Archive for category Countries
The Three ‘Annoyers’
Posted by Namsai Wongsaeree in Burma, Namsai Wongsaeree on June 16, 2014
Being here in Yangon I find three things rather annoying, and after training myself to look at things through the “water lens”, all these are somewhat related to water.
First, food poisoning. I haven been having constant food poisoning ever since I got here. Locating bathrooms has become the first thing I do when leaving our guesthouse. Janine, fortunately, have no problem with this. All we have been eating is hot meals and all have tasted and felt clean. I am starting to wonder if this is something to do with the water.
Second, mosquitoes. They are everywhere – from our humble guesthouse to a five-star hotel, from dawn to night. A westerner backpacker, also a medical student, we met while taking a circular train around Yangon, mentioned that he was taking pills to prevent Malaria. The presence of mosquitoes is not at all surprising when I saw water stagnation almost everywhere from the railway’s window…
part of Yangon river
Third, taxis. The fact that all the taxis drivers have been very friendly and helpful does not cancel out my annoyance of having to negotiate the price on every ride I am getting. Coming back in Myanmar this time, I was asked to pay almost twice the price I paid last week at the airport. I negotiated with several drivers and all of them insisted the same price. I got very upset at first thinking that I was being ripped off only to find out later that there was flooding in the city and it had taken them hours per trip.
“Water really is a big issue”. The sentence Janine and I keep repeating to each other…
The World Cup v. Mexico’s Energy Reform, 1:0
Posted by Jessica Sanchez in Jessica Sanchez, Mexico on June 15, 2014
As previously mentioned, I arrived in Distrito Federal roughly nine months ago in search of an understanding of the newly evolving Judiciary. It was not until the past few days, however, that I got the opportunity to observe a different side of the Mexican Government, its Legislature. With it, have come a few surprises.
This past week saw the beginning of discussions on energy reform initiatives for secondary laws presented by President Enrique Peña Nieto in April 2014. The Mexican Senate designated the job of discussing initiatives affecting 21 secondary laws to the Joint-Commissions on Energy and Legislative Studies. The objective of discussing these laws, some new and some amended, is to provide procedural regulations through which the implementation of the constitutional reform on energy may take place. Up to this point, the phrase “energy reform” might sound like a good thing. For those who might watch mainstream Spanish channels, they might be convinced of this. Unfortunately, this is far from reality. The novelty of President Pena Nieto’s reform is that it breaks the stand taken by President Lazaro Cardenas seventy-six years ago to nationalize Mexico’s oil industry. The reform effectively opens Mexico up to foreign investment, accompanied by exploitation of its land and natural resources, including its increasingly scarce fresh water supply. The biggest threat is what has been termed as “fracking”, a method of extracting natural gas from shale reserves deep in the earth’s subsoil. Invented by U.S. oil and gas giant Halliburton, fracking has spread throughout fifteen U.S. states with numerous “fraccidents” reported, and many vigilant states fighting to keep it out of their towns and away from their water sources.
I have taken the time to watch the Joint-Commissions, and observe, for the first time in my life, how the Mexican Legislature handles itself. I was also interested in watching the country’s primary parties, PRI (center), PAN (right wing), and PRD (left wing), along with others, discuss one of the most important reforms in Mexico’s history. I would never have anticipated what I’d see next.
The discussions began June 10 and quickly it was obvious that there was strife between the parties. On the one hand were PRI and PAN Senators. Holding the majority of votes, they sat smug, calm and collected, not to mention often distracted by their cell phones. I quickly felt put-off by their demeanor and condescending address of the issues. While their PRD counterparts, with the minority of votes, displayed themselves aggressive, wide-eyed and often highly offended. I’d never heard politicians speak so blatantly about the other party, and much less about the laws being discussed. It was an all-out soap-opera drama, live and on-air, and I mean that in a good way. The PRD Senators blamed the PRI and PAN for working together to approve initiatives that open Mexico up to a world of exploitation, to the detriment of the very people they’re suppose to represent. I was very surprised. I am not one who is very fond of politicians in general, but the PRD members’ candor, their well grounded oppositions, and most importantly their passion for the people they stand to represent, was moving.
