Friday, November 29, 2013

Thanksgiving

Lovely Thanksgiving in Uppsala with friends - potluck style!
Picture c/o Maria Lundin Hartman
Hey Thanksgiving cuties, Bakhti & Heather.
This year was a much more manageable size than last year. It was quite an adventure with 55+ and definitely a fabulous time. A couple photos below:
Hey gang!


Now those are some pumpkin pies...

"Edibles consisted of a surf-and-turf spread of venison, wild turkey, guinea fowl (also called turkey, although Natives referred to it as peru), pea fowl, goose, duck, swan and partridge, along with the surf part consisting of clams, eel, cod and lobster, along with maize bread, pumpkin and other squashes."Read more athttp://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/11/22/1621-original-surf-turf-meal-152315

I appreciate having lots of conscientious friends on facebook preaching about the Thanksgiving holiday and the need to realize we don't often talk about the real story or consider or focus on the treatment of native peoples in the U.S. after the entry of the European settlers. 

This morning on a run through the lovely woods, I was listening to a story about Kiribati and how by 2030 is will be mostly underwater and if there's a huge wave the 32 islands could be eliminated much earlier. The interview asked the reporter if he felt guilty about the situation due to sea-level rise which is caused by industrialized countries in the north and not by the I-Kiribati. He said along the lines of: I'm not the right person to ask because I feel guilty about everything (dude, I can identify). And he went on to say what amazes him is that the President of Kiribati is angry at places like the U.S. and China but knows ultimately that may not help his cause of trying to prepare his people who have been on the island for more than 5000 years, make a transition to other countries as migrant workers rather than poor refugees. Then the reporter said this would probably be the first case of forced migration of an entire population because of climate change. 

That caught my ear. First, ever? What about people that had to go over the land bridge? Obviously, that wasn't his point. His point was man-made climate change forcing populations to move. Not just natural climate shifts 20,000 years ago. Point taken. 

So... guilt. How far back should memories go?


One of the things Kiribati has requested is reparations. China and America should pay up for their pollution and help these I-Kiribati move. Given recent payments by the U.K. to the Mau-Mau survivors in Kenya and the turning tide around climate change, or maybe I should say the early waves of change - maybe someday there will be reparations for the Kiribati. Fourteen Caribbean Islands are requesting reparations for the legacy of slavery two centuries old. It should certainly be discussed. 

What's the take away?


1) I really want to be able to enjoy Thanksgiving, the one American* holiday that doesn't feel like it's about glorifying our violent nation (Veteran's Day**, Memorial Day, 4th of July) or buying things (Christmas, Halloween, all holidays because of sales). (Now, obviously Thanksgiving is followed by one of the grossest consumer days in the U.S..) Nonetheless, I LOVE the idea of sharing a day over a meal where we allow ourselves to be thankful - secularly - for all the blessings in our lives. When we can gather with families and friends and not be worried about presents or getting to a house of worship or a tv special.

2) We should have so much more education about modern American Indians and about the huge variety of groups, including the Wampanoag, who are under-represented in U.S. history books and our conversations. And Thanksgiving shouldn't be the only day we bring it up. And we probably do need and will eventually get more reparations - monetary and otherwise in this world that I deeply want to believe will bend toward justice. 

So, thanks for those "surf and turf" thanksgiving of 1621 menu items and for teaching me our modern Thanksgiving traditions began after 1863 when Abraham Lincoln was trying to unite a war-riddled country. 

Preaching to the preachers over for the day! 

With gratitude and thanksgiving, 
-Anna

*"American" when referring to something of the U.S. or the U.S. people, can also be guilt inducing - what about all the peoples of the Americas? Give me something better than United Statesian and I'll work with you.

**Please note that I feel that Veteran's is an incredibly important day to be thankful for the incredible sacrifices of human lives for others, as we believe in the causes of freedom, liberty and have been told that is what we are fighting to defend, and in many cases, have been. 

Saturday, November 23, 2013

Amazing November weather!

This autumn in Uppsala has been amazing. This is a scene from the woods near my apartment.

Walking from the woods near my apartment you can see across the fields where grass has grown up because of the unusually warm November. 


Lovely day for a walk! 

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Autumn

Somehow we have held on to autumn a lot longer than last year here in the southern end of Sweden. I am still able to run outside some mornings without freezing which is fabulous because Uppsala has so many parks (parken), woods (skogs), and nature reserves (naturreservat). At the beginning of fall I would run through the city woods, over ski tracks or horse paths or walking paths through a neighborhood and out to some housing areas dotted with farms. Now I am running in the woods near my 1st year's housing which has a little water fall and a few farms also. I love how quickly you can be in nature in Uppsala even though it's Sweden's 4th largest city. The regional buses come into the city from quite rural parts all around the county. It is an impressive public transport network. 

