><br></div><div>********</div><div>I wasn't sure what to conclude from this. Is it a lesson in the potentially negative aspects of sending children away from home to live with alternative caregivers? Is it the burden placed on the shoulders of children when a parent has died? Is it the consequences of a lack of access to education? Is it that this boy has been taught, and internalized, that he is inferior to others? Is the lack of transportation? Lack of access to clean water or even a bottle to hold dirty water during a walk that will take hours? Is it that this boy, still a child, is fluent in his own language, but is only taught in a language he doesn't understand, so he is teased? Is it that there is a 14 year-old in 3rd grade, or that a third grader can't read? Or that, at 14 and in 3rd grade, the likelihood he will study for more than another year or two is unlikely? Or is it that he is surely more educated than his parents, which is an accomplishment? </div> <div><br></div><div>I'm not sure. But what I can say is that there are people who argue that development doesn't work, that we're getting no where and that it's a waste of money. But I think that (among other things) what those people miss is the impact on individual lives. Every step is an accomplishment, from this boy's desire to study, to his insistence on maintaining his family farm, to his being able to safely move about a county that was once the heart of the war. You can look at the story and feel sad, or you can look at it and see potential and progress. Progress towards education (there is a school where there wasn't one ten years ago), clean water (there is a hand pump in the community, although too far to walk to), he is functionally literate, he has access to land and income, and he wants to learn. </div> <div><br></div><div>Additionally, when this research went through an ethics review board, I was asked what the benefit for those participating was, weren't we just taking from them and giving nothing in return? I explained that there are people that no one ever asks for their opinion, and no one ever listens to; child protection concerns (abuse, exploitation, violence, and neglect) aren't the issue of the day, and when children experience them, they often bear them in silence, believing it is their lot in life. Sitting together and discussing the things that make them feel unsafe or insecure and hearing that other children face them too, is beneficial, even if it only lasts for an hour or two. This boy was heard, and then later someone encouraged him to change his actions in order to keep himself safe, because he is important, and he did change, even if only a little, even if only for that day.</div> gypsy rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15104444838726435058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477253216978944592.post-58278858095387911772012-05-01T00:14:00.001+03:002012-05-10T22:29:39.533+03:00Why This Matters <p class="MsoNormal">Don't you hate when you get scooped by NPR? <a href="http://www.npr.org/2012/04/28/151575556/in-his-own-country-charles-taylor-still-has-support">http://www.npr.org/2012/04/28/151575556/in-his-own-country-charles-taylor-still-has-support</a></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Granted I suppose I could have been live tweeting throughout the reading of the Charles Taylor verdict on Thursday, letting you all know exactly what the reactions were around me in Liberia. Maybe next time I'm in a country where the former president is on trial for crimes against humanity.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Charles Taylor was on trial for five years, at the Special Court for Sierra Leone. The trial was held at the Hague rather than in Sierra Leone because there was a fear that the trial and verdict could cause instability, among other reasons. After hearing the verdict, a friend and I were discussing the case over lunch, imagining what it would be like if the trial had been held in Freetown, Sierra Leone. And we both decided it would have been chaos. Even with the trial a continent away, people in Monrovia were decorating the road from the airport and getting ready for Taylor's return. Someone I work with told me that that morning, before the verdict, someone was wearing a shirt proclaiming Taylor's guilt, and a crowd chases him until the police had to escort him away for his own safety.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">I have been doing my own casual research here to get a sense of how people here felt about the coming verdict, before it was handed down. One person told me that there were lots of supporters still, which after being in Nimba county, which didn't surprise me. I asked him why, and he explained that some of the people are too young to really remember what happened during the war. They remember leaving their homes, they remember how chaotic things were, and they remember Taylor coming out victorious. They don't know or remember what he actually did, and still see him as a powerful leader who represents the best of Liberia. Another person told me that he hoped Taylor would come back, because there is no strong authority in Liberia today. He said that if Charles Taylor came back he could say "Everyone stop robbing cars on highways, and if you don't I will find you" and everyone would obey him. There is no one today who can control and lead the Liberian people. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">From my personal perspective, I think that part of it also has to do with the pace of development, and what people expected versus what has materialized. Democracy is often promoted and pursued as though it is a solution, rather than a path. With democracy people have a voice, if they choose to use it, and are allowed to do so freely. However participatory government doesn't actually speed up the development process from what I can see. People in Monrovia may see roads being built, or Ma Ellen (Sirleaf Johnson) passing down Tubman Blvd on her way home from work, but tangible differences in the lives of most Liberians are small. The war is over, but food is more expensive, most people still don't have access to power, pump their water from wells if they're lucky, use hand dug latrines, and if they send their children to school, it's a gamble as to whether there will be enough books and their teachers will be present. So when looking back on the war, things were unstable, but someone was obviously in charge who was promising to make it better. Now someone says Liberians should work together, pay their taxes to contribute to growing Mama Liberia. No one is promising quick fixes, and if you believe that those exist, maybe Charles Taylor, who was apparently extraordinary charismatic, sounded like he promised a better future. When your leader only promises what the country can actually do or slightly more, the future does not seem quite so bright perhaps, and leaves you longing for the days of big hopes and grand gestures, when the government was changing and drastic improvements seemed like a possibility. Maybe when you've grown up in constant instability, calm seems too boring, and change seems too slow. Or maybe Charles Taylor (papay – what older men are called in Liberia), who won an election with the slogan "I killed your ma, I killed you pa, but you still love me," (or something to that effect), is simply a hero to many Liberians, and a kind of hero whose star doesn't dim simply because another country is try to use his as a scapegoat for the violence they perpetrated against themselves. Or so I've heard. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br></p> <p class="MsoNormal">But I think most important is that Charles Taylor would have come back to Liberia if he hadn't been convicted. His ex-wife is a senator, and I highly doubt he would have been able to stay away from politics; he would have been elected. And from there who can say what would happen, whether he would have reached the presidency (whether the UN Mission In Liberia would have allowed him to). Whether the growing economy would have taken a hit, for fear that conflict would begin again; whether some NGOs would have left for the same reason. Whether old resentments would have felt more fresh with him in the country. It's impossible to know the potentially destabilizing effect his return could have cause. But this verdict matters because it means that even with money and power and the love of your people, another country can hold you accountable for your crimes. This verdict matters because it allows Liberia to stay the course, however slow it may appear to some, towards development. No one has ever been punished for the crimes committed during the war in Liberia, referred to locally as World War 1, World War 2, and World War 3. No one has been punished, because those in charge of punishment are also the ones who would be punished. But this verdict matters because, while the risk of future conflict has not disappeared, at least it will not occur at the hands of Charles Taylor, at least not any time soon.</p> <div><br></div>P.S. I'm home! But have no phone because my luggage got lost.<br><br> gypsy rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15104444838726435058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477253216978944592.post-76110354274167288852012-04-25T21:29:00.001+03:002012-05-10T22:29:39.541+03:00Stories from the InteriorI spent last week in the interior of Liberia, in Nimba county, which is on the border of Ivory Coast and Guinea. Nimba has a long history, especially associated with the war here, as Charles Taylor entered Liberia from Ivory Coast, into Nimba, and then traveled on to Monrovia. I have lots of stories to tell you all and I'll start moving through them now that I have internet again, but here's one to get us started. This story might be a bit hard to hear, so feel free to skip and if you just follow this because you want to know where I am, I'll be back in the States on Sunday!<br clear="all"> <div><br></div><div>It's 6:45 am and I walk out of my hotel after a breakfast of buttered white toast, scrambled eggs with sliced hot dogs, and Nescafe with powdered milk. We have spent the night in one of the cities in Nimba after spending a week in a very rural area. We are driving back in an agency vehicle and the driver asks if we can take someone he knows along with us if she signs the liability waiver. I figure he knows the rules better than me, and say it's fine as long as the Country Director would be okay with it. A woman in her mid-20s climbs into the back of the car, explaining that she needs to get back to Monrovia in order to attend her classes that day.</div> <div><br></div><div>Our driver was talking about his experiences during the war (no one says conflict here), he drove for everyone from the BBC during the active conflict to a number of organizations during the disarmament process. He mentions a tribunal that was convened by Charles Taylor during the war to try military crimes. The girl says that it was this tribunal that killed her father, it was when she was three years old. The driver asks who her father was, a general in the army, and the driver says he didn't know that was her father, but would she like to hear about what really happened to him?</div> <div><br></div><div>According to him: her father was the commander of many troops, most of whom were relatively young and poorly trained. These troops massacred villagers in the interior (not in Nimba), and the international community found out about it. Her father stood trial for these crimes, although he was not involved and the troops actually disobeyed his orders by doing what they did. Despite the fact that Charles Taylor really liked her father, and her father was a great man, it was the pressure of the international community that pushed them to punish someone for the crimes. And so her father was sentenced to death.</div> <div><br></div><div><b>Girl:</b> When I graduate from university and get a job, I have always said that with my first paycheck will go to finding where my father is buried, and building him a gravestone.</div><div><b>Driver</b>: I know where your father is buried, not today, but some other time I can take you there, if you want.</div> <div><b>Girl</b>: Yes! I have always wanted to see this place where they killed him.</div><div><br></div><div>Then later in the conversation (this was a five hour drive after all):</div><div><b>Girl</b>: It makes me feel too bad to see these people I go to school with, they call their father and he can help them pay their school fees and other things. Since I was a young girl I have been selling cold water (in bags) to people to earn enough money to buy notebooks and a uniform. My mother cannot help me and my father was killed. It makes me feel too angry when I see the people who I know participated in that [massacre] or who helped kill my father and now they are there, they are having families and they are happy. My father wanted to help Liberia and he was only killed and I am alone.</div> <div><b>Driver</b>: You see, this is a problem here, people are still very angry about the war. Every day you can see someone who you know helped kill your father or your brother or you burned down your house. You see these people and they have big money and big cars and they are very powerful. It makes people angry.</div> <div><b>Me</b>: Do you think there will ever be any kind of reconciliation or justice process?</div><div><b>Driver:</b> How can there be? Everyone is guilty. There would be no one left in government. The wife of Charles Taylor is a senator, Prince Johnson [leader of a 2nd faction during the war] is a senator in Nimba, even Ellen [Johnson Sirleaf, the president] is guilty. She has admitted that she gave money to support Charles Taylor during the fighting. She claims it was for humanitarian purposes, but there was a war going on, if you wanted to be a humanitarian, why wouldn't you give the money to an NGO?</div> <div><b>Me: </b>So many of the people in power and in government currently were involved in the war?</div><div><b>Driver:</b> Oh yes! And there is no justice because it is the people in power who are the very guilty ones. If we started to prosecute all the people who committed crimes during the war, there would be no one left in government.</div> <div><br></div><div>And then a large SUV (one of the marks of wealth in Liberia) drives past, the license plate read DD1.</div><div><b>Driver</b>: There. You see? This is Prince Johnson coming. </div><div><b>Me:</b> Wait, what?! That's Prince Johnson in that car?</div> <div><b>Driver</b>: Yes, yes. He is the one who killed Samuel Doe [who killed President William Tolbert to take power of the country]. Have you seen the photos?</div><div><b>Me</b>: Hmm.... oh yes! He is the one who was wearing the hat and drinking the beer?! </div> <div><b>Driver</b>: Yes. Everyone watched Prince Johnson humiliate Samuel Doe, and even though he begged for his life Samuel Doe killed him anyway. Doe would not tell Johnson where all the money he had stolen was hidden outside of the country. Even today no one knows where that money is.</div> <div><b>Me</b>: Oh wow, so it is somewhere else and it was never found?</div><div><b>Driver:</b> Yes. And to see these pictures and the video then, everyone in the world could see it because it was videotaped. [Google it!] But the Congos [Americo-Liberians] here, Doe was killing all of them, so it is them who helped finance Johnson to come kill him.</div> <div>Ah and there is his car of security men. You see it is a ways behind him because if someone attacks him, then this car of men with guns, all paid by Prince Johnson himself, not by the government even though he is a Senator, they will come and kill that person. There must be ten men in that car, youth who fought for him during the war, and they will surely all have guns. </div> <div><b>Me</b>: So people here like Prince Johnson still?</div><div><b>Driver: </b>Yes yes, they believe he defended Nimba, and you know most of the people who fought for him were from here, he is even senior in government. Did you see that license plate? He is on the national defense committee.</div> <div><br></div><div>**********</div><div>If people know a bit about the war here, they know about Charles Taylor, but Samuel Doe and Prince Johnson and two of the other very big participants in it. Here is the video, but be forewarned, it's someone torturing someone else, not exactly fun to watch, but amazing to think about the role of media in politics and persecution. </div> <div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/verify_age?next_url=/watch%3Fv%3DyaLSzjfyUiA">http://www.youtube.com/verify_age?next_url=/watch%3Fv%3DyaLSzjfyUiA</a> (they will make you sign in because of the violent content)</div> <div> And just remember that the man on the right drinking the beer is now a senior Senator. </div><div><br></div><div><br></div> gypsy rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15104444838726435058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477253216978944592.post-41923262377243226142012-04-08T23:04:00.000+03:002012-04-08T23:04:02.900+03:00Review of The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn EvilThe Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil<br />
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by Phillip Zimbardo, copyright Random House 2007</div>
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Each month, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Reckoning
with Wanderlust</i>, presents a review of a book or film that relates to topics
discussed here, such as international affairs, conflict, disaster, humanitarian
work, vulnerable groups, or anything else tangentially connected. Please send
suggestions for books or films to review to <a href="mailto:deargypsyrose@gmail.com">deargypsyrose@gmail.com</a></div>
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In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Lucifer Effect</i>,
Phillip Zimbardo explores the question of why seemingly ‘good’ or ‘normal’
people do ‘evil’ things, how environmental factors contribute to that behavior.
