i am sure there will be detractors somewhere that will say that this is unscientific or overly simplified, but i think that the vote compass on the cbc website is one of many tools that we can use during this election season to figure out who we are going to vote for. if we didn't know before.
i did the questionnaire and wasn't terribly surprised with the results, but what i loved was that you can go through your answers and see where you compare to each of the 5 federal political parties.
there were a few of the questions that i had no opinion on and a few that would have more weight in my final decision, but i think that this is a great tool, especially if you are wondering who will get your vote this may!
let's get voting!
Showing posts with label canucks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label canucks. Show all posts
Monday, March 28, 2011
Sunday, February 06, 2011
stuck in chicago
but hopefully not for long!
just a little weather delay, i hope.
one of my biggest irritations about canadians is their belief that they can somehow speak really derogatorily about americans as though we are inherently better by the simple fact that we are not americans. it is lame and goes against all that we like to pride ourselves on as canadians.
but. but, i have been at the chicago airport for only a few hours and i am already finding myself want to assert my canadian-ness. either by being overly polite or enunciating my words or refraining from overusing the word 'like' in conversation.
i am not quite sure why. i hope it is not coming from the same place that allows canadians to get smug and self righteous.
and a real shame that i couldn't have planned with this delay in mind because they i could've wandered out of security and visited one of my favourite chicago residents!
just a little weather delay, i hope.
one of my biggest irritations about canadians is their belief that they can somehow speak really derogatorily about americans as though we are inherently better by the simple fact that we are not americans. it is lame and goes against all that we like to pride ourselves on as canadians.
but. but, i have been at the chicago airport for only a few hours and i am already finding myself want to assert my canadian-ness. either by being overly polite or enunciating my words or refraining from overusing the word 'like' in conversation.
i am not quite sure why. i hope it is not coming from the same place that allows canadians to get smug and self righteous.
and a real shame that i couldn't have planned with this delay in mind because they i could've wandered out of security and visited one of my favourite chicago residents!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
ted on a tuesday
you know it is a rather monotonous day of work when i come up with more ted talk recommendations.
as my go to website that i am allowed to stream video from at work (there are not many), ted has a few gems up on its main page at the moment. take a look if you too need some stimulating background noise to desk work that you are not particularly thrilled about. or if you just want to watch some inspiring talks by two humble individuals.
i love a lady who isn't afraid to drop an eff bomb if it makes her point clear (although she refrains in this talk). peace activists don't always get a lot of credit from the 'establishment,' but i think that Jody Williams can speak their language and to boot, she is not an avowed pacifist. which means she gets my vote. for what, i don't know, but a vote nonetheless.
a canadian kid whose life didn't go quite as he planned (ever heard that one before?) turned it into an internet sensation and then a best selling book. Neil Parischa talks about the As of awesome and how no one is immune to hardship or negative experiences, but that being authentic is one of the ways to get through it. this should be required viewing. for everyone.
as my go to website that i am allowed to stream video from at work (there are not many), ted has a few gems up on its main page at the moment. take a look if you too need some stimulating background noise to desk work that you are not particularly thrilled about. or if you just want to watch some inspiring talks by two humble individuals.
i love a lady who isn't afraid to drop an eff bomb if it makes her point clear (although she refrains in this talk). peace activists don't always get a lot of credit from the 'establishment,' but i think that Jody Williams can speak their language and to boot, she is not an avowed pacifist. which means she gets my vote. for what, i don't know, but a vote nonetheless.
a canadian kid whose life didn't go quite as he planned (ever heard that one before?) turned it into an internet sensation and then a best selling book. Neil Parischa talks about the As of awesome and how no one is immune to hardship or negative experiences, but that being authentic is one of the ways to get through it. this should be required viewing. for everyone.
Monday, September 06, 2010
six months in sudan
for someone who is mildly obsessed with trying to figure out if international humanitarian assistance or foreign aid makes a positive impact on the lives of those in developing countries, i found almost refreshing to read a book that describes one individual's attempt to achieve what all humanitarians set out to do - improve the lives of others.
whether james maskalyk is successful in his humanitarian quest is secondary to his telling of his six months in sudan, which is also the name of the book, and i am glad that he did not spent his words or pages delving into the academic discussions of how aid should be delivered and what the challenges are for those working in a dynamic and ever shrinking humanitarian space in conflict zones.
instead, you get a honest, heartfelt, angry, and genuine telling of maskalyk's experience of volunteering with medicins sans frontieres in abyei, sudan where there was a simple hospital, small staff and countless challenges and barriers, but he and the msf team, like countless other similar teams active throughout the world, overcome what they can and accept what they cannot change. but if only it were that simple - to understand the beauty of the struggle and the celebration of the successes, you will have to read the book.
i have never worked in a environment as resource constrained or isolated as abyei, but i do know what it is like to question what you are doing, if it is working the way it was intended, and the pain in the ass that is internal organisational politics and i am not sure how, but maskalyk articulated it all so well. there were certainly parts that were difficult to read and i had to put the book down a few times (sometimes to take a few breaths because he doesn't hold back on the medical details...), but the story is one of a young canadian doctor who wishes to do what he can to improve the health of those he could in a village in the contested borderland area of sudan.
read it. you won't be disappointed.
whether james maskalyk is successful in his humanitarian quest is secondary to his telling of his six months in sudan, which is also the name of the book, and i am glad that he did not spent his words or pages delving into the academic discussions of how aid should be delivered and what the challenges are for those working in a dynamic and ever shrinking humanitarian space in conflict zones.
instead, you get a honest, heartfelt, angry, and genuine telling of maskalyk's experience of volunteering with medicins sans frontieres in abyei, sudan where there was a simple hospital, small staff and countless challenges and barriers, but he and the msf team, like countless other similar teams active throughout the world, overcome what they can and accept what they cannot change. but if only it were that simple - to understand the beauty of the struggle and the celebration of the successes, you will have to read the book.
i have never worked in a environment as resource constrained or isolated as abyei, but i do know what it is like to question what you are doing, if it is working the way it was intended, and the pain in the ass that is internal organisational politics and i am not sure how, but maskalyk articulated it all so well. there were certainly parts that were difficult to read and i had to put the book down a few times (sometimes to take a few breaths because he doesn't hold back on the medical details...), but the story is one of a young canadian doctor who wishes to do what he can to improve the health of those he could in a village in the contested borderland area of sudan.
read it. you won't be disappointed.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
knowing a thing or two
hello. and welcome. to the hundreds of people who have passed by my corner of the internet these past couple days. i suppose i should have had this message up before, well, now. but instead all those newcomers to my blog, thanks to a rather kind link from flotsam, see me whining about my life and being in a funk...
but (but!) here i am, trying not to be wah-wah-wahing for once in a bit of a while.
what a day i had. it started off with a message that my slow cooker had arrived and was ready for pick up. and a day that starts off like that is bound to be a good one. what is better is that my slow cooker was free (remember that laptop i bought? i put it on my credit card and earned enough points to order a slow cooker!) and that it matches the rest of my kitchen appliances, which pleases my obsessive sensibilities.
i began my workday at noon (because i can!) and headed to a townhall meeting with some of the executive of our company and was thrilled that some of my work was not only mentioned in the quarterly update, but praised as good company practice.
but that is not all. i was mildly dreading heading to yet another meeting with an organisation that i volunteer with after my shortened workday, but was again pleasantly surprised to find that i was regarded as an expert and advisor to a locally based international foundation. this was all well and good, however, until i had a one-on-one conversation about an upcoming initiative that i not-so-affectionately called voluntourism-lite.
the same qualities of voluntourism are apparent: the focus put on the travellers' experience, no lasting impact or clear outputs of the visit, short term stays in communities, and time and energy put out by the host organisation that is likely motivated by a desire to show that they really are a great organisation doing really good work (a sort of self preservation and marketing to the foreign visitors).
i got in quite a heated discussion about this and i just kept coming back to the question of why? why is this happening? to try and head off those who would otherwise seek out a true voluntourism experience and offer them something a little less corrupt and possibly more meaningful? but that is not what a foundation should be doing. a bad idea remains a bad idea.
