My End of the Bargain...

If Changing the World Were Easy, More People Would be Doing It...

2012-02-07T00:49:00.001-03:00

I had the privilege of hearing former president Jimmy Carterspeak on “Waging Peace, Fighting Disease, Building Hope” this past Monday atthe Paramount theater. He spoke on maintaining peace in the Middle Eastfollowing the Arab Spring and how, if human rights are honored and respected,peace really stands a chance (barring the initiation of war with Iran by theUnited States). He spoke of eradicating diseases that should no longer exist inthis day and age and how, if resources are shared more evenly, this is entirelypossible. He spoke of inspiring children, and how through education, they canbe taught how to be global citizens applying the principles of human rightsfrom an early age.

It was an incredibly encouraging talk and I certainly needed theinspiration. I still feel burnt out from my work in Geneva, where I was inundatedwith the world’s problems, and I am still grappling with the fact that progressiveideals or forward-thinking solutions to resolving those problems are notnecessarily being promoted. Being back in law school has been even less thoughtprovoking in this regard and I began to feel myself slipping into a funk. However,hearing Jimmy Carter speak helped restore a bit of that resolve necessary topromote change because if he can still hold fast to the ideals of human rightsdespite all of the problems he’s seen in the world, who am I to complain?

Aside from being the 39^th president of the UnitedStates of America, I believe Jimmy Carter’s greatest legacy has been hispromotion and establishment of Habitat for Humanity. He will most certainly beremembered for his presidency during the Cold War, and that under hisleadership, not a bomb was dropped nor a missile fired (which is no easy feat).However, it was the aspects of his talk around Habitat for Humanity that mostmoved me.

Within the organization’s mission statement, I most appreciatethe following: “What the poor need is not charity, but capital; not caseworkersbut co-workers. And what the rich need is a wise, honorable and just way ofdivesting themselves of their overabundance.” You don’t often hear about “whatthe rich need”, as they are often in want of nothing (in terms of materialneeds as compared to those living in poverty), so I fully welcome the idea ofreciprocity in this sense. I also appreciate a mission statement that speaks tothe blatant embarrassment of riches, or better yet, embarrassment of the poordistribution of those riches, that exists in this world.

At the core of the mission of Habitat for Humanity, and at thecore of the ideals Jimmy Carter promoted during this talk that has me thinking onit even a week later, is that if changing the world were easy, more peoplewould be doing it. It’s really easy to look at the world and see its problemsas insurmountable. It’s really easy to look at life and see only failures. It’sreally easy to be filled with self-doubt as whether change is possible and wantto give up. And it’s especially easy to fall into this negative mindset whilein law school.

But last Monday was a positive reminder to not fall into thattrap. If Habitat for Humanity works to give a tangible expression of lovethrough the work of eliminating poverty housing, then the resolve necessary to createsuch a change means taking on an entirely different perspective. A perspectivethat does not view problems as insurmountable, a perspective that does notfocus on life’s failures and a perspective that leaves very little room forself-doubt. And so I left the Paramount thinking, “Screw all of my self-doubt, Ihave to go to Panama.”

Perspective...

2012-01-29T15:06:00.002-03:00

Another Honest Reflection...

2012-01-25T05:37:00.001-03:00

I was recently criticized for not buying any of my textbooks ordoing any of my readings for class. Perhaps deservedly, as I am actuallyenrolled in classes I care about with readings that matter to me, in contrastto last year. In the course of the criticism, the idea was presented that thisscholarship may be wasted on me because I am not properly learning the skillsto be a lawyer that helps people in the traditional sense. This was hurtful ona number of levels, but the one I wish to discuss now, in this forum, is thatthose words (in my opinion) unearth a deeper issue regarding legal education.The issue is twofold. First, our legal education does not foster friendship orcollaboration, and second, any deviation from the norm tends to be ridiculed. Ihave to wonder whether the competitiveness that drives this system as well ascontributes to the two aspects of the issue stated above, does more harm thangood. If it creates worse lawyers than better ones, or even more importantly, aworse legal system than a better one.

On the one hand, competition does not have to be harmful. Don’tget me wrong. I am a very competitive person (it’s fairly obvious to anyone whomeets me), just like most people who come to law school. I do believe that healthycompetition drives us to be better versions of ourselves than we would haveoriginally envisioned. Just talk to my brothers about our sibling rivalry for afew examples to qualify that statement. Or watch movies like “Chariots of Fire”and “Rudy”. Or read books like “Akeelah and the Bee” and “The Call of the Wild”.But when does that competition become less like “The Red Badge of Courage” andmore like “The Lord of the Flies”?

Do we as law students push each other to be better versions ofourselves or do we do more to discourage the advancement of our classmates thanto foster it? As I have eased back into the routine that is law school (whichhas been a difficult adjustment), I cannot help but notice the overall sense ofunhappiness and weariness on the faces of the students. How much of thosefeelings come from that pedagogy of pitting each of us against each other, bothin class and for jobs? I wonder how different Gates Hall would feel ifsolidarity and collaboration were valued and fostered instead of that all toofamiliar “king of the hill” mentality.

And what does this do for the profession as a whole? Can thesystemic issues plaguing the legal profession be tied back to the way in whichlawyers-to-be are taught law and the way lawyers-that-be are reinforced in thathierarchy? It’s a tall order to claim that we leave three years of law schoolunscathed from that learned behavior to kill or be killed. Do we then projectthis onto our clients and into the laws we make?

What if the validation we all seek (and rarely find) from ourprofessors, we gave to each other? Why is it that the success of a classmate isviewed as a threat to our own? I think law school would be a very differentplace, and in turn the legal profession a very different career choice, if weweren’t solely rewarded for keeping the routine going. If we weren’t pushedtoward a certain conformity that perpetuates social hierarchies. That isn’t todisparage those who have done well or even validate those who haven’t. It’ssimply a challenge to the construct/bureaucracy that is law.

I recently read an excerpt from “The Best American Non-requiredReading 2011” (see, I am reading) about solitude and leadership in whichWilliam Deresiewicz challenges the effectiveness of bureaucracies in producingtrue leaders capable of independent thought as well as compassion. In hispiece, which was delivered to the plebe class at the United States MilitaryAcademy at West Point in October 2009, he argues that hierarchies, with their rulesand procedures and ranks and people in power and people scrambling for power,and the kind of people who succeed in them, with their kissing up to peopleabove them and kicking down of people below them or being whatever other peoplewant them to be, are creating a crisis of leadership in this country. It’sevidenced by what happened to Wall Street and what happened in Iraq, amongother things.

As I was reading this, I couldn’t help but think of my own experiencewith law school and the issue I mentioned at the beginning of this post. Howlaw school doesn’t necessarily foster friendship or collaboration and that ifthe competitiveness that stifles those qualities could be turned into asolidarity that pushes each of us to our full potentials, together. And how lawschool doesn’t necessarily embrace deviance from the norm and that if thecompetitiveness that deters such behavior could somehow transform into a deliberationthat requires each of us to think critically about the norm in the first place.

I write these things not to complain or accuse, but to challengeand encourage, because I do have high hopes for law, just like most law students. Ido believe that law can change people’s lives for the better and make the worlda better place. But just like Deresiewicz points out, the preparation to makethis a reality starts now, so where I see room for improvement, I point it out. So yes, I could definitely do a better job at being a more traditional law student, but I don't think this scholarship is wasted on me because I am choosing not to do so.

Life Choices...

2012-01-18T22:41:00.002-03:00

Ihave decided that the hardest part of my 20s has been the seeminglynever-ending series of direct-impact life choices that have monopolized myenergy. It’s the choices that followfrom the questions nearly everyone in their second decade asks: What should Ido with my life? What significant other person do I want to spend this doing oflife with? How do I do life?

Butlately these questions have picked up in speed and severity, strung togetherone after the other with little breathing time in between each. Can a job withthe United Nations fulfill my desire to make actual social change? Can I withstandanother year and a half of law school and hold on to what I’ve learned abroad? Andmost recently, should I accept a candidacy for a job in Panama on a one-yearcontract with the UNHCR as a Regional HIV and Reproductive Health Officer forthe Americas?

Firstly,a disclaimer: I fully understand that having this dilemma is a completeblessing and I in no way lament having the opportunity to engage in thisinternal debate. I am utterly flattered and thoroughly shocked that someone inGeneva thinks that I could “prepare a proposal of the regional programme for2012 on HIV and RH strategy” or that I could “prepare mission reports with specificrecommendations for country operations.” I mean seriously, who is making thesedecisions? However, since the entire purpose of this blog is to document what Iam doing to deserve this Gates Scholarship and have others hold me accountableto doing so, I figured that sharing this direct-impact life choice with otherswas necessary.

Furthermore,I have been very honest about my feelings regarding my legal education, and Ihave done so at the risk of fielding a tangible hatred from certain people atthe law school. Perhaps because those people feel that having this scholarshipshould preclude me from voicing any complaints on the experience. I understandthat, but unfortunately, I am too critical a person to live up to thoseexpectations.

Isay this because my first reaction to the email I read extending me thecandidacy was whether or not I would be able to finish my legal education if Iwere to leave the country again during a semester. Another year out means another year off thetrajectory of graduation and the goal of doing actual work in an actual job.It’s fairly obvious that quitting school, packing up and moving to Panama forUNHCR is definitely something I would do, but the question is whether that isactually a smart decision or just another on-a-whim life choice I am soaccustomed to making.

Naturally,I am contractually obligated to graduate from law school or else I owe theGates Foundation a considerable amount of money. I also know that attaining thetype of job I need to affect social change requires a J.D. behind my name. But,I left Headquarters this past December not really knowing what the next stepwould be, except that I wanted to be in the field, in a Spanish-speakingcountry, working directly with persons of concern. It seems like thisopportunity is exactly that unknown step I was searching for.

Sotoday, I clicked the “I am available for this assignment” button and will leavethe rest up to Panama…and they can make the direct-impact life choice for me.

Happy MLK Day...

2012-01-16T21:15:00.001-03:00

Words of Wisdom...

2012-01-10T17:53:00.001-03:00

I Found My People...

2012-01-08T23:05:00.000-03:00

Today we have our annual dinner with Papa Gates and I need to articulate my UNHCR experience in some intelligent, cohesive way so that when I'm asked about it I don't word vomit, "It...was...awesome...ness," and risk losing the scholarship that made the very experience possible in the first place. But how to summarize an experience that has/is sure to shape my future career as a lawyer as well as my views of the world? Honestly, "It was awesomeness," sums it up quite well.

I have yet to actually digest the fact that I lived abroad and worked for the UN, let alone document the progression of the lessons learned in the process. However, I do know that the lessons I have gained through this experience began well before I landed in Geneva. I consider myself most fortunate for having the opportunity to return to Peru and intern for UNHCR within the same year because each experience completes the other. Most people do not gain exposure to both sides of the coin: seeing the human rights violations up close and personal and observing how the world addresses such injustices. Seeing issues come full-circle like I have is without a doubt the most valuable part of the three months I spent at headquarters and it has forever changed my views on how the law should approach resolving such issues.