To use Zimbardo’s metaphor, when we speak of a ‘bad apple’ (one person doing
bad things among many people doing good things can make all the apples bad), is
it that one apple was in fact bad, or was the barrel itself (the environment)
at least partially responsible?<br />
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First, Zimbardo presents The Stanford Prison Experiment in
great detail, from his conception of it, as the Principal Investigator, to its
implementation. Allow me to briefly summarize: the Stanford Prison Experiment
was carried out at Stanford University, in California, in the 1970s. Zimbardo
recruited students over the summer to participate in an experiment, although
they were not told many details about it.
These participants were randomly assigned as either guards or prisoners,
slated to play out these roles in a fabricated prison on Stanford’s campus.
Members of each group soon come to display characteristics that one might
describe as typical of prisoners or guards, obedience or cruelty respectively.
As Zimbardo relays the exercise in great detail, the audience sees changes in
the students, as some of the prisoners are forced to withdraw from the
experiment due to physical and situational stress, while some of the guards
thrive on the power. Zimbardo eventually terminates the experiment ahead of the
planned end date after a colleague sees the guards marching prisoners down a
school hallway (during summer vacation) with paper bags on their heads, chained
together. It was only this outside observer who was able to see the outrageous
nature of the scene, as Zimbardo himself had been engulfed by the
circumstances.<br />
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Zimbardo follows this with a discussion of the ways in which
situational forces influence our behavior, and how we are prone to make <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">fundamental attribution errors</i>, where we
believe a person’s innate or learned characteristics are responsible for their
behavior, when in fact, situational forces play at least as much of a role.
Lastly, Zimbardo relates the Stanford Prison Experiment, and evidence
supporting the power of situational forces, to examine the abuses that occurred
at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.</div>
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<br /></div>
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When reading books of this nature, we often begin with a
question, something we see but do not understand, hoping that knowledge can
help us make sense of it. For me the question was related to children
associated with fighting forces. I understand that when kidnapped, people and
children especially eventually identify with their captors in order to survive
and to mentally negotiate what they believe is their complicity in the
situation. But it is one thing to identify or sympathize with a captor, it is
another to do so to the extent that you are willing to kill and torture members
of your clan, community, or even your family, as has occurred in cases of
children associated with fighting forces during conflict. <br />
<br /></div>
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One point that struck me as particularly applicable to this
case was Zimbardo’s explanation of the role of anonymity and deindividuation
supporting people’s slip into the grasp of situational forces. This involves
the use of uniforms, costumes, “all disguises of one’s usual appearance that
promote anonymity and reduce personal accountability.” (267) If we think of
involvement in group conflict and violence, if at all organized, it rarely
happens when one of the above conditions is not met. Everyone from militaries
of government’s, to non-state fighting forces use uniforms, not only to demand
obedience from those wearing them, but also to justify their tactics as part of
“the system” as well as to get their subordinates to think of themselves <u>firstly</u>
as part of the fighting force and <u>secondly</u> as individuals. Zimabardo
continues “When people feel anonymous in a situation... they can more easily be
induced behave in antisocial ways. This is especially so if the setting grants
permission to enact one’s impulses or to follow order or implied guidelines
that one would usually disdain.” Using disguises or uniforms obscure’s one’s
sense of personal moral identity, and with its disappearance, it becomes easier
to simply act on impulse or follow a crowd without questioning, since slipping
into some guide has tucked away the individual’s sense of responsibility. This
is true both for people in roles of authority, as well as those whose uniforms
place them in a subordinate position; it makes them more inclined to obey order
and conform with their peers, whether the result is, for example, better behavior
from students in uniforms, or similarly dressed youth committing acts that were
previously anathema to each of them individually, but are acceptable in the
group setting.<br />
<br /></div>
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Zimbardo contrasts the common thought that people are solely
responsible for their individual actions, with his findings from involvement in
the Stanford Prison Experiment and the trials of one soldier implicated in
abuses at Abu Ghraib, “Traditional analyses by most people, including those in legal,
religious, and medical institutions, focus on the actor as the sole causal
agent. Consequently, they minimize or disregard the impact of situational
variable and systemic determinants that shape behavioral outcomes and transform
actors.” This is not to take away to power people have to make their own
decisions, nor to take away to necessity of emphasizing individual
responsibility to maintain social and moral standards in society at large.
However, if we pay more attention to the circumstances, we may see that, in
some cases, addressing negative situational influences can achieve more
progress, than addressing or condemning the actions of an individual. <br />
<br /></div>
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Let’s think, for example, or what are called briefcase NGOs
here, those organizations that are, in fact, wholly contained in the briefcase
of the member before you, as the ‘organization’ itself is nothing more than a
front for collecting money, which will then be eaten (to use a local
expression). Imagine this happened, we are free to point at the person who
stole money and broke trust, calling him a thief, but let us also examine the
situational forces at play. He sees people in power, from policemen to
politicians accepting bribes or otherwise disguised payment with no negative
consequences, informing his development of morality. Imagine he is unemployed,
with radio or television or newspapers telling him that he is poor because
others are rich. So this man believes that taking money from those who can
afford to give, those who would donate to his briefcase NGO, is simply
accessing what is due to him. He dons the attire of the NGO set, with an
organization’s t-shirt, brochure in hand, and he becomes someone else. Imagine
that he is part of a group of people doing this, such that he becomes part of a
group. None of this undermines his personal responsibility in this case, he has
still stolen from donors and can and should still be punished. But unless the
situational influences at play are identified, by prosecuting this man we are
merely slapping at a mosquito, instead of identifying their breeding source and
working to eliminate it.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Zimbardo’s book is thought provoking and an interesting read
for its content. However, just to warn you, the writing style leaves something
to be desired, as Zimbardo practically stumbles over himself between mentioning
Stanford’s accolades repeatedly, and self-praising for his own roles in parts
of the book. This does not overwhelm the intriguing content of the book, but a
good editor could have ensured that the style and prose rose to the quality
demanded by the topic.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For more detailed information about the experiment, visit
<a href="http://www.prisonexp.org/">www.prisonexp.org</a><br />
<br /></div>gypsy rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15104444838726435058noreply@blogger.com0Monrovia, Liberia6.300774 -10.797166.2376429999999994 -10.876123999999999 6.363905 -10.718196tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477253216978944592.post-33097501087972526662012-04-08T22:48:00.001+03:002012-05-10T22:30:03.305+03:00Radio SilenceHi Everyone!<br />
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So sorry I haven't been posting, the internet here isn't fast enough to access the blogger website! However after paying too much for some mediocre food at a place with fast internet, I think I've got it set up so that I can email in posts so you all can see them!</div>
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I've been back in Liberia for three weeks now and am having a lovely time again. I've got all sorts of posts coming for you, but just wanted to start by saying hello! Easter here in Monrovia start on Friday with church services. I was at a training held in a church so we got to hear the choir and part of the service, since most businesses here are closed on Good Friday. This morning the road near the churches were packed with cars and you could hear the singing down the street. I ate my mandatory chocolate (my family's version of Easter celebration) and then headed to the beach. Not too bad of a day if I do say so myself. This Friday is also a holiday here in Liberia, Fast and Prayer Day. I asked a colleague what we would be fasting and praying for, and apparently it's for the future of Liberia. Chances Americans would not eat for one day in the hopes of uplifting the country?</div>
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I'm excited to be able to post again and can't wait to share all of the ideas I've been having with you. </div>
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Hoppy Easter and Passover</div>
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gypsy rose</div>
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<br /></div>gypsy rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15104444838726435058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477253216978944592.post-44359687674917791682012-03-16T11:02:00.001+03:002012-05-10T22:30:25.693+03:00Rhino Camp*Just a note that I've been having a bit of trouble with my distribution list, please sign up to follow the blog or get an email each time I post at www.reckoningwithwanderlust.blogspot.com<br />
<br />
Here is a conversation I had the other day that just boggled my mind.<br />
<br />
<b>Researcher 1</b>: I like the name of Rhino Camp [a small city/large town] in Uganda. It is easy for both Ugandas and foreigners to say.<br />
<br />
<b>Me</b>: Very true, they would not say it wrongly. Are there rhinos in Rhino Camp?<br />
<br />
<b>Researcher 2</b>: There used to be, it was a game preserve. But then Idi Amin's soldiers ate them all.<br />
<br />
<b>Me</b>: What? They ate all the rhinos?<br />
<br />
<b>Researcher 2</b>: Yes, the government was cutting off their food, so many of the soldiers ran there and they ate all the white rhinos, so there are none there.<br />
<br />
<b>Me</b>: All like [researcher 3] said he likes to eat hippo? I wonder if rhino is delicious...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjMS9cz9OTF7NjYJhyphenhyphenzu_w4-3Xvkye6CsacgOe1KSusVrs5EXfyifPtXRm214mrzB8XOicVK2vvbwsgVXvQ7bbnyl7oMuoFSlnCG8bXTEYPlT3CrvMukCAXQkrVpq-MYp6sM89yXSir4Gt/s1600/P3100102.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjMS9cz9OTF7NjYJhyphenhyphenzu_w4-3Xvkye6CsacgOe1KSusVrs5EXfyifPtXRm214mrzB8XOicVK2vvbwsgVXvQ7bbnyl7oMuoFSlnCG8bXTEYPlT3CrvMukCAXQkrVpq-MYp6sM89yXSir4Gt/s320/P3100102.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
(a hippo in a swampy place next to the Nile)<br />
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<b>Researcher 2</b>: I'm not sure, I've never tried.<br />
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<b>Researcher 1</b>: But they call it camp, because after they turned it into a refugee camp.<br />
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<b>Researcher 2</b>: yes, yes, for people from South Sudan<br />
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<b>Researcher 1</b>: And Congo [DRC] too.<br />
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<b>Me</b>: So it was a game preserve, but then the rhinos got eaten by soldiers, then they turned it into a refugee camp, but now it is just a town?<br />
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<b>Researcher 2</b>: Yes, now they love love to eat cassava there, they love to eat cassava too much [very much]!<br />
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<br />gypsy rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15104444838726435058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477253216978944592.post-984702923044065452012-03-08T16:28:00.002+03:002012-05-10T22:30:25.708+03:00Child Sacrifice and Organ Trafficking in UgandaAs always, I often related things I hear to you. This does not mean they are necessarily true, although they may be, but by simply telling the story I think part of the thinking and state of current affairs in a particular place can be demonstrated.<br />
<br />
