ILP Live

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 02:30:00 +0000

Summary of Project

noreply@blogger.com (Kathrin) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 22:22:00 +0000

I feel as though this summer I've taken an entire course in economic, social, and cultural rights. While Adrian and I were originally asked to do our reserach on educational equality, we realized very quickly that in order to get to that point, we had to understand the greater context of the issue at hand. This involved not only understanding the right to education, but the justiciability of economic, social, and cultural rights in general. It was difficult to come to terms with the fact that so much of our time was spent on understanding the content, measurability, and process of enforcement of those rights, and not much of that research will be helpful to the organization in and of itself since it is only the background against which they so their work. However, it was extrememly important for us to understand this very current and contentious topic in order to conduct further analysis and I know that that knowledge was reflected in the rest of our work.

In addition to learning about socio-economic rights, we also learned about the budgetary process and the various ways in which it can, does, and should affect those righrts. The way I see it, budgets are one of the more significant ways that governments can give effect to their international, national, and local obligations with respect to those rights.

From that starting point, Adrian and I started to examine the right to education specifically. This entailed understanding (a) the content of the right to education, (b) ways in which it can be measured (i.e. measuring the status of the right to education in a particular geographic context by using relevant indicators), and (c) how budgets can be drafted in order to comply with the content of that right, by taking into account the aforementioned analysis regarding the status of that right and allocating accordingly.

We looked at various case studies/initiatives in this field and complied ideas suggestions regarding each of those three stages. The hope is that this report will be useful for the organization when designing future advocacy and/or litigation strategies in this field. They will be able to draw on the information and the lessons learned from other initiatives around the world in order to strengthen their own efforts.

By way of conclusion, I can confidently say that I learned a lot while compliing this report and, as I said before, I feel as through I have taken an entire course this summer on the realization of economic, social, and cultural rights. I have discovered that this is an areas of law that interests me greatly and one which I intent to pursue further. I have also strengthened my understanding of the role of economics, or rather budgets, play in the fulfillment of those rights. It is wonderful to know that the information I learned this summer will influence and affect the choices I make regarding my intended career path and future advocacy strategies. I hope the same can be said for future steps taken by my host organization. I thank ILP and my host organization for allowing me this opportuntiy!

Super delayed final blog - forgot to post this up!

noreply@blogger.com (shivani) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 18:06:00 +0000

I can’t believe 10 weeks has flown by so quickly! I am finally enroute to Toronto after a lengthy overnight layover in Tokyo…what a fantastic city!

My last day at the human rights center was ridiculously busy. Since flooding last Friday cancelled all classes, today’s child rights class consisted of two parts; the right to life debate, and a panel of guests speaking on their experiences with child rights in the Philippines.

Back in early June, our team decided to have the students of the class prepare for and participate in a Right to Life debate that would span about an hour. For the debate, the “government” was proposing the decriminalisation of abortion, while the opposition would argue against this position. I was initially apprehensive about this topic considering Ateneo is a Catholic university headed by the most powerful Jesuit priests in the country (one who was a professor for the Child Rights course as well). Atty. Sison-Arroyo explained that although the school may not necessarily endorse the position on pro-choice, this was a matter of academic freedom, and at the end, just some healthy debate. Makes sense when you put it that way!

The actual debate was very interesting. Both sides presented good arguments, although it was unanimous among the judges (Atty. Sison-Arroyo, Tim, John, and myself), that the arguments produced by the students on the government side were much stronger, and that the opposition simply did not profess anything novel or out of the ordinary. An interesting point to note was that NONE of the sides ventured over whether the fetus should be considered as a child or not. Instead, this fact was simply taken for granted. It seems as if the Catholic upbringing of all the students allowed for some bias on this matter, as they really couldn’t imagine this to be otherwise, whereas in North America, this is usually the initial point of contention between pro-choicers and right to lifers. Overall, I was pretty pleased with the way the debate went. It allowed the student to critically think about and analyze a controversial topic that is normally swept under the rug, and understand a point of view that is not normally accepted in Philippine society. (Interestingly enough, after the debate, the students debating on the government’s side claimed to have felt ‘dirty’ for arguing in favour of something so wrong…..)

Tim and I finished off the right to life topic by presenting the legal stance of abortion from a Canadian perspective. We outlined the history of the debate, starting from the 60s all the way to the milestone case of Morgentaler that opened the doors to accessible abortion. Just a simple lecture that when I look back at this now (knowing the little tidbit of information about the students above), I am positive that most of the students must have been slightly appalled at the liberalism granted to such a contentious act. Overall, I can’t say that I’m embarrassed that Canada has the abortion laws that they do, but presenting these facts to a group of people (including a priest), that so clearly don’t agree with that viewpoint is more than a little daunting!

Looking back at my experience at the human rights center, and in the Philippines in general, I have to say that I have learned a lot! A lot about the rule of law, life in a developing country, and about myself! When researching for the Child Rights textbook, I was exposed to the plethora of laws that the Philippines had, especially concerning the protection of children. Initially, I felt that this was really promising because why would a country create laws it didn’t care to implement? My experiences throughout the following weeks lead me to reality and to the truth. Firstly, many children are not benefiting from the laws that are created for them. Although statistics show that almost all children in the Philippines have some form of education, most of this is at the primary level. While travelling in more remote areas, we came across children and young adults who were not enrolled in school due to financial difficulties. These situations are what made me question the real motives and effectiveness of the laws that are enacted to eliminate such situations; laws enacted that provide free and compulsory education to all, regardless of financial background. If this is indeed one of the goals of enacting such laws, then there obviously needs to be more accountability to ensure that its benefits are being reached to all those who wish to take advantage. Second, it is important to remember, that although Western outlooks may stress the importance of certain values, it is unfair to hold a country, where life and standards are very different, to our own standards. As a very mild example, although children may not be enrolled in school, it is not fair to automatically assume that the child is being disadvantaged and mistreated. Developing societies depend on different forms of labour, industry, and income. Although agrarian society has nearly disappeared in the western world, it is fruitful and abundant in other societies. Future generations need to be trained and taught to upkeep these industries, which are just as important as those requiring a formal education. The bottom line is that it is very easy to judge the values, morals, and ways of life of a person, whether it’s your neighbour or someone across the world. Until you sit down and talk to them and really put yourselves in their shoes, you cannot make judgement on their rights and wrongs. Take the time to understand someone else’s story!

ILP Blog #6 - Porsha, India's Independence Day

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 05:13:00 +0000

I am only three working days away from leaving the National Law School in Bangalore. It has been a far too brief experience in India, a mere nine weeks including travel experiences prior to setting foot in the south of India. I had the good fortune of experiencing India's Independence Day celebrations on Saturday, August 15. India at 62 years of independence. The national paper saw fit to take a representative sample of Indian intellectuals and ask for their reflections on India at 62. The commentary I find very interesting as it reflects some of the debate that I have had within the Centre for Social Exclusion. There is no lack of pride, self-analysis, or self-deprecating humour when it comes to Indians reflecting on their (relatively) young and monstrous democracy. In the Centre there is open debate about how little progress has been made in the fight for equality amongst all citizens and the pervasive blemish of the caste system. The debate tends to centre itself on the validity of perpetuating the very language of caste in the fight for equality versus removing such language from the Indian lexicon and moving forward in a manner that, I feel, has been advocated by the United States - the notion of race blindness. But in India's case, caste blindness. As my research has recently taken me into American law, my limited knowledge suggests that race blindness fails to account for the complex and lengthy social narrative that underlies the very existence of African Americans in the USA. Whilst the theory behind all men created equal is good (in theory) in practice the disparities of social and economic empowerment are perpetuated without redress when one holds fast to the idea of pure individual meritocracy. Unlike the USA, India has been explicit in identifying and addressing, historical social inequities and moving forward to even the stakes in public life. Debate continues on the merits of identification politics.

But back to the representative sample of Indian intellectuals. Some of the more interesting observations came regarding the pride of place that India has within liberal democracies in the world. It is by far the largest, and perhaps by far the most unruly, but as one commentator observed, it has recently proved itself to be an informed, working democracy with an enormous voter turnout and a degree of political savvy that should be praised in such a youthful country (youthful from the perspective of 1947, not youthful in the historical capacity). Many comments criticized the continued high numbers of poor and illiterate people and remarked that Ghandi's objective of Antodaya (welfare of the last citizen of India) is not a priority in this country. Gandhi said, "the best test of a civilized society is the way in which it treats its most vulnerable and weakest members." The rapid rise of a middle class in India is both praised and lamented. Lamented, in part, for its rush to consumerism. A surprising number of comments in the paper included reference to law and various laws that came to represent India's aggressive attempts at distributing opportunity and creating equality across religion, caste, language, and ethnic barriers. I found invocation of the law surprising as most of the comments were drawn from authors, artists, scientists, and professors. Clearly, as I have seen and heard elsewhere, India's constitution and legislation are visible within the national psyche.

There is a common thread of discussion here regarding the balance between economic power (a la the west) and spiritual and mental well-being and the necessity of not losing sight of the latter in the quest for the former. A French ex-pat living in the hills of Tamil Nadu remarked that she felt India will guide the world in a new way of living prosperously with each other and with the planet. She was adamant that no better example existed for co-existence amongst species, flora, and fauna than the enlightened parts of this country.

It has been an interesting couple of months in this country. It appears to defy laws of physics in its day-to-day chaos and yet there is an underlying serenity that I hope never fades away.

Making the Law Work for Vulnerable Groups

noreply@blogger.com (Marlene Costa) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 10:59:00 +0000

Wrapping up Legal Empowerment
We’ve come to the last few days of our fellowship here in Serbia. This week has been one large review. As I stated in my last blog, our final two submissions have revolved around condensing our Global Legal Empowerment (LE) Database and formulating recommendations.

The purpose of condensing the original database was to extract projects that were purely LE initiatives. That is to say, extract projects that encompass all four pillars of LE. However, given that Making the Law Work for Everyone, the Commission’s final report, was only released on 3 June 2008, LE is a relatively new area of interest. This offers UNDP Serbia the opportunity to be a pioneer in the field and guide the government to embrace more inclusive and human rights oriented policies. With that said, there is still a great deal to be learned from other projects that address elements of legal empowerment. It has been our aim to draw from both the commission's report and global projects to help generate a starting point.

