13th edition, 28 November 2014 – Pike & Hurricane

Lebanon Under Pressure

Pam Tannous — Fri, 28 Nov 2014 22:55:50 +0000

The current situation in Syria is the most dangerous and complex humanitarian crisis in recent history, contributing to the fastest growing refugee rate ever recorded. To escape the state of war, Syrian refugees have been crossing Lebanese borders in search of asylum. According to an estimate by the UNHCR, the Syrian refugee population may reach 1,5 million by the end of 2014.

Struggling to keep up with a crisis that shows no signs of slowing down, Lebanon has become the country with the highest per-capita concentration of refugees worldwide. This has led to huge pressure on the state with regard to the provision of schooling and education. The country of 10,452 km²now hosts refugees which comprise 25 percent of the population meaning that every fourth person in Lebanon today is a Syrian refugee.

At the beginning of the Syrian civil war in March 2011, while noting that Lebanon did not sign the 1951 UN refugee convention, the Lebanese government opened its borders and schools to Syrian refugees. The opening of borders facilitated the cooperation between refugees and the Lebanese government but the government still refuses to build formal refugee camps, fearing that they will become a permanent part of the landscape.

The international community has noticed that the impact on Lebanon has been immense; putting education under pressure and creating challenges. The refugee surge in Lebanon has created an education crisis affecting Syrian, Palestinian, and impoverished Lebanese children.

More than half of the Syrian refugees are children between the ages of five and seventeen. This has caused classrooms to become overcrowded, putting the national education system under considerable strain, resulting in overburdened classes, which has a negative impact on classroom performance.

Due to the long waiting list to attend Lebanese public schools, the ministry of education in Lebanon believed that the only solution was to open afternoon classes for Syrian refugees, as the budget does not allow for the attendance of the large number of Syrian refugee children and teachers during the morning and evening schedules.

Lebanese local public schools lack both the capacity and resources to accommodate the large increase in school-aged children. With that said, and in spite of difficulties, around 57,000 Syrian refugee children have access to the second shift of classes, for an easier and better level of education. This has made it easier for Syrian refugee children since they have faced language barriers in the first shift, as the Lebanese curriculum is taught in English and French.

More than 2,500 teachers have also been trained to give teachers the tools to manage the psychological and educational needs of Syrian refugee students and strengthen educational capacity. Even with these programs expanding, more than 300,000 school-aged children in Lebanon have not enrolled in any form of educational program this school year (2014/2015).

With the growth of new universities and the creation of branch campuses, Lebanon’s higher education sector is probably more divided now, in sectarian affiliation and geography, than at any time in the past. This is due to the Lebanese government’s failure to articulate a coherent policy toward Syrian refugees, making the implementation of effective programs to address the educational crisis more difficult and complicated.
Studies also prove that young Syrian men appear to be seeking residency permits in Lebanon on the basis of their student status. This is for two reasons; firstly, because the student visa is less expensive than the temporary protection visa, and secondly, because pursuing a university education grants them the added benefit of deferment. They would, without student status, be required to serve in the Syrian military.

Schooling and education is a basic right of all children, therefore it is important for all children to get an education whether they are Syrian, Lebanese, or Palestinian. Recognizing the stress on the public school systems, UNICEF has been the head of developing of a strategy entitled ‘No Lost Generation.’
This project seeks to expand national capacity and access to education and protection for host communities, both inside Syria and in neighboring countries, by bridging humanitarian and development responses. The strategy aims to significantly expand formal, as well as non-formal, education in non-traditional settings. This is achieved through the improvement of children’s access to quality education and through the strengthening of the protective environment for children.

Lebanon is struggling to keep up with and protect all refugees in need and, in particular, school aged children. Supporting Lebanon is not only a moral imperative, but it is badly needed for a better schooling and educational system. By working together, for the sake of the children, we can achieve a No Lost Generation.

