Archive for category Countries

A visit to D.F.’s Human Rights Commission

Today, Ainhoa and I tried yet another mode of transportation. Called a, “micro” or “pesera” these are independent buses that travel to various destinations and cover routes not frequented by government transportation systems.

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One of these “micros” transported us to D.F.’s Human Rights Commission (CDHDF), a local organ with its foundations in Mexico’s constitution, and an authority autonomous of the local and federal government. I was pleasantly surprised by the Commission’s atmosphere and quickly noticed a stark contrast between it’s environment and that of CONAGUA, which we visited this past monday. Not surprisingly. I can really only think to describe our interaction with CONAGUA as bureaucratic.

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CDHDF on the other hand was quite the opposite. I’ve passed the Commission numerous times throughout my time in Mexico, it happens to be across the street from one of my favorite parks in D.F., called Viveros. From a major avenue, Universidad, the Commission welcomed us with big bold letters. Built to reflect its theme of transparency, its open spaces contain plenty of glass, both inside and out, full of friendly-faced staff and citizens waiting to be assisted. We were greeted with open arms by a Director, who made every effort to answer our questions and provide us with the Commission’s materials. He informed us that it’s the Commission’s job to assist any individual, free of charge, on human rights issues, whether they walk-in, phone-in, or file a claim online.

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We got to see the Commission’s new Mobile Ombuds vans, that are to travel around the city for individuals to receive assistance. They basically look like mobile offices, as pictured below.

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I left the Commission with a feeling of excitement. Glad to know we’ll be returning soon and hoping to speak to many others. I guess that’s the difference between visiting an organization who sees water rights as a human right, CDHDF, as opposed to an organization that sees water simply as resource to be distributed.

After we left, we stopped for a bite to eat nearby right before a heavy rainfall. Left without an umbrella, we were stranded for a while inside a coffee-shop.

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This is not the first time the rain keeps us waiting, and I’m quite sure it won’t be the last.

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Life in Dry Zone

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It has been five days since we have been in the dry zone of Myanmar. As the name “dry zone” suggests, this area receives minimum amount of rainfall and access to water resources seem to be the biggest issue.

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On our way to the pond, where everyone comes carry water Phalan kan Village, Myaing Township

As soon as we arrived, despite the rainy season, I can see clearly that the land is dry and sandy. Tree leaves seems to be smaller in order to adapt to the weather. The weather itself is extremely hot even comparing to Yangon where we departed from.

I have been learning so much in the past few days. I have been so welcomed and well taken care of by everyone here. “You should just stay with us” and “You are welcome back anytime” have been told to us over and over from the villagers we visited. Every village we visit, there are always food and drink offered to us (some even packed snacks for us!). People waving fans trying to get rid of the flies for us, people trying to hold umbrellas for us…

I am very thankful. I have been very blessed and now I wonder what I can do for them.

Though their communities are very strong and they are pulling together all the resources they have got, people here really need help. They need help from external actors and the international community. We have been asked to share their stories, their difficulties dealing with the lack of water. Hours and miles per day they have to go carry the water, the poor quality of water they face, the time they could have used to do some other productive works, classes the children could have gone to, babies the mothers could have been looking after…the list seems to be endless.

 

Surprisingly, many of these stories are told with laughter. It is just wonderful to see how they support and understand each other. I truly believe that the world has a lot to learn from them.

It has been raining here in the dry zone.

“You bring good luck, you bring rain with you”

I really wish I could…

ps. photos to come when WiFi allows me…

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School for him?

 

 

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Sharing a meal with my Mexican friends

Since the very first moment I arrived to my home in Mexico City, I got on well with my rommates and I promised them I would cook Spanish omelette for them one day.

Well, it’s been almost 2 weeks since I landed here and it was time to prepare a nice dinner, so last night I was the chef.

The Spanish omelette is one of the most popular and tasty typical meals in Spain. I have to say I’m good at cooking and although desserts are my speciality, this time I wanted to share what my mum and granny taught me.

Cut the onions and the potatoes into small squares. Put some salt and fry them in the pan. Then add some eggs and bon apettit.

Cut the onions and the potatoes into small squares. Put some salt and fry them in the pan. Then, add some eggs, let it finish cooking and bon apettit.

I like sharing views, traditions and thoughts with people from other cultures. I am lucky I have been able to travel to different countries and have learned a lot from others.

Last night, Carina (one of my rommates) helped me preparing the dinner and we tried to add a Mexican ingredient to the Spanish receipe: the Nopal.

This is Carina, showing and explaining me how to cook the Nopal.

