GLOBALIST The Yale
An Undergraduate Magazine of International Affairs
Winter 2009 / Vol. 10, Issue 2
HIGH SEAS :
Resources and Risks
Uganda’s Low-Tech Stock Market 12 Jordan’s Checkered Politics 34 Military Training for Eritrea’s Youth 36
The Yale Institution for Social and Policy Studies The Yale University Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics The Program in Agrarian Studies Ethics, Politics, and Economics as an Undergraduate Major The Interdisciplinary Introduction to Statistics Program Center for the Study of American Politics
The Yale Institution for Social and Policy Studies (ISPS) strives to facilitate interdisciplinary inquiry in the social sciences and research into important public policy.
An Undergraduate Magazine of International Affairs
GLOBALIST
DEAR
G LOBALIST The Yale
READERS,
Fall 2009 / Vol. 10, Issue 1
Editor-in-Chief Alex Soble Managing Editors Jeffrey Kaiser, Rishabh Khosla, Emma SokoloffRubin, Ali Weiner Associate Editors Rae Ellen Bichell, Raphaella Friedman, Uzra Khan, Alexander Klein, Angela Ramirez
T
he world’s oceans have always held danger as well as bounty. Today, technology extends humankind’s ability to benefit from the seas but also heightens the risks involved; no wrecked pirate ship could compare to the horror of the Exxon Valdez spill, which cov-
ered more than ten million square miles of ocean with oil. The oceans also play a critical role in the modern consumer economy, supplying gasoline to fuel our cars and bluefin tuna to feed our bottomless hunger for sushi. Though we usually think of globalization in terms of e-business and air travel, ninety percent of today’s international trade is shipped by sea. This issue of the Globalist looks at the high seas from a variety of perspectives: as a home,
Copy Editor Rachel Wolf
a source of resources, a system under stress and frequently, all the above. Reid Magdanz’s
Online Editor Catherine Osborn Production & Design Editor Christina Lin Production Assistants Raisa Bruner, Anjali Jotwani, Anna Kellar, Eli Markham Executive Director Alice Walton Publisher Courtney Fukuda Director of Development George Bogden Events Coordinator Joanna Cornell Assistant Events Coordinator Joseph Bolognese Editors-at-Large Catherine Cheney, Amila Golic Business Mentors Gemma Bloemen, Brad Schecter, Amira Valliani Editors Emeritus Maria Blackwood, Jesse Marks, Pete Martin, Emma Vawter
article examines what offshore drilling in the Arctic means for the native Inuit way of life, with development threatening ancestral lands and waters while at the same time bringing much-needed jobs and tax revenue. Pieces by Jessica Shor and Chelsea Allen look at two very different groups of people who call the ocean home: Kiribati islanders whose archipelago could be the first victim of global warming and the elite community that lives aboard The World, a live-in cruise liner purchased by its residents in 2003 to sail permanently around the globe. Jeffrey Kaiser and Nathaniel Sobel speak with environmental activists on both sides of the IsraelJordan border as they explore the ramifications of a rapidly shrinking Dead Sea. This issue’s Politics and Economy section will take you from Uganda’s stock market to the shores of Greece, where recently arrived immigrants from countries like Turkey, Iran, and Afghanistan are receiving less than a warm welcome. In the Culture section, Catherine Cheney writes about how albinos in Tanzania fight for their rights — and their lives — against deadly superstitious practices, while an article by Alyssa Bernstein unpacks the identity politics coded in Jordan’s intricately patterned kuffiyas. The photographs featured in the centerfold of this issue and on our back cover are winners of the Globalist’s seventh annual International Photo Contest. Many thanks to our generous photo contest sponsor, Hull’s Art Supply and Framers, as well as to our institutional sponsors, the MacMillan Center and the Yale Institution for Social and Policy Studies. If you enjoy what you read in these pages, be sure to log on to tyglobalist.org, where you can peruse web-only articles, browse through the Globalist archive, and subscribe to have the Globalist delivered to your home. Smooth sailing,
This magazine is published by students of Yale College. Yale University is not responsible for its contents.
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ON THE COVER
Two Inuit men take an October seal hunting trip in Kotzebue Sound in Northwest Alaska. (Courtesy Susan Georgette) Pictures from CreativeCommons used under Attribution Noncommercial license. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Alex Soble Editor-in-Chief, The Yale Globalist
Journalism Advisory Board Steven Brill, Yale Dept. of English Nayan Chanda, Director of Publications, MacMillan Center Daniel Kurtz-Phelan, Foreign Affairs Jef McAllister, Time Magazine Nathaniel Rich, The Paris Review Fred Strebeigh, Yale Dept. of English
Academic Advisory Board Harvey Goldblatt, Professor of Medieval Slavic Literature, Master of Pierson College Donald Green, Director, Institution for Social and Policy Studies Charles Hill, Yale Diplomat-in-Residence Ian Shapiro, Director, MacMillan Center Ernesto Zedillo, Director, Yale Center for the Study of Globalization
CONTENTS Winter 20 0 9 / Vo l . 1 0 , I s s u e 2
FOCUS: High Seas Offshore Drilling
Looms on the Arctic Horizon
23
The Inuit must decide if the benefits of offshore oil development are worth the risks it poses to their traditional way of life. By Reid Magdanz
Two umiaqs, one covered with bearded seal skin, sit on the shoreline in Barrow, Alaska, waiting to be used for the spring whale hunt. (Courtesy Flickr, J. Stephen Conn)
16 A Home that Floats
27
17 The Tides of Change
29 Reeling in EU Fishing
Combining the comfort of a world-class hotel with the adventure of a trek across the globe, a new cruise liner tries to change the meaning of international travel. By Chelsea Allen
On the isolated atolls of Kiribati, climate change is more than an abstract threat. By Jessica Shor
19-22
Troubled Waters A water crisis is devastating the Middle East and emptying the Dead Sea, but regional cooperation on this critical issue may create an important model for peace. By Jeffrey Kaiser and Nathaniel Sobel
The EU struggles to find a fairer system for fishing in Europe. By Andrew Feldman
The Yale Globalist’s 7th Annual
International Photo Contest
The Yale Globalist is a member of Global21, a network of student-run international affairs magazines at premier universities around the world.
Visit our website at www.tyglobalist.org for additional reporting, online exclusives, and blogs by Globalist writers.
YALE IN THE WORLD 6 | Statistically Significant A Yale economist’s non-profit searches for better solutions to problems of poverty, bridging the gap between academia and the realities of development. By Oscar Pocasangre
POLITICS & ECONOMY 7 | Greek Hospitality: A Thing of the Past? A recent flood of unwelcome visitors has thrown the Greeks’ legendary emphasis on hospitality into question. By Christina Huffington
9 | Turning on the Heat 12
Progressive forces in the United States band together to advocate for a meaningful U.S. role at the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit. By Rasesh Mohan
10 | Recess is Over A Chilean grassroots movement makes a renewed call for education reform. By Diego Salvatierra
12 | Will Digitalization Pay Dividends? At Uganda’s stock exchange, manual transactions are about to give way to an electronic system. By Tonia Sun
CULTURE 31 | White Skin on the Black Market The Tanzanian government response to widespread albino killings fails to dispel the ignorance that drives the market for albino body parts. By Catherine Cheney
34 | Scarf Division 31
Black and red checkered kuffiyas are wrapped up in Jordan’s troubled search for a unified national identity. By Alyssa Bernstein
35 | Someone Else’s Story In the Canadian publishing world, a once-poisonous debate over cultural appropriation comes to an uneasy conclusion. By Ariel Baker-Gibbs
PERSPECTIVES 36 | Schooling a New Golden Generation Eritrea’s Sawa Defence Training Centre combines a secondary school education with basic military training for the country’s youth, inciting pride in some and outrage in others. By Nathan Yohannes
6 YALE IN THE WORLD Winter 2009
Statistically Significant A Yale economist’s non-profit searches for better solutions to problems of poverty, bridging the gap between academia and the realities of development. By Oscar Pocasangre
T
o most people, words like “randomization,” “regression,” and “dependent variable” seem more related to a statistics class
than to poverty alleviation. To Yale economist Dean Karlan, however, this could not be further from the truth. Determined to harness the power of empirical research to help make the world a better place, Karlan founded Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) in 2002. Currently employing over 100 researchers and professors, including many Yalies, IPA draws on statistical concepts to determine what interventions are effective in international development and disseminates its findings to experts and policymakers across the globe.
A woman pays back a loan she obtained through one of IPA’s partners in Huaraz, Peru, while the credit officer calculates how much she still owes. (Pocasangre/TYG)
Currently operating in 20 countries, IPA’s staffers are mostly recent university graduates, often aided by student interns. According
tendance in Kenya is not through traditional interventions like the
to Christopher Blattman, assistant professor of political science and
provision of free uniforms or meals but rather through the provision
economics at Yale and an IPA research affiliate, the group is “a little
of treatment for intestinal worms. Kremer’s study has motivated a
bit like a think tank, an NGO, and an academic department.”
global movement to improve access to education through deworm-
To determine what works and what doesn’t, IPA performs ran-
ing.
domized control trials (RCTs), which essentially transfer the scien-
To make sure that research like this does not remain shelved in
tific method to economic analysis. By dividing participants randomly
economics journals, IPA aims to disseminate its findings widely and
into treatment and control groups, researchers measure the direct
scale up successful projects. “We try to write things up in ways that
effects of interventions or policies, comparing differences and con-
are not academic,” said Karlan. “We sometimes go directly to some
trolling for variables.
organizations and tell them about our results. Sometimes, it takes go-
“RCTs strip a situation of many other confounding factors and really let you look at a particular question in a rigorous, objective way,”
ing to the ministers of education and telling them about the benefits we found.”
said Tania Alfonso, MC ’01, the Peru country director for IPA. “They
But RCTs are not silver bullets. Blattman discussed some of the
help us come up with specific tools that help policy makers decide
method’s drawbacks, explaining that RCTs tend to be very expensive
what to fund.” Pia Gugnani, SM ’11, was involved in an RCT while
and involved, as they have to be planned in advance and then repli-
working for IPA on a study of the impact of a new savings device in
cated across different experimental groups. Other critics argue that
Ghana. “While designing the study, I found myself applying the same
IPA’s studies fail to accurately assess long-term effects like those of
techniques I learned in class,” said Gugnani.
microcredit, which they say could take more than just a few years for
The results of IPA’s RCTs have already led Karlan and others to re-
their full impact to be measurable.
ject some grandiose claims about development policies and projects.
Alfonso agreed that RCTs are better suited for some interventions
Microcredit, for one, has captivated the world’s imagination with its
than for others, but she remains optimistic. “Not every single project
almost miraculous promise to end poverty, drawing funding from do-
will produce results that are that dramatic,” she said, “but we do get
nors and organizations from all over the world. Recent IPA studies in
pieces of the puzzle.”
the Philippines compared the outcomes of microloan recipients with
As they search for these pieces in countries from Ghana to the
those of a control group and found that the loans yielded only modest
Philippines, IPA’s researchers and student affiliates keep finding bet-
benefits. “You are not going to cure poverty by giving people loans,”
ter ways to alleviate poverty and create a wave of statistically signifi-
said Karlan, though “you can do some good.”
cant change in developing countries. Though there is large margin
Beyond microcredit, IPA’s research has also helped identify inconspicuous solutions to problems faced by developing countries. A study by Harvard professor and IPA research affiliate Michael Kremer found that the most cost-efficient way to increase school at-
for error, their confidence interval spans the world. Oscar Pocasangre is a junior Economics and Psychology double major in Berkeley College. He interned with IPA in Peru over the summer.
POLITICS & ECONOMY 7 the yale globalist
Greek Hospitality: A Thing of the Past? A recent flood of unwelcome visitors has thrown the Greeks’ legendary emphasis on hospitality into question. By Christina Huffington
T
he ancient Greeks were famed for their great and indis-
Broken Borders
criminate hospitality. Hospitality, or xenia, dominates Greek
Immigration to Greece has increased steadily over the last decade
mythology, its boundless virtues extolled by Greek philoso-
but surged significantly in recent years. In 2008, 146,000 illegal immi-
phers. To deny a stranger a warm welcome was to invite the wrath
grants were detained by the Greek authorities, a 54 percent increase
of the gods.
from 2006. The country’s proximity to Turkey, lax port and border se-
In the past few years, however, the descendents of the ancient
curity and, most significantly, its European Union membership have
Greeks seem to have forsaken the famed hospitality of their ances-
made it the ideal gateway for migrants from Asia and Africa hoping
tors. Sit in any open-air café in Athens these days and, in between
to begin a new life in Europe.
drags of unfiltered cigarettes, sips of thick black coffee, and the usual
Martha Carapanos, a graduate student in economics and global
political grumblings, you will hear wrinkled Greek men detailing in
politics at the University of Athens, attributes this sudden rise to a
husky tones their wariness of the strangers who have recently ar-
combination of the international economic crisis and the wars in Af-
rived on Greece’s shores. Walk a block or two away from the cafés
ghanistan and Iraq. Despite attempts to secure the border, the Greek
and the source of their discontent becomes evident.
government has had little success blocking immigration.
Greece has historically been a homogenous country, its popula-
Many Greek citizens blame their government’s inability to stem
tion composed mostly of ethnic Greeks, Christians of the Greek Or-
the flow of illegal migrants on the country’s expansive geography.
thodox rite. Yet today, Athens rivals many of the most cosmopolitan
“The borders are too long,” said Georgios Stasinopoulos, an Athe-
cities in the diversity of its populace. City blocks are crowded with
nian and a sophomore at Yale. “There are too many mountainous ar-
Somali men selling knock-off sunglasses on plastic tarps, and the
eas to prevent illegal immigration.”
squares in front of cross-adorned Orthodox cathedrals bustle with women in hijabs and the occasional turbaned man. These once-foreign images are the result of a surge in illegal immigration that has, in the last three years, overwhelmed the Mediterranean nation.
Immigrants to Greece now make up almost half of all immigrants to countries in the European Union. Needless to say, this population flood is creating significant social tensions. Greek citizens blame the
Illegal immigrants are detained by the port authority in Patras after being caught trying to leave Greece for Italy on the back of a truck. (Courtesy Andrea Motta)
8 POLITICS & ECONOMY winter 2009
new arrivals for the increase in urban crime while immigrants protest the discrimination and ethnic slurs they face at the hands of native Greeks.
