When we look back
to Youth in Action week, there are tons
of memories printed on Justyna's photos
thanks to her passion for photography. Let
us introduce her. Justyna Waruszewska, 23 year old graduate student from Poland. She is doing
her master's in management .At the moment Justyna is getting for her one year
adventure in France to continue her studies there. Justyna takes pleasure in travelling,
meeting new cultures and learning
languages. She speaks English, French and German, also her dedication to pick
up Dutch words as soon as she step foot in Netherlands was laudable. This is
her experience during Youth in Action, enjoy!
Saturday August 18, 2012
I have already spent in Delft four wonderful days. I
like this town because of the atmosphere and interesting architecture. People
in Netherlands are friendly, cheerful and open. I have a feeling that I could
even live in this lovely town.
Yesterday, I visited The Hague. We have spent there
almost all day and we were sightseeing the city centre. I had the opportunity
to see the Queen's Palace and municipality building - Stadhuis. At the lunch
time we went to the Will's pancake house. The owner of the restaurant
welcomed us very warmly, he recommended the speciality of this place, which are
called poffertjes with strawberries and whipped cream. It tasted very nice and
it was the first chance to taste traditional Dutch food.
Today I attended the presentation of the Turkish participants about racism and xenophobia. Those two topics were very interesting for me,
because there are not really that often a subject of debates in Poland.
During this Youth In Action project I have
participated in presentation about my country - Poland and I have seen other
national groups' presentations about their own countries. I also took part in
many other activities. Tomorrow our polish group will have a presentation
about age discrimination. It's going to be an interesting day.
Youth in Action ended yesterday with full of memories to reminiscence and promises made to meet again with new friends from all over Europe. The week of learning, fun and travelling is over however there is still more to find out. Are you wondering how the week of the Youth was? You can follow us on GHRD blog for the upcoming days and read about what happens when people from different parts of Europe meet to challenge ignorance, prejudices and human rights violations and find out cultural differences and what makes everyone connected.
The first impression of Daniel Pietrzak is a person with integrity and intelligence. Daniel is from Poland, he is 23 years old. His main goal is to finish two masters he is studying at the moment and in the future work for the EU parliament or follow an academic career and continue with his PhD. This is not Daniel's first youth project, he also participated another Youth in Action programme in Turkey. Daniel says the projects are a start to become a world citizen and broaden one's perspective of life.
Friday August 17, 2012
There is a time during every youth exchange/project/foreign trip when the place that was mysteriously new at our arrival is not like that anymore. It changes very rapidly. Even tough I have spent only two nights in Delft, I actually feel like home here. I already know the way to the city center, I enjoy walking by the watercourses, I know at what hour I should return to Kruithuise and make it till the entrance gate is closed and many more.
First
part of the day was filled with games and energizers. However the thing that I
especially like to do is talking and interacting with other participants.
Therefore I had a lot of fun after dinner, when we were advocating on various
topics during the practical workshop which focused on the stereotypes and
discrimination. Also, I enjoyed the simulation game which was about negotiating
with government officials to have sex education in schools. I was part of a NGO
and my goal was to convince and inform officials that the sex education is
necessary and the government should finance it. The discussion showed me the
importance of incentives and dialogue. I felt like I can be an active citizen
and make changes in my community.
As every evening
in Delft, I've decided to go for a nice, short walk around the city. It
actually ended after four hours - because still so many things here draw my
attention, surprise or amaze me. One of them is, obviously, bicycles. I live in
Poland, quite a big country actually, and I haven't seen there as many bikes in
my entire life, as I'm seeing in Delft city center. It is awesome! Also, I made
many photos of old, rusty bicycles attached to bridges or parked in bizarre
positions around the city. Another thing that comes to my mind when I think
about Delft after those two days is atmosphere. People are enjoying the moment
here. In the evenings they are just sitting in cafes, talking with friends and
riding their bicycles, simply, having a nice time after a tiring day at work.
That's the thing that we still have to learn in Poland, enjoy the moment.