In order to formulate our recommendations we drew upon project patterns and successes of other countries in each pillar of LE. We coupled that with our limited knowledge of the Serbian system and put forth a number of strategies that would advance the rights of vulnerable groups, if tailored to the specific needs of the local context in which they are to be implemented. If there is one thing that I have learned to appreciate most, it is that legal empowerment is not a one stop shop. No one project, no single policy reform and no pillar can stand alone. Nor can the pillars be implemented without assessing the local needs of the country. If legal empowerment can ever stand a chance there must be commitment toward a common goal and projects must be adaptable to meet needs of stakeholders. All in all, embarking on a LE initiative is a complex and long-term commitment. With the right attitude, the ability to sustain partnerships, and the willingness to support local needs and goals, it is a challenge worth taking.

Take off…
The past three months have just flown by. It feels as though I have just gotten used to my surroundings, and here we are, ready to head home. I have taken away a great deal from my time in Serbia. I have expanded my knowledge on specific international legal topics. I have learned about a new country, its history, its culture and its people. Lastly, I have learned about myself and how I have changed. What an invaluable experience ☺

Final days, final thoughts

noreply@blogger.com (Parisa Nikfarjam) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 11:34:00 +0000

Legal Empowerment- Observations

It's hard to believe that my three months in Serbia will be behind me in only a few days. The projects are, of course, being completed. Marlene and I are in the midst of completing the condensed version of the Legal Empowerment (LE) database as well as outlining certain strategies that can be adopted in the Serbian context. While creating the condensed version of the database, we found it difficult to find purely LE initiatives (except for LEAD in Indonesia) given that LE and its particular pillars are newly introduced to the international community. Moreover the complexity of the pillars make it very difficult to have an all-encompassing project. Rather most countries, whether in acknowledgement of the pillars or not, have the tenets of the LE pillars as project objectives. Some countries have opted to focus more on one or two pillars while others have projects that cover all the pillars. This shows the need to concentrate on the context in which the pillars are being implanted. It is with this thought that Marlene and I, based on the information we researched for the past few months, formulated conclusions, lessons learned and strategies for Serbia.

Judicial Training Manual- Feedback

The Judicial Training manual is now updated. I was happy to have tripled the size of the knowledge map which at the beginning of the project seemed less than impressive. What was surprising was the enthusiasm of my supervisor. Perhaps I'm too used to the Canadian work culture where work is usually commended by a mere "well done" or "I was happy with your efforts...." or other such variations, but in Serbia even the slightest productivity seems to bring praises, so when I submitted the new layout of the knowledge map, my supervisor's response was more than enthusiastic. Knowing that the manual is soon to be shared with more than just the UNDP office in Serbia and its resources will be used by legal professionals from across the Balkans is a very pleasant feeling.

Changing Perceptions

Speaking of pleasant experiences, the past three months in Belgrade...and the Balkans in general have definitely been an eye-opening adventure. While the tensions are clear, what has been overwhelming is the sense that Serbians are very eager to put the past behind them and to change what they call misconceptions about their country and its people. International opinion of the region is valued and our colleagues and locals in general have been very forthcoming with information about Serbia, its current situation, its past glories and where they believe the country is going, though in the latter category there are very mixed feelings. The new law that allows more free travel to Serbians (no visa requirements) to EU countries has also been a very welcomed change. Though there is still some doubt on whether the legislation will actually in practice follow through with its promises, there is no doubt that travelling abroad with less restrictions will be beneficial. Serbians will be better able to observe the legal and political practices of other states, and assess whether certain pillars are transferable.

Living in and learning about a different culture and system will be itself a rewarding experience.

I am sure the ILP fellows this year will agree with the above statement. Looking forward to hearing more about your times abroad back in Canada this fall.

Dobar Dan (good day) from Belgrade!

Mental Health in Uganda

noreply@blogger.com (Brooke Camlis) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 08:56:00 +0000

Ashley and I completed a needs assessment in regards to persons with disabilities, and during this phase, we interviewed the Executive Director of Mental Health Uganda. This is an issue that I feel strongly about, and after sitting learning about the status of mental health in Uganda, I am slightly mortified, although Ashley, who bore the brunt of my post-interview rant may think slightly isn’t a strong enough word. The most common diagnoses in Uganda in regards to mental health are schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. This doesn’t compute with the most common diagnoses found in society. Although it very well could be that people don’t seek treatment until it is significantly noticeable (like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder), I have an alternate theory. Unfortunately, the medical professionals who are making diagnoses are doctors or nurses who have taken a basic training course and are armed with the DSM-IV (the manual we use in North America for diagnosing mental health issues). In Canada, psychologists must get a 4 yr honours with thesis degree in psychology and then a 2 year masters degree at which point they can diagnosis under someone’s supervision. Only after completing a doctorate in psychology is a person qualified to diagnosis mental health issues on their own. I realize that for logistical reasons they must be more lax in Uganda, however that doesn’t take away from the fact that there are ethical issues surrounding the misdiagnosing of people, a lot of negative social stigma surrounding people with mental disabilities, and many misconceptions. Unfortunately, a misdiagnosis of a mental disorder can follow a person and I have seen this in action here. It bothers me that people who are not adequately trained seem to hand out these diagnoses like candy. Some people believe that it is spirits possessing people and that is why they have mental issues. These issues are sidelined in the fight for persons with disabilities and even within our own publication on persons with disability, the focus is on physical disabilities rather than mental disabilities. I hope that in the future I can come back and advocate for change in this aspect of society.

Making a difference?

noreply@blogger.com (Emma Duggan) — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 07:45:00 +0000

My time in Bangalore has been a completely different experience from what I expected coming in. Then again, looking back, I’m not really sure what it was that I expected. When I compare my understanding of my surroundings now to the lens with which I approached issues 4 weeks ago, I find it very difficult to put my finger on the differences. I know that I’m much more comfortable, but I’m hard pressed to come up with a reason why. I know that I’m more confident, but I can’t tell you where that comes from. It may have taken a few weeks, but I really feel like I’m starting to feel like I have a niche. Which is why is so strange to think that I’m going home so soon.

Unlike all the other 12 week placements, I am only spending 5 weeks in Bangalore trying to make an impact is such a very short amount of time. I was fortunate enough to be matched up with a supervisor with whom I have a very easy working relationship. The process that I have undergone in my research project has been remarkably smooth. Prof. Gowda has been a source of support and reference, but he has been confident in my research abilities and has given me a loose rein when it comes to the direction I take my project.

After a week of initial research, we decided together that the product of my research should be a journal article informing both himself and other members of the Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion on the issues of mass media and content regulation. Prof. Gowda focuses his research on issues of media and its impact on the excluded classes and castes. By examining the issue of content regulation, I have been able to link up some of Prof. Gowda’s interests with a dominant Canadian media issue. Canada is a leading advocate on the international level when it comes to preserving cultural identity through media. The insight of Canadian primary and secondary sources has shed tremendous light on a burgeoning issue in Indian society.

South India is suffering a crisis of language as, unlike where Hindi is the primary language in the North, there is no one unifying language in the South of India. English is becoming more and more prevalent as a second language that unifies Indian of diverse backgrounds. Business is being conducted in English, children are being taught English in school (despite policies intended to prevent this trend) and more and more often media is being provided in English. Whether it be the daily newspapers, the nightly news broadcast, the television programming or the films shown in movie theatres. English is coming to dominate language use in the South of India.

With media more often being provided in English than ever before, this increases the opportunity for cultural trade to turn to cultural domination. Any market which is open to English media is flooded with content from the United States. There is no denying that the U.S. has more content and higher production value than even a country such as India which has such an independently rich cultural background when it comes to media. Canadian content regulation has spent more time focusing on this issue that arguably any other society. In media, our culture is inextricably linked to American culture more than any other nation in the world. We have a more difficult task than any other country to preserve any separate cultural identity. As such, Canadian sources have a lot of information to offer on the issue.

I have been working with Prof. Gowda to provide an informative document for both himself and the Centre, but also for potential submission to Indian journals. All I can hope is that this document is recognized as shedding light on an important issue when it comes to preserving the cultural identity of the socially excluded. Those members of the population who have the greatest interest in preserving their cultural identity and having the opportunity to consume media that reflects their own interests and their own concerns are the most disenfranchised members of the population. Any indigenous populations who do not adopt Western/American culture will soon find it more and more difficult to find media which expresses their cultural identity.

I don’t know what kind of impact I should expect any research in this area to have, but for now I just hope that there are some members of the National Law School who will benefit from exposure to this issue and have the opportunity to act proactively. Canadians have been on the defensive for so long that it would be good to give another nation the opportunity to address these issues head on.

Emma Duggan

Projects, Expectations and Balkan Travel

noreply@blogger.com (Marlene Costa) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 11:20:00 +0000

This week I have focused on finalizing my Capacity Development chapter and integrating suggestions from the project supervisor. While the bulk of my research and writing was to her liking I have now started to expand the CD chapter with more context-specific information. Next week, Parisa and I will jointly turn our attention to producing a condensed version of our previous Legal Empowerment database. In addition, we have been asked to provide a short commentary on our perspective of best practices that could be helpful to Serbia’s particular situation with regards to Legal Empowerment of the Poor. More on this to come...

As our time here comes to a close, and we submit our final projects, there is one particular observation that I would like to share. We arrived at the UNDP-Serbia office eager and willing to get started and cover as much ground as possible. We soon learned that work here is done at a bit of a slower pace, and frequently without deadlines. Some co-workers advised us that this is because during the months of July and August it is difficult to coordinate projects given inability to match vacation schedules and general slowing of work expectations. Others told us that we were unpaid interns and there was no general expectation of what we could accomplish in these three months. These generalizations were not true for all the people within our office. Between adjusting to a new resident coordinator and shuffling projects at parliament some people had more than their share of work to get through. Regardless of these circumstances, when we did hand in our work, we found most people to be happily surprised with the sheer volume, quality and efficiency of our efforts. It is nice to know that our hard work was appreciated and that it will contribute to the formulation of future project proposals.

