Wanderlustress

Bye! Bye! Battle Road

Its been an interesting nine months of mixed emotions in my attempt to settle into a life back in the US. This over-priced two room apartment was taken in haste as well as in the romantic notion of living in a "carriage house". "Just call me Sabrina!" was the title of my move announcement last March, only to be replaced by "Off to Uzbekistan!!!"

I will miss the Sycamore trees, the charm of living on a historical property, the lovely walk through the University and into town. But I won't miss the onslaught of spiders, the austere personality of a wealthy neighborhood, and the accompanying coldness from the void of the garage below me. (Photo: NT Callaway)

A very nice young man who flies refuelers in the Air Force will be subletting from me for the next six months. Apparently, he will not be called to active duty in the near future for having served over the allotted 250 days this year, unless of course, there is another 9/11. Having been in all the recent war-torn countries, all he had to say about Uzbekistan is that its cold.

It is ironic that the two of us kind of represent a change of guard in more ways than just renting the apartment...he's on military leave while I go over to do humanitarian work...if a war breaks out, they will ship him over to fight it, and airlift me back to safety.

And there must also be some symbolism in saying farewell to a street named Battle Road...

The Gift of Giving

If you're at a loss on what to get for that someone who "has everything", then why not give a "Gift of Hope" in their name for people who need a lot. World Vision has a gift giving program that range from $25 to have a child immunized, to $1,000 for a new well. They will send you a gift card made out to the person of your choice for every donation made. (Photo: World Vision)

Doesn't it make you feel warm and fuzzy just thinking about it?

7 Weeks 'Til Uzbekistan!!!

These weeks go by fast, huh? Almost too fast. I'm wilting a little...

...under the weight of all the sorting, packing, moving, etc. Most of all, the emotional juggling is becoming more and more precarious. How am I supposed to balance the joy of what I have in my life here while preparing to leave it all? Thanksgiving was wonderful in all its hectic madness and undeniable familial bonds.

How can I be excited for my new endeavors in the face of possible dangers and discomforts? What IS going on in Turkey? How WILL it effect my safety in Central Asia, if at all? What does being AMERICAN mean to Muslim people, or everyone for that matter, in light of all the madness in the world? When neutral, peaceful aid workers are targetted, threatened, and attacked, all logic seems lost:

Maoist Fiat Forces Peace Corps Out
Rupandehi, November 18

Thirty American Peace Corps volunteers have been forced to leave the district following an ultimatum by an armed group of Maoists asking them to leave within six days.

The volunteers were running a temporary Peace Corps office at the Butwal Technical Institute (BIT), of the United Mission to Nepal, in Manigram VDC. It is said that the ultimatum was issued keeping in view Prachanda's hostile attitude towards the Americans.

The volunteers left for Narayangadh with no intention of returning.

The owner of a house where nearly a dozen volunteers had put up said the Americans had come to Butwal two and a half months ago and planned to stay for around two years.

The volunteers, who could communicate in Nepali, were studying the language in Manigram VDC-2 and 4. They also used to provide financial and technical assistance to the Aama groups.

Earlier there were 36 volunteers but of late only 30 of them had been staying including some women.

They used to visit Butwal, Shankarnagar, Kariya regularly and were planning to visit Pokhara, Siraha and Bara.

Commenting on the incident, SP Dhak Bahadur Karki of District Police Office said, “Though we had heard about the volunteers being asked to leave by the Maoists we have no idea whether they left due to the same reason.” He said the police might be able to gather more information when a team would visit the area soon.

Accepting that the volunteers had left the VDC, the manager of BTC, Bishnu Hari Devkota, said, “We did not ask them the reason for leaving and they did not tell us.”

According to him some remaining Nepali staff were also planning to leave the place tomorrow.

@ The Himalayan Times

Oh yeah, I think I'm scheduled to leave two days sooner than I thought, on the 13th instead of the 15th of January. I'm noticing how two measely days are hitting me so hard, and makes 760 days of service seem like all eternity.

On Africa

Thought I’d share an excerpt of an email from PCVs in Tanzania updating us on life as a volunteer. Colleen and Christian are a married couple who have completed their three month “Pre-Service Training” (PST…be prepared for many more annoying Peace Corps acronyms). They have recently been sworn in as volunteers and are about to begin their assignment in a very rural village in northern Tanzania.

“We will be making the trip to Dar [Dar Es Salaam] again in March for In-Service Training (IST), and so that will probably be the next time we pass through Arusha. Otherwise, we will be spending our time in Lambo and the surrounding area trying to build a routine and a home. We are excited, but sort of intimidated, about our work in the coming months before IST. Some of our "jobs" are to get our house together (right now it is completely empty), continue our language study, begin assessing what kind of assistance our villagers need and want, and somehow get our bikes to site. Some of these things might otherwise not be a problem, but since we are located an hour walk from the main road, and our bicycles will be arriving a few weeks from now (unassembled), getting furniture, buckets for bathing, washing, etc, and other such necessities to our house quickly becomes a logistical issue.