and why is it so hard for people to accept my opinion that if you want to go to africa, go on a wicked vacation full of beaches, safaris, museums, and sights? there is no requirement that you visit a slum, an orphanage, or a hospital to make it worthwhile. we don't expect tourists to canada to visit our poorest communities or our underdeveloped first nations reserves so why do we expect canadians to do similar things on their holidays abroad? and doesn't this continue to perpetuate the same stereotypes that africa is nothing but a continent full of dirty, black kids with flies around their eyes? and (and!) offering such a programme doesn't acknowledge that many middle and upper class residents of africans don't feel compelled to visit those communities in their backyard, so why would canadians? and, more than anything, what right do they have to go sniffing around in someone else's backyard? and again, for what purpose?
eesh. the whole conversation just made me want to bang my head against a wall. but (but!), it did make me feel good in the sense that i actually know a thing or two about this and i felt strong enough in my opinions to express them and stand by them. and that i can make some things better, just by being a part of them even if they frustrate me at times.
and that, along with today's positive feedback, has made me feel as though the wobbly moment might almost (dare i say it?!) be coming to a close.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
is it premature to declare The End of the Vest?!
for years i have been harping on about our prime minister's lacklustre physical appearance and his penchant for wearing ill fitting vests (in fact, i have an entire tag on this blog dedicated to it). and have even been known to state that i am completed content with the use of public funds to hire a stylist tasked with sprucing up his appearance so that he looks less like a corpse and more like someone who i feel comfortable representing canada.
and lo and behold, he has hired a stylist! and people are concerned with where her salary comes from. but i don't care! i love that he realises that he needed help in the appearance department and is taking appropriate action.
but i am still not convinced that she can change this:
but i am still not convinced that she can change this:
into this:
Wednesday, April 07, 2010
as i do when i get lazy
here are some interesting things that i came across, did, or thought today:
- asian soup should not be attempted in my nest. i made some, did not enjoy it, and ended up putting the whole pot down the garburator, shame. the seaweed disintegrated in the broth and it made my house smell. now what do i do with an entire package of seaweed?
- i saw a police officer just hanging out in his car outside of the superstore and i am sure it is connected to the recent incidents of food tampering in the city. here is my question, why aren't the people who are caught (or person, as they've only caught one and suspect there are other copy cats) charged with terrorism? i must acknowledge my ignorance of laws covering terrorism in canada and alberta, but they are essentially causing terror of a certain degree amongst the million people in the city considering the majority of us buy our food at the major grocery stores. not cool.
- i bought m&m's to put in my friend's care package that will be sent to east timor and then i opened them and am now eating them on the couch while watching american idol. talk about taking the life of luxury for granted!
- i had 'the canadian' at frilly lilly today and had a giggle when i made my appointment.
- i watched a documentary on the mormons that was broadcast on pbs in 2007. fascinating stuff! the whole thing can be seen on the pbs website and if you are at all interested in how the church of jesus christ of latter day saints came to be or what the hell it is all about, watch this. it explains it without bias or judgement or without trying to sell you on to their (crazy) stories. i guess i am not as unbiased and nonjudgemental. but really, watch the 4 hours of it and are sure to learn a lot.
- i bought a new dress. did i need a new dress? absolutely not. but it was 40% off! and that peachy-orange colour that i love right now! and it is a petite size! and now that i look it up on the american website, i realise that i could've saved even more money if i bought it south of the 49th with this crazy exhange rate we have going on right now.
- i returned a book that i wasn't enjoying. i had never done that before. i had a pang of guilt, but it passed.
- i am having some anxiety about not being prepared to go on a week long vacation. i think i have more stress when going to an all-inclusive resort on a beach than i do adventuring around a foreign place. so much pressure, i tell ya.
Friday, March 19, 2010
An Imperfect Offering from me to you
another book that you absolutely must read (well, if you are in to this kind of stuff, that is) is An Imperfect Offering by Dr James Orbinski. again, like many of the books i read, it explores the challenges of humanitarian assistance during a violent conflict. which, coincidentally was also the name of the masters degree that i finished a few years ago.
this book is not always easy to read, it is haunting, it is disturbing, and it left me with a lot more questions than it answered, but i think that that is the nature of humanitarian or development work and Orbinski was honest, modest, and sincere in the telling of his personal story, which includes a career as a doctor, time spent as the director of Medecins Sans Frontieres, and many missions to countries in the tight grasp of war and violence.
like i said, it certainly doesn't give the answers to the questions of how best to implement humanitarian response activities, but it does provide insight into providing basic health care to those affected by war. i'd be lying if i didn't say that this book made me wish that i was doctor because that seems like it could be more simple than what i do know how to do and this isn't the first time i have thought that.
i can never imagine being in the position that Orbinski was in to decide whether or not to go against organisational philosophy and principles (msf has historically refused to engage in the 'political' aspects of conflict) and speak out against government action (and indeed, inaction) and make bold statements about why the situation in rwanda, somalia, kosovo, afghanistan, and the drc is the way it is. he chose to point msf's finger at the actors that could change things, if they so wished. often, these actors are foreign governments and in reading his accounts of each of the above regions, i began to understand even further the complexities of humanitarians' involvement in a conflict.
the book could have easily gone the direction of Lloyd Axworthy's concept of The Responsibility to Protect, which i was a wholehearted follower of years ago (but my faith in this concept is no longer as strong as it once was) and will never become a reality, but Orbinski never gets overly idealistic and keeps the dialogue in his book based on the real challenges and potential impossibility of having one 'right answer' to its many questions.
the book's title, An Imperfect Offering, comes from a Leonard Cohen lyric and it couldn't be better suited for the realities and complexities of its content.
this book is not always easy to read, it is haunting, it is disturbing, and it left me with a lot more questions than it answered, but i think that that is the nature of humanitarian or development work and Orbinski was honest, modest, and sincere in the telling of his personal story, which includes a career as a doctor, time spent as the director of Medecins Sans Frontieres, and many missions to countries in the tight grasp of war and violence.
like i said, it certainly doesn't give the answers to the questions of how best to implement humanitarian response activities, but it does provide insight into providing basic health care to those affected by war. i'd be lying if i didn't say that this book made me wish that i was doctor because that seems like it could be more simple than what i do know how to do and this isn't the first time i have thought that.
i can never imagine being in the position that Orbinski was in to decide whether or not to go against organisational philosophy and principles (msf has historically refused to engage in the 'political' aspects of conflict) and speak out against government action (and indeed, inaction) and make bold statements about why the situation in rwanda, somalia, kosovo, afghanistan, and the drc is the way it is. he chose to point msf's finger at the actors that could change things, if they so wished. often, these actors are foreign governments and in reading his accounts of each of the above regions, i began to understand even further the complexities of humanitarians' involvement in a conflict.
the book could have easily gone the direction of Lloyd Axworthy's concept of The Responsibility to Protect, which i was a wholehearted follower of years ago (but my faith in this concept is no longer as strong as it once was) and will never become a reality, but Orbinski never gets overly idealistic and keeps the dialogue in his book based on the real challenges and potential impossibility of having one 'right answer' to its many questions.
the book's title, An Imperfect Offering, comes from a Leonard Cohen lyric and it couldn't be better suited for the realities and complexities of its content.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
29 + 1
1 - conquer my anxiety, or at least win a few battles against it. this month has been more of a struggle than others and i think it comes down to being rather busy and spread thinly at times. and things not working they way they should. my phone relocking itself and having to buy a new one, not knowing how to hook up my wireless printer, sitting on hold with call centres. and deciding where to watch the men's gold medal hockey game! they all cause me to get anxious, frustrated, angry. and although i am better at recognising those feelings, i am not always great at knowing how to lessen the negative ones.
2 - be more thoughtful of others, especially around special events, days, occassions. i think i am doing ok with this. apart from forgetting to bring my valentines to the cabin and misplacing my sister and brother-in-law's anniversary card... otherwise, going good, cards have been mailed, notes have been sent, calls put in. but i really need to catch up with a few people who have recently had some milestones and i need details!
3 - continue making visiting family and friends a priority. although i have made no concrete moves towards this, it is still a priority. i intend on going to visit my dad on may long weekend and just need to go and book some flights. it wasn't exactly like i had to travel to do it, but my fam and i spent the february long weekend out at the cabin. and we laughed, oh did we laugh! nothing like hearing your parent say 'shut the eff up' too many times to count. and doing puzzles! cursing and puzzles just sort of go together. it probably doesn't sound like it here, but it was hilarious.