Lack of Assistance
involved. As a result, many asylum-seekers who are initially rejected appeal the decision. The constant stream of appeals has created a backlog of more than 30,000 cases, and in an effort to unclog the system, the government abolished the appeals board in July, leaving refugees with
Daniel Esdras, head of the Greek branch of the International Orga-
only two alternatives: to leave Greece and return to their country of
nization for Migration (IOM), put it bluntly. “Things are not good,”
origin or to stay illegally and constantly face the dual threat of deten-
he said. Many immigrants to Greece “have no place to sleep; they
tion and extradition.
are hungry and in need.” As a result, illegal immigrants are “very vulnerable to committing crimes.”
For many asylum-seekers, returning home is not an option: If they return, they will almost definitely face persecution. Radou Mousso,
Stasinopoulos said that only a handful of immigrants are able to
an Athens-based businessman, recounted the horror stories of some
get jobs because “very few employers will hire them illegally.” This,
of the young Iranians he has met, most of whom are “males between
he said, “leads to them turning to prostitution and drug trafficking.”
the ages of 19 and 25” and “fleeing the theocratic regime of the ayatol-
However, it is a “stereotype that immigrants are criminals. The truth
lahs.” Some “have been persecuted for crimes such as being caught
is that there have been no serious attempts to integrate them into
with a glass of whiskey in their hand.” He added that the punishment
Greek society.”
for such crimes is “generally very severe and includes torture.” The
In May, 1,000 Muslim immigrants protested after a police officer
young Iranians showed him their backs, marked with lashes.
allegedly defaced the Quran of an Iraqi immigrant. The protest ended violently when police officers dispensed tear gas and stun grenades
Deflecting Responsibility
into the crowd. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
In response to the barrage of condemnation it has received from the
(UNHCR) and Human Rights Watch, among other organizations,
international community, the Greek government has simultaneously
have condemned what they consider deplorable treatment of the im-
bemoaned the burden of immigration, called for the assistance of the
migrants by Greek law enforcement. “Let’s be honest,” says Esdras,
international community, and shifted the blame onto others.
“there is lots of discrimination.”
The Turks, in particular, who comprise a significant portion of
With few other alternatives, many refugees end up living in slums
the migrant-smugglers, have received much of the blame for neglect-
or constructing makeshift camps. The camps attract the ire of Greek
ing patrol of their borders, allowing immigrants to cross into Greece
citizens, and police raids are common. In July, Greek authorities or-
by sea or over the Evros River. As early as 2007, the spokesman for
dered the bulldozing of a makeshift camp in the port city of Patras.
the Greek foreign ministry, George Koumoutsakos, held the Turks
The camp had housed 1,500 undocumented immigrants, the majority
responsible for the flood of migrants, stating that the Turkey’s insuf-
of them refugees from the war zone in Afghanistan and many of them
ficient border policing promoted illegal immigration.
minors. Residents who did not flee quickly enough were arrested.
The migrants who leave their homes and risk their lives to come
In the face of criticism, the Greek government complains that it
to Europe do so because of the age-old promise of better economic
has been unfairly burdened by its proximity to Turkey and bemoans
opportunities and the prospect of a higher quality of life. They come
the lack of assistance it receives from other EU countries to regulate
because they are persecuted and oppressed at home or because their
immigration.
lives have been torn asunder by war. “These people want a better,
Despite the contention, all sides appear to agree on one point:
safer life and where can they find it? In China or Russia? No, only in
Greece is, in the words of an op-ed written by Nikos Konstandaras in
Europe or in the U.S.,” said Capranos. Instead of a better life, most
the Greek newspaper Kathimerini, “a society woefully unequipped”
are met with the same hardship and persecution they faced at home.
to deal with the immigrants who stream into her ports and across her northern borders.
No Place to Turn
The tensions caused by illegal immigration show no sign of abating anytime soon, though the victory of the decidedly more pro-immigrant socialist party in the October parliamentary election may help the situation. Esdras says he is “hopeful” that the new government
Greece’s policy towards immigrants seeking asylum has received the
will take up the IOM’s and UNHCR’s joint offer to “train experts in
brunt of human rights organizations’ condemnation. Of the 20,000 im-
screening” for asylum seekers. The organizations had submitted this
migrants who applied for asylum in 2008, less than one percent ob-
proposal to the previous government and received no response.
tained it, compared to 18 percent of immigrants to Germany and 11 percent of immigrants to Italy.
Esdras, along with humanitarians in Europe and worldwide, demands that Greece hear the appeals of immigrants who arrive at its
Reports published by both the UNHCR and Human Rights Watch
shores seeking assistance. To return to the values of its ancient past,
characterize the process of granting asylum as deeply flawed. Asy-
Greece must now, in Homer’s words: “raise the stranger up and seat
lum interviews are often conducted not by lawyers but by members
him on a silver-studded chair.”
of the Greek police force, many of whom do not share a common language with their interviewees. Competent interpreters are extremely difficult to come by, especially at island ports, and the interviews are often conducted without the full comprehension of the parties
Christina Huffington is a sophomore in Davenport College.
POLITICS & ECONOMY 9 the yale globalist
Turning on the Heat Progressive forces in the United States band together to advocate for a meaningful U.S. role at the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit. By Rasesh Mohan
I
n the first week of August, experts in the field of climate change gathered together in the picturesque resort city of Aspen, Colo-
rado. They came from different backgrounds, from think tanks and advocacy groups to corporate institutions and universities. Despite their differences, they had one goal in common: to brainstorm an effective strategy for influencing the Obama administration in the runup to the U.N. Copenhagen Summit. The Copenhagen Summit is anticipated to be the most important conference on climate change since Kyoto in 1997. As world leaders prepare to meet in December to decide the future of climate change policy, all eyes will be on the United States, the world’s only superpower and the largest emitter of carbon. Progressive groups in the U.S. are working to frame the debate around the aspects climate change people respond to, namely job creation and the strengthening of national security through reducing dependence on foreign oil. “It’s not just about saving the polar bears, but it’s about creating jobs and driving investment,” explained Sean
Greenpeace activists gather in front of government buildings to demand action against climate change. (Flickr Creative Commons)
Pool, special assistant to the energy policy team at advocacy group
The efforts of this lobby have yielded two climate change bills
Center for American Progress (CAP) which participated in the Aspen
introduced on Capitol Hill this year, an unprecedented achievement
summit. The Center recently announced that strong climate change
for the U.S. Congress. Neither bill has passed, however, nor has their
legislation has the potential to create 1.3 million jobs in the economy.
content been particularly revolutionary from an international per-
“This message has really struck a chord and is now accepted as main-
spective. But the representatives present at the Aspen conference
stream in Washington,” Pool added.
see them as a victory: Nowadays, climate change lobbying is no lon-
The progressive lobby has also worked hard to gather evidence of the dangers of climate change, made available by many research
ger regarded as the terrain of crazy environmentalists. It has entered the conscience of mainstream America.
institutions, and disseminate that evidence to policymakers and the
One explanation for the relative success of these progressive
public. Humayun Tai is a principle at McKinsey whose research pro-
groups lies in their close cooperation. In addition to attending con-
vides the basis for policy-related debates, using consulting skills to
ferences like the one in Aspen, these groups coordinate on a daily
parse the latest information about climate change in a way acces-
basis. “It is very important to keep one unified message coming
sible to politicians and private citizens. “A lot of our work on climate
from the progressive community which wants to see action on cli-
change has been based on pulling the facts together,” Tai said.
mate change,” said Pool. “Everything we do is built on partnerships,”
With high-caliber research in hand, advocacy groups in Washing-
said Heather Grady, managing director of the NGO Realizing Rights.
ton try to translate knowledge into political action. Groups like the
“That’s the 21st century way of working. One group working doesn’t
National Commission on Energy Policy (NCEP) “help Congress write
do anything.”
policy proposal in legislative language and then advocate them with
The combined voice and multi-pronged onslaught of progressive
Congress until they are passed,” said Paul Bledsoe, NCEP’s director
research institutions, advocacy groups and businesses, has had a
of communications.
major impact on the shape of climate change debate in the nation.
At the same time, a concerted campaign is underway in the United
Whatever the outcome, the progressive climate lobby in Washington
States to mobilize voters and citizens on the climate change issue.
has proven that it is a force to reckon with in the struggle to bring
The tcktcktck campaign spreads awareness online through blogs and
U.S. policy closer in line with international standards.
widgets and has reached an audience of over 13 million people. Organizations like Clean Energy Works and the We Can Lead campaign have launched primetime television ads pushing the passage of climate change legislation before Copenhagen.
Rasesh Mohan is a junior Political Science major in Berkeley College.
10 POLITICS & ECONOMY winter 2009
Recess is Over
took to the streets, mainly demanding renewal of the constitutional
A Chilean grassroots movement makes a renewed call for education reform.
the politically sensitive content of the new clauses eroded student
By Diego Salvatierra
clauses on educational funding and organization. Although the protests got the government’s attention, long and fruitless debate over resolve. This left only the more radical, intransigent protesters, further preventing agreement and stalling reforms indefinitely. Likewise, frequent teacher strikes have wrested few concessions from the government, despite closing down schools for weeks, an obstacle for students and for working parents. Educación 2020 is trying a different approach to the seemingly un-
O
solvable task of reform. Instead of confrontation, the movement seeks
beat of live bands, they showed their support for Educación 2020, a
To improve the quality of teachers, for instance, Educación 2020
Chilean grassroots movement dedicated to improving the country’s
proposes more stringent evaluations and a merit-based system of
lagging quality of education within the next decade. The movement’s
incentives. It also intends to tackle the source of the problem: the
green t-shirts, banners, and slogan: ¡Se Acabó el Recreo! (“Recess is
education of the teachers themselves. Hoping to attract more able
Over!”) covered the public square as students, teachers, activists, and
educators, it proposes new scholarships and a tougher accreditation
onlookers shared in the festive atmosphere. As several of the move-
process for the universities and institutes that train teachers.
n a clear fall day in April 2009, downtown Santiago de Chile
consensus on achievable solutions. Through widespread agreement
was flooded by a sea of green as hundreds of students de-
forged by discussion, persuasion, and grassroots activism, it hopes
scended upon the capital’s Plaza de Armas. Dancing to the
reforms will become immune to the shifting political winds.
ment’s leaders rose to speak, the green-clad crowd hushed in antici-
Thanks to support from across Chilean society, the movement’s
pation. Mario Waissbluth, the movement’s founder, was followed on
ideas have not been overlooked. Included in the government’s budget
the podium by “citizen coordinator” Matías Reeves, a 25-year-old col-
for next year is funding for specialized administrator training pro-
lege student who described a “dream that began little by little.”
grams, an Educación 2020 proposal. Catalina Fernández, a first-year
Educación 2020 began in September 2008, when Waissbluth, a pro-
law student and Educación 2020 activist, explained that “administra-
fessor at the University of Chile, published an article in Qué Pasa,
tors often treat schools as personal fiefs and have no incentive to in-
an influential Chilean magazine, making the case for several educa-
novate.” If the movement’s success continues, a complete overhaul of
tional reforms. He pushed for increased salaries and other incentives
the system, introducing greater liability for school officials who cur-
for attracting new teachers, better training programs for administra-
rently face little criticism and performance evaluation, might soon
tors, and greater responsibility for both. Within days, his students be-
become reality.
gan discussing the article in the hallways and sharing it on Facebook
The proposed initiatives not only cover the educational system it-
and in online forums. Less than two weeks later, word of the article
self, but also address parental involvement, a pillar vital to student
had landed Waissbluth an invitation to one of Chile’s most impor-
success. Carmen Hermosilla, head of the group of parent volunteers
tant talk shows, Tolerancia Cero. Waissbluth asked Reeves and a few
at Educación 2020, explained that “parents generally have good will,
other students to appear with him. As they tossed ideas around for
but there is a lack of information about how to get involved in their
the show, sharpening their proposals, a social movement was born.
children’s education.” With this in mind, Educación 2020 designed
Reeves, like all Educación 2020 volunteers, feels strongly about his country’s educational plight. Though he was able to attend a good
workshops and handbooks that encourage parents to establish PTAs and become more engaged in their children’s schooling.
private school, Reeves’ family’s later financial difficulties forced his
These signs of a real opportunity for change have motivated thou-
younger brothers into mediocre public schools, “crippling their des-
sands of Chileans; within a year after its talk show debut, the move-
tinies,” Reeves said. Comparing their experiences to his own, he wit-
posals for change have ended in divisive political discussion rather
They don’t want short-term solutions to make the country feel as if all educational problems have been solved when in reality reform is an ongoing process.
than concrete action. Byzantine debates on issues such as the influ-
ment had over fifty thousand supporters. Volunteer groups at high
ence and demands of the teachers’ unions, the morality of profit in
schools, at colleges, and throughout the nation have sprung out of
education, and the feasibility of a government voucher system have
nowhere. “When people start seeing that things are working, that
lasted for decades. These ideological barriers have made past at-
something can be done, enthusiasm grows, and they want to join,”
tempts at reform controversial and ultimately futile.
said Reeves.
nessed the scandalous inequalities within the Chilean education system. He noted the lack of well-qualified teachers, student motivation, and parental involvement, not to mention the bureaucratic inefficiency that made even getting textbooks a challenge for his brothers. Much-needed education reform has stalled for years because pro-
Militant and confrontational efforts also became bogged down by
Educación 2020 has plastered Santiago with now-characteristic
controversy. In 2006, for example, hundreds of thousands of students
green posters, which catch people’s attention through witty, tongue-
POLITICS & ECONOMY 11 the yale globalist
in-cheek phrases such as “La Educasion Esta Vien,” a sloppily-spelled attempt at “Education is Just Fine.” The movement has also brought
The leading volunteers of the Educación 2020 movement during a rally in downtown Santiago. (Courtesy Catalina Fernández)
speakers to schools and universities, started an online radio show, and organized rallies. Organizers’ efforts have paid off: Educación
vinced that the movement was really an instrument for bourgeois
2020 continues to grow in numbers and visibility. It has even gained
oppression. They told Fernández that she “didn’t know what she was
support for its proposals among the candidates for December’s presi-
going into,” and that if she “knew who was really behind it all,” pre-
dential election.
sumably big business or the government, then she would not be so
Educación 2020’s newfound influence, however, does not mean its
enthusiastic. Amused, Fernández replied that she was behind it all!
path has been easy. The bitter political struggles of the past some-
For the first time, efforts to solve problems in Chile’s educational
times threaten to overrun its efforts. “One of our toughest problems,”
system are not coming out of political confrontation, ambition, and di-
explained Fernández, “has been gaining support from the ‘emblem-
vision, but rather out of consensus and open participation. As Matías
atic’ public schools,” the few selective quality institutions whose
Reeves said, “People feel they are making a contribution to the coun-
students have been the traditional supporters of education reform.
try; they are doing it with passion.”