Until a couple of days ago (read <a href="http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/03/07/guest_post_joseph_kony_is_not_in_uganda_and_other_complicated_things" target="_blank">Kony Is Not in Uganda (and other complicated things)</a> before you get all #Kony2012 on me) when you googles Uganda, you were likely to come across articles about LBGT rights infringement, probably followed by <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15255357" target="_blank">articles on child sacrifice</a>. It's a juicy topic, no wonder it's getting international attention. If you look at the comments below some of these articles you'll read things like "I thought this was a Christian country, how could this happen?!" or some disparaging comments about Africa that I don't care to reprint. To summarize: children have been identified as either kidnapped or sold, and then end up in the hands of 'witchdoctors', or practitioners of traditional religion here. Those children are then ritually sacrificed, most often in order for the person who pays for the sacrifice to gain wealth or prosperity, or to counteract some bad luck they have experienced.<br />
<br />
The idea that this ever happens in this day and age is appalling, I agree, all children have the right to live in safety and child sacrifice flies in the face of every international convention guaranteeing that right. However, let's not jump to conclusions here. First we must consider that the practice of traditional religion was banned in Uganda, and so 'witchdoctors' make awfully convenient scapegoats, given they they are already associated with ideas about backwards traditions, despite what has been described to be as relatively wide practice and worship, often in conjunction with participation in major religions like Christianity or Islam.<br />
<br />
So next let's think about what the proliferation of child sacrifice means. The question is whether we are just discovering how prevalent child sacrifice is, or whether its practice is on the rise. This is not a practice that one would expect to expand, given that it is connected to particular traditional religious practices, which don't spread easily, and are not uniform across Uganda. It is unlikely, although not impossible, that people would adopt child sacrifice easily and without giving it some thought. One explanation I've heard is that there are movies coming from Nigeria where child sacrifice is portrayed as a way to access wealth and power, and some people think that this may be influencing the practice. However, I'm disinclined to believe that people will start selling or sacrificing their children simply because they see it in a film, but the influence of films and tv is definitely a commonly expressed concern in it's relation to the 'destruction of culture', so both are viewed as powerful and capable of changing behavior.<br />
<br />
So let's think outside the box for a minute, is there any other explanation for the bodies of children that have been found with evidence of traditional sacrifice? Maybe. Most of this information comes from a friend of mine here who used to work with an NGO, working to raise awareness about child sacrifice. However, as he started to work with 'witchdoctors' to gain their participation in the campaign, they told him that child sacrifice isn't part of their religious beliefs. That they do not practice it and that those who do are misinterpreting the religion. They additionally told him about all the times they've been blamed for things they weren't responsible for. So what is a plausible alternative explanation? Unfortunately, it's no less tragic or horrendous than child sacrifice; these children could have been kidnapped, and their organs trafficked to other places for transplant. Transplants for children are notoriously hard to find and draw and extremely high price, and some parents are willing to do anything to save the life of a child, simply paying an extraordinary price without considering (or caring) where the donor organ originates. So a child is kidnapped, his or her valuable organs are removed, and then the perpetrators disguise their involvement by the leaving the child with marks indicating child sacrifice, which seem to be relatively common knowledge among people I spoke to. This theory is supported by the fact that some children are found with organs missing, sometimes those not related to traditional sacrifice. <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/06/uganda-child-sacrifice-ritual-murder" target="_blank">The anti-human trafficking task force in the Uganda Government and the US State Department have also identified this link.</a><br />
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So now you've got parents piercing children's ears or making sure to circumcise boys, as the rumor is that those children are not pure, and therefore the 'witchdoctors' cannot use them for sacrifice. The government has a committee to address child sacrifice and many NGOs are working to address it. When I was up-country a girl was kidnapped and the driver was heading towards the border of the Democratic Republic of Congo, but the girl made such a commotion that she was able to escape. When people heard this, they guessed that she was going to be taken for sacrifice. Or there are many different reasons that girls are kidnapped, especially on the border of the DRC, but, as I have seen in a number of places where abuse and exploitation of children abound, it is always easiest to point outside your community and look for a perpetrator who is different than you, a role that 'witchdoctors' fill easily. However, if this is, in fact, human trafficking rather than ritual sacrifice, traditional religion is again the subject of unwarranted persecution, and traffickers will continue to operate with impunity if the actual issue is not identified, acknowledged, and addressed.<br />
<br />gypsy rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15104444838726435058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477253216978944592.post-41695927094463800532012-03-08T15:22:00.000+03:002012-05-10T22:30:25.686+03:00Connecting Girls, Inspiring Futures<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<!--StartFragment-->
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">This year I am participating
in <a href="http://GenderAcrossBorders.com/">GenderAcrossBorders.com</a> Blog for International Women’s Day.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">One of the
questions that bloggers have been asked to address is:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1c1a1b; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><b>How can we, as a culture and as
members of the global community, involve, educate, and inspire girls in a
positive way</b>?</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1c1a1b; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">For those of you who follow
my blog regularly, you may have noticed by now that rather than coming straight
to the point, I prefer to walk my way around it with a story...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I was in up-country Uganda
for about two weeks recently, working with local researchers to help train them
in ethnographic and qualitative data collection. Many of you know that when I
travel for work I have almost a completely different wardrobe from what I wear
at home. For one it’s super hot generally speaking, so loosely flowly things
are key. And secondly, in most of the places I travel there’s more of a dress
code, whether explicit or implicit, than in the United States. For instance,
the other day a Ugandan friend of mine asked me if it really happened that in
the US, like in Europe where he had visited, that when it gets even a little
hot people are next to naked almost instantly. I laughed. The idea that when
it’s hot you need to be wearing as little as possible would seem strange if you
come from a hot place where that doesn’t happen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">So here I am in Uganda, so
most of my outfits consist of loose pants and a short or long sleeve shirt, or
a skirt that is at least past my knees. So essentially no shoulders and no
knees, which is a lot like the dress code in a lot of offices in the US. I feel
professional but also appropriate, I throw on some local flipflops when I walk
into town and think I’m doing a pretty good job, considering how totally
impossible it is to blend. But then I come to breakfast one morning and one of
the researchers says “You’ve chosen your outfit well today”. When I ask him
what he means, he explains that we’re going to a school today, and neither
women nor girls are allowed to wear pants at school. He then says “Yes, I would
give your outfit an A-.” Ever competitive, I ask why I don’t receive an A. He
tells me that I would have to close the cardigan I am wearing over my (very
modest) short sleeve shirt. Awesome. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Something I’ve realized
through my travels is that while in America, I perceive wearing pants to be
more casual, and wearing skirts I connect to ‘dressing up’, which probably
comes from childhood I imagine, that isn’t the case around the world. In fact
when you talk to members of communities about how we can prevent abuse and
exploitation of girls, one of the answers is often that they should stop
wearing short skirts or pants and tempting men. Yes, ladies, little did you
know that wearing pants means you were asking for it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7PNnP7Zrq1pTXTvtHKvCoJqpVja_nNGYhiEv8MTvrL84kj3WWxQjM1zGC87iS_UbjFHhAjfo0WWGcWSyiO7n6YLGcpIROtqKcoFEyNzBAc_I1ARAppvIRqRi3pGhyphenhyphen5XxtA1DPa-9DEbUd/s1600/P2250013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7PNnP7Zrq1pTXTvtHKvCoJqpVja_nNGYhiEv8MTvrL84kj3WWxQjM1zGC87iS_UbjFHhAjfo0WWGcWSyiO7n6YLGcpIROtqKcoFEyNzBAc_I1ARAppvIRqRi3pGhyphenhyphen5XxtA1DPa-9DEbUd/s320/P2250013.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">So how do we, as a culture and
members of a global community, involve, educate and inspire girls in a positive
way? Let’s start in our own and others' communities by treating girls like people who
deserve to be involved and educated and inspired. Let’s show girls (and women)
that boys and men who think they are too appealing to resist in pants are in the wrong,
that, in fact, they have the right to be safe in their own communities, without
the fear that they are tempting or corrupting someone. Let’s help girls grow up
to be proud of being female and understand that they can be strong and smart
and powerful if they choose to be. Let’s raise them to demand and expect
inclusion and education and inspiration, and stop telling them that they are
the cause of their own problems, simply for being born female.</span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->gypsy rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15104444838726435058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477253216978944592.post-29877356807233130432012-02-27T07:53:00.000+03:002012-05-10T22:30:25.678+03:00The Boy Who Cried Wizard<br />
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Sunday<br />
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Walking speed is common topic of conversation between the
researchers I am helping to train and me. Two of them enjoy that I walk
quickly, so when a researcher asked if I’d like to go walking after lunch, I
was game. He said his cousin’s sister lived down one of the roads nearby, and
we could go visit her. Given that it was Sunday, our only day off this week, I
figured a brisk walk would do me good. 2.15 miles later I was hot but happy
after the number of waves and shouts from kids far outnumbered the strange and
questioning glances I got.<br />
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Henrietta, his cousin’s sister, came out to the road to
greet us, with one baby on her back, and a young boy, about four and a half,
running along beside her. We settled into her living room, for what might have
been called a social call in the Old South. We simply took our seats and
chatted about everything from the weather to local politics to U.S. politics
(they’ve got their fingers crossed we re-elect Obama) to culture in Uganda and
in America, with them asking if America has <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">any</i>
culture. I explain some of the things that currently form part of the American
culture, while emphasizing that many people also continue traditions from the
culture of the place their families are from.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She then set out a meal for us, white rice, chopped greens,
and meat in soup (unidentified... I’ve got my money on liver). While my
colleague and I ate, she sat to the side, but continued the conversation. She
is an assistant district attorney, and began to share some of the stories of
what she had seen pass through the courtroom. <br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In one story, there was a boy who ‘hacked’ his grandfather
to death, in front of his mother (the daughter-in-law of the man killed) and
his grandmother (the wife of the man killed). This boy was immediately arrested
and kept in jail for two years, pending his hearing. The evidence was
overwhelming, but the testimony of the eyewitnesses was key to a conviction. However, as the mother came up to
testify, Henrietta could tell that the mother was having great difficulty
testifying against her own son, who had killed his grandfather. The wife of the
deceased was asked what she wanted the outcome of the trial to be. She
responded that since the incident, her daughter-in-law and grandson had barely
seen her, nor had they every apologized for the incident. She said that what
she really wanted was an apology, and enough money to start a business, since
the breadwinner of her household had been killed. She asked for 300,000 Ugandan Shillings, or $136 USD. The
parties left to try to mediate the case. They returned the next day, the mother
of the boy who had killed his grandfather bringing the money, and the two
parties reconciled, as the grandmother was glad to be able to start a business
and the mother was glad her son would be released from jail. This is an
interesting instance of pursuing reconciliation in the name of peace and
harmony in a community, rather than pursuing punishment in the name of justice.
What if you were one of the people in this scenario? What would you prefer?