In the last few days it has become obvious that PAN and PRI have little, if anything to change, much less discuss with regards to the initiatives proposed by the Executive. The reason for this and the PRD’s reactions became clear in media interviews, where a PAN Senator blatantly admitted PAN and PRI had already reached an 95% agreement on the initiatives, with the Executive, and without the opinion of PRD members. All before even having completed discussions on the first of four debates on the initiatives. In other words, the debate is not a debate. With the majority of votes held by PRI and PAN, they will continue to sit back and carry on with the discussions, but only for procedure’s sake. While PRD members can only carry out their arguments in hope that the Mexican people are watching and listening. Unfortunately, PRD lost the battle to have the discussions held after the World Cup. So chances are the majority of the country will be watching the scoreboard, with few listening to the warnings given by PRD about the dangers that loom with the energy reform. I can’t help but feel extremely disillusioned and disheartened by the discussions in the Joint-Commissions.
Though I am well aware of the corruption issues plaguing this country, the discussions display a level of disregard for the future of the country that leaves me truly astounded. If Mexico’s politicians are so readily available to sell out their country’s oil reserves for economic incentives, how can they be expected to protect the public’s right to it’s most fundamental resource – water?
Comfort in the Midst of Conflict
Posted by Allison Collender in Ally Collender, West Bank on June 15, 2014
Today marks two weeks since Lukas and I have arrived in Israel. It’s so weird typing that out… It feels like no time has passed at all. To think that 1/4 of this trip is already completed intimidates me. There is so much work we need to do research-wise, and there is so much more I want to experience. I swear, it feels like we arrived just a couple days ago.
It’s so strange how quickly I’ve become adjusted to this place. The other day while in Ramallah, we were trying to find a place to eat. It was overwhelming trying to find a place with hundreds of people walking around, and everything was in Arabic making it near impossible to find a place to sit down. My immediate response was, “Let’s go back to Jerusalem to eat.” Eventually we found a shawarma shop where one of the men working spoke English, and we were able to sit down and enjoy a good meal. But looking back, my reaction startles me. I haven’t been here that long, and when I’m in Jerusalem I still feel lost most of the time, yet I’ve become so comfortable here. Jerusalem has become my safety net.
This week has been the Festival of Lights in the Old City. All around the Jewish and Armenian quarters there are light projections on the walls and interesting art pieces around the streets. It’s so beautiful seeing the City lit up like this. The streets are filled with people, and there are even more carts than normal selling popcorn, cotton candy, and light-up toys. It’s been a lot of fun walking along the streets that we’ve become familiar with and seeing them in a new light (no pun intended… okay maybe that pun was slightly intentional).
Here is Damascus Gate all lit up during the Festival of Lights. Isn’t it beautiful?
While things seem fairly calm in Jerusalem, conflict is swarming around us. Earlier this week, 3 Israeli boys have gone missing in the West Bank while trying to hitch-hike outisde Hebron, and Israel believes that they have been kidnapped by Hamas. As I’m sure you gathered from Lukas’ post a few days ago, Hebron is already a very tense city – I cannot begin to imagine the energy moving through there now. In between football matches, Lukas will turn on the news to see if there are any updates about the missing boys. We are seeing this conflict evolve before our very eyes, and as a conflict analyst I am thrilled to be here experiencing it first-hand. But we are also very cautious – we’ve already decided that going back to Hebron would not be a smart decision at the moment. For now, we are staying informed, and hoping for the best for all parties.
Happenings
Posted by janine joyce in Burma, Janine Joyce on June 15, 2014
Happenings by their very nature defy definition. Yet if I was to try it would be a mixture of something random yet purposeful; unexpected yet perfect.
I really like being open to the type of random events that invariably lead to connection. Today we had such a happening.
We decided to go to an advertised antiques sale. Not really because there is any room in our bags or lives for antiques. And certainly not because it would be useful for the project. Rather because it caught my interest. For some reason the advertisement intrigued me.