“They are still embroiled in another fight, that of the student protests
The rapid growth and success of Educación 2020 has shown the
of 2006,” she said, referring to the stalled efforts at constitutional re-
country that a movement led by students like Fernández and Reeves,
form that followed the demonstrations.
acting together with teachers and parents, can lead to viable reform.
Although those students support most of Educación 2020’s propos-
But the most difficult work may still lie ahead. Like many grassroots
als, they express a valid fear that if the movement’s reforms are ac-
movements, Educación 2020 will face the challenge of continuing to
cepted, other issues and controversies, such as the new constitution-
garner popular support even after early enthusiasm has given way
al clauses, will be forgotten. They don’t want short-term solutions to
to the years of slow-paced perseverance required for lasting change.
make the country feel as if all educational problems have been solved
What will happen when rallies and hopeful slogans give way to the
when in reality reform is an ongoing process.
drudgery of legislation and political wrangling? Educación 2020 has
To counteract such a possibility, the movement’s long-term goal
the potential to change the face of Chilean education over the next
is to maintain education issues at the forefront of policy beyond 2020
10 years and beyond. If the movement can continue to harness wide-
by becoming a permanent platform for debate and a lobby for future
spread support and passion when it is not so new, its proposals will
reforms and solutions.
become actions and reform a reality.
Accustomed to the usual power plays, people are sometimes surprised by the grassroots nature of the movement. Friends of Fernández at the University of Chile, for example, were at one point con-
Diego Salvatierra is a freshman in Pierson College.
12 POLITICS & ECONOMY winter 2009
Will Digitalization Pay Dividends? At Uganda’s stock exchange, manual transactions are about to give way to an electronic system. By Tonia Sun
T
he clock had just struck 11:30 a.m., with only half an hour
and its price in a column for “Deals” and shortly afterwards rang the
left before the end of the trading day. At the Uganda Secu-
clanking bell signaling the end of the trading day from his perch at
rities Exchange (USE), several brokers dressed in standard
the front of the room. The price at which the deal closed would be-
red blazers milled about anxiously, tightly clutching their cell phones
come the next day’s market price for the company’s stock; however,
and eagerly anticipating a client’s call. A few glanced at a gleaming
the buyer and seller would not be able to complete their transaction
whiteboard covering two whole walls of the trading floor. There were
for more than five business days. Trading on the USE is a painfully
no flashing displays or scrolling screens at this stock exchange, no
slow affair.
high-tech algorithms or light-speed transactions. Instead, numbers
Soon, orders marked with color-coded markers will become mere relics of Uganda’s financial past.
and ticker symbols displayed the day’s trades and prices in dry erase marker, color-coded by bids and deals. As the minutes ticked by, ever-approaching noon and closing time, one man suddenly stepped forward. “Lower my 10,000 shares of SBU to 150,” he called out, citing the stock symbol of Stanbic Bank Uganda.
This scene, full of formality but low on efficiency, has been a typi-
The head of clearing and settlements at the USE, a stately gentle-
cal of the Ugandan stock exchange for the past few years. But in the
man dressed to the nines in a pinstriped suit, looked to the number
coming months, the exchange is hoping to work with the country’s
“6” pinned to the broker’s blazer to identify the brokerage firm he
Capital Markets Authority to create an electronic system of trading
was representing. He immediately crossed out the previous price and
that would replace manual transactions on the floor and the “open-
wrote the new one underneath. The new price was within 10 Ugandan
outcry” system.
shillings — slightly more than half a penny in U.S. dollars — of the price offered by a buyer. The new deal went through automatically. The USE representative wrote down the number of shares bought
Above left: Ugandan brokers gather around the day’s listing as a deal is made on the trading floor. Above right: For most of the morning, brokers and interns await clients’ calls on a less-than-active trading floor. (Courtesy Sarah Green)
“With the coming into force of the Securities Central Depository law in January 2009, settlement and clearance of securities will become electronic by the end of 2010. Automated trading will follow thereafter,” explained Harriet Kiwanuka, the Head of Research and Development for the Uganda Securities Exchange. Many think that it’s about time. Though it has existed for over
POLITICS & ECONOMY 13 the yale globalist
eleven years, Uganda’s securities market is chronically lagging. The trading floor is open only three mornings a week, and a mere 11 companies are listed on the exchange. Of these 11, only six are local Ugandan companies; the remaining five are cross-listed companies from Kenya that rarely see action on the trading floor. According to Kiwanuka, the switch to an electronic system would allow the USE to consolidate years of data and streamline trades, changes that many hope will help Uganda, one of the world’s most impoverished countries, develop an effective domestic securities market. Robert Baldwin is the CEO of Crested Stocks and Securities, a brokerage firm in Uganda. In a country where his blonde hair and pale skin stand out sharply on the trading floor and in boardrooms, Baldwin’s jovial personality has helped him to adapt. “When I first visited the trading floor in 2004, it reminded me of my mom’s elementary school classroom in Norwalk, Connecticut — about the same size, too,” he joked. However, Baldwin believes that the demand for securities will expand. “Five years ago, my partners and I believed that the nascent stock market in Uganda would be destined for bigger and better things. So far, we’ve been right.” He has little choice but to be optimistic; Baldwin recently relocated his entire
A CSS intern looks on at the USE trading floor. What future does the securities market hold for Uganda? (Courtesy Sarah Green)
family to Uganda to pursue his dream of growing his firm. The plan: to target small shareholders, a potential pool that has
ing years if it can adapt to a new system in time. “When Nairobi went
not yet been tapped by most major brokerage firms, through educa-
electronic in 2006 it increased trading volume by 600 percent. I’m ex-
tion programs. “Each time we conduct a presentation, participants
pecting a similar increase in Uganda,” Baldwin predicted.
are eager to learn more about investing,” said Baldwin. “We believe
Kiwanuka and others involved with the Uganda Securities Ex-
that any investor, no matter how big or how small, deserves superior
change are similarly optimistic. Though they recognize that initially,
service and investment advice. In particular, we focus on encourag-
current investors holding paper certificates for their stocks may be
ing first-time investors and smallholders to enter the market.”
distrustful of and deterred by an electronic system, such a change is
But Baldwin is fighting an uphill battle. Among the majority of
necessary for the market’s future growth. With this new automatic,
young, educated Ugandans — the group that Baldwin hopes to target
electronic method of trading in place, the USE will be more easily ac-
— there is still a great deal of doubt about the stock market. Haruna
cessible to non-Ugandan investors. When the transition is complete,
Rugambwa, a student in international business at Uganda’s Maker-
East Africa will be one step closer to establishing an integrated secu-
ere University, shared some practical concerns. First and foremost,
rities market, which many hope will create a more stable and effec-
the majority of Ugandans simply do not have the spare funds to in-
tive regional exchange.
The trading floor is open only three mornings a week, and a mere 11 companies are listed on the exchange. Of these 11, only six are local Ugandan companies; the remaining five are cross-listed companies from Kenya that rarely see action on the trading floor. vest. Second, “there’s generally a lack of awareness here about stock
The push for electronic trading at the USE may be exactly what is
markets.” Finally, said Rugambwa, “investing in stocks is really, re-
needed to help the market grow. Soon, orders marked with color-cod-
ally risky. Looking at our economy, there are not very many of that
ed markers will become mere relics of Uganda’s financial past. But,
type of person willing to take those risks.”
for now, Ugandan brokers still stand anxiously at the trading floor,
Other skeptics point to the small number of participants relative to the size of the country. In September, only 1.5 billion Ugandan shil-
watching the day’s trades being written, crossed out, and erased on a gleaming white board.
lings’ worth of trades were conducted on the market in total, which equates to slightly over a quarter million U.S. dollars. The figure is less than an average week’s turnover at the Nairobi Stock Exchange, just across the border. Nonetheless, Baldwin remains hopeful for the future of the Ugandan stock market. Though Kenya’s economy is far more developed, Uganda could be looking at a similar upwards trajectory in the com-
Tonia Sun is a sophomore Political Science and Economics major in Morse College. She interned with Crested Stocks and Securities this past summer in Kampala, Uganda.
14 POLITICS & ECONOMY winter 2009
State-Building 101 Young civil servants acquire tools to rebuild their country from the Professional Studies Program at the American University of Kosovo. By Danielle Tomson
A
group of young Kosovar government officials sip on local Peja beers at the Tirana Pub in Prishtina, Kosovo, as they discuss
foreign affairs, Facebook, and a new nightclub, “Spray.” These government officials, most of whom are around 30 years old, have dedicated their lives to the daunting task of building an independent Kosovo after years of war. After a brutal ethnic conflict in the 1990s followed by a period of transitional U.N. governance, Kosovo officially declared independence from Serbia in February of 2008. The country faces challenges both old and new: gaining enough recognition to join the U.N., fighting ethnic prejudices, forging an inclusive government, building a green economy, meeting the requirements to join the EU, and reducing dependence on international agencies, to name a few. Despite these obstacles, young Kosovars are returning to face challenges with optimism, energy, and business plans. Because most mobile refugees are young people, 60 percent of the Kosovar population today is estimated to be under the age of 30. Though many have had professional experience, none has run a state before. One such returnee is Prindon Sadriu, a director in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. After working in Australia and interning in the United States for Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, Sadriu returned to Kosovo to work for the Ministry in July 2008. His task is to lobby countries and organizations around the world to recognize Kosovo as an independent state. Over Facebook chat, Sadriu wrote that “initially, it was difficult to adapt” to his new job; in just a few years, he had gone from an intern in the United States to a director in the Foreign Ministry of Kosovo. To equip young leaders to deal with the outsized challenges they face on the job, the American University of Kosovo (AUK) offers a course in “professional studies.” According to William Wechsler, professor of law and public policy at the AUK, this course could just as well be titled “State-Building 101.” Conceived by USAID, the Rochester Institute of Technology, and the Kosovar government, the program is designed to strengthen the ability of the civil service to implement policy. Courses offered include public budgeting, project management, a seminar in resource and infrastructure development, project finance, administrative law, and employee management. Participants come out with something resembling a public administration degree. Flamur Salihu, a professional studies student and senior officer in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, explained that the course helped him “understand how the EU and other countries function legally” and what steps Kosovo needs take to “fulfill the criteria to become part of the EU.” The professional studies course was advertised throughout all of
The NEWBORN statue stands at the center of Prishtina, commemorating Kosovo’s Independence Day: February 17, 2008. (Tomson/TYG) the ministries, and ministers referred particularly ambitious young staff members to the program. Participants must have a B.A. and demonstrate proficiency in English. Most are in their 30s, but ages range from 23 to 50. Initially, the student body was made up of Albanian Kosovars and one Turkish Kosovar, but a Serbian Kosovar has been accepted into the next cohort. The participants are a reflection of the population of Kosovo: multi-ethnic, religiously diverse, patriotic, and young. Without a desire to help their country, these professionals would be unlikely to accept the long hours and low pay of government work. As some of the brightest and most ambitious of returning Kosovars, they could probably earn high salaries in the private sector but instead settle for wages of around 300 euros a month. Christopher Hall, president of AUK, said, “I am very impressed by the students, considering the reality of work in the Kosovo and other former communist countries. In the Balkans, bureaucracy is generally not held in great respect.” Many of these civil servants developed formidable skill sets working abroad; the professional studies class accelerates their development and helps them adjust to the unfamiliar task of running a new country. These young people have an unprecedented chance to shape the policies and the governance of their country, and they have the attitude to match. Said 23-year-old Shpend Thaqi, student and head of secretariat for family, economy, housing, and population census: “Nothing we can accomplish comes without barriers, but we used to face and deal with barriers 100 times harder than this.” With this characteristic optimism, the youth of Kosovo are doing their best to help nurture a newborn country. Danielle Tomson is a sophomore Sociology major in Saybrook College.
POLITICS & ECONOMY 15 the yale globalist
From Disrupting from Below to Disrupting from Above As President Daniel Ortega attempts to amend Nicaragua’s constitution, he threatens the government’s institutional credibility and the ability of the country’s poor to make ends meet. By Andrés Medina
“I
don’t know what’s wrong with President Ortega, but he seems bent on starving his own people,” opined Nicaraguan
A billboard in Managua celebrates the 30th anniversary of the victory of Ortega’s Sandinistas over the Somoza regime. The smiling President hopes to extend his rule even further into the future. (Medina/TYG)
merchant Francisco Bonilla. Second only to Haiti in Latin
Arroyo, professor at Nicaragua’s La Universidad Americana and an
American poverty indexes, Nicaragua has been rocked by recent
expert in contemporary Nicaraguan politics, Alemán awarded Orte-
scandals surrounding the Ortega administration. After widespread
ga pockets of power in state institutions in exchange for “an agree-
government-led fraud in the 2008 municipal elections, the United
ment to call off street protests of FSLN-led students and workers.”