I am not at all hoping for winter to come faster - the extended autumn has been fabulous! - but I am already eyeing the cross-country ski (skidor) trails close to my current apartment and thinking of downloading the iPhone app map. 

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Legacy of U.S. military history in the Solomons part 3

On this day 71 years ago, the American navy followed by the military began arriving on the shores of this island in what would become an important battle in the history of WWII. The Japanese had begun construction of an airport, which was the main strategic point of interest for the Americans in the Battle for Guadalcanal and the wider Pacific campaign. The bloody fight lasted until February 1943 and in total 68,000 men lost their lives.

The airport is now known as Henderson Airport and is used for commercial flights to this day. The hills surrounding the site of the American War Memorial have views of other points of strategic importance like the Galloping Horse Hill, Sea Horse Hill and the Metaniko River. In the last couple of weeks I have climbed in those hills, hiked to the river and swam down its beautiful, calm streams. On the hike to Metaniko we passed a fox hole, right at the top of the hill. I was wearing a tank top, shorts and carrying water and was sweating so much. It was terrible to imagine young men in their late teens hiking up that hill with all their gear and packs, only to be shot down upon their final ascent. "Why do we still fight wars?"

Today I was told by multiple speakers - the American Ambassador, the head of the Pacific Partnership for the American Navy, and the Direct General of the Pacific Community - for freedom and peace. That is why the U.S. fought this war. We solemnly memorialized the American lives lost in what was the decisive battle for the success in the Pacific. It is incredibly important to honor those who have fought and lost their lives for our freedom, they reminded us. I found the service moving, particularly as they spoke of the loss of 3 young soldiers whose bodies were recently recovered from a site close to the memorial. These men died in October 1942 and their bodies will soon be returned to the U.S. and to their families. This was the first year none of the veterans who served in Guadalcanal could make it to the service, where in previous years their profile was shared and they were honored. "The inevitable passing of time", the Master of Ceremonies, the historian John Innes pointed out. 

The American Ambassador to the Solomon Islands (who is based in Papua New Guinea), expressed appreciation that there were young people in the audience, like Scouts and others. History needs to be known. For me, this time in the Solomon Islands has surprisingly turned out to be an important history lesson for me, having known little about the U.S. military history and presence in the Pacific beyond the famous and horrific atomic bombings in Japan. It feels incredibly essential to understand the loss endured and begot by the U.S. armed forces. 

Distinguished guests, including the head of UNDP, a Japanese national -
history moves forward, enemies become allies. 
I feel incredibly humbled by the enormous sacrifice of families who have lost their sons and daughters in battle around the world fighting for their causes and freedoms, even while I do not believe violence can ultimately bring positive peace. The young American and Japanese men, some as young as 16 who fought bitterly in this hilly country, far from their home countries and families are brave and enduring in ways I can not comprehend.
Excellent USS Pearl Harbor brass band. The Taps was moving.
It felt surprisingly familiar to hear the American national anthem played by an excellent Navy brass band, as well as their rendering of the Solomon Islands national anthem. I imagined myself standing on a soccer field before a game, in school or at a baseball game. It feels important to me that this anthem is played and connects these experiences not for patriotism alone, a word that can be used so often it loses its meaning or signals a sense of superiority, but because ultimately our lives and my life is connected to places around the world where in good and sometimes tragic ways my country is involved.  

Kids climb a tree to watch the ceremonies over the wall.


The most gorgeous collection of wreaths I've ever seen. And flags for the 3
American men whose bodies were recently found and will be returned with
these flags to their families in the U.S..

Taking pictures of the USS Pearl Harbor in the sound around Honiara.

The U.S. memorial on the aptly named Skyline Drive. 

Fruits of Peace

Today we began a workshop with 16 young people from the Youth@Work project in Honiara. The program is collaborating with our office and the Ministry of National Unity, Reconciliation and Peace on the "Peace-building and Reconciliation" section of their larger program which focuses on job seeking skills. The program is in its 3rd phase and the current group is 300 youth mostly in their mid-20s who are unemployed or underemployed. Unfortunately the statistics for their future is a bit sobering - 1/3 will probably never find jobs and 1/3 will have to creat their own in the informal sector.

They are also part of the globe challenge of youth bulges, which perhaps could also be seen as opportunities, but unfortuately is often instead seen and witnessed as problems for countries. When you have a huge population of young people, particularly males, there is concern about the potential for violence if conflicts and concerns are not properly addressed and they don't have productive outlets for their energy. This doesn't mean that too many unemployed youth = violence, obviously it is much more nuanced than that, but for the sake of the youth themselves and societies' futures, it is important to find ways and support for all people, especially youth to become contributing members of society.

