A Voice For the Voiceless

The Advocacy Project helps marginalized communities to tell their story, claim their rights and produce social change. We recruit graduate students to volunteer as Peace Fellows with partners.

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"Speaking with locals and living in a country is the best way to learn about the real lives of citizens, not just the stories in the mainstream media. I will be more critical of what I read as a result of this experience. I also feel even more grateful for my education, and I feel a stronger responsibility to assist others who do not have resources or access to opportunities in their communities."

Maria Skouras (New York University) volunteered in 2011 as a Peace Fellow for eHomemakers in Malaysia.

For more 2011 feedback click here.

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The Fellowship Pr... > Blogging for Peace > 2003 > From the Field, J...

From the Field, June 23-June 30, 2003

Highlights:


A Tram Ride in Prague Reveals Discrimination Against Roma

Kim Birdsall (Georgetown University/working with the Dzeno Association writes about the insidious nature of discrimination in the Czech Republic:

"How we perceive things is our truth, and determines our reactions to everyday events. My second day here, on a tram ride, my friend whispered to me, "That man there, he is Roma." I looked around and whispered back, "Where? I don't see him."

As I looked around again and realized whom he was talking about, I wasn't surprised that I didn't notice him at first, since his skin color and features would not have stood out at all in the U.S. My perception comes from years of living in a country with a multitude of ethnicities, cultures, and half-this, half-that peoples.

Imagining that a skinhead can target a Roma by this slight difference in skin color is still difficult for me to get my head around. But the trouble with perception is that it is impossible to argue with someone else's reality."


Visiting A Detention Center in Nepal

Katherine Kuo (Georgetown University) is working with the Collective Campaign for Peace (COCAP), a peacebuilding coalition that arose in response to the Maoist insurgency. She was disturbed by her visit to a detention center in Kathmandu:

"The NGO I've been working with here in Kathmandu is a lawyers' association that deals with human rights abuses -- killings, torture, disappearances, illegal detention, etc., which are rampant in the country, so I visited a detention center here to get a better idea. I had heard all these atrocious stories, but it wasn't quite as hellish as I imagined. I interviewed a Burmese man picked up for supposed heroin sale. He claims it was false and I believe him. The police and military here are among the least publicly accountable in the world. I really came to appreciate the good things about America (and Taiwan) -- strong governance and rule of law, and thus minimal abuse relative to other countries. I had never truly put two and two together: Government --> Law --> People's well-being. My coworkers keep saying that corruption is epidemic here, in every sector -- from government to
education to NGOs to even foreign aid. In fact, foreign aid and development funds have gone into so many pockets that people have lost faith in development projects. NGOs have lost a lot of credibility. Where do you even begin correcting these problems? Someone should send
a "Law and Enforcement Corps" here and start with that."


Helping a Moroccan Woman Fight Deportation From Italy

Julie Lee (Georgetown University) is working with TAMPEP in Turin, an NGO working on women's trafficking issues. In this week's blog, Julie describes how TAMPEP are trying to help immigrant women who are at risk from Italy's deportation procedures:

"Fatima is a 37-year-old Moroccan woman. She is unmarried, has an 8-month-old son born to her in Italy, and she will be deported next month, unless she can find employment. TAMPEP intervenes on Fatima's behalf in several ways. First, one of TAMPEP's Moroccan mediators
negotiated the situation between Fatima and the father of her child. The father of the child was initially reluctant to cooperate at all with the immigration procedure for his son. Fortunately, he eventually agreed to help. Next, TAMPEP is trying to help Fatima navigate through the challenging procedures of gaining access to social welfare, obtaining residency, and finding employment---all three are tied together in one large knot. TAMPEP was able to find her a position as a house cleaner, but the position is only for four hours per week - not enough hours to grant her a residency permit. The next step is for TAMPEP to contact the Moroccan embassy and ask for its advice on Fatima's situation. Unfortunately, time is running out."


Visiting the Aftermath of a Rocket Attack in Lebanon

Courtney Radsch (Georgetown University) is at the Middle East Reporter in Beirut, Lebanon. On the same day she reported on a rocket attack and a visit from Queen Rania of Jordan:

"Toni and I were deciding how to spend the day when suddenly he reported that there had been a bombing at the Future TV station. I grabbed my camera and we caught a service to Raouche where I caught the tail end of a press conference with Minister of Culture Ghazi el-Aridi. I took some pictures of the damage, a huge hole in the wall, with cameras, office equipment and glass everywhere. Ansar Allah (Supporters of God), a previously unknown group, claimed responsibility for the two 107mm rockets fired from a parked car at 1:30 a.m. on Sunday that destroyed part of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's Future Television building. Many people suspect that the attack was politically motivated. By the time I arrived the holes on the outside wall had already been patched up. But will the attack on the press and free
speech be remedied so quickly?

