Cows for Schools

I was really happy to read this great initiative from the government of Unity State in South Sudan. They are selling cows to fund school construction. It may not come across as a big deal - selling property or investments to pay for construction projects - but I'm not sure that people outside South Sudan understand the significance of THE COW.

Cows are taken pretty seriously here. Almost everyone is named after a type of cow. Much like the Inuit have hundreds of words of snow, the Dinka and Nuer have hundreds of names for Cows. I myself have 3 Dinka names (and counting!): Allual (Red cow - I got this one when I arrived. I was likely fairly red), Yar (White Cow) and and Akuor (White Cow with a Black Spot over the Eye). Cows are also the economy here. You cannot get married without paying for your wife in cows (where I live... many cows), people measure their wealth in cows, and in some areas people will starve rather than kill a cow for food. A good looking cow can fetch you well over $1000, so 30 cows can go quite far.

South Sudan has one of the lowest literacy rates and school enrollment rates in the world. They are in desperate need of schools (and teachers... and teachers being paid). They're budget also relies very heavily on international donors and the work of aid agencies to provide almost all basic services. With aid budgets shrinking, there is less money for school construction funding by the international community. Moreover donors would like to see the government starting to take responsibility for the costs partially or in full. To be frank, it unfortunately rare to have governments here willing to support footing the bill even partially for projects.

As many know, earlier this year ROSS shut down oil production over borders disputes and transfer fees with Sudan. Now that ROSS has essentially no money -  the Government is enforcing austerity measures. They are cutting the civil service (or just not paying them - ministry staff I work with have not been paid in 2 months), reducing or halting projects etc etc. This leaves the average man, woman, child out in an even more vulnerable spot, with even fewer services.

Which is why I'm pretty impressed with the government in Unity State. I think they are setting a good example for the rest of the country. Well done.

Celebrities helping causes the best way they can

Thank you Funny or Die

On Voluntourism

The CBC radio program Q had Daniella Papi on today talking about Voluntourism and the way she is trying to change the industry. Arguing that young privileged people need to see the world to become better people - "they need to get angry and change the world". But they should do this after they learn and when they leave. Her company does voluntourism with the aim to educate about development and address a lot of the ills that voluntourism presents.

I'm not sold on the gap year program, and she lost me on voting for orphanages - but if voluntourism is going to happen anyways she may be heading down a good path.

Posters and GBV

In Sierra Leone, there is a clear public campaign to counter sexual exploitation and assault of women. This is in the professional and domestic sphere. I saw a number of posters and billboards with women being harassed or in imminent danger of being beaten - I particularly enjoy the use of posters from the Ghanaian Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (my old stomping ground) - reminding us that sexual abuse and exploitation is not acceptable and is punishable. Some are in Krio -possibly much more useful then straight up English for billboards at least - and seem to act as a reminder to men not to prey on women. I did not see any posters in Salone with men being abused by women, unlike in Ghana.



Gender based violence and exploitation is endemic in Sierra Leone, from cultural initiations into secret societies that involve genital cutting to human sacrifices (there's concern of this increasing in the lead up to the elections next year). I'm working with the police, and sexual harassment and exploitation is more than just common place. Fortunately this is an area that is heavily supported programmatically and institutionally (for example the SLP has a new Sexual Harassment Policy and a complaints division), but as of yet it's difficult to tell if this is making a difference. Or whether this is just lip service. I didn't really see many posters IN police stations or headquarters reminding people that sexual exploitation, assault, or domestic violence is wrong (there were large billboards beside or in front of some police stations in Freetown at least). I only conducted a basic search for information on how effective the posters are. Obviously many poster campaigns are coupled with use of other media (radio discussions/adverts, television, comic strips, public protest, training and workshops etc). But I couldn't really find anything - I'm not sure if anyone has any suggestions.



While we're on this topic, there was an interesting article in Foreign Affairs on the reliability of rape reporting numbers during war.

Dear Artesunate,

I love you. You should be everywhere.

Make Youth Count in Sudan

This Saturday marks the end of the voting period in a referendum of self-determination for the Southern Sudanese.

No matter what the outcome will be after January 15th, as Sudan moves forward, both the Governments of Sudan and South Sudan, international organisations, donors and all other stakeholders should be mindful to involve all parties (women and men of all ages) in the statebuilding process. They should also be mindful to maintain substantial involvement of the largest demographic, youth, in order for peace to continue into the future.