By Pamela Tannous

Image credit:

Picture 1: Stars Foundation, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Picture 2: DFID – UK Department for International Development, licensed under CC BY 2.0

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Commercialisation of the Mountain

Aurore Menard — Fri, 28 Nov 2014 22:38:56 +0000

Before the commercialisation of the mountain, the king of the mountain, Reinhold Messner, once called Fritz Wiessner, was the most pivotal mountaineer of the 20th century. Messner was the first to climb all 14 of the 8,000-meter high peaks, as well as the first to make a solo ascent of Everest without supplemental oxygen. Messener’s comment about Wiessner was because Messner himself didn’t make it to the summit of the K2 (the second highest mountain in the world), not because of the difficulty, but because his Sherpa didn’t want to provoke the night’s spirit on the mountain and wished to turn back.

That is an incredible attitude to have on the mountain, which is not always seen nowadays. All over the world carriers, cooks and guides are being exploited, often because some individuals wish to realise their dreams.

The Sherpa people, who moved from the Tibetan plateau 300 years ago to Nepal, are part of an ethnic group of 80,000 people. They have been used as labour on mountaineering expeditions since the very beginning. They may be strong, fast and cheap to hire, but they are not invincible.

In 1922, during the first serious attempt of Everest, 7 Sherpas died in an avalanche. In April of 2014, the worst tragedy in the history of mountaineering happened resulting in the death of 16 Sherpas in the Kumbu Passage. In total, 174 climbing Sherpas have died while working in the mountains in Nepal—15 in the past decade, on Everest alone. Their workplace mortality rate is 1,2 percent, making it the only service industry in the world where workers are so frequently killed and maimed for the benefit of paying clients.

It wasn’t always so popular to climb Everest and other high peaks. Nowadays, given all the technology available, the bottled oxygen that you can use to make it to the top and the fact that you, even if you are not in shape to carry your stuff, can just pay others to do it for you, has turned mountain climbing into a gigantic industry. In 1963, 6 people reached the top of Everest while in 2012, 500 people did it. Sometimes, it is even so crowded at the top that it is hard to find a place at some of the camps.

Statistics show that around 90 percent of the climbers on Everest are guided clients without formal mountaineering training, who completely rely on Sherpa guides, novices who end up endangering their own lives as well as the Sherpas’. Those clients pay between US$30 000 to $120,000.

For the Sherpas, it is a lucrative but deadly job. They do it because of the salary they earn (typically $5,000/season – eight times Nepal’s average annual income per capita. “If somebody in America climbs Everest 19 times, he’d be all over Budweiser commercials, Sherpas don’t get the same recognition” Norbu Tenzing Norgay once said on the subject.

Sherpas working above Base Camp need at least $4,600 in death coverage and $575 in medical, while low-altitude porters must be insured at $3,500. Each expedition must also cover its Sherpas with, collectively, at least $4,000 in rescue insurance. Though, High-altitude helicopter rescues cost $15,000 each…

Without the efforts of the Sherpas on Everest, no commercial expedition would make it to the summit.

The Himalayas is a mountain range in South Asia. It’s the home of the 14 highest summits in the world (each of them higher than 8,000 meters). Five of them are located in Pakistan and eight are in Nepal.

Sylvain is a Canadian climber who went to Pakistan with an international expedition three years ago in order to reach G2 (8,035meters). According to him, it is necessary for them to hire carriers, at least up to base camp. The 47 days of expedition could have been spent on just transporting material up to base camp if it wasn’t for the Baltis, the carriers in Pakistan. Due to ethical considerations, Baltis were only hired up to base camp, and no high-altitude carrier was used during the expedition Sylvain took part in.

There is a tradition that when you hire guides, as a passionate and experienced climber, you share a respect that is mutual. For example, Sylvain’s birthday took place during the expedition, and at base camp, the cooks made him a huge chocolate cake. He split the cake into even pieces to divide between the members of the expedition and the cooks. The cooks were really touched by the gesture.