We find ourselves knocking on the door at an inner city residential ward. I start laughing when I recognise the antipodean vowels of an Australian sister. As it happens she is an International humanitarian worker in the process of returning to her country. As such she is selling books and tapestries and beautiful artefacts accumulated whilst living many years abroad. It is interesting to see the inside of a Yangon apartment.
We begin to share stories when suddenly a voice says; ‘Are you Pushpa’s fellows?’
We look over to see a slender brunette woman holding some lovely scarves. Now you all know that Pushpa is the Director of this program, right?
We start laughing. It seems that it is todays happening to meet Susan who is the Yangon Director- Program Implementation for; Save the Children. She is so disappointed with the news that Pushpa is no longer visiting her for dinner tomorrow night. Greetings are shared and we will meet with her when we come back to Yangon after our journey north into the villages with Action Aid.
Happenings, I really like them. Of course, there have been other happenings also.
One evening a smiling Buddhist Abbott invited me to meet everyone at his monastery. It was wonderful to view the special stupa at the top of the five story monastery at sunset. I enjoyed sharing tea and spending time with the young novices.
Here is a small pic of the main Shwedagon Pagoda where we met. The women are sweeping the marble pavement clean.
The following day I joined the English language class where the Abbott was a student. There were several foreigners who had all been invited to practice English speaking with students. English was spoken with an American, French and Kiwi accent that morning.
In our group we were lucky that we could move from, ‘hello how are you’, ‘what’s your name’ and ‘are you single?’ The group absolutely loved it when we branched into Maori language from Aotearoa New Zealand. The Maori words; aroha/ love, karakia/ prayer; waiata/ song; kapai/ good and many others catapulted our conversation into all sorts of interesting areas. For two hours we shared ideas about women’s empowerment from Action Aids training material. We practiced various meditation techniques and the monk and I shared understandings about Buddhist dharma.
And whilst this photo doesn’t show it there was a lot of laughter….I promise!
West Bank and Israel – OMG!
Posted by Pushpa Iyer in Pushpa Iyer, West Bank on June 13, 2014
This was my first trip to Israel and the West Bank – well, in fact to the Middle East if I do not count my two-day trip in the late ’90s to Jordan! I had never imagined that I would enjoy the trip so much or that I would love the places I visited as much as I did, although I tore my hair with frustration with every sight and sound of the conflict that splits the people of this land.
Jerusalem and Bethlehem – so much history in one place! It was overwhelming to find myself standing in such historically significant places – what a privilege! Ally and Lukas were keen as one-week-old- hosts (although they have both been to the region before) to shown every place in these two cities that were important to anyone visiting.
At the Temple Mount, Jerusalem with Peacebuilder Fellows Ally and Lukas and CCS alum, Kirill.
We also went to Ramallah and Hebron. We planned to meet a colleague in an international NGO in Ramallah but Hebron happened simply by chance. We ran into a staff member of a Palestinian local organization and accepted his invitation to travel to Hebron.
At the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron.
Traveling to Palestinian controlled areas of Bethlehem, Ramallah and Hebron was such an experience. We saw with our own eyes every little indication of the conflict (and this included water conflicts), the incredible amount of violence that at this time definitely seemed one sided and against the Palestinians and we witnessed and experienced the indignities of passing through check points every time we returned to Jerusalem from the Palestinian controlled areas. And of course the separation wall was central to our separate experiences of Israel and Palestine.
Old city, Jerusalem
So beautiful a region, such warm people… yet so harsh, so violent and so ghettoized. I kept wondering – why? Why is the human race so stupid? Why is the human race so cruel? Why is the human race so violent? Why is the human race so unforgiving? Why is the human race so determined to commit the same crimes of the past?
The last question hit me in the head, as a hammer would hit a nail when I toured the holocaust museum – Yad Vashem – Israel’s Memorial for the Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Why when the past shows how cruel, wrong, and despicable humans have been, are some of us so determined to continue the tradition today?
I have so many thoughts. So many feelings. I have emotions to sort through. I have so much more to write….but not I until I process my thoughts more.