Later that afternoon I made my way over to Bazerkane Square downtown to attend a ceremony with Queen Rania of Jordan who was in Beirut to support the ICRC's launch of its Women Facing War report in Arabic in Lebanon. Accompanied by first lady Andree Lahoud, Nazek Hariri (the Lebanese Prime Minister's wife) and Randa Berri (the wife of the speaker of parliament), Queen Rania listened to ICRC representatives talk about the need for enforcement of the laws protecting women and men in war, since most of them are already on the books. I only wish that she had spoken and said something in support of the study, instead of just being present as a pretty face. There is never a dull day in Beirut."


Profile of Beba Hadzic, an Inspiration for the Women of Srebrenica

Marta Schaaf (Columbia University) profiles Beba Hadzic, the Director of the Bosnian women's organization Bosfam. Sadly, Beba's goal of encouraging reconciliation between Serbs and Muslims is not embraced by all the inhabitants of Srebrenica:

"Beba refuses to quietly participate in civil society-building activities that she feels only wear a mask of ethnic reconciliation. Last week, for example, Bosfam co-organized the first multi-ethnic party that has occurred in Srebrenica in over eight years. Held at a local hotel following a week of summer festivities, the evening was to include a multi-ethnic fashion show exhibiting dresses and outfits hand-made by Bosfam members, a joint Bosnian and Serb folk dancing presentation, live music, and an awards ceremony for those who had co-organized the evening. The week of festivities and the crowning party were described by most attendees as a success, but the evening was somewhat marred by ethnic politics. While many prominent Serbs from Srebrenica came to the party, the Serbian folk dancing ensemble opted not to come, and a Serbian award presenter similarly did not show. Beba, who had optimistic expectations for the first multi-ethnic evening in Srebrenica, was saddened by the reality. For her, the nice speeches and smiles were not enough; she wanted to see more multi-ethnic presentations. Reflecting on her disappointment, Beba commented that she had survived the war, but must now survive the peace.

Despite suffering a minor setback in this instance, it is certain that Beba will do more than "survive the peace." She will continue to fight to achieve her vision of a just peace."


Palestinians Feel Guilty at Living in Safety in Jordan

Caitlin Williams (Georgetown University) is working with Middle East Nonviolence and Democracy (MEND) in Jersualem. She has spent the last week in Amman, Jordan, supporting MEND's attendance at the World Economic Forum. Having seen the most westernized areas of Amman and contrasted them in her mind with the poorest parts of Jerusalem, she now understands why many members of the Palestinian diaspora feel guilty at having left their homeland:

"These things [the signs of westernization] made an impression on me, and not simply because of the extent of the westernization taking place. Amman is only 80km from Jerusalem and a large percentage of its population is Palestinian, yet it is worlds away from Beit Hanina and Shu'fat. I am aware that I saw the elite part of Amman, and that which caters heavily to tourists, but even the areas of Amman that are not as wealthy seem cleaner and better off than the middle class suburbs of East Jerusalem. I have read about the guilt that some Palestinians living in the diaspora feel, since they did not stay and are not living under occupation or in one of the refugee camps. Now that I have had the chance to see the difference in living standards between those who left and those who stayed, I can better understand why."


Nigerians Resent European Hypocrisy on Trafficking

Erica Williams (Yale University) is working in Lagos at the Women's Consortium of Nigeria (WOCON), an organization trying to combat human trafficking. She has started to question the reasons for European concern about trafficking in persons:

"The outcry over trafficking only came after external trafficking to Europe for sex work began to draw international shame to Nigeria. This raises many questions. First of all, why is it that trafficking only becomes an issue when it involves the sanctity of European borders? Secondly, why is it that trafficking for sex work in Europe has received more international attention than trafficking for domestic work, forced labor and sweatshop labor? Is it that sex work is truly the worst form of labor or is this assumption based on moralizing judgment calls? Is there a genuine concern for the plight of foreign sex workers who may be victims of trafficking, or are they seen rather as vectors of disease (HIV/AIDS) from whom society needs to be protected?"


The Bravery of Igo Rogova, Director of the Kosova Women's Network (KWN)

Claudia Zambra (Georgetown University), spoke with Igo Rogova, director of her host organization, the Kosovo Women's Network, about the dangers she faced in the past:

"I'm back in Prizren, home of the best "qebops" in Kosova. I had a long chat with my boss, Igo, on the road here. We passed by a torn structure that she explained was a former Serb, and then KFOR, checkpoint. She explained that by 1998 there were checkpoints everywhere along the road, and many roads were closed off as they led to areas that were under siege because of KLA activities. Meanwhile, people in these areas suffered shortages of everything, including medicines. More than once, Igo risked getting stopped while carrying medicines to Prizren and surrounding towns... This activity was prohibited, as Serb soldiers believed these provisions were for KLA fighters."

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