4 - nail down some sort of short-term career goals. i feel this is going well. i have done a lot of thinking, some reading, and had some insightful conversations towards nailing down goals. i think i have my next few months nailed down and i feel good about that.
for the first few months of this year, things felt up in the air and that something could come at any minute (an offer of a job in haiti, job interviews in jordan, work with international organisations...), which is exciting and great, but i feel a little calmer now and am plugging away at making significant progress professionally. towards what? well, that is still being determined!
5 - lay a nest egg to accompany my nest. after putting those receipts into an accordian folder, i met with my accountant (at 7:30pm on a saturday, as you do) and got the first part of paying my taxes sorted. doesn't sound like much, but it is a significant first step for me.
6 - eat more balanced, regular meals. in the last week, i made dinner twice! i also ordered pizza twice in the last month (and i cannot tell you the last time i have ordered pizza before these two times), so that is not ideal because a) pizza is expensive! and b) it is not very good. oh and another, c) it makes your house smell.
living alone, i find that if i go grocery shopping and prepare meals, it get rather expensive. i can get a sandwich at the little cafe near my office for $4 and it is delicious and full of fresh vegetables and nice bread. if i were to buy a loaf of bread, it will become stale (not mouldy as it seems bread doesn't mould in this country...) before i could finish it and if i bought all the vegetables they include in my sandwich, it would be expensive and i'd never be able to use a WHOLE avocado without it going brown first.
the moral of my story is that i am doing better with this. i still don't eat breakfast very often, but i am making better choices.
7 - sleep an appropriate amount. this past week was a struggle in the sleeping department due to my habit of late-night olympics on tv and early morning meetings, but i am sleeping better than i was before christmas, when i could've slept for 12 hours and still woken up tired. i think that kicking my running campaign up a few notches is helping me sleep better too.
i still manage to turn off my alarm in my sleep though...
8 - maintain my priorities. this is a tough one right now. probably the goal that i am letting slip the most out of the 9. i have a lot of priorities this month and will for march as well. but which come first?
i feel overwhelmed at times, but i am trying to balance volunteer commitments, planning an event for 300-400 people to raise awareness of human trafficking, my day job that is ramping up at the moment (and i don't always enjoy the work that i have to do), requests for information or meetings with me, and trying to balanace social engagements.
i know i need to get better at is saying no, especially when people want to get together with me to pick my brain about something. at the risk of sounding slightly arrogant, i don't have time for people who don't offer me something. or better put, i don't have time to get together to answer people's questions when it is taking away from my other commitments. part of the problem with having a public email address is that i get a lot of general inquiries and yet i realise how important it is for people to engage in issues they are concerned about or interested in (just don't challenge me on my views in the middle of an event planning meeting).
it is also tough to put in the unpaid, administrative work that i know will pay off in many ways in the long run, but zaps my time and energy.
one thing that i am managing well is my running schedule and i have made a point of fitting in all of my runs, which has typically been one of the first things to fall off when i become overwhelmed.
9 - keep asking for what i want (executive decision has been made to replace keep laughing). i figure that i will be able to keep laughing without much effort (for those of you who know me in 'real life' will know this is true).
i have done a damn good job of asking for what i want lately. ballet tickets, a job, support to attend training, more manpower to complete a project, answers to questions at conferences. and that is just in the first month of 29! but i know that when push comes to shove and i really do want something, it can be tough to form the words or type out the words, so i hope i can still ask when it really matters.
ps - go canada go!
2 - be more thoughtful of others, especially around special events, days, occassions. i think i am doing ok with this. apart from forgetting to bring my valentines to the cabin and misplacing my sister and brother-in-law's anniversary card... otherwise, going good, cards have been mailed, notes have been sent, calls put in. but i really need to catch up with a few people who have recently had some milestones and i need details!
3 - continue making visiting family and friends a priority. although i have made no concrete moves towards this, it is still a priority. i intend on going to visit my dad on may long weekend and just need to go and book some flights. it wasn't exactly like i had to travel to do it, but my fam and i spent the february long weekend out at the cabin. and we laughed, oh did we laugh! nothing like hearing your parent say 'shut the eff up' too many times to count. and doing puzzles! cursing and puzzles just sort of go together. it probably doesn't sound like it here, but it was hilarious.
4 - nail down some sort of short-term career goals. i feel this is going well. i have done a lot of thinking, some reading, and had some insightful conversations towards nailing down goals. i think i have my next few months nailed down and i feel good about that.
for the first few months of this year, things felt up in the air and that something could come at any minute (an offer of a job in haiti, job interviews in jordan, work with international organisations...), which is exciting and great, but i feel a little calmer now and am plugging away at making significant progress professionally. towards what? well, that is still being determined!
5 - lay a nest egg to accompany my nest. after putting those receipts into an accordian folder, i met with my accountant (at 7:30pm on a saturday, as you do) and got the first part of paying my taxes sorted. doesn't sound like much, but it is a significant first step for me.
6 - eat more balanced, regular meals. in the last week, i made dinner twice! i also ordered pizza twice in the last month (and i cannot tell you the last time i have ordered pizza before these two times), so that is not ideal because a) pizza is expensive! and b) it is not very good. oh and another, c) it makes your house smell.
living alone, i find that if i go grocery shopping and prepare meals, it get rather expensive. i can get a sandwich at the little cafe near my office for $4 and it is delicious and full of fresh vegetables and nice bread. if i were to buy a loaf of bread, it will become stale (not mouldy as it seems bread doesn't mould in this country...) before i could finish it and if i bought all the vegetables they include in my sandwich, it would be expensive and i'd never be able to use a WHOLE avocado without it going brown first.
the moral of my story is that i am doing better with this. i still don't eat breakfast very often, but i am making better choices.
7 - sleep an appropriate amount. this past week was a struggle in the sleeping department due to my habit of late-night olympics on tv and early morning meetings, but i am sleeping better than i was before christmas, when i could've slept for 12 hours and still woken up tired. i think that kicking my running campaign up a few notches is helping me sleep better too.
i still manage to turn off my alarm in my sleep though...
8 - maintain my priorities. this is a tough one right now. probably the goal that i am letting slip the most out of the 9. i have a lot of priorities this month and will for march as well. but which come first?
i feel overwhelmed at times, but i am trying to balance volunteer commitments, planning an event for 300-400 people to raise awareness of human trafficking, my day job that is ramping up at the moment (and i don't always enjoy the work that i have to do), requests for information or meetings with me, and trying to balanace social engagements.
i know i need to get better at is saying no, especially when people want to get together with me to pick my brain about something. at the risk of sounding slightly arrogant, i don't have time for people who don't offer me something. or better put, i don't have time to get together to answer people's questions when it is taking away from my other commitments. part of the problem with having a public email address is that i get a lot of general inquiries and yet i realise how important it is for people to engage in issues they are concerned about or interested in (just don't challenge me on my views in the middle of an event planning meeting).
it is also tough to put in the unpaid, administrative work that i know will pay off in many ways in the long run, but zaps my time and energy.
one thing that i am managing well is my running schedule and i have made a point of fitting in all of my runs, which has typically been one of the first things to fall off when i become overwhelmed.
9 - keep asking for what i want (executive decision has been made to replace keep laughing). i figure that i will be able to keep laughing without much effort (for those of you who know me in 'real life' will know this is true).
i have done a damn good job of asking for what i want lately. ballet tickets, a job, support to attend training, more manpower to complete a project, answers to questions at conferences. and that is just in the first month of 29! but i know that when push comes to shove and i really do want something, it can be tough to form the words or type out the words, so i hope i can still ask when it really matters.
ps - go canada go!