Unfortunately, there are not only alpinists on the mountain, there are also tourists and that’s why the ethics of interaction have changed so much. Tourists are bringing so much money to the villages in the area and are now an important economic resource . Carriers have to map the trails, prepare the equipment and carry it all the way to the next stop. They often wear sandals, go without climbing glasses, and carry heavy back packs (as can seen in the picture, even chairs are brought to the camp in order to maximise the comfort of the clients).

Sylvain, the climber, said the Sherpas and Baltis conditions are sad, they are underpaid for the hard work they are doing, but it has improved over the years. For example, one of the members of the expedition drove a van from Spain to Pakistan and gave it to one of the local communities to help them start their own association. The association aims to encourage expeditions to hire local Baltis instead of bringing Sherpas or guides from Nepal.

An expedition the year before had given their Baltis all of their solar glasses against reverberation, but none of them had them the next year, all the glasses had been sold in order to bring home more money for their families. The same thing happens with climbing boots.

If you are a client, the minimum you can do is to respect the one you hire, to respect the carrier (Sherpas, Baltis or others) and all the other members of the team. Mountaineering isn’t just about making it to the summit, it is about the journey, and the footprint you leave on the mountain. You may be the one climbing today but others are going to climb tomorrow too. Respect can go along with enjoyment.

By Aurore Menard

Image credit:

Picture 1: jarikir, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Picture 2: Frank Kehren, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Picture 3: Fryderyk Supinski, licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

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The Future of the Last Socialistic Resort

Victoria Yantseva — Fri, 28 Nov 2014 22:24:43 +0000

Imagine: one day you wake up and find out from the newspaper that the North Korean government announced widespread democratic and market reforms. They introduce freedom of speech, private entrepreneurship and convertible currency, and many other things inherent to liberal and democratic countries. Their citizens can now travel to other countries, buy imported goods and vote for the government they like. The democratic peace is established. Other states can exhale and no longer worry about North Korean military power.

Now you can stop dreaming: this did not happen. The North Korean reality is actually full of contradictions. It combines planned economy with individual entrepreneurship, ”iron curtain” with escaping from the country, ration cards with individual farming, repressions with reforms, censorship with dreams about Chinese video recorders.

Still, we can only guess about the future of the North Korean regime, as it is not that predictable in the modern market-oriented and interdependent world. It may endure for an indefinite period of time; it may be dismantled and substituted with a more democratic and market-oriented system (following the example of the USSR). Other options are, it might transform into a system with state control over the political system and market economy (following example of China); or perhaps the existing socialist system might be replaced with some other form of dictatorship.

Either way, what would happen if North Korea was to finally embark on the road to democratisation and the building of a market economy? Let’s make some guess-work. Democratisation would probably be welcomed by the international community and its own citizens. Though, it could create obstacles inconveniencing many interested parties.

The current elite, led by Kim Jong-un, are the main decision-makers and the ones with the power to reform North Korea. It is possible that they would honestly be willing to introduce democratic and economic reforms in the country to the full extent. But having perpetrated gross human rights violations in the country, no one could guarantee their immunity after the liberation of their people and no one would guarantee that they wouldn’t be massacred by citizens or stand trial at court. Therefore, safest option left for decision-makers would be to continue moving towards a bright, socialistic future.

Let’s once again imagine that, in order to facilitate the transition to democracy in the country, the international community decides to strike a bargain with the North Korean elites and promise to refrain from prosecution. This causes a moral dilemma: this promise may provide an impetus for democratic development and liberation of 25 million people. At the same time, this would be unfair to those who suffered from the regime and would create a precedent demonstrating that violating human rights and international law can be justified. However, to keep the promise to punish the guilty means to preserve the situation in its current form.