What would usually happen in a case like this where you live?<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“And what caused this boy to ‘hack’ his grandfather to
death?” was my first question at the end of the story. The boy’s father was
sick and in the hospital, and had a very high fever. When the boy went to visit
him in the hospital he heard his father crying out “My own father is killing
me, he is doing this to me!” The boy interpreted this to mean that the
grandfather was a wizard, or someone with special powers, often believed to be
conferred by the devil, and had put a curse on the father in order to make him
suffer and die. Following this line of reasoning, the boy encountered his
grandfather with the intention of killing him, in order to release his own
father from the spell, thinking he was saving his life.</div>gypsy rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15104444838726435058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477253216978944592.post-25521366472185349952012-02-22T18:23:00.000+03:002012-05-10T22:31:10.476+03:00Welcome to the new home of Reckoning with Wanderlust [www.reckoningwithwanderlust.blogspot.com]<br />
<br />
Please explore the new site, there are more updates to come as soon as I get back to the land of fast internet. For now here's another post!<br />
<br />
----------------------------------------<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
People often ask me what I eat when I’m away. To be honest
it depends upon what is available. When I am in the city I usually eat a mix of
local and other foods, but when I am in areas outside the main city, and
particularly if I am with a research team, I eat whatever they eat. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As a side, note, I called Arua rural in an earlier post, and
I just want to be rephrase a bit. Arua is a densely populated urban area, with
over 400,000 in the urban area, and over 800,000 in the district (also called
Arua). If you look at a population density map of Uganda (because I know you
all love demographics like I do) you’ll see that the most densely populated
areas are around Kampala and Entebbe, and then there’s a bit of very dense
population at the intersection of Uganda, South Sudan, and the Democratic
Republic of Congo. That’s where I am, wave!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So back to important things like eating: I’m in a training
now so there’s lots of more eating than normal, just think about when you
attend a conference and they’re feeding you all the time. So here’s what I’ve
had, basically the last two days, and I what it looks like I’ll be having daily
for the next 9 days or so.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Breakfast: 8:30 am</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
-<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">
</span>A bit of omelet (less than 1 egg) , yolks here
aren’t very yellow, so in my mind I’m eating egg whites.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
-<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">
</span>White bread with Blue Band (fake margarine that
doesn’t melt at room temperature) and very sugary jelly from a tin</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
Or</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
-<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">
</span> Chapati –
similar to the Indian Chapati, it’s very popular in Uganda and is sort of like
and dense, savory, chewy pancake.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
-<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">
</span>Tea or coffee (Nescafe)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tea Break 11 am</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
-<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">
</span>Boiled eggs and peanuts</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
Or</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
-<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">
</span>Chapati with a bit of omelet and white bread
with Blue Band and jelly</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
-<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">
</span>Tea or coffee</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Lunch – 1 pm</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
-<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">
</span>Goat or beef or chicken</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
-<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">
</span>Posho (cornmeal mash I think?), calo (millet and
sorgum mash) matoke (steamed and mashed plantains), white rice. All of the
‘mash’ is sticky and thick and needs to be cut with a knife to be served, kind
of like the polenta you get in a tube, but stickier.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
-<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">
</span>Greens – chopped with onions and oil</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
-<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">
</span>Soda (maybe)</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
-<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">
</span>Bananas or watermelon for dessert</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tea Break – 3:30 pm</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
-<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">
</span>Peanuts</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
Or</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
-<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">
</span>White bread with Blue Band and Jelly</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
-<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">
</span>Tea or coffee</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dinner – this is on my own, and can be eaten with other team
members at the hotel or outside, but it’s a bit of a walk. Let me give you
tonight’s scenario:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Me (8:00 pm): Hello, do you have anything for eating?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Staff: What are you liking to eat?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Me: What do you <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">have</i>
to eat? (This is crucial, the likelihood they have more than 2 or 3 things is
low, so listing what you <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">want</i> is a
futile exercise)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Staff: We have snacks. Some goat meat? Some chicken?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Me: Okay, how about chicken. Do you have some chapatti?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Staff: It is possible.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Me: Okay, one chapatti please. I’ll be up on the deck.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Staff: [Raises eyebrows, looks confused]</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Me: Up there, [Pointing to an outdoor deck with a large
screen on it. I watch ‘Whip It’ with the girl from Juno, shown via projector
which is attached to a television sitting on the floor. The channel is later
changed to a dubbed soap opera, and then to the news.]</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
15 minutes later</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Waitress: You will take some chicken? Steeooo?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Me: Pardon? Chicken? Yes chicken, and chapatti?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Waitress: You will take steeoo?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Me: (No idea what she’s saying) Okay, yes yes with chicken</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Researcher who joins me: You want the chicken in stew?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Me: Ah yes, okay, chicken stew</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
15 minutes later</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Waitress: You still want chicken?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Me: Yes please, with chapatti</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Waitress: Okay I will bring in 5 minutes</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The food comes, she asks if she should bring water to wash
so I can eat with my hands, or if I will use ‘that’ (fork and knife). I go with
the fork and knife to avoid her making the extra trip with water.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The researcher eats a chapatti and tea for dinner.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ve got a chapatti and a bowl with a quarter chicken in it,
skin, cartilage and other unidentifiables included. The chicken is in an oily
broth, which I dip my chapatti in, as I fight, with what must have been a small
chicken, to get anything to eat off of it. Also, I’m doing this in the dark, so
I pull items off the bones and pop them in my mouth, fingers crossed I get more
than fat and cartilage, which I try to spit out onto my fork subtlety. I eventually give up on the chicken and just
go with the chapatti dipped in soup. Not exactly what I’d eat for dinner at
home, but when the options are goat or chicken with chapatti or chips (French
fries, ahem freedom fries) , you’ve got a pretty good chance it’s going to
tasty, if not totally healthy.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>gypsy rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15104444838726435058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477253216978944592.post-62425821275707239702012-02-17T14:00:00.000+03:002012-05-10T22:30:25.698+03:00LGBT Rights (or lack thereof) in Uganda<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">(Just a little note: every time you see a word underlined or in blue on this blog, there is a link to a related article, if you'd like more background information)</span><br /><br /><a href="http://ssuubifm.net/kay/2012/02/ugandaminister-shuts-down-gay-rights-workshop/" target="_blank">Uganda</a> has been in the <a href="http://updatednews.ca/2012/02/16/gay-ugandans-flee-fearing-for-their-lives/" target="_blank">news</a> <a href="http://www.agoracosmopolitan.com/news/intrnational/2012/02/17/3028.html" target="_blank">lately</a>. Granted, if you don't follow East African news, perhaps it hasn't crossed your desk or screen yet. Uganda currently has a bill in Parliament which proscribes the death penalty for anyone convicted of 'aggravated homosexuality'. Alternatively, if one is convicted of 'the offense of homosexuality', you are merely sentenced to life in prison. So what falls under 'aggravated homosexuality' that merits the death penalty? To summarize: if: the person is HIV positive, is a parent or authority figure, administers intoxicating substances, or engages with a minor or someone with disabilities, or is a repeat offender of 'the offense of homosexuality'. But wait, there's more. Ugandans can be extradited back to the country for engaging in homosexual acts outside of the country, and the bill includes punishment for individuals, companies, media organizations or non-governmental organizations who <u>know gay people</u>, or support them.<br /><br />The bill has, expectedly, drawn a lot of criticism from the West as well as from human and civil rights organizations. I won't begin to get into why killing people for their sexual preference or HIV status is wrong. Granted, you get 'merely' life in prison for your first offense. But punishing people for those qualities isn't in line with any sort of respect for people's rights either. So we're clear that I am not in support of this bill in anyway, and am hopeful that it either won't make it through Parliament, or will be amended before it does. However, the proposal on the table at the moment for amending it is to remove the death penalty, but leave the rest.<br /><br />But. Let me show you a headline from BBC online: '<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15685648" target="_blank">Uganda Man Jailed for Killing Gay Activist David Kato</a>'. If you read the article you will find that a Ugandan newspaper published a list of homosexuals, with the headline, 'Hang Them' above it. Mr. Kato's name was on this list. You will also find that apparently the man defended himself in court by saying that Mr. Kato made sexual advances towards him, which made him outraged, and so be bludgeoned him to death with a hammer. The perpetrator <a href="http://www.mask.org.za/uganda-killer-of-gay-activist-david-kato-sentenced-to-30-years/" target="_blank">received 30 years in prison for the murder</a>, following what was called '<a href="http://www.boxturtlebulletin.com/2011/11/10/38623" target="_blank">an usually speedy trial</a>'. Seems like a hate crime from this story, no doubt.<br /><br />But then, let's talk to someone Ugandan who lives in Kampala, where the crime took place. Now we hear a different story. We hear that while most of the above is true, some of it is not. Yes, Mr. Kato was gay, yes he was a gay teacher (which some people in Uganda take to mean he was 'recruiting' children' or abusing them). But apparently, the West took the story that Mr. Kato was a gay rights activist and ran with it. According to the man I talked to, Mr. Kato was gay, but so was his killer. They were long term partners. This was a case of domestic violence between two gay men. The man who was convicted simply used Mr. Kato's 'sexual advances' as a defense because he thought it would garner sympathy from the jury, and to avoid the consequences of being openly gay and serving time in prison. Additionally, the police issued a statement saying that Kato's death was in <a href="http://wthrockmorton.com/2011/01/27/ugandan-police-make-preliminary-statements-about-the-murder-of-david-kato/" target="_blank">no way connected</a> to his role as an LGBT advocate, and in fact called the murder a consequence of an attempted robbery.<br /><br />Reading this summary of the summaries, I have an initial urge to believe one over the other, I am inclined to believe that Uganda wanted to cover up a hate crime. But why? Why would the state cover up a crime that they themselves are trying to essentially turn into law, that someone who is openly gay deserves to be killed. They might cover it up to avoid international criticism. Or alternatively, the Western media might hear that a gay rights activist had been murdered, and assume that it was a hate crime, because it demonstrates the intolerance of the country, that they have seen examples of in the past. This death occurred during the time when the bill to increase penalties for being convicted of homosexuality was already in Parliament, so perhaps we should ask ourselves, who could stand to benefit from Mr. Kato's death. It brought international attention to the harsh persecution of members of the LGBT community in the country, but alternatively justifies such killing, as the man who murdered Mr. Kato was convicted of second degree murder rather than first, as he had 'had no choice but to act in self defense' to protect himself from the advances of a gay man. Either way the LGBT rights movement in Uganda lost a vocal advocate. Whether he was targeted because of his activism, because of his sexual identity and forwardness, or was a victim of domestic violence cannot be known with absolute certainty. Unless of course evidence exists as to the motive or premeditation of the murder that has not yet come to light. For now we rely on the statement of the man who murdered Mr. Kato, and a legal system in a country where homosexuality is condemned.<br /><br />What do you think? What was the real motivation behind the murder, the defense, and the sentencing? What should and will happen with the bill currently being reviewed in the Parliament?