This is Carina, showing and explaining me how to cook the Nopal.

 

The Nopal is a plant grown in Mexico, with a lot of fiber and it tastes and looks like a pepper (more or less). The Spanish omelette with the Nopal was delicious.

A crucial moment while cooking a Spanish omelette is “the flip movement”. When the eggs are added and one side of the omelette is already cooked, but the other is not, you have to flip it. It can be difficult sometimes, but you can improve with practice.

At the end of the night we enjoyed a nice meal. Hugo and Carina (roommates) also prepared a lemon pie, which was exquisite.

Bon apettit!

Bon apettit!

 

Next time: Mexican spicy food (I hope I can stand the spicy).

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A story of ‘we’

We have been welcomed by the dry zone.

We have listened and listened. The people have  made sure that we have seen their struggle and know what is happening with the climate and in their lives.

I thought that we would be gathering stories from individuals but actually this story  affects all equally. And so it has been a collective story that we have been hearing.

Over the last four days I have played with children, shared food, been shown the villages water ponds and wells, cuddled babies, seen the pumping systems, pulled water out of wells, and today travelled by bullock cart to see one of the ponds.

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Soe Taw village

We have been walked around the farm land tracing the water ways and pond inlets and overspills…This has been a surprise to the farmers in the middle of the fields and also the dogs!

We have stood under the trees with the people getting wet in the rain.

All  the villages have said that we have bought luck as after a long time; it has started to rain. It has rained wherever we have gone.  I am so happy that it has. It is needed so much and the people don’t waste water. they really appreciate and make the most of it.

The rain has made it easier for me to listen to the stories. We have wet eyes enough without listening when no rain at all.

I am glad to be standing getting wet with people and laughing as we watch the herds of goats running to get home and into shelter. During the last four days in the field there has also been so much laughter and love.

The common message from people is how appreciative they are of the NGO’s that have been coming in and participating with strategies and  water. projects. We have seen many wells ranging from 100 years old to new innovative ones.

We see simple ponds and much more developed reservoir systems. We sit with communities who have piped running water and those who  must still carry the water by hand or with cows. Those that are in better situations help the others.

All have provided the physical labour for roads, buildings, water tanks, ponds… Each village have put funding into the projects alongside the NGO partners.

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Su Li Pan Village

I feel really humbled by this level of collective vision and unity.

I never imagined that we would be sitting together with villagers like this.

Namsai has been sick since she came to Myanmar and yet she has remained really focused on the people. I am glad to be gathering stories with her.

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Our first interview! Plus flooding, more flooding, and the World Cup.

Yesterday, aside from early, the day was off to a rainy start. You see the weather in D.F. is unpredictable, so much so that its predictable. Every day will bring rain, overcast skies, a scorching sun and dry heat. That means pulling-off an outfit versatile enough to keep you cool, warm, and dry – every day. It’s actually become a joke between a friend and I, to see who’s outfit can make it through the day’s weather the best. I can’t complain, it’s really made me a pretty skilled dresser.

I digress, back to the beginning of the day. At 8:00 yesterday morning I took what locals call the “trolebus”, a public transportation bus that runs electrically off wires connected to poles throughout the city, to my partner Ainhoa’s place in Coyoacan.

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At 9a a driver from CONAGUA, Mexico’s National Water Commission, picked us up and we traveled about 30 minutes crossing into Mexico City to CONAGUA’s facilities in Texcoco. As we drove out from D.F. we slowed numerous times due to flooding, even though the morning rainfall was light. This happens often. Anytime it rains, there’s flooding all over the city, causing major traffic jams and slowing public transportation, even the metro.

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Though D.F. is notorious for it’s chaotic traffic, our drive was smooth and seeing as neither Ainhoa nor I get to travel by car much, we simply glared out the window, marveling at the size and diversity of the city. Crossing under bridges, past stadiums, colorful buildings, streets vendors and more, I sat silent, amazed by the many sites I had never seen.

At Texcoco, we learned about the origins of Mexico City and how its foundation was laid atop a body of water, which has plenty to do with the inundations that plague the city to this day. We then headed back to D.F. to another of CONAGUA’s facilities, where we finished there at around 1:45p. We headed back to Coyoacan with our driver anxious to drop us off to return and watch the Mexico v. Brazil game in the World Cup. We got dropped off near a market, where every restaurant, niche and stall had a television tuned into the game. There was plenty of emotion in the air, as the sounds of excitement or disappointment filled the market with every play.

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What a time to be in Mexico.