States and European Union announced that they would terminate
As a result of the 1999 political alliance, Alemán and Ortega ob-
aid to the country. If President Daniel Ortega continues to pursue
tained the votes necessary to pass a series of constitutional amend-
constitutional amendments allowing him to seek reelection in 2011,
ments. Weary about his inability to muster more than 40 percent of
he will risk more than his government’s credibility: At stake will be a
the national vote in presidential elections, Ortega lowered the con-
population already struggling to make ends meet.
stitution’s electoral requirement for a first-round victory to 35 per-
Although Ortega claims to run a “government for the poor,” his
cent. Although this was not sufficient for a victory in 2001, Ortega
actions undermine his slogans. Now that the U.S. and E.U. have can-
managed to win the 2006 elections with 38 percent of the vote. The
celled their aid packages, his administration cannot fully fund its
amendments to remove presidential term limits constitute the final
flagship Zero Hunger project, which was meant to reduce hunger
step in Ortega’s effort of power consolidation. Dora Téllez, minister
among the country’s 1.7 million rural poor.
of health under Ortega’s revolutionary government in the 1980s and
Topping Ortega’s agenda are constitutional amendments that
founder of the recently banned Movimiento Renovador Sandinista
would allow him to extend his rule beyond established limits. Nica-
(MRS), describes the proposed reforms as “the ultimate blow in the
ragua’s constitution allows a President to serve two nonconsecutive
liquidation of Nicaragua’s government credibility.”
terms; Ortega’s current term is his second. Carlos Tunnermann, for-
With complete control over state institutions, all Ortega needs to
mer Nicaraguan ambassador to the U.S. and executive member of the
legally reform the constitution is for 56 of 91 assembly deputies to
watchdog group Movement for Nicaragua, said: “The reforms come
back his proposal. After struggling to gain more than 50 votes in the
at the expense of the government’s little credibility. The administra-
Assembly, however, the praetorian Supreme Court of Justice took
tion’s discourse of ‘government for the poor’ is pure farce.”
matters in its own hands. On October 19, six of the Court’s 15 justices
Internal government opposition to the amendments is almost non-
tried to pave the way for Ortega’s reelection by declaring the consti-
existent — Ortega controls legislative, judicial, and electoral cham-
tutional barrier for a third, consecutive term unconstitutional. The
bers — but civil opposition is widespread. Defying Orteguista gangs
validity of such interpretation remains to be seen, as seven magis-
daily, Tunnermann proudly counts himself as a civil sector dissent-
trates of the same Court refuse to recognize the decision.
er. He believes that demonstrations by the public could eventually thwart the amendments.
Ultimately, the country’s poor will continue to bear the costs of a self-serving political leader. As Ortega himself deals the fatal blows
The prospective constitutional changes typify a larger trend of
to his government’s credibility, the suspension of aid will drag on, and
bargains that have tarnished the government’s credibility since 1999.
the budgets for social welfare programs will continue to evaporate.
Committed to a “disruptive form of government from below” since
The poor will bear the brunt of the burden, and the only consolidat-
losing the presidential elections of 1990 and 1996, Ortega tried to
ed institution that Nicaragua will be able to boast of will be an old,
change his luck in 1999 by entering into an infamous agreement with
anachronistic tradition of rule by strongmen.
then-President Arnoldo Alemán. The deal, referred to locally as El Pacto, did away with any opposition to the duo. According to Carlos
Andrés Medina is a senior Political Science major in Trumbull College.
16 FOCUS: High Seas winter 2009
A Home that Floats Combining the comfort of a world-class hotel with the adventure of a trek across the globe, a new cruise liner tries to change the meaning of international travel. By Chelsea Allen
T
his year, the Logan family will spend Thanksgiving in Papua New Guinea, Christmas in Australia, and Easter in India, all
without leaving the comfort of their home. William and Devon Logan own an apartment on The World, a 12-deck cruise liner that touts itself as “the first and only private residential community at sea.” The ship circles the globe every two years, stopping for a few days at a time in exotic port cities. This year, residents will begin their travels in Melbourne, Australia, and end with an Antarctic Expedition in the South Pole. In the interim, they will spend two to five days in destinations that include Bali, Buenos Aires, Dubai, Dublin, New York, Nice, and Rio de Janeiro. Like a traditional condo, interested buyers can purchase apartments on the ship and are free to live in them for as long as they wish. The World was originally owned by a private company, but was sold in 2003 to its 165 residents, giving them complete authority over the affairs of the ship. That means that the residents and captain chart the course for the ship and vote on proposed itineraries. Because of their joint ownership of The World, residents report a strong sense of community. “Some of my best friends are from The World,” shared the college-aged daughter of a resident. “Over Christmas, you get to go home knowing that 15 of your closest friends will be there…and you’ll all get to celebrate in the Caribbean!” According to William Logan, The World is “about luxury, but it’s not about status.” Though there is a strong sense of community, he does not know what most of his neighbors do to maintain their lavish lifestyles. In fact, many residents are attracted to The World because of the anonymity and privacy it provides. The one thing Mr. Logan does know about his neighbors is that they can afford to spend between $1.4 and 7.7 million for their apartments. These fully-furnished and decorated apartments come complete with 24-hour room service from five gourmet restaurants, access to a pool, driving range, gym, movie theatre, spa, library, tennis court, and, of course, an unbeatable ocean view. The luxuries offered by The World extend beyond mere animal pleasures. Each year, a committee of the ship’s residents works to create the world’s most unique travel experiences for themselves and their neighbors. In October 2009, The World made a historic journey through the Bering Strait, visiting remote communities and wildlife preserves in the North Pole. It was the first foreign-flagged ship to do so since the 1920s. Residents of the ship were welcomed by local tribes who rarely interact with the world outside the Arctic. “We would go to islands where there was nothing but a church from the 15th century,” said one resident, who enjoys that The World brought
above: Residents of The World enjoy an onshore party while in port. below: A suite on The World furnished by Nina Campbell, one of four internationally acclaimed interior designers chosen to decorate residences aboard the ship. (Courtesy Lou Hammond & Associates) give talks about the region, The World does more for its residents than merely entertain: It also educates. Living on the ship is costly, but The World makes sure that the environment foots none of the bill. It is the first ship of its size to burn marine diesel instead of heavy bunker fuel, allowing it to dock in ports with stringent environmental standards like Monterey, California. The World is also the first cruise liner to use a system called Scanship that cleanses wastewater so it can be reused. Perhaps the most creative green innovation aboard The World is the golf balls. Residents can use the driving range on the roof of the ship to swing dissolvable golf balls as far as they can into the surrounding ocean. The World gives new meaning to the concept of having it all. Its residents want to combine constant exotic travel with the comforts of a close-knit neighborhood, lavish living conditions with respect for the environment, Caribbean vacations with educational missions to the Arctic. For members of this cutting-edge community of the superrich, life is not just about what you have or how you live, but where: Or in their case, everywhere.
“people to educate you about the significance of what you see there.” By inviting local lecturers, exhibitions, and musicians to perform or
Chelsea Allen is a sophomore Political Science major in Trumbull College.
FOCUS: High Seas 17 the yale globalist
The Tides of Change
On the isolated atolls of Kiribati, climate change is more than an abstract threat. By Jessica Shor
T
en years ago, twenty coconut trees flourished in the front
aquifers, water from rainfall and underground sources replenishes
yard of Pelenise Alofa Pilitati’s home on Tarawa, the capital
freshwater stocks, forming a freshwater lens that floats atop saltwa-
island of Kiribati. Today, only two remain. Each high tide
ter. Yet in recent years, because of rising sea levels and increasingly
floods her yard with salt water, killing the vegetables and coconut
prolonged droughts, these lenses have thinned and been replaced
trees she cultivates for food. Pilitati’s problem is not unique in the
with seawater.
Republic of Kiribati, nor is it likely to go away. Climate change, the
According to Sheila Walsh, a researcher at Brown University’s
culprit behind the country’s droughts and rising sea levels, is slowly
Environmental Change Initiative, some residents and officials have
and persistently threatening to destroy the islands and render the
proposed relocating entire villages to gain access to more freshwater.
I-Kiribati, the citizens of this island nation, into the world’s the first
But on islands so flat and narrow they seem to disappear into
“climate change refugees.”
Water, Water, Everywhere
the horizon, where can villagers go? Recalling the landscape he has seen over 10 years of research in Kiribati, University of Canterbury professor Keith Dixon explained, “You’re basically living on a beach.
The total area of Kiribati’s 33 coral atolls is comparable to that of
Wherever you stand, if you look to your left or right you can always
New York City, though they are scattered over an area the size of
see the ocean.”
the Continental United States. It is on these strips of land — most
And the sea itself poses another threat to the I-Kiribati. According
of which are no wider than a city block and rise no higher than two
to research at the University of Colorado at Boulder, sea levels in the
meters above sea level — that Kiribati’s 100,000 residents live much
South Pacific are rising at a rate of nine to 12 millimeters per year,
as they have for hundreds of years. Telephones, computers, cars, and
among the fastest in the world. That same research predicted that
other signs of modernity that have gradually appeared on Tarawa
oceans could rise by up to one meter by 2100, condemning the islands
are slow to reach Kiribati’s outlying villages. Most islanders live a
of Kiribati to a watery fate.
subsistence lifestyle, and over 90 percent of I-Kiribati participate in
Austin Blair, who received a 100 Projects for Peace grant to re-
the country’s traditional cashless economy, trading coconuts, tarot,
search climate change in Kiribati, observed the effects of sea level
tuna, and handicrafts. Their lifestyle is inherently tied to the land and
rise on the island of Maniana: “The south of the island used to be
sea, both of which now appear to be in revolt. Since they first populated the islands 4000 years ago, I-Kiribati have relied on atolls for drinking water and irrigation. In these coral
Thousands of years of coral accumulation have created Kiribati’s 33 narrow atolls, most of which lie less than two meters above sea level. (Flickr Creative Commons)
18 FOCUS: High Seas winter 2009
home to a coconut plantation, which the villagers protected with
Adapting to Change
handmade rock seawalls. But severe high tides broached the walls,
Aside from job training, there is another challenge inherent in forced
flooding the land and making it too salty to grow coconuts. Now it’s
relocation. How will the I-Kiribati, most of whom have never driven
just a dead expanse, filled with brackish water.”
a car, never shopped at a supermarket, and never met a Westerner, adapt to life in an industrialized country?
A Radical Solution
Unfortunately, Tong’s relocation plan lacks provisions for cultural
Recognizing that his country may soon be uninhabitable, Kiribati
adaptation. According to Donner, however, such assistance is essen-
President Anote Tong has made an ambitious proposal: educate the
tial: “When people from Kiribati migrate to Australia because of cli-
entire population of Kiribati, then relocate them to Australia and
mate change, we can’t just think about them having homes and jobs.
New Zealand as skilled workers.
We need whole cultural education, because life won’t be the same as
In a speech before the United Nations on September 25, 2008, Tong summarized his hopes for the relocation plan: “We shall be able to
it was in Kiribati. People underestimate how big that is, how high the cost of that will be. It will be hard.”
provide countries with labor and those countries shall be able to pro-
Dixon has already witnessed I-Kiribati struggle as they adapt un-
vide potential new homes for our people. This strategy provides our
assisted to life in his country: “If you’ve been used to living off of
people with an option so that when they choose to migrate, they will
coconut and fish, to go somewhere else and not be able to get that
migrate on merit and with dignity. They will be received by their ad-
is hard. Tuna in Kiribati is $2 per kilo, but in New Zealand it’s $30.
opted countries not as burdens but as worthwhile members of the
So you have to change your eating habits. If you’re living on an atoll,
community.”
there’s only one road. You get on the bus and go one way or the other.
Though full-scale implementation has not yet begun, the Kiribati
You don’t need a map to know where to go. But when you come to
government has already executed preliminary parts of this plan with
New Zealand and have intersections, it’s hard. It’s a very different
significant Australian cooperation.
place.”
Under the Australian Pacific Seasonal Worker Pilot Scheme, I-
Still, the I-Kiribati who already live abroad have done well in pre-
Kiribati can work in Australia’s horticultural sector for up to seven
serving their culture. While I-Kiribati in larger cities have begun to
months, gaining work experience and saving money to send home.
assimilate to their adopted country, Dixon noted that smaller com-
In addition, the Australia-Pacific Technical College (APTC) awards
munities have held tightly to such traditions as dancing and family
internationally recognized degrees in such marketable fields as car-
gatherings.
pentry, automotive mechanical technology, and hospitality operations. Another joint program, the Kiribati-Australia Nursing Initia-
“The south of the island used to be a coconut plantation… Now it’s just a dead expanse, filled with brackish water.”
-Austin Blair, Kiribati climate change researcher
A Homeland Lost There is one major difference, though, between the I-Kiribati already living abroad and those who will migrate under Tong’s plan. Most I-Kiribati who now emigrate for work do so temporarily, sending remittances home and moving back to the islands after several years. In that way, they remain closely tied to their homeland. Yet under Tong’s relocation plan, the I-Kiribati will abandon their homes forever.
tive (KANI) annually accepts 30 I-Kiribati youth to attend nursing school in Australia on full five-year scholarships. Melissa Carey, a Student Contact Officer at KANI, explained
If the people of Kiribati must move abroad permanently, how long can they retain their cultural ties? And if the islands are submerged, to what homeland can I-Kiribati remain loyal?
the origins of the Kiribati-Australia partnership: “President Tong
No precedent exists to answer those questions. The I-Kiribati will
couldn’t start this program without funding and support, and Austra-
likely be the first population to lose its home to climate change, and
lia had the resources to fulfill that need… There’s been a big push in
the ultimate success or failure of their migration will serve as a guide
the last few years from the Australian government to help our Pacific
for other low-lying states considering relocation plans, such as the
Island neighbors.”
Maldives and Bangladesh.
These programs still have a long way to go, though. Just 19 per-
In the meantime, daily life on Kiribati proceeds as it always has.
cent of I-Kiribati have received any secondary or tertiary education,
With international aid from the World Bank, I-Kiribati continue to
and only 7,800 I-Kiribati are active in the country’s cash economy. Si-
rebuild their seawalls, fortify their homes, and nurture their crops.
mon Donner, a professor at the University of British Columbia who
Each high tide, though, brings a reminder that the day will soon
studies Kiribati, admitted, “There hasn’t been wild success with job
come, possibly as soon as 2050, when the I-Kiribati must pack their
training. There’s a lot of unemployment. It’s hard when most people
bags and leave their islands for good.
live at subsistence levels.” Walsh summarized this point, noting, “Kiribati people have plenty of skills, but few that can be used in a cash economy.”
Jessica Shor is a freshman in Ezra Stiles College.
ANNUAL
7th
The Yale Globalist’s
international photo contest winners
Category: Editor’s Choice The Editor’s Choice winners were selected from two categories: person and place. For 1st Place Editor’s Choice winner, see back cover.