The government, donor countries and all stakeholders in times of statebuilding implement projects to engage youth to various degrees in attempts ranging from diffusing a potential spoiler group, to building peace. Standard programming ranges from vocational training and employment schemes, to involvement in civil society organisations and youth activities. A wise move, given that according to the Southern Sudan centre for Census, Statistics and Evaluation, 72% of the population of Southern Sudan is under 30 years of age. Youth programming, if well-coordinated and developed in a participatory fashion, can bring together youth from different backgrounds in building a stronger state.

Engagement between different groups of youth, externally but also internally in Southern Sudan, and greater Sudan, will help mend fences broken by decades of conflict. Projects that bridge understanding so that all Sudanese see each other as equals, such as inter-Sudanese peacebuilding projects, online discussions and youth conferences will ease some of the divide. However, youth need other motivations to build and participate in peaceful states. They need jobs. They need to be empowered. They need to feel valued and be heard.

The media spotlight on Sudan means that many have now heard the grim figures and uphill battle that Southern Sudan in particular faces in terms of healthcare, education, jobs and gender equality. Those who have been following the context are aware that a girl in Southern Sudan is more likely to die in childbirth than finish grade school. The illiteracy rate stands at 24% in Southern Sudan and 55% for Sudan as a whole, with immense gender discrepancies. But many are unaware that while the governments in Khartoum and Juba provide the majority of formal employment, there is a growing private sector hungry for educated Sudanese youth that have the prescribed skill sets. Discouragingly, while vocational training does exist, provided by both the government and external organisations, there are no common curriculum or shared certification programs, and the training targets limited numbers. Companies turn to better educated foreigners or returnee Sudanese who were trained outside of the country. They are perceived as more capable and reliable, but also create tension between Sudanese that stayed in Sudan and other groups. Moreover, many of the new businesses started in Southern Sudan are not by Sudanese, but by people from neighbouring countries. Foreign investment and development can be a positive thing, but it must be matched with Sudanese growth, particularly in areas of strength such as farming and animal husbandry. Entrepreneurship and financial support for youth led-business development will also stem some of these concerns, but financial capital must be extended to young people in an effort to promote youth-driven development and in support of youth empowerment in the statebuilding process.

Girls are missing out as well. The Government of Southern Sudan has made a commendable effort in promoting the inclusion of women into the public service, including into male dominated forums such as the Southern Sudanese Police Service. Despite this, girls’ education and involvement in the workforce in Southern Sudan is drastically low. The majority of youth programs are notoriously designed with young boys in mind, stemming from the belief that large groups of idle young men left to their own devices have the potential to become a source of political unrest. Girls are often taken on through promotion of access to education, a tactic that the Government of Canada is using. This is a start, however youth issues are far more complex than this, and links are rarely made between the disempowerment of young girls and cycles of poverty and violence. Education programs coupled with job creation and political and civil society programs targeted at women can help combat early marriage, transmission of STDs, improve maternal and infant health, reduce violence against women and improve society as a whole. Reaching young adolescents and women is key to building a strong and peaceful state. Numbers are better for Sudan as a whole, however fear remains that should the South choose to separate, women’s liberties will move backwards under strict application of Islamic law.

Youth issues are complex and under studied.In Southern Sudan, as well as in the rest of the country, there are generations that have known nothing but varying states of war. Although some have been demobilised, there are youth, both men and women, in large militias and armed forces on both sides. Some point to the so called “youth bulge” in a fragile state context such as the one in Sudan as one that will lead to unrest. I’m inconclusive. What I do know, is that this, compounded with a feeling of exclusion from the political process, perpetrated by corrupt governments, and little economic and employment growth will cause problems for future Sudanese state(s). Governments and other stakeholders need to be holistic in their approach, and listen to the youth.

Promised 16 Days Blog. There might even be two.

The other day my place of employment had the pleasure and the honour of hosting Barbara Bailey. Barbara, was until recently, the head of the Gender and Development Studies department at the University of the West Indies at MONA, and she is the CEDAW representative for Jamaica. She has just completed a long study on gender and education, commissioned initially to find out why boys were dropping out of secondary school. She managed to refocus the study so that it looked at the socioeconomic factors that affect both boys and girls and how that contributed to them leaving or staying in school.