When I had my exit interview, I was asked whether I was a "headquarters" person or a "field" person, and I answered, "I am hands-down a field person." What Medecins Sans Frontieres is for doctors, UNHCR is for lawyers and that is what makes it so special. Having lawyers in the field, dealing directly with persons of concern and observing the legal issues that a population faces is a vital resource for affecting change. It is one thing to sit at a desk at headquarters and write briefing papers on an issue verses being in the field and advocating for those persons directly. Both are important, but neither can function properly without the other.

The perspectives I gained as a health worker in Peru directly affect the manner and method I use to analyze law, just like the field work experience of many of the lawyers at UNHCR directly correlate to the human rights-based, gender-based, name-another-important-perspective-based approach the agency employs when utilizing law. I felt like I found my people and like I discovered legal theoretical (as well as substantive) frameworks that made sense to me, frameworks that address the perspectives of vulnerable populations often neglected in traditional frameworks. For example, the cycle of neglect of women and adolescent girls' rights, poor health, poor access to education, meager economic opportunities, etc. can be broken by policies and programs that meet women and girls' needs. Translation of what happens in the field can aid in the creation of conceptual frameworks for progressive policy change. And in order to get to these legal realizations (or in other words, having the law match the needs of neglected populations), its crucial to have people in the field to report the important realities like:

When women and girls earn income, they reinvest 90 percent of it into their families, as compared to only 30 to 40 percent for a man. ["Women's Rights Vital for the Developing World" used when designing micro-finance programs]
When a girl in the developing world receives seven or more years of education, she marries four years later and has 2.2 fewer children, which in turn reduces the burdens of poverty within her community. [United Nations Population Fund research used when discussing reduction of poverty]
Out of the world's 130 million youth not in school, 70 percent of them are girls. [Human Rights Watch, "Assessment of Children's Rights"]

Of course, this is only one of the many different perspectives that exist, but learning the different lenses with which to analyze the law was certainly a major part of the on-the-job education I received at UNHCR, and definitely among the most valuable lessons. Although it is difficult to get back into the mindset of being a law student again, I plan on continuing these kinds of lessons as best I can from within the classroom. And then writing my colleagues at the UN if I find that to be frustrating.

A Wonderful Reblog...

2012-01-07T00:06:00.002-03:00

The Gusman Family- Sterling VA Family Photographer
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 4, 2012 POSTED IN CHILDREN, SENIORS
There are some times I sit down at my computer to write a blog post and end up staring blankly at the screen for longer than I care to admit. Because I have nothing to say? Definitely not. Its because I can’t seem to find where to begin. Ironically they are always the posts I’m most excited to share, because they are the images and people that remind me why I do what I do for a living. Joseph is a friend of mine from church and over a month ago he mentioned that he and his siblings were wanting to surprise their parents with a family portrait session for Christmas. Even though I was immediately excited and honored that he would ask me, I’ll admit I was nervous. These pictures had to be awesome. 2011 held a lot of highs and lows for the Gusman family, including an unexpected emergency surgery for Mr. Gusman over the summer, so I knew going into the session how necessary updated portraits were for their family.
Thankfully the surprise worked like a charm and neither Mr. or Mrs. Gusman suspected a thing! They didn’t know what was happening until they walked up and saw me standing there next to the rest of their family all dressed in Mrs. Gusman’s favorite color ready for pictures :0) Joseph and Johanna did such an incredible job coordinating everything from location to outfits to meaningful props to include, and it completely made my day to see how excited Mrs. Gusman was when she realized what was happening. Moments like that are what make me fall in love with this job of mine time and time again.
Last night I got to do something that doesn’t happen that often. Typically most of my clients see their images for the first time on the blog, but when I told Joseph that I had finished editing all of their images, he mentioned that they wanted to be able to all look through them for the first time together. So last night I brought their disc over to their home and got to sit with their family as they looked through their pictures. One of my favorite and definitely the most rewarding part of my job is getting feedback from my clients after seeing their images or album, so you can’t imagine how it blessed me to get to be a part of their little ‘family photos viewing party’ and see their reactions as each image came up. There were a few tears, lots of laughter, and plenty of “oh my gosh look how GOOD you look!” from all family members, and in that moment I was reminded exactly why it is I do what I do, and how precious and powerful a simple family portrait can be.
Thank you Mr and Mrs Gusman, Johanna, Joseph, Jonathan, Jay Daniel, and James for welcoming me into your home and trusting me to document your family. It was an honor to say the least! If my family is half as wonderful as yours is in 30 years, I will consider myself incredibly lucky and so very blessed. SO, on that note.. happy viewing friends!
Mr. Gusman was born and raised in Hawaii, and I love that they brought that into some of their portraits. Next time maybe we can just do family pictures IN Hawaii, okay? okay good :0)
i love everything about this next image. potentially my very favorite shot from our time together: don’t be fooled by this image, despite the looks on their faces, I’m pretty sure Johanna’s younger brothers couldn’t adore her or look up to her anymore than they already do…

Meet the tiniest member of the Gusman family, Maya! and the smiliest member of the family, Joseph and Jonathan’s puppy Tiberius! Seriously have you ever seen a happier looking puppy?? such a good looking family, even Tiberius is smiling for the camera! i’m pretty sure this picture belongs above a mantel somewhere… :0) … yep that looks about right! the Gusmen men at their finest:I knew I wanted to do an individual portrait of everyone, and these next handful of each member of their family are some of my absolute favorites. Johanna (and Maya!) Joseph: Jonathan: Jay Daniel: James:
i LOVE this next series. I thought Johanna was just going to sit down for a picture… ooooh no. definitely not. she’s got way more style than that ;0) i didn’t see it coming, but can you please note the look on all of the boys faces though, clearly they saw what was about to happen… these next four pictures all happened in about 2 seconds: best. picture. EVER.
and while I was taking those shots, Tiberius was NOT very happy at being left out of the pictures and literally chewed through his leash so he could come be in the pictures too! That shot on the right and the smile on his face is Tiberius letting us all know it was TOTALLY worth it :0) just like I believe every mama should have great pictures of her babies, I think everyone should have some pictures like these of their parents together: I told them to do a funny picture, and apparently in the Gusman family, “funny” can also be translated to ‘violent’! c’mon Jonathan, everyone else clearly thinks i’m hilarious.. When I asked if anyone else had any requests for me, Mrs. Gusman asked for a picture with Tiberius and Maya for proof that she had finally become a ‘dog mom’ after years of resisting :0)

Happy Wednesday! :0)
To see all of the photos (including the ones mentioned, but not shown at the end) as well as the complete blog, please click here.

30 Things To Do Before I Turn 30 (Updated)...

2012-01-03T12:08:00.001-03:00

I made this list a year and a half ago, so on my birthday, I thought I would update it so see what I have done and still need to do. Here goes,

1. Become fluent in Spanish (I plan on studying abroad and taking some law courses in Spanish to check this off the list in 2012)
2. Have a four-digit number in my savings account
3. Graduate from Law School (halfway mark is this year)
4. Go on a cross-country road trip
5. Publish an article (find out mid-January if UNHCR wants to publish my article...gulp)
~~6. Intern with the United Nations~~ (Can't believe I checked this off the list already)

~~7. Own a dog~~ (I love my Maya)

8. Learn all of the words to "Rapper´s Delight" (still in the works)
9. Take a vacation with all of my best girlfriends (SanFran ladies?)
10. Organize all of my photos
~~11. Learn how to cook lasagna from scratch~~ (this was incredibly fun to do)

(The drink a Mimosa while making pasta from scratch technique)

12. Donate hair to Locks Of Love (a few more inches to go...)
13. Snowboard in British Columbia (although I did do the Alps, which were incredible)
14. Visit a vineyard in Italy
~~15. Come back to Perú and visit MP~~ (totally worth it)

~~16. See San Francisco~~ (loved that city)

17. Apply for the Amazing Race
18. Begin MPH research with the PeaceCorps (probably not on the table anymore)
19. Sky dive in New Zealand
20. Attend a March Madness game, hopefully involving Duke
21. Drink beer at Oktoberfest in Germany (I was in the Frankfurt airport and had a beer, does that count?)
22. Go to a family reunion in Hawaii
~~23. Live on my own~~ (it was fun while it lasted)

24. Completely dismantle an object larger than myself and put it back together
25. Plant a tree
26. Shower in a waterfall
27. Go on a blind date
28. Read only just the red letters in the Bible straight through
29. Run a marathon
30. Settle down by getting married and having children...JUST KIDDING, maybe on the 40 before 40 list.

6 down, 2 years to go...

Top 10 of 2011...

2011-12-30T12:01:00.001-03:00

This year has been a big year for me and my family, full of amazing highs and some not-so-amazing lows. Funny how that works. Here's my top ten of 2011:

10. Surviving my first year of law school (barely) and the Spring Break trip that made that possible.

9. Experiencing Seattle with the best of friends.

8. Biking across the Golden Gate Bridge while discovering San Francisco for the first time.

7. Becoming an art aficionado in my own right: visited the Louvre, the National Portrait Gallery (London) and the National Gallery of Art (Washington D.C.) and saw some of my most favorite works of art.

6. My traumatic/humbling experience at the British Parliament that is sure to teach me lessons for my future career as a human rights lawyer.

5. Revisiting the town that motivated me to do all these things in the first place while becoming a head of an NGO in America and a Godmother (yikes).

4. Climbing Machu Picchu with my brothers.

3. Adding Maya to my life.

2. Living in Geneva interning with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

1. Still having my dad around for 2012 and becoming a stronger family for it.

Silent Night, In its Purest Form...

2011-12-24T05:03:00.000-03:00

This is a picture of German and British soldiers fraternizing on December 24th, 1914 -- the day that became known as "The Christmas Truce." A cease-fire began when each army started singing the same Christmas carols in their respective languages. This marked the only time in history that a complete truce during a major war was honored in celebration of Christmas.

Historians note that cessations to fighting in order to bury the dead or simply break from the exhaustion that death inevitably brings are quite common, but none have ever occurred on the same scale or in such a spontaneous manner as this one. When the shooting suddenly stopped that Christmas Eve, it was truly a silent night, in its purest form. It was simply a soldiers' truce from the front lines, even if the killing continued shortly thereafter.

But my thought is, why must this be the only time in history? If these men, amongst orders to kill, stopped and came together in a common spirit, who's to say it can't be done again? What if this same impromptu peace could break out, just because? Doesn't this demonstrate that peace, merely for peace's sake, is possible? Or perhaps even more importantly, how if after all the fraternization, could these men go back to war? It's certainly possible that one of those men pictured above killed another one of those men the very next night.

Those questions have no easy answer, but at least for one historic day, those iconic words, "Peace on earth and good will towards men," were honored. That's the hopeful fact to hold onto and that's what makes Christmas special, whether one celebrates it or not, because at least for one day we can realize our potential for peace and our capacity for good.