In Honiara, Youth @ Work is a program working to address some of this and luckily in the program which focuses on CV writing, interview skills, 6-months internships, seminars, etc. they are including 4 sessions for all youth about peace-building. In addition to big sessions with all the youth, we also asked to introduce a smaller, voluntary program for people interested to go more in depth to the topic.


Welchman and I are facilitating "Fruits of Peace: non-violence and increase the peace training" and it is based on the Alternatives to Violence Project. I first attended an AVP workshop (basic & advanced) with a group of Rwandans in 2005 and became a facilitator in 2008 under the tutelage of a former prison inmate (the population for which the project was originally designed) and a co-facilitator who regularly does the workshops in Latin America. This isn't officially AVP because I don't have a trained co-facilitator and we are also using a few other methodologies, but I do need to give credit for my experience.
The faciliatation team.

Fruits of Peace is off to a good start and I'm excited for the fabulous group of youth and all their experiences and ideas. This isn't a workshop to teach them but to provide a frame for looking at challenges and problems they know well and to begin to identify how they might work to address them. It's also a lot of fun with games and laughter, book ending more serious discussions and topics. I can't wait for all I'll learn from these peers.

Monday, July 29, 2013

Workshop at Honiara Central Market

Women work with facilitator from the International Labor
Organization that provided reflective entrepreneurship basics. 
A couple of weeks ago we did a workshop with Market women in Honiara. The focus was on basic entrepreneurship training with a Trust-building component. The Honiara Central Market has people from all around the country selling their products and reselling food stuffs. The majority of the people are from Guadacanal and Malaita, and while a good portion of the people are farmers selling their own crops, the second largest number are re-selling other farmers goods or onions/garlic/cabbage, etc. from boats from other countries. The Market also features many other products, as you may remember from my post about a tour of the Market. 
Playing a game - always important to laugh.
Many of the women at the Market have been affected by the "tensions" or are continued to be affected by the issues of living as squatters or surviving domestic violence in their homes, or dealing with the day to day conflict that arises in the Market or violence at the hands of pickpocketers or drunk people hanging around. There are challenges with how prices are set and competition between vendors - although this is one of the most laid-back Markets I've ever been to. All and all the workshop was an attempt to bring people together, give them some useful skills and build relationships between people. It is hoped to be a pilot. 
Women create a drawing and diagram of "a market built on
trust" to identify what needs to be improved and their role.
Overall we received fabulous feedback from the group. For many it was their first ever workshop and they were happy and honored to be accepted. They all reported having learned from the experience and that they were already applying their knowledge and telling friends. Most of them wanted it to be longer (I've never been a part of a workshop when that wasn't the feedback). Examining and thinking about how to build trust amongst their peers and communities was an important take-away for them and they all hoped others could experience the workshop. We hope it will be possible to continue to hone the workshop, working with other UN bodies and organizations to ensure we are providing what Market vendors most request. 

It was fun! And that's one of the most important parts. Lots of laughter was shared and I certainly learned a lot from this fabulous group of women.   


Group shot. Always have to get one,



Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Visit to the market

I found the Market on my first day in Honiara - it's right along the main avenue adjoining the sea. I also heard it. At the start and finish of the day I would hear announcements in Pidgin about the opening and closing, and other intermittent announcements. One Sunday for hours there was a large projection of gospel music, at the Market announcer explained over the loud speaker: people could enjoy a spirit of worship even while they were working on a Sunday.
Martha the Market Mistress
A few days into my time in the office I discovered that my connection to the Market was closer even than I heard. The local trauma counselor consultant for our project was the manager at the Market. Or "Market Mistress" as her office sign read. So on Saturday we took a tour of the Market (which I'd already bought supplies from as it's the one place you can get your fruits and veggies in Honiara.) Martha the Market Mistress had been on the job for a year and a half and had transformed the place a bit. The first woman appointed to the job, she knew many vendors and marched us around encouraging people to clean up where areas were getting dirty, firmly and kindly telling a drunk man laying on a massive fish cooler to go home, and joking with staff who walked around collecting fees from vendors. I've been told in the past Market managers have used their power to siphon off a bit of those fees and enjoy a few cold brews in their office, above the Market. Many I've talked to in town have said under her leadership the Market has improved and become safer.
It's too bad we've pulled her away into our project, but she's a fabulous facilitator and I feel lucky she's part of the team. Here are a few photos from the market visit.

Bananas! My fav for probably obvious reasons.

Tuna times
And oh the flowers!!

Never seen this type of banana before. Delicious cooked!


View of the Market constructed in the late 1990s with assistance of Japanese.

Noted!