Her description of the study – yet to be published – highlighted an important concept: The Currency of Certification. The presentation displayed the fact that, in addition to pay disparity, and a thick glass ceiling, women also need more schooling than men to reach the same professional level.* Boys are still learning that they do not require high levels of education in order to work. Moreover, highly educated women are still being pushed out of the job market despite their certifications. Therefore despite the focus on women’s education as a means to greater gender equality, it does not help much without a push on the economic side to create jobs for women – but also men.

During the 16 Days of Activism we look specifically at gender violence. The focus of Dr. Bailey’s study showed that the economy on a whole contributed to boys leaving school early. There has been a reduction in the West Indies in areas of employment gendered as male, with growth in areas traditionally gendered as female – such tourism and call centres. There has not been a rebranding of these industries as something everyone can do - therefore, women are now having greater access to jobs/money. This change in gender parity has resulted in men reasserting themselves through macho activities such gun running and drug dealing – where they can earn a lot of cash. This has also attributed to a rise in violence on the streets but also in the homes.

The study reminds us that gender violence and gender equality cannot be fixed through simple targeting, but requires systemic and holistic changes to pretty much everything we do. Not an easy task.

*In her presentation, Dr. Bailey pointed to a UN study that showed that women need on average 6 years more education than men to reach the same job level. I cannot find the report, but will cite it once I do.

Wikileaks – What does this mean for humanitarian aid and development?

I haven’t had a lot of time to focus on external writing, and in truth I would rather spend my time focusing on a good post for 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence (which will happen – the 6th is my personal deadline). However, the fallout or I guess potential fallout for people in the field of development and humanitarian aid could be quite big from this Wikileaks fiasco. I’ll admit I find the whole thing entertaining to read – it’s a bit like an OK! for politicos. And for the most part it says what everyone who is mildly intelligent and mildly follows international politics already knew – it was just never put in writing.

Will this have an effect of development funding and activities? Funding – unsure. I can’t see why states would use this to lower their aid budgets. If anything – it may open them up a bit wider to repair damage. What it could do is make access more difficult. Quiet diplomacy just had a pie thrown in its face and this could result in difficulties for aid agencies and other NGOs in certain areas to get permission to operate, acquire visas for international staff, and have activities approved by their host governments. It will be interesting to see what happens in this regard over the next year.

There has been some writing on what this means for people who work in development – they write much better than I, so here’s two gloomy articles.

-[Guardian] How Wikileaks could affect the USG and international development funding.
-[Globe and Mail] Wikileaks made the world more repressive

What the CBBCs comment actually means

NATO official Mark Sedwill, in an interview for the CBBC program “Growing Up in a Warzone” stated "Here in Kabul and the other big cities (in Afghanistan) actually there are very few of those bombs. The children are probably safer here than they would be in London, New York or Glasgow or many other cities." The comment has caused a stir across the western media and outcries from public councils and humanitarian aid agencies, such as Save the Children.

Mr. Sedwill later tried to diffuse the statement, saying that it was not very well put. And he’s right – it wasn’t. But the essence of what he was trying to say is important. The news often distorts day-to-day life of people living in conflict affected areas. In states affected with armed conflict, not every moment of every day, in every location, is there life threatening danger. Pocketed and fragmented fighting is localised and that often means a good chunk of a state is relatively safe for people to go about their daily routines. What is more, general crime rates can be lower in these areas, as well as the lure of dangerous activities such as drugs and alcohol. Finally, societal bonds are stronger, with a neighbourhood formed to mimic a large family – meaning many people are looking out for your wellbeing, rather than the isolation that is becoming a norm in Western cities. Because of this, it can be argued that if one looks at a child’s access in the city, and the safety net surrounding them – in many cases it may be on par or better than life for a child in some of the West’s more notorious cities. This is a question of physical security.

Indeed, the plight of children in developing areas – particularly in fragile and conflict affected states – fair far worse on a human security level. Save the Children noted that 1 in 4 Afghan children will not live to see their 5th birthday, and UNICEF in 2009 declared it the most dangerous place to be a child. There are greater barriers to life saving health care and nutrition in these areas. Gender equality is at a greater disparity, and so is access to education. But what Sedwill’s statement should have done is allowed us (and kids) to review our perceptions of what safety is and what it can be to others. Moreover, it reminds us all that people around the world are not so different from each other – and face similar problems.

