Round Two

Today was my second week of my internship. I am so happy I chose to intern for TransAfrica Forum! I am enjoying the research I am doing and all that I am learning. For the spring semester I will be focusing on gender based violence in Haiti. There has been a definite increase in gender based violence since the earthquake with the inability to monitor displacement camps to a full extent. I did not even know that gender based violence was occurring to the extent that it is in Haiti following the earthquake. You hear about the displacement camps, sickness, homeless, lack of clean water, and the actually physical destructions ensued because of the earthquake but you don’t hear about how many women and girls were raped in displacement camps. It is really interesting to learn about something you had no idea about.

The other part of my day was spend conducting research on how Haiti has been since the earthquake since it is now a little over a year since the earthquake happened in Haiti. This research included what are the numbers of displaced persons, what are the stats for gender based violence, what are the stats for the cholera outbreak, what actions are being taken to address the cholera outbreak, what has been going on with the political campaign, as well as how much of the funds meant for Haiti actually went to Haiti. The website below gives great reports about areas after crisis.

http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/dbc.nsf/doc100?OpenForm

Something else that I learned today at my internship is about the current politics in Uganda. David Kato, a gay Ugandan human rights defender, was brutal murder after his name and address was published in a magazine. There was consideration by the Uganda government to pass a bill which would allow imprisonment or execution of gay people. This is a very extreme law and quite appalling to me. I posted the link below from the New York Times article.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/28/world/africa/28uganda.html

What Peace Means to Me

For class we were given the assignment to write a reflection on what peace meant to us. I have decided to post my reflection here.

When you think of peace what comes to mind? I feel peace always seems to be this far off idea thought of by idealists who hope for a Utopia. When hearing peace what thoughts come to a person’s mind? No more violence comes to a person’s mind when they hear of peace. A dove with an olive branch comes to a person’s minds. When hearing of peace people think of love. But I think it is more then all of this. I think peace is to live without fear.

“Nations do not go to war because they hate the other side; nations go to war because they fear the other side.”

This quote makes me think of peace as living without fear. Without fear of others there is no need to fight the other side. But it is more than fearing the other side. People fears what the other side can do to them. So, the question then becomes how do you stop the fear and obtain peace.

To obtain peace both sides need to understand the other and accept the view of that side. With understanding the other sides comes the ability to humanize the other side. With humanizing the other side you see how they are like you and your side which gives you the ability to break down the fear you have for the other side. People fear the unknown. To get rid of the fear the unknown needs to become known. The only way to truly understand and know the other side is with truth.

Truth is also needed to obtain peace. Truth is what will lead to understanding which will lead to the breakdown of fear. If what one sides learns about the others side is not true it will only add to the fear and the cycle of fear will continue. The real truth of the “other side” is what will allow one side to understand the other.

Truth will lead to understanding which will then destroy fear and allow for peace to occur.

First day on the Job

This week I had my first days as an intern at TransAfrica Forum. The first day was just the usual stuff of introducing us to the organization, the work they have done, and what we would be doing. The second is when I actually started work. For my second day of work I was being sent to a talk on United States and Cuban relations. Center for International Policy was hosting a number of speakers to present on the topic of a Call for Immediate Steps to Improve
Relations with Cuba. Since I am working in the Latin America and Caribbean sector of TransAfrica Forum it was my job to report back to my supervisor on what the topics were covered and what the speakers thought was the best course of action. I was very excited about this opportunity to learn more about United States and Cuban relations since I did not know much on the matter. It was a very informative meeting.The conference talked about the most recent lightening of travel restrictions for American to Cuba and what the meant for Americans. Americans are now allowed to travel to Cuban if they will be receiving academic credit. I think this is a good thing. I feel this way because students should experience as many different cultures and ways of life as possible. After the conference was over I headed back to the office.

In the afternoon I was given the task to read a report which TransAfrica Forum just helped complete about the rape of women and girls in Haiti at the displacement camps for refugees of the earthquake. It amazed me the deplorable conditions which the people in displacement camps were living in as well as how often rape was occurring in these camps. I am not going to go into a lot of detail about the report since it can be quite a disturbing topic. None the less it is a very interesting report and I have posted a link below if anyone is interesting in learning more about the subject.

All in all I really enjoyed my first day of work at TransAfrica Forum and I am very impressed by the work they do!

http://ijdh.org/archives/13361

New Definitions

“Peace is putting things were they belong.”

This was said to my Peace & Conflict Resolution class by Dr. Abdul Aziz Said last week. It was a very interesting way to define what peace is. Dr. Said was speaking to my class about peace building and nonviolence. Two things Dr. Said told us really struck me. The first was it is “humans’ ecological function to love.” The second was “you have to be willing to lose your life to protect your dignity” that is what nonviolence is.

With the first statement he made he was refereeing to everything on earth has an ecological function; trees product oxygen, bees pollinate trees, and it is humans function to love. If humans embrace their function there would be peace and not war. Humans’ purpose on this planet is to love. I had honestly never thought of the human purpose on earth being love. When you think of humans function on this earth you think to populate, make money, advance technology, to live but love is never normally said.