2nd Place
Benjamin Grant, TD ’11 Hometown: Danville, PA
Old Friends Outside Diocletian’s Palace in Split, Croatia. July 2009
3rd Place
Volkan Doda, BC ’11 Hometown: Bursa, Turkey
Leisure Time Three carpet sellers take a quick nap in a corner of Esfahan’s monumental Naqsh’-i Jihan Square. August 2008
ANNUAL
7th
international photo contest
Category: Person 1st Place
Pete Martin, MC ’10
Hometown: New York, NY
Girl in Madrasa A girl stands among classmates at a madrasa in Zanzibar, Tanzania. May 2009
2nd Place
Ryan Nees, TC ’12 Hometown: Kokomo, IN
Tamil Protests at Parliament London police on crowd control duty outside of Parliament observe the thousands of Tamil liberation supporters gathered to urge British intervention in the Sri Lankan civil war that ended with Tamil defeat in May. May 2009
3rd Place
Max Budovitch, CC ’13 Hometown: Chicago, IL
Palestinian Soldiers, Jenin Two Palestinian soldiers talk at the entrance of a newly constructed military base in the West Bank city of Jenin. July 2008
Category: Place 1st Place (above)
Ben Roth, BR ’10
Hometown: Portland, OR
Funeral Smoke
In the tiny village of Little Likang in Wuyuan County of Jiangxi Province, China, smoke from fireworks set off at an early morning funeral obscures ghost-like mourners and the iconic Huizhou architecture of the region. November 2008
2nd Place (above)
Kate Aufhauser, TD ’13
Hometown: Washington, D.C.
Caribou Commute Caribou on their way home to the nature reserve near Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where many area animals spend the night. December 2009
3rd Place
Pete Martin, MC ’10
Hometown: New York, NY
Fishing Boat A fishing boat off the coast of Peru. June 2008
ANNUAL
7th
international photo contest
Honorable Mentions
Honorable Mention: Person Liv Dowling, BC ’11
Hometown: Corpus Christi, TX
Shades of Saris In Sanganer, a famous trade-town in Rajasthan, India, a worker stands among rows of hand-printed sari fabric drying in the Indian summer heat. June 2009
Honorable Mention: Place (below)
Kenneth Kato, ES ’11
Hometown: Scarsdale, NY
Taxi A taxi gets caught in pedestrian traffic in Shibuya in Tokyo, Japan. July 2007
Honorable Mention: Place (above) Anne van Bruggen, SM ’13
Hometown: IJsselstein, Netherlands
Tibetan Flags Tibetan prayer flags at the top of a mountain at the Holy Lake of Nam Tso in Tibet. July 2009
Honorable Mention: Editor’s Choice
Sarah Larsson, BR ’12 Hometown: Excelsior, MN
Homa Hills The village of Nyaoga rests at the base of the Homa Hills; its roads are walking paths that curl around neighborhoods and stretch down to Lake Victoria. Children race home as the fading daylight tells them to return to their mothers waiting near the shore. May 2009
FOCUS: High Seas 23 the yale globalist
Offshore Drilling
Looms on the Arctic Horizon The Inuit must decide if the benefits of offshore oil development are worth the risks it poses to their traditional way of life. By Reid Magdanz
S
pring in Barrow, Alaska heralds the return of the sun, the slow thawing of the ice-covered sea, and, most importantly for the native Inuit, the arrival of the bowhead whales. As they have done for thousands of years, the whaling crews of Barrow haul their sealskin-covered boats, or umiaqs, to the ice’s edge: It is time for the whale hunt. When a whale appears, the crews race after it, armed with guns and harpoons. If the pursuit is successful, the entire town helps butcher the whale and distribute the meat.
culturally and spiritually significant,” Brower said of the hunt. “The
Harry Brower, a whaling captain in Barrow, has been involved in
expects the number of active offshore licenses in Greenland to double
the hunts since the early 1970s. Whaling has been in his family for
in the next 12 to 18 months. The U.S. government expected about $60
bowhead whale provides food, sustenance, for our communities.” But Brower and others are deeply worried about the future of the whale hunt. Recently, interest in offshore oil drilling in the Arctic Ocean has intensified and for good reason: As much as 13 percent of the world’s undiscovered oil and 30 percent of its undiscovered gas lie north of the Arctic Circle, much of it offshore. The oil industry has poured billions of dollars into exploration in the Canadian Arctic in the past three years and NunaOil, Greenland’s national oil company,
generations. His grandfather, a Yankee whaler, arrived in Barrow in the late 1800s and established a trading company, and his Inuit ancestors have been whaling in Barrow since time immemorial. “It’s
Inuit men butcher a beluga whale caught near Kotzebue, Alaska, continuing a tradition that has lasted for thousands of years. (Courtesy James Magdanz)
24 FOCUS: High Seas winter 2009
million in revenue from a lease sale held last year in the Chukchi Sea, off the northwest coast of Alaska. Industry bid $2.7 billion. The Inuit, comprising the indigenous populations of Arctic Canada, Russia, Alaska, and Greenland, have relied on the land and sea to provide food and raw materials for countless generations, and tens of thousands still depend on this natural bounty to fill freezers and wallets. “Hunting and fishing are so ingrained in the Inuit culture that you can’t separate them,” said James Stotts, who grew up in Barrow and chairs the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC), which represents approximately 160,000 Inuit across the North. “It’s a spiritual connection to the environment. These are the foods we eat, not only for nutrition but for cultural sustenance.” The vital role that the land and sea play in their lives make the Inuit averse to anything that could threaten the wildlife and country they use. At the same time, they have seen development before in the form of onshore drilling and mining, and many appreciate the jobs and money it has brought to remote Arctic regions. Work is hard to come by in the North, and even the most mundane goods are exorbitantly expensive. But offshore drilling poses greater risks and promises fewer rewards than onshore development, forcing the Inuit to decide whether the benefits it could provide are worth the risks to their most treasured resource of all, the sea.
A Range of Opinion The realization that offshore drilling may soon become a reality has sparked debate in Northern communities over whether and how development should be allowed to proceed. Richard Glenn’s mother is from Barrow, but he was born in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he pulled weeds and delivered newspapers to earn his airfare to Alaska each summer. He has lived in Barrow permanently since he was 20, raised four daughters in the town, and is currently a whaling captain and executive vice president of lands and natural resources for the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (ASRC). “Offshore drilling is a passionate topic. It’s at our dinner tables, our community halls, and in our boards rooms,” he said. The debate centers on what is needed to protect the marine eco-
An Inuit woman uses an ulu, or woman’s knife, to cut extra blubber from the skin of a beluga. The thick slice of blubber will be rendered into oil, while the thinner slice of skin and blubber will be cut into bite-size pieces of muktuk, a delicacy among the Inuit. (Courtesy James Magdanz) opment. One such organization is the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission, which represents 11 whaling communities along Alaska’s coast. Brower, the Barrow whaling captain who chairs the commission, worries that offshore industrial activity will disrupt whale migration routes and make hunting them difficult or impossible. Kathy Frost, a marine mammals ecologist who worked for the
system that the Inuit rely on for subsistence, defined in Alaska as
Alaska Department of Fish and Game for 25 years, recalled a case
“Hunting and fishing are so ingrained in the Inuit culture that you can’t separate them. These are the foods we eat, not only for nutrition but for cultural sustenance.”
in which whaling was adversely affected by industrial activity. Noise
— James Stotts, Chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference
the traditional uses of wild resources for consumption, barter, or the making of crafts. In Canada and Greenland small markets for wild game also provide an important source of income for communities. Given the cultural and economic value of subsistence, it is no surprise that almost all Inuit agree it must be protected. But opinions differ regarding the amount and type of protection required and whether trade-offs between subsistence and development are acceptable. Some individuals and organizations believe that the grave risks posed by offshore drilling should preclude devel-
from a transport ship passing by Wainwright, Alaska, a few years ago scared beluga whales away from shore, preventing hunters from reaching the animals. “Now that’s probably not a big biological effect on the belugas,” Frost said, “but it certainly had a very real effect on the hunters.” Other Inuit, Glenn of ASRC among them, believe the benefits of oil drilling are often worth the necessary risks and trade-offs. One of his first professional jobs was helping Barrow find its own natural gas source. “The lights are on here, the heat is on in our homes, and will be for many generations because of oil and gas development,” he said. He noted that the sheer size of Alaska — the population density in the north is less than a tenth of a person per square mile — means that subsistence and development can coexist. “I am willing to lay down my special place,” he said. “Rather than go to the podium and complain how oil industry interfered with my caribou hunt, I’ll go
FOCUS: High Seas 25 the yale globalist
hunt somewhere else.” Glenn also sees offshore drilling as practi-
great pause, the benefits that development could provide are tan-
cally inevitable. “Whether you’re for it or against it, it’s going to hap-
talizing. Past and present development provides examples of the
pen. Why don’t you let it happen on your terms to the greatest degree
benefits that can accrue to local people. On Alaska’s North Slope,
possible?”
recognition of these benefits has led the local government to work
Many stand in between the two extremes: cognizant of the ben-
hand-in-hand with industry over the past 30 years in support of on-
efits drilling would provide but still uneasy about the risks posed to
shore oil development. Tax revenue from the massive Prudhoe Bay
subsistence. Marie Greene grew up in Deering, a remote village of
oil field provides money to fund the borough government, schools,
less than 200 people on the northwest coast of Alaska, established as
volunteer fire departments, and clinics, as well as projects that help
a supply center for nearby mining camps. Today she is the CEO of
preserve Inuit culture.
NANA Regional Corporation and lives in the regional center of Kot-
In Canada, oil companies must make commitments to invest in
zebue, 50 miles north of Deering and not far from the lease areas in
towns and villages near the lease area in order to get a federal permit
the Chukchi Sea. “We support responsible development, but as stew-
to operate, said Kerry Newkirk, the director of oil and gas manage-
ards of the land, our priority needs to be the protection of our land
ment for Canada’s Department of Indian and Northern Affairs. Com-
and subsistence way of life,” she said.
panies involved in exploration and development provide training and
Risk and Reward
jobs to local people in areas such as marine mammal observation, pipefitting, and pipeline development. The town of Inuvik in Canada
Resource development is inherently risky, and drilling for oil in ice-
also receives more direct benefits; like Barrow, it is powered by natu-
choked Arctic seas is especially so. Moving pack ice and tempera-
ral gas from a nearby field.
tures plummeting well below zero degrees Fahrenheit make operat-
In Greenland, offshore development carries an even greater
ing drill rigs difficult and dangerous. Despite assurances from the oil
promise: sovereignty. Mead Treadwell is originally from Connecticut,
industry that they will take appropriate safety measures, many Inuit
but upon his first visit to Alaska as a college freshman, he decided
remain apprehensive: They cannot afford to lose the sea. “Our ice is
that there was nowhere he would rather live. Today, he chairs the US
an extension of our land. It’s our hunting grounds for the mammals
Arctic Research Commission (USARC), responsible for advising the
we seek from the oceans,” explained Greene. The predominant concern is of an oil spill in ice-covered waters, which could decimate marine life; Prince William Sound, site of the infamous Exxon Valdez spill, is still far from recovery 20 years after the catastrophe. Edward Itta, Mayor of Alaska’s North Slope Borough, has been active in the development debate since well before the Exxon Valdez ran aground. In testimony before the Senate Appropriations Committee on August 20, 2009, he emphasized the difficulty of countering oil spills in the Arctic. “We know, as people living there, that the Arctic is uniquely unforgiving. Broken ice conditions at various times of the year make any type of spill response virtually impossible,” he said. “[This] means spill prevention is doubly, maybe triply, important.”
derstand the activity patterns of these animals, Frost, the marine
An oil platform rig operates in the waters of Cook Inlet in South-Central Alaska. Such rigs may soon be a presence in more northerly waters. (Courtesy Flickr, Richard Waite, World Resources Institute)
mammals ecologist, has been tracking seals and beluga whales in
government on Arctic research goals. “The Danes have told Green-
Northwest Alaska for the past five years. Results so far have shown
land that if it can find enough of a way to support itself, it can be
that both mammals use the leased areas in the Chukchi Sea. “It tells
an independent country,” he said. “The entire independence of the
us there is an area of overlap, and if you are doing seismic activities,
region depends on oil and gas potential.”
The possibility that noise from supply ships and drill rigs will harm marine mammals is also of concern. In an effort to better un-
for example, you need to think about the presence of marine mam-
Inuit leaders generally cite concerns about environmental im-
mals,” she said. But Frost believes that appropriate mitigation mea-
pacts as reason for opposing offshore oil drilling. Another critical,
sures, such as closing certain areas to industrial activity, can mini-
but less well understood, difference between onshore and offshore
mize the negative effects of noise.
development is the way benefits would flow to local people, at least in
The strength and enforcement of environmental regulations is
Alaska. Prudhoe Bay, the location of most oil production in the state,
also a cause of worry. “There basically are no standards,” said Stotts,
is on state-owned land within the North Slope Borough, allowing the
the ICC chair. “In our opinion, standards are being developed by the
borough government to collect enormous sums of money from direct
industry as the processes are ongoing.” Itta too called for tough over-
taxes on oil production. Other rural Alaska governments levy the
sight. “Responsible resource development in an increasingly fragile
same types of direct taxes on mines.
polar world will require strong regulatory protections,” he testified. While the risks associated with offshore drilling give the Inuit
In contrast, offshore development in the Chukchi Sea would occur in state or federal waters, well out of the jurisdiction of local govern-
26 FOCUS: High Seas winter 2009
ments, and tax revenue would instead flow to Juneau or Washington.
of the leases in the Chukchi Sea, has made a good start, according
The only direct benefit to the local people would be new employment
to Greene, who would like to see communication become even more
opportunities, crumbs compared to the direct tax revenues. The lack
frequent should development draw closer. “They’ve probably made
of certainty regarding benefits has made Inuit leaders more wary
five, six, different trips up here,” she said, referring to Shell represen-
of development and insistent that local people get a share of the re-
tatives. “They’ve been getting on the radio, they’ve held a number of
source wealth. “We hope we’d be able to benefit from the gas that’s
meetings with the borough assembly and NANA.”
coming out of the ground, from the ocean,” said NANA’s Greene. “It’s
If drilling actually gets underway, Inuit leaders want to see strong
time that we too start benefiting from the resources that are taken
protections for the marine life on which they depend. In his testimo-
out of our backyard.”
ny, Itta argued for zero waste discharge from ships and drill rigs, a
Looking Ahead
requirement that independent, state-licensed pilots operate vessels that could pose a threat to the environment if damaged, a robust spill
Oil development is a long process even if everything goes smoothly.
response plan, and an increased Coast Guard presence. “Seventy
Given that offshore development is just getting under way in the
billion dollars might be there in resource wealth,” he said. “Seventy
Arctic, it will be some time before oil is flowing from beneath the
billion dollars. Such vast upside potential carries with it, I believe, a
ice. James Craig, a geologist for the U.S. Minerals Management Ser-
responsibility to use world-class standards and safeguards that mini-
vice, said the only offshore site currently operating in Alaska took 17
mize any potential costs and damage to the Arctic environment and
years to get up and running, and when the next site begins operation
subsistence way of life.”
it will have been at least 24 years. Dennis Thurston, author of an Oil and Gas Assessment being
“The Fate of the Arctic is our Fate”
done by a working group of the Arctic Council, said he doesn’t see
The Inuit have survived for millennia in some of the harshest con-
oil flowing from the Chukchi or Canadian Arctic for 10 to 15 years,
ditions on Earth. They lived by following game over snow-covered
even in a best-case scenario. Greenland is very active in its pursuit of
mountain ranges and across shifting pack ice. The land supplied ev-
oil and gas but is considerably less explored than Alaska or Canada,
erything they needed to survive. For nearly 10,000 years, relatively
making oil extraction in the near future unlikely.
little changed for the people of the North. The Inuit, like people across
From the perspective of Inuit leaders, this is perfectly fine.
the globe, survived by adapting to anything nature threw at them.