Last Resorts

The New York Times has a story and a video journal on self-immolation of women in Afghanistan. It is a contribution to raising awareness to the despair women face by the lack of options everywhere. Forced marriage, sexual, gender and domestic violence/abuse and little to no options to leave unsafe situations safely or to seek counselling because of cultural taboos – compounded with a strict sense of honour linked with the behaviour of female family members - leads women to suicide (sometimes pre-empting their own honour killing). Women identify their limitations on movement outside the home limiting their suicide options. Women also believe that burning is an instant death – an assumption that leaves many with extremely painful, disfiguring but non-fatal burns.

The authors speak to this phenomenon being highest in some areas of Afghanistan in close proximity to Iran (where the practice is also common). However it is not only common to this region. I have been exposed to this in Kurdistan, Jordan and the occupied Palestinian Territories, and know of its commonality across the Middle East (and further afield). Women choose this method because it can be attributed to a “cooking accident” saving face for family members. More alarmingly however is the practice of burning as a method of honour killings – much for the same reason and particularly where states have made judicial progress towards persecuting perpetrators of honour killings. It is easier to hide from investigation.

I think the most disturbing story I heard, while in the Jordan Valley, was of a woman who had gone to the toilet in an outhouse. While she was in there, her family members threw in kerosene and a lit match from a small vent into the confined space and burned her alive. The women I spoke with said that this was not the first time in their community this method had been used. These stories point to a greater need to integrate counselling into programs in women friendly spaces and to improve community liaison to lift taboos associated with talking about gender based violence and depression. Moreover, international development partners and states need to encourage a holistic approach to protection of women and girls – not only through judicial and security reform – but also through involvement in health, education programs and community/state building throughout the process. There needs to be recognition that as states progress to greater gender equality and to protecting the rights of women and girls the threats facing them may change.

A great person to follow on this is Rana Husseini and the team at the Jordan Times that have worked tirelessly to remove the leniency in Jordanian law towards honour killings and further afield. No Honour in Crime follows Honour Killings as well [primarily Arabic].

Young Professionals in Human Rights

I'm guest blogging at YPHR about choosing a field posting or a HQ post. YPHR is a great resource for those living in the UK, providing a chance to network and learn about careers in the broader human rights sphere.

Working in relief or development

As with many of us that work in the field of international relief or development, we're regularly approached by people asking whether we can advise them or their [Insert child/friend/relative] on how to get jobs in the field. I usually rally off the same stuff. However, thanks to Good Intentions Are Not Enough I was directed to this blog posting from a couple of years ago that is really great written by Alanna Shaikh (of many other blogs fame). I may use it in the future.

Why you probably can't get an international job (and what to do about that)

Good Intentions also has a great series on volunteering internationally as well.

I wish I had found these earlier ... so much less writing!

What's there to do for fun in a refugee camp?

May not be the first thing you'd ask when you get there. But for children and youth in refugee/displacement camps (or in locations affected by conflict or natural disaster) the opportunity to let loose is an important part of retaining some of the "normal" in their lives, and thus caring for their psycho-social well being.



There are a lot of fantastic programs that promote play for children and youth. One of my favourites is Right to Play, an organisation that started in Canada running sports programs in conflict affected areas. They have moved now to training physed teachers as well, so the concept of play pervades that curriculum, in addition to running sports programs for kids. They rely heavily on dedicated volunteers to carry out the projects, and occasionally get a few olympians along the way to give their time.

There are other fantastic initiatives that I have seen that have been wildly successful in popularity amongst kids. I have seen great work done by circus schools in the West Bank. One of my favourites is Capoeira programs which kids, both boys and girls, seem to take to like a fish to water. Oragnisations such as Capoera Arabe and Bidna Capoeira have been running programs for Palestinian and Iraqi refugee children and youth. The program teaches children to dance capoeira, an Afro-Brazilian dance style, as well as the songs and instrumental accompaniments. The basic moves mimic martial arts, but there is no contact. The dance is about creativity, and designed by oneself, giving the dancer the opportunity to choose what they do next - it's not dictated by choreography. It may seem trivial, but an outlet to vent frustration through dance driven by ones own creativity gives an important elemental of control to that kid when many other things seem out of their hands. What is more, the program to my knowledge has attracted both girls and boys (but I am unsure about young women).

Youth often get left behind in aid - particularly in fragile areas. When they are focused on, it's out of fear that young men left idle may turn into a source of instability (scary scary youth bulge). There are very few well documented initiatives of programs aimed at young women - often left out of the youth sphere. Culturally they may not even be considered youth at all, with the passage from childhood to woman hood marked by menstruation, or early marriage/pregnancy. More creative solutions are needed to address this. And more youth-led initiatives should be developed.