Unrelated travel note: I was able to explore the Balkan region and gain a better understanding of the surrounding cultures and their perceptions of history with the Serbian people. I recently visited: Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina(BiH), and Montenegro. Each place had a unique attachment to my host country. While Slovenia cut its ties with former Yugoslavia within 10 days in 1990, Croatia and BiH both saw much longer struggles for independence. The physical destruction was still very evident and people’s views remained negative. It is advised that people do not travel within Croatia or BiH with Serbian plates, particularly in rural communities. While I was welcomed with open arms as a Canadian traveler, my multiple Serbian border stamps were still reviewed with extra caution and knowledge that I was working in Belgrade was looked upon with curiosity. On the contrary, in Montenegro, Serbians were embraced with open arms and many people from the capital have summer homes on the Montenegrin coast. While I observed that tensions remain high in some countries, it was also clear that a level of tolerance has developed. This is a positive sign of progression towards a more unified Balkan region.

I am hopeful that our contributions to UNDP-Serbia will help future progression of projects towards a fair and inclusive judicial system.

I still hate thinking of catchy titles!

noreply@blogger.com (Dan Camenzuli) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 05:43:00 +0000

Hello Again;
The past week here at ECPAT has been really uneventful. Jina and I have been busy finishing our ordinances before we head back to Canada. I decided that this final blog will be a sort of reflection on my experience here in the Philippines.

The first day I arrived I was whisked away by a taxi to our first stop. I am pretty sure we were driving in circles...literally! Upon arriving at ECPAT I had no idea what to expect. I had no idea that I would meet various people that would in fact change the very way in which I think of my life. My time in the Philippines has made me ask myself ‘what do I want out of my life?’ For me unlike most of you, law school was a given. I actually made the decision in grade 11!?! There were many reasons that I wanted to be a lawyer but I would be lying if I say that the almighty dollar had nothing to do with it. If nothing else, working here in the Philippines has broadened my perspective on life. The poverty is not like anything I was used to. I am used to seeing the occasional homeless person begging on the side of a skyscraper – mostly because they have been swept into the outskirts of the city. We can thank the Safe Streets Act for that. Anyway, if you look closely most people just walk right by the beggars. Most do not acknowledge them. They do not look into their eyes. I would always wondered how people simply pretend like there is not a destitute person at their feet. However as I grew older I noticed that it is because the poor make people feel uncomfortable. People have a conscience; they just don’t want to activate it. Out of sight really is out of mind. It is cowardly yes, but it happens, thousands of times a day. We are all guilty of it. Well then I took my first drive down a Quezon City street and noticed that amidst the eager idling cars stopped at the intersection were children. Rain pouring down heavy on their bodies and visibly dripping down their faces they would walk to my window and use their hands to wipe the moisture from the glass. They were selling small necklaces made from dried white flowers. At the same moment however, the lights changed and we drove away to the nearest mall- TriNoma.

Malls here in the Philippines are abundant and each one looks like the Eaton Centre in Toronto. I felt like I was in Canada again. Of course that only lasted until I exited the mall and walked through an overpass from TriNoma leading to the street. With the mall not but 10 feet behind me I faced the utter poverty that most people know as their homes -their reality. I later found out that TriNoma the supermall, filled with stores like ‘The Gap’ and ‘Bench’, ‘McDonalds and ‘Burger King’ towered over the poorest neighbourhood in Quezon City. I can say that my first week here in the Philippines was a culture shock. Poverty was simply a reality here. Unlike Canada, I simply could not look away. If I closed my eyes from the children that asked for change I would open them to tricycle drivers who sleep in their tricycles overnight on the side of the road.

But despite all this the Filipinos are a happy people. They offer with much generosity. They will inconvenience themselves to great extents in order to make your stay a little more enjoyable. In Canada this type of behaviour is quite uncommon. Most people walk by busily without even the slightest regard to what is, let alone who is passing by them. The funny thing is that the poorest people in the world tend to be the nicest. It really puts things into perspective. I have realized that although things that people have here are not ‘top of the line’ they get by just fine. Their cars are old and usually very loud, their homes are not furnished with the best looking sofas and kitchens but they are happy. The lesson I have learned here from everyone I have met is to be content with what I have because things are not important in life – people are. You see throughout life we all encounter many teachers who come in various forms, it is up to us to listen to them.

ILP Blog #5 - Porsha, rights v. policy, affirmative action

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 11:09:00 +0000

In between waiting for the internet connection to come back online and finding legal scholarship regarding America and equality law, I happened upon a book of essays by sociologist Andre Beteille and unfortunately, or fortunately, found myself captivated enough to read the entire book. This diversion was extremely valuable for my exploration into the debates in India and abroad regarding equality, universality, and affirmative action initiatives, but perhaps took me away from the immediate task at hand. That task being understanding and presenting some of the differences between US law and Indian law when it comes to understanding equality and the law.

Assuming Andre Beteille’s writings are held in proper academic regard, I am particularly grateful to the readings for having articulated much better than I, some of the concerns I have regarding the implementation of substantive equality in liberal democracies and some of the questions that arise regarding theory/law on paper and theory/law in practice.

One of the underlying themes within Beteille’s essays is the different approaches to equality as seen between US, India, and South Africa – with India and South Africa much more compatible in their philosophies of equality and anti-discrimination than the US. One of the more recent essays in the book suggested that affirmative action is no longer in favour in the United States and a legal article I began reviewing this afternoon suggests that the affirmative action legislation passed so vehemently in the 1960s has failed to eliminate racial inequality. In part, the article’s author suggests, the failure to eliminate racial inequality is due to weak anti-discrimination jurisprudence which often classifies disparities especially as between blacks and whites as societal discrimination for which individual defendants cannot be held responsible. Because the US Constitution has not been interpreted to include a positive duty on the state to implement substantive group based affirmative action initiatives across public or private sectors, it is very difficult to pass the legal threshold for tests of discrimination.

Moreover, as I can attest to having lived and worked in the United States and as I’m sure others can also attest to, the underlying national psychology of individual meritocracy, individual self-reliance, and individual achievement take precedence over group assistance and special considerations and, I would argue, the very notion of egalitarianism. Very clearly there are many adequate arguments and challenges that can be made against the sheer idea of individual merit being something wholly separated from an individual’s social and economic capital, America’s legacy of past prejudices, and the critical race theory argument that racial disparities exist because whites have stacked the institutional infrastructure in their favor. In America, to eliminate racism, anti-discrimination law would have to dismantle those ostensibly race-neutral institutional rules that reinforce racial inequality. Essentially, the idea of dismantling and rebuilding institutional infrastructure is at the heart of the debate regarding equality issues in India. Where South Africa has undertaken such revisions to its institutional infrastructure and where India may be contemplating as such, the United States has not and arguably will not, dismantle and rebuild even in part, its institutional infrastructure. And, if I understand some of Beteille’s writings nor should they and nor should India.

In reviewing the intent and objectives of the EOC Bill I was struck by the idea of how free-market economists must object to the premise of a Diversity Index in the private sector. I felt the sheer logistics of first obtaining the evidentiary data to create the Index and then implementing policy measures for organizations to meet set targets or diversity goals would be costly and time consuming. Beteille put my instinctive musings much more succinctly by suggesting that stressing distributive equality may be a threat not only to liberty but also to efficiency. And efficiency, having such a central place in the economic ideology dominating modern life, is not a criticism to be overlooked. Complementing his efficiency critique is Beteille’s arguments regarding institutional welll-being and his observation that it is difficult to see how the idea that castes and communities have rights to proportionate shares in (public) employment can be made compatible with the working of a modern society committed to economic development and liberal democracy. This point was debated within the Centre where one professor stated, "Efficiency argument? If the world did not come to end because inefficient Brahmanas and Kshatriyas ruled the country for ages it will also not come to an end if inefficient other castes rule it for equally many ages. Efficiency and other arguments will not carry the day here."

Taking into account such notions as institutional well-being, efficiency, and liberalism Beteille suggests that the framework for discussing equality is better positioned as a policy discussion (such as the US framework) rather than as a rights discussion (such as India and South Africa). Having an equality debate framed in rights creates a more heated atmosphere where more people are less likely to yield on matters of rights and justice than utility and policy. Beteille suggests that policy based implementations in public education first and foremost followed by childcare, health, and housing should take precedence over the idea of creating the end product of good jobs. Starting from the endgame is overly ambitious and positions India for failure. The debate moved beyond the Centre's borders and included a professor in Singapore who suggested that policy is perhaps not radical enough for some of the issues facing India. She likened the need for institutional restructuring to the way in which women pressed for gender equality across various spectrums of public life. Insinuating that the feminist movement's arguably aggressive and transformative approach to equal recognition in the workforce was absolutely necessary in moving a stagnant and complacent patriarchal society forward.

Clearly Beteille holds government influence in the public and private sphere something to be stringently questioned. He argues it is a mistake to believe that every desirable state can be brought into existence by the government. Including the aspirations of formal and substantive equality amongst all Indian citizens. Where the Mandal Commission’s famous directive followed the theory of equality of result being the, “effective acid test of effective equality” (regarding government employment) Beteille suggests equality of result in government employment is hardly a significant step towards equality in a country where substantial numbers of people remain ill-fed and undereducated. However, Centre colleagues were quick to point out the deficiencies in India's social welfare system and thought any policy aimed at leveling the playing field in the beginning of one's life was futile. I learned that, initially, the reservation system (affirmative action) was intended to be implemented for just one decade - seemingly under the rationale that ten years would remedy the disparity of generations.

The publication date of the book of essays I read was 2002 although it should be noted that several essays were drafted originally in the 1990s. I assume these essays thus coincided with the implementation of the Mandal Commissions recommended reservations program in the public employment sector.