Youth in Action is continuing with intriguing events and eye-opening discussions. Let us introduce one of the Youth participating this 8 days of training. Her name is Abigail Tjhay, she is a 17 year old ambitious high school student with a lot of on her plate and many different interests. She is in the Youth Council of Delft (JouwDelft), her responsibility is to advise Municipality of Delft regarding issues of Youth. When she is not busy with her advising job she likes to play the guitar and sing in a youth band called “Three-eyed Monsters''. Abigail said that her dream is to study psychology. She is already making changes in her community by organizing events for the gay youth of Delft to raise awareness about the discrimination they face in their daily lives. She will do the opening for the "7 days of Youth In Action: Equality is a European Quality" and share her ideas about what the Youth is up to.
Thursday August 16, 2012
“How do you pronounce your name?” the one and
only thing I dislike about international exchanges is that you have to try and
memorize names. It’s a good thing there are such things as name games, that 1)
help you remind people’s names and 2) are a lot of fun.
Once
we knew each other’s names (well, not all names, memorizing names and faces is
a talent, not a skill), we learned about each other’s interests. It was clear
that, despite our cultural differences, we had a lot in common. Once we got past the introductions, we
finally got to the good part: a workshop on sexual diversity.
A member of Global Alliance for LGBT
Education, Marinus Schouten, dropped by to give a workshop about LGBT rights in
societies and for education. He talked about what it means to be gay, bi or
transgender and he also told us about the history of homosexuality. Then he
taught us an important lesson about identity.
“Imagine
if the Prime Minister passed a law, that states that something that is a part
of you, is punishable. What would you do?”
Many participants said they would try to
protest or at least ask why they passed that law. Some said they would try to
make a compromise with the Prime Minister and some others claimed they would cry.
Marinus then asked us how this law would make us feel. Negative adjectives like
angry, sad, scared and even depressed were mentioned. In short; no one should
be made to feel like they have to hide who they are, as it would have a
negative impact on the way they feel about themselves and the world around
them.
After
Marinus left, I continued the discussion on homosexual marriage with a couple
of other participants. One of them told us she once heard the following phrase
“Claiming that someone else’s same-sex marriage is against your religion, is
like being angry with someone who’s eating a donut, because you’re on a diet.”
which seems like a really good point to me. You see, your identity is nobody’s
business but your own. No one should ever be allowed to pass a law that would
oppress your right to be you.
In the mid of the
economic crisis of 2009, we opened C’est
Bon Bon – a luxury confectionary store. Well, it took a lot of guts to
begin this undertaking. We created a beautiful store from scratch with a loyal
customer base. We united the best confectioners and pastry bakers from around
The Hague in one store. Our store offers a great variety of goodies. Besides delicious
bonbons, we also sell pastries, diverse chocolate truffles and luxurious
Portuguese wine.
When we opened the store,
we (my colleague Mukti Ramautarsing and I) realised that we had the
responsibility towards society. In this sense, we were on a mission to find a
good cause – a good cause that we supported a full 100%. Luckily, we did not
have to search for a long time, because Mukti’s sister worked for GHRD. Of all GHRD’s
projects, we believed that the Back to
School Bali project suited us the most. Our customers agreed with us, given
the amount of donations!
In the mean time,
Mukti ensured that we had a collection box with the text of the project on our store’s
counter. I had agreed with Mukti that we would also contribute to the project,
in addition to our customers’ donation. In the end, our customers contributed around
190 Euros, which we raised by 60 Euros to make an end donation of 250 Euros. We
hope that with this money more children will go back to school so that they can
fulfill their dreams through a proper education!!
Two weeks ago, we
contacted GHRD with the message that we had raised a nice amount of money for
them. The response of GHRD was super! They were extremely happy with the
amount. Subsequent to our conversation we scheduled an appointment to hand over
the money.
On July 19th
2012, two employees from GHRD came to our store to present us a lovely
certificate, which thanks our customers and us for our contribution. Of course,
we will give the certificate an honourable spot in our store.
GHRD has won our
hearts with their warm response. We hope that we are able to donate another
lovely amount to them the next time.