A Discussion about Failure in Development...

2011-12-22T09:01:00.001-03:00

"Everything people see from Africa doesn't matter. And everything that matters from Africa, people don't get to see."

From an NGO admitting failure TED talk, listen here.

Good-bye UNHCR...

2011-12-21T08:40:00.000-03:00

Human Rights Liaison Unit, Department of International Protection at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Geneva, Switzerland 2011

Ten Biggest Positive Africa Stories of 2011...

2011-12-16T11:28:00.001-03:00

TEN BIGGEST POSITIVE AFRICA STORIES OF 2011

Posted by Alexis Okeowo

Thinking back on media coverage of sub-Saharan Africa this past year, including some events that made my top-ten list of the major Africa stories for 2010, I got a little depressed. With all the doom and gloom of conflict and state-sponsored repression, it’s easy to forget the strides the continent’s residents make every day in business, technology, art, and politics. So, for this year’s list, I decided to choose positive stories that seemed especially auspicious. There are always caveats to any good news, but, for now, the good is outweighing the bad. Africa is a place that is impossible to reduce to any generalities, except maybe this one: it has an enormous amount of potential. Here’s why:

1. Africa is experiencing an economic boom. Africa is predicted to have the largest economic growth of any continent over the next decade, and the burst has already begun. As domestic industries, entrepreneurs, and foreign investors prepare to take advantage of this growth, the economies of at least a dozen countries have expanded by more than six per cent a year for six or more years. Ethiopia’s grew by seven and a half per cent this year. A number of big countries appear to be headed for ten per cent. And concrete middle classes are forming across the continent: as the Economist noted, sixty million African households have annual incomes greater than three thousand dollars. By 2015, that number is expected to reach a hundred million, a number almost equivalent to India’s today.

2. South Sudan gained its independence. It has been a long time coming. Two decades of civil war in the former unified Sudan left the southern half empty of people and resources, and broke. But, despite worries to the contrary, the Sudanese government allowed the independence referendum promised in a 2005 peace treaty to proceed, and South Sudanese voted in approval by a margin of ninety-nine percent. Tensions with Sudan over the border, oil, and the Nuba Mountains, notwithstanding, South Sudanese finally have a chance to rule themselves.

3. Ugandans staged Walk to Work protests in a movement partly inspired by the Arab Spring and rooted in rising fuel and food prices and overwhelming unemployment and corruption. (The movement was so named because of the hundreds of thousands of Ugandans who walk to work because they can’t afford fuel.) Why were the protests good news? President Yoweri Museveni has clung to power for a quarter century, while the opposition leader Kizza Besigye has competed tirelessly for his seat, losing three times in the past decade alone. As Besigye led thousands on the streets of the capital Kampala through tear gas and bullets, and protesters walked through the streets of other towns, it appeared that, for the first time in years, Ugandans were telling Museveni that enough was enough.

4. Two Liberian women won the Nobel Peace Prize. Though the timing was awkward—the political opposition complained that the announcement of the award, to President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (the country’s first female leader) and the activist Leymah Gbowee, came right as Sirleaf was vying for reelection—much of the country found the recognition of the work of Sirleaf and Gbowee to be well-deserved. Gbowee is particularly impressive: during what looked like a hopeless civil war in the nineteen-nineties, her peaceful, all-women prayer protests, sit-ins, and appeals to rebels to sign a peace deal effectively ended the fighting.

5. Cell phones continue to change how Africans live. The devices have proven to be invaluable: health-care workers use cell phones to track and monitor pregnant women in rural Rwanda (where the number of maternal deaths is high) and H.I.V. patients in Kenya, and Kenya’s mobile banking system, which has been called the world’s most innovative, lets Kenyans pay bills, send remittances, purchase goods and airtime, move funds among accounts, and even take out and pay back loans for entrepreneurial ventures.

6. South African democracy took a turn for the interesting. During this past summer’s local government elections, Helen Zille’s Democratic Alliance party gained a surprising twenty-one per cent share of votes against the deeply entrenched African National Congress, which has ruled since the fall of apartheid. (Nelson Mandela was once its leader.) This is no small feat. The A.N.C., in spite of its corruption and multiple scandals, has held on to its dominance in part by invoking racial rhetoric and the spectre of the apartheid era, and has nearly turned South Africa into a one-party state. The D.A., led by a liberal white female politician who campaigns for multiracial progress, has had difficulty gaining voters across the racial divide. That may be changing.

And in other good news, President Jacob Zuma unexpectedly fired two top ministers and the police chief for corruption.

7. African innovation was celebrated for a third year at Maker Faire Africa. Emeka Okafor, a Nigerian, once said that he couldn’t understand why, in the tech realm, so little interesting and creative activity seemed to be coming out of sub-Saharan Africa. Curious about what good ideas from Africa looked like, he helped found Maker Faire Africa, where inventors from across the continent gather to showcase their wares—this October in Cairo, in previous years in Nairobi and Accra. The result has been astounding: mobile apps, seed-planting devices, solar-powered computer kiosks made out of recycled oil drums, paraffin lamps, and other technologies that, importantly, address the immediate needs of Africans.

8. The U.S. announced a new push for gay rights abroad. 2011 has been tough for gay and lesbian Africans—their living conditions in Uganda, Cameroon, Malawi, and South Africa, among other places, are growing worse, and Nigeria’s parliament is considering an anti-gay bill. But there is some positive news in this story, too. The U.S. government says it will use all diplomatic tools, including foreign aid, to influence nations that criminalize or mistreat gays. Uganda has already denounced the initiative, but Malawi’s government says it is reviewing its anti-homosexuality legislation.

9. (Some) progress in Somalia. Analysts told the Times that the African Union’s peacekeeping troops, drawn from several African countries and supported by U.S. funds, drones, and contractors, appear to be prevailing in the war against Somalia’s insurgents. The situation is still bad—five hundred soldiers have been killed so far and the Somali government has yet to build any real infrastructure—but the African Union remains optimistic.

Better yet, the rains have finally started in central and southern Somalia, easing both the drought and the famine.

10. Botswana as a global leader in fighting corruption. According to the just-released Corruption Perception Index, done every year by Transparency International, Botswana was ranked thirty-two out of the hundred and eighty-three countries included in the survey, and was up four places from last year and eight places since 2009. The country ranked over half of all European nations. Botswana has launched an intense approach to weeding out corruption by setting up a Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime to investigate and bring prosecutions, and by drafting legislation that will protect whistle-blowers. Here’s hoping Botswana’s neighbors follow suit.

Illustration by Jim Stoten.

Read more from The New Yorker’s 2011: The Year in Review, at News Desk and at Culture Desk.

Fuel for the Soul...

2011-12-13T10:31:00.002-03:00

"People help the people, and if your homesick, give me your hand and I'll hold it."

An Endorsement to Watch the Film 'The Whistleblower'...

2011-12-12T08:37:00.001-03:00

Theelevators at UNHCR are mobile soapboxes for human rights, each with at least adozen posters plastered to the walls inviting people to various eventsoccurring across Geneva related in some way or another to the promotion of theUnited Nation’s ideals. When I saw an affiche on attending a special screeningof “The Whistleblower” on human rights day, I figured it would be the perfectway to celebrate the occasion. KathrynBolkovac, the actual whistleblower, and Madeleine Ress, the former Head ofOffice of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Bosnia & Herzegovina, weregoing to be there for a panel discussion following the film. Even though I didnot know exactly what scandal Bolkovac had blown the whistle at, I decided toclear a space in my calendar so that I could learn.

WhenI got to the theater, there was a long line wrapping around the building. Iguess I had not realized the magnitude of anticipation surrounding the eventand hoped that I had arrived early enough to still grab a ticket. While I waswaiting, I read a brief excerpt explaining the premise of the movie. In 1999,Kathryn went to post-war Bosnia to work as a UN peacekeeper for a contractingcompanying called DynCorp. While serving, she discovered that not only were UNpersonnel complicit in the rape and trafficking of underage girls, they wereinvolved in it. That tiny lump you get when anticipating an uncomfortablesituation began to form in my throat. In the last several weeks, I had beenresearching and writing a comment on the sexual and gender-based violenceoccurring in the refugee population in Ecuador and I was not sure how much Iwanted to view similar instances of violence on the big-screen. I managed tosnag a ticket, found a seat next to a nice French family with a 12-year-old boyand prepared for an hour and a half of remedying my ignorance on the situation.

Needlessto say, the movie was very difficult to watch, not simply for the subjectmatter, but also for its realistic portrayal of the sexual exploitation of thewomen subjected to one of the United Nation’s most damning failures. In fact, theFrench family had to leave about twenty minutes into the movie because therewas very little censorship of the horrors those girls in Bosnia faced;completely inappropriate for young audiences. The film throws light on thecomplex nature of sex trafficking in conflict zones, and even more so, on theclimate of impunity that exists in order to allow such offenses to proliferate.

Afterthe experience, I knew I had to write about it, but I am finding it quitechallenging to articulate all that I felt and still feel. I guess thelawyer-side of myself wants to neatly pack it all into three key points andanalyze accordingly, a skill I have thoroughly perfected at the United Nations.But the issues presented in the movie and the subsequent discussion by no meanslend themselves to such simplicity. Instead, I think it is best to highlight a fewof the problems that I believe need to be more widely known and discussedbecause before this film, I certainly had no idea they existed.

Firstof all, very few people think of peacekeeping zones as breeding grounds fortrafficking. As Bolkovac explains it, human trafficking follows a predictable“path of infestation”. It seeks out environments that are warm with tumult,such as the aftermath of war or the fall of communism. Then it preys ondesperate victims brought through porous borders and bribable guards. Finally,it breeds near regions teeming with internationals because they are the oneswho have the money to feed it.

Second,the mechanism through which the United Nations deals with the crime of trafficking—a human rightsviolation for which the United Nations has created an entire convention toprevent, suppress and punish it—is an administrativeprocedure. In other words, the United Nations resolves issues of the traffickingand sale of human beings by its personnel in the same manner it would if theyhad stolen a stapler or taken too many sick days, not as a violation to thevery convention it created to end such crimes. In fact, many of the meninvolved in the Bosnia scandal were afterwards transferred to Kosovo and EastTimor, both areas plagued by the same patterns of corruption within the system.

Lastly,DynCorp’s privatization of peacekeeping is a multi-billion dollar contractingbusiness that profits from the very impunity it creates. In fact, DynCorp isAmerica’s largest military contractor that knows full well that it profits fromthe vulnerability of women in war-torn countries. But because there are no lawsgoverning private contractors, the company has created a perfect catch-22. Noinvestigations have been made on anyone implicated in the human traffickingscandal in Bosnia and no prosecutions have occurred. DynCorp has essentiallycontracted its escape of justice.