For all of Beteille's criticisms of India there is an understanding that the aspiration for equality or adherence to a universal living standard is not to be refused in the advance of individual meritocracy or the ravages of globalized economic models. I believe his principal argument is one of rights versus policy, rhetoric versus actions, and feasible versus non-feasible. Of course, feasibility is relative and several Centre colleagues feel very little is feasible in an entrenched cultural caste system. One colleague went on to say, "I have personally withdrawn from the The Great Indian Caste Debate because I think it does not make sense to spend time supporting low castes who are fighting for rising up the caste pyramid rather than destroying it. Indians are not against casteism. They are against their position in the pyramid if and only if they are not already at the pinnacle (note the if and only if)."

This diversion into Beteille’s writings was very interesting. Clearly, his arguments pose some hot-topic points. They bring me somewhat closer to understanding the affirmative action debate from a 360 degree perspective.

In the field: Ternate, North Maluku

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Rodrigue) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 02:17:00 +0000

Twelve hours, 4 airports, and one hectic takeoff later, I arrived back in Jakarta after a week in the field in Ternate, North Maluku – and by far, this was the one week that gave all the work I’ve done over the summer some perspective.

After having my exposure to LEAD Project’s real work limited to highly administrative work, I had the chance to accompany some of the team to Ternate for a workshop on the project’s brand new Standard Operating Procedures. This new document, which has taken up a large part of my summer (and, I might add, is the first of its kind for the United Nations in Southeast Asia) took up four days of training all the North Malukan grant recipients – and provided me the chance to explore some of what LEAD’s impacts are at the grassroots level.

But first, a little history. North Maluku is part of what were once called the Maluccas, aka the Spice Islands (yes, THE Spice Islands – one of the first places Europeans thought “hmmm…. This might be a nice place to really control). The reason: nutmeg, and cloves. Up until the past couple hundred of years, the islands in North Maluku were the only place on Earth you could find them. The Chinese, the Portugese, the Dutch, the English – all played off local Sultans and sought out monopolies on these precious commodities, which were used as both spices and traditional medicines the world over. The local Sultanates, in turn, grew incredibly rich – especially the Sultanates of Ternate and Tidore which exist to this day. As the story goes though, these two great island kingdoms unfortunately squandered most of their riches on fighting each other to the point that European colonization became far more facilitated by weakened communities and military strength. Eventually the Dutch won out, like the rest of Indonesia, until the Japanese and the US in turn used some of the North Malukan islands as South Pacific HQs during the Second World War.

Since independence, North Maluku has been a region ravaged by slow development progress, and unfortunate violence. In 2005 tensions flared between the Muslim majority and the Christian minority, as they did elsewhere in the North of Indonesia. The violence was fairly severe – with casualties and extensive property damage on both sides. It certainly didn’t help that a crew of Javanese Muslim groups declared a holy war to protect their fellow Muslims in North Maluku, and set out in boats, adding to the tension in the region.
Though I noticed some charred buildings remain, it seems that modern North Maluku (unlike its southern neighbour, Maluku) is fairly stable, and actually growing. There is a new airport being built to handle the national flag carrier, Garuda (right now only small regional planes can get to the city… fun times); the city’s second indoor mall is on the way, and national chains are starting to see potential in the city. Tourism, unlike many other parts of Indonesia, is relatively non-existent. Over a week in the city, I saw 4 foreigners outside of the LEAD team. That being said, after spending all my time between Java and Bali, it was incredibly refreshing to get to a cultural setting where going after the tourist dollar was not priority number one. No aggressive sales, relatively lower levels of the familiar chorus of “hey mister!”, and absolutely ZERO little “Ternate” key chains or low quality tourist grabs helped me realize how beautiful it is to be free of some of the focus of other cultures in this vast country. If the city continues to grow, I could see this changing… unfortunately. But in Indonesia, I get the sense that this might be the tradeoff for “development” and harvesting new sources of income. There is no doubt in my mind that Ternate proper could handle a bigger tourist industry – the place is filled with history (old colonial forts, a Sultan’s Palace, huge crocodile lakes, not to mention the island is an active volcano that continuously spews smoke into the air).

Being in such an idyll setting for the conference, it was hard to concentrate on the work at hand, but I think the LEAD crew and I did an admirable job. There are five grantees in North Maluku, whose foci are as diverse as addressing violence against women, to enforcing fisherfolk aquatic rights, to land claims and settlement policy. One of my days in North Maluku I was fortunate enough to accompany a visiting RTI Television (the country’s largest private broadcaster) crew who were doing a story on violence against women in the province. It was incredible to learn the perspectives on one of the experts they interviewed, as well as a representative from the TP2TP2A initiative in the city, which is placed inside the provincial government planning board as a joint project between NGOs and the police to ensure that gender issues have a direct a meaningful link into government policy decisions and complaint handling. On top of that, I had the chance to accompany the team to the Daurmala women’s shelter, one of LEAD Project’s grant recipients. It was truly an amazing experience to be a part of, if only from the sidelines and hearing the accounts through rough translation.

That being said, I think the highlight of my trip actually occurred after work hours. On one of our nights there, I accompanied the LEAD team, some grantees, and the TV crew to the outdoor restaurant in Ternate’s only mall. While there, I saw a small boy sitting at the entrance to the mall, wrapped in a rice bag trying to stay warm against the wind of the island. He was looking around in empty water bottles, and I noticed him continuously struggling to stay awake as the night went on, falling asleep with the old “head bob” – causing him to hit his head against the basket of dried mangoes and peanuts he was selling. Before we all left, I ran into the mall, and bought a Soy-Mango bar, a water bottle, and some small toy gheckos figuring this would help solve the water and the drowsiness problems. When I got one of my friends from LEAD to come over to the boy and translate for me, he beamed. As I bought some of his peanuts for twice his rate ($1 instead of 50 cents), he told us how he was going into grade five, and that he had to come to the mall everyday straight from school to sell his wares. His mother, working in the sex trade, would only be able to come get him shortly after the mall closed at 10pm. Also, it turned out that he was living in temporary shelters built by the city after fires gutted through many of the housing units near the water front two weeks before our arrival (having seen the devastation for myself, it was a sad sight, but luckily there were no casualties). After sitting behind a desk for 2 months and helping to facilitate meetings in one of Ternate’s hotels, this was the closest I’ve truly felt to making a difference here – and will likely be the moment that sticks with me the most. I only wish I had my camera with me to capture the moment…

Now that I’m back in Jakarta for my last week, I’ll be looking to wrap up all my remaining projects, and am anxious to hear back from the UN Conference on ICAAP 9 which will be going on Bali starting on Tuesday. Two of the stories that I drafted for possible use at the conference were both accepted and will be discussed by a panel of experts on the plight of migrant workers. Hundreds, if not thousands, of Indonesians go to Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and other gulf states each year to work as domestic workers. Needless to say, they are nowhere near well taken care of in many circumstances. Rape, theft, withholding pay and passports are but some of the issues reported in large numbers every year. It is a huge public policy issue in the country, and causes heartaches and headaches for those who leave hoping to send remittances back to Indonesia to support their families. My two stories, based on real victim accounts, deal with many of these issues.

Cheers for now,
Marc

The Seven Rules of the Philippines

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Hudek) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 05:26:00 +0000

Throughout our summer in the Philippines Shivani, Dan, Jina, Cyndi and I have observed a number of patterns that are more or less consistent. We have deemed these patterns The Seven Rules of the Philippines. Like all rules, there are exceptions but for anyone travelling in the Philippines and to any of the interns coming here next year this list of rules is invaluable.

There is never a taxi around when you need one but there is always one around when you don’t.
This is probably the rule with the most exceptions. There are a number of days when you can in fact find taxis without a problem but it always seems that when you just want to walk a block taxis are honking at you and trying to get your attention but when there is a tropical storm out you cannot get a taxi to stop to save your life.
Nothing is ever as you expect.
This applies for just about everything whether it be the clubhouse sandwich with chicken salad and a fried egg or the laundry place that continues to steal your clothes even after you have busted them for it. The image to the right is a "grilled cheese sandwich."
You can operate any machinery you want so long as you ask nicely.
This is actually a rule we had to change from “You can operate any vehicle so long as you ask nicely.” If you are a foreigner in the Philippines you can use anything with a motor you want if you are nice about it. All of us have driven motorcycles at night with a passenger after about 10 minutes of training (something that takes around 6 months of training in Canada) and one member of our group has driven a motorcycle with a sidecar (trike) and a jackhammer just by asking nicely. A friend of mine here has offered to let me drive her car several times in Manila traffic but so far I have turned her down and we are still hoping one member of our group can drive a Jeepney before we leave. If the Jeepney is a success then we might take turns flying the plane to Banue this weekend.
They are always out of something.
Without fail, every time you go into a restaurant they will be out of stock of something. This out of stock comes in two varieties: the permanent out of stock and the temporary out of stock. Sometime menus will show an item that is just not available at that location and sometimes they will just not have that item available that day. However, no distinction is made between these "out of stocks" so if you frequent a restaurant you should know that sometimes out of stock means permanently.
One morning I went out to get a sandwich and the one I wanted was out of stock so they suggested an alternative to me. I inquired as to whether this alternative was chicken salad or not and they said it was not. I ordered it and they asked me what kind of bread, focaccia or Panini, I asked for focaccia to which they replied “out of stock”. When my sandwich finally came it was chicken salad on Panini; on the walk home 5 separate cabs tried to get my attention fulfilling three rules of the Philippines within a 15 minute span.
No two halo-halos are ever the same.
The national dessert in the Philippines is called halo-halo which literally translates to mix-mix. These desserts are like snowflakes, no two are ever the same. We have come up with two ways of describing halo-halo; (1) there are a number of different tubs of food such as cereal, candy, fruits, beans, etc. and someone has taken the halo-halo dish and dragged it through these tubs at random to produce the halo-halo that the restaurant brings to you, (2) you take the stoner character from any recent movie aimed at teens and you put him in a kitchen with the munchies and see what he creates “Ice cream? Yeah! Corn Flakes? Why not? Left over spaghetti? That is a given!” Needless to say, one halo-halo might contain ice cream, pop-tarts and french-fries while another will contain crushed ice, bacon and piano keys.
Beware the National Change Crisis.
Before President Marcos, the dictator of the eighties, it took about 2 pesos to buy one American dollar. Today it takes about 40 pesos to buy one Canadian dollar which is why the government started printing 500 and 1000 peso bills. The problem is that now bank machines only give out these two kinds of bills and there are lots of things in the Philippines that still cost fewer than 100 pesos. This has led to the National Change Crisis where you cannot buy the essentials in life because there is just not enough change to go around. I have witnessed this come to a head twice while I have been here. Once Dan and I were trying to buy something worth 780 pesos, we gave the guy two 500 peso bills and he looked at us like we were handing him monopoly money, his reaction was, “What am I supposed to do with that?” We had to scrounge in the change tray of our friend’s car to come up with exact change just to buy this item. The second time was when we had to pay the airport tax and they could not give us change. This is the one that really blew all our minds because the airport tax is collected by the government…and the government prints the money so how is it that the people printing the money don’t even have change?
Karaoke is always appropriate.
So Shivani and I work in a law school and it is considered one of the best law schools in the country. For the birthday of one of the professors the students took over the mixing area of the law school and had a karaoke party for the afternoon when the professors sang most of the songs. On another occasion I was setting up a room with a Filipino named John and we needed to borrow a projector from the physical plant office. So in Tagalog John says, “Can I borrow a…” and he is interrupted by the woman from the physical plant guessing what he wants and saying, “karaoke machine?” I have also confirmed that karaoke happens, and is not frowned upon at funerals.