Greene, who has experience with past development, said a key lesson
But today, it is the modern world, not Mother Nature, forcing the
she has learned is the importance of taking things slowly, giving lead-
Inuit to adapt more rapidly than ever before. Its pressures and un-
ership the chance to hear and address the concerns of local people.
quenchable demand for resources pose the gravest threat yet to their
Also, both Greene and Itta want to see more research, communica-
cherished subsistence way of life. While the Inuit recognize the need
tion and planning before offering support for offshore development.
for economic development in the 21st century, no amount of money
In his Senate testimony, Itta said that acquiring more baseline
could possibly compensate for the loss of their land or sea.
data is a priority. “We have to know the wildlife populations and the
Itta and Greene both recognize the stakes. “We can’t just relocate
habitat before any of these activities get under way. If we don’t, we
and move somewhere,” testified Itta. “We live here. Subsistence is
won’t be able to measure or understand the impacts going forward,”
what identifies us as a people.”
he said. Treadwell said that the USARC recognizes the importance of
“We’re going to do it right,” said Greene. “We have to. Our way of
further research and has been pushing for much better Arctic Ocean
life is too important. It is sacred to us. And we have no intentions of
baseline science and a more aggressive oil spill research program in
compromising that in any way.”
order to be prepared for development. Local consultation is also vital. Shell Oil, which bought a majority
Kivalina, a small village on Alaska’s northwest coast, is one of the 11 member communities of the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission. (Courtesy James Magdanz)
Reid Magdanz is a sophomore prospective Environmental Studies major in Timothy Dwight college. He grew up in Kotzebue, Alaska.
FOCUS: High Seas 27 the yale globalist
Troubled Waters A water crisis is devastating the Middle East and emptying the Dead Sea, but regional cooperation on this critical issue may create an important model for peace. By Jeffrey Kaiser and Nathaniel Sobel
A
hazy, thick atmosphere permeates the coast of the Dead Sea. The inescapable heat, the thick air, and the warmth of the
Implications of a Crisis The Middle East, which receives low average annual precipitation,
mineral-heavy water can be overwhelming. Since the era of
has few sustainable water sources on which to rely. In the 1950s and
Herod the Great, the people of this region have known about the wa-
60s, Israel, Jordan, and Syria each built competing dams on the Jor-
ter’s therapeutic properties. Its viscous, black mud, rich in salts and
dan River and its tributaries, the Sea of Galilee and the Yarmuk Riv-
minerals, leaves the skin feeling silky and rejuvenated.
er, diverting the water to faucets and farms.
But the Dead Sea itself lies in desperate need of rejuvenation.
These dams and water harvesting tactics have come with a politi-
Since 1960, its surface area has shrunk by a third. While this abrupt
cal and environmental price. When Syria built its dam on the Jordan
change has created its own problems, it is only a small part of a much
River in 1953, Israel was outraged. Abba Eban, then Israel’s chief del-
larger issue: the critical water shortage that has only recently be-
egate to the United Nations, claimed that the act was part of Syria’s
come a priority in the Middle East.
“avowed political and economic warfare” against Israel. Tensions
In a region beset with political and religious discord, water both
eventually subsided, but the need for water did not. Today Israel,
poses the greatest threat and offers the greatest potential for peace.
Syria, and Jordan divert nearly 95 percent of the Lower Jordan’s flow,
“Solving the water issue is not as hard as solving the refugee prob-
wreaking havoc on the river’s ecosystem and preventing any signifi-
lem, and not as hard as solving the Jerusalem problem,” said Mira
cant flow into the Dead Sea.
Edelstein of the Tel Aviv office of Friends of the Earth Middle East
In addition to its ecological importance, the Jordan River has rich
(FoEME), an NGO focused on finding solutions to the water crisis,
historical and religious significance. It is believed that Jesus was bap-
“but water is the beginning.” Across the Jordan River, Abdel Rahman
tized there, and each year thousands of tourists make the pilgrimage
Sultan, of the Jordanian FoEME office, stressed the gravity of the
to bathe in the holy water. But, according to Sultan, these people are
issue. “In a hundred years, if nothing is done to mitigate the crisis,
literally “jumping in holy shit.” This far downstream, nearly all of the
there will be no Israeli-Palestinian conflict because there will be no
clean water has been replaced by sewage and wastewater.
people,” Sultan said emphatically. In an area fraught with dangerous
Most emblematic of today’s water crisis is the state of the Dead
political tensions, cooperation on an issue that could supersede all
Sea. At 418 meters below sea level, the Dead Sea is the lowest land
others has the potential to create peace, as Sultan put it, “from the
point on Earth, the saltiest body of water in the world, and a primary
ground up.”
tourist attraction for both Jordan and Israel. Additionally, it is the
The Dead Sea, one of the world’s most unique bodies of water, is shrinking rapidly and may be completely dry by 2050 if nothing is done to alter the harmful practices currently in place. (Flickr Creative Commons)
core of the local potash industry, which extracts potassium-rich salts from the water for use in fertilizers. The fact that water flow into the Dead Sea is currently only five percent of what it once was has dire
28 FOCUS: High Seas winter 2009
consequences. According to FoEME, within 50 years the Dead Sea will be little more than a large pond. The ecologically destructive water management policies instituted by Israel, Jordan, and Syria have made it impossible to quench the region’s thirst in a sustainable manner. In Amman, where the Jordanian government limits the supply of public water to 24 hours each week, private water distributors are rapidly depleting non-renewable underground sources in a mad dash to meet consumer demand. Inefficiencies in the current distribution system also cause significant loss of water: USAID has reported that up to 40 percent of water diverted from the region’s major water sources is leaked along the way. That the major cities in the region are desperate for water is understandable. That there has been such delay in addressing the envi-
Each year, thousands of tourists and pilgrims come to the site of Jesus’s baptism on the Jordan River to bathe in the holy, yet polluted, water. (Flickr Creative Commons)
ronmental repercussions is not.
Mitigating the Crisis
El-Naser sees the canal project as “an environmental project, not a water project. Water pumped to Amman from the canal is a byprod-
Water issues in the Middle East have become so dire that govern-
uct.” Ms. Galit Cohen, the head of environmental policy at the Israeli
ments can no longer afford to ignore the facts. They have taken two
Ministry of Environmental Protection, emphasized the environmen-
basic approaches, both of which are necessary for real progress. The
tal hazards of the project. “Pumping such a large amount of water
first is to reduce consumption. But attempting to change behavior is
out of the relatively small Gulf of Aqaba could destroy the Coral reefs
a challenge, especially as the populations of both Israel and Jordan
and the ecosystem there,” said Cohen, referencing a feasibility study
grow and modernize. Dr. Hazim El-Naser, the former Jordanian Min-
conducted by Jordanians, Israelis, and Palestinians.
ister of Water and Irrigation and a current member of the Jordanian
Moreover, mixing waters of such different chemical and mineral
Parliament, stressed the need for behavioral changes in the general
makeup “is really an irreversible process,” said Cohen. “It may be a
population. “The Jordanian government is already utilizing every
solution, but it very well may be a disaster.” Still, the Jordanian gov-
possible efficiency device in order to save water,” he said.
ernment recently decided to go ahead with the preliminary phase of
Perhaps the biggest obstacle to progress on the water issue is
the project, which ultimately aims to deliver an additional 120 million
a hundred years, if nothing is done to mitigate the crisis, there will be no Israeli–Palestinian “ Inconflict because there will be no people.”
— Abdel Rahman Sultan, project manager, Friends of the Earth Middle East
agriculture. The agricultural lobbies are very strong in both Israel
cubic meters of drinking water to the country each year and pour 190
and Jordan, and convincing famers to use less water is no easy task.
million cubic meters of water into the Dead Sea.
“Farmers want to maintain the status-quo,” said Edelstein of FoEME. The farming of lucrative non-indigenous crops, which Edelstein de-
A Road to Peace?
scribed as “water intensive,” is a major source of the problem. “We
While at its core the water crisis is an environmental issue, many
don’t need to be growing bananas in the Jordan River valley; bananas
hope that it could also offer potential peace for the region. Abdel Sul-
are from a tropical environment,” she said. Furthermore, most farm-
tan of FoEME leads the Jordanian branch of FoEME’s Good Water
ers receive government subsidies for the cultivation of these crops,
Neighbors project, which intends to increase water awareness be-
which, instead of feeding the population at home, are often exported.
tween neighboring Israeli, Palestinian, and Jordanian communities.
In effect, Edelstein argued, “we’re exporting our water.”
Sultan believes that only through this sort of interpersonal contact
In an effort to address this problem, subsidies have recently been
— “creating a human component” — can there be sustainable peace.
lowered in Israel, and farmers are beginning to use recycled water;
But with Jordan proceeding alone on the Red-Dead canal, hopes
about 70 percent of water used on Israeli farms is treated wastewater.
for communication and cooperation may be waning. Israel is still con-
Two new wastewater treatment plants are currently under construc-
sidering the project but is waiting for more definitive results from a
tion on the Israeli side of the Jordan River.
World Bank survey before making a final decision. And while the in-
The second approach to tempering the crisis looks to technologi-
volved governments and a handful of interested NGOs have taken up
cal innovation to provide new water sources. Most research efforts
the issue, nothing significant will be accomplished until the popula-
have focused on creating a passage to pump water inland from the
tion realizes what is at stake. But as Sultan pointedly suggested, this
Red Sea. According to its proponents, the canal, known informally
may not occur until “people open their taps and no water comes out.”
as the “Red-Dead,” will have a two-fold purpose: to pump desalinated water north to Amman and to help replenish the Dead Sea. While the plan may seem simple, it has sparked significant controversy.
Jeffrey Kaiser is a sophomore in Saybrook College. Nathaniel Sobel is a sophomore in Berkeley College.
FOCUS: High Seas 29 the yale globalist
Reeling in EU Fishing The EU struggles to find a fairer system for fishing in Europe. By Andrew Feldman
I
n an effort to preserve declining fishing stocks, in 2001 the European Commission ruled almost 400 square kilometers of waters off-limits to fishermen. Closing an area larger than the city of De-
troit disrupted the lives of the many fishermen who relied on those waters to make a living. But after the grumblings of the fishermen and the cheers of environmentalists subsided, Commission experts admitted an embarrassing fact: By diverting fishermen into even more vulnerable fisheries, the closure had done more harm than good.
Dead in the water: Without significant changes to fishing policy, fishing stocks are predicted to drop off significantly. (Flickr Creative Commons)
The reasons for the Commission’s regulation of fishing make sense
into African waters, depleting those resources and displacing Afri-
enough. Technological advancements have given modern fishermen
can fishermen. The resulting economic damage has fueled resent-
the power to fish the oceans clean, and without any sort of regula-
ment against Europe, and in some cases, desperate attempts to im-
tion they have no short-term incentive not to do so. A 2006 report in
migrate to the wealthy states of the EU.
Science went so far as to claim that current trends could lead to the extinction of most species of fish by 2050. And since fish don’t obey political borders, the task of preserving fish in Europe has been delegated to the European Commission, the EU executive, and its Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The CFP has been around since the 1970s, but for many years its regulations were simply not enforced. The structure of the EU leaves
A 2006 report in Science went so far as to claim that current trends could lead to the extinction of most species of fish by 2050. implementation and enforcement of EU laws up to member states, which can choose how strictly they want to enforce them. In Britain, enforcement was lenient. “No one adhered to the rules during the first 15 or 20 years of CFP,” said Mike Park, a retired fisherman who now heads the Scottish White Fish Producers Association. Besides the “tacit recognition that we shouldn’t be landing too ridiculous a number of fish,” fishermen were free to skirt the rules on the total catch allowed by selling off fish before landing and filling out their official log books, he said. This leniency led, predictably, to a failure to maintain a sustainable rate of fishing. Mike Walker, a senior associate with the Pew Environment Group’s European Marine Program, pointed to the Commission’s own report, which found 80 percent of monitored stocks were over-fished. Left un-countered, these trends could cause “disastrous consequences for fishery-dependent coastal communities and the marine environment,” Walker said in an e-mail message. And the problem has had significant geopolitical consequences. In the search for more fisheries, European fishermen have expanded
Holes in the Net The Commission has steadily toughened its regulations in response to these failures. Since 2004, the CFP has mandated source documentation of every transaction to clarify who is catching how much fish. There are also restrictions on the total fish that can be caught per year, per country, and per fisherman as well as on the number of days at sea and on the size of the nets, all of which vary by species. Fishermen and their representatives generally claim that the CFP both harms their industry and fails to achieve its goals. The CFP “increases costs and decreases wages,” said Rory Campbell, science and environment policy officer of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation. The policy is “reducing income and reducing morale,” he said, by restricting time at sea and amount that can be caught. In the eyes of fishermen, the salt in the wound is that despite its strict regulations, many CFP policies fail to reduce overfishing. One of the most visible of these policies is the limit on how many fish fishermen can bring to shore. If they catch too much of the wrong kind of fish, they are required to throw them back. According to the World Wildlife Fund-Germany (WWF-Germany), this becomes the fate of over a million tons of fish each year. WWF-Germany told the Environmental News service at the time that such discarding is “one of the largest threats to many sea creatures.” Most fishermen have a long list of grievances against the CFP, which they accuse of simultaneously failing to achieve its objectives and harming their livelihoods. Above all, they claim that the CFP’s problems are built into its structure. “The principal reason for failure is the highly centralized command-and-control approach, remote from the specific fisheries,” said Barry Deas, chief executive of the National Federation of Fishermen Organization. “It’s a blunt measure operating through a one-size-fits-
30 FOCUS: High Seas winter 2009
all approach across widely diverse fisheries.” In addition, in a majority of the cases, scientific advisors do not have enough information to provide sound advice. “I think it’s fair to say that it’s a broken system,” Deas said. On a day-to-day level, fishermen are frustrated with micromanagement that seemingly achieves nothing. Due to the Commission, “highly descriptive rules come from above that fail in implementation,” said Deas. Park, a 30-year fisherman, said that it is now “very difficult to become efficient and profitable. The CFP micromanages the fleet so that businesses can’t adapt to changing circumstances.”