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
my secret love for stats revealed
here i go again. insisting that you read a book that i loved. and this time, it is called Wisdom of Whores. don't let the title put you off, nor the fact that Elizabeth Pisani is an epidemiologist who wrote a book about statistics and preventing the spread of disease. it really is fascinating and part of that is due to Pisani's ability to call it like it is, humbly take credit for good work, but also to admit when she (and the development world, in many cases) was wrong.
the book talks about how our hiv prevention strategies as donor governments, un agencies, and ngos has typically been ass backwards. instead of putting money toward the greatest transmitters of the disease, commercial sex workers and injecting drug users (especially those in prison), the enormous amounts of money that have been donated/lent by the american government, the canadian government, unaids, and the bill and melinda gates foundation, among so many others, has largely gone to useless programmes targetting women, children, and the general public, who are not the hotspots of transmission.
hiv is not really that infectious, if you look at the science. we know how it is most easily transmitted (and it is not heterosexual sex) and who is transmitting it (with minor variations between countries and cultures), but we continue to spend money on saving the poor women and children. oh, the women and children. the poor, poor women and children. who don't spread hiv nearly as often as others...
another fun fact that book came out with is that timor leste (where a good friend of mine lives and works, no doubt spending money given by the americans) had a grand total of 7 people who tested positive for hiv at the time of their independence (they were the first new state to be formed in this century), but the americans threw money at the country to deal with their 'hiv problem.' 7 people does not a problem make. but oh my god, the poor women and children, what will they do if we do not address the impending epidemic hanging above their heads!
we have been force fed the idea that poverty will equal hiv transmission rates going through the roof and Pisani shatters that nonsense as well, demonstrating that being poor does not necessarily make you any more likely of contracting the virus, but it is how we fail to address the most common ways it is passed from one person to another (man to man, man to woman, woman to child, woman to woman...) in our programming that is failing millions of people.
for example (and there are many), the us will not allow any of its money to be spent on needle exchanges for drug users, the us claims to be a saviour of those living with aids by providing drugs (shipped from the states when other generics are avilable and do not need to refrigerated) but won't fund any programmes that keep sex workers safe rather than forcing them to leave the trade.
we continue to try and fit people into boxes of 'female sex worker,' 'positive man married to uninfected woman,' and 'sex buyer,' to name a few. but in reality, people do not fit into these, or other, boxes very nicely and Pisani makes a great case for the changing of research and reporting to better reflect this, which could result in better prevention programmes that might actually work.
there are many problems as to why hiv has taken off in some regions of the world. african governments refuse to acknowledge that there are men who have sex with men in their countries (ahem... kenya, nigeria, uganda) and their politicans speak out against proven science that hiv leads to aids and that you can cure aids with thorough washing and herbal supplements (yes, south africa and the gambia, i am looking at you...). so while we are pouring money down the drain, and there is certainly a lot of money in the aids business thanks to bono, pepfar, and do gooders like myself, in providing education and voluntary testing to wives, mothers, and children, we have lost the plot on what really needs to be done.
and did you know that canada is among the worst offenders for tying our aid? it means that when we give money to other countries or organisations, we have an expectation that a certain percentage of it is spent on canadian goods, canadian services, and canadians themselves in the form of hiring our nationals. i knew we were no aid angels, but i was surprised to see that we were behind only the us, the international pariah of untying aid activists.
i take no credit for these ideas. i have thought them in varying shades of clarity and articulation, but Pisani really deserves credit for writing a book about statistics and science that is fascinating, infuriating, and inspiring in equal measure. go out and read it (and her blog, now listed here), you will certainly be smarter for it. or you can go out and buy a red ipod or a cup of starbucks red coffee...
the book talks about how our hiv prevention strategies as donor governments, un agencies, and ngos has typically been ass backwards. instead of putting money toward the greatest transmitters of the disease, commercial sex workers and injecting drug users (especially those in prison), the enormous amounts of money that have been donated/lent by the american government, the canadian government, unaids, and the bill and melinda gates foundation, among so many others, has largely gone to useless programmes targetting women, children, and the general public, who are not the hotspots of transmission.
hiv is not really that infectious, if you look at the science. we know how it is most easily transmitted (and it is not heterosexual sex) and who is transmitting it (with minor variations between countries and cultures), but we continue to spend money on saving the poor women and children. oh, the women and children. the poor, poor women and children. who don't spread hiv nearly as often as others...
another fun fact that book came out with is that timor leste (where a good friend of mine lives and works, no doubt spending money given by the americans) had a grand total of 7 people who tested positive for hiv at the time of their independence (they were the first new state to be formed in this century), but the americans threw money at the country to deal with their 'hiv problem.' 7 people does not a problem make. but oh my god, the poor women and children, what will they do if we do not address the impending epidemic hanging above their heads!
we have been force fed the idea that poverty will equal hiv transmission rates going through the roof and Pisani shatters that nonsense as well, demonstrating that being poor does not necessarily make you any more likely of contracting the virus, but it is how we fail to address the most common ways it is passed from one person to another (man to man, man to woman, woman to child, woman to woman...) in our programming that is failing millions of people.
for example (and there are many), the us will not allow any of its money to be spent on needle exchanges for drug users, the us claims to be a saviour of those living with aids by providing drugs (shipped from the states when other generics are avilable and do not need to refrigerated) but won't fund any programmes that keep sex workers safe rather than forcing them to leave the trade.
we continue to try and fit people into boxes of 'female sex worker,' 'positive man married to uninfected woman,' and 'sex buyer,' to name a few. but in reality, people do not fit into these, or other, boxes very nicely and Pisani makes a great case for the changing of research and reporting to better reflect this, which could result in better prevention programmes that might actually work.
there are many problems as to why hiv has taken off in some regions of the world. african governments refuse to acknowledge that there are men who have sex with men in their countries (ahem... kenya, nigeria, uganda) and their politicans speak out against proven science that hiv leads to aids and that you can cure aids with thorough washing and herbal supplements (yes, south africa and the gambia, i am looking at you...). so while we are pouring money down the drain, and there is certainly a lot of money in the aids business thanks to bono, pepfar, and do gooders like myself, in providing education and voluntary testing to wives, mothers, and children, we have lost the plot on what really needs to be done.
and did you know that canada is among the worst offenders for tying our aid? it means that when we give money to other countries or organisations, we have an expectation that a certain percentage of it is spent on canadian goods, canadian services, and canadians themselves in the form of hiring our nationals. i knew we were no aid angels, but i was surprised to see that we were behind only the us, the international pariah of untying aid activists.
i take no credit for these ideas. i have thought them in varying shades of clarity and articulation, but Pisani really deserves credit for writing a book about statistics and science that is fascinating, infuriating, and inspiring in equal measure. go out and read it (and her blog, now listed here), you will certainly be smarter for it. or you can go out and buy a red ipod or a cup of starbucks red coffee...
Saturday, January 23, 2010
haiti fatigue?
there has been so much media coverage since the devastating earthquake in haiti over a week ago, but i wonder if people's will to give and their concern will fade after this sudden burst of interest in the poor, caribbean country?
and i know that parentless children is one of the worst parts of this disaster, but i am not sure exactly why the media continues to focus on that. right now, there are families, single adults, children, and the elderly living in makeshift camps and they will all need help. and my concerns about supporting orphanages in africa rather than the community could likely be transferred to haiti if the wealthy countries continue to think that all that needs to be done is babies and children need foreign families rather than focusing on what the unhcr likes to call 'durable solutions,' solutions that are longlasting and have an overall positive impact.
or maybe i am just too cynical?
but canadians raising almost $70 million to go towards the relief efforts is pretty cool. i am really curious how that money is going to be distributed and if it will be given to the un to distribute through its flash and central emergency relief fund (cerf) system? or if it will all go to the red cross, which is typically the lead agency in disaster management and relief. i can't help but wish i was a part of it.
had i paid more attention in those french classes, i might be. but i have a small amount of hope that one of my contacts within the system will call and need my assistance or 'expertise.' at this point, all i can do is ask, which i have done. and now i patiently wait.
and i know that parentless children is one of the worst parts of this disaster, but i am not sure exactly why the media continues to focus on that. right now, there are families, single adults, children, and the elderly living in makeshift camps and they will all need help. and my concerns about supporting orphanages in africa rather than the community could likely be transferred to haiti if the wealthy countries continue to think that all that needs to be done is babies and children need foreign families rather than focusing on what the unhcr likes to call 'durable solutions,' solutions that are longlasting and have an overall positive impact.
or maybe i am just too cynical?
but canadians raising almost $70 million to go towards the relief efforts is pretty cool. i am really curious how that money is going to be distributed and if it will be given to the un to distribute through its flash and central emergency relief fund (cerf) system? or if it will all go to the red cross, which is typically the lead agency in disaster management and relief. i can't help but wish i was a part of it.