Written by Sen
Raumatar, Owner of C’est Bon Bon.
Besides running his luxury confectionary store,
he is also consultant for TNT Post in The Hague.
JOINT URGENT APPEAL FROM GHRD, KAPAENG FOUNDATION, JUMMA PEOPLES NETWORK UK
To: the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Dhaka, the Office of the Prime Minister, London and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Hague.
We, the undersigned organizations and individuals are joining forces to urge the Government of Bangladesh to keep its promise to protect its indigenous peoples, and implement the CHT Peace Accord before the next general elections in 2014.
Background
The Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord was signed in Bangladesh in 1997 to promote peace and to protect its indigenous population. Today, almost 15 years later, it remains unfulfilled and violence against the indigenous peoples has continued.
Bangladesh has ratified numerous international human rights treaties and it is also the largest provider of UN Peacekeepers in the world. Despite this, it continues to violate the rights of minorities and its indigenous peoples. The indigenous people, known as Jumma in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), have been under attack for over 35 years, ever since the Government brought in large numbers of Bengali settlers onto their ancestral land. Influential settlers – supported by the military who are heavily deployed in the region – have been attacking the indigenous peoples who have lost their lands at an alarming rate and have endured endless human rights violations ever since.
The protection of indigenous peoples and the implementation of the 1997 Peace Accord was one of the key election pledges of the current Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina. Unfortunately, at the end of her mandate, it remains unfulfilled.
We note with concern how violence against indigenous communities in the CHT has been escalating in recent months.
We are disturbed that this Government has rather taken regressive steps that work against the essence of the Accord, including publicly denying that there is an indigenous population in Bangladesh, refusal of giving constitutional recognition to indigenous groups and also recently demanding its district officials to take action against the celebration of World Indigenous Day.
Therefore, we urge Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, to take immediate and urgent action to fulfill her election promise and fully implement the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord within this tenure, to ensure the protection of Jumma lives, land, identity and culture.
In particular:
• Dismantle all temporary military camps in the CHT and demilitarize the region according to the Accord.
• Investigate and publicise all allegations of human rights violations against the indigenous peoples by the security forces.
• Solve the land disputes fairly; amend the Land Dispute Settlement Commission Act of 2001 according to the spirit of the Accord.
• Give constitutional recognition to the indigenous peoples of Bangladesh.
With the elections coming up in Bangladesh, there is a great fear that the CHT Peace Accord will remain unimplemented and that the situation will only worsen in the future, threatening the peace and existence of the indigenous peoples in Bangladesh!
Our call will be delivered to Governments in three countries on World Indigenous Day, August 9, in Dhaka, London and the Netherlands.
On a chilly February day, GHRD met with a
Jumma refugee who left the Chittagong Hill Tracts in a quest to create international
support and awareness for the plight of his indigenous people: the Jumma. "If
we can get strong backing from the European politicians, then we can add more
pressure to the Bangladeshi Government to implement the peace accord
and to claim our rights”, he says quietly.
While his family is still in the Chittagong
Hill Tracts, he is the only one of his tribe who has left the village. Some of
his relatives’ lands are now occupied by the army camps.
Here, he shares his memories of how his
life changed when the army came to his village when he was a child.
A
beautiful sky
“Above my village, when I grew up you could
see the sky, there was no pollution. You could see the insects spinning, it was
beautiful. I could see the army barracks from my home. There was no electricity for
the indigenous people, but I could see the army barracks had their lights on
even at night. The army came to my village when I was
about four or five years old. Everybody was in panic. They thought they can kill us
anytime. They would tell the villagers they needed porters; whether they were elderly
or sick or not, they would force them to carry their belongings. They would ask the villagers if they knew
the whereabouts of Shanti Bahini (“peace force” / resistance movement) if they said they didn't know, they would beat them”.
Under
the army’s wing
“We
built the army camps. As a boy, at 10 years old, I had to work as a porter, and
I didn’t get paid. I had to cut their grass, supply the bamboo thatch and the
wood to build the army camps. We provided their food, fruits, vegetables; we
had to give them our animals, with minimum pay. I am the witness: I was there.