Ruaha River, Tanzania 2002

I have a great love for Africa, and I tried to get placed with the Peace Corps in Tanzania. But since most of the programs there are in health, education, agriculture or environment, my worldly business acumen is better served in the “newly independent countries” (INCs), at least according to the Peace Corps.

One day I hope to be more useful to Africa and return in a capacity to affect some change. At a minimum, I’d love to reveal to the rest of the world the richness of the land, the joyful people, and the diversity throughout the immense land we know as singular continental Africa. In doing so, I would like to dispel the press strewn images of Africa as a quagmire of war, disease, poverty and hunger. By having a stronger appreciation, perhaps we can be more engaged to help preserve this forsaken place for the jewel that it really is.

(I guess I should start by continuing with “Africa Burning Part 2, huh Ana?)

"Hear our Voices"

IRIN is a UN coordinated effort to bridge the information gap for NGOs and International Aid workers doing humanitarian relief world-wide. Their reports are collected from some of the most remote and underdeveloped places in the world, and the information is submitted by “Governments, aid workers, civil societies, disaster specialists, members of the public.”

Their current web special is a project called, “Hear our Voices.” It is a compilation of stories collected from Asia and Africa that are told in the people’s own words. What we should note from these testimonials is not a plea for handouts from those of us in the “first world”, but rather a voice of how they are affected by crisis, and the ways they cope in their day-to-day lives.

“A common thread that runs through many of the personal accounts is that they do not want to remain dependant on aid but want help to enable them to rebuild their lives, and to ensure a future free of re-victimization for themselves and for their children.”

I will occasionally post each story here so that you can understand my motivations for the life I’ve chosen for the next two years. Here's the first:

"Afghanistan: Mother attending literacy classes"



Qadi Gul's story

"My name is Qadi Gul. I am forty years old and a mother of ten, four sons and six daughters. I live in Ghazni city in central Afghanistan. Every one of my children is illiterate, so is my husband. One day at a wedding, I met the head of women's affairs department who told me they had a literacy course and encouraged me to attend.

"I did not believe I would ever learn anything because I am so old. But in ten days, I learned how to count up to 100 and can write the name of my country 'Afghanistan'. There are 200 of us women studying literacy and some vocational training in Ghazni Women's Affairs department. At first, my husband did not let me go to the literacy course, because he thought a 40-year-old person was too old to learn. But I have found that many women are interested to join our class after they saw me write and count. Even though it is too dangerous for my daughters to attend the course as it is too far from home, there would be many girls like my daughters who would attend such courses if they were in the villages and near community residential areas". (Photo: IRIN)

Read More..."AFGHANISTAN: Female education continues despite threats"/Published June 18,2003

8 Weeks 'Til Uzbekistan!!!

Eight weeks and I'm starting to learn Russian.

(Who would have thought?)

...and I just received news that someone will sublet my apartment as of December 1st, which means that I will be moving into Rich's house for my final 7 weeks. Still to sell my car but I'm not quite ready to give it up until closer to my departure date. Since those two things are the biggest financial commitments to handle, I feel I'm almost there.

My attempts to temper my packing list by striking off unnessary items are countered by a growing wish list of new necessitities. *sigh* Its that bad consumerism bug that hits me every time I find something that will make my life easier, or things that I can justify by size and weight that make my life luxurious.

(Can a 100 pound girl even carry a 100 pounds?)

My Guiding Compass

…And when I think I may be deprived while I'm in Uz, I remember those I strive to help, and they anchor me and point the way…

People in need (from the UN Consolidated Appeals Process)

More than 45 million people are struggling to survive the painful consequences of conflicts and natural disasters. They are victims and survivors, sometimes of several crises at once: war, drought, poverty, and HIV/AIDS.

As this Appeal shows, these people live amidst 21 crises across the world, the majority of them in Africa. At the same time, this Appeal calls attention to the plight of millions more people in need in other crises, such as Afghanistan and Colombia.

Behind the statistics are ordinary people, each with their lives, hopes and dreams. They are people living in extraordinary situations. Many have been displaced from their homes, had their lives severely disrupted, and lost their livelihoods and belongings.

It may be hard to imagine. There's a war; your home is destroyed, schools and hospitals stop working, gas and electricity go out. Safety and security are a hope, not a reality.

Savings and possessions disappear. People need food, and much more, to survive.

In such situations, the youngest, oldest, and weakest people, who often depend most on community support, are the worst affected.

Compassion may be a natural reaction, but people struggling to survive against overwhelming odds rarely want our pity. Instead they need our practical support to help them to respond, recover and get their normal lives back.

