peace walls and tourism

My wanderlust has not been satisfied with this trip. In fact it is only growing. Being here in such a deeply divided society discussing conflict transformation with people from all over the world is barely whetting my appetite.

currently in Belfast... I spent last night in a long winded political discussion with two Aussies, a Turk and a Palestinian. How could your world view NOT expand from that?

sad I am missing out on the phillies pandemonium in the states though...

maybe credentials don't matter?

After my last post, I was pretty much bombarded with encour- agement from various people, many of whom didn't even know I needed it. Thank you.

Thus, I rescind my fatalistic outlook on the role of women in peacemaking. :0) That's not to say I don't still see an imbalance in the way things are run. In fact, the gender issue still really burdens me. I am strangely thankful though for the discrimination I have encountered in the last couple of years. At least it allows me to identify and empathize with people outside the dominant culture group.

Thought to ponder:
The more equal the society, the less likely it is to use military force

credentials I'll never have

Apparently I picked another career path that isn't quite as suitable for women. (But don't worry, according to popular belief sexism doesn't actually exist anymore.)

The last couple of days we have been studying the peace process in Angola. We read a book by Ambassador Paul Hare on the Lusaka peace agreement and then he came and spoke to us. I was also one of two students to eat at the presidential dinner with the Ambassador and important figures of the university. (Best meal I've had in a while- how could I pass that up :0)

Last night in class we discussed what we had learned and raised questions here and there. A question was asked about how a person gains the status and authority that the Ambassador had as an international mediator. Our professor proposed the Ambassador used everything he could for leverage- his gray hair, his American citizenship, etc. I cringed when he said this, and come to find out many of the other girls in class did as well, for there was an implication in this statement. How much more does gender give status than does gray hair?

Interestingly enough, when this question was raised in class, it was mostly the men that responded. Perhaps that was what made me most angry. The sad reality is that because of my gender I may always have to work harder to prove I belong in the international peace keeping field. And yet the men were discussing it from the perspective of the dominant culture like they were a) in control of it and b) that it somehow affected them. But at the end of the day they can walk away from that discussion and I will still be living it.

A classmate brought a funny image to our minds: a female mediator meeting with African rebel leaders in the bush. "The rebel leader would probably think she was in love with him." We all laughed. I laughed.

Why am I laughing??

when words strike your fancy

color fades.
the sun dips and sky darkens
your eyes strain and the shades blur.
then greens will turn gray as
colors fade into ambiguous silhouette.

"what we must fight is fear and silence..."

Our profs are pushing us away from the status quo. I have been very challenged this week!

Some questions to ponder and respond to...

[Int'l Law and Conflict Transformation]
How could our legal/judicial system could be modified in order to shift from the mindset of controlling conflict to transforming conflict? How could we shift the focus from power and rights to equality and responsibility for one another?

[What good are the laws where Money is king,
where the poor are always wrong,
and even the mockers who scoff at the times
will sell the truth for a song?
The courts are an auction where justice is sold;
the judge who presides bangs a gavel of gold.
-song from time of Nero]

[Peace and Conflict Seminar] What is the difference between a terrorist and a revolutionary, if any? Does the difference perhaps lie in who manages to affect change and tip the power scales (a terrorist is an attempted revolutionary who has failed)? Or is it who you talk to?

[Int'l Health and Human Rights] There seems to be three genders regarding global health in the developing world: male, prostitute and mother. Furthermore, because of the way female bodies provide for society, pregnancy to populate and sex to promote GDP, said bodies are regarded as state property and health care is provided for women on the basis of sustaining commodities. Without imposing western values, is there a way to promote the health and self-actualization of women based on their humanity?