<br /><br /><br />gypsy rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15104444838726435058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477253216978944592.post-82965829731921325372012-02-11T09:25:00.000+03:002012-05-10T22:30:25.703+03:00Humanitarian Assistance and Religion<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:DocumentProperties> <o:Template>Normal.dotm</o:Template> <o:Revision>0</o:Revision> <o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime> <o:Pages>1</o:Pages> <o:Words>893</o:Words> <o:Characters>5093</o:Characters> <o:Company>Columbia Group for Children in Adversity</o:Company> <o:Lines>42</o:Lines> <o:Paragraphs>10</o:Paragraphs> <o:CharactersWithSpaces>6254</o:CharactersWithSpaces> <o:Version>12.0</o:Version> </o:DocumentProperties> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}</style><![endif]--><!--StartFragment--><br /><div class="MsoNormal">(I’ve arrived in Kampala and am safe and sound!)</div><div class="MsoNormal">I am currently en route to Uganda and contemplating where tostart this new round of blog entries. First let me tell you that I’ll be inUganda through mid-March and then will travel to Liberia until the end ofApril. More details to come on the work and all sorts of other exciting things.But, given that I’m on an airplane, let’s talk about one ofthe things that often occur to me when traveling, which is that it seems likeI’m surrounded by people on missions or church trips on every flight. It’sreally incredible how many people go to and from these countries regularly,whether to provide aid and development assistance, or to spread the gospel andassist local churches. There are also school and volunteer trips and the like,generally short term things working with particular communities.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Let’s focus on religiously based groups that engage in thissort of work. Everywhere I have worked I have encountered members of religiousorganizations. There were Mormon missionaries on my daily bus in Ecuador,Seventh Day Adventist missionaries on bicycles in the Dominican Republic,people who left Liberia during the conflict and returned to work with localchurches, and religious groups from the Middle East supporting work inIndonesia.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I think it’s easy to make a snap judgment about whether ornot development work should be tied to religion, but as with much of this sortof work, it usually depends on the organization. On the positive side, religionhas the potential to unite groups of people who might otherwise not interact.People are often willing to work for groups associated with their religion, asthey view it as a way to give back as well as a way to support and spread theirfaith. Alternatively, religion can be divisive; for example if two religionsco-exist in a particular area and an outside organization only providesservices to the members of one group this can lead to everything from angerfrom those not receiving support, ostracization among groups that may have beenfriendly in the past. Which of these outcomes occurs has much to do with theorganization and its goals, both explicit and implicit, and their inclusivityor marginalization of those with different backgrounds.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I believe it is important to look at ethical guidelines whenevaluating any emergency response or development program, and those sponsoredor led by religious organizations should be no different. The first element ofsuch work is “Do No Harm”; all programs must be considered for both theirpotential positive and negative outcomes, and must be evaluated to ensure thatparticipants do not experienced unanticipated negative consequences from theirparticipation. In addition to this, the issue of coercion must be addressed,because how coercion is defined is context specific. For example: if I tell youthat I’ll give you a flu shot for free in return for answering myquestionnaire, <u>and </u>you have health insurance, so you can access the flushot without me, then that is not a coercive incentive for participation in anygiven program. However, if you’re uninsured and your only means for protectionagainst the flu is to participate in my research or program, then the practicemay be coercive, as there are potential negative consequences for you notparticipating, ie you get the flu.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Let’s translate this to Uganda for example: if a religiousorganization offers free education to all children at a local school, withoutdemanding that they worship at this school or adhere to those beliefs, thenthey are simply supplementing the public education system. However, if thisreligious school is of superior quality to the public school, and the only wayto enroll is to subscribe to adhere to a particular belief system, bothchildren and parents may be coerced into subverting their own personal beliefsfor their children’s education.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">An actual example is where I was in an island country andwhile there were public schools (one public high school in the country) thehigh school that was widely regarded as the best was private and Mormon run (mymemory might be failing me, it could be Seventh Day Adventist). If you attendedthe church associated with the school, your children attended school for free,however if you were a member of a different church (regardless if it was alsoChristian) your children had to pay fees to enroll. So, for access to qualityeducation for their children, parents changed (or pretended to change) theirreligious beliefs. In my book this is coercion, worship my god or pay money youdon’t have to educate your children? </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">And so, as you may have noticed with my blog entries, therereally is no clear cut answer here. I think what is important is that we holdall development organizations, religious or not, to the same ethical standards.Religious organizations should not be allowed to discriminate based on race,creed, ethnicity, ability, religion, or anything else. Religious organizationsdo not get a pass on equal promotion of human rights simply because they aretargeting a particular population.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal">There have been a variety of instances where theintervention of religious organizations in conflict zones, South Sudan duringthe conflict for instance, has actually fueled the conflict itself. In aneffort to assist South Sudan (viewed as the ‘Christian’ side of the North/Southwar, but that’s a little simplistic in truth), foreign Christian organizationsprovided funding to the SPLA, or Southern Sudanese liberation group, which isnow officially in power in the country. Without the funding (and access to weaponsaccording to some sources) provided by these external sources, the war mighthave ended long before it did. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">There are religious groups that do great work, and there arethose that miss the mark, as can be said about humanitarian and developmentgroups in general. But let’s hold everyone to the same standard, because nomatter whether you’re doing the work for your God or your conscience, thepotential for unintended negative consequences for those you want to help hasthe potential to be equally devastating.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">What do you think about intertwining religion and humanitarian assistance? Is it a good way to tap into commitment to a cause and funding, or is it similar to government and religion (according to my Western background) and the two should be separated lest they corrupt one another?</div><!--EndFragment-->gypsy rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15104444838726435058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477253216978944592.post-4477655498219818252012-01-27T04:41:00.000+03:002012-05-10T22:34:45.148+03:00Humanitarian Space<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Humanitarian space "is <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 15px;"> often used to denote areas to which humanitarian agencies have safe and protected access, in order to provide urgent relief assistance. This is generally dependent on the consent and cooperation of the controlling authorities," according to change.org</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 15px;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 15px;">One of the goals of this blog, in addition to sharing personal experiences and keeping me from tearing my hair out, is to share the work I do, and to give people a better understanding of what the humanitarian sector is, and what it means to be a part of it. One of the questions I am often asked is how I choose where I will work. While I am not at a point in my career where I get to choose explicitly where I will work, I can turn down any assignment I like. It occurred to me the other day that the places I wouldn't consider working all have something in common, the humanitarian space in those countries (or some cross-border conflicts) is shrinking or practically non-existent, which in turn would make it difficult to accomplish whatever my task was, but it would also have the potentially to considerably increase the personal danger of the assignment.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 15px;">Some argue that humanitarian work can be traced back to the Red Cross, workers could run onto battlefields, after the fighting was over, to aid those who were injured on either side of the fight. That is an excellent example of protected humanitarian space, you aren't associated with fighting forces on either side for offering medical and other aid. However the lines between fighting forces and humanitarian groups have continued to be blurred, especially over the past two decades, to the point where humanitarian workers may be in just as much danger as members of the military, except they don't get bullet proof vests or guns. You've heard about humanitarian workers being kidnapped or killed in conflicts where they were working, this is the ultimate violation of humanitarian space, where, for whatever reason, one armed group believes that a humanitarian group is aiding the other side, and is therefore classifiable as an enemy combatant. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 15px;">There are overt and covert ways that humanitarian space can be compromised. The most recent overt example is where individuals identifying themselves as employees of USAID (the US Agency for International Development - intended to be a state run humanitarian organization) were later identified as <a href="http://info-wars.org/2011/02/27/another-cia-spy-arrested-in-pakistan/" target="_blank">spies</a> in places like Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq. USAID is not only an organization that does work of its own, but also funds a litany of organizations all over the world. With the connection now confirmed between the CIA and USAID, the ability of USAID and anyone funded by them to claim neutrality in a conflict in which the US has an interest is diminished.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 15px;">Above is an example of when partisan influences work their way into the humanitarian sphere, but another important way that humanitarian space is compromised is when members of fighting forces participate in humanitarian work. If the US military is in Afghanistan handing out food or blankets or stoves or what have you, they are are generally doing it to build goodwill and help gain the support of the local population. But then suppose I work for the Norwegian Refugee Council and the next day I'm giving out out blankets and stoves; there can be confusion in the minds of local people where the line between the military and the humanitarian spheres lies. What this can lead to is that humanitarian workers are assumed to be partisan, rather than the opposite.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 15px;">Humanitarian organizations that expect to be granted humanitarian space in which to provide assistance are expected to abide by the principles of <a href="http://sites.tufts.edu/jha/archives/863" target="_blank">impartiality, neutrality, and independence</a>. This means that they should provide assistance to both sides of the conflict, should not do anything to support or diminish the capabilities of either side, and should not be susceptible to outside influences. Many organizations do not take grants or donations from large organizations or governments as it could compromise their impartiality in the eyes of others, as well as their independence as they may be beholden to this funding their activities.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 15px;">It is in places where humanitarian space has diminished the most: Somalia, Iraq, or Pakistan among others, where humanitarian workers are most at risk, and where you are most likely to hear of them being kidnapped or killed (in my experience, I do not have data on this, but this <a href="http://www.bmj.com/content/321/7254/166" target="_blank">article</a> addresses related research). One last element that has contributed to greater compromises in humanitarian space is the nature of war. Humanitarian space finds its jurisdiction in international law and the Geneva conventions. But today more wars are between non-state actors, or non-state actors and the state, and these groups are less likely to be held accountable for upholding the Geneva conventions, as they technically are not a party to them. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 15px;">We all have our limits, and realizing that mine are based in reality, rather than simply in fear, is comforting to me. In most places I have worked humanitarian workers are viewed as a nuisance (another survey!) at worst, and with gratitude at best. I think humanitarian workers themselves absolutely have a role to play in maintaining their neutrality, but governments must also realize that they put hundreds of thousands of people at risk when they blur the lines by having the military engage in humanitarian work, or ask humanitarian workers to engage in non-neutral activities. There are conflicts where all outsiders are seen as the enemy, as is shown clearly in In the Land of Blood and Honey (please see my post of January 9, 2012 for my review of the film), where Serbian forces attack UN peacekeepers, associating them with outside forces attempting to end the conflict. It is only through ongoing respect of and persistent maintenance of humanitarian space that those employing that space can do their jobs safely. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 15px;">However, an important question is that given that the nature of war is changing, and non-state actors often decline to abide by international law, how can this space be protected? The International Red Cross wrote an <a href="http://www.icrc.org/eng/assets/files/review/2011/irrc-881-maslen.pdf" target="_blank">article</a> addressing this question in Afghanistan. Also the Forced Migration Review dedicated an entire issue to <a href="http://www.fmreview.org/non-state/" target="_blank">non-state actors and displacement</a>. I have much to learn about the subject, but for the time being will continue to avoid locations where being an American means being associated with the military. And as an aside, this is in no way a judgement of humanitarian workers living in working in places where humanitarian space is diminishing as we speak. You are brave; you are doing good work; and just because the military is active in a particular place does not mean people there are any less deserving or in need of support. Stay safe. </span></span>gypsy rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15104444838726435058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477253216978944592.post-59491615037175388812012-01-09T21:16:00.000+03:002012-03-09T22:33:17.300+03:00Review: In the Land of Blood and Honey<a href="http://www.globalfundforwomen.org/" target="_blank">The Global Fund for Women</a> invited members of its mailing list to attend a screening of <a href="http://www.inthelandofbloodandhoney.com/" target="_blank">In the Land of Blood and Honey</a> at the Metreon. At first I was a bit reluctant, despite Angelina Jolie's work with refugees I'm not her biggest fan and this is the first movie that she has written and directed. But, unable to turn down a bargain (the New Englander in me) and trying to meet my goal of seeing several movies a month in the theatre, I RSVP'd for two. A fellow public healther who also made her way to the left coast said she would come with me. I've been to screening put on by NGOs before, usually there's 20 or 30 people, if you're lucky. When I arrive at about 5:45 with the movie starting at 6:30, there were at least 100 people in the VIP line (those of us with reserved tickets) and several hundred people waiting in line to try to secure unreserved seats. I was astonished. Did this many people want to see a film about genocide on a Thursday night? Did they like free movies? Or was it Angelina Jolie's star power and willingness to rent out an entire AMC screen? Either way the room was packed, with two entire rows filled with press. Little did I know we were attending the West coast premiere of the film!<br /><br />I can't tell you to go see this film. It's not that it wasn't good, but it portrays war and its accompanying atrocities in such a vivid way that I would recommend you think long and hard before you go see it. Neither my friend nor I got much sleep the night after seeing it, and she jokingly emailed me that she has a little PTSD with loud noises after the fact. But also note that I am particularly affected by films, I don't sit back and assess what is unrealistic about them, but rather believe it all and let myself by drawn in. So with that said, here's what I thought without many spoilers just in case some of you do choose to see the film after it's February 12 general release date.<br /><br />In an effort to keep this short and sweet, here are three initial thoughts after seeing the film:<br />1. The setting and elements of the film outside of the main story are incredibly well done. The entire film is in Serbian and Bosnian with sub-titles. The film was shot on location. All the actors are of the ethnic backgrounds they represent. Additionally, scenes meant to convey what it feels like to live inside of a war zone do just that (from what I've heard and read). The constant, the arbitrary nature of punishment, and feeling of powerlessness. If you have ever wondered what it would be like to live in the middle of a war where a slew of war crimes are taking place, I think this film will give you an idea.<br /><br />2. I'm glad this film wasn't set in Africa. Now hear me out. Angelina could just as well have chosen to document a different war where genocide occurred and rape was used as a weapon, this war was not unique in that. However, I think that the portrayal of Europeans committing such acts against one another, solely because of politics and religious differences makes the horrific nature of the crimes more difficult for some people to dismiss. I have heard many people say things about genocide or rape or war 'over in Africa'. There is a view that 'those things happen there'. But those things happen in many places, and I think that having perpetrators of crimes against humanity who look like me or many of you has a different impact. This doesn't lessen the importance or inhumanity of such acts in Africa, but I think that once people see how horrific such a conflict is in a culture to which they can relate, perhaps they are more likely to realize it is equally horrific among people with whom they have more difficulty identifying.<br /><br />3. The main plot. I am a bit conflicted about how I feel about the main plot of the movie, essentially Danjiel, a Serb, and Ajla, a Muslim, go on a date before the war and hit it off. Then the war begins, but they end up meeting again. The main conflict in much of the movie is how they choose to and are forced to interact given that they are technically enemies, but in fact have romantic feelings for one another. I think the plot itself is a stretch, but I also feel like it provides a glimpse of humanity in the midst of atrocity. There is rarely purely good and purely evil during conflict, and many people are 'assigned' to a side which they may not wholly support. The plot is absolutely a stretch at times, I could imagine a skeptic watching it and finding it unbelievable. But finding a love story in the midst of tragedy is also difficult, and just watching one war crime after another would quickly go from engaging to nauseating without breaks where the humanity of people is shown. There is an adage in the humanitarian community that it is easier to make someone care about one child in danger than a country full of children in danger. So it goes with this film, seeing one person struggle with choices, engage in and be tortured, change due to the things they do and witness is easier to understand than watching populations go through the very same circumstances. While it may not be entirely believable, I think Angelina succeeded in making perpetrators and victims of war crimes personable, which is a quite a feat.<br /><br />As a final note, I know far less about this conflict than others that were taking place around the same time, Rwanda for instance. I cannot attest to the accuracy of the portrayal of the actions of the various factions. However, I can say that the perspective was not entirely unbalanced and I think learning about a war, where ethnic cleansing was occurring, in which the US avoided intervening for <i>years </i>because they said 'we don't have a dog in that fight', is useful, whether through this film or other means.gypsy rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15104444838726435058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477253216978944592.post-91596155157312780112012-01-08T22:16:00.000+03:002012-05-10T22:31:32.582+03:00Happy New Year and Wanderlusting 2012Happy New Year everyone! Most people who know me know I love making resolutions at the beginning of the new year. One of my resolutions last year was to post more than I did in 2010. Mission accomplished, I posted 23 times in 2011 vs 20 in 2010. I also had more views of the blog, with people from all over the world taking a look (thanks google analytics) with 132 page views in December alone. What this tells me is that my loyal readers (hi friends and family!) are still reading, but that Reckoning with Wanderlust is also getting viewed by people who don't know me (!) and are reading the blog for the material. So blog related resolution for 2012? Let's grow the blog and make it a little more consistent. This means that I'll still be letting you know where I am and where I'm going, but I'm also going to try to keep posting when I'm home.<br />
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Also, based on a 2011 resolution to read at least one book a month (I read 39!) I'm going to start doing book or movie reviews at least once a month. This way, should any readers be interested in finding about more about topics somewhat related to what I do, they'll know where to look. As always, for my readers who receive this blog as an email, this is the time of year where I offer you the opportunity to get off that list, especially because there will hopefully be more blog posts this year, which means more emails to you.<br />
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Lastly, thanks to everyone who reads, I can't believe I'll have been blogging for 4 years in May! Your support and comments are invaluable. And of course, as I know you're all amazing and talented, anyone who would like to do a guest post about something related to this blog should email reckoning.wanderlust@gmail.com with your ideas.gypsy rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15104444838726435058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477253216978944592.post-79896337575860729392011-12-27T21:24:00.000+03:002012-05-10T22:34:45.166+03:00Who Are You When No One's Looking?<br />
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How much of how we act is a result of who we are, and how much of it is the result of social pressure exerted by those around us and thenorms and regulations imposed upon us? </div>
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Most of us like to consider ourselves ethical people. We like to believe that we would begood people, even if there weren’t any consequences for acting in ways that arecontrary to existing laws and norms. For example, I like to believe that Iwouldn’t purposefully hurt someone for the heck of it, even if it wasn’t againstthe law. But, in fact, I think we’ve all seen that this isn’t necessarily true.We often act and speak differently depending upon whom we’re with and where weare. People who make sexist or racist comments in private, but hold theirtongue in front of those they don’t know well or who would be offended. </div>
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This can also hold true when we travel, when we’re in aplace away from ‘our’ culture, norms that hold true at home may not apply.Think of men who travel to other countries to abuse children, and justify it byciting the normalcy of it in the place they are and the availability ofchildren. Or people who would hold their tongue in the US, but have no problemcalling entire cultures or countries ‘lazy’ or ‘incompetent’. I’ve noticed thatthe tendency towards disregarding criteria for acceptable behavior increaseswhen (some) people are traveling or working in the developing world. (I can’tspeak about whether this happens in the developed world as I have no experienceworking abroad there.) Somehow it’s suddenly acceptable to be more ‘ist’ ofevery sort. Whether this is because of the legacy of colonialism and whitemen’s superiority is still assumed to a greater extent or because thestereotype of the people in that place as less moral or less deserving ofcommonly held rights is difficult to say and not necessarily generalizableacross diverse contexts. </div>
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Alternatively, perhaps it’s that people with those attitudes are more likely to work abroad as participating in things like the diamondindustry are less likely offend their scruples. Or maybe my naïveté is showingagain, as assuming that people working in the developing world want to work toimprove things, when in fact they may be there with the explicit goal ofexploiting a country’s wealth of resources. So there’s the question, do morepeople ‘behave badly’ in developing countries, or do people with the desire todo so seek out those places where they are less likely to be criticized orostracized and in some cases are effectively above the law or local moralorder? </div>
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Is it being in Las Vegas or the fact that the city’s adcampaign tells you that you can do anything there because no one will tell the peoplethat respect you at home? </div>
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Happy Holidays and here's to positive situational and personal influences, and to the people who act morally and ethically even in their absence.</div>gypsy rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15104444838726435058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477253216978944592.post-86025412138072742902011-12-13T04:55:00.000+03:002012-05-10T22:32:13.274+03:00What's in a Name?<div style="text-align: justify;">
I have a very common American last name. It just so happens that a former Liberian president has the same last name as me. He was Americo-Liberian, which means he came to Liberia after being enslaved in America before emancipation.</div>
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Liberia has been described as America's only outright foray into colonialism. The initial goal was to create a country in Africa of freed American slaves, and this was accomplished through the purchase of land and conquest of the Africans already living in what is Liberia today. The irony doesn't stop there sadly, Americo-Liberians took control of the country, placing themselves in positions of power and excluding native Liberians from many parts of social, economic, and political life. Somewhere in here there must be a lesson about how people who are the victims of abuses of power will come to abuse power, should they be given the chance, rather than treating others as they wish they had been treated. </div>
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Americo-Liberians were, and are, lighter skinned than native Liberians, due to generations of coupling between slaves and slave-owners, whether by force or by choice. This was used as a means to measure their superiority, as they went about creating a society in West Africa that closely mirrored America, but with themselves as the dominant group. Many buildings in Monrovia are similar in style to those in the American south. There are similar holidays, laws, and elements of culture. The Liberian flag obviously is based on the American flag.</div>
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And so what's in a name? In the United States, when I meet someone who is African American and has the same last name as me, the issue is largely ignored. It may cross my mind that somewhere in far off history someone with the same last name as me owned slaves. Hopefully not my actual ancestors because I think we're exclusively Northerners, but it's hard to be sure. Then if I meet someone in Liberia with the same last name as I do, I know this person most likely Americo-Liberian and is a descendent of American slaves. I can't quite put my finger on the difference between the two experiences, but they certainly exist. Perhaps it is because the identity of ex-slaves in Liberia is in fact one that garners privilege, as they are the relatives of people who are viewed by some to be 'more civilized' because of their time in American, than members of tribes who have always lived in West Africa. I get the impression that in America we are more reticent to point out our likely roles as relatives of ex-slaves and ex-slave owners, we most often talk about slavery in the abstract, as something that happened, not as something in which our ancestors participated. Whereas every time anyone mentions any sort of Liberian history, slavery is mentioned. There is a slavery museum and historical anecdotes about Americo-Liberian ex-slaves are shared with a kind of pride.</div>
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I'm still digesting this part of the experience and welcome any thoughts you all have. Here are a couple of my reflections:</div>
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1. Liberia has been a place of clashing interests and cultures for over a hundred years now. From clans to politicians to rebel groups, conquest and violence have been the name of the game. This was supposed to be a place where former slaves could be free and start over, forgetting that they had to take land and power from someone to do that. So how can people in a place born of violence stop the cycle of aggression and retaliation while still allowing members of diverse histories and backgrounds to interact and participate in decision-making?</div>
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2. Historical memory is an interesting thing, and it is the winners who write the history. This has made being descendants of former slaves a matter of pride in Liberia and what appears to me (as someone who has an admittedly limited peripheral perception) a source of shame and hurt for many African Americans and caucasians alike. </div>