These rules are in no way intended to be derogatory; in fact it is quite the opposite. We all love the Philippines and none of us really want to leave but we have noticed a number of recurring cultural differences and we feel this list is the best way to point them out in a humorous fashion. We hope you agree.

-Tim, Dan, Jina, Cyndi and Shivani

ILP Blog #4 - Porsha, continuing equality analysis

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 06:36:00 +0000

For reasons unexplained (except perhaps latent ethnocentric tendencies?!?) South Africa was the last common law jurisdiction I set about researching for my project on comparative equality law and India's new Equal Opportunities Commission Bill. Some truth, perhaps, to the old adage "save the best for last." South Africa's equality and anti-discrimination law is unapologetic and transformative in its approach to addressing historical wrongdoings and propelling a largely unrepresented population into full social inclusion. However, and I have expressed this sentiment to my supervising professors, the (assumed) disparity between law on the books and law on the ground is something I have no insight on at the moment. My most recent task and successful deliverable was to provide an overview of South Africa's equality rights through the lenses of the constitution, attendant legislation, and jurisprudence.

In my initial opinion, India and South Africa share more in common in the desired equality and social inclusion objectives than India and Canada, India and the USA, or India and the UK. Much aligned with observations that India's EOC Bill is a "paradigm shift" in equality, South Africa's 1996 constitution has been referred to as "manifestly transformative" particularly regarding equality rights. Hence, my comment that South Africa and India would be wisely compared to a greater degree than any other recommended common law jurisdiction.

The materials I relied upon for a review of the South African Constitution and its attendant legislation and implementation bodies is of very good quality for creating a comparative approach to India's Equal Opportunity Commission.

As with India's attempts at "stepping up" equality legislation, South Africa's constitution, other legislative equality initiatives and jurisprudence is very broad in scope, explicit in the language of substantive equality rights, and aggressive in recognizing and remedying historical grievances and injustices. It has been my observation that South Africa is unapologetic about addressing the legacies of colonialism, apartheid, and patriarchy by embracing affirmative action initiatives well beyond numerical representations of under-represented groups. The creation of a positive duty upon the state is constitutionally mandated through s. 9(2) and the language of the equality rights through s. 9 of the Constitution encompasses state and private actors, direct and indirect discrimination and asks that legislation be passed to eliminate unfair discrimination per s. 9(4). Moreover, the enumerated grounds on which discrimination is prohibited may be the longest list across in any common law jurisdiction.

As already noted, one scholar remarked that, "South Africa's commitment to a substantive conception of equality is evident in both constitutional and legislative provisions and supported or complemented by equality jurisprudence from the constitutional court. All of which aligns with the, manifestly transformative nature of the South African Constitution." The expression, manifestly transformative, may be the sort of aspirational sentiment attached to the EOC Bill, particularly if a positive duty to act is entrenched along with the notion that actions by the state are applied in light of past and continuing patterns of disadvantage.

What has also caught my attention regarding South Africa's equality law is the substantive, contextual and asymmetrical equality analysis developed by the constitutional court and the possibility of allowing for different degrees of fair discrimination, including overlap in categorizations, and allusions to a hierarchy of discrimination (for example that discrimination on race may create a certain level of preferential treatment over other groups' claims of discrimination).

Finally, South Africa's acknowledgment that discrimination and equality must move beyond formal language to address structural inequality and not simply inequality as the result of individual acts of prejudice appears aligned with the purpose of creating the EOC. In so initiating a new institutional framework committed to the concept of equality, South Africa provides an example for India on where the EOC can be placed within the existing institutional hierarchy.

My completed memo presents the policy and acts of South African government when it comes to equality. Again, what is more difficult to assess are the outcomes on the ground and whether or not the transformative language of South Africa's equality law is transformative in practical application. It is hard to reconcile South Africa's many achievements, on paper, with some of the devastating statistics on poverty, HIV/Aids, unemployment, and crime in the country.

On a separate travel note, the Bangalore crew here spent last weekend in the spice, silk, and saree capital of India - a city called Mysore. We visited the famed Mysore Palace, Chummundi Hill (temple), the local market in the early hours, and had a very nice meal at a very colonial style restaurant in a very posh hotel called the Metropole. We hired a driver and a taxi for two days. In India, even law students staring down student loans, can live ridiculously well for relatively cheap!

noreply@blogger.com (Jina) — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 07:39:00 +0000

I had my first exposure to child pornography this week. I was asked to cataloge the different forms of child pornography confiscated from raids... I thought the file given to me was a bunch of charts and numbers, but soon realized the file contained masses of pornographic images of children.
I am not sure how to react, other than being utterly disgusted.

It really brought to reality what ECPAT is fighting for, and gave so much more meaning to all the lobbying that we have been doing the last month for the passage of the Anti-Child Pornography Act.
I think emotionally, I am still in shock, and it hasn't really sunken in...

One member of the ECPAT staff said it best:
'child pornography is not just pornography with children; it is the documentation of a crime.'

Judicial Training Update

noreply@blogger.com (Parisa Nikfarjam) — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:27:00 +0000

This week I continued my research on judicial training and reform in order to supplement the judicial training knowledge map. The research began with a visit to the publication collection of UNDP's international partners such as that World Bank, SIDA, CIDA, USAID etc. I found certain website more forthcoming and was disappointed with CIDA's website. The publications were either inaccessible or less detailed than outlined in their abstracts.
Other than website troubles, the challenge in updating this knowledge map has been the lack of specific resources. The Judicial Training Center and its projects are new initiatives and as such there are very little scholarly works and feedback on similar projects. Most of the resources focus on judicial reform strategies, which while helpful seem too primitive for use in the Serbian context.

Serbia's unique situation is that it is a country in transition. It has maintained certain infrastructures and programs and in more cases seeks to reform rather than create such infrastructures. At this juncture many recommendations on development are thus given in vain. This makes several UNDP projects, of which the judicial Training Center is a part, pioneering projects in their field, which makes accuracy and sustainability key priorities. Updating the information contained in the Training Guide would have been a natural starting point but for various reasons, this task was not taken up since the initial compilation of the Guide. This suggests to me that while there is a pioneering spirit in the Serbian UNDP office, there may be a lack of human resource to maintain the accuracy of projects. I do believe however that the initial layout of the Guide was also problematic in the sense that it was not at all user-friendly. I am in the midst of creating a new layout with more updated information that I hope will encourage more regular attention and addition to the Guide.

On a completely different note, I had the opportunity last week to visit Rome for a few days. While the city was lovely and I had a great time, I was often asked why I was staying in Serbia for the summer. While working for the UNDP and the ILP experience seemed acceptable to most, the choice of the country seemed for them quite odd. Some were under the impression that the social tensions still manifested themselves openly and violently. While the tensions continue in Serbia, I do believe that a portion of Serbia's struggles stem from the preconceptions that the international community holds with regards to Serbia. This is quite a sore spot for Serbians, who are eager to find out what you thought of them prior to visiting and are even more eager to change your opinion to a more a favorable one.

This change of opinions seems to come gradually. While initially most seem to enjoy the liveliness of Belgrade, a longer stay will reveal the tensions, poverty and power struggles that underlay the society. Those are the tensions that are alleviated slowly, through systematic change. What seems clear to me 2.5 months into my stay here is that while Serbia certainly can use some help in its upgrade, we too must begin to upgrade the way in which we see this country in order to aid in the former project.

Serbia's Capacity Development Progress

noreply@blogger.com (Marlene Costa) — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 08:47:00 +0000

This week I wrapped up my research on Capacity Development (CD) in Serbia and completed a draft chapter that will be added to the Judicial Training Centre (JTC) materials. To supplement the CD description that I blogged about last week I have decided to provide more information on Serbia's specific CD experiences in relation to the establishment of the JTC.

Experience with CD strategies has allowed UNDP-Serbia to identify several comparative advantages of its work in the area of institutional development. These include:

• Long- term engagement – Given the complexity of institutional frameworks lengthy engagement is necessary and often preferred for at least five years. In the case of the JTC, support ended only upon formation of self-sustaining capacities.

• Mentor Not Director – UNDP-Serbia’s role is to act as a facilitator; working with partners to assess capacity assets and address gaps with incentive mechanisms. In doing so, local ownership is enhanced and the substitution approach is avoided.

• Phased Approach – This process aims to progress incrementally from individual to institutional development, where each new phase builds on the previous.

1st Phase – Individual skills are updated or developed. This provides “quick wins” to gain support of staff and improve the first level of CD.
• JTC staff was trained in preparation for project activities.

2nd Phase – Basic organizational structures and procedures are refined or established.
• Internal planning processes, human resources and administrative functions were established for facilitated operation of the JTC.

3rd Phase – Support functions, such as policy and legislation formulation are executed.
• The JTC fulfilled core functions, such as judicial training seminars with the support of UNDP–Serbia.