With his second explanation it really made me think, what am I willing to lose my life for? What is my dignity? Dignity by definition is to be worthy of respect. But isn’t your dignity made up of so much more? I think that dignity is made up of your views, experiences, values, and morals; and those factors in turn make up your dignity which gains respect from others. To be so passionate about your values that you are willing to die for them and are ok with dying for them is incredible to me.

With all three of these words I have never heard anyone explain them in this particular way. I feel that is why it was so interesting and an intriguing conversation with him. To see the way others minds see things and how their mental maps are designed is always a fascinating matter. Because something you always must remember is that every person has a different mental map with a different definition of this because if the experience they have had.

Light

Heads up this one is a bit dim just because of the subject matter.

The other day I visited the Holocaust Museum with my Peace & Conflict Resolution class. Having studied the Holocaust in school, seen movies, and read books on the Holocaust I was both excited and nervous to go to the Holocaust Museum. I was excited about going to the Holocaust Museum because of what so many of my friends had said about their visit to the museum being so well done and moving. I was nervous because as interesting as the Holocaust is, it is also very disturbing time in humanities history. To go through four floors of a display of a systematic attempt to exterminate other human beings is hard. So many of my friends said the passports they received at the start of their journeys were interesting and make the museum have more of a personal connection to them. The other part many of my friends, who had already been to the Holocaust Museum, found most disturbing were the piles of shoes from prisoners going into concentration camps. But what I found most disturbing was the cattle car from a train that transported people to concentration camps. When I walked through the car it was as if I could feel all the people who had been in the cattle car. It was as if the air around me changed. I know it sounds very touchy feeling but it really was that way.

The suggestions I have you if you visit the Holocaust Museum is to not rush through it. Experience the museum, read what is on the walls, learn from what is there. I also suggest that you meet a survivor. I met with one and hearing his story and how he was able to move on with his life just makes you amazed. For him to be able to restore his faith in humanity and just want to move on from it all and live a normal life is so amazing to me. Their strength to move on and live gives you strength as well as having you feel like you could make it through whatever because it is not even close to what they have endured. It reminded of me of this quote

“We are all meant to shine as children do. It's not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

The Hunt for an Internship

At first the internship search can be overwhelming with students who already come in with internships, now know if your resume and cover letter look good, and not being sure of what you want for an internship. But don’t worry the program has an office dedicated to help students perfect your resume and cover letter and even conduct mock interviews with you so you feel prepared. The internship bazaar is also very helpful resource given to you at the Washington Semester. The internship bazaar takes place within the first week you are in DC and has tons of organizations there that cover a wide range of fields. All the organizations there are looking for interns and normally are in desperate need of them. Washington DC runs on interns so securing an internship. So some tips, look at the list on the American internship website of what organizations will be there, so you can beforehand know which ones are of more interest to you and which are not. This will also give you some talking points when you go to talk with an organizations representative about their organization and why you would like to intern for them. Knowing how many organizations that you are interested in will give you a game plan of how much time you can spend talking with each organization and it will also help you figure out how many of your resumes you should print off. When it comes to your resume it always is better to have it printed off on thicker resume paper, a different shade of white is always better too, it will make your resume stand out more. Heads up you can get them printed at the copy center on the bottom floor of the library on main campus. Another thing to remember is thanks yous! The saying of your please and thank you will get you far is true. Send a thank you note to those you talk with at the bazaar this will reiterate your interest in their organization and also display your style of how you conduct business. The other thing you should do is follow ups after sending in your resume and cover letter. The follow up will show the organization that you are very interested in their organization and set you apart from those who don’t follow up even if they do have more experience. Just remember you will get an internship as long as you take advantage of the resources around you and make the effort!

I Forgot!

So, I wanted to start this blog with a little message about what my blog is on, which I forgot to do before my first post. Here I go.

I am in Washington DC for the spring semester of my sophomore year of college. I am studying at American University and enrolled in the Peace & Conflict Resolution Program. I am really excited to be in Washington DC and experience the city life as well as my nation’s capital. My blog will focus on my experience at the Washington Semester Program and my internship. I hope you enjoy it!

. Top 3 things to do BEFORE coming to DC

1. Buy a suit & a pair of nice comfortable shoes

This may seem like an obvious thing but a nice suit will come in handy with the internship Bazaar, interviews, guess speakers, and actually intern days. A comfortable pair of dress shoes will become your best friend here! Ladies I suggest a pair of nice flats maybe with a small heel or wedge. If you are good with heels then I would say a thinker one just for comfort because you will be spending a lot of time in them.

2. Get some ideas about an internships

When you first get to DC and are looking for your internship it is good to come in with an idea about the type of organization you would like to work for. By this I mean that would you prefer to work for an NGO or IGO. Do you want to work in the communications department of an organization, the financial department, or do you want to be doing research for an organization. Do you want to work in a field where you already have knowledge or do you want to work in a field where you don’t really have knowledge and want to learn something completely new and find out if you like the field?

3. Find out about D.C!

Get information about things to do in DC. This is your nation’s capital (or maybe for some of you’re the United States of America’s capitol) get to know it. There is the Lincoln Memorial, all the Smithsonian’s, the George Washington Monument, the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, and some of the most controversial and famous war memorials in the United States such as the Vietnam Wall and Korean War Memorial.