Going Greener in the Big Blue Environmental groups aren’t any happier with the policy, which they see as lenient, underenforced, and ultimately ineffective. But beyond that, Greenpeace objects to the quotas, which they see as not limiting fishing enough. “A seaworthy policy would drastically reduce the number of fish that are being taken from the sea,” Saskia Richartz, Greenpeace EU oceans policy director, said in a press release. The political nature of the program leads to policies that favor those with power just as much as the common goals of the EU. “Catch limits should be set by scientists, not by politicians,” said Walker of the Pew Environment Group. And according to Walker, politicians must face the harsh reality that “fishing capacity must be brought in line with available fishing resources.” In other words, the EU needs to stop subsidizing fishermen, enforce the laws strictly, and, if necessary, reduce overall fleet size. While the Commission is often portrayed as insulated from citizen input, even it has acknowledged the failings of its current system. A 2007 report commissioned by the agency responsible for the CFP called the model for the program “an archaic form of governance.” This admission has resulted in a complete review of the CFP, with the hope that changes can be introduced by 2012. Encouragingly, fishermen’s federations as well as environmental groups acknowledge the importance of limiting both the adverse financial and environmental impacts of the policy. Fisherman are
In the eyes of fishermen, the salt in the wound is that despite its strict regulations, many CFP policies fail to reduce overfishing. pragmatic, and recognize that “sustainable fisheries are profitable fisheries,” as Campbell put it. Richartz, of Greenpeace, wrote that CFP has failed by causing EU fisheries to be the “most unsustainable and least profitable fisheries in the world.” On the receiving end of the command-and-control system, fishermen advocate for the right of regional organizations to design their own fishing plans in line with EU sustainability standards that would then need approval at the EU level. “If you did that, you could remove a lot of the micromanagement, and you would also generate a sense of responsibility for the stocks,” said Deas. Inside the European Parliament, whose members are held more directly responsible for the needs of constituents back home, the issue has a sense of urgency. A spokeswoman for Struan Stevenson, a Scottish member of the European Parliament and vice-president of
A Danish fisherman displays his dislike for EU fishing policies. (Flickr Creative Commons) the Fisheries Committee, said Stevenson called for the abolition of the CFP, warning that “most fishermen will not survive until then, particularly if this most recent round of cuts is implemented.” The agreement on the need to fix the CFP might make reform seem like a slam dunk, but not everyone is convinced of its smooth sailing ahead. “The Commission keeps on making noises that there will be a big reworking, but I don’t think they’ll take as big a plunge,” said Campbell. “They have their hands tied by member states” who want to protect the interests of their domestic fishing industries. Fishermen have staked out the line that no Brussels-based regulator, no matter how skilled or knowledgeable, can adequately regulate a highly complex marine ecosystem. And environmentalists, to some degree, agree that the Commission’s powers have hampered the ability of member states to protect their own marine resources. In reforming the CFP, the Commission faces pressures from member states and the possibility of shrinking influence. As the Commission sets sail on this path, the tangle of competing interests portends a debate that may very well leave all parties unhappy. Andrew Feldman is a junior Political Science major in Morse College.
CULTURE 31
the yale globalist
White Skin on the Black Market The Tanzanian government response to widespread albino killings fails to dispel the ignorance that drives the market for albino body parts. By Catherine Cheney
“T
such widespread ritual killings are unique to Tanzania, where tra-
as he recounted the slaying of his sister. “All the commu-
ditional healers serving rural communities brutally murder albino
nity came to the cliffs to see the body. They checked the bloodstained
women and children, hacking them to death, skinning them, remov-
soil of the cliffs. Then three days passed and the soil had gone dry.”
ing their hair, and carving out and carrying off body parts worth
he calming people, the healers, they killed her,” panted
While prejudice toward albinos is common throughout Africa,
Starone Makoye, a young man from Mwanza, Tanzania,
Makoye stood outside the Tanzania Albino Society in Dar es Sa-
thousands of dollars. They leave behind a grieving family and a pool
laam and wrung his white hands as he recounted the memory. “Two
of blood. Even when albinos are able to escape murder, die naturally,
people came to my home to kill me with fire, and so I came here.”
and be buried, they remain threatened. Their graves must be cement-
Like all albinos, Makoye lacks melanin pigment in his skin, hair,
ed to protect their bones from theft.
and eyes; with little protection from ultraviolet rays, he is much more
The products made from these body parts are met with strong
vulnerable to the harsh sunlight in East Africa. Albinism is five times
demand and yield high prices, particularly in the Northwest of the
more common in Tanzania than in Europe and North America, affect-
country near Lake Victoria. Those who buy albino hair to weave
ing one in 4,000 people. Albinos must cover their skin and often feel
into their fishing nets and albino potions to bring them luck believe
secluded because of their need to stay out of the sun, but in Tanzania,
that albinos never die but simply disappear and that their bodies are
many albinos are in hiding for another reason. The story Makoye de-
there for the taking.
scribed is not uncommon. It is one example of the gruesome, tragic
Gaston Nchek, general secretary of the Tanzania Albino United Soccer Team, oversees practice in a field just across the street from the Tanzania Albino Society in Dar es Salaam. (Cheney/TYG)
fate of many albinos who are murdered for the fortune that their body parts are worth.
32 CULTURE winter 2009
Ruling and Religion
missing from this coverage is an investigation of the underlying rea-
In January, Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda announced that the Tan-
sons for these killings, the reasons behind the voracious demand for
zanian government would revoke the licenses of traditional healers
albino body parts and widespread disregard for human rights.
to save albinos from the murderous “witch doctors.” Pinda also ap-
“If we want a tree to die forever, we have to remove the roots,”
pointed an albino woman to parliament and adopted an albino child,
explained Ernest Kimaya, chairman of the Tanzania Albino Society.
all in an effort to indicate government support for the albino popula-
With these words, Kimaya captured the inefficacy of the government
tion.
approach to combating the killings of albinos. The murders of albinos
“I am urging you to help us in stopping these cruel acts and this shame on our country,” said President Jakaya Kikwete in March 2009,
will not cease until the ignorance surrounding albinism is replaced by understanding.
indicating how national reputation also motivated the government in
There are several problems with the government decision to re-
encouraging its citizenry to report those who had murdered albinos
voke the licenses of traditional healers. First, the approach does not
to the police. But police officers themselves were involved in these
attack the root of the problem: the ignorance of the rural population
killings, benefiting from the trade of albino body parts.
regarding what albinism really is. Secondly, traditional healers will
An estimated 30 percent of Tanzanians — a large majority of
likely still practice under the radar, defeating the purpose of the law;
whom practice tribal religions revolving around spiritual forces and
if they do not practice, then rural community members, angered by
ancestral spirits — rely on diviners and traditional healers to bring
the policy and desperate for their magical potions, will look to the
them health and good fortune. These populations demand the potions
black market. Lastly, the government decision only applies to tradi-
containing albino body parts, whereas people who follow monothe-
tional healers, ignoring the parents who kill their own albino chil-
istic religions condemn the trade of albino body parts for religious
dren.
reasons.
“Some people believe that it is a curse to the family and they
“If you have a fear of God, you do not kill another person,” said Jo-
kill that child,” said Josephat Torner. “Or sometimes the father be-
sephat Torner, assistant managing director of the organization Under
lieves the mother must have had sexual affairs outside the family.”
the Same Sun. “Most in the rural areas are non-believers… People
Ashamed to admit they killed their own child, many parents bury
are not going to churches. People are not going to mosques. They just
their albino children secretly and tell the community that they magi-
believe in witchcraft. They don’t believe in God.”
cally disappeared, perpetuating the belief that albinos never die but
Dula Mwalim Ali sells fruits and vegetables at his stand in the
Even when albinos are able to escape murder, die naturally, and be buried, they remain threatened. Their graves must be cemented to protect their bones from theft.
instead fade away. Al Shayma Kwegyir, the first albino on the Tanzania parliament, has acknowledged that ignorance is a problem in rural areas. “Education is very much needed in the area,” she said. Kwegyir said she has worked in eight regions to increase awareness and inform people in rural regions “that albinos are human beings.”
Working in the Sun Aside from the widespread ignorance that perpetuates the killings,
Zanzibar Old Town market. Beneath the brim of his hat that protected his pink skin, he became emotional when asked about the killings in Tanzania. “It hurts my heart,” he said, struggling to find the words to express his feelings. Ali has been to mainland Tanzania only twice. He said he prefers to stay on the island, where there has not been a single recorded case of an albino murder. As he smiled for a picture, the market workers around him turned his hat backwards, removed his sunglasses, and forced his body into poses, mocking him and using him as a puppet to entertain themselves. While most people living in more developed areas like Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar understand that albinos are human, discrimination and humiliation persist. As the Tanzanian government works to end albino deaths at the hands, torches, and knives of traditional healers, they must see beyond the greed and the gore and focus on
another issue affecting the albino population is the unequal access to education for Tanzanian albinos. “We invest in education and we expect a return out of it,” said Torner, explaining why some parents will not send their albino children to school. “Parents think these children could disappear anyway.” Kaganzi Rutachwamagyo of the International Center for Disabilities (ICD) said even parents who realize that their albino children will not disappear often resist sending them to school. “Hiding their children is a way of coping with the situation when someone would be mocked, cajoled,” he explained. Sometimes schools reject albino children altogether. “Teachers say, ‘What do I do with such a child? I’m not a specialist so why bring it to me?’” explained Rutachwamagyo. “They do not want to associate
what fuels the murders: ignorance.
with creatures that are rather freakish.”
Removing from the Roots
access to education have not attended school since 2007 because of
International media outlets have covered the murders of albinos in
the killings and their need to stay indoors. This remains a problem in
Tanzania, mostly focusing on the gruesome scenes at the sites of the
remote areas.
killings as well as government responses to the violence. What is
Many albino children who previously had parental support and
When albinos reach a working age, they find their prospects lim-
CULTURE 33
the yale globalist
Juma spit vomit and blood into a small bag as she spoke, and she looked up from her hospital bed with pained eyes set in a swollen face of black patchy moles, red frizzy hair, and yellow wounds.
Moving Forward The Tanzanian government’s public statements and legal decisions have not reflected an understanding of the problems underlying the superstition, persecution, and murder of albinos. Rutachwamagyo of the ICD complained that the government decision to revoke the licenses of traditional healers, in addition to being ineffective and inadequate, is an attempt to repair reputation rather than reform societal norms. “The killings of albinos have brought shame to the country,” he said. “The government says, ‘How will the rest of the world look at us?’ The idea is to save the face of the country.” The government must identify the root problems of albino killings and stop not only witch doctor murders but also murders within families, the unequal access to education, the widespread cases of skin cancer, and the social stigma against albinism. They must do this not by revoking the licenses of healers but by launching an education campaign to address these issues at the source. The government should support efforts that bridge divides between albinos and non-albinos, efforts like the Tanzania Albino United Soccer Team. Gaston Nchek, general secretary of the team, is an albino man with an albino wife and three non-albino children. Practicing with the team on a field outside the Tanzania Albino Society, Nchek was thrilled as he watched albinos and “black boys,” as he called them, playing together, sharing jerseys, and rooting for their teammates regardless of skin color. Even organizations as established as the Tanzania Albino Soci-
Tatu Juma, a 47-year-old albino woman who grew up in a tribe in rural Tanzania, discusses her painful melanoma sores at the Ocean Road Cancer Center in Dar es Salaam. (Cheney/TYG) ited by low education levels and often have to take outdoor manual labor jobs, such as construction and farming. When Josephat Torner, who wears long sleeves, sunglasses, and a baseball cap to shield his pink skin anytime he enters the sun, described the risk of skin cancer for albinos, he spelled out a deadly, yet simple, equation. “Most people with albinism lack education and go into economic activities carried out in the sunlight,” Torner said matter-of-factly. “And then they get cancer.” He added that skin cancer is also a problem in rural areas where many do not realize the risks of skin cancer nor the importance, or even existence, of sunscreen. He claimed that albinos born into nomadic tribes, such as the Maasai tribe, can die as young as age five or six after days, months, and years of roaming with unprotected skin. At the Ocean Road Cancer Center in Dar es Salaam, one such albino tribesperson, a 47-year-old named Tatu Juma, sat in extreme pain as melanoma consumed her tissue. “I always played in the sun
ety, which receives government funding, feel that the support does not go far enough. “We suffer alone to find a way to stop the killings of albinos,” Kimaya said. “We talk to government to say now we want to work together.” Recent pressures on the Tanzanian government may lead to reforms in policies regarding equal rights for albinos. For example, it is believed that albinos were murdered in Burundi and then traded over the border into neighboring Tanzania. On March 20, the Tanzanian government issued a referendum to identify the killers of albinos. But while more than 90 people have been arrested for alleged involvement in albino murders, only one conviction has been issued. In September, the high court of Tanzania sentenced three men to hang once they were convicted of murdering a 13-year-old albino boy. Torner said the government efforts must expand beyond convicting murderers. The government must work to change the perception of albinos. “Empower us, and then you will see what we have to offer. Right now, policies are not friendly toward albinos,” Torner said. “We are not animals. We are human beings. We have a right to life. We need the world to understand we are able if we are empowered.”
without covering myself. For a long time, I didn’t know the sun wasn’t good for me,” Juma said. “But I had to collect food. There was no other way.”
Catherine Cheney is a senior Political Science major in Trumbull College.
34 CULTURE winter 2009
Scarf Division Black- and red-checkered kuffiyas are wrapped up in Jordan’s troubled search for a unified national identity. By Alyssa Bernstein
Names in this article have been altered to protect the privacy of those interviewed.