PS: Guardian has a new site on international development. It says it has "the best ideas on the biggest challenges". That may be a bold, premature statement. However. At least it exists.

Microfinance Superstar: Little Luxuries of HQ life

One of the great things I’ve found about staying on the HQ side of things is that my day to day experiences may not be “as exciting” (read: I’m in Ottawa) but I do have the fortune to attend fantastic events.

The International Development Research Centre is 40 years old this year and are holding a year-long anniversary celebration. While most people face a mountain full of “Over the Hill mugs” and surprise parties at their 40th, IDRC is running a lecture series. Yesterday I got to see Mohammed Yunis, of Grameen Bank or Nobel Prize fame.

He is an incredibly engaging speaker that inspires many to work for social change. His views on the banking industry are spot on and he has incredible vision for the world of business and industry. I was however left questioning a few things.
A few questions from the audience were left unanswered. The first being: Was there any backlash from some elements of the community against the bank? Yunis talked at length about Loan Sharking, and how that activity drew him to develop an alternative method of loans for the poor. However once loans could be obtained from a safe, less invasive source, what happened to the loan sharks? I have not managed to find any information on this but I’d be interested to find out whether this happened – and if so how was it mediated. Secondly, the money was put primarily in the hands of women who had never had the opportunity to control finances before. This is incredibly empowering, but must have been equally disempowering for men. What was done to address any backlash in the community regarding this? Nowadays if an organisation employs gender mainstreaming into its programming, women’s empowerment projects such as microfinance would include an element of engagement with men, so that threat is reduced. However, was this done initially?

The second question was regarding the role of Cooperatives in microfinance. The answer was essentially – yeah I guess there is a role there – which is not incorrect. I was disappointed in this because so much time was spent explaining many elements of the bank and of Yunis’ Social Business model, but an opportunity to highlight what I can see is an important tool to further empower and develop communities was not highlighted as well. So much of the presentation was about teaching, and I felt an opportunity was lost.

Major questions, such as how does Microfinance and Social Business account for economies of scale. Essentially, how do you make sure you are not flooding the market with tailors rather than building industry? Moreover, how does your goal of “cutting out the middle man” (he uses the example of Shea butter and L’Oreal) affect price inflation in a state? Finally, Yunis has, what seems like an interesting take on welfare systems in western states. It comes across as if he believes that they are a system to be abused and that they can be replaced with social business and microcredit. If this is the case I would be interested in hearing what his views are on safety nets for those who are in between jobs, or those with mental illness.

The lecture was still fantastic and microfinance has still revolutionised economic recovery programming. Definitely worth a viewing. All of the lectures in the series are recorded and can be found here.

Comprehensive example of the business of humanitarian aid

The New York Times Magazine is running this article on Plumpy'Nut. Which in theory I have a pretty soft spot for. I'm not in health policy or practice, but in terms of its success rate it's pretty damn amazing.

Because it's so amazing, it's also become popular amongst other producers. Right now a French company, Nutriset, owns the patent to make the product (as well as off-shoots). They have relinquished rights to the developing area producers as well. The product promotes growth in the peanut producing industries in the global south through sourcing many of Plumpy's ingredients there instead of say... the US. However now others want in, including Pepsi and peanut farmers in the US. A powerful company and a powerful lobby may hurt whatever positive gains economically this product has for producer Nutriset, who has faced complaints of monopoly, but also for developing nations.

Article: Could a Peanut Paste Called Plumpy'nut End Malnutrition? - NYTimes.com

NGO's Pawns in Terrorism?

This is a pretty comprehensive- yet cynical view - of international NGO activities in conflict and post conflict areas from The New Republic. I wrote a post last May introducing the SPOT requirement on all US government funding in Iraq and Afghanistan (and possibly to be implemented in Somalia... and everywhere?!). It stands for Synchronized Predeployment and Operational Tracker This requirement requires all US contractors (including INGOs) to provide the US government and the military with the GPS location of all programs and the names, positions and nationalities of all staff so that the military can keep tabs on all activity and movement (including movement in, out and around the country).