Bolkovacdid manage to win a court case against DynCorp for her wrongful dismissal, asmall win in this entire ordeal. However, DynCorp has since wised-up andchanged its legal jurisdiction to Dubai, effectively making it impossible fornew lawsuits to be brought against them. Additionally, the United Nations has neverso much as issued an apology to Bolkovac or even acknowledged that she did theright thing by blowing that proverbial whistle.

Ileft the theater with several haunting thoughts swimming in my mind: When, if ever, will human life be viewed asinvaluable? What, if anything, can be done to rights these wrongs? How is itthat those who are supposed to be spreading peace in the world are the onesfueling one of the worst forms of oppression and degradation? Why is it that weallow companies with enough money to determine how justice is allocated? Alot of simple questions with a lot of complex answers, if answers even exist.

Accordingto the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in persons,Especially Women and Children, the definition of ‘Trafficking in persons’ isthe recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, bymeans of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction,of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerabilityor of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent ofa person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.But that definition still lacks in its description of the problem. At the heartof the matter is that people stand to make huge profits on the sale andexploitation of human beings and until the cycle of impunity is broken in orderto bring perpetrators to justice, it will only continue finding new ways andinnovative methods of perpetuating slavery in this world.

I didn't go into work today. I couldn't stand in those elevators and read about the ideals the UN promotes, but doesn't necessarily follow. Tomorrow, I'll have to take the stairs.

Happy Human Rights Day to All the Humans Out There...

2011-12-10T05:56:00.001-03:00

Statement by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay
10 December 2011: Human Rights Day

“2011 has been an extraordinary year for human rights.

A year when a single word, embodying the thwarted quest of a single impoverished young man in a remote province of Tunisia, struck a chord which swiftly rose to a crescendo. Within days it had rolled into the capital, Tunis, with such a roar that, in just four weeks it knocked the foundations from under an entrenched and apparently invincible authoritarian regime. This precedent, and its radical revision of the art of the possible, quickly reverberated into the streets and squares of Cairo, followed one after another by towns and cities all across the region, and, ultimately, in different forms, across the world.

That word, that quest, was for “dignity.”

In Tunis and Cairo, Benghazi and Dara’a, and later on – albeit in a very different context – in Madrid, New York, London, Santiago and elsewhere, millions of people from all walks of life have mobilized to make their own demands for human dignity. They have dusted off the promise of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and demanded “freedom from fear and freedom from want,” the Declaration’s shorthand for all the civil, political, social economic and cultural rights it contains. They have reminded governments and international institutions alike that health care, and education and housing, and access to justice, are not commodities for sale to the few, but rather rights, guaranteed to everyone, everywhere, without discrimination.

In 2011, the very idea of “power” shifted. During the course of this extraordinary year, it was wielded not just by mighty institutions in marble buildings, but increasingly by ordinary men, women, and even children, courageously standing up to demand their rights. In the Middle East and North Africa, many thousands have paid with their lives, and tens of thousands have been injured, besieged, tortured, detained, and threatened, but their newfound determination to demand their rights has meant they are no longer willing to accept injustice.

Although we must mourn the lives of many, including -- just in recent days – during the remorseless assault on various towns and cities in Syria, in renewed excessive use of force in Cairo and in efforts to subvert the elections taking place in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, we also have cause to celebrate.

The message of this unexpected global awakening was carried in the first instance not by the satellites of major media conglomerates, or conferences, or other traditional means – although these all played a role -- but by the dynamic and irrepressible surge of social media.

The results have been startling.

By the end of this first year of the global awakening, we have already seen peaceful and successful elections in Tunisia and, earlier this week, in Egypt -- where the turn-out for the first truly democratic elections there for decades has exceeded everybody’s expectations, despite the shocking upsurge in violence in Tahrir Square.

Today, as in the past, editorial and financial factors – as well as access – determine whether or not protests, and repression of protests, are televised or reported in newspapers around the world. But, wherever it happens, you can now guarantee it will be tweeted on Twitter, posted on Facebook, broadcast on Youtube, and uploaded onto the internet. Governments no longer hold the ability to monopolize the dissemination of information and censor what it says.

Instead we are seeing real lives in real struggle, broadcast in real time – and it is in many ways an exhilarating sight.

In sum, in 2011, human rights went viral.

On Human Rights Day 2011, I urge everyone, everywhere to join in the internet and social media campaign my office has launched to help more people know, demand and defend their human rights. It is a campaign that should be maintained so long as human rights abuses continue.”

Arabic:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=11689&LangID=A

Chinese:
http://www.ohchr.org/CH/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=11689&LangID=C

French:
http://www.ohchr.org/FR/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=11689&LangID=F

Russian:
http://www.ohchr.org/RU/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=11689&LangID=R

Spanish:
http://www.ohchr.org/SP/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=11689&LangID=S

A Welcomed Visit From the Secretary of State...

2011-12-07T14:11:00.001-03:00

Today was UNHCR's Ministerial Meeting on the 60th Anniversary of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees as well as the 50th Anniversary of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. Leaders from around the world came to Geneva to reaffirm their commitment to the principles of the two conventions as well as give their pledges to provide protection and assistance for refugees and stateless persons.

I was especially proud of our Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton, for giving an impassioned speech on my government's protection and assistance promises. But I was particularly proud of her highlighting one of the major causes of statelessness--discrimination against women. She pointed out that at least 30 countries around the world prevent women from acquiring, retaining, or transmitting citizenship to their children or their foreign spouses. Furthermore, there are even nationality laws that strip women of their citizenship if they marry a non-citizen. Altogether, these laws perpetuate statelessness generation after generation.

My favorite part of her speech reiterated an issue I come across on a daily basis: how discrimination against women negatively impacts the broader community. "[W]omen and children are vulnerable to abuse and exploitation, including gender-based violence, trafficking in persons, and arbitrary arrests and detention. That hurts not only the women and their immediate families, but the larger communities. When you have a population of people who are denied the opportunity to participate, they cannot contribute."

Simple, but profound. If the governments across the world actually do all that they pledged to do today, much of the world's suffering can be alleviated. One can only hope.

This is a Business and Human Rights Initiative I Can Buy Into...

2011-12-04T10:41:00.001-03:00

via

Take the survey here.

Be sure to send those letters after you get your results!

The Rights of the Individual Are Above the Rights of the State...

2011-12-02T08:15:00.001-03:00

On Friday, I had the opportunity to attend the Human Rights Council's Special Session on the situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic, one of only seventeen total special sessions in the Council's history (the last one regarding Libya). The deteriorating situation in the Syrian Arab Republic prompted the Human Rights Council (HRC) to establish an independent international commission of inquiry to investigate alleged violations of human rights since March 2011, although a state of emergency has been in place since 1963. Despite being denied access into the country, the commission managed to interview 223 victims and witnesses of human rights violations, including civilians and defectors from military and security forces. It documented patterns of summary executions, arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, torture (including sexual violence), and gross violations of children's rights.

Let me put these crimes against humanity into perspective for you because I appreciated the candidness of the commission's report in order to prompt international intervention and bring perpetrators to justice. Regarding the excessive use of force and extrajudicial executions, the commission received several testimonies indicating that military and security forces, including Shabbiha militias, had planned and conducted joint operations with orders of "shoot to kill" in order to quash peaceful demonstrations. One such testimony stated:

"[T]he protestors called for freedom. They carried olive branches and marched with their children. We were order to either disperse the crowd or eliminate everybody, including children."

Regarding arbitrary arrests, one of the large-scale arrest campaigns took place in the city of Baniyas on the 7th of May, where eyewitnesses state that the army swept through the villages and surrounded the city using tanks, armored vehicles and soldiers. These forces broke into homes and reportedly arrested more than 500 people, including women and children. Another such campaign occurred in Jisr Al-Shughour in the early hours of the 14th of May, resulting the the arbitrary arrests of more than 400 people, again including women and children.

While in detention, many of these people have suffered torture and sexual abuse. Please skip this paragraph if you are especially sensitive to the nature of this type of human rights violation. Numerous testimonies indicate that boys were subjected to sexual torture in places of detention in front of adult men. One man stated that he witnessed a 15-year-old boy being raped in front of his father. Another man saw the rape of an 11-year-old boy by three security officers, and once they finished, they turned to him and said, "You are next." Reports of sexual assault from women have been minimal, but this may be due in part to the stigma that victims endure if they come forward.

Finally, regarding violations to children's rights, several schools have been converted to detention facilities complete with the deployment of snipers on the roofs. Within these newly converted centers, one defector stated that:

"[P]eople had their feet and hands bound with plastic handcuffs. They were beaten mercilessly, including 10-year-old children. Some children urinated out of fear while they were being beaten. It was very cruel."

Please note that none of this information is confidential and if you wish to know more, the full report can be read here. There are many more specifics on the degree and extent of human rights violations available in the report, if you care to know more.

While it was certainly interesting to have a front-row seat to the proceedings, in many ways it felt like a tape-recording of the same debate that has existed since the conception of the United Nations: Individual Rights v. State Sovereignty. Unsurprisingly, the Russian Federation, Ecuador and Syria itself were against any type of interference from abroad. As the argument always goes: "The HRC is over-stepping its bounds if it allows illegal interference..." and "A forcible regime change will undermine the basis of the HRC and the aim of the charter... " and "Interference will discredit the HRC and does not show due respect for state sovereignty..." and so on and so forth. Syria complained that the commission was neither impartial nor objective in its report and that only Syrians can help Syria; the solution is domestic, not international. I find it interesting how many of these countries with well-documented human rights violations always say that the problem can only be solved from within (Syrians for Syrians, Zimbabweans for Zimbabweans, etc.), as if they can mask these crimes through nationalism.

What was surprising was the support that interference on behalf of the civilians in Syria received from the Arab League. Not a single League member voted on the side of state sovereignty, that is except Syria of course. Kuwait's Ambassador, a man whose disrespectful comments I have had to endure at CEDAW and CCPR, actually gave one of the most compelling statements I have heard yet at the United Nations. He did not begin with the regular, diplomatic "we deplore..." or "we strongly condemn..." But he stated pure and simple, with a fervor that is often not used in the HRC setting (paraphrased), "With technology we can now see what goes on in all parts of the world, so no government can hide such widespread human rights violations, as was possible before. The commission's report only confirms what we have all seen, and what technology has uncovered, in Syria. We cannot stand aside in the name of sovereignty while children are killed in cold blood and any State that votes against this should be shamed." It's the first time I have been able to agree with a single word coming from that man's mouth, let alone an entire three-minute speech.

Of course, I like many others in the room, wanted to hear what Libya had to say on the matter. And I, like many others in the room, was quite moved by the delegate's words. He basically said this: Listening to the commission's report, I see the same scenes being played out in Syria that were played out in my country, where children are not even spared from the horror. It is one of the truest pictures of suffering. I ask you to listen to your consciences and not to your politics. We must take practical steps to release the Syrian people from these crimes against humanity, which means we should intervene at the level needed to stop such violations...

