GIAZILO

Feb 12, 2009

I participate in and contribute to several listserves and online discussion boards where, I am frankly dismayed by the language and tone of the discussion coming from scholars and activists who I would expect to be more civil, thoughtful and considerate in their discussions. The debates sometimes degenerate into banal name-calling and vulgar displays of “pseudo-erudition” -- some kind of intellectual power tussle that I find stifling of productive debate. I call this pseudo-erudition because I believe that sophisticated thinking is often subtle and tempered. I see these displays of “pseudo-erudition” even of listservs that are supposedly dedicated to promoting peace and human rights. That is not what I think a cyber-community of scholars and thinkers should be.

I share here, the now famous “RULES OF NETIQUETTE” that I have found very useful and which I think should guide all internet discussions.

THE CORE RULES OF NETIQUETTE
http://www.albion.com/netiquette/corerules.html
Excerpted from the book Netiquette by Virginia Shea. Click on each
rule for elaboration.

Of pseudo-erudition and Netiquette

2/12/2009 09:22:00 AM arts and culture, education, media, reflections

Feb 2, 2009

Witchcraft and Human Rights
It is sad to note that in the 21st century countless number of people around the world still suffer exclusion, social ostracism, violence and even death based on spurious allegations of witchcraft. The victims are often the weakest in these societies – women and children. The moral strength of any society can only be truly judged based on how well it treats the weakest of its members. It is however gratifying that the international human rights community is begining to pay serious attention to these human rights violations perpetuated in the name of witchcraft. The Policy Development and Evaluation Service has created a "Witchcraft and Human Rights Network". It is an informal network where information about new developments, research and news related to witchcraft can be shared.

This Article written in New Issues in Refugee Research by Jill Schnoebelen called "Witchcraft Allegations and Displacement". It addresses the growing and troubling issues from a human rights perspective
http://www.unhcr.org/research/RESEARCH/4981ca712.pdf

A recent movie by the producer Allison Berg also explores the issue. The Movie is titled “Witches in Exile.”
Witches in Exile
(79 minutes) Ghana/USADirector/Producer: Allison Berg
Description:In Ghana, women accused of witchcraft are torn from their families and banished to witch villages. Witches in Exile follows these accused women through their daily struggle to survive in the Kukuo Witches Camp. As government agencies attempt to abolish this age-old tradition, these women find themselves caught between their society's deeply-rooted beliefs and its drive toward modernization.
http://www.unaff.org/2004/f_witches.html

Witchcraft and Human Rights

2/02/2009 12:20:00 PM africa, arts and culture, human rights, media

Feb 1, 2009

Photos from the annual Mahatma Gandhi Peace Festival organized by the Centre for Peace Studies at McMaster University

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=70652&l=73edf&id=673696944

Gandhi Peace Festival 2008

2/01/2009 11:10:00 PM arts and culture, education, media, war and peace

I first met Katarina in 1998 while working at the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR) in Copenhagen (then the Danish Centre for Human Rights). Our mutual friend Mark Gibney had introduced me to her. We did not spend much time together at the DIHR as she soon moved to the Raul Wallenberg Institute at the University of Lund, Sweden where she was a professor in International Human Rights Law. Our friendship continued while she was at Lund. Katarina became a close friend, colleague and mentor. She was always willing to lend a listening ear and share her wealth of experience and expertise in human rights scholarship with a new and sometimes clueless researcher. She often invited me and Hashil to her apartment in Copenhagen treating us to her delicious cooking. I loved her soups.

Katarina’s passion was the right to education. She dreamed of the day when all the world’s children would have rights and access to education – a dream she tirelessly pursued in her capacity as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to education from 1998 to 2004. Her death in 2006 left a void not only in the hearts of her friends and colleagues but in the international human rights community. It is will be a void that will be hard fill.

Katarina was an avid collector of ornamental turtles which she collected over the years from around the world during her travels. Her Copenhagen apartment was beautifully adorned with turtles of all shapes, colors and sizes. To me, they reflected Katarina personality in many ways – gentle, endearing and resilient. When she died in 2006 I received 3 of Katarina’s turtles which I cherish and treasure. They sit on my office shelf - a reminder of the inspiration that Katarina provided and continues to provide for me.

Katarina’s Tomasevski memorial:

http://www.tomasevski.net/index.htm

In Memorian: Remembering Katarina Tomasevski

2/01/2009 10:22:00 PM human rights, Tributes

Jan 21, 2009

“The world watches and hopes” This editorial of the Guardian (London) coming a day after the inauguration of Barack Obama is an eloquent reflection on the historic significance of Obama’s Presidency. The Guardian uses some pretty powerful words to describe the event:

“The events of 20 January 2009 are the greatest celebration of a purely democratic achievement in human history.”

"The election of an African-American president marks the symbolic end of one of the most searing racial injustices in the western world."

…few will disagree. This is a worthy read

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jan/21/barack-obama-inauguration

The world watches and hopes

1/21/2009 12:12:00 PM history, media, politics, world

As Obama is sworn in as President of the United States, there seems to be global expectation that all things will now pass away and behold, all things will be made new. Obama’s administration will no doubt mark a radical departure from the experiences of the Bush years but it would be a mistake to think that Obama can change all that is wrong with the America and the world.
Inheriting two wars and a global economic crisis, the expectations for Obama need to be more measured and realistic. If not, they can easily lead to a stultifying and demoralizing “aspirational gap.”

