I'm on a beach! I'm on a beach! You are probably at your desk! I'm on a beach!

I finished in South Sudan just over a month ago and I retreated back to the Middle East for some much needed nostalgia, falafel, non-South Sudanese sun (and a break).

I only stayed one year in South Sudan. Outside of Juba is can be a tough environment, and I marvel at colleagues that can stick it out longer. More than a year at a time of pit latrines, nairobi eye, cold showers, flooding compounds, no AC in +45C heat, every bug imaginable and constant gunfire is a lot to handle.

I have written a couple posts on burning out, and wanted to make sure that I didn't get to the point of a) crawling at the walls to leave, b) loathing every moment of my life, and/or c) absolutely hating the country.

I did enjoy my time there. I learned so much from my colleagues and hopefully made a difference in some way, shape or form. I left quite sad, and questioning my decision. I even panicked 3 weeks before and offered my services to whatever or wherever I possibly could in the country program. After one week away though,  I knew I made a good decision and am enjoying sleeping, travelling, vacationing and visiting friends (not to mention eating... everything).

I'm making a decision on where to head next this week. At some point between next Sunday and the beginning of June I will be in a new place with new anecdotes. I'm excited! But I am sad to leave this:

stopping sexual violence and harassment with technology

There was a lot of buzz created by the assault CBS reporter Lara Logan in Tahrir Square. On the twittersphere a lot of the discussion has pointed to the blame and owness that is placed on the survivors - Still!

There are a lot of tools out there to break the stigma of talking about sexual harassment and assault. A number of which were spearheaded in the middle east where taunting and catcalling are endemic, and little fault or blame is placed on the perpetrator. Instead, the survivor - primarily women - is blamed and her freedoms are curtailed in order to preserve honour and to "prevent" these acts from "occurring again" (wear less revealing clothes, don't go outside without a male escort etc.).

Despite tireless efforts to dispel myths surrounding SGBV, it still occurs and can be difficult to combat because there is so little hard data on the topic. This is why new initiatives using technology to map from the ground up are so important.

Here are some tools I have come across:

Hollaback : Global site using online and mobile technology to track and collect data/information on street harassment.

HarassMap Similar to HollaBack, spear headed in Egypt (in arabic)

There is Visualising Women's Rights in the Arab World is an online space for women's rights initiatives including SGBV work.

In DRC there is Si jeunesse savait an online and mobile support network for young feminists. (in French)

A general project taking place during the 16 days of Activism is Take Back the Tech imploring women to use technology to combat violence against women and girls and highlighting projects. It has a handy map of what is going on tech wise associated with the project around the globe.

On a more national/state driven and generic level there's CartoCrime, and initiative by l'Observatoire National de la Délinquance in France that maps crime in general. (in French)

These are the few I can think of with websites. Any more? (I'm sure there are tons)

Palestinian Papers. Israel. Win.

The Palestinian Papers released gives insight into Middle East negotiations, and have been interpreted as a blow to the old guard of the PA. An article by Chatham House’s Kate Nevens and Jessica Forsythe sums up the fear of western stakeholders that this will increase support for Hamas, and also stoke violent resistance again against Israel from the West Bank, but also further a field in Jordan, Lebanon, and Egypt. Much of this is agreed. There is already widespread disenchantment from Palestinians with Fatah, but also with the political situation in general. Many also do not see Hamas as a viable option wither… just worth a shot in the face limited options. More importantly, reports are ignoring the elephant in the room. The easy win the Israeli government has received from these accounts of historic concessions. With support for Fatah split, Hamas may gain more power, but less of a bargaining chip with western stakeholders. Palestinian political groups disenfranchised on a whole could very well revolt against both guards. What we could be faced with is in internal struggle in the West Bank between multiple power brokers, making oppression easier. Likely in the name of security. Hopefully, this is recognised early, and alternatives are presented. A good start would be for the PA to cycle in some new blood, and at risk of sounding like a broken record, give greater voice to younger party members. Additionally, moderate leaders in general need to embrace new methods of communication and news sources rather than attacking it, to allow for more democratic input into next steps as well as to monitor activity throughout the territories by all groups. (See a great OpEd by Naserine Malik in the Guardian on Al Jazeera). The more open and transparent Palestinian leaders can be right now, the better, in order to reduce the opportunity for violence and extremism.