There was no freedom of movement; the army
had the right to stop us at any time, we felt like captives. We grew up with
fear of the Bengali army at all times: even when we were at home, we felt fear
as we heard the sound of army boots passing by our house. The Bengali people
who came to the village, they could move freely. We could not even buy matches;
we had to get permission from the army to do that. When we would buy things, we
had to report. We could not buy more than two matches. They claimed if we
bought three, we must be giving one to the Shanti Bahini. We know the army is
there to protect the settlers, but we have to live there.
The problem started from '75 onward, when
they started bringing the illegal settlers and the armies. The illegal settlers
see us as their enemy, and we see them as our occupying enemy as well. The army
used to ask the village people to entertain them; young people had to dance and
perform in the army camp, we were bound to do that. They sent letters to the
village leaders who would inform the young people they had to go and perform
and sing or dance for the army, whether it was rain or flood or whatever to
make them happy. I went too, of course. They could do anything they wanted
because they were the holders of power. There were incidents where army
personnel abused the women, but not all”.
Assalumu
Alaikum
“One
night I witnessed how they tortured my people. The army teams led by 2nd
Lieutenant Musharaf Hussain, from 1st Bengal battalion/regiment, a young man who
belonged to the Muslim religion, had taught the young villagers to say Assalamu
alaikum (Muslim greeting) This night, the army patrolled by and because some of
my villagers, young people, forgot to say Assalamu alaikum, the officer became
angry. Then the army brought them in front of our house. They started kicking, punching
and beating them with their belts. They also beat them with the knives of their
guns and they started bleeding. The villagers were crying and told them to ask
pardon; the soldier stepped on their heads, like they were footballs. I was the
witness to all this, together with other children. And this army officer, the Musharaf
Hussain, I heard he got a promotion”.
We
just want our freedom
I
went to boarding school, and when I came back, my village was destroyed. They had
accused my village of harbouring the Shanti Bahini, so they destroyed it. Not only
our village, several others too. The army beat them and put all the villagers
into a kind of refugee camp.
This was in the 1980s, but today the
situation is the same. If there was no problem now, why are there no foreigners
allowed into the Chittagong Hill Tracts? The main problem is the presence of
the army. If they move from there, the problems will be solved with the
settlers. Because with the army presence, the illegal settlers have the power.
In the media they say that several hundred camps have been removed, but that's
not true; they just shift to other places. We don't fight, but they claim there
is a conflict. The government and army create the conflict. We want to live
there as other people are living. We don't want to see the army. We just want
our freedom”.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
GHRD welcomes a Study Visit from the Exeter European
Law Society
A group of fourteen highly-motivated and
committed young people from the Exeter European Law Society visited GHRD on
June 12, 2012 with the aim to learn more about the human rights issues through
a workshop at GHRD. After being welcomed and familiarized with the principles,
goals and work of the organisation by Anchelita Gowri, they were introduced to the
situation of indigenous peoples in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh by
Tove Stenqvist, as well as, human rights violations against minorities in
Pakistan presented by Julia de Blaauw.
After that, they had the opportunity to
watch the emotional and moving documentary SOLD
- A Child Trafficked that kicked off an anti-human trafficking campaign in
Nepal in 2010 carried out under the auspices of Maiti Nepal in cooperation with
GHRD.
Students were surprised by the large scale
of the problem of human trafficking and the high number of women being
trafficked in Nepal on a daily basis. The documentary encouraged questions and
a debate concerning the reasons behind human trafficking in Nepal, especially
with regard to the political, social and economic situation in the country, as
well as the course of the anti-trafficking campaign, its effectiveness and the results.
More importantly, students showed high interest in screening the documentary at
their campus and home university.
In the end, Shafferan Sonneveld asked the
students to share creative ideas on how to advocate for human rights. The students
responded eagerly and suggested spreading information to peers, following
social network pages, engaging in discussions and campaigns, organising street
dramas and flash mobs and raising awareness through articles, blogs and
petitions.
GHRD would like to thank the students for
their attention and participation!