My favorite part was the command to "listen to your consciences and not your politics" and in the end, the resolution to interfere was passed, which shows that the majority of Member and Observer States heeded those words. As frustrating and bureaucratic as the United Nations can be, a bit of my faith in the human rights mechanisms was restored on Friday. And although it is certain that this debate between state sovereignty and human rights is bound to continue, I couldn't help but think on Eleanor Roosevelt's words of wisdom--"The rights of the individual are above the rights of the State"--and be proud that the HRC lived up to that statement.

A Lesson in Diplomacy...

2011-11-27T06:50:00.001-03:00

Everyone's been asking me, "How'd it go?" And the answer is simply, it went about as well as one can expect walking into a room full of white men, telling them that their policies are misguided and that they need to focus on women and children. In other words, not all that well.

That's not to say I didn't speak well or with vigor and passion, but the overall message seemed to be lost among the "controversy" of my paper. I put that word in quotations because I honestly do not think that refocusing policies on women and children is all that controversial, so I was surprised by the emotion and disagreement that my paper created. The question and answer time at the conclusion of my talk lasted longer than my entire presentation and even had to be cut short. In the end, I wondered if anyone had actually listened to what I had to say or if they had simply come prepared to shoot my ideas down.

The height of the tension occurred when I was asked the following question by a professor at a prominent English university (which was shocking to me): "As a male, I am rather offended by this idea of a 'gender-focused approach' because you seem to be singling out a group and fragmenting the situation. In my opinion, doing what you propose will only serve to disenfranchise men from their proper participation in local integration policies and we cannot be having that. We must remember that men and boys can also be victims of this 'sexual and gender-based violence' phenomenon of which you speak." At that point, an Ambassador from an African country (which one, I don't quite remember because at this point I was trying to somehow compose an intelligible response to these questions) chimed in with a rant on women being the true perpetrators of female genital mutilation, again enforcing this idea that it is not men's fault, but women's fault that they are being abused.

The room was silent wanting to hear my response (like I was some kind of expert on this subject although I opened my talk with the disclaimer that I was nothing of the sort) and I felt the pressure of not being too emotional in answering these rather emotional questions. Here's the breakdown of what I was thinking: a) Since when did the term gender come to solely be associated with the word 'female'? b) How can a white man claim offense to issues of sexual and gender-based violence perpetrated against refugee women and children in Ecuador? Who as the audacity to do such a thing? c) How did this room suddenly re-focus the issue on themselves and manage to blame women for this plight? Perhaps the opposition on this issue is more clever than I realize...

I took a deep breath and told myself to hold strong in my beliefs. I have no idea exactly the words I used, but I basically responded with this: "First of all, I appreciate these remarks because I believe you are highlighting a major point. I am not calling for the exclusion of men in these policies. To the contrary, I believe that men have to be included because they have to be educated on the prevention of sexual and gender-based violence toward women and children. And yes, men are victims of SGBV also, I never claim they are not, but here's one major difference, when men are raped, they do not have the added protection and social concern of becoming pregnant due to that act. And yes, women are certainly perpetrators of SGBV also, in fact, there are plenty of women heads of brothels in Ecuador, and they by no means are free from blame. But I am calling for a policy that centers around the combating of SGBV against women and children as they are by far the majority of the survivors of such a tool of oppression and integration policies that do not acknowledge this will go nowhere. And to your point, professor, I have to say simply this, so far it is male-centered societies that produce policies that forget or chose not to acknowledge SGBV, so why don't we at least try a gender-focused policy and then we can compare results."

The response didn't get the round of applause I was hoping for, it just silenced the room even more and I wanted to die. Perhaps I was too harsh. Perhaps I hadn't chosen the diplomatic route. But what I had to say needed to be said and I'd like to think that had there been more women in the room, supportive applause would have broken out.

I am going to take an excursion out to Oxford on Monday morning to meet with the professor that respectfully disagreed with my paper in an effort to be diplomatic. I have two weeks to polish this paper before it gets submitted for publication (fingers crossed) at UNHCR. And although I am sure there is a much more welcoming audience for my paper at the United Nations, they aren't the ones I want or need to be persuaded by my ideas. It's the old white men in positions of power, so I have to find a way to make my comment readable to them. Hopefully, this experiment in diplomacy will help me do just that.

I Give Thanks for the New Yorker...

2011-11-23T16:48:00.001-03:00

Puts things in perspective, doesn't it? I'm spending Thanksgiving in the country we fled for economic opportunity, freedom from oppression (religious and otherwise), promise of a better life, and so on and so forth. However, these are reasons which are no longer accepted as valid or legal for those members of society who cannot afford the papers stating otherwise. My work at UNHCR always brings me back to this paradox. I'm thankful that I don't have to live out what's depicted above. And I'm thankful that my favorite periodical had the courage to challenge our conceptions of the issue.

Hello Members of the Parliament...

2011-11-21T17:09:00.001-03:00

This coming Friday I am going to get roasted in front of some British Parliament Members and a handful of Ambassadors from around the world. I plan on opening with this video. Call me crazy, but I think it will be a welcome change from the norm. This video is basically my paper, "Combating Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Ecuador's Refugee Population: A Proposal for a Gender-Focused Approach to Local Integration", in a nutshell. Wish me luck!

Look What I Made Today at the United Nations...

2011-11-18T10:17:00.001-03:00

(Excuse the poor artistic ability, but do take the message to heart)

Today the entire office came together to create artwork commemorating the 16 Days Campaign to End Violence Against Women that will be used for UNHCR's awareness-raising initiative on the issue. This was my small contribution. Research campaigns in your area to make a small contribution also!

About 16 Days

The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence is an international campaign originating from the first Women's Global Leadership Institute sponsored by the Center for Women's Global Leadership in 1991.Participants chose the dates November 25- International Day Against Violence Against Women-and December 10- International Human Rights Day- in order to symbolically link violence against women and human rights and to emphasize that such violence is a violation of human rights. This 16-day period also highlights other significant dates including November 29, International Women Human Rights Defenders Day, December 1, World AIDS Day, and December 6, which marks the Anniversary of the Montreal Massacre.The 16 Days Campaign has been used as an organizing strategy by individuals and groups around the world to call for the elimination of all forms of violence against women by:

raising awareness about gender-based violence as a human rights issue at the local, national, regional and international levels
strengthening local work around violence against women
establishing a clear link between local and international work to end violence against women
providing a forum in which organizers can develop and share new and effective strategies
demonstrating the solidarity of women around the world organizing against violence against women
creating tools to pressure governments to implement promises made to eliminate violence against women

Over 3,700 organizations in approximately 164 countries have participated in the 16 Days Campaign since 1991!

For 11.11.11...

2011-11-11T07:05:00.001-03:00

One Day on Earth - Participate Today! from One Day On Earth on Vimeo.

"Everything is dependent on everything...we are all interconnected."

Our Form of Slavery...

2011-11-08T13:04:00.000-03:00

"In the same way that we today think that the slave trade and colonial exploitation were inhuman and inconceivably bestial ways of acquiring riches, there is no doubt that coming generations will think that our form of world trade and distribution of the world's benefits were just as inconceivable and inhuman."

~Erik Dammann

A Call for International Volunteers...

2011-11-04T12:47:00.004-03:00

Inthe whirlwind of accepting an internship with the UNHCR and moving to Geneva, Ihave been unable to write about my summer experience returning to Peru, despitehaving much to reflect on regarding the topic. Having the opportunity to returnto the community I volunteered with was a special experience, albeit difficult.No matter how much I mentally prepared for my visit, it was hard to observe howlittle circumstances have changed for the community, if not gotten worse.

Idid not get to see Victoria or Juan David and even though I stated earlier thatI hoped I wouldn’t, as it would indicate an improvement of life on theirbehalf, that did not make their absence any easier on me. When I returned toAhauc, I was informed that I missed saying a final good-bye to Victoria byeight months. When I visited her house, her family was tending to their fieldssomewhere high in the mountains, so I just left the chocolate I usually broughther by the door and said a tiny prayer. I understand that her suffering isfinally over, but I could not help but feel disappointed that I was unableto see my favorite patient. When I visited the shantytowns outside of Lima, Iwas unable to locate Juan David and no one could tell me the whereaboutsconcerning his family. I have to hope that they relocated to a better town withbetter schools and better medical care so that mi novito is well on his way topresidency. Thinking about any alternative is too terrible.

Butit is not my style to end a post on a depressing note, and I am pleased toreport that my return to Peru was overall a positive experience. As soon asI arrived to Huancayo, I knew I wanted to do something more than simply returnevery summer and volunteer a couple of weeks with the health program. I neededto play a more meaningful part and I needed to be able to give a moresignificant amount. Luckily, a few teachers, a dentist and some health workershad banned together to create United People, a development NGO within thecommunity. They offered me the position of “Executive Director” of the UnitedStates Division, which I promptly accepted.

(My first board meeting with United People. Pictured above are the teachers from a school high in the mountains that receives little governmental support due to the rampant corruption throughout the territory, hence the need for a non-governmental organization to fill in the gaps.)

Animportant aspect to this blog (and why I continue to write about Peru) is toinspire others to embark on similar adventures and to inform others about thoseliving in conditions unlike our own. In my experience, finding an affordablevolunteer program abroad was quite difficult. My number one concern was that Ihad to be certain that the money I spent to work was being used to benefit thecommunity in which I worked. Volunteering abroad has become a huge business(one that usually unfairly profits on people’s goodwill) and in the process, ithas lost its proper function—service to the communities that need the human andmonetary resources in the first place.

Soby accepting this position with United People, I have been able to fulfill mywish of holding a meaningful and significant role within the Peruvian communitythat I care for so much, even when I am not with them. One of the ways I can dothis is by sending more volunteers down there in my absence, so I want touse this post as a sort of “call for volunteers.” If you are interested inknowing more, or know others who have considered medical/dental/legal humanrights work abroad with a development NGO, please do not hesitate to contactme. For better insight into the lessons you can learn as an international volunteer, take alook at the following posts: Loving is What I Got..., Does the Work I'm Doing Really Matter at All..., The Interconnectedness of Needs...

You can also learn more about United People through our idealist webpage.

*Please note that the entire cost of volunteering goes to the community and the teachers, dentists and health workers that work within the community. Although I handle portions of the administrative work, I do not take a dime of the money (I am an unpaid CEO, Wall Street should take notes). United People is about creating sustainable solutions for the communities its serves, not about making any sort of profit outside the needs of those communities.

Population Seven Billion...

2011-11-01T10:25:00.001-03:00

TheUnited Nations Population Fund estimated that yesterday the world’s populationreached seven billion people. Seven billion. How do you feed seven billion people? How do you provide water for seven billion people? How do you prevent the majority of that seven billion from living in poverty? As I spend my days observingvarious activities of the United Nations, it has become increasingly clear tome that if we have any chance of dealing with the tremendous challenges thatface this world today, we have to do it together—all seven billion of us.

Between Sky and Earth...