Traveling to Addis Continued
Posted by Katie Petitt in Ethiopia, Katie Petitt on June 13, 2014
Map of my Trip
Day 3 & 4 6/10/14 & 6/11/14
I’m back! Houston Airport -> DC-> Frankfurt, Germany -> Saudi Arabia->Addis Ababa -> New Home
I love to travel, and if I could travel for the rest of my life I would be a happy woman. The last 5 days have been filled with travel and with that comes challenging myself, learning new phrases, new cultures, and learning more about myself and the world around me. To me travel is hopeful. Nothing ever goes to plan, but that is life, and you learn and grow and become a better you throughout it all. I have arrived to Addis and I couldn’t be more grateful.
Mexico, the environment and water issues
Posted by Ainhoa Martinez in Ainhoa Martinez, Mexico on June 12, 2014
The Mexican environment is a gift from the Mother Nature. The view that the environment provide is infinite, from the snow-capped volcanoes in the southern Valley of Mexico, to the full of cactus deserts commonly seen on Mexican movies, the wild jungles and the heavenly coast areas.
Popocatepetl volcano, the desert of Baja California and the Maya Coast in the Mexican Caribbean.
Respecting environmental issues, although Mexico is an oil producer and a developing country, it might be surprising that Local Government has manifest its aim to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions and had the objective to reduce them to half by 2050. Will they achieve that objective? These days the Energetic Reform is being discussed in a Commission at the Mexican Senate.
The geographical location of the country makes Mexico vulnerable to global warming and these last years, events such as hurricanes, droughts and floods may be attributed to the increase of the sea temperatures.
In addition, while its oil production decreases, Mexico discovers its potential for renewable energy. One-sixth part of its electricity comes from hydroelectric dams and also seeks foreign investment to develop solar energy.
Regarding water conflicts, the South territories of Mexico hold the 70% of the water, however, the North and the Central territories hold the 75% of the population. In total, about 11 million Mexicans (the 10% of the population) have no running water at home, and 15 million are living without sewage systems.
The aquifers in the North and Center are under increasing pressure from the cities, industry and agriculture. The North has suffered several droughts in the last two decades, which had affected agricultural production. And Mexico City turned to water shortages in 2009 due to a shortage record.
A lot of water is wasted. Because of leaks, about the half of the water supplies of the cities is lost. And about the half of the 75% of the country’s supply for agriculture is not used productively.
About the 80% of sewage water is not treated, which together with the waters of agrochemical runoff and large amounts of waste discharged into rivers and lakes, causes the contamination of the three quarters of the surface waters of Mexico (more or less).
The Panuco River tops list of most polluted rivers in the country.
Much of the sewage water from Mexico City is poured into the Panuco River, which empties into the Gulf of Mexico in Tampico. The Lerma River, which also caters to the capital, receives sewage water and industrial fluids in many other cities on their way to Lake Chapala, the largest natural lake in the country.
Jungles are also important as their conservation is key not only to fight against global warming, but also because they often are the source of water supplies.
The Lacandona Jungle, located in Chiapas.
The problems of the Federal District in terms of water supply, wastewater treatment, overcrowding and traffic pollution are reflected on a smaller scale in all rapidly growing cities.
Tourism development involves large-scale problems and threatens fragile ecosystems, especially in Baja California and the Caribbean coast. Due to uncontrolled urban development, new buildings threaten to deplete water resources, increase pollution and destroy wetlands.
Nevertheless, environmental awareness is growing stronger, but still there is no movement on a large scale, but you can find local organizations such as Pronatura, which allocates 100 million MXN to projects regarding climate change, priority species and land conservation.
The divided city of Hebron
Posted by Lukas Matzkows in Lukas Matzkows, West Bank on June 12, 2014
The last week was incredibly busy and so full of unforgettable impressions that I struggle with structuring all the thoughts in my head and write them down. One of the many places we visited, was the city of Hebron. It is one of Palestine’s biggest cities, located in the south of the West Bank. It is a city with a beautiful old city center, a once busy market and it is home to the tombs of Abraham, Sara and Isaac, which makes it a holy place for all of three religions in this country. It is also a city of division and conflict. Since 1979 religious jews have settled in and around the city and today the old town is home to around 30.000 Palestinians and 800 settlers. The city is divided in the areas H1, under Palestinian control, and H2, under full control of Israeli authorities.