There are some major points of concern here. The first is the close association this put INGOs in with the US military. It runs counter to a lot of impartial and neutral stances of many of the major players. Close association with the US government can put beneficiaries in danger of attack from non-us friendly actors. Secondly, it reduces the capacity of donors like USAID to collect information effectively. This has been highlighted by the GAO. I know that despite a concerted effort from NGO consortiums like InterAction, a few INGOs have signed contracts (whether they knew it was in there or not) which include SPOT. Contributing further to the bleak situation David Rieff paints.

A good point that is brought up in the article is the fact that in countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq, the goal is not really development but national security. The budgets are simply not high enough to actually conduct development per say. Moreover, one needs to look at the types of civil society and governance programs that are actually funded here. In Iraq, programs such as the Community Action Program (CAP) which was in its third incarnation during my time, was in all matter of fact a way for the government to provide lots of material stuff to communities so that they would not hate what is happening to the country - Despite what the NGO (or development company in some cases) intended it to be. Another gem included a 2 year nation-wide peacebuilding program (peace in Iraq... in 2 years!) that was intended to be a front for counter insurgency information.

I wouldn't go as far to say that NGOs are pawns. Many know exactly what is going on and fight it continuously with lobbying. In regards to SPOT it may actually work (inshallah). The US administration is reviewing how USAID operates and SPOT seems to be on the list for review after it was blasted by the GAO. However the cynicism is warranted.

The burn out...

Apparently my last post was on January 31 2010. Since then so many things have happened. Elections... (didn't care), Settlement Debacle in West Bank... (could have written a good post), Hiking Club in Kurdistan... (meh... it's fun).

Finally something did prompt me - its what I would call... the burn-out.

I wikipediaed burnout. I wikipedia everything. It states that "burnout is a psychological term for the experience of long-term exhaustion and diminished interest." This pretty much explains my general state for the past 2 months - possibly longer.

I think, well I know, it's an affliction that hits many people in the aid field (and probably a lot of other professions). A common complaint that is heard is how understaffed projects and offices are by NGOs, the one I work for is no exception. There is too much work, and in a lot of cases insufficient capacity to conduct high level programming that is expected of international NGOs and international organisations. This leads to staff who are consistently overworked with no end in site. A co-worker of mine calls it "Emergency Mode".

Although "Emergency Mode" compounded with a harsh environment may make matters worse, this affliction transcends location and even context. Because aid workers (and development workers) work in Emergency Mode all the time... Even when there isn't an emergency.

Iraq has many needs, and there are the occasional emergencies that pop up. The fact is however, it is no longer an Emergency Context (I’m sure people will debate that - but I stick by it). Large amounts of people are not in need en masse of direct and immediate humanitarian assistance. Particularly not in the KRG where I am based.

I have never worked in an actual emergency context where emergency mode is acceptable. I'm not sure if an emergency context makes emergency mode easier to sustain? However I do know that it is not sustainable in an non-emergency context. I'm proof.

Signs of burnout:
- Neglecting needs and interests
- Withdrawal from social activities (or in some cases acting out through social activities... often negative ones)
- Denial
- Change in behaviour (such as becoming snappy or quick to anger)
- Depression
- Limited attention span

I also experienced fatigue and an inability to cope with certain situations, and finally it lead to not caring too much about anything. The whole process once I realised it was happening was very frustrating as well, because it stressed me out because I could not work as well as I use to.

Ways to cope/prevent:
- Excercise
- Ensure that you take time for yourself
- Take your R&R (or vacation) on time!!!
- Confide in a trusted friend or look into getting a life coach

And because the above may not be possible, make sure you take time out between postings. A good suggested amount is about 3 months.

I am fortunate to work for an organisation that provides free counselling services, not only in emergencies. Through talking with someone I learned that what I was experiencing in my line of work was normal, and to not beat myself up for how I was feeling, or even my performance level.

Many organisations understand that people need time off in between posts. It is easy as someone just starting out to feel like you need to continuously work otherwise you may not get another job. However, in a lot of cases this is not the case. It is in the NGOs interest to promote breaks in between posts so that people taking up new jobs are fresh and able to perform well. It is also in the NGOs interest to retain good staff.

It is common to take time off and still stay within the same organisation (but you can also move if you need to).

I'm not sure when my burnout happened exactly. Probably the day after my last post. I should have seen all the signs coming. But those are famous last words. I have decide to take my advice and take some time off (about 3 months) - spending time sleeping, learning, seeing friends and family and chilling out.

March 6th!!!

