THOUGHTS FROM AN ASPIRING DEVELOPMENT PRACTITIONER #2

So disturbed recently by this issue going on in Egypt. The fact that the new government raided NGO offices focused on governance and democracy is totally unacceptable. I don't know if they realized what an outcry the whole situation would cause, but they aren't doing themselves any favors. It's just so disturbing that they are now looking to charge these NGO workers with criminal activity. Doesn't it make you look suspicious when you target well-respected NGOs that are in your country to make sure your elections are free and fair? Hmmm...

A quote from the article:


"We've operated for 30 years, everywhere from (dictator Augusto) Pinochet's Chile to Nicaragua, to the Soviet Union when it was the Soviet Union, to Central Europe, to Indonesia under Suharto," he (IRI President Lorne Craner) said. "We work in China, Belarus. This has never, ever happened in the 30 years where we get out offices raided. And Egypt is supposed to be an American friend."


Just another testament to the fact that the life of a development practitioner is anything but predictable.

FALLING WHISTLES

Have you heard about the Falling Whistles campaign? The situation in the DRC is just so horrible with no real solution in sight. I know that this is one of my specific areas of interest, but thought that you might be interested as well. Most of the electronics that we have use materials from the DRC that are mined illegally and under horrible conditions, and it also contributes to the ongoing violence. I'm not saying that we need to eschew all of our electronic devices, but people need to know where they are coming from, and it could help to support organizations that call for transparency about the source of materials being used.

I'm not saying that you need to buy a whistle, but it's definitely something people should be aware of.

Visit www.fallingwhistles.com for more information about this campaign.

WAY TO GO MALAYSIA!

I was wasting time before getting back to finishing my class assignment today and came across this BBC headline: 

"Malaysia bans Obedient Wives' Islamic Sex Guide"

All I could think was  - thank goodness! Then, while reading the article I came across the, apparently, universal solution to domestic violence (heavy sarcasm here):

"The club (who published the book) has previously said women should act like "first-class prostitutes" to prevent their husbands from having affairs or resorting to violence."

Oh. Well, then. If that's all it takes to eradicate infidelity and domestic violence...(again, heavy sarcasm).

When you just know

I just know that I am going to love this movie. Will you see it with me?

Oh, Zimbabwe

Tragic, really.

Finally

Finally. It's not perfect, but at least we're moving in the right direction.

Olympic Mania

Have you been reading about all of the Olympic torch mayhem? I have to tell you that I am really loving it. I get incredible satisfaction when I see people go to great lengths to display their opinion. I think it is totally outrageous (in a good way) that protestors in France actually tried to grab the torch and it had to be re-lit 3 times before finally being put on a bus for the last leg. I also think it is awesome that college students shimmied up the Golden Gate Bridge to display huge banners (as San Francisco is the only US stop on the tour). Three of them stayed up there for hours because they knew they would be arrested when they came back down. I just think that it is a good reminder that even though we appear to be accepting China more and more on a global level (not that that is a bad thing as long as we can use that as leverage for good), China has in no way stopped its horrible history of human rights abuses. Anyway, I better stop before I go on a tirade, but I just wanted to make you aware in case you aren't already following the story. I love things like this because they make people think! What's your opinion about China being accepted on the world stage? Do you have one? Do you care?

...

Sudan rejects Darfur rape charges

Sigh.

Hello?

I mean seriously, are we really surprised to hear about this? Who in their right mind thought China wasn't committing human rights violations?

Magical Places 3

Cintsa (or Chintsa), South Africa

After our stay in Mozambique, 6 of us went on a week-and-a-half road trip through South Africa (which is a little sketchy safety-wise but turned out to be pretty amazing). We stopped at Cintsa on the southeast coast of South Africa for a night. We arrived at about 2am (which is NOT a safe thing to be doing in South Africa). Anyway, we couldn't find anybody to help us, so we just grabbed a room at the Buccaneers Backpackers Hostel and crashed. We awoke early in the morning and walked out to the balcony and were stunned by the view above. These pictures are altered in no way - it was amazingly breathtaking. The hostel itself was also amazing. Although there are camping sites, the actual hostel is like an eco-friendly hippie treehouse - so great! The next two pictures are of the hostel - if you are ever in the area you should not miss this piece of paradise (although you should be warned that the bathroom facilities are definitely coed).