• Comprehensive Action – It is crucial for institutional development to address individual, technical, organizational, and administrative processes, as well as the enabling environment. UNDP-Serbia supported the government and organization to create and reform policy, legal frameworks and government statutes for facilitation of JTC establishment.

• Fostering Partnerships – For CD to be successfully executed, effective cooperation among multiple partners is essential. UNDP-Serbia demonstrated its ability to work as a neutral negotiator for national and international experts, governmental and non-governmental organizations, and for donor partners.

These are just some of the lessons learned from past projects, and the establishment of the JTC in particular. Now it is important that lessons are considered and applied in future policy and project efforts.

Corporal Punishment and Escape Artists

noreply@blogger.com (Brooke Camlis) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 06:08:00 +0000

For the second time, I went to Kampiringisa (the National Rehabilitation Centre for children convicted of crimes- which doubles as a dumping ground for street children who are rounded up off the street). My supervisor and I went to ask some follow-up questions in order to fill in gaps in the research. This time we were on a mission to find out about the corporal punishment and the street children. Josephine and I sat on the grass under a tree and waited for the children we were to interview.

In Uganda, corporal punishment is outlawed in institutions. However, every child we have interviewed in Kampiringisa insists caning is a common form of punishment. I wanted to know if it was an accepted practice or if there was some rogue vigilante roaming the grounds in search of misbehaving children.... I had my suspicions as to which was more probable.

When I asked the director of the Centre about the use of corporal punishment, he insisted forcefully that it was never used and that it was illegal to partake in such activities. However, the children were experiencing one thing as the administration was proclaiming another. I asked the children we were interviewing why the Director claimed that caning never happened. The children informed me that it was the young social workers and the social work students on placement in Kampiringisa who cane the children. After we finished speaking with the girls, Josephine and I sauntered over to the row of plastic chairs where the on-duty staff members were relaxing. When we asked them about caning, they said that these children are delinquent and need to be caned because there is no other way of getting through to them. They openly admitted to facilitating this illegal punishment. The fact that these employees comfortably admit that they cane the children suggests to me that it is accepted within administration as well. The mystery source of the illegal corporal punishment has been solved, but the reason why the administration turns a blind eye is troubling. I find it hard to believe that someone who has such control in the Centre doesn’t know that caning is used as the most common form of punishment. The fact that caning is accepted makes me wonder what other protections guaranteed to juvenile offenders are being disregarded. One thing that bothers me about our interviews is that administration always hand selects the children we can interview. In the back of my mind, I wonder if maybe the children we don’t get to interview have experienced more human rights abuses.

While it will go into our report that caning is common at Kampiringisa, I would be interested to find out if there is any change in procedure following the publication of our report. It would be nice if our work actually made a difference and wasn’t just one of the many reports published. I have often wondered if what we are doing will change anything.

At Kampiringisa, the young street children (some as young as one or two years old) are assigned to the older girls. The older girls act as surrogate mothers. This is a lot of responsibility for these girls, and it is definitely not ideal to have juvenile offenders caring for vulnerable children who have been dumped on the street. It seems to me that it is easy children to be forgotten and pushed aside in society and there needs to be some advocates working to ensure children get what they deserve and aren’t neglected.

On a side note, two of the girls that Ashley and I interviewed before have escaped from Kampiringisa and have not been found. I wish that I could find them and talk to them again; they are very bright and typical teenage girls.

This past week I went on a safari in Northern Tanzania (Serengeti, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater). Among the common (giraffes, zebras, hippos, etc) I saw the “big five” which are lions, elephants, leopards, buffalo, and rhinos. It was quite the experience and at one point we were in the middle of a herd of elephants chasing down a pride of lions who were crouching down less than a foot from my car door; it was awesome to see. The animals were very close to the car, and in fact one baboon jumped into our car and stole my chocolate bar and toiletries. However, that was nothing compared to being accosted by a group of men in “no man’s land” in between the Kenyan and Tanzanian borders, but that is a story for another time!

I dont like coming up with catchy titles

noreply@blogger.com (Dan Camenzuli) — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 07:08:00 +0000

To celebrate our birthdays, Jina and I decided that it would be great to give the girls at the shelter a good old fashioned ‘kid’ birthday party. We bought party hats and balloons and ordered a lot of pizza! It was a great evening. The girls really enjoyed themselves and I must admit it felt good celebrating my birthday vicariously through the ECPAT girls. All the girls were at our celebration except one; Tina (the real name has been replaced). Today, after a long two weeks of writing local ordinances, working with Attorney Tin through edits and organizing university symposiums, I found out just why Tina was not at our party. It was revealed to me that she had escaped the shelter and is suspected of returning to walking the streets of Quezon City, selling herself.

You see the initial reaction that I had felt after arriving at ECPAT and reading the graphic facts of various child trafficking cases has been numbed over the course of the summer. Between the legal work and partying, the lobbying and travelling, I had forgotten that initial tidal wave of overwhelming emotion which I felt when the summer had begun. I sat there motionless as the Ate’s described Tina’s life to me. The cigarette I was smoking became a refuge. I did not know how to react to the reality that was shared with me. Every drag calmed my feelings of discomfort and unease. I did not know how to sit or what to say. The only thing I knew was how to finish that cigarette which now barely rested between my slightly trembling fingers. “The girls only know one way of life” they explained. “They feel like they must put on a show; A mask. That is what they would do for the men that bought them. They had to learn how to fulfill the man’s sexual fantasies and remove themselves from the situation”. Apparently Tina’s mother has tried to take Tina while she was at school and even at the ECPAT shelter. The Ate’s revealed to me that they suspect that Tina was subjected to abuse through incest by her mother’s own hand. They also said they suspect that Tina’s mother was the one who had initially pimped her out to various men. They called Tina a ‘street-walker’. Unlike the other girls who became sex slaves in various bars, Tina walked the streets, sometimes as the subject of a syndicate and sometimes freelance. They explained that street-walkers find it difficult to deal with structure. Apparently Tina would tell other girls that she misses the streets. At that I became aware that they were preparing to set out on a search for Tina. I wished them luck and our conversation ended with them piling into a van and me sitting motionless at a table outside the shelter.

I do not know why this information was revealed to me. It was not the most appealing conversation to get into on a Friday evening as I was leaving for work. On the tricycle ride home Cyndi (my girlfriend who tutors Tina) and I barely spoke. I simply did not know what to say. I assume that Cyndi did not either. I noticed a tear roll down her cheek and that was enough to force me to look and listen to the noise of the traffic filled streets. As we dismounted the tricycle it became apparent to me that I was glad to have been enlightened, again, on the realities of our world. Sometimes when you are fighting for something you need to be reminded of just what that something is. For us that something is Tina. The way she thinks of herself and how she felt it necessary to flee the one place in the world that took care of her. I thought back to Canada and everyone I know. I wondered what they were doing at that very moment. I knew then what I was doing. After spending 8 hours in the sun and chasing after students to sign our petition there we were; covered in sweat, tired and yet at ease. As the summer ends so do the various internships that all of us have participated in. As such we must think to ourselves ‘How much difference does it make?’ I say it makes a hell of a difference, however small that difference may be.

Office cleaning, and 'the audacity of broom' (sorry Obama!)

sevda.e.mansour@gmail.com (Sevda) — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 12:54:00 +0000

Our time in Zambia is ending and it’s hard to believe we have been here for 2 months now. I feel fortunate to have had the chance to work at ZARAN and experience what challenges an indigenous NGO faces in terms of intenal direction and organization. In its 5 years of operation, the AIDSLaw Clinic at ZARAN has handled over 150 cases of discrimination based on actual or perceived HIV status. Yet, there is no single database that keeps a record of these files. Apparently a consultant was hired to organize a database a year ago but the programme had crashed or was found to be inoperative. Either way, that matter seemed to have slipped away from the priority list of ZARAN.

I remember about a month ago, in one of our weekly reports we mentioned the challenge we are facing in trying to approach the organization with problems that have easy solutions and can add to the efficiency of ZARAN. However, as short-term volunteers who are only here for less than 12 full weeks, we were not sure if our role would allow us to bring these matters to the attention of the staff. One of these problems with easy solution is definitely lack of a database. To my relief, a few days after, during a conversation with the paralegal under which Jamie and I have been working the matter was brought up and she agreed that having a database is indeed necessary and long overdue. Wanting to have somehow contributed to the efficient operation of the clinic and the organization as a whole, I volunteered to help her undertake the impossible task of going through all these files, writing up case reports, organizing them physically and then entering the information in a database. However, similar to the normal pace of life and labor here, this has been coming at a painstakingly slow speed. The challenge of a small NGO such as ZARAN mostly lies in the constant in and out flow of staff and volunteers. It is hoped, however, now that a legal officer has been finally hired, his presence will add more efficiency and consistency to the work of the clinic.

Aside from the stresses of the last few weeks at work, I find myself more comfortable and used to my surroundings. People at work also seem to be more comfortable with us. Which brings me to the next point: gender relations. I posted about this a while ago, impressed at how far Zambian youth seemed to have come in achieving gender equality. Interestingly enough, yesterday at lunch, our research officer, a university graduate who is pursuing his masters in Social Work- married for 5 years with 2 kids, a very intelligent Zambian male- waged a lose-lose war with all the female staff of the office regarding the despicable notion of husbands staying at home and taking care of the kids while the wife is employed.

What I found most entertaining was his image of a man “sweeping”- yes SWEEPING: this unfathomable act that according to Peter would no doubt lead to the demise of the marriage. No matter how much all the females pleaded that this in fact may add more love and appreciation to the wife and the marriage, he stuck by his conclusion that a man engaged in sweeping and cooking essentially loses his masculinity in the eye of his wife, and the wife will eventually find a “real” masculine man at work that she will be attracted to. Of course all us females are unmarried, so Peter wisely advised us to wait until we are married and then see our husband do house chore. Very passionately he added that we would take the sweep out of his hand because of the shame we would be feeling at this sight, and ask him to sit down so we can clean! I felt a small victory however as the female staff added that Peter is very spoiled, being the first born male of the family, probably from an upper-middle class one, who doesn’t make his own bed nor knows how to cook! According to them, at mid twenties, employed and married, he is not yet independent.