In talking about the aspirational gap, I am reminded of the stratospheric expectations that followed decolonizing in Africa and other parts of the colonized world. Many in these societies imagined that the end of colonialism would automatically usher an end to the political and economic challenges they faced under colonial rule. Nationalist politicians fanned these expectations. The nationalist leader and prime minister of independent Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah implored his countrymen and women: “Seek ye the political kingdom and all other things will be added unto thee.” This turned out not to be. The expectation and aspiration bar has been set so high that no matter what the first generation of post-colonial leaders did (and they in fact, did not do very much), it was near impossible to meet them. The aspirational gap could never be filled. I have the same fears for our expectations of the Obama administration. The Obama administrations enjoyed an unprecedented measure of domestic and international goodwill from those who genuinely hope it succeeds. But in so doing we must beware the aspirational gap!

Beware the Aspirational Gap

1/21/2009 10:48:00 AM africa, politics, reflections

The Hamilton Magazine asked a panel of scholars to reflect of the meaning of "Change." These are excerpts from my reflections. The full article makes for interesting reading.

http://www.hamiltonmagazine.com/sitepages/?aid=211&cn=Features&an=Change%20Now

“There’s an old Chinese proverb,” reflects Dr. Bonny Ibawoh. “Catch a fish for a man you fed him for one day in his life. Teach a man to fish, he can feed himself for a lifetime.” The Director of the Peace Studies Program and the Centre for Peace Studies at McMaster University, Ibawoh sees the maxim as loaded with meaning for humanitarian projects. “Maybe we want to continue catching fish because it feels good for us,” he adds. “That says a lot about the way we do things.” Pearson seems to agree, at least when this principle is applied to Hamilton’s Poverty Roundtable. “If you’re talking about an issue of poverty, those most affected by the conditions of poverty have to be heard as well as those in positions to effect change.”

.... Knitting his hands behind his head and leaning back in his chair, Ibawoh recalls one of his favourite experiences of change. Ibawoh grew up in a west-African society that practiced female circumcision – a practice that has garnered a lot of attention and concern from the global society – both for the way in which it was practiced and the long-term effects of the tradition. “A lot of NGOs came to tell people what they were doing was wrong and they gave it a name, ‘mutilation,’ without understanding that this wasn’t the society’s intention,” he says, shaking his head. “It was a rite of passage into womanhood.” While the NGOs were well-intentioned, the society felt demonized and pushed back. Then something happened. “Some NGOs decided to get the society on board. They began asking why the practice was done, what the reason was behind it.” Through discussion, the NGOs and the society were able to begin to work through the issue, finding other options that suited everyone – especially the women. It’s a good story that leads one to wonder if there is enough conversation happening around poverty – a conversation that values input from everyone. Of course, there are many sides to the argument, but according to Susan, as long as there is no place for her voice, or the voice of others like her in greater numbers, the answer is no.

http://www.hamiltonmagazine.com/sitepages/?aid=211&cn=Features&an=Change%20Now

Reflecting on the Meaning of Change

1/21/2009 10:02:00 AM politics, reflections

Dec 30, 2008

I would be the first to acknowledge that the Middle East crisis is a complex one that defies any easy solutions. I also think that all the parties involved (including those who should be mediating) share some blame for this lingering crisis. But the situation in Gaza playing out before our TV screens simply bugles the mind. Hundreds of innocent civilians, including woman and children killed in days of relentless bombing of this crowded city. The images are horrific and should jolt the conscience of right-thinking and peace loving people everywhere. How can the world watch while this happens? How can this be allowed to continue? It is time to stop the carnage in Gaza and find a lasting peace for the Middle East.

Gaza Burns while the World Watchs

12/30/2008 07:44:00 PM war and peace, world

Dec 21, 2008

Oscar Peterson & the bassists - You Look Good To Me

Classic jazz piano from the great Oscar Peterson who I had the honour of seeing live in concert. This is what great music sounds like – placid, serene and engaging. Enjoy.

Oscar Peterson - You Look Good to Me

12/21/2008 12:01:00 AM arts and culture

Dec 18, 2008

Less than a colossus in frame
In it, locked a towering intellect
Born to perpetually search
Those hidden mysteries
That wouldn’t the ordinary mind perturb
Complex…less than plain
Magnanimous, almost to a fault
In the quest to know
Sporadically in conflict with destiny
But lives to triumph, the ultimate victor
Potentials stand conspicuous
To any mind that penetrates the apparent
An aura of domination
A charismatic spirit nearer good
What vignette can possibly go
Under the heading “Ohimai”
At day’s dawn
Perhaps the most appropriate
The oxymoron “compatibly domineering”
Yes, equally apt is “irrepressible”
For he who lives to triumph

--13 June 1990--

(Rest in Peace, Chris)

In Memoriam: Christopher Ohimai Afegbai

12/18/2008 01:55:00 PM Tributes