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Fallow Fellow Fumblings

From the relative comfort of my rocking chair in Boulder, smut novels and bon bons nestling with Medusa thoughts writhing about colorful balls of inertia in the bottom of my knitting basket, it is easy for me to flip the remote to the Self Pity Channel: “I wish I were on the ground doing good!”

 

On Golden Pond (Kellie Maree Clark Photography)

On Golden Pond
(Kellie Maree Clark Photography)

I’m not battling taxi drivers, mosquitos and food poisoning. I am not bearing the haunted glances of parched children as flats of water bottles march by in perfect formation. I am not being immersed in the futility of promising initiatives that are smothered by corrupt politicians. I am not wending my way through imposing barriers while children are being rousted from their homes and neighborhoods on the pretext of crimes they did not commit.

I am luxuriating in hegemonic bliss as I await my opportunity to travel to another country to explore, learn about and tell the stories of others impacted by conflicts over one of the World’s arguably most precious resources: WATER! Yet I am gratified to learn that I am not totally divorced from the on-the-ground experiences of my fellow fellows. In fact, I have been repeatedly head butted by Phoenix’s friend, Serendipity, who found her way from Ethiopia to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.

Byers' Peak, Fraser River Valley, Colorado

Byers’ Peak, Fraser River Valley, Colorado

I have become a veritable witching rod for all things water related. People off the streets run up to engage in random conversations about water quality. Folks in coffee shops bury me in literature about the various nefarious wanderings of water development through American history. Hay farmers crop up to share water adjudication and allocation woes.   Human rights activists stop to commiserate about the loss of already limited arable reservation land to dam (damn?) projects.

All of this serendipitous water schooling (I swear, I have done and said nothing to invite this inadvertent education!) keeps pushing an uncomfortable thought to the forefront: Is my penchant for seeking out problems in other lands, a simple case of development myopia? I have been born, raised and educated in a cauldron of water issues, yet, up to this moment, have refused to see it. Am I the proverbial frog who has acclimated so steadily to this environment of conflict that she failed to note the transition from tepid to scalding?

Harrowing thoughts for a barren mind.

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A visit to the Shuk

With tensions still tangible in many parts of the West Bank, Ally and I spent the last few days in Jerusalem. After visiting a former prison, yesterday, we decided to do something more joyful today and finally paid our first visit to the local Shuk we had heard so much about. The Shuk or Sooq often is the commercial center of North African and Middle Eastern cities, here in Jerusalem it is the central market. The Mahane Yehuda Shuk near the new city center around Jaffa and Ben Yehuda Street has existed in various forms for more than a hundred years and is a place to shop for both Jerusalemites and tourists. It is a world of its own, consisting of a number of small streets and alleyways packed wit people and delicacies.

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When we entered the roofed street of the market, we entered a beautiful place full of colors, smells and flavors. The market was full of people pushing through the narrow streets and we were overwhelmed by the variety of things on display. The smell of spices mixes with tea and fresh fruits and vegetables, while the ‘Halva King’ praises his latest creation. We wandered around the market for a couple of hours, only to take in the special atmosphere and in the end went home with some potatoes, fresh mint and lemons. There was just too much to chose from and we were not able to pick anything else from all these hundreds of stalls. Next time, that will be different.

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My Friend, Serendipity

We are starting to understand the transportation system, we are almost settled on housing, and we are starting to meet with useful contacts. We are still in the very early stages of the research process here in Addis, but the pieces are slowly but surely falling into place.

Of course, I should really emphasize the word “falling” in that phrase. I cannot say that I have been putting pieces into their rightful place, carefully selecting and arranging the parts of the puzzle into their respective slots, so much as tossing a bunch into the air and counting on some to land in the right spot. This has been true for finding housing and transportation (each search for a taxi is a roll of the dice) just as much as finding contacts for our project. We have made two solid contacts so far, and each one was an accident.

The first one was an American. The day after I arrived, I was going into my room at the hotel as he was leaving his. A little conversation began after exchanging courtesy greetings, and eventually I discovered he was in Ethiopia to help build a well in a rural village where water is very scarce. On top of showing me some good restaurants and teaching me how to use the minibus system, he said he could help Katie and I go to the village where he is working and interview the community leaders there about the water situation. An all-around good connection to make in the hotel hallway. (You can check out his NGO, Concordia Humana here)