Well organized sections - very useful as we planned a workshop and wanted
a good cross-section of the Market's labor force. 

They use cups to round out those nice piles. 

Fresh sea food. 

Hey dude!

Legacy of U.S. military history in the Solomon Islands part 2

Saturday I helped carry an American “pigtail” out of a very hilly area, beyond Honiara, which was the main battlefield between the U.S. and Japan. My guide/friend Jeremy and I joked about the fact that an American was doing the deed of taking out this implement of war that my country’s soldier had carried up the hills. Just one was heavy and yet he was probably 16 having to carry a whole pack of them on his back up those massive hills that require being on all-fours for bits of the climb up.
Jeremy holding the "pigtail"
The Pigtail is a well-designed single piece of steel that has a corkscrew at the bottom and then 3-4 loops going up that you can string barbed wire through by taking it from the top around each of the “pigtails” in repeat until you have the makings of a destructive fence of barbed wire when you line up a bunch of them. They were all over the hills in this area as well as lots of other bits of destructive or wasteful objects of the war that we left behind. The chief of the area, from whom Jeremy has permission to walk around on his community’s land, has a whole collection of found objects – grenades, teeth with fillings, vials of medicines, watches, shrapnel, dogtags, pieces of weapons, etc. in a collection on his property. There is still a lot in the hills, considering I was walking here so many years later and could easily find an item on the hillside.

It is interesting to be in a country where the U.S.A., my country, fought a war over 50 years ago. The locals ended up siding with and supporting the Americans, they weren’t our enemies, but still we marched around fighting battles on their lands. Then I started thinking about all the places I could go in this world where there would still be evidence of the wars my country has waged and is still fighting, many places where the locals were the main victims. Many.

I hope I can be a part of leaving other, more positive footprints in some of those places. And I hope we can someday learn that there are better ways, non-violent ways to solve problems in this world. I am a Peace Fellow, after all.

Monday, July 22, 2013

Ceremony to start reconciliation

The Solomon Islands experienced 'tensions' in late 1990s through the early 2000s in which there was violence on the side of the national police and a number of militias representing different communities. Communities were burned, many women suffered sexual violence and survived, people were killed and driven off land. In 2006, there was another wave of violence with the burning of the Chinatown, after outraged boiled over following anti-corruption campaigns and people's anger. (Note: this not the very best summary of all that happened but gives you a picture.)

Chiefs from the village sit on the left-side of the table and representatives
of the police on the right. In the middle a representative from the Anglican
Church and from RAMSI - the regional Australia force in Solomons. 
The pictures below are from a ceremony that signals the beginning of a reconciliation process between a community on the island of Guadalcanal and the national police. Although there have been many reconciliation ceremonies over the last decade, this community has now agreed to enter in and begin to negotiate a possible return of the police to the area. Below you will see some pictures of this ceremony, which I got to witness my first week here. 

'chapu' - a traditional gesture and gift given in ceremonies
between families or communities. This one was presented
from the government side to the community chiefs.

The Anglican priest begins the ceremony with a prayer of reconciliation.
The ceremony was held in the capital, Honiara at the Anglican Cathedral.
The chiefs traveled from the village with the support of the Ministry of
National Unity, Reconciliation and Peace to attend the 'opening' ceremony. 


The chief gives 'shell money' to the Police head as a gift - noting in a spee-
ch it was not possible to present a full 'chapu', having travelled from the
village, but would next time the Police head comes. 
The Police head gives each of the
chiefs shell money beaded cords. 
The head chief and the Police head mutual place shell money over each
other's necks as a gift of goodwill and the start of a reconciliation process
between violence committed between the national police and the community. 




Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Lots of Islands

The Solomon Islands, as the name suggests, is a set of islands- over 100 islands.* The first person I met here was the UNDP driver. He is a very lovely man. His island is a two-week boat ride away. “Two weeks?!?”, I asked.
“How is that even possible?  I would go crazy!” my Dutch colleague said when we talked about it a few days later.
“Two weeks?” I tried to verify.
“Yes, two weeks on a boat and it gets very difficult with everyone on the dock with all their bundles and bags. You often don’t really have room to even lay down,” he confirmed. “We should be a part of Vanuatu, we’re only a day boat ride from there. Or the government should provide or ensure better boats.”

People say Honiara isn’t the Solomons. I can believe them. Obviously, it is one aspect of the Solomons, but not for the majority who live in areas only accessible by boat and canoe, whose access to government and markets and products from the outside is very limited. That is a Solomons I will unlikely to have access to in my short time here and although you can never fully understand a place as an outsider and everyone, even locals have a different experience of life, I realize how limited my experience is.



*63 languages and 9 main islands.
View of downtown Honiara from Koala Ridge.