(https://www.btselem.org/download/200705_hebron_center_map_eng.pdf)
We entered the city with our guide Usama, from the Palestinian Conflict Transformation Center Wi’Am(which is Arabic for cordial relationships), who had a few heartbreaking stories to tell about his family and the ramifications of the ongoing conflict. He led us to the main street where at the first glimpse you would think it is a normal busy oriental city, but when you look up you notice something is different. The whole market area has an overhead fence which is bending down from the weight of litter. It has been set up by TIPH, an international observer mission that first came to Hebron following a massacre at the local mosque that left 29 male worshippers dead and 125 wounded. The fence protects the market from settlers who live on the second floor and through things at people and goods on display.
After that impression we visited the house of a friend of Usama. He lives almost wall on wall with settlers in Beit Hadassah. From his roof you can see Shuhada-Street, once a vibrant street where jewelers sold their goods. Today, the street is under full control of the settlers and Palestinians are not allowed to set foot in it anymore. Parts of it are completely shut down, in the rest, access is limited to Israelis. Shopkeepers that had their businesses here for generations had to abandon their shops and houses which led to an increase of unemployment and poverty. According to the UN, 75% of Palestinian residents of the old Souk area live under the poverty line. Usama’s friend told us stories and showed us videos of settlers climbing onto his roof to take down the Palestinian flag while soldiers stand by and watch. Standing on this roof, we could feel the tension that is all time present in this city and I was somewhat relieved once when we climbed down.
(Shuhada Street)
Our next stop, after crossing two more security checkpoints, was the beautiful Ibrahimi Mosque that has its own history. Following the events of 1994, the mosque was, as the city, divided. 40% remained a mosque, while 60% became a synagogue. Access to the mosque is completely controlled by the Israeli army, and completely restricted on jewish holidays. Inside we found stunning mosaics, paintings and the memorials of Abraham and Sara.
After that, we left the city the way we came, under the protection of the fence above.
Traveling to Addis
Posted by Katie Petitt in Ethiopia, Katie Petitt on June 10, 2014
Saying goodbye to my David for 2 months
Clouds over the Houston Airport
In high school my favorite class was Astronomy. I loved learning about these far off things that affected us but also operated
completely separate from us. One day my teacher Mr. Atkins asked if we ever thought about the sun, if so what did we think of it. The smart-aleck cowboy in the class knew where our teacher was going with this and said “You know before now I only thought of the sun as that big bright thing that I curse every morning on the way to school cause my sun visor can’t block it out of my eyes. Now that I’m thinking about it, Mr. Atkins, I realize it is a big ball of burning gas that keeps us all alive”.
Agur Basque Country, Hola Mexico!
Posted by Ainhoa Martinez in Ainhoa Martinez, Mexico on June 10, 2014
5.30 pm of Thursday the 5th, I have just finished the last exam of my LLB. I cannot believe Law School is now over and in less than 2 days I will be on my way to Mexico City. A good plan for my last hours in Vitoria-Gasteiz? To have dinner with my best friends in one of our favorites Italian restaurants and have some drinks.
The day before starting my trip I had lunch with my family, packed up everything I need for the trip and said goodbye to my beloved family and friends.
See you soon girls!
Having some drinks after dinner with my best friends in Vitoria-Gasteiz, to celebrate we have finished our LLB and my trip to Mexico.
Hometown.
Vitoria-Gasteiz is where I live. It is the capital city of the Basque Country and in 2012 it was awarded as the European Green Capital. This monument made of shrubbery was designed to represent the award and it stands in the center of the city.
I have been lucky because 4 days before my departure I got in contact with a woman who was renting a room for students in the area of Coyoacan, where Jessica is living. I saw the house and the room via Skype and we reached an agreement. So having solved all this issue about accommodation, before my arrival to Mexico City, have been truly handy. I will not have to go mad booking a hotel room and wondering around the city looking for a place to live.