The picture below is of Autumn and Jeff on the bridge on the way down to the beach. We also walked to the neighboring town to grab lunch. It really is a beautiful area. Not only that, but the monkeys in the nearby trees were pretty entertaining to watch.
Oh, and did I mention the quote on the hostel's website? "If buccaneers doesn't get to your soul, there is something wrong with your karma." Does it get any better than that?

Magical Places 2

Loch Lomond

After our Study Abroad Program finished in London, I rented a car with two other girls and we went on a whirlwind drive to Wales and then on up to Scotland before returning to Gatwick for our flight home. One of our stops was here at Loch Lomond. We stayed in one of the most amazing hostels I have seen. It looks great in daytime, but imagine arriving here after 10pm (it's up a deserted country road) and there being NO other cars in the parking area out front. There were a few lights on inside, just enough to lend it a distinctly eerie glow. We were the only ones staying for the night. After reading about the ghost on the hostel website, I have no doubt that if there is a hostel with a ghost, this is definitely it. Needless to say, we LOVED this place! It was most definitely amazing. I think we ended up staying there 2 nights. Here's a picture of the hostel:
While Jan got an exclusive tour at a local castle from her ancestral clan (Calhoun) that is now part of an extremely exclusive golf club and course, Katie and I decided to go on a hike. We took a little trail through these amazing Lord of the Rings-type forests and winding through beautiful Scottish hills and mountains. We ran across a couple of older men (late 60s or early 70s) on the trail who said that though they live on opposite sides of the country, they get together every year and walk around Britain. At the end of the trail, across the road was an amazing mountain that was shrouded in mist. We decided to climb up the mountain to get to the mist and eat lunch up at the top. Needless to say, we didn't make it to the top. All of those rumors about Scotland being wet were verified as our legs started sinking up to their knees in a bog-like mud. After a near-miss with a mountain goat (beautiful) and resignation at the ever-higher mist, we gave up and ate lunch about half-way up with an amazing view of the lake. We named it Mount Neverest of the Slip and Drip Mountains. We thought we were clever, anyway!

Magical Places 1

So I was just thinking about some magical places today (by magical I mean that they intrigued me in some positive way). Here are a couple from my long-ago Study Abroad. My own pics aren't digital and I didn't want to scan them in, so I found these on the internet.

Tintern Abbey, Wales

This abbey was founded by Cistercian monks in 1131 AD and is amazingly complete. This location also inspired William Wordsworth, who wrote a poem using it as inspiration which we read on the bus before arriving.
You can find the full William Wordsworth poem here.

Tintagel, England

Tintagel, one of the supposed birthplaces of King Arthur. The old castle ruins sit on top of these amazing cliffs over the ocean. I loved climbing around and the sense of isolation that the place held.

Food for Thought

The 2007 Global Gender Gap Report is now here. For those of you who don't know, the US is ranked 31 out of 128 countries. To find out more about this report, which is sponsored by the World Economic Forum, check it out here. Just some food for thought...

Hello?

Is anybody paying attention to what is happening/happened in Pakistan? I really hope so. I'm not sure if we can be friends if you aren't aware.

Africa Recap

So, I'm always thinking about Africa and my time there (even though it was over a year ago). I decided to periodically put some pics up on my blog, particularly since no one ever really saw them. Enjoy.

This was an old train at a museum in Maputo, Mozambique (I think it was in use up until the 70s or something)

I took this pic the first day out in Maputo over a wall. That's a chapa (our normal transportation) which are public taxis. Imagine 15-20 people smashed in there. This is a pretty typical scene. Hard to imagine it's the capital city, eh?

A fishing boat out in the Indian Ocean near sunset waiting for it's use early the next morning.

Two adorable little girls in a preschool we visited in a run-down church on the outskirts of Maputo.

Another little boy at that same school (you can see the school in the background). I love the little beanie, particularly since it was between 70 and 80 degrees outside.