2011-10-28T12:36:00.000-03:00

Without a doubt, one of the biggest perks to my job is that I have the chance to meet incredible people doing incredible work in the human rights field. Not only that, but I get to learn first hand from these world experts about human rights issues I know little about and I have the opportunity to hear directly from them what the next generation of human rights lawyers can do to continue in the fight. It has reinforced within me that lawyers can work to change the world and that my choice to join the profession was not in vain.

One such incredible person is Mohamad Alenezi, a leader in the fight against statelessness. Mr. Alenezi represents a population of people who are not considered a national by any state. He is often quoted for his poignant description of what it is like to live as a stateless individual: "You are between the sky and the Earth, you are not going to fly and you are not going to fall down." Many of us do not know what it is like to live without a legal identity and we take for granted that piece of paper we receive from our governments that testify to our existence on this earth. But for the 12 million (and growing) stateless people who live without such documents, they feel as though they "are not home in the world."

The UNHCR describes nationality as the legal bond between a state and an individual. I find this definition compelling because it is not often that law is described in such a relational manner, but this description truly captures the significance of belonging to a legal framework. In a world where laws govern citizenship and nationality as well as the conferment of individual rights and privileges, to be outside that system is to be without the protective bond that allows a person to share in those benefits. Stateless people are essentially excluded from the legal framework on which societies are built, unable to enjoy the full range of human rights. They are without access to basic social services, like education and healthcare to name a couple, and they cannot gain legal employment.

As discouraging as this situation may be, the one encouraging fact is that this problem has an "easy" remedy--adequate nationality legislation and procedures for naturalization as well as universal birth registration. However, the ease of the prevention of statelessness is circumvented by the reasons for its existence, because like so many human rights violations, discrimination and disregard for human dignity are at the heart of this issue. Exclusionary policies are the root cause of many statelessness situations around the world, including in Mr. Alenenzi's "home" State.

Perhaps the most encouraging part about my dialogue with Mr. Alenezi was the smile on his face, despite having just heard from the Kuwaiti Ambassador that his Bidoon population (the Arabic word for "without" and the term for stateless persons in Kuwait) were liars and thieves who hid their passports in order to try to steal the wealth of the State. But this did not phase him. Instead, he was encouraged to hear that an American law student had read a number of articles about him (another perk to the job is constantly being up-to-date with world news). He encouraged me to spread awareness of the issue to my legal cohort because the more lawyers there are who fight against statelessness, the less people there will be living their lives in a legal limbo suspended between the sky and earth.

A Quick Introduction to UNHCR...

2011-10-21T06:15:00.000-03:00

I wanted to share this video in preparation for the University of Washington's Social Justice Tuesday sponsored by The Center for Human Rights and Justice (CHRJ). Start getting the word out.

"The Iraqi Refugee Crisis: How UNHCR Uses Human Rights Mechanisms As Protection Tools"

Please join us for lunch at 12:30pm on Tuesday, October 25th in Room 133 to learn more about the Iraqi refugee situation and the actual work of human rights lawyers. The lunch will feature an exclusive interview with Andrew Harper, Head of the Iraq Support Unit in the Office of the Director (Middle East and North Africa Bureau) of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees at the headquarters in Geneva. UNHCR's primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. The Office strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum, find safe refuge in another State and return home voluntarily. The Office works in partnership with governments, regional organizations, international and non-governmental organizations. It is committed to the principle of participation, believing that refugees and others who benefit from the organization's activities should be consulted over decisions which affect their lives.

Johanna Gusman, 2L CHRJ Co-President, will skype in from UNHCR's Headquarters in Geneva to present a brief overview of UNHCR's refugee protection mechanisms. We will also screen a private interview made exclusively for the UW audience on the refugee situation in the country. Finally, Yurij Rudensky, 2L, will present information on the new UW Chapter of the Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP). See you there!

I Need to Be Subsidized...

2011-10-20T15:07:00.000-03:00

This is the best explanation I've been given to the economic crisis and recent "Occupy Wallstreet" protests. Thank you Calvin and Hobbes, I think you sum it up rather nicely.

The Key to World Peace...

2011-10-19T08:12:00.001-03:00

Now that is what I call women empowerment.

Nearly One Billion Go to Bed Hungry...

2011-10-17T10:34:00.001-03:00

That's 1 out of 7 of us.

The F Word...

2011-10-16T08:54:00.000-03:00

The important thing to remember: famine is man-made and we know how to conquer it.

Four Eyes Do Good...

2011-10-14T14:02:00.000-03:00

I have two pairs and I love them. If you need glasses, buy Warby Parker.

European Graffiti...

2011-10-13T17:58:00.001-03:00

"Happiness is only real when shared."

A Notable Observation…

2011-10-12T15:24:00.002-03:00

Todaythe head of Zimbabwe’s delegation to the Universal Periodic Review of the 12^thSession of the Human Rights Council—Mr. Patrick A. Chinamasa, the Minister ofJustice and Legal Affairs—addressed the assortment of delegates, NGOs, civilsociety guests, Governments and UN leaders with an astounding statement. “Thereare no human rights violations taking place…and we reject any innuendos that weare human rights violators.” This is after Zimbabwe’s adoption of some 81 humanrights recommendations brought forth by the Council and before he went into arattling of allegations of neocolonialism against member States.

Hearinga government make such an audacious declaration makes me think of one thing andone thing only: what would the people suffering from those violations say tothat? I’d like to see the child soldier, torn from his family and forced to dounthinkable things, stand before the delegation and state, “There are no humanrights violations taking place.” I’d like to see the refugee, pushed from herhome to escape violence and striving to feed her family with what little rationshe receives, stand before the delegation and state, “There are no human rightsviolations taking place.” I’d like to see the victim of human trafficking,taken from her home and struggling to overcome the unspeakable suffering ofexploitation, stand before the delegation and state, “There are no human rightsviolations taking place.”

Somewherein that delicate dance of diplomacy, the urgency of injustice is pacified.Somewhere in the politic language, those voices of suffering are silenced. Somewherein the ritual, the humanitarian spirit (that reaction one should feel whenfellow human beings are faced with such atrocities) is lost. What should beuncustomary becomes custom, and a man who is supposed to stand for justice can representexactly why those human rights violations occur—the complete denial thatinjustice exists in the first place.

Fortunately,after the shock of such a statement wore off, the coordinator of Zimbabwe HumanRights, an NGO sent to monitor the claims of its government, approached me. Shesaid she noticed how I was shaking my head during her State’s closing statement(I guess I’m not very good at hiding my emotion) and that she couldn’t help butcome up and encourage me. She told me that the Zimbabwean people won’t let himget away with such lies and that human rights will someday be realized inZimbabwe. I admired her strength and dedication to a movement that at themoment seemed arrested in development, but I was at least able to leave thesession with a more positive outlook on the trajectory of human rights indeveloping countries. The denial of justice can only go so far, and in that Ifind peace.

Because the People Who are Crazy Enough to Think They Can Change the World, Often Do...

2011-10-11T10:43:00.000-03:00

What was Implausible Became Plausible...

2011-10-10T09:26:00.000-03:00

There are certain instances where no other word but “implausible”will do, and this is one of those instances. If you told me at the beginning oflast week that I would receive an internship with the United Nations HighCommissioner for Refugees and in less than 30 hours book a flight and be on myway to my new home in Geneva, I would probably have punched you straightawayfor toying with my emotions. Those series of events would simply have beenimplausible.

Furthermore, if you told me that I would be privy to HumanRights Council meetings or to the meetings of the Committee on the Eliminationof Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)—which are in my opinion, two of themost important treaty bodies of the United Nations—I would have most likely knockedyou out for such sensational claims. Those assertions would simply have beenimplausible.

Yet, I sit here awaiting the Universal Periodic Review ofZimbabwe, looking out over the gathering of countries to this historic eventand what was so implausible as of a little over a week ago is actuallyhappening at this moment. What was implausible became plausible, and sometimeslife can surprise you that. I’ve become accustomed to such surprises (changingfrom medicine to law, receiving the Gates scholarship, etc.), but this is byfar the most incredible.

P.S.—If you want to see just how plausible this implausiblesituation is, you can find me here: http://www.unmultimedia.org/tv/webcast/, I sit just behind Sudan--to the left of South Sudan (crazy, I know).

First Internship Update...

2011-10-05T16:06:00.001-03:00

As you may have deduced from Facebook, this blog or just plain word-of-mouth, I recently received an internship at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). My official title is: Pillar I--Policy and Law, Division of International Protection, Human Rights Liaison Intern for the UNHCR. The UN is not necessarily known for their efficiency, as evidenced by their naming practices.

I currently hold the record for fastest recruitment, acceptance and start to a UNHCR internship in their long history (seriously) and I have literally been thrown right into the mix. On Monday, I received my badge and sat in on the "ExCom" meeting for the UNHCR, which I found out afterwards was the "Executive Committee" meeting where the organisation creates all their policies (what a newbie). Yesterday, I reported on the initial review of the Sultanate of Oman with the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)--the treaty body I have been assigned to cover. On days that CEDAW reviews countries to which the UNHCR has not submitted a report, I get to report on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of certain countries before the Human Rights Council, which is what I did today. Tomorrow, I review the CEDAW meeting on Montenegro, a country with serious human trafficking issues.

All of these acronyms and talk of human rights may not mean much to most people, but it is of the utmost importance to me. Not because of prestige or bragging-rights, but because I get to take part in the institutionalization and incorporation of a type of law that I believe in, a type of law that I believe can truly help people--which is why I came to law school in the first place. If you have followed my blog at all over the past year, you know that is one of the biggest things I have struggled with in law school: how the heck can I incorporate human rights into law? Now, I have found the answer to that question.

I'm going to be very judicious about updating this blog a couple times a week to (a) make sure that this experience is real and that someone is not playing a terrible joke on me (b) ease my mom's worries of her daughter living abroad again--although Switzerland is much safer than Perú (c) document all of the lessons I am sure to learn over the next few months. Please follow me through this incredible experience and don't be afraid to challenge any of the more liberal ideas I'm sure to promote--I'll need the practice.

Thanks for reading!

Working for Peace...

2011-10-04T15:19:00.000-03:00

"For it isn't enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn't enough to believe in it. One must work at it."

~Eleanor Roosevelt

United Nations General Assembly Hall, Genevé

My Life is My Message...

2011-10-03T15:13:00.000-03:00

The Statue reads:

"My life is my message."

~Ghandi

Outside the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.

Say Prayers that I'm Actually Useful...

2011-10-02T15:05:00.002-03:00

On the eve of her United Nations assignment to the Committee on Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Affairs, Eleanor Roosevelt wrote her daughter stating, "Say prayers that I'm really useful on this job for I feel very inadequate." That's precisely my prayer tonight before I step onto the floor tomorrow morning for the 50th Session of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). At about this time last year, I applied for a position on the International Human Rights Project at the law school where I wrote the very Committee I'll be meeting tomorrow on the state of reproductive rights regarding a law in Costa Rica. Talk about coming full circle. It's incredible thinking about it--you truly never know the way life will hand you opportunities. All I know is that I am blessed and that I hope I can be useful these next three months. It's not a matter of feeling inadequate, I am inadequate. One of the prerequisites for this position is completing at least two years of law school, and we all know that I barely survived my first. Hopefully, this inadequacy will foster a drive to succeed unparalleled by previous UNHCR interns. I'm ready for the hard work because this is precisely the opportunity I've been waiting for, here goes.