We have a date. Elections were originally for the end of January. To coincide with what's stated in the.... I don't know... constitution. After much back and forth, sqwabbling, vetoing, concessions and compromises the new election law was passed in the wee hours of the morning yesterday.

The election is now set for March 6th 2010, 49 days past its last proposed date. It gives ample time for campaigning, but also for the security surrounding the elections to deteriorate. Much like today, when a series of coordinated bombings targeting government buildings, public areas, Al Mustensari University and the Institute of Fine Arts. It is believed that over 120 people were killed and 450 injured. Those numbers are likely to rise - sadly following November - the month with the least amount of violence related deaths since the start of the 2003 war.

Here's hoping that everything calms itself down!

Photo Credit: Dennis Hollingsworth

Arms, Comedy, Protest

I got sidetracked for about 4 weeks. October is one of those months where US government grants get the best of you. Since everything operates on the US fiscal year, something unfamiliar to me until I joined the aid world (why can't they operate a fiscal year on a calendar year... nothing is wrong with the Gregorian calendar), one month after each fiscal quarter is what I like to call... Hell.

This kept me from writing on somethings that are very important (not the UN shootings, I totally missed the boat on that one too) and that I'm keenly interested in. Arms trading, comedy and protest.

There was a report in the Guardian back in October that showed "police spotter cards" aimed at helping police identify "trouble makers" at protests. Except this one was created for the Docklands Biannual Arms Fair, and the people listed were not "troublemakers" but comedians and community workers(well I guess it depends on your definition of troublemaker - one man's troublemaker is another man's comedic genius and social worker!).

People who are genuinely concerned about arms, who they are sold to, and how nations are involved in this trade are targeted, rather than those who embezzle money through parastatles to finance civil war in... oh I don't know... say Angola. I'm looking at you Jean-Christophe Mitterand (son of former French President Francois Mitterand), Chales Pasqua (currently a French Sentaor) and Arcadi Gaydamak (who, despite several international arrest warrents, was running for mayor of Jerusalem when I was there).

Mark Thomas, the comedian in question, wrote a response piece that I enjoyed attacking the democratic right to peacefully protest at events. Particularly when those events host the likes of those that commit horrendous acts through the goods that they purchase at said events. Blurg.

Now why might a comedian be persona non grata at an arms fair is another thing:



If you watch the whole show on You Tube... you can see maybe why the arms world does not want Mark Thomas kicking around. But the stifling of protest on such an important topic so much that community activist are unwelcome is infuriating. Not many people know about the arms trade, and I'm pretty sure governments and arms companies are keen on making sure it stays that way.

Support organisations that make sure it doesn't:

Global Witness
ICBL

uhhhhhh....

Image: The Insider
Please tell me this is joke:

Noble Awards set to honour celebrity humanitarians?

It's going to be 2 hour awards show to honour celebrities that give up just that "little" amount of their time to a cause of their choice and have "really" made a difference.

Now don't get me wrong.

I've had this debate a number of times with friends about the merits of celebrity support for a cause. I'm on the pro-side. As long as it is done responsibly, celebrities can bring massive amounts of coverage to causes. Ambassadors such as Angelina Jolie and Alicia Keys highlight the plight of refugees or the disabled for organizations such as UNHCR, IRC and the amazing Best Buddies. They can meddle a bit too much, such as in the case of George Clooney and Darfur, or become so over exposed that we roll our eyes everytime they appear off-stage (eyes on Bono - but maybe thats more because people forget that he's not an expert on global poverty... but actually rock musician). I also have no doubt that many of these celebrities aren't doing this because it makes the look good to the public (although that does factor in) but because they genuinely believe that they should work for humanitarian causes because they can bring so much exposure.

But do they really need a 2-hour awards show?

This is going to sound whiney - but there are thousands of relif and charities workers globally who toil day in and day out, not just because its their career, but also because they want to work the greater good. There are even more volunteers that do this for free with little thanks. Occasionally they are trown big parties to give thanks and priase where it is due(the organization I work for has quite the star-studded event every year in new york, and regularly has event in which celebrities and people in the know attend)and they are useful tools to draw attention to causes, but if they get too crazy or extravagent they are scoffed at. The money, at least I believe, that goes into these events could and should be better spent on advocacy, campaigning, or back into program coffers so that we're less dependent on pandering to foreign policies of the US and EU, and more focused on exactly what is needed.

I really hope this is a joke.