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Fellows for Peace Blogs, Issue 1

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AdvocacyNet
Fellow Update, Volume 5 #1, June 13, 2007
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Fellows for Peace Blogs

Thirty Peace Fellows are working this summer in 18 countries or territories with community-based partners of The Advocacy Project (AP). AP issues a weekly digest of their blogs.

Highlights:

• Local Government Votes For Traveler Eviction in the UK
• Romeo and Juliet: Not So Romantic in Afghanistan
• Fellow's Work Transcends Ethnic Tensions in Pakistan
• Chaotic, But Cool First Impressions of Nepal
• Violent Strike Stalls Fellows in Nepal
• Abduction of Volunteers in Sri Lanka Raises Concern
• Reaching Out to Victims of Trafficking in Italy
• Coincidental Images Inspire Hope for a Transatlantic Partnership in the UK
• American Faces Identity Crisis in Nepal
• Israeli Tanks Versus Palestinian Qassam Rockets
• Monsoons in Bangladesh
• Affirming and Shattering Beliefs in Afghanistan
• Skyscrapers Hover Next to Slums in Malaysia
• Emotions Run High During 40-year Anniversary of the Israeli Military Occupation
• Dangers of War Still Exist in Bosnia
• Massacre Remains in Recent Memory in Guatemala
• A Foreign Crutch in the First Days of Nepal

Excerpts from some of this week's blogs follow:

Local Government Votes For Traveler Eviction in the UK

Zachary Scott (Georgetown University) is working for Traveler's rights at the Dale Farm Housing Association in Essex, England.
"...the Basildon committee deems it perfectly logical to destroy part of Dale Farm and render approximately twenty-five people homeless so that nothing except grass and maybe a few trees can grow in their place."

'Romeo and Juliet:' Not So Romantic in Afghanistan

Wilhelmina Tsang (Columbia University) is working for girls' education at the Oruj Learning Center in Kabul, Afghanistan.
"Our next door neighbor is embroiled in a family dispute that, in this country, can only be solved outside the courts. Boy meets girl, boy marries girl, families disapprove. It had the underpinnings of Romeo and Juliet but as my housemate continued to explain, tragic love is not so romantic in Afghanistan."

Fellow's Work Transcends Ethnic Tensions in Pakistan

Saba Haq (Tuft University) is working for women's rights with the Afghan Women's Network in Peshawar, Pakistan.
"Leeda, my office manager, accidentally mentioned that I was Pakistani while introducing me. Her eyes widened and her hands flew to cover her mouth as she realized her error. The man replied in Pashto saying 'It's okay, she may be Pakistani, but she is also my sister and we are doing the same work.' In addition, I am already being considered 'one of their own' by the other women and men at the AWN office."

Chaotic, But Cool First Impressions of Nepal

Nicole Farkouh (UC Berkeley) is working for peace and democracy with the Collective Campaign for Peace (COCAP) in Gaighat, Nepal.
"Though Kathmandu is crowded, polluted and chaotically functions according to some sort of rhythm I have yet to understand, there is something different here. Perhaps it is the altitude, mountain peaks, and resulting relatively cooler climate. Or perhaps it is the essence of an inherently diverse culture that wasn't ever colonized. I'll be curious to see if this difference persists in other parts of the country as well."

Violent Strike Stalls Fellows in Nepal

Mark Koenig (Tufts University) is working for democracy and human rights with the Collective Campaign for Peace (COCAP) in Nepalganj, Nepal.
"Headlining a newspaper article about the banda was the line 'Five Vehicles Torched, 10 Vandalized.' Upon closer inspection we read that of the 15 vehicles attacked three had been passenger buses. When we asked how long this strike would last and how long we would be kept from our offices in the south west of Nepal. Our query was answered with an ominous 'indefinitely.'"

Abduction of Volunteers in Sri Lanka Raises Concern

Madeline England (Columbia University) is working for human rights and as an advocate for torture victims with the Home for Human Rights (HHR) in Sri Lanka.
"But the abductors said that wasn't necessary. Just like that. No, a translator wouldn't be necessary. As though they already knew what they were going to do. As though the two men never had a chance."

Reaching Out to Victims of Trafficking in Italy

Leslie Ibeanusi (George Washington University) is working to prevent and protect victims of human trafficking with the Transnational AIDS Prevention among Migrant Prostitutes in Europe Projects (TAMPEP) in Turin, Italy.
"She was around my late sister's age, and I so desperately just wanted to reach out to hug her, pay any money I could to help her get back to her parents. I wonder if her parents knew the fate that had befallen their daughter. Did they think she had 'made it' in Europe? Were they rejoicing while this girl was sitting shaking in our office?"