“W
e are all Hamas.” The graffiti, scrawled across a school in a Palestinian refugee camp in Amman, mocked the ”We
are all Jordan” solidarity campaign launched by the city of Amman in the wake of 2005 hotel bombings. The attacks had been led by Abu Musad al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian-Palestinian leader of Al-Qaeda in
Fans of Wehidat, the Palestinian-Jordanian Football League Team, wave a huta in the air beside a Jordanian police officer. After the photo was taken, the officer gestured for them to put it down. (Bernstein/TYG)
Iraq. Approximately half of Jordan’s citizens identify themselves either as from Palestine or as Palestinian, though they are Jordanian
to think I’m biased,” said a 21-year-old student at Jordan University.
citizens.
“Most people think that it shows that you want to fight people outside
Despite 60 years of cohabitation and intermarriage, divisions be-
of your group or who don’t believe what you believe.”
tween Jordanians and Palestinians are visible everywhere in daily
But this same student said that wearing the scarf at a protest filled
life, signaled by details like surname, accent, neighborhood, and em-
her with pride: “I felt I was being myself. Wearing the Palestinian
ployment. Since 1970, when the Palestinian Liberation Army clashed
huta is saying that people in Palestine are suffering and you want to
with the Jordanian army and thousands of civilians died, relations
be in solidarity with them, even if only with this silly thing that you
between the two groups have been strained.
are wearing.”
In most places, the tension simmers quietly. To outsiders, the
The Palestinian huta evokes contrasting sentiments in Jordani-
only apparent sign of division lies in the scarves sold in souvenir
ans. Like many Jordanians, 24-year-old Ismail feels frustrated that
shops across the country. Kuffiyas, called hutas in Jordan, are tied
Palestinians take advantage of the country’s resources but are more
around teenagers’ necks, folded over old men’s heads, and draped
loyal to Palestine. “Jordan gives them so much,” said Ismail. “They
across car seats. Unlike in the United States, in Jordan these scarves
have to be proud that they are Jordanian. They have Jordanian IDs,
are more than just fashion statements: The black and white scarf
passports. They are sharing our resources.”
symbolizes Palestine, while the red and white stands for Jordan.
As more children of mixed Jordanian-Palestinian parentage come
Because of the nationalistic connotations, most Jordanians
of age, the divide is beginning to erode. An 18-year-old Palestinian-
choose to avoid wearing either scarf, favoring safe neutrality over
Jordanian student at the University of Jordan answered derisively
overt political expression. Hutas usually only appear in large num-
when asked why he was wearing the Jordanian red huta instead of
bers at events where Jordanians and Palestinians compete, like foot-
the black Palestinian one: “It was cleaner.” He and his friends felt
ball games.
comfortable wearing either, depending on which matched their outfit.
In 2009, the football team Wehidat, based out of a Palestinian
The rainbow-colored scarf that has recently become popular with
refugee camp, beat the favorite Jordanian team to the finals. At the
hipsters across America is also sweeping Jordan. Older Jordanians
championship match, Jordanian police kept the Palestinian crowd in
and Palestinians view the new colorful scarves with some alarm,
check by shouting, threatening, and prodding fans with batons. At-
afraid that they are a conspiracy to weaken Jordanian and Pales-
tempts by victorious fans to wave the Palestinian flag or huta were
tinian identity. However, the huta that is just fashionable instead of
short-lived. In a crowd of Palestinians cheering on their team, the
overtly Palestinian or Jordanian is outselling the classic scarves. Jor-
black-and-white huta was only visible sticking out of jacket collars.
dan will know by next season whether the new scarves are a pass-
“I hide the huta when the police pull me over,” said Amr, a young Palestinian-Jordanian man who keeps a huta tied around the head-
ing fad, but the sentiment behind them spells hope for a more united future.
rest of his Honda. The Jordanian army and police are recruited specifically from those of Jordanian descent. Amr’s brother claims that his police force application was rejected when the hiring board saw that his grandfather’s birthplace was in Palestine. “I’m Palestinian and I don’t wear the huta. I don’t want people
Alyssa Bernstein is a senior Modern Middle East Studies major in Timothy Dwight College.
CULTURE 35
the yale globalist
Someone Else’s Story In the Canadian publishing world, a once-poisonous debate over cultural appropriation comes to an uneasy conclusion. By Ariel Baker-Gibbs
I
n Deborah Ellis’s children’s novel The Breadwinner, an Afghan girl ventures out into the Taliban-controlled city of Kabul dressed as
a boy to provide for her family. In The Shepherd’s Granddaughter, by Anne Laurel Carter, a Palestinian girl’s family farm is bulldozed by Israeli soldiers. Both novels were published by the Canadian children’s press Groundwood Books, which strives to publish works by Canadian authors “who through circumstance have been marginalized and whose contribution to our society is not always visible.” Both novels have won praise, if not from highbrow literary critics, then from readers around the world. However, the authors of these books do not come from Palestine or Afghanistan. Ellis and Carter are white Canadians. The sharp contrast between these authors’ backgrounds and those of the characters whose stories they tell lies at the heart of the furiously debated issue of cultural appropriation in the publishing world. Minority communities like the First Nations, Chinese, and Japanese experienced oppression at the hands of the Canadian government when European settlers seized Native land and claimed it for
nos, Indians, Jamaicans, Pakistanis, Ukrainians, Africans, and count-
Parvana, the main character of The Breadwinner, is an eleven-year-old girl who must dress as a boy in order to work after the Taliban arrests her father. (Courtesy Groundwood Books)
less others immigrated to Canada and have their own stories to tell.
respect in the publishing world, all authors would be free to write
their own in the 17th century, and later, when Canada exploited Asian immigrants for cheap labor in the 1800s. In more recent years, Filipi-
Canada’s population today is a far cry from the mainly white AngloSaxon audience that enjoyed the quintessentially Canadian Anne of Green Gables, published in 1908. Yet throughout the last century, authors of minority backgrounds have argued that their voices and stories were usurped by “inauthentic” white authors while they themselves were barred from the publishing industry because of their non-whiteness. Well into the 1970s, the only books published about minority experiences were written by white authors. Enraged racial action groups and minority authors engaged in a hostile and personal debate over this issue through the 1970s and ’80s. According to Patsy Aldana, the publisher at Groundwood Books, the discussion called into question the nature of authorship itself. “On the one side were writers saying, ‘What right do you have to tell my story? You don’t know and can never know what it means to be me.’ On the other side were writers saying, ‘I am a writer. The very essence of my work is to imagine what it is like to be someone else. You cannot tell me what to write.’” For Aldana, the central issue was not theft of ideas, but the lack of recognition of minority authors and their own stories. She had always maintained that as soon as minority authors gained proper
what they wanted. Today, some publishing houses have minority-oriented imprints, branches with separate brand names that publish books for or by a specific group. Others devote themselves entirely to books by authors of a specific background. Mainstream publishers focus on profit, achieved by “reliable name recognition, not novelty,” explained young adult literature author Marc Aronson. When a mainstream house considers a book by a white author on a minority topic, a feeling of “nervousness” remains, with anxious houses “wanting to be sure an author or artist has it right if she or he is writing from an ethnic point of view not his or her own,” said Aronson. In Groundwood’s philosophy, “it’s the point of view that matters,” according to publisher Aldana. The author’s background comes second. For Ellis, writing is an integral part of speaking up for child victims of war. What matters most is that “a new voice, in the best writing possible” answers the needs of a new, broadened world of children’s books. Ariel Baker-Gibbs is a junior English major in Trumbull College. She has interned at Groundwood Books for the past two summers.
36 PERSPECTIVES winter 2009
Schooling a New Golden Generation Eritrea’s Sawa Defence Training Centre combines a secondary school education with basic military training for the country’s youth, inciting pride in some and outrage in others. By Nathan Yohannes
Eritrea has been accused of a crime that makes Westerners shudder: the military conscription of children.
A
typical student at the Sawa camp in Eritrea wakes
service, including the year spent in training at Sawa.
at six in the morning to prepare for his day. He
After service, Eritreans can either pursue a career in
could have some chemistry homework to finish before
the military or return to the private sector, remaining
class, or need to study for a quiz. Later in the after-
a permanent reservist. The military requirement is
noon, he might enjoy a game of soccer or a cup of tea
more than just a patriotic duty: Only those who serve
with friends. But each morning, before he can begin
the conscription period are eligible to attend college or
his homework, he must meet the rest of the student
procure many jobs.
body outside for mandatory military training. At age
Esther, a 20-year-old who graduated from Sawa a
eighteen this student is familiar with the calishen, or
few weeks ago, is now anxiously awaiting the results
rifle, and is mature enough to take orders from an im-
of her college entrance exams, which will determine
posing commanding officer.
whether she will be able to go to university or techni-
This is the life of a student at the Sawa Defence
cal school. “I really want to go work for a successful
Training Centre, located in the small East African
company in the city and make enough money to have
nation of Eritrea and strategically placed near the in-
a family,” she said. Looking back on her time in Sawa,
famously contested Eritrean-Ethiopian border. Each
Esther seems remarkably grateful. “My family was not
year, teenagers from across the country come to the
very wealthy, you know.” She received a free education
camp to complete their high school education, spend-
and was able to meet people from all of Eritrea’s eight
ing their 12th-grade year combining normal academics
different tribes. She is the ideal child of Sawa, appre-
with military training. These students are the lifeblood
ciative of education, accepting of her obligations, and
of the nation; they are the warsay, the second genera-
prepared for a life dedicated to bettering the state.
tion since independence and the generation entrusted with keeping Eritrea independent.
Most Western nations and international organizations do not share Esther’s views on the camp. Eritrea
This perennial need for able-bodied soldiers is a
has been accused of a crime that makes Westerners
consequence of the “no-peace, no war” relationship be-
shudder: the military conscription of children. The
tween Eritrea and Ethiopia. In 1998, war broke out be-
global humanitarian organization Amnesty Interna-
tween Eritrea and its former colonizers over contested
tional has officially condemned Sawa, accusing the
land in the Badme region. This Eritrean-Ethiopian bor-
camp of regularly forcing children as young as 14 to
der war, which ended in 2000, cost hundreds of millions
enroll. Organizations like UNICEF and Human Rights
of dollars and killed tens of thousands of people. A
Watch have chastised the Eritrean military for round-
United Nations-approved commission awarded Eritrea
ing up street children for the camp and violating basic
the Badme region and allowed Ethiopia to keep some
educational rights by requiring a period of military
of the territory seized during the fighting. But peace
training for graduation. This reputation was all I knew
may be short-lived: Since 2007, both sides have been
of Sawa when I, an Eritrean-American about the same
remobilizing their armies in anticipation of a flare-up.
age as the soldiers, made a visit.
Since 1991, the year it won its independence from
In 2006 my family decided to travel to my parents’
Ethiopia, Eritrea has been one of the world’s most
hometown. During this typical rite of passage for Er-
militarized states. Its ratio of military expenditure
itrean-American kids, I visited the houses in which my
to gross national product is the ninth highest in the
parents were born, was enthusiastically greeted by
world. Eritrea’s soldier-citizen ratio is also stagger-
scores of family members, and was greeted by shouts
ing, with about 2 million of its 5 million citizens on
of “Yo what’s up doggy dog” from local kids fascinated
call for military duty. To keep up with its much more
by American pop culture.
populated neighbor, Eritrea maintains a sizable num-
One of my stops in the country was Sawa, which had
ber of tegadeli, soldiers, at the border. Citizens are re-
just made the news for constructing a new hotel, comi-
quired to render the state at least two years of military
cally out-of-place at the top of a mountain littered with
PERSPECTIVES 37 the yale globalist
then a student at Sawa. She and a friendly young officer became our
Tank debris scattered across the Eritrean countryside serves as a constant reminder of the small nation’s protracted wars with Ethiopia. (Courtesy Brenda Barton/WFP)
tour guides. At the age of only 19, Sarah exhibited a stoic maturity
wards the country’s economic prosperity. They are charged with the
well beyond her years. She proudly showed us her dormitory and her
responsibility of replacing the yikaalo, the golden generation that
coveted new copy of an old Martin Lawrence film. The officer, who
won independence from the U.S.-backed Ethiopian empire. Every
had just married during his home leave, gave us a letter to give to his
year the camp holds a massive youth festival, filled with fanfare and
wife; he had not seen or been able to contact her for months.
broadcast on the national television station. At the festival, the camp
mortar shells. While there, I visited a female relative, Sarah, who was
Sarah and her friend took us up to the mountains where they are
proudly displays Eritrean youth at their finest, participating in pa-
trained, to the rows of benches where they hold various assemblies.
triotic marches and singing the storied songs of independence sung
They let us give fake broadcasts in the Radio Sawa studio. Sarah
by soldiers past. But every year, the festival also sparks a rumble of
taught me how to march like a soldier, chanting gam, man, gam, man
dissent from within, as Sawa and the government must answer op-
to the rhythm of my own heartbeat.
ponents who condemn forced military service.
Later at the hotel, I looked through my window towards the bor-
Eritrea sees this method of conscription and education as molding
der and the horizon beyond. I could see the rows of dormitories out
soldiers and citizens who will keep the country free and one day make
of the corner of my eye. These students — in some sense, my peers
it prosperous. Western governments and organizations see a system
— sleep next to one of the most hotly contested, geopolitically vola-
that requires military training and service for high school gradua-
These students sleep next to one of the most hotly contested, geopolitically volatile places on earth. They are trained daily to survive the perils of a military stalemate. And yet it’s impossible to forget that they are children. tile places on earth. They are trained daily to survive the perils of
tion as a human rights issue. For Eritrea, a nation of just 5 million
a military stalemate. And yet it’s impossible to forget that they are
people and 19 years of existence, Sawa is considered a necessary tool
children, sequestered in a camp that is barely removed from the vil-
to maintain preparedness for a day the country desperately fears,
lages and small towns that make up their tiny, impoverished nation.
when “no peace, no war” becomes the third conflict between Eritrea
During training sessions, the symphony of rifles and march chants
and Ethiopia in 40 years. As the two countries tiptoe the line between
from Eritrea’s promising youth can be heard for miles, the sound of
peace and war, the ultimate goal of all parties involved should be pre-
a generation burdened with the responsibility of protecting a belea-
serving and nurturing the young. Maybe then the warsay generation
guered nation.
will be able to deliver not only sovereignty but peace.
In Eritrea, the camp is a source of great national pride. It is a training ground for young, educated, and patriotic people, prepared not only to fight for their homeland’s existence but also to work to-
Nathan Yohannes is a freshman in Pierson College.
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The Yale Globalist’s
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Idol
A Buddhist idol placed at the center of Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai Province, China. October 2009 For more winning entries, see pages 19-22.