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3. Why is people's reaction to being dominated to dominate others in return? It's like paying forward pain and vulnerability in exchange for power. I suppose this is not everyone's reaction, but the people who want to treat others fairly and kindly are rarely the ones pursuing power.</div>
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<br /></div>gypsy rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15104444838726435058noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477253216978944592.post-80917656001141968932011-12-06T01:06:00.000+03:002012-05-10T22:32:31.630+03:00Compounds Part II<div style="text-align: justify;">So I have a follow-up post for you which is a bit of a reflection on the <a href="http://kwrwandering.blogspot.com/2011/11/compounds.html" target="_blank">previous post</a> about the prevalence of compounds in Liberia. I'm home safe and sound in San Francisco, but have a list of topics to blog about and am going to do my best to get through them while everything is still fresh in my mind.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Some of my lovely readers offered interesting insight into the world of compound living, the effects it can have on the psyche of those living both inside and outside its tall walls. They also mentioned other places in the world where such things have happened, where people foreign to the environment arrived and built walls to protect themselves from nature/people/animals/the unknown. It fascinates me that people move away from their homes and across the globe only to wall themselves off into places that keep out everything that is different about the place they live.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">HOWEVER, I think I neglected to appropriately explain why all these walls exist in Liberia in particular, but rather simply pointed the finger at the expat community for being paranoid and isolationist. I know many of you know a lot more about the civil wars in Liberia than I do (like did you know Charles Taylor escaped from a Massachusetts prison?!), but I'm learning and I welcome your input here. But during the wars, almost back to back, 1989 - 2003, with a one year reprieve in 1996, Monrovia was often the center of conflict. Unlike in many civil wars where most conflict takes place outside the capitol, Monrovia was often at the heart of the violence and fighting (in addition to border areas, and areas with diamond mines etc). And while I can't think of a civil war that didn't involve unnecessary loss of life, this war was particularly brutal for a variety of reasons. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There were many factions fighting so, for example, one group of young men with guns arrives in a village and demands shelter and food, which the people have no choice but to provide. Then a rival faction arrives, calling all the people in the village supporters of the first faction. Then they take all the young men and (this is one example I heard), first teach them how to shoot a gun, then tell them they need to know how to shoot it blindfolded, so the men practice firing again blindfolded. Then the blindfolds are removed and the boys find that they have killed their parents and brothers and sisters. Then the entire village is burned to the ground and young boys, and often girls as well, become associated with the fighting forces. Or as various factions would try to enter Monrovia to take over the national mansion and kill whoever was the leader at the time, local people would often take refuge in 'neutral' locations. I was informed that the church near the apartment where I stayed had been one of those places. Until one faction decided not to respect the sanctity of the church, locked the doors, and burned it down with everyone inside.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I apologize for the graphic nature of the stories, but I think that they bear sharing, partially because I think the effect of that sort of indiscriminate violence on the psyche of individuals and a nation is both important to remember, and also impossible to forget. Additionally, many of the young people who were associated with fighting forces are unemployed or underemployed, and spent their youth using violence to get what they want. The vast majority of people I met in Monrovia were incredibly friendly and polite and helpful and kind. But the prevalence of petty crime as well as robbery, assault, and sexual assault is astounding and apparently increasing. So while one could look at living in compounds as a way to isolate oneself from reality and maintain a distance from the local population, it also allows international experts in post-conflict redevelopment to remain in the country and continue working "Lift Liberia" as the UNMIL slogan says.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I think that some crime will always exist, as it does in any city, but I also hope that some day violent crime is low enough to decrease the security focused feeling that exists in many parts of Monrovia due to high walls, razor wire, guards, and barred windows. But on the other hand it's always easier to put up walls than to pull them down.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>gypsy rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15104444838726435058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477253216978944592.post-8490194387773415052011-11-26T13:16:00.000+03:002012-05-10T22:32:31.640+03:00CompoundsHave you ever lived in a compound? Worked in a compound? I remember when I was a middle school a friend of mine told me that her father's family in Chile lived in a compound. There was a big house surrounded by high walls, topped with coiling razor wire, with security guards out front. At the time it sounded like a castle, and that her family must have been one of the richest and most powerful in the country. Little did I know how much time I'd be spending in compounds in the future.<br /><br />Compounds in every country I've been to have a number of similar features: the property is surrounded by high walls. These can vary from 8 feet to 12 feet from what I've seen. For instance when I was in Juba, the walls were 8 feet but were being raised to 8 or 10 after a number of robberies had occurred in the area, so the height of the wall matters. Walls are almost always made of cement, and are invariably topped with coiled barbed or razor wire, or with pieces of broken bottles with the sharp edges sticking up. There is almost always only one way to enter a compound, through large metal gates in the front that are locked at all times unless someone is coming or going. Then there are guards, always one, often more, who open and close the gates and generally stand around watching who comes and goes. Depending on where you are the guards may or may not have guns. In Liberia none of them do because firearms are completely banned, but in much of Latin America the guards do have some pretty intimidating weapons.<br /><br />At first it feels strange to work and live in compounds, when I was in rural S. Sudan I worked and lived inside the same compound, so while the commute was just a few steps, it makes your world incredibly small. In almost every place I've worked you spend your day going in and out of compounds, greeting guards, occasionally showing ID if you're going into a UN compound. But the idea that what's inside the compound needs to be protected from what lays outside it becomes the norm. Here in Liberia most of the people I've met (who can afford it) live in compounds. Imagine if you've ever lived in an apartment or condo complex, now just surround it with walls and barbed wires, replace your doormen with security guards, and you've got the idea.<br /><br />I remember when I was younger my family went on vacation with friends, and our friends didn't like the idea that the house we were all staying in was inside a gated community, because it implied the exclusion of the locals. Here there are certainly Liberians who work at businesses and organizations that are located behind high walls, but living within a compound seems to be an exclusively ex-patriate thing to do. On one hand, it's understandable, I've heard stories about a number of robberies and home invasions that have occurred in Monrovia. On the other hand a friend of mine lived on the top floor of an apartment building in Harlem and was constantly being robbed as people would hop from building to building and came down from the roof. It's not just here that crime occurs, and the security standards for the UN and other organizations exist for a reason. But what feels strange, is that it doesn't feel strange any more. I expect it, and though I still occasionally stop to wonder what it must be like to live in a place where the international community has come to "help" and "rebuild", but feels the need to wall themselves off and protect themselves from the people they're ostensibly here for. I think about it sometimes, but it's no longer my first thought when I see the razor wire. It doesn't even phase me.<br /><br /><br />gypsy rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15104444838726435058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477253216978944592.post-32185418475610690552011-11-24T14:08:00.000+03:002012-05-10T22:32:31.624+03:00Just another manic Monday<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:DocumentProperties> <o:Template>Normal.dotm</o:Template> <o:Revision>0</o:Revision> <o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime> <o:Pages>1</o:Pages> <o:Words>1242</o:Words> <o:Characters>7084</o:Characters> <o:Company>Columbia Group for Children in Adversity</o:Company> <o:Lines>59</o:Lines> <o:Paragraphs>14</o:Paragraphs> <o:CharactersWithSpaces>8699</o:CharactersWithSpaces> <o:Version>12.0</o:Version> </o:DocumentProperties> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}</style><![endif]--><!--StartFragment--><br /><div class="MsoNormal">I realize it’s no longer Monday, but I figure I get a coupleof days of wiggle room with the time difference and the holiday and whatnot...right?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also this is a long onejust giving a recap of my day, the short version is that while I’m having agood time I wish I was home spending Thanksgiving with friends and family. Iwas in Thailand for Thanksgiving last year, and at least this year I’ve gotother Americans around to celebrate with, definitely something to be thankfulfor.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Monday</div><div class="MsoNormal">After a good weekend full of work and sunshine and even alittle BBQ by the pool I was ready for my second week in Monrovia to begin. Iset my alarm, hopped into bed, did a little light reading and called it anight. </div><div class="MsoNormal">I was shocked awake by my phone. It was someone from work,where was I? It was 9:30 and I had overslept by 2.5 hours after getting littlesleep during the night itself! While I hate being late in general, Iparticularly try to avoid it in places where the general trend is to be late.In my mind if I consistently show up to things like meetings on time, maybeeveryone else will start to also? It could happen. </div><div class="MsoNormal">I went into the bathroom, only to find that the lightbulbturned on and promptly went out. Fabulous. Dark cold shower. I headed to worksoon after, speed walking my way through crowds of people on Tubman Blvd tryingto hail taxis. If I could describe the taxis here to you, I’d say to imaginewhat you’ve heard about Japanese elevators; that there are “elevator packers”who push more and more people in to be sure the elevator is at capacity. Alltaxis here are shared, and there is no limit to the number of people you canfit inside. If you find a taxi going your direction (you flag them down withdifferent hand signals depending on which of the major roads you want to godown), it will slow down and you open the back or front door, looking in to seewho can squeeze over. It is common place for there to be 4 or 5 people in theback seat and 2 in the front seat. Needless to say the competition for taxis istough.</div><div class="MsoNormal">I arrived at work at about 10, only to find that there wasno car to take a colleague and me to a meeting. I suggested we head back out tothe main road to find ourselves a taxi, but after a few minutes of watchingpacked taxis crawl through traffic in the 90+ degree heat, we decided to walkinstead. It wasn’t less hot walking, but at least there was a little breeze. Wearrived at the government office dripping and a little out of breath, but righton time after a 30 minute walk. </div><div class="MsoNormal">After the meeting we went on to walk to our next meeting.I’m here helping an umbrella body for public health research organize for it’snext project, and the task begins with a meeting with every member of thesteering committee. Walking into downtown Monrovia, we found our next meetingwhich was at the top of a very rickety, very tall, and very steep set ofstairs. After our meeting our colleague led us out to the front door,commenting that they were thinking of moving because it was difficult for thedisabled children they worked with to make it up the stairs. My eyes openedwide imaging young people on crutches or missing parts of legs (the most commonand visibly evident disabilities I’ve seen) trying to make it up 2-3 flights ofuneven tiled stairs. Yes, a move seems in order.</div><div class="MsoNormal">My colleague then suggested we go to his house for lunchsince it was nearby, and previous people working with this project from my jobhad also joined him at his house for a meal. On we went, walking through smallalleys and across big streets until we reached what looked like a gateddriveway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But as in slopeddownwards I saw that, like much of the city, it was actually an interconnectednetwork of paths, unnamed, that you essentially can only get around if you knowthe area. Children ran up as we approached the house, they had been playingoutside and helping to wash dishes. The power in the house was out, butregardless eating at the kitchen table in the pitch black was presented as theonly option. My colleague held his cell phone, which has a small flashlight atthe end of it with one hand, gesturing for me to serve myself. I took what Iconsider a good portion of rice, definitely more than a cup, and he actedsurprised “That’s it?! That’s all?! Well I am African and I am going to EAT!”and he proceeded to fill his bowl until it was brimming with white rice. Wetopped this with a spicy mix of dried fish and cassava greens and palm oil. Itold him it was the most delicious food I’d had since arriving, and also myfirst Liberian food, and I meant it. </div><div class="MsoNormal">We walked back out to the main street to wait for someonefrom our organization to pick us up and drive us back to the office. EnriqueIglesias was blaring from a CD shop and as I started to hum along I saw thatevery fourth or fifth Liberian was also singing along, some even out loud. Igot and gave smiles as we sang along together.</div><div class="MsoNormal">After a long wait a driver pulled up, complaining of thetraffic he’d encountered on his way to fetch us. We found out why about a halfmile later. Coming from the other direction was the CDC protest that was slatedfor that day. CDC is a political party that lost the most recent presidentialelection; there have been protests and right before I came a member of the CDCwas killed in one of the protests. Monday was to be his burial. We crawledalong through traffic as the crowd of CDC members, mostly young, many wearingleaves and branches in their hair with faces painted, chanted and sang. Thencame a truck carrying the coffin of the man who had been killed; they wereparading it throughout the city. It was a group of a couple hundred people,many less than I would have expected. Then we continued on, passing thePresident’s office and UN buildings. Outside were international and nationalarmed forced and police in full riot gear every few yards. Fences werereinforced with sandbags and policemen were directing traffic (a true rarity).