My Summer Gates Assignment...

2011-10-01T16:45:00.000-03:00

Gates Summer Internship Report 2011
Johanna Gusman

When you ask most 1Ls about their summer experiences, you will most likely get an answer about memo-writing, motion-hearing or legal-question-answering. You will probably not hear, “I tried to uncover enough legal evidence to prove genocide on behalf of a Central American government.” I may not have had the typical summer internship experience that honed all of the lawyerly skills mentioned above, but for that I am grateful because I had the opportunity to learn firsthand all that goes into being a human rights lawyer as an intern with the University of Washington’s Center for Human Rights.

Due to a confidentiality agreement to which I am still bound, I cannot delve into the details about my research, but I can talk broadly about a couple very important lessons that I learned. First, I immediately discovered that being a human rights defender is challenging—intellectually and emotionally. It challenges the intellect because the legal framework and argumentation around human rights is not as clear-cut as say, property rights or constitutional law. Thus, it is certainly a cerebral exercise to create persuasive arguments establishing a human right, especially to a government that consistently violates those rights were they to be established.

Furthermore, being a human rights defender is emotionally challenging because it requires a certain compartmentalization of feeling that I have yet to attain. Obtaining enough evidence for genocide means looking at a substantial amount of that evidence day in and day out. This first hit me about a week into my research when I was watching a documentary and suddenly burst into tears as the film showed the aftermath of a civilian massacre. Naturally, it was not an easy sight to take in, but I had seen hours of similar footage the entire week prior and there was nothing necessarily distinct about that one documentary. I had simply hit an emotional threshold and could not stand to see another dead body. I had to take a week off of film watching and instead began translating the hundreds of documents we had from the State Department and Central Intelligence Agency regarding our country of interest.

Second, I learned that being a human rights defender is frustrating, again both intellectually and emotionally. Intellectually, my work frustrated me because legal evidence is not the same as what we except as everyday evidence. In order to bring executors of genocide before the International Criminal Court or other entities like it, a case must piece together that an order from the mouth of that leader lead to the death of thousands of innocent individuals based on a similar characteristic. By no means is this easy and that is why impunity is so widespread and that is frustrating.

Moreover, my work was emotionally frustrating for the exact same reason. From my translations of firsthand accounts of what occurred, I want to see justice for the people who had to endure such immense atrocities. However, justice is not something that goes to trial and change is not something that comes about immediately. It takes patience to see these kinds of things through and I am just grateful that I could take part in getting that ball rolling, even if it means working on this far beyond the two years I have left of my schooling.

Despite all of this, my summer was not purely a challenging, frustrating experience. Perhaps one of the biggest perks to my job was that it afforded me the time to get to know Seattle and give back to this community. On top of my internship, I became a member of the Worker Defense Committee at Casa Latina promoting worker’s rights and helping them regain unpaid wages. I also worked with the Upward Bound Program and taught socio-economically disadvantaged high school students Criminal Law as well as ran their Mock Trial competition. Lastly, I was able to travel back to Peru and volunteer again with the community I worked with before I had the honor of receiving this scholarship. Although it can be tough to revisit rural communities, mostly because you see how little has changed in a year (if not gotten worse), my experience turned quite positive. Some of the teachers, a doctor and a dentist from the community banned together and created a small NGO called United People and named me Executive Director in the United States. Now, I can continue to help poor communities in Peru from the U.S. and will be taking the Law of Non-profits in order to incorporate the NGO as a 501(c)(3)—talk about direct application of legal knowledge. All in all, it was an incredibly fulfilling summer and I hope it was one deserving of the “Gates Scholar” name.

A Prayer for a Restless Heart...

2011-09-27T19:01:00.000-03:00

Our Father, who has set a restlessness in our hearts and made us all seekers after that which we can never fully find, forbid us to be satisfied with what we make of life. Draw us from base content and set our eyes on far-off goals. Keep us at tasks too hard for us that we may be driven to Thee for strength. Deliver us from fretfulness and self-pitying; make us sure of the good we cannot see and of the hidden good in the world. Open our eyes to simple beauty all arounds us and our hearts to the loveliness men hide from us because we do not try to understand them. Save us from ourselves and show us a vision of a world made new.

~Eleanor Roosevelt's nightly prayer

Injustice Anywhere is a Threat to Justice Everywhere...

2011-09-25T21:00:00.000-03:00

abolish.R.I.P. 9/21/2011

All Too Truthful a Quotation...

2011-08-29T16:41:00.000-03:00

Just Imagine if...

2011-08-27T19:39:00.000-03:00

Where Character and Justice Avenue Meet...

2011-08-22T01:04:00.000-03:00

I spent my day with sick children in the shanty towns outside of Lima, in an area so poor that the government does not provide addresses or street signs to the inhabitants there. But instead of lamenting their lot in life, they simply created their own guideposts, and here is the spot where Character and Justice Avenues meet. A poignent crossroad and one that made me think of the following quotation:

"It is more difficult to fight poverty in a rich country than in a poor one."
-Mother Teresa

(picture taken at the Clinica de Miguel Rodriguez at the Niños Sagrada Familia Project Zapallal, Peru)

In Preparation for My Return to Peru...

2011-08-17T13:25:00.002-03:00

go.

Life is Simple...

2011-08-10T16:19:00.000-03:00

Inspiring.

Can I Pour My Heart Out to a Listening Ear...

2011-08-06T19:05:00.000-03:00

Adversity requires self-reflection. It’s the prerequisite to the alleviation that waits on the other side—the side where arrival signals the end of the hard times just endured. Sometimes I wonder if I have the strength to endure life’s adverse parts, just as I’m sure all of us do.

This week my father had emergency brain surgery. Twice. I’m actually writing this while on a plane to Vegas (my parents were celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary there) to go be with my mom while he is in his second surgery. I have a layover in Phoenix where I will enter the world of cellular and internet service and pray for only good news as I watch those blue bars appear on my phone. It’s a certain kind of torture generations before us could never imagine—the impatience caused by instantaneous information sharing.

My entire flight has consisted of taming my imagination and concealing the tears when I failed that task. Luckily, since I am in the middle of moving right now and strapped for time, I had two New Yorkers with me to read. I could lose myself in the articles when my brain grew tired of the cycle of anxiety and equanimity. And of course, after reading I wanted to write. Write for sanity sake as it is the only outlet I seem to be able to express emotion best.

Family is irreplaceable, simply by definition and manifestly by design. However ominous as it may sound, the truth is that you never understand that idea until you are presented with the possibility of losing them. That helplessness creates a certain despair that makes you refocus life’s priorities. Family has always been a top priority of mine (only reinforced by the difficulty of living on the opposite coast from them), so when I say refocus, I do not mean it in an enumeration sense, I mean it in terms of clarity.

It has become clear to me over the past few days, and certainly over the past few hours of this flight, that my dad is an amazing source of encouragement and strength in my life. So much of what I have learned about generosity, putting others before oneself and serving the less fortunate have been from following his example. Just like most daughters, I revere him as my hero and I always will. So although I doubt my own strength to face life’s difficulties, I know that if anyone can persevere through two brain surgeries in one week, it’s my dad.

Yet Another Reason Why I Love Dr. Seuss...

2011-08-05T00:36:00.000-03:00

A bet turned childhood staple.

Researching Human Rights Violations...

2011-08-02T21:35:00.000-03:00

"In Salvador, death still patrols. The blood of dead peasants has not dried, time does not dry it, rain does not erase it from the roads."

It isn't easy researching human rights violations. Photos and quotations like the ones above fill my day and make it hard to sleep at night. Hard because I don't want to think that we are capable of doing these types of things to each other. Hard because I don't want to believe events like that happened. Still happen. Hard because I feel helpless to be able to change the conditions that allow for these atrocities to occur in the first place.

Given that I want to be an international human rights lawyer, I guess I need to get used to seeing and working with these types of documents. Perhaps it will be like the medical experience where students are slowly desensitized to the sight of blood, but for now, I still can't help but be affected by these horrific pictures and heartbreaking words. The one place of solstice I have in this experience is in the cathartic nature of writing. Hopefully, after I meet some of the ex-political prisoners in El Salvador this winter and begin writing a research piece on their behalf, I will feel like I have added some sort of grain of justice to their story, no matter how daunting and insignificant the research may feel now.

The Moveable Future...

2011-07-27T19:52:00.001-03:00

A year ago today I left Peru in what was a bittersweet return to the United States. Bitter because I did not want to leave the country that gave me such an unforgettable perspective on fighting poverty and inequality in the world. Sweet because I longed to see my dear friends and family.

I passed this piece of artwork the other day in Cal Anderson Park and felt compelled to take a picture. I'm glad that I did because it holds the perfect statement to commemorate how I felt exactly one year ago. "Love, Loss and the Moveable Future."

I especially appreciate the idea of a moveable future because it sums up exactly the journey I embarked on--ending one phase of my life and moving onto another. The unknown-nature of the future has always been difficult for me to accept. That irreversible passing of time down a trajectory I can never seem to predict does not settle well with me. It seems as though the predictions I make only serve to derail my anticipations, but therein lies the wisdom of a phrase like "moveable future."

I would never have thought that this unknown mobility a year after my departure from Peru would give me the opportunity to do the type of heavy, hands-on research on human rights violations that I am doing this summer. Nor would I have imagined that I would be able to conduct case work and client interviews in Spanish for a local community project. Nor would I have envisioned that I'd be mentoring high school students from disadvantage backgrounds while teaching them about criminal law. All things I could never have foreseen, but all experiences I never want to take for granted.

And as I prepare to return to those communities back in Peru that taught me so much last summer, I cannot wait to witness the types of transformations they have experienced in my absence. Hopefully, the uncertain flexibility of time has afforded them the same types of blessings as it has for me. As much as I miss Juan David and Victoria, I hope that I do not see them when I return. I hope Juan David has escaped his poverty and that Victoria has moved onto a better place where disease and hunger do not exist. A hopeful anticipation indeed, but nonetheless possible, given that we never know which direction the future moves.

Just War Theory...

2011-07-26T01:03:00.001-03:00

"Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime."
— Ernest Hemingway

When I give...

2011-07-19T22:11:00.001-03:00

I think it is beginning to settle in, this idea that someone is footing the bill of my legal education. I guess it's less an idea and more a reality, but I have yet to apprehend the vicissitudinous nature of that statement. I'm not sure I ever will.

The only way I know how to be thankful for an opportunity like this is to multiply the generosity I have received. I believe that is the only way to ever be deserving of this. I feel this obligation to give as much as possible, and as my favorite poet/essayist says, when I give I give myself.