It was very interesting to witness this debate as it opened my eyes to a lot of cultural issues that the society is still grappling with, even among the more affluent and educated population. In some ways, these stereotypes about gender roles mirror myths and misconceptions about HIV, and in the same vein that the latter prevent and delay a comprehensive program of HIV/AIDS eradication from having effect, the cultural stereotypes of gender roles delay social progression vis-à-vis women’s equality and gender empowerment.

ILP Blog #3 - Porsha, summarizing the second week

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 11:15:00 +0000

With any comparative law initiative it is virtually impossible to compare the proverbial "apples to apples" and I am finding the equality legislation, even across liberal democracies with common law jurisdictions, differs substantially based on the societal and cultural make up of each country in purview. And India, in particular, is a special case of looking through the lens of a truly pluralistic society unlike the nuances of Canadian multiculturalism and the American 'melting pot' system of integration which, in my experience, consistently posits each individual as American first and any other nomenclature second.

This past week my focus has been on combing through the Canadian Human Rights Commission and the Charter's s. 15 historical context in its 1985 verbiage and the jurisprudence from the last 24 years.

In reviewing the very principles and rationales attached to the remanded original draft of s. 15 the sentiment of the day, the public interest groups of the day, and the committees convened to finalize language for s. 15 sound remarkably like the political and social interests voicing their concerns and opinions about an EOC in India. As such, it is worth presenting the expectations attached to early equality-seeking groups in Canada, the results that have occurred regarding expectations, and most interestingly the key reasons that equality remains at the vanguard of constitutional litigation in Canada.

In 1985, much like the language of the intent of the EOC Bill, the language included in the Charter, particularly the expression "equal benefit of the law" was advocated for in order to insist that the right to equality would apply in respect of the substance as well as the administration of the law in Canada. Note also that Canada became the first democracy to give constitutional status to the equality rights of persons with mental and physical disabilities. The intent behind "equal benefit of the law" was to place upon the state a positive duty to act to remedy pre-existing disadvantage and entrenched systemic inequality (much like the EOC Bill). The Charter was to herald a commitment for more than just prohibiting discrimination - it was to create positive action.

As with the current legal climate in India, there was much discussion over a paradigm shift to solve inequality problems in Canada and many of the reports to Parliamentary committees had the benefit of international law and Canada's commitment to the ICCPR etc., Thus, equality discussions initially focused on civil and political and social and cultural rights in Canada. Of course, the progression of equality rights in Canada was in addition to the minimum standards of social welfare (welfare payments, subsidized housing, public health insurance, legal aid) so the equality discussion was, arguably, more progressive than any discussions occurring in America. And further, one could suggest, America is currently discussing issues like single payer healthcare that Canada decided decades ago. But I digress.

The principal 'take-away' from a review of 24 years of jurisprudence on s. 15 is that equality-seeking public interest groups provided back then, and continue to provide now, the momentum for safeguarding gains in s. 15 rights (including sexual orientation, disability rights, race, and immigration). There has been little true achievement on creating upon the state a positive duty to act in support of s. 15 be it public or private sectors but the constant presence of equality seeking groups as interveners in litigation before the Supreme Court of Canada stands as the preeminent tool for the progression of equality rights in Canada. This denotes the necessary role of litigation and the important place that jurisprudence has in Canada's equality initiatives.

I mention litigation in particular as I am uncertain whether Indian Constitutional jurisprudence has been, or will be, as instrumental in realizing formal and/or substantive equality rights in India. As has been mentioned, constitutional protection under Article 15 has traditionally been as against the state (not private actors). A casual conversation amongst colleagues today hinted that the Indian Supreme Court has really not moved equality issues along at an acceptable rate, in part due to the deference showed lawmakers through the reasonableness standard in law. In fact, one scholar remarked that India has one of the, “most backward looking judicial understandings of discrimination law” (yikes!). He suggests that India’s Supreme Court skirts around strong equality jurisprudence in order to avoid having to strike down unjust gender provisions of religion based family law. However, in reviewing the very recent Naz Foundation decision of the Delhi HC it would appear to me that, should the Supreme Court accept much of the decision there is the chance that the judiciary will, as in Canada, serve an integral role in solidifying equality rights across minority groups in India. If there is no progress at the level of the Supreme Court on equality jurisprudence, it has been suggested in conversation here that the answer to progress lies with political leadership and not the courts.

The important point to note from Canada is the invaluable contribution of numerous public interest groups with a vested interest in advancing s. 15 jurisprudence. These interest groups cover the disabled, women, children, minority groups, language minorities, and issues in poverty law. Moreover, the federal government created the Court Challenges Program to fund s. 15 challenges to federal law, policy, or action. This is a very important point to consider when determining the how the EOC can gain sharper "teeth" in implementing its mandate.

When comparing the EOC Bill with s 15 and the Canadian Human Rights Act it is important to think beyond the government's carrot or stick option but to task lobby groups with pushing the equality agenda and raising issues to the point of being adjudicated and progressed by India's Supreme Court. It is here where I wonder how similar or different Canada and India are regarding the proverbial "people power" that can fuel equality rights. Already I am gaining some insight into the fact that unlike instances in Canadian history, there are few attempts at coalition building in India and the ‘reservation’ (aka affirmative action) system has spawned politics where redistribution is a zero-sum gain. Dalits are pitted against Muslims who are pitted against women etc.,

So the education and comparison continue but the minefields of the caste system, entrenched religious differences and seemingly insurmountable discord among various factions across India, make equality objectives a very complex terrain to navigate.

Learning from our Mistakes: The new age of Development Aid

noreply@blogger.com (Marlene Costa) — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 08:26:00 +0000

This week I was bombarded with Capacity Development policy work. I have delved into report after report and power point upon power point on the subject. The intent of this research is to add a capacity development component to the Judicial Training materials that currently exist.

As discussed in class, past foreign aid for development efforts were primarily focused on technical training or “transplanting” western ideas into other countries. These efforts tended to include short –term efforts by experts in particular fields. The particular needs or circumstances of each country were not broadly considered and often billions of dollars were spent on training people without the capacity to carry out the objectives of their projects.

The new Capacity Development (CD) approach places greater emphasis on national ownership over development programs and stresses the need to adapt to local political agendas. All stakeholders should have a say in how projects proceed and communication is regarded as vital to all development initiatives. CD seeks to facilitate implementation of development goals through reinforcing individual, and organizational functioning. This is coupled with the need for an enabling environment with policies and procedures that allow projects to succeed. Rather than circumventing existing systems, CD emphasizes the need to use procedures that are already in place, and if inadequate, to stimulate policy reform for facilitation of project realization.

CD advocates for beginning with a capacity assessment to determine what the existing capacities are and what capacity goals are desired. In doing so the core issues at stake include: institutional arrangements, leadership, knowledge and accountability. When defining a response each of theses issues should be considered and implemented accordingly. Responses should always be tailored to the specific context in which projects are being carried out. Lastly, progression should always be monitored and evaluated to ensure accountability and transparency.

While levels, assessment, process and strategies of CD are vast, this is a small introduction of the aim of CD as an overarching theme of all projects carried out by the UNDP. In building national capacities through individual skills training, facilitation of organizational management systems and advocating for an enabling environment projects and processes become much more sustainable and progress can continue for the long term, beyond the time frame allocated to any one project.

This week I was also given a chance to view my edit work on the Legal Aid Fund Audits in published form. While I played a very minor role, my colleagues were still very encouraging and considered it to be a shared accomplishment between them and I to have completed the reports. It's times like these when you feel good to be part of a team!

noreply@blogger.com (Dan Camenzuli) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 09:19:00 +0000

Written by Daniel Camenzuli, Shivani Anand and Tim Hudek

So since we’ve been in the Philippines, everyone has been telling us that we MUST go to Palawan…it’s the most beautiful place, paradise on earth, etc, etc. So of course, our curiosities were piqued…we booked our tickets, took a couple days off of work and set off for our island adventure!

Since it is rainy season in southeast asia right now, we checked the weather forecast before we left. Looked like a mix of sun and rain everyday, typical Florida weather, so nothing to be worried about. However, as we kept reading, it looked like El Nido, the little town we’d be staying in was prone to torrential rains at this time of year. We figured it really couldn’t be THAT bad.

Being the budget-minded students that we are, instead of taking the PHP 13000 direct Manila-El Nido flight, we decided to fly to Puerto Princesa, and take a six hour van ride to El Nido instead, costing us a fraction of the price. Upon landing, we actually found a van that would take us to El Nido overnight, and thought it would a great way to save time as we could just sleep throughout the ride. While haggling with the van driver, we met German traveller and his girlfriend who decided to ride with us, thus lowering our costs…hey why not!?!

The thing that we must admit to you however, is that in the Philippines you NEVER, EVER get what you expect (Tim calls this rule 1 of the 3 rules of the Philippines). We started off the journey to El Nido at 1am, cruising on a gentle highway, sound asleep for about all of 15 minutes. However we quickly awoke, mid air (I kid you not), as our van slammed into one massive pothole after another! It quickly became apparent that our path to El Nido changed from a paved highway to a long dirt road through a jungle (We must admit that we are using the term ‘road’ rather loosely; it was more like a narrow clearing of trees). The abrupt gear shifting from our driver, angry comments from Tim to Dan and Shivani for changing plans (we were supposed to stay in Puerto Princesa for the night), and the constant jumping of us out of our seats made for a sleepless night. We must emphasize here that it was not like we were on a dirt road in say, northern Ontario. It was more like a giant picked up our van and decided to play Yahtzee, and we were the dice! Some were convinced that it was a sick and cruel joke that was being played on us and that the cast and crew of PUNKD would be meeting us at the end. Needless to say, that was not the case, and our driver was just an angry man who decided that if he had to stay awake, so did we.

El Nido was quite rainy when we arrived early the next morning, but all we were looking for was a BED at that point. No one had a wink of sleep. We arrived at our bed and breakfast only to learn that it was another trek up a steep hill to our cottages. The only thing that kept us going was the thought of being able to finally sleep for at least a few hours. After a beautiful nap, we awoke to more rain, no electricity (el nido only has electiricy a few select hours of the day), and cold (no, frigid!) showers. We still convinced ourselves that we were having a good time and that things would get better!