</div><div class="MsoNormal">We spent the rest of the day at the office trying toschedule more meetings and working to plan and organize a workshop, which tookplace today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every day I getdriven home at 5:30 pm, and today when I got home I realized I needed to go tothe grocery store, which is thankfully only a few blocks away. After droppingoff my computer I walked over, darting through traffic into the store. Bigbottles of water for drinking, two lightbulbs to replace the ones that hadburnt out in the apartment where I’m staying, and I tried to buy freshmadehummus but “Is finish, come again”. (Many stores here have Lebanese owners, andI’ve never had such fresh and delicious Lebanese food as in Monrovia!)</div><div class="MsoNormal">As I left the store I was stunned by a huge crowd. The CDCmarch was still going and the number of participants had increased incredibly,as had the number of people gathered along the street to watch. Rush hourtraffic was trying to crawl through, relatively unsuccessfully as peoplewalking, on the backs of trucks and motorbikes passed by, always chanting orsinging. I carefully followed a car across the road to ensure I wasn’t the onecutting in front of the protestors. I then went inside my apartment, and pulledup a seat on my balcony, and sat watching them pass by. They passed inclusters, but there were several thousand people participating without a doubt.From my perch on the second floor I got a couple great pictures as well whichwill have to be shared later.</div><div class="MsoNormal">I then went to install my lightbulbs, the first one didn’twork, the entire socket was burnt out rather than just the bulb. I then wentinto my bathroom to install the second, the bulb was in a regular box but wasred. I sort of threw up my hands and decided to go with it, showering under redlight would be new and exciting. It lit at first, off and on, as I wiggled itaround in the socket, before glowing and going out, leaving me once again inthe dark in the bathroom.</div><div class="MsoNormal">I then went across the street to a restaurant with wifi toeat dinner and get some work done, and the marchers were continuing by, slowernow, less of them, but still going. I sat down and started working, thenordered. But the internet soon went down and as every person behind a computerin the place frantically called the waitress, I gave up, enjoyed my dinner andheaded home to work on the implementation plan for the research. </div><div class="MsoNormal">Certainly not your average day, but definitely one of themost memorable ones I’ve had so far between protests and riot gear and homevisits. If nothing else Monrovia keeps me on my toes.</div><!--EndFragment-->gypsy rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15104444838726435058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477253216978944592.post-88731890618754358302011-11-16T15:51:00.000+03:002012-05-10T22:32:31.648+03:00Welcome to Liberia<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:DocumentProperties> <o:Template>Normal.dotm</o:Template> <o:Revision>0</o:Revision> <o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime> <o:Pages>1</o:Pages> <o:Words>608</o:Words> <o:Characters>3469</o:Characters> <o:Company>Columbia Group for Children in Adversity</o:Company> <o:Lines>28</o:Lines> <o:Paragraphs>6</o:Paragraphs> <o:CharactersWithSpaces>4260</o:CharactersWithSpaces> <o:Version>12.0</o:Version> </o:DocumentProperties> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}</style><![endif]--><!--StartFragment--><br /><div class="MsoNormal">Customs Agent: Is this your first time in Liberia?</div><div class="MsoNormal">Me: Yes, it is</div><div class="MsoNormal">Customs Agent: Ah! You are welcome!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I know now, that this is simply a common greeting inLiberia. After the introduction people say “You are welcome!”, whether it is ata restaurant or a government office. It’s quite a nice way to start aninteraction.</div><div class="MsoNormal">I was picked up from the airport and driven into Monrovia,and fields slowly turned into small buildings, which turned into slightlylarger buildings and the streets got busier. We passed the CDC, the oppositionparty headquarters where election violence had occurred days earlier. We passedCharles Taylor’s house, then his wife’s house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It seemed like almost all the billboards we passed wereplaced by the government, reminding residents to pay their taxes, to sharetheir opinion with the ballot box and not with guns, showing them the changesthat had occurred since the last election, with bridges built and roads paved,promoting women and girls’ participation in decision-making. We pulled into aparking lot of a two storey building, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and two men who had been waiting to show me into myguesthouse took my bags. First on unlocked the large padlock, attached to achain locking a gate at the bottom of the stairs. He explained that I wasalways to lock it whenever I was entering or leaving. He then used the light onhis cellphone (who needs an iPhone when you have a Nokia with a built-inflashlight!) to show me up the stairs, leading to a door with a small balconyin front of it. He then unlocked another padlock, as well as a deadbolt. Heshowed me inside the apartment, but there was no power. With his flashlight heshowed me how to lock the deadbolt on the handle of the door, followed by thesliding deadbolts at the bottom and top of the door. [A post about security ison its way to explain all the locks] He then gave me a tour of the apartment bthe light of his phone: the kitchen, leading into a bathroom, the living room,a random room with an ironing board and a stack of mattress, and a largebedroom, with another bathroom attached. It looked lovely through the beam ofthe light. Before I arrived I was told I’d be staying in a guesthouse, and thatif it wasn’t up to my standards I could move to a hotel. After over 24 hours oftravel, the one bedroom apartment was more than I could have hoped for. </div><div class="MsoNormal">The next morning things weren’t quite so bright, and after avisit to the Stop & Shop (!) down the street I spent the better part of theday sweeping and scrubbing and mopping. But I’m happy here, with a smallkitchen to cook in, a grocery store nearby, a bustling street below, and airconditioners for when the temperature soars. There’s even a café across thestreet with wi-fi if I get the urge to check my email or chat with all of you.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Any of you who have been following my blog for several yearsknow that while I have had several experiences working in Africa before, I havenever felt welcomed in this way before. Once I was taking a picture on one ofmy first days, and didn’t realize it was a sight owned by the government. Amilitary truck rolled up and a man yelled at me, threatened to arrest me, toldme to go back to where I came from. After I convinced him not to throw myentire camera into a field of rubbish, he proceeded to throw only the memorycard. On another trip I was told to lie about where I was from because peopledidn’t take kindly to Americans, and was sat in the middle of the back of UNvehicles whenever possible, so it was harder for people to tell there was awhite person in the car. I had good times on those and other trips as well, butit always felt like a struggle. I fall in love with most of the places I travelto, and always wondered why I had yet to fall in love with Africa like I hadLatin America, Asia, and the Pacific. I get it now. It’s amazing what adifference people being nice to you can make. It almost makes you want to benice to all the tourists in Times Square. Almost.</div><div class="MsoNormal">I regret that the only thing I forgot at home is the cableto transfer pictures form my computer. (Okay not the only thing, but brushingmy hair is overrated anyway). But I promise to show you everything when I getback.</div><!--EndFragment-->gypsy rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15104444838726435058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477253216978944592.post-47285608363080824732011-11-10T22:09:00.000+03:002012-05-10T22:33:19.246+03:00Basta Ya!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Basta Ya! means something along the lines of "Enough Already" in Spanish. It was one of the slogans used by protesters in Ecuador when they ousted the President in 2005.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Xk4a_AfNy2kH9x5BiME8V3Ap8D10gHfdAq-bSV8WfJ9qJHmbKOW3OlsUSKvl9yQVm7Gp9WhlX9THMamnB-l44knIecZqXy-ZuK96sOQdEiN62tt0GgslSfgcK_X5BdJ_eQj315TgS5tC/s1600/DSCN0346.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Xk4a_AfNy2kH9x5BiME8V3Ap8D10gHfdAq-bSV8WfJ9qJHmbKOW3OlsUSKvl9yQVm7Gp9WhlX9THMamnB-l44knIecZqXy-ZuK96sOQdEiN62tt0GgslSfgcK_X5BdJ_eQj315TgS5tC/s320/DSCN0346.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
I was studying abroad there at the time and given that the President had essentially replaced the entire Supreme Court with his cronies then proceeded to start to change the constitution among other things, I thought my participation in the protests and eventual coup d'etat was warranted.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ysX4otJS5Y01mfi6czViyEqnXu5L-kqi_jfasz_TL2yrqq1Nv3EbyCdKAAACM5uOa6-GI670lQdq79I3_7HEvFGBy2-yzDZjjlZ2rSbOHKqH6eel0evUfXLMFreDV33Jaool8pEN7QV_/s1600/DSCN0343.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ysX4otJS5Y01mfi6czViyEqnXu5L-kqi_jfasz_TL2yrqq1Nv3EbyCdKAAACM5uOa6-GI670lQdq79I3_7HEvFGBy2-yzDZjjlZ2rSbOHKqH6eel0evUfXLMFreDV33Jaool8pEN7QV_/s320/DSCN0343.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
While the University I attended was closed for several days and my parents were a bit nervous, everything turned out fine and the only casualty occurred when someone fell out of the back of a truck.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPAU0fkcM8Qc59TetRB42hkuvuoOv69hvZOvCVvn7-taLQ48f9UQRGJk32Dqn8fotvnWDKElkljaUpFpAj2go-m7flTxOh6FkCOAw_lxDkSn0MfhubPJMBoCXpujCSmoQDMl70Moovbyai/s1600/DSCN0800.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPAU0fkcM8Qc59TetRB42hkuvuoOv69hvZOvCVvn7-taLQ48f9UQRGJk32Dqn8fotvnWDKElkljaUpFpAj2go-m7flTxOh6FkCOAw_lxDkSn0MfhubPJMBoCXpujCSmoQDMl70Moovbyai/s320/DSCN0800.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
I later used this experience as the basis for my personal essay for graduate school, drawing parallels between group action needed to throw out an unjust leader and the collective action needed to improve health in communities and the population at large.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy4q3ZBsJwf1Kf5eUMjl_whRERV6cp14SHZ1MaALdtKLmyWbHYdgpyDJGSWvx3T__06B2ZfbSt1EB0PYsivDtqjpG9b9gKOKYwQEjSNeCxBXHSDyaPAMcIzYLPBUdAaORv3kGq_s4514eR/s1600/DSCN0805.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy4q3ZBsJwf1Kf5eUMjl_whRERV6cp14SHZ1MaALdtKLmyWbHYdgpyDJGSWvx3T__06B2ZfbSt1EB0PYsivDtqjpG9b9gKOKYwQEjSNeCxBXHSDyaPAMcIzYLPBUdAaORv3kGq_s4514eR/s320/DSCN0805.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Not exactly a radical concept but it made the essay more exciting.<br />
<br />
So as some of you may (or may not) know, presidential elections have just occurred in Liberia and there has been some protests and violence. Feel free to click on the links to the right to get more information (or go to kwrwandering@blogspot.com if you received this as an email). The election was a run-off between the current president and her opponent and the protests have already turned violent. Supporters of the incumbent's opponent have called the election fraudulent, with many refusing to participate and protesting instead. To be honest I have no information about the basis or legitimacy of these claims. But I did want everyone to know that while I'm still going ahead with my trip, I will be extremely careful. I also already promised my dad I wouldn't join in the protesting and rioting. Aw man! Ruining all the fun :) I'll keep you updated as things progress and it'll be very interesting. One of my favorite things to do is compare the news and situation on the ground to what is presented by major media outlets. We shall see. I'll have a cell phone there and anyone who is interested can ask me for the number if you'd like to be able to check in.<br />
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Off to catch my flight to Monrovia via Atlanta and Accra!gypsy rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15104444838726435058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477253216978944592.post-24596977851032110432011-11-04T21:05:00.000+03:002012-05-10T22:33:40.020+03:00Work-Life BalanceSo Wikipedia tells me that "<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><b>Work–life balance</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"> is a broad concept including proper prioritizing between "work" (</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Career" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;" title="Career">career</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"> and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambition" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;" title="Ambition">ambition</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">) on the one hand and "life" (</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;" title="Health">Health</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleasure" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;" title="Pleasure">pleasure</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leisure" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;" title="Leisure">leisure</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;" title="Family">family</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"> and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirituality" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;" title="Spirituality">spiritual development</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">) on the other. "</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">How's your work-life balance these days? Mine is sort of one or the other, with no balance. It's interesting, sometimes I'm working and sometimes I've got the whole life thing going on. It has its ups and downs, but for the moment it pays the bills. So on that note, I've had a whole lot of life the past couple months, and now I'm off to work again! I'm heading to Liberia next Thursday, just for a couple weeks. But sadly I'll be missing Thanksgiving again; on the other hand I already celebrated real (Canadian) Thanksgiving with the fam in Portland so that's a plus.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">I've never been to West Africa before and have never worked in a country where English is the official language, so this should be a whole new experience. I'm going to do recognizance and to set up for a research project that will begin in January, but hopefully I'll have all sorts of fun things to share with you. Everyone keep in touch and I'll let you know when I make it to Monrovia safe and sound.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span>gypsy rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15104444838726435058noreply@blogger.com2