had i paid more attention in those french classes, i might be. but i have a small amount of hope that one of my contacts within the system will call and need my assistance or 'expertise.' at this point, all i can do is ask, which i have done. and now i patiently wait.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
thoughts on consolidated emergency response
it is sunday and i will get up to go to work tomorrow morning. i will listen to the news about haiti and i will wish i could do more. or just do something.
and throughout this, i understand what the humanitarian workers, that are no doubt flooding port au prince at this very moment, are feeling. some of them will be exhilerated (rightly or wrongly), this is what they live for. some of them will spend every waking moment thinking and planning and budgeting and proposal writing and liaising in hopes they can streamline the aid, money, food, water, volunteers, and other parties that will be flooding into the region. and some will work their hearts out and spend their sunday afternoons at a pool because that is what they will need to do. i know, because i have done it.
you wake up each morning, wondering what happened overnight, how many people died, how many people were displaced, and what the hell you can do to make one lick of difference in the grand scheme of things. you realise that all you can do is what your role dictates and if you do that well, it might end up helping someone down the long line of humanitarian aid.
haiti is devastated, without a doubt. but the reason it is so devastated is because even before this earthquake, there would have been a complete lack of infrastructure, governance systems, and sustainable economy that could withstand such a threat to its very existence.
part of me wishes that people cared as much as they do now on other days when people throughout the world are living day to day in poverty, finding ways to make it through and maintain their livelihoods. i am not implying that people are unhappy or miserable or that their quality of life is linked inherently to their standard of life, but i am saying that i wish that people cared as much about others as they do right now.
i have considered giving to the haiti relief effort, but have decided against it. not because i don't believe that the efforts will be effective or because i think my dollars will be squandered, but because i am going to devote my pennies and time to somethings that others might not be thinking of right now. spreading the net, supporting local agencies building strong communities, and advocating for those who have been forced into work or sex that they never agreed to. because i think that canadians and other country's nationals will be giving a lot right now and i am going to keep on the paths that i believe are worthy today and other emergency-free days.
but i would be lying if i said that a small part of me doesn't wish i was sitting in some sweltering office in the caribbean, writing project proposals that would be circulated throughout the donor community through the united nations consolidated appeals process or the emergency relief funds earmarked for such disasters as this. because that is what i can do.
and throughout this, i understand what the humanitarian workers, that are no doubt flooding port au prince at this very moment, are feeling. some of them will be exhilerated (rightly or wrongly), this is what they live for. some of them will spend every waking moment thinking and planning and budgeting and proposal writing and liaising in hopes they can streamline the aid, money, food, water, volunteers, and other parties that will be flooding into the region. and some will work their hearts out and spend their sunday afternoons at a pool because that is what they will need to do. i know, because i have done it.
you wake up each morning, wondering what happened overnight, how many people died, how many people were displaced, and what the hell you can do to make one lick of difference in the grand scheme of things. you realise that all you can do is what your role dictates and if you do that well, it might end up helping someone down the long line of humanitarian aid.
haiti is devastated, without a doubt. but the reason it is so devastated is because even before this earthquake, there would have been a complete lack of infrastructure, governance systems, and sustainable economy that could withstand such a threat to its very existence.
part of me wishes that people cared as much as they do now on other days when people throughout the world are living day to day in poverty, finding ways to make it through and maintain their livelihoods. i am not implying that people are unhappy or miserable or that their quality of life is linked inherently to their standard of life, but i am saying that i wish that people cared as much about others as they do right now.
i have considered giving to the haiti relief effort, but have decided against it. not because i don't believe that the efforts will be effective or because i think my dollars will be squandered, but because i am going to devote my pennies and time to somethings that others might not be thinking of right now. spreading the net, supporting local agencies building strong communities, and advocating for those who have been forced into work or sex that they never agreed to. because i think that canadians and other country's nationals will be giving a lot right now and i am going to keep on the paths that i believe are worthy today and other emergency-free days.
but i would be lying if i said that a small part of me doesn't wish i was sitting in some sweltering office in the caribbean, writing project proposals that would be circulated throughout the donor community through the united nations consolidated appeals process or the emergency relief funds earmarked for such disasters as this. because that is what i can do.
Monday, November 23, 2009
give it to the universe
it turns out that i am going to do better than i thought with my eight for twenty eight goals that i set earlier this year. the one that i wasn't going to do as well as i had hoped was # 7 - visit friends who live in other places.
but it turns out that i get to experience more success with this goal than i previously expected because when i go to the conference on human trafficking in windsor, ontario next week, i have to fly through toronto and it just makes sense to stick around after the conference and visit with three of my favourite people who happen to live there. one is a friend from high school (although we weren't actually friends in high school), one is her lovely boyfriend, and the other is my former boss who has since become a sort of mentor. it promises to be a fantastic visit, no matter what we do.
this does mean that i will have to miss out on some fun back here in calgary, but i think it will be worth it to spend some additional time in the t dot. and i am giving this one to the universe and i am confident that there is a reason i am going, even if i won't find out until later.
and if a certain someone decides to reply to my email then there might also be a rendezvouz of sorts in the big city. that would be grand, just grand.
but it turns out that i get to experience more success with this goal than i previously expected because when i go to the conference on human trafficking in windsor, ontario next week, i have to fly through toronto and it just makes sense to stick around after the conference and visit with three of my favourite people who happen to live there. one is a friend from high school (although we weren't actually friends in high school), one is her lovely boyfriend, and the other is my former boss who has since become a sort of mentor. it promises to be a fantastic visit, no matter what we do.
this does mean that i will have to miss out on some fun back here in calgary, but i think it will be worth it to spend some additional time in the t dot. and i am giving this one to the universe and i am confident that there is a reason i am going, even if i won't find out until later.
and if a certain someone decides to reply to my email then there might also be a rendezvouz of sorts in the big city. that would be grand, just grand.
Friday, November 20, 2009
i think this deserves an 'omg'
i can't even begin to tell the internet how fantastic and amazing last night's event was.
and how even more fantastic and amazing the email i received this morning is!
and how even more fantastic and amazing the email i received this morning is!
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
god love him
all my pleas for the federal government to hire steve a stylist could not even have prevented this embarassing piece of canadian history:
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
about time for a goal check in
1 - get enough sleep. well, i have had some lie ins in my new nest and have loved every minute of them. not sure that i have figured this out because i tend to get a lot of sleep on the weekends and not enough during the week, but at least i have come to understand the value of a good night's rest and what happens to me if i don't get this regularly.
2 - buy a home. i love it. love, love, love it. my nest is so nesty. and mine. and sometimes dirty. and sometimes spotless. and often times the location of entertaining my friends (although i need to invite my fam over more often in the future, but that would entail securing a few more chairs!). check!
3 - reduce my level of anxiety. i still have bad days, but most of my days are good days and i can identify the anxiety before it hits me over the head and am slowly improving in my capacity to deal with it. i have reduced my daily medication levels by one step and am just going to hang out here for awhile before making the next step. but things in the anxiety department are good and i think i am getting better at acknowleding my anxiety, my triggers, and what to do to prevent it from blowing up.
4 - take better photos. photography is technical stuff! but i am nearly through the introductory course in photography at mount royal college (sorry, university). i like it, i need more practice, but i think i am starting to understand equivalent exposures, f stops, and the diamond of taking good photos. green idiot box, no more!
5 - become financially confident. i wouldn't exactly say that i am confident, but i am doing ok. with the current upheaval in my work and the recent home purchase, i am a little nervous, but confident that it will be ok. i have yet to deal with my gst for the past year and am not great at keeping my books for my accountant, but we can file that under 29, can't we?
6 - be happy where i am. this continues to go really, really well. i never thought i woud be so content in calgary, but i am. and am in no hurry to change that. i did have a titch of concern that i was not utilising the summer months to their full capacity, but there were a number of other factors at work there and i will work on that one (see goal #8).
7 - visit friends who live in other places. i have failed pretty miserably at this goal (and with only 2.5 months left of 28, there is little chance that things will turn around), but i am going to england in december for a very dear friend's wedding and am then carrying on to ireland where i will meet up with a friend from home to go on a great irish roadtrip, yippee! beer, irishmen, and the isle of green, what more could a canadian girl ask for?!