The German and his girlfriend joined us for dinner that evening at the local art café, a popular backpackers spot. Meeting new people is always one of the gems of travelling; you make contacts, hear interesting stories, and learn a lot about the way people think from different parts of the world. Our german friend Joshua was no exception, as this would prove to be one of our most interesting evenings in the Philippines thus far!

When travellers mix and mingle in environments like this, conversations tend to range from “what do you do” to “when is the last time you (fill in the blank)”. Our conversation started out pretty normally, and eventually veered towards likes and dislikes. Tim listed off his dislikes (mushrooms, sweet spaghetti, etc) like any normal person, but when we got to Joshua, we quickly learned that his were a bit more substantial (Blacks and Israelis). Soon we found ourselves sliding down a slippery slope with an angry, drunk, drooling Nazi. Not neo-nazi. NAZI. Although he was 27 years old, it was as if he was taken from WW2 and transplanted into today’s society. We were vehemently “educated” on the difference between death camps and concentration camps, and about how German killing machines were created to keep the nazi morale level high. This point was emphasized when Joshua asked, “Do you know how hard it is to exterminate people?” Needless to say, our jaws dropped. He kept emphasising that Dan was not “white” (as Italians do not count as white). At this point, Tim was afraid to reveal his Roma ancestery for fear that he might be persecuted by this crazed man. Joshua also educated us on his family background; he came from a family that was 41 generations of pure Aryan blood. That is, until his mother married his American father, and in his words, “polluted” the lineage. He spoke ill of his “disgusting” mother who was a “hippie” and gave most of her pension to charity, and who was the reason why such a noble lineage was tainted. It was evident that he would have rather not been alive (since his exisence was the result of such pollution), than have his family’s bloodline ruined!

The first day of our excursion was quite rainy so we decided to save the kayaking tour for the next day. Unfortunately, since a typhoon was over El Nido (torrential rains? Umm..about ten times worse!) the next day was pretty much the same. We started our boat ride to the islands early in the morning. The only thing protecting us from the rain was the weak roof of the boat. Of course strong winds managed to tear that roof right off! At this point we were all a bit scared. Heavy rain, strong winds, black clouds, open, choppy water, and at least 1 km from any identifiable land mass stirred up some fear. But our driver had confidence that we would make it. He had a crazed smile either from the adrenaline or the rain slapping him in the face. He eventually decided to put some scuba goggles on...while he was driving. Ok Hue at this point you should tell Jill and Karen that we did not listen!

The rain calmed once we arrived at the two lagoons which we were going to kayak in. The kayaks were unloaded and we began just as the sun poked its head out of the clouds. These were the views of El Nido we were looking for! Absolutely stunning, and definitely one the most beautiful places we had ever been. It made for some very calm kayaking and beautiful views of clear turquoise waters, until the sun was again covered by a very dark cloud. At this point the group of us decided that we should really get back to the boat, which at this point was VERY far away. Suddenly, our beginner kayaking trip turned advanced as the strong typhoon-like wind, and heavy rain returned. At this point, no matter how hard we paddled, the current was pushing us back into the lagoon, further from the boat. Waves crashed into both sides of our kayaks and we were certain that we would tip (fyi life jackets were not offered on this trip). We all pushed ourselves to make it and we did, counted our blessings, only to continue our island hopping in a storm. In the end the five of us agreed that despite all the rain and near death experiences, the sights of El Nido were beautiful all the same, and definitely well worth it! (although we recommend visiting it during the dry season)

Despite wanting to spend our last day in El Nido scuba diving, the 5 days of constant rain made visibility poor. As a result the group of us decided to head back a day early to catch a glimpse of the underground river toted as one of the 7 natural wonders of the world. While eating dinner at the Art Cafe, that night Shivani decided to book our van ride back to Puerto Princessa. The following conversation took place between us and the employee of the van service:

Tim – Thank you for the tickets

Employee lady – Ok sir be ready for 7 in the morning in front of you place.

Dan – How many people are in the van? Employee lady – Sir, right now you four (we booked at 10 pm and I highly doubt that anyone booked after us)

Shivani – So the van is not full? We will all have a seat?

Employee lady – yes ma’am; If the van is full then they send another one

Us –OK

Well if any of you know anything about English literature, that is what we call foreshadowing. At this point you all should recall rule number 1 because the next morning when the van arrived to pick us up, there were 10 people (including the driver) in the van. The van that holds TEN. The van that we were not yet in! So with the four of us the number of people in the van grew to 14. Fourteen people in a ten passenger van for a 6-8 hour drive on a rocky road through the forest. Let me explain to you just how uncomfortable that was. Cyndi and Shivani were sharing the hump of the wheel well and Tim could not keep his feet normally (he had to keep his feet in duck stance thanks to some protrusion). Overall Dan was not all that uncomfortable. We should also mention that when Tim tried to switch seats with Dan and Dan refused Tim blurted out, “I literally cannot keep my feet straight”. At this point one of the other passengers commented to Tim’s complaint and said that she was not any more comfortable. She then told Tim that it was his fault for being tall. Needless to say Tim was not impressed! After about an hour of driving the driver pulled off the road and into a house. Out came a lady with her bags; she was coming on the bus. Her and the passenger in the front seat switched. The driver pulled the sliding door open and told Dan, Tim and the others to move over. Looking at him in disbelief Dan asked “Where!?!” There was room because Dan pretty much sat on the guys lap for the entire time. They were so close that at one point, after falling asleep Dan, who apparently drools in his sleep (at times) drooled on the guys shoulder. He awoke to the man, who may or may not have been a rebel fighting the government, looking less than impressed. Dan simply paid no attention to the awkwardness of the moment. He wiped the drool off and went right back to his neck breaking sleep. All in all the van ride back to Puerto Princessa was much worse than the ride to El Nido . The only thing that made it bearable was the fact that the engine kept over heating from a combination of the rough terrain and the fact that a van clearly made in the 90’s should not be dragging 15 people through that rough terrain. To cool the engine our driver would stop once and a while in some rural town (basically a stand selling cigarettes, and some other stuff in the middle of nowhere) to fill up a tub of water and splash it underneath the van.

Despite all this, we cannot complain. Our trip to Palawan was amusing to say the least. For all you travellers, as we are sure you all know, “It was the best of times, It was the worst of times; Truly the best of times”

The Importance of Traditional Healers

noreply@blogger.com (jgoodman) — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 17:19:00 +0000

With just under two weeks to go here in Lusaka, I’ve managed to narrow down my research report to primarily focusing on how Zambia’s regulation of traditional health practitioners (or, lack thereof) can be improved in order to ensure that PLHIV receive the appropriate advice and referrals with respect to antiretroviral therapy. A couple weeks ago I was a little lost in wondering how, if at all, this research could actually have any impact on Zambia; now, though, I’m hopeful that this report (though preliminary) could serve as a useful starting point for ZARAN to take an active role in partnering with traditional health practitioners to gradually change some of the prevalent attitudes and misconceptions concerning HIV/AIDS, through advocacy work and training workshops. The point is essentially this: most Zambians seek out medical treatment from traditional health practitioners, as they are a trusted and easily accessible source of treatment in most communities (especially in areas where modern medicine is not so easily accessible). Therefore, these practitioners could be instrumental in improving the quality of and access to treatment that PLHIV receive...if they are properly informed and trained on the importance of antiretroviral therapy. In order for this to happen, though, misconceptions among these healers need to be eliminated (for example, it must be enforced that there is no cure for AIDS) and government oversight is needed to ensure that traditional health practitioners do indeed handle their HIV positive patients appropriately.

There is a draft bill in Zambia that would call for the regulation of tradition healers and the creation of an official Council to monitor their practices – this bill, though, has been on the shelf in the Ministry of Health for the past fifteen years. One of the major obstacles in having this bill passed is the abundance of discrepancies that exist among traditional health practitioners (for example, “we’ve been using these remedies since our grandparents’ day, why should we have to work with Western doctors and need permission from government?”). Changing these attitudes could be the first step in promoting more cooperation between traditional healers and modern medicine, which could in turn lead to this bill being passed by Parliament, and thereby eventually lead to the creation of an accountable and comprehensive healthcare system which properly utilizes all of Zambia’s personnel to provide treatment to those in need – whether those personnel are allopathic doctors or traditional healers.

This is, of course, quite ambitious and, given the pace of change in Zambia, not entirely likely to happen. It will also hinge mostly on the efforts of ZARAN in taking this initiative (as I am leaving soon), and they have a fairly full agenda for the next few months. Nevertheless, it is better than nothing, and so all that’s left to do now is get going on writing this report!

Moving on, technology has been causing problems for us lately. Random power outages are still frequent enough, but more devastating is that the internet café that we’ve been stealing wireless from for the past 3 weeks (after I met a hacker in Livingstone who gave me a free password) changed their system recently, so now we have to go back to paying for the internet like ordinary honest people. You know that last scene in Goodfellas, when Ray Liotta has moved into a house in the suburbs and has to live life as an ordinary “shlub” without being a mobster? Well, that transition is how Sevda and I now feel without our free (and sort of stolen) internet connection. Lastly, in technology news, my ipod full of about 50gigs worth of music randomly deleted itself for no reason at all…Itunes told me that the ipod has become “corrupted,” which seems only typical given my setting in Southern Africa.

This past weekend, Sevda and I went to our friend’s church here in Lusaka to catch a glimpse of Zambian Christianity at its best. Not that I’m usually much of a religious fan, nor do I ever go to church, but this was a very nice experience – in particular, it was because every single person in this church had an incredible voice, and the entire audience sang together like one big choir throughout the entire sermon. I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed peoples’ faith manifest itself so clearly in the form of song, and I’ve got to admit it was very moving and enjoyable. Although Lusaka is full of cinder block walls, barbed wire, and pollution, there are pockets of commendable beauty scattered within this city, and they make being here very worthwhile. Who needs ipods anyways?