Coincidental Images Inspire Hope for a Transatlantic Partnership in the UK

Jennifer Hollinger (Georgetown University) is working to support trafficking survivors with Churches Against Sex Trafficking in Europe (CHASTE).
"International collaboration will be critical in ending the modern slave trade, a practice that is so medieval in description; it is difficult to believe it is a reality. This may have been the result of a deep relflection or the fact that, on the pub across the street, that painting of King George III, ironically, looked exactly like George Washington."

American Faces Identity Crisis in Nepal

Jeff Yarborough (Columbia University) is working for democracy and human rights with the Collective Campaign for Peace (COCAP) in Mahendranagar, Nepal.
"Sitting with activists in a country which has actually suffered through protracted armed conflict, I couldn't help but feel embarrassed. America is out of step with the global community, and here I am, an American, sitting at a rally and calling on the Nepalese government to do what my own 'free and democratic' country will not."

Israeli Tanks Versus Palestinian Qassam Rockets

Eliza Bates (Columbia University) is working to support and foster a democratic labor movement with the Democracy and Worker's Rights Center in the West Bank, Occupied Palestinian Territory.
"...'Yes of course,' she replied, 'In Gaza. What do you think - Palestinian tanks? No my dear, we are very poor. They have tanks and we have qassam rockets.' She mouthed a listless whistle and made a sad hand gesture showing the rockets rising up from Gaza and falling into Israel."

Monsoons in Bangladesh

Caitlin Burnett (American University) is working for the development and protection of the disabled community with the Blind Education and Rehabilitation Development Organization (BERDO) in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
"Off we went in the rickshaw. Everything seemed normal, albeit a bit more damp than usual. Then we hit the main road that connects Rupnagar, Mirpur, and the rest of the city. Water rushed out of manhole covers, creating impromptu fountains in the middle of the flooded roadway."

Affirming and Shattering Beliefs in Afghanistan

Audrey Roberts is working for women's rights with the Afghan Women's Network (AWN) in Kabul, Afghanistan.
"Kabul is both beautiful and destitute. Both hopeful and depressing.
In one week, I have affirmed and shattered the belief I really understand what I am here to work for - women's rights."

Skyscrapers Hover Next to Slums in Malaysia

Audrey Desiderato is working for women's rights with eHomemakers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
"What about the millions of urban poor in densely packed slums and low community housing that live right next door to modern sky scrapers filled to the brim with ICTs? The technology and infastructure is right there, but out of reach for this forgotten population."

Emotions Run High During 40-year Anniversary of the Israeli Military Occupation

Amali Tower (Columbia University) is working for economic rights with the Alternative Information Center (AIC) in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
"I've been here just under a week, but I've already seen so much, heard so much, and the swell of emotions are overwhelming at times. One thing is for sure, the anger is riding high. I'm going to have to find a way to channel that in a more constructive way."

Dangers of War Still Exist in Bosnia

Alison Morse (Tufts University) is working for peace and women's rights with Bosfam in Tuzla, Bosnia.
"Red signs with a skull and bones demarking mined areas speckle the roadside - a reminder that even after more than a decade the dangers of war still exist. These signs, along with the run-down UNHCR buses acting as local transport in Sarajevo, signify an abandonment of this country by the international community."

Massacre Remains in Recent Memory in Guatemala

Abby Weil (American University) is working to support victims of the Rio Negro Massacre with ADIVIMA in Guatemala.
"As I was leaving ADIVIMA on my first day of work, forensic anthropologists were bringing small coffins filled with the remains of those indigenous Mayans killed by the army in the 'internal conflict' and buried in clandestine mass graves. The relatives of the deceased were gathered around the coffins placing flowers, burning incense, and holding pictures of their loved ones."

A Foreign Crutch in the First Days of Nepal

Aaron "Ted" Samuel is working to advocate for human rights through the Jaragan Media Center (JMC) in Kathmandu, Nepal.
"'You look like a Nepali.' I have been in Kathmandu for about three days now, and have heard this phrase about 18 times...My immediate response, after thanking the person who made the observation, is to explain that I am South Indian American...It's almost like I am distancing myself from Nepal a bit; like I am actually emphasizing my foreignness...But in the back of my mind, I am afraid that I am using my foreignness as crutch to justify my ignorance of this country..."

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