Investing in a Few to Hopefully Affect Many...

2011-07-12T20:23:00.000-03:00

I am raising money to construct a fully functioning dental clinic in Perú. When I left last year, the clinic had lost its only dentist and there was little more than a chair, a few brushes and some toothpaste that we bought for the community. Over the year, the clinic decided to focus its efforts on dental health, it regained a dentist as well as a dental student practicum, and all that is left in the puzzle is the money to implement its goals.

I recently read an excerpt on giving that I believe is all too true: "If you're going to give, you need to give eyeball to eyeball. The further out you get, where you can't see the eyeballs you're interacting with, the less impact you have, and the more danger of potentially having a negative effect. But you can invest in a few individuals who will hopefully affect many individuals." This is what I am asking: invest in me so that I can hopefully affect many. I know that not everyone can give eyeball to eyeball to a country like Peru, but I am asking you to give so that I can give back to the community I left a year ago that influenced me so much.

ALL of the money collected will go towards supplying and building the clinic. I will take the funds down to the clinic when I leave for Perú at the end of August. Supporters can also help by sending me dental supplies (tooth brushes, floss, toothpaste, etc.) to bring down for my trip. You can mail them to:

The Gusman Family
20614 Bridgeport Ct.
Potomac Falls, VA 20165

Donate at: http://www.gofundme.com/A-Dental-Clinic-in-Peru

Expectations and Reality...

2011-07-08T22:14:00.001-03:00

It is rare for expectation and reality to align. Often times, one exceeds the other or it fails. But it’s in the excess and in the failure that we learn the most, and I have had one such lesson with regards to my job plans this summer. I had grand notions of working abroad with enticing human rights organizations like the United Nations or Partners in Health. But my reality is a whole lot less sexy. Instead, I am confined to Seattle for the majority of the summer researching and documenting human rights abuses that occurred in El Salvador in the 1980s. This means combing through thousands (no joke) of declassified government documents, reading through stacks of books on El Salvador’s history, translating ex-political prisoners' testimonies and discovering the sobering reality that researching and documenting human rights abuses weighs heavily on one’s mind. This is certainly a misalignment from my previous expectations.

But in this discrepancy, I have gained a sort-of wisdom that only these kinds of lessons can impart. I guess a little background is due, a bit about me and a bit about the circumstances. First, I would definitely classify myself as the go-getter type, someone always striving to add more to my resume. But not for the typical reasons people do that for—I’m not trying to impress others or prove something to myself. I’m that way because when you are a person that wishes to change the world (as cliché as that may sound), it means you are inherently discontent with your surroundings and always searching for the next way to affect change in any way you can, or at least that is how it works for me. This means I’m constantly trying to expand my perspicacity to new endeavors, the way an amoeba swallows up its surroundings gaining new evolutionary capabilities with each new gene it encounters.

With regards to the circumstances, I thought such an evolution was possible when I made it to the final stage of interviews for a research position at Partners in Health—my absolute dream internship. I have not talked much about it, perhaps because of the sting to my ego or perhaps because I do not wish to continue the ever-present success comparison found at law school, but I did not get the internship. They decided to go for the Harvard medical student they always seem to fill the position with, although I was the first law student they have ever considered. It was definitely a painful experience, but just as painful experiences go, you learn from them.

This was my lesson: I have been given such an incredible opportunity with this scholarship, and even more importantly, I have the rare ability to use this opportunity to help those who need it most. So who needs my scholarship money more? An internship that has over 650 applicants for one position or a newly founded human rights organization working with a small group of ex-political prisoners in El Salvador whose budget is legitimately $0. My summer money goes a lot farther donating it to those ex-political prisoners than it would being eaten up living in Boston for the summer at an internship inundated with eager helpers. Perhaps I am simply justifying a failure, but it’s a loss I warmly accept.

So although this summer was not what I had envisioned it to be, and although my dreams of being abroad are diminishing (it’s not looking like I can visit El Salvador soon due to safety and confidentiality issues), this disjuncture between my expectations and reality has proven most valuable—not just to me, but also to a small group of incredible people in Central America. It will be interesting to see how the work I am doing this summer will shape my future career goals, but if I have learned anything from this, I would venture to say that it too will exceed the reality of my expectations.

Positive Reinforcement...

2011-06-22T21:23:00.001-03:00

Ever since middle school I have come to understand that the key to being a good writer is being a good reader. For those of you who know me well, you know that I have a love affair with The Newyorker. In fact, I have recently determined that one of my many lifelong goals is to be published in such a periodical (ambitious, I know, but aim high right?). Often times, before I sit down to write, I read an article or two to get my mind into "writing" mode. In doing so today, I read the following idea that reinforced exactly why it is I subscribe to such a routine:

The two most crucial ingredients in the mysterious mix that makes a good writer may be (1) having read enough throughout a lifetime to internalize the rhythms of the written word and (2) refining the ability to mimic those rhythms.

I am not in any way claiming to be a good writer. It is just nice when you come across an idea that completely encapsulates your own reasoning, that you just have to share it.

Summer Reading...

2011-06-20T20:31:00.000-03:00

Table of Contents:

Acknowledgements i
Introduction ii
Indiscriminate Attacks by the
Armed Forces on the Civilian
Population 1
...
Death Squad Killings 38
Disappearances 39
Forced Displacement 43
Human Rights Violations
by the Guerrillas 54
...
Administration of Justice 64*
The Duarte Government 67

*Notice how the description of the conflict lasts for 64 pages while the "Administration of Justice" section occupies only 3--that's a quick explanation of the situation in El Salvador.

El Salvador...

2011-06-17T17:10:00.000-03:00

"It's ironic. El Salvador means 'The Savior' yet no one is saved from hunger, no one is saved from political aggression by an oppressive government, no one is saved from human rights violations."
~Maria Guardado

This week, I started the background research for my summer project concerning the documentation of human rights violations against political prisoners in El Salvador. Due to the nature of the work and my wanting to create an air of curiosity around it, that's all I can elaborate on (at this time). I excised the above quotation from one of the various documentaries I've watched over the past few days as I try to piece together the precarious history of this Central American country. The heaviness of this project really sank in yesterday when I could not fight back the emotion I felt after watching footage of the brutality that was the nightmarish reality for El Salvadorians back in the 80s and early 90s. Accordingly, I decided to scale back my ambitious research plan and take in everything at a pace more conducive to emotional health. And naturally, I decided to blog about the parts of this experience I'm allowed to so that I don't just hold it all in.

I feel like an investigative reporter or something when I haul up in the library underground for my work. I'm confined to those abandoned corridors because VCRs are all but extinct in 2011 and the majority of the documentaries I need to watch are thirty-year-old VHSs. Perhaps the first step to get people to care about human rights is to convert the important documentaries to dvd-form and enter the 21st century. Remind me of this when I graduate. But, until that time, I am forced to get chummy with the technology that eluded our great-grandparents.

All technological frustrations aside, I have already learned so much in the short amount of time I have devoted to this project. One of the first bits of knowledge acquired was how little I knew about the conflict in El Salvador, yet how the events behind the conflict mirrored that of Perú's (and just about any other Latin American country's) war. How the imbalance in the ownership of land laid the foundation for conflict, how oligarchies create powerful resentment that ultimately leads to violence, how the rich make war and the poor fight it, how U.S. "intervention" harms more than it helps (perhaps because our motivations are questionable), how women and children bear the heaviest burdens in the instability of such times, and so on and so forth.

Furthermore, the war itself may end with the signing of a peace agreement, but its the ensuing panoply of unresolved issues that are the source of irony to which Maria refers. Issues like persistent economic instability, widespread impunity for grave human rights abuses, the pervasiveness of disease and hunger, large numbers of displaced persons, etc. that have no visible end in sight. It's the "no visible end" part that a human rights lawyer chooses to focus on and it's that part that I am committing not only this summer to, but the rest of my legal career. So when I stare at that VCR deep in the basement of one of UW's many libraries and will it to rewind to a specific spot so that I can re-hear/re-translate the all-to-quickly spoken Spanish in a documentary, I want to keep Maria's words in mind. As ironic as it may seem to be using a VCR this day and age, its a different sort of irony I seek to address when I research and discover different means to hopefully bring those violators to justice (even thirty or so years later).

Finals Week...

2011-06-06T14:27:00.000-03:00

5 days and counting until completion of my first year of law school.

What Prompted Our ConLaw Talk This Morning...

2011-05-24T15:19:00.000-03:00

Dear Professor,

Constitutional Law has been an interesting intellectual exercise for me, which I appreciate and know will add to my professional aspirations, so thank you for providing me that opportunity. I am writing to you because I want to discuss something that was said in class today. I very much appreciated Travers’ point about Craig as the “the tragic comedy” and I was a bit troubled by the impetus you put on clever lawyering over that of approaching change from within legal education itself. While I do agree that artful litigation does play a major role in progressive lawyering, I hesitate to give it the most worth. Waiting around for the most perfect case, with the most fitting fact patterns, and with the most charming litigants is not the only effective way to go about social change within the legal system. Besides, lifting lawyers up to be some sort of superhero litigators is in and of itself a dangerous thing because it just reinforces the power structure while tokenizing minorities.

As a female, I do find it depressing that gender equality under equal protection had to come about because a male right was taken away, not the other way around. It’s like gaining the ability to eat steak at the cost of slaughtering your pet cow—it’s not the ideal way to put food on the table and you loose something in the process. I understand that it is a game that requires lawyers to play by the rules (if I’ve learned anything in law school, I’ve certainly learned that), but that’s not to say that you can’t influence the referees in the process.

As a Virginia resident, my state has had a grand showing in our syllabus and I can attest that much of the reasoning utilized in those opinions has not necessarily changed. That being said, I cannot help but point out where it is that those judges learned that reasoning and acquired the political power to gain those positions: law school. Not to say that they would not still hold those views with or without their legal education, but maybe, just maybe, they could have been exposed to a different perspective that could have made them at least question that “logic.”

I believe that social change does start with legal education and certainly within the context of constitutional law. One thing I have observed about this class that distinguishes it from others is that it forces students to come to terms with the tough issues. It is important to realize/acknowledge that some of us are reading the rationalization that kept our grandparents from going to the same schools as their peers, or the argument that kept our grandparents from marrying, or the justification of our families’ placement in internment camps, and so on and so forth. For me, I am not satisfied with the impetus of change falling on the shoulders of a few keen lawyers who have been privileged enough to even gain that title. I’d rather see a system that seeks not to perpetuate a certain kind of thinking that allowed for those injustices in the first place.

Yes, it’s wonderful that Justice Ginsberg visits Columbia every year, but I wouldn’t use that as a justification for legal education to not be challenged with differing perspectives other than the white-male dominated viewpoint. I understand that these are simply my opinions and that they are just as valid as yours or any of my other classmates, but I just wanted to voice them and give you a few arguments to consider. Thank you for listening.

Sincerely,

Johanna Gusman