In other news. Have you been watching Egypt? Oh. And how about Lebanon?

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].

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.

Gaining acceptance vs. Getting kidnapped

There's an article today on Reuters Alertnet (Reuters news source for those who care about humanitarian causes that is a bit more edgier that IRIN - I follow their "tweets"... I am a dork) that reviews that dangers of providing humanitarian in conflict and recent post-conflict societies.

Aid workers all know their environment is changing - at least I hope most do - and our families always assumed it was worse than what it actually is. Until now (duh-duh-duuuuuh).

It's been reported that aid workers in the Horn and Central Africa are being robbed weekly and that kidnappings all around have increased.

"Humanitarian workers are seen as rich people in places where most of the population is poor," said Philippe Adapoe, the Country Director of the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Chad.

"In general aggressors target assets and money and we have visible assets such as cars, satellite phones, money and laptops."

Additionally, we can often be seen as collaborators with the "enemy" - as seen in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.

Anyways - it's pretty interesting to read the article - (here!) And interesting to note that one method of protecting aid workers is to become more accepted in the community. In my case here in Iraq - aid workers have been doing the opposite. Until recently only a few were operating low profile in communities - most (including my own) are/were working remotely from the north or neighbouring country or high profile behind compounds and security companies. Doing this associates us with immediate relief and money - and makes us seem superficial. Acceptance requires us to be in the communities, building relationships and understanding of the work we do.

Medivac experience (I have a blog?)

So sorry for the delays. I haven't been posting because a) I burnt my right arm to a crisp and b) I then went on a computer-free vacation (much needed). Amazed by the ability of the human body to heal, I am now back to typing in a mere 4 weeks and have almost full motion of my hand.

So what happened. An IED? Insurgent firefight? After all I am in Iraq.

Well friends, I was in fact attacked... by a flame-throwing oven. All I wanted to do was bake some eggplant. A gas leak had filled up the stove with gas whilst I was cooking lentils on top of the stove. When I went to "turn on the gas" for the oven and "safely" light it with the barbecue lighter... KABOOM!

2nd/3rd degree burns on my hand and lower arm and a medical evacuation to Amman (although not on the cool medical planes... just on RJ).

I learned a few valuable lessons from this experience:

1) Where protective goggles whilst cooking
I was lucky enough to have been wearing my glasses when it happened. I lost all the hair on my face, and some on my head (not like MJ). Had I not had glasses I would have no eyebrows or eyelashes (managed to preseve those... phew). I think from now on I may wear my fire-retardent gloves too....

2) Always carry a satelite phone
Normally Iraq has semi-decent cell phone service. But then there are the days that the Vice President of the United States is speaking at the convention centre next to your house. Warlocks on the enire area jam cell phone signals, aking it impossible to use them in the even of an emergency. Fun.

We have a few satelite and sets that would link up in this event - but we couldn't find them so my roommate and I just ran out of the house screaming instead.

3) Occasionally be thankful you live in cushy ex-pat-ville
Screaming did not last for long as we realised that our cush sub-division had a fully western, fully operational private medical centre a block down. Complete with very good looking EMT-Practitioner that administers very "beautiful" (to quote my jordanian doctor) drugs.

4) When in doubt always assume the ambulance is for you and not for victims of swine flu
When mdeically evacuated, they pic you up in an ambulance. I am not sure it was fully needed in my case. My boss/emergency escort and I made the assumption that it was for something else when we approached it, and there staff were not there. So we went and had a coffee. It was for me and the staff had been wandering around the airport trying to find the "burn victim".

So when medivaced - yes the ambulance is for you, unless you want an excuse for a coffee break.