A Voice For the Voiceless

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The Advocacy Project seeks to produce social change by helping marginalized communities to become advocates for social justice and claim their rights

AP Interns Find that First Impression Can Be Misleading, July 5, 2006

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AdvocacyNet
Intern Update, Volume 4#5, July 5, 2006
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The Advocacy Project's 18 summer interns are blogging on the AP website about their summer assignments. The interns are working with community-based partner organizations in Bosnia, Kosovo, Czech Republic, United Kingdom, Italy, Guatemala, Nigeria, Fiji, Palestinian Territories, Afghanistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and India. Excerpts from their blogs follow.  Read more on the 2006 internship program.

Highlights:                                                              

• Developing Trust With Afghan Women
• Looks Can Be Deceiving in the West Bank
• Dalits Demand Affirmative Action in Nepal                                   
• Walloped by a Court’s Ruling in the UK
• How KWN Became a Movement in Kosovo
• Dedication to Education in Fiji
• Empowering Youth Guides in Delhi

Developing Trust With Afghan Women

Erica Isaac (NYU) is working for womens' rights in Afghanistan with the Afghan Women's Network.

"No one missed a beat.  No one wanted to talk about my soliloquy.  My words were not inspiration, they were entree. It is very strange to feel trust happen. It usually creeps up on you, grows over time and makes itself known in the most subdued of ways.  But time is different here. Urgency is palpable. From the moment I called on the first person the discussion that would last for the next five hours began."

Looks Can Be Deceiving in the West Bank

Sarah Sachs (Columbia University) is working for cooperation between Palestinians and Israelis with the Alternative Information Center (AIC) in Beit Sahour/Jerusalem.

“But for all the army's promises and restraint, it was obvious in that final moment in the southern Hebron hills that looks can be deceiving. For years, I thought that if only I could get past the television, newspapers and radio, if only I were able to witness events in person, then I would have a realistic perspective on the world. But here it was, happening right before my eyes, and still I had to ask: what is media, and what is reality?”

Dalits Demand Affirmative Action in Nepal

Nicole Cordeau (Georgetown University) is working for Nepal's Dalit (lowest caste) with the Jagaran Media Center.

"Reservations. Affirmative action. Quotas. Positive discrimination. Special rights. Whatever you choose to call it, special consideration for jobs and school admission on the basis of gender, race, caste, or ethnicity is controversial territory indeed. It is also one of the key policy demands being articulated by Dalit activists in Nepal."

Walloped by a Court’s Ruling in the UK

Lynne Engelman (University of Calgary) is working to combat the eviction of Roma and Travellers from their land with the UK Association of Gypsy Women. 

“Not too long ago I went to see my host’s land – a lush acre of green tucked down a secluded narrow lane... The courts actually went so far as to call them a ‘visual injury.’ Can you imagine? A visual injury? The phrase alone packs a visceral emotional wallop.”

How KWN Became a Movement in Kosovo

Barbra Bearden (American University) is working for women’s rights in Kosovo with the Kosova Women’s Network.

“Like most of civil society’s history, KWN truly began with a small action that became a movement.  This is a story, told orally and now written of two sisters, Igballe and Safete Rogova, who responded to the abject poverty in the rural areas of Kosova with small tokens: clothing, books, etc.”

Dedication to Education in Fiji                  

Autumn Graham (Tufts University) is working to educate citizens about their rights with the Citizens’ Constitutional Forum in Fiji.

“This is a determined commitment to education: overcoming uniform and transportation costs, braving poor conditions and long bus rides home.  All accomplished by students displaying striking maturity.  Impressive.”

Empowering Youth Guides in Delhi

Donna Laverdiere (Duke University) is working for street children with Butterflies in Delhi.

“For now, however, as we begin, we need to ask ourselves these hard questions that may make us a bit uncomfortable. In reality, tourists are often skeptical of children selling goods, especially in India. But what is the broader meaning behind this belief, and what can we do to overcome it?”