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Fellows > Blogging for Peace > 2007 > Fellows for Peace...

Fellows for Peace Blogs, Issue 8

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AdvocacyNet
Fellow Update, Volume 5 #8, July 30, 2007
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Fellows for Peace Blogs

Thirty Peace Fellows are volunteering 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:

• News Reports From Sri Lanka Only Tell Half the Story
• Nepalis Confused Over King's Future Role
• A Day of 'Uncertainties' Worth the Wait in Guatemala
• Threatening Wildfire Spreads in Macedonia
• No Escaping Poverty on Mt. Kilimanjaro
• Growing up too Fast Under Occupation in Palestine
• Discrimination Discourages Children from Attending School in Nepal
• Blind Children in Bangladesh Need Larger Spotlight
• Optimism and Hope in Macedonia, Despite Unemployment
• More Police Monitoring Needed in Nepal

Excerpts from some of this week's blogs follow:

News Reports From Sri Lanka Only Tell Half the Story

Madeline England (Columbia University) is volunteering for human rights and as an advocate for torture victims with the Home for Human Rights (HHR) in Sri Lanka.
"I know news reports from Sri Lanka tell stories of suffering, all of them true. The latest one from Reuters talks about how people 'have had to adapt to a two-decade war.' The image portrayed is that people are cowering in corners, dashing from building to building, afraid to be out in the open. That is only half of the story."

Nepalis Confused Over King's Future Role

Tassos Coulaloglou (Leiden University) is volunteering for peace and democracy with the Collective Campaign for Peace in Baglung and Kathmandu, Nepal.
"They explained to me that the king was a symbol of Nepal and that throwing away the monarchy would be a mistake. When I asked what the monarchy had done for the Nepali people in the past I received few answers. Oddly enough, most said the king was a 'bad man'. I left confused."

A Day of 'Uncertainties' Worth the Wait in Guatemala

Abby Weil (American University) is volunteering to support victims of the Rio
Negro Massacre with ADIVIMA in Guatemala.
"Meeting this family and these children only more fully dedicated me to working for ADIVIMA's cause and made the tribulations and uncertainties of the day fully worth it. The day had not gone as I had planned, not even close. However, with a little patience and faith, I had been rewarded with something better than I had ever planned to accomplish that day."

Threatening Wildfire Spreads in Macedonia

Katie Wroblewski (Indiana University School of Law) is volunteering with the
Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC) on their Civil Society Strengthening Project (CSSP) with the Youth Cultural Centre (YCC) in Bitola, Macedonia.
"Around midnight I decided to return to my apartment, which probably wasn't the best decision I've ever made. When I arrived home, I noticed that a thick smoke had crept into my apartment and that flames could be seen on the mountain next to my complex. It was clear that the fire wasn't far away."

No Escaping Poverty on Mt. Kilimanjaro

Jonathan Homer (George Washington University Law School) is volunteering for children's rights and issues related to HIV/AIDS with the Undugu Society in Nairobi, Kenya.
"In East Africa, even at 19,000 feet, one can't escape the fact that sometimes the best jobs still don't pay enough to help a family escape poverty. On Mt. Kilimanjaro, I was reminded of this by watching the many porters that scaled the mountain carrying more than one-hundred pounds of food and equipment."

Growing up too Fast Under Occupation in Palestine

Amali Tower (Columbia University) is volunteering for economic rights with the Alternative Information Center (AIC) in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
"It was heartbreaking to see how poverty affected these children's lives. So
many of them seemed broken by the experience. Eight, nine, 12, 15, 18 years old, and all they wanted was to go to school and make something of their lives. Adult lives in little bodies. Another consequence of the occupation is a tragedy of being forced to grow up too fast."

Discrimination Discourages Children from Attending School in Nepal

Devin Greenleaf (American University) is volunteering to advocate for human
rights through the Jagaran Media Center in Kathmandu, Nepal.
"Facing such great obstacles, why would these children prefer to go to school? Many are forced with the decision of earning money to help needy families, or face a daily battle of discrimination. This complicates the idea of education as a means of eradicating caste."

Blind Children in Bangladesh Need Larger Spotlight

Caitlin Burnett (American University) is volunteering for the development and
protection of the disabled community with the Blind Education and
Rehabilitation Development Organization (BERDO) in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
"It is this chance, along with the small steps in the right direction, which really deserves attention in the international limelight. If we could get people as excited about vitamin A deficiency-related blindness in kids as we could in former Bangladeshi lawmakers' last minute maneuvering to somehow debunk the corruption charges brought against them, just think of what could be accomplished."

Optimism and Hope in Macedonia, Despite Unemployment

Stephanie Gilbert (Georgetown University) is volunteering with the Institute
for Sustainable Communities in cooperation with the Association for
Emancipation, Solidarity, and Equality of Women (ESE) in Skopje, Macedonia.
"It's common to hear older people reminisce about the good old days of communism and complain about the current reforms, but in general - especially compared to where I was in Georgia - people here seem hopeful about the way things are going. Unemployment is a big problem, with the result being brain drain as many educated people go abroad to find work. Rural communities are also being drained as everyone under the age of 25 wants to be in Skopje. I know I would have had a totally different experience living in a small town, but in Skopje itself there's definitely a feeling of energy and optimism."

More Police Monitoring Needed in Nepal

Mark Koenig (Tufts University) is volunteering for democracy and human rights with the Collective Campaign for Peace (COCAP) in Nepalgunj, Nepal.
"Grabbing the office camera and his motorcycle helmet he declared that he was going to go into town and do some human rights observation. Police have recently been accused both of using excessive force and being too aloof during these types of incidents, so there does need to be some careful watching of the police."

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