4 am of Friday the 7th, the airport is just one hour away from my home and is easy to get there. First I will travel from Bilbao to Paris and then get the flight to Mexico City. There were so many security controls between Bilbao and Paris and the Parisian airport was so big that I almost got lost, but I finally reached the gate for my flight and as I had 3 hours left until the departure I had lunch in one of the restaurants. Got my tickets and passport ready to take my sit in the flight, if you had ever travelled such long distance you will guess I am sitting next to the corridor because your body and mind can get really tired during the 10 hours of journey and it is good to walk every hour to avoid having pain in your knees, ears or headache.
The plain is about to take off.
The journey starts in the airport of Bilbao. Incredible view from the window, the sky is quiet and calm.
Finally I landed in Benito Juarez International airport at 6.30 pm local time. There are 7 hours of time difference between Mexico and Spain and I hope the jetlag does not catch me. I went through the migration controls and got my luggage. One more thing to do before I walk over Mexican floor: I had to press a button and if the light goes green I walk forward, but if the light goes red I have to open my luggage to be inspected. Please go green, please go green… It’s green light! Thank God! I was so tired I did not want to start taking everything out of the luggage.
From 6 pm onwards it’s rush hour in the Mexican airport because it is the arrival time for most flights coming from Europe. The place was crowded, but I finally found Jessica and we took a safe taxi to get home. During the journey, the long roads and the old buildings I she through the window of the cab reminds me of the summer I spent in Beijing. Everything looks more or less the same, like a massive city, full of traffic, where wealth and poverty are separated by only a few steps.
First must-to-do things in Mexico City:
1. Settle in the house.
2. Walk around the area and locate important places such as public transport areas, restaurants and supermarkets.
3. Do the shopping! (you must be starving).
4. Find secure taxi numbers, maps and other practical information.
5. Get a Mexican cell phone. It can be easily bought in OXXO or Moviestar shops for 300 MXN.
And do not forget to try “Chapulines”, if you don’t try them you won’t live the Mexican experience. Jessica took me to a little place in Miguel de Quevedo Avenue and bought some. I just tried two and it was a mixture of spicy and salt with a lot of proteins. For a non Mexican person it was very spicy, as Mexicans say “Me enchilé”.
Chapulines.
The popular Mexican snack, which is full of proteins and tastes spicy and salt.
Regarding the Coyoacan area, I really like the house where I am living, there are 3 more students living here and every Monday and Friday a housekeeper cooks for us traditional Mexican food (I hope I can share with you a blog entry on this issue in the future). The first morning I woke up and found a welcome message written on the board of the kitchen. Rita, the owner of the house, prepared me a huge and delicious breakfast to recover from the long journey and the other students living in the house and I started talking. It seems like we have a lot in common, two of them are studying music and I play the acoustic guitar and the ukulele. The neighborhood is calm and both public transport and supermarkets are close to the house.
Welcome message.
Rita (the owner) and other students living in the house left me a welcome message written on the board of the kitchen, followed by a delicious and energetic breakfast the morning after my arrival.
Jessica and I decided to stablish our meeting place in a Starbucks, which is halfway between her home and mine, we have like a 10 minute travel by “Trole-bus” to get there. It is funny the first time I took the Trole-bus alone, it suddenly broke down and had to wait a lot until another one picked me from the middle of nowhere, but it was okay and I easily found Jessica.
Trolebus.
An eco-bus, connected to the electric system of the city.
We spent my 3rd day in Mexico City walking through the main streets of Coyoacan and it is such an active and full of live place where you can find different street markets, parks, all the food shops that you can imagine…
The center of Coyoacan.
This is Jessica and me, standing in front of a fountain in a park. The 2 coyotes in the middle of the fountain give the name to this beautiful area, Coyoacan.
My way back home early at night was such a challenge for me because more or less I could locate myself in the area during the day, but the sun had already gone. There was no problem, I took another Trole-bus to “Taxqueña” main street and just had to walk a couple of streets to reach home. So the first day walking around the place alone went pretty well.
On my way back home at the end of the day.
Here you can find one of the OXXO shops, which are so popular around the city.
Life in Mexico seems to be very “relaxing” so we had better not to be in a hurry if we need to do something. That could summarize the Mexican way of living.
P.S.: “Agur” means goodbye in Basque language and I suppose everyone will know that “Hola” means hello.