8 - make the best dating decisions for me (the goal formally known as sort out my relationship). i'm still dating. blah. i have had a great time, but i am getting a little exasperated with the whole process and after a few hopeful episodes, i am still as single as ever. i suppose as the goal is to make good decisions, i have done that. but in doing that, the results have not exactly borne the fruits that i had hoped they would by now. another blah. but i will just keep soldiering on (but with fewer soldiers and more civilians).
2 - buy a home. i love it. love, love, love it. my nest is so nesty. and mine. and sometimes dirty. and sometimes spotless. and often times the location of entertaining my friends (although i need to invite my fam over more often in the future, but that would entail securing a few more chairs!). check!
3 - reduce my level of anxiety. i still have bad days, but most of my days are good days and i can identify the anxiety before it hits me over the head and am slowly improving in my capacity to deal with it. i have reduced my daily medication levels by one step and am just going to hang out here for awhile before making the next step. but things in the anxiety department are good and i think i am getting better at acknowleding my anxiety, my triggers, and what to do to prevent it from blowing up.
4 - take better photos. photography is technical stuff! but i am nearly through the introductory course in photography at mount royal college (sorry, university). i like it, i need more practice, but i think i am starting to understand equivalent exposures, f stops, and the diamond of taking good photos. green idiot box, no more!
5 - become financially confident. i wouldn't exactly say that i am confident, but i am doing ok. with the current upheaval in my work and the recent home purchase, i am a little nervous, but confident that it will be ok. i have yet to deal with my gst for the past year and am not great at keeping my books for my accountant, but we can file that under 29, can't we?
6 - be happy where i am. this continues to go really, really well. i never thought i woud be so content in calgary, but i am. and am in no hurry to change that. i did have a titch of concern that i was not utilising the summer months to their full capacity, but there were a number of other factors at work there and i will work on that one (see goal #8).
7 - visit friends who live in other places. i have failed pretty miserably at this goal (and with only 2.5 months left of 28, there is little chance that things will turn around), but i am going to england in december for a very dear friend's wedding and am then carrying on to ireland where i will meet up with a friend from home to go on a great irish roadtrip, yippee! beer, irishmen, and the isle of green, what more could a canadian girl ask for?!
8 - make the best dating decisions for me (the goal formally known as sort out my relationship). i'm still dating. blah. i have had a great time, but i am getting a little exasperated with the whole process and after a few hopeful episodes, i am still as single as ever. i suppose as the goal is to make good decisions, i have done that. but in doing that, the results have not exactly borne the fruits that i had hoped they would by now. another blah. but i will just keep soldiering on (but with fewer soldiers and more civilians).
Saturday, November 07, 2009
ask for what you want
if you are my friend on the facebook (and if you aren't, feel free to add me, i like friends!) you would notice that my status right now is Lara thinks you need to ask for what you want. and because you are my privileged blog readers, you get the whole story.
you might recall that i was hopeful that i would get to go to an event where stephen lewis is the keynote speaker. i was even willing be the bathroom attendant to listen to him and for the chance to meet jian ghomeshi, of cbc fame. well, last week i sent a little email to my company's community investment manager and asked if we would be sponsoring a table and if we were, was it at all possible that i could have one of those seats?
lo and behold, she wrote me back and said that no, they hadn't sponsored a table, but if i could find 10 people to fill the seats, they would buy the tickets. i wrote her back in my most eloquent email speak without being pretentious and said i was confident i could find 10 people to fill those seats and she immediately replied saying she would purchase the table and forward me all 10 of the tickets as soon as they arrived! this not only saves me from having to pay $200 for my own seat, but it gives me the opportunity to invite 9 people to fill the $2000 table!
now you will be able to find me learning and laughing and networking at the aspen full circle event!
additionally, this morning i called visa to inquire about the $100+ interest charge on my bill and when they looked into it the simple response, 'you moron, you paid your bill late last month and therefore we charged you interest and that is why that charge is on your account!' but they said it a little more nicely than that. so i asked if they could reverse the charges. and they said yes. just like that.
a few weeks ago i took a two day training course on conducting social impact assessments. it cost a lot of dollars as well. i found the course, thought it was interesting, found a policy at my company that said we commit to doing these things, then sent an email to my boss that explained the training, why i thought it would be beneficial for me to take it, then asked if the company could pay.
my boss talked to some corporate bigwigs on my behalf and a few days later, provided me with a budget line to charge the course to and a few weeks later, i found myself learning all about how you can do research into the socioeconomic impacts of a industrial development or an international development project as well as meeting people in the industry and being asked to join a board of a local ngo.
i am hoping that this strategy continues to work because this morning i made a phone call to confirm that i do indeed have a dinner date tonight. i left the breeziest message (which is not normally my strong suit, so this is quite something) and asked this fellow to call me back to let me know if we were still on for dinner. because i want to know. and i want to go out for dinner. and i want to wear my new dress!
you might recall that i was hopeful that i would get to go to an event where stephen lewis is the keynote speaker. i was even willing be the bathroom attendant to listen to him and for the chance to meet jian ghomeshi, of cbc fame. well, last week i sent a little email to my company's community investment manager and asked if we would be sponsoring a table and if we were, was it at all possible that i could have one of those seats?
lo and behold, she wrote me back and said that no, they hadn't sponsored a table, but if i could find 10 people to fill the seats, they would buy the tickets. i wrote her back in my most eloquent email speak without being pretentious and said i was confident i could find 10 people to fill those seats and she immediately replied saying she would purchase the table and forward me all 10 of the tickets as soon as they arrived! this not only saves me from having to pay $200 for my own seat, but it gives me the opportunity to invite 9 people to fill the $2000 table!
now you will be able to find me learning and laughing and networking at the aspen full circle event!
additionally, this morning i called visa to inquire about the $100+ interest charge on my bill and when they looked into it the simple response, 'you moron, you paid your bill late last month and therefore we charged you interest and that is why that charge is on your account!' but they said it a little more nicely than that. so i asked if they could reverse the charges. and they said yes. just like that.
a few weeks ago i took a two day training course on conducting social impact assessments. it cost a lot of dollars as well. i found the course, thought it was interesting, found a policy at my company that said we commit to doing these things, then sent an email to my boss that explained the training, why i thought it would be beneficial for me to take it, then asked if the company could pay.
my boss talked to some corporate bigwigs on my behalf and a few days later, provided me with a budget line to charge the course to and a few weeks later, i found myself learning all about how you can do research into the socioeconomic impacts of a industrial development or an international development project as well as meeting people in the industry and being asked to join a board of a local ngo.
i am hoping that this strategy continues to work because this morning i made a phone call to confirm that i do indeed have a dinner date tonight. i left the breeziest message (which is not normally my strong suit, so this is quite something) and asked this fellow to call me back to let me know if we were still on for dinner. because i want to know. and i want to go out for dinner. and i want to wear my new dress!
Monday, September 28, 2009
pure ignorance
today, i am exhausted. like 3 lattes and a sugary sweet pastry to try and wake up tired. so tired, in fact, that i couldn't even muster the strength to argue (i mean, discuss) with a coworker today who told me that they do not vote and never will because they think anyone who runs for office is selfish. or their party is selfish.
but honestly, i might not have had the energy to tell this person they were wrong on a number of levels, but i sure do now and man, are they ever wrong!
it irritates me to no end when people paint all 'politicians' with the same brush and write them off as being liars, selfish, arrogant, ignorant, or altogether useless. the problem with that thinking (and there are many) is that while some of them quite possible are, it all comes down to just being an excuse for not getting off your own duff and casting a vote. or getting off your arse and reading a newspaper to figure out which party is which and who stands for what.
and as someone who has participated in the democratic system on a few different levels, i want to smack these people who cast off all those involved in politics in the forehead and tell them that like politicans or not, they still make the rules and still get a vote in parliament/legislature and those are rules that you and i have to live by, whether we like them or not. so you might as well put your ballot in the box and do that small part to participate in our democracy.
and don't even get me started on those who would die (and do) to live in a democracy like ours!!
but honestly, i might not have had the energy to tell this person they were wrong on a number of levels, but i sure do now and man, are they ever wrong!
it irritates me to no end when people paint all 'politicians' with the same brush and write them off as being liars, selfish, arrogant, ignorant, or altogether useless. the problem with that thinking (and there are many) is that while some of them quite possible are, it all comes down to just being an excuse for not getting off your own duff and casting a vote. or getting off your arse and reading a newspaper to figure out which party is which and who stands for what.
and as someone who has participated in the democratic system on a few different levels, i want to smack these people who cast off all those involved in politics in the forehead and tell them that like politicans or not, they still make the rules and still get a vote in parliament/legislature and those are rules that you and i have to live by, whether we like them or not. so you might as well put your ballot in the box and do that small part to participate in our democracy.
and don't even get me started on those who would die (and do) to live in a democracy like ours!!