Pitiful images of helpless victims, therefore, do a disservice to people's efforts to survive. They mask the reality that most people do not wait passively for aid, but struggle hard to cope, drawing on all their capacities, resources, and courage.

Read full article…

Or, here are some highlights...

Ethical responsibility

Citizens of many nations share a basic humanitarian ethic that prompts them to help people caught in the world's humanitarian crises. We have seen time and again how ordinary citizens give generously when they see people in dire need on TV.

This should not be surprising. That we should treat others as we would like them to treat us is a central tenet in many religious and moral codes. Those who can should help those in need. Further, humanitarians regret that, in a world of plenty, people in the world's crises live in fear and die without food and medicines.

Whether global citizens' urge to help others in need is a fundamental human instinct or a global extension of community spirit, it is surely a sign that the voices of millions of affected people will be heard.

Human Security

For reasons in addition to ethics, governments are increasingly willing to invest in human security worldwide. The security of people living in donor nations today is linked to the safety and well-being of people elsewhere.

Some donors have made human security a cornerstone of their foreign and development policies. Canada, for one, sees humanitarian aid as a means of enhancing the security of Canadians, as well as a moral obligation. "Events in recent years have reconfirmed that, in an increasingly interdependent world, the safety and security of Canadians at home are inextricably linked to the safety of those living beyond our borders," said Bill Graham, Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2002.

This reflects a shift in global security thinking. On 1 May 2003, the Commission on Human Security proposed a new people-centred security framework to the United Nations, designed to shield people from "critical and pervasive threats" and to "empower" them.

Many humanitarians recognize the complex connections among crises, widespread suffering, underdevelopment, forced migration and global security. They see, for example, how children in conflict zones who are victims of violence themselves may be drawn into perpetuating violence and insecurity.

Donors who help people in need hold that their assistance may help to prevent refugee flows to their country. Indeed, many donors perceive a link between crises in other countries, forced migration, and national security.

The Little Things

Part of my preparations for life in Uz is to take in as much luxurious American life as I can. They may seem simple, but these are things I appreciate that I won’t have very soon:

- driving around in my zippy car
- eating chocolate covered espresso beans
- the variety of goods in supermarkets
- clean, white, porcelain toilets
- taking long, decadent, hot showers
- checking my email three times a day
- eating fresh fish and seafood
- making home-cooked meals with my favorite ingredients
- Indian, Thai, Italian, Chinese, French, Korean, Malaysian restaurants…
- American bistros, French bakeries, lazy Café afternoons, Pizzerias, the Deli
- French Bordeaux wine
- soy chai latte
- the warmth of my house
- using my credit card
- browsing through vast bookstores and stocks of music
- spooning under a down comforter
- calling my friends on a whim
- sushi
- scented creams and soaps
- water from the tap
- NYC in 50 minutes

I could go on, but its all the little things that I have taken for granted. Not until I looked at my life here in America under the magnifying glass of limited time, did I start living in the wonder of it all. How it is all so easy, accessible, constant, and abundant.

And while I’m sure all of these things will be replaced by many little nuances of a new surrounding, for now, I’m bathing in the welling appreciation of my present life.

Central Asia NGO Network

Here is another resource on NGO work in Central Asia. Cango.net is a site of the Central Asia NGO Network. Here you can find the latest news and activities related to NGO activities in the region.

IREX and Extranea

IREX

In addition to Counterpart International, I found another organization doing NGO development work in Uz. IREX has been a leader in international exchange for nearly 40 years. Their current programs in Uz are quite extensive, including university exchanges for Uzbek students to attend American universities, internships for Uzbek business leaders in American firms, building up internet resources and training for professionals, setting up public advocacy groups as well as beefing up the legal environment for NGO’s to operate...just to name a few.

I get excited when I find dedicated people doing things that need doing in the world to make it, if not a happier, then at least a more manageable place. It certainly helps to counter some things that we do wrong.

Extranea

Even in our day-to-day interaction I find that people simply can’t be respectful of one another. Today, while stopped in traffic be hind 10 cars on a small two lane road in town, a car behind me decides to drive, illegally, down the on-coming lane to cut everyone off. In the process, she sideswiped the left-view mirror of the car in front of me and didn’t even stop! Of course she had to duck quickly into a lane on the left to avoid on-coming cars, and then she expected us to let her back into the queue! The woman in the car in front of stopped to assess the damage, while the woman who hit her rudely motioned, ”What? I can’t hear you? What?”, without opening her window to listen, or stepping out of her car to apologize, and more importantly, to offer her insurance information.

Unfortunately, the victim of the mishap didn’t think the damage was worth the trouble of holding up the growing chain of traffic behind her (bless her!). But I so wished to see some kind of restitution or at least acknowledgement that she had been wronged by the perpetrator. That way, I wouldn’t have this sinking feeling that people go about their day-to-day believing they are above the norms of common decency. Sigh.