Contact number two came from the housing search. When I came to visit the house where I am now staying, I met a young Ethiopian guy, Joel, who lived there and helped to manage the place. Lo and behold, he has helped out for a few years with a water NGO, Drop of Water, started by a group of Ethiopian women at the university in Mekele. After I looked around the place, he gave me the full story of the organization, slideshow and all, and it was immediately clear that it could be a great group to work with. Yesterday he arranged a meeting for Katie and I with the woman who runs the organization. It was an excellent meeting, short but sweet. We learned more about Drop of Water and made plans to interview them tomorrow and tag along to one of their field site visits in a couple weeks. (You should take a look at their website here)

Joel (pronounced Jo-elle), one of our first contacts

Joel (pronounced Jo-elle), one of our first contacts

We have emailed and called people in a concerted effort to make contacts, and we will email and call a lot more. The next week will be largely filled with us trying to make useful connections and purposefully putting those pieces into place. But so far, it can’t be denied that the most useful tool has been chance.

 

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The rainy season in the dry zone…

 

Ananda Pagoda.

Ananda Pagoda.

The rainy season….

 Well it is dry when it should be wet and the temperatures are souring above 40 degrees. The trees look parched, the land is brown and some of the river beds are dry. Where there is water, it is a mammoth engineering task to transport it to the famers. Who incidentally are often the women.

I have valued meeting the people and listening to their stories as they meet these challenges together. We all laugh when one of the women says this rainy season is already better than the last one… it has rained twice… That was yesterday and today.

We have sat for many hours today listening to several communities speak about the issues in their villages. And like it or not the biggest issue is water; sustainable access, quality and storage. As we sit under the roof cover of the communal meeting spaces the temperature soars. It is climate change at its most brutal, yet somehow we laugh, we listen compassionately, as we hear of strategies to engage with various developmental stakeholders. We hear stories of wonder and success as the people come together to meet the needs of survival. The trees are greener because people are protecting them and wells and dams are being built and refurbished. Some village people are replanting the trees as time is freed up from carrying water.

Riny season in the Dry zone. The villages are showing their 100 year old well. But we are 8 weeks into the rainy season and this stream is still dry.

In Yaung village and their 100 year old well.

 

We have also spend time with several groups of women who are coming together to create shared livelihoods for their families. They are working hard to develop skills and produce saleable textiles. Again it is the lack of water that means that extra income is required away from the land.

Village Book Mothers and Women's group sharing progress on water projects. Action aid Dry Zone.

Village Book Mothers and Women’s group sharing progress on water projects. Action aid Dry Zone.

Actually there is so much laughter when I share our purpose of meeting with them. One woman suggests that it would be helpful if I was a water medium. We all laugh and it is an interesting and unexpected ice breaker. I think, now is not the time to say that one of my cousins has great skills as a water diviner!

I am attracted to a four month old baby who happily snuggles into my arms for a cuddle. It is highlight to hold this baby and commune with his loving aunties as his mum worked.

Of course the Bagan area is breath-taking with over 2500 Buddhist Pagodas found by UNESCO and dating from the 9th Century. The people say that there are 500,000 Pagoda’s and therefore more to find. I am awestruck by the Ananda Pagoda, the oldest and most ‘significant’. The four Buddha’s are enormous in height and the alcoves where they are contained are repositories of peace and coolness. My heart is grateful and happy as we sit quietly in this ancient sacred space. A respite from the relentless dry.

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Su Li Pan Vkillage

 

 

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Rainy days in Distrito Federal

Climate is crazy almost everywhere and in Mexico City it will not be less than in other places.

We can feel 3 different seasons during a day: it is cold early in the morning, high temperatures and humidity when it gets to midday and almost every nightfall it rains.

There are some particular  farmers in the Basque Country, who know a lot about climate change. I remmeber watching a documentary about their weather forcast when I was a child and I won’t never forget what they were explaining: “If the clouds are pretty bad, it means that something bad is coming. Its appearance is directly related to the climate that can change at any time”.

I was able to check that fact the other day when I went to take out the trash.

Thunder is heard, the clouds are pretty bad, it starts to get windy and temperatures drop.

You have to be careful when walking through the streets when heavy rain is coming, the traffic goes mad (normally it is crazy, so imagine if it is rainning) :

This is the road next to my home here in DF. My roommates and I were trying to cross the street after buying some pizzas in OXXO.

It was even worst at night. Electric storms joined the heavy rain:

What I usually do is to check the weather on the  Internet in a website that tells you what is going to be the weather like hour by hour. However, I recently experienced it is not trustworthy.

Last week I left my umbrella at home and this was the result when I came back:

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Lesson learned: bring always the umbrella in your bag, no matter if you know it is not going to rain that day, weather can suddenly change.

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