Saturday, June 06, 2009
books about africa
i was recently asked for an email with my suggestions on books about africa and this is what i came up with so i figured it might be useful to someone so i am also posting it here.
here are some of my favourite books about africa:
The Zanzibar Chest (Aidan Hartley) - memoir about life as a foreign correspondent in Africa and that whole post colonial guilt thing.
Sweetness in the Belly (Camilla Gibb) - fiction about a white woman who grows up in Muslim Ethiopia, amazing read.
Half of a Yellow Sun (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie) - fiction set during the Baifran war in Nigeria, awesome and based on a lot of real events.
My Traitor's Heart (Rian Malan) - memoir of an Afrikaaner who fought against apartheid in South Africa, truly explores the white guilt and the issue of Africanness, I think you'd like it a lot.
In the Footsteps of Mr Kurtz (Michela Wrong) - journalist writes about Mobutu and his rule in the DRC, the one I was telling you about. Tough to get through at times, but you'll learn a lot about why the country remains effed to this day.
We Wish to Inform you That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families (Philip Gourevitch) - excellent account of the genocide in Rwanda and the role of the international community in prolonging the killings.
Shake Hands With the Devil (Romeo Dallaire) - the book that the commander of UN peacekeepers in Rwanda during the genocide wrote about his experience and frustrations with the UN system and watching people die, also a bit tough at times, but there is a glossary that always helps!
Don't Let's Go To the Dogs Tonight (Alexandra Fuller) - memoir of a poor, white Zimbabwean family, so interesting and an easy read.
Tick Bite Fever (David Bennun) - funny memoir of growing up white in Africa. Not fantastic, but an easy read.
Swahili For the Broken Hearted (Peter Moore) - I don't love his writing, but he did a trip through Africa riding solely on public transport and wrote about it, so there are some gems in amongst the other bits.
A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali (Gil Courtemanche) - fiction (but probably mostly true) about the expats during the genocide in Rwanda. The story will make you cry, but I loved the raw writing of the French Canadian author.
Acts of Faith (Philip Caputo) - an awesome novel about the war in Southern Sudan, the community of pilots, how the UN capitulates war, and the scandals of it all, a really great read and I know from my pilot friends that the story is true and the names were just changed.
Emma's War (Deborah Scroggins) - non fiction, about a British woman who rocks up in Southern Sudan in the middle of a civil war, marries one of the rebel war lords, becomes his second wife, and then actively participates in the war, alienating most people she knows. I also think you'd really like this as it shows the naivity and sincerity of foreign aid workers and those who feel th eneed to 'save' Africa. One of the characters in the book above is based on her, undoubtedly.
You asked for it, and there you have it! I surprised myself with how many books I could pull out of my head and I clearly could start my own post-colonial African literature course...
What can I say - I didn't have a TV for a number of years... nothing like reading a book when you are in bed with a hangover in Nairobi.
here are some of my favourite books about africa:
The Zanzibar Chest (Aidan Hartley) - memoir about life as a foreign correspondent in Africa and that whole post colonial guilt thing.
Sweetness in the Belly (Camilla Gibb) - fiction about a white woman who grows up in Muslim Ethiopia, amazing read.
Half of a Yellow Sun (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie) - fiction set during the Baifran war in Nigeria, awesome and based on a lot of real events.
My Traitor's Heart (Rian Malan) - memoir of an Afrikaaner who fought against apartheid in South Africa, truly explores the white guilt and the issue of Africanness, I think you'd like it a lot.
In the Footsteps of Mr Kurtz (Michela Wrong) - journalist writes about Mobutu and his rule in the DRC, the one I was telling you about. Tough to get through at times, but you'll learn a lot about why the country remains effed to this day.
We Wish to Inform you That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families (Philip Gourevitch) - excellent account of the genocide in Rwanda and the role of the international community in prolonging the killings.
Shake Hands With the Devil (Romeo Dallaire) - the book that the commander of UN peacekeepers in Rwanda during the genocide wrote about his experience and frustrations with the UN system and watching people die, also a bit tough at times, but there is a glossary that always helps!
Don't Let's Go To the Dogs Tonight (Alexandra Fuller) - memoir of a poor, white Zimbabwean family, so interesting and an easy read.
Tick Bite Fever (David Bennun) - funny memoir of growing up white in Africa. Not fantastic, but an easy read.
Swahili For the Broken Hearted (Peter Moore) - I don't love his writing, but he did a trip through Africa riding solely on public transport and wrote about it, so there are some gems in amongst the other bits.
A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali (Gil Courtemanche) - fiction (but probably mostly true) about the expats during the genocide in Rwanda. The story will make you cry, but I loved the raw writing of the French Canadian author.
Acts of Faith (Philip Caputo) - an awesome novel about the war in Southern Sudan, the community of pilots, how the UN capitulates war, and the scandals of it all, a really great read and I know from my pilot friends that the story is true and the names were just changed.
Emma's War (Deborah Scroggins) - non fiction, about a British woman who rocks up in Southern Sudan in the middle of a civil war, marries one of the rebel war lords, becomes his second wife, and then actively participates in the war, alienating most people she knows. I also think you'd really like this as it shows the naivity and sincerity of foreign aid workers and those who feel th eneed to 'save' Africa. One of the characters in the book above is based on her, undoubtedly.
You asked for it, and there you have it! I surprised myself with how many books I could pull out of my head and I clearly could start my own post-colonial African literature course...
What can I say - I didn't have a TV for a number of years... nothing like reading a book when you are in bed with a hangover in Nairobi.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Stephanie Nolen's message
i found this article on one of my favourite online papers, the globe and mail, and not only is Stephanie Nolen one of my favourite canadians, her message in this speech to new grads resonated with me. perhaps because i never would have told you as a 23 year old graduating from u of c in 2003 that i would be working in the private sector. and although the path that got me here had its fair few of ups and downs, i really am grateful for where i am now.
and Nolen's message reminds me of two of my favourite phrases: education is something no one can take away from you & there is no downfall to learning.
now the question is, where will i be in another 6 years?!
You learn the most from the hardest things
Though students are graduating into tough times, a lot of the world has it tougher. As the Globe's Stephanie Nolen gets an honorary doctorate, she hopes grads find inspiration in that
May 22, 2009 03:18 PM EDT
National Newspaper Award and Amnesty International Award for Human Rights Reporting winner Stephanie Nolen is The Globe and Mail's current India, and formerly Africa, correspondent. The author of 28: Stories of AIDS in Africa and two other books, she holds an undergraduate degree in journalism from the University of King's College in Halifax and pursued a masters in development economics from the London School of Economics.
She just received an honorary Doctorate in Civil Laws from King's and this is part of her address to students:
You are graduating today into a world of great uncertainty — my generation, and the ones before mine, have done a spectacular job of really screwing things up. It's deeply unfair, that we are handing you this mess.
But if you will indulge me, I'd like to tell you a little story: On my first day of journalism school at King's, I went to a lecture in the old Haliburton Room, and Michael Cobden, who is here today, and was then the head of the journalism school, mentioned proudly how every single person in that year's graduating class had a job. You will all get jobs, he said with great confidence. And I thought, "Great. A job would be good. A career. A grown-up life."
Four years later, as I sat in this cathedral, I was graduating into the teeth of a bitter recession — and nobody, not one person, in my graduating class had managed to find a full-time job. (Stop me if you've heard this.)
I did the obvious thing: I went to graduate school, and took on $40,000 worth of additional debt. I went to the London School of Economics, and never regretted a penny of that debt, because I learned a million things, and because I met people and had adventures that continue to open doors for me today. But that was only good for a year of avoiding reality, and not long enough for the recession to end. After submitting my masters thesis, I came back to Canada, to find that now ONE person from my graduating class had a job: He was editing the monthly newsletter of the Atlantic Fish Canning Association. I'm not making this up.
So I left. I made a totally ill-thought-out decision to move to the Middle East, to Jerusalem — to be a freelance journalist in the city which, I soon discovered, already had the world's largest full-time press corps. That, in hindsight, was dumb. And it was really hard. I was broke, I was totally out of my league, I was alone. I was also too proud to come home.
Because I was broke, I lived in a Palestinian village and shopped at a local market and took the local bus and soon I had learned pretty good Arabic. Well, of course, in a couple of years world events were going to dramatically improve the market for journalists who spoke Arabic.
Because I was way out of my league, I landed in Beirut on a holiday just as Israel invaded. I was dumb, but I was also fast on my feet, and two weeks later I was working on a cover story for Newsweek.
Eventually I was able to come back to Canada, and after paying a few newsroom dues, talk my way into a job as a war correspondent, and it all happened much faster than it probably would have, if at all, if I had simply landed the job I originally had hoped for right after graduating from King's. And along the way, I got to tell important stories: I covered the assassination of Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin; I covered the return of the PLO to the occupied Palestinian territories. And I got to race camels in the Egyptian Sinai and dance in a secret underground nightclub in Beirut with the drag queen son of the sheikh who founded Hezbollah.
The point of this story is that, sometimes, bad luck turns out not to be so bad.
That you learn the most from the hardest things.
That opportunities come in places where you're not looking.
And, as Amelia Earhart said (words I later took as my own motto when I was learning to fly), "Courage is the price that life demands for granting peace."
Something else happened to me along the way in those early years of working overseas: I think it began the first time I went to a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, and really spent some time there. I came away with a whole new understanding of my privilege, as a Canadian, and of the fact that really, I didn't know anything about anything in the world. I didn't know what life was really like for — as I would soon start to realize — the great bulk of people in the world.
And here's something I only started to figure out even later: that even if you spend the rest of your life right here, you are responsible for much of what happens elsewhere in the world.
For how those other people live.
Regardless of what you choose to do with your new degree, your new skills, you will be responsible.
If you have an iPod like mine, or a cellphone, or a Wii, you are connected to the 14-year-olds I have met who are enslaved by rebel groups in the Congo and who dig for coltan, the mineral that is the essential ingredient in our gadgets.
If you have a Gap T-shirt like I do, then you are connected to the Bangladeshi women who stitched it for five bucks a day, and who cannot develop their textile sector into better-paying jobs because of our trade restrictions.
If, like me, you are a Canadian citizen, you are connected to the children in Swaziland who cannot go to school today, who will never have the moment you are having today, because Canada, as a voting, policy-setting member of the World Bank, forces the Swazi government to charge school fees for their primary schools — even though ours are free.
And if, like me, you enjoy the occasional Starbucks latte, you are connected to the women in Ethiopia who earn 70 cents a day sorting their coffee beans. Ah-hah, you think. I always order the fair trade blend. Well, great. The women in the fair trade factory earn 96 cents a day. I know — I spent an afternoon on a Starbucks factory line in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, a couple of years ago.
So I can tell you that those women are glad to have their jobs.
I'm not sure that's good enough.
You are connected to these people. And you decide how much responsibility you will take for that.
and Nolen's message reminds me of two of my favourite phrases: education is something no one can take away from you & there is no downfall to learning.
now the question is, where will i be in another 6 years?!
You learn the most from the hardest things
Though students are graduating into tough times, a lot of the world has it tougher. As the Globe's Stephanie Nolen gets an honorary doctorate, she hopes grads find inspiration in that
May 22, 2009 03:18 PM EDT
National Newspaper Award and Amnesty International Award for Human Rights Reporting winner Stephanie Nolen is The Globe and Mail's current India, and formerly Africa, correspondent. The author of 28: Stories of AIDS in Africa and two other books, she holds an undergraduate degree in journalism from the University of King's College in Halifax and pursued a masters in development economics from the London School of Economics.
She just received an honorary Doctorate in Civil Laws from King's and this is part of her address to students:
You are graduating today into a world of great uncertainty — my generation, and the ones before mine, have done a spectacular job of really screwing things up. It's deeply unfair, that we are handing you this mess.
But if you will indulge me, I'd like to tell you a little story: On my first day of journalism school at King's, I went to a lecture in the old Haliburton Room, and Michael Cobden, who is here today, and was then the head of the journalism school, mentioned proudly how every single person in that year's graduating class had a job. You will all get jobs, he said with great confidence. And I thought, "Great. A job would be good. A career. A grown-up life."
Four years later, as I sat in this cathedral, I was graduating into the teeth of a bitter recession — and nobody, not one person, in my graduating class had managed to find a full-time job. (Stop me if you've heard this.)
I did the obvious thing: I went to graduate school, and took on $40,000 worth of additional debt. I went to the London School of Economics, and never regretted a penny of that debt, because I learned a million things, and because I met people and had adventures that continue to open doors for me today. But that was only good for a year of avoiding reality, and not long enough for the recession to end. After submitting my masters thesis, I came back to Canada, to find that now ONE person from my graduating class had a job: He was editing the monthly newsletter of the Atlantic Fish Canning Association. I'm not making this up.
So I left. I made a totally ill-thought-out decision to move to the Middle East, to Jerusalem — to be a freelance journalist in the city which, I soon discovered, already had the world's largest full-time press corps. That, in hindsight, was dumb. And it was really hard. I was broke, I was totally out of my league, I was alone. I was also too proud to come home.
Because I was broke, I lived in a Palestinian village and shopped at a local market and took the local bus and soon I had learned pretty good Arabic. Well, of course, in a couple of years world events were going to dramatically improve the market for journalists who spoke Arabic.
Because I was way out of my league, I landed in Beirut on a holiday just as Israel invaded. I was dumb, but I was also fast on my feet, and two weeks later I was working on a cover story for Newsweek.
Eventually I was able to come back to Canada, and after paying a few newsroom dues, talk my way into a job as a war correspondent, and it all happened much faster than it probably would have, if at all, if I had simply landed the job I originally had hoped for right after graduating from King's. And along the way, I got to tell important stories: I covered the assassination of Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin; I covered the return of the PLO to the occupied Palestinian territories. And I got to race camels in the Egyptian Sinai and dance in a secret underground nightclub in Beirut with the drag queen son of the sheikh who founded Hezbollah.
The point of this story is that, sometimes, bad luck turns out not to be so bad.
That you learn the most from the hardest things.
That opportunities come in places where you're not looking.
And, as Amelia Earhart said (words I later took as my own motto when I was learning to fly), "Courage is the price that life demands for granting peace."
Something else happened to me along the way in those early years of working overseas: I think it began the first time I went to a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, and really spent some time there. I came away with a whole new understanding of my privilege, as a Canadian, and of the fact that really, I didn't know anything about anything in the world. I didn't know what life was really like for — as I would soon start to realize — the great bulk of people in the world.
And here's something I only started to figure out even later: that even if you spend the rest of your life right here, you are responsible for much of what happens elsewhere in the world.
For how those other people live.
Regardless of what you choose to do with your new degree, your new skills, you will be responsible.
If you have an iPod like mine, or a cellphone, or a Wii, you are connected to the 14-year-olds I have met who are enslaved by rebel groups in the Congo and who dig for coltan, the mineral that is the essential ingredient in our gadgets.
If you have a Gap T-shirt like I do, then you are connected to the Bangladeshi women who stitched it for five bucks a day, and who cannot develop their textile sector into better-paying jobs because of our trade restrictions.
If, like me, you are a Canadian citizen, you are connected to the children in Swaziland who cannot go to school today, who will never have the moment you are having today, because Canada, as a voting, policy-setting member of the World Bank, forces the Swazi government to charge school fees for their primary schools — even though ours are free.
And if, like me, you enjoy the occasional Starbucks latte, you are connected to the women in Ethiopia who earn 70 cents a day sorting their coffee beans. Ah-hah, you think. I always order the fair trade blend. Well, great. The women in the fair trade factory earn 96 cents a day. I know — I spent an afternoon on a Starbucks factory line in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, a couple of years ago.
So I can tell you that those women are glad to have their jobs.
I'm not sure that's good enough.
You are connected to these people. And you decide how much responsibility you will take for that.
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