No doubt, the United Nations would warmly welcome a newly born democratic North Korea that would live in peace with its neighbours. However, in case a new government couldn’t make a smooth transition to market system, the economy could end up in a fine pickle. This creates the potential for whopping inflation, unemployment and famine, which the United Nations may have to deal with. Yet, the situation with malnutrition is already a burden for the North Korean government. The United Nations has been helping to feed hungry North Korean citizens, as the planned economy cannot cope with the people’s existing nutritional needs. Still, North Korea is not on the list of top aid recipients. But it could be – if the situation with food supplies worsens. In this case, to help North Korea get on its own feet, the United Nations would need to provide additional monetary injections, staff resources and humanitarian aid to avoid growing human suffering.

North and South Korea used to be one country in the past, and reunification is a dream that has been bothering both countries since their parting. Reunification could become more of a reality if there were to be reforms in the Northern part. The problem is that the infrastructure and living standards of these two parts would have to be aligned. The South would have to invest a lot of hard-earned money in North Korean economy to close the gap between the former neighbours’ economic situation. At the same time, the South could possibly be overwhelmed by the migrant flow, coming from above the 38^th parallel.

China, the main trading partner of North Korea, would feel the consequences of its ally making a 180 degree-turn as well. North Koreans could also dash to China in pursuit of jobs or a better life. The immigration would impact China’s national security. Some consider North Korea to be a buffer between China and South Korea which has American troops on its territory, and China and the USA don’t have a very warm relationship. The region would need time to redress the balance of power.

However, the above-mentioned scenarios are quite moderate depictions of how the situation might actually develop in the future. Even though a Third World War seems to be the most unrealistic option, we should always keep in mind that North Korea is a nuclear power. Increased pressure on the current regime, humanitarian interventions or military operations could rock the fragile boat of non-war. We shouldn’t write off the possibility of civil war and a race for power if the current elite would prove unable to continue governing the country. In that case, total state control would be replaced with complete anarchy and humanitarian catastrophe.

Still, we can only guess what the future of 25 million people would be like. “Hope for the best, prepare for the worst” – democratisation could be accompanied by crisis. And it might turn out that North Korea was much better off with socialism, than with the greater economic hardship and human suffering democracy might bring.

Related articles:

Of brain drain, K-Pop, and other threats at the inter-Korean border

Tourism in North Korea

Photo credits:

Picture 1: Will De Freitas, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Picture 2 & 3: (stephan), licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

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The Difficulties of Development Work: Lecture with Petter Gustafsson

Michael Schätzlein — Fri, 28 Nov 2014 13:45:43 +0000

In our increasingly globalised world, it is quite common for young people to have a gap year in between graduating and finding a job or going to university. Some go travelling, some work as au-pairs, some combine work and travel into one experience. Another popular employment is work as a development helper in the Third World, be it to work in a school in rural India or to build wells in sub-Saharan Africa. But getting into development is not as easy as it may seem. What difficulties do young people face when trying to get into the field? What do young people need to know about recent changes in development work?

On the 7th of October, UF Malmö welcomed Petter Gustafsson for a lecture on the rights-based approach in development work (RBA). Mr Gustafsson, who did his Bachelor studies in Malmö and his Master studies in Lund, has worked as a human rights observer in Palestine and a development worker in India. Currently, he is the project leader of Koll på läget (Keep Track), a project backed by PeaceWorks Sweden, Swallows Latin America, and the Palestine Solidarity Association of Sweden. In part, the project is to educate young Swedish people – not only on how to get involved in development work – but also on what needs to be considered when working in the field, namely the aforementioned rights-based approach to development.

According to Mr Gustafsson, young people commonly face the same two problems when trying to engage in development work, “First of all, I think that most of them think it’s too difficult to do it, that it’s more difficult to do it than it actually is. As a result, they don’t even start thinking of it. Secondly, I don’t think that older people or the big organisations really make space for young people or make space for them in a way that is suited for young people.” While young people tend to be very excited about bringing change to the world and want to start to do so immediately, the organisational structures of Swedish NGOs often prohibit such an approach. Many of their employees have worked for them for decades, and it is hard to overcome the bureaucratic hurdles and obtain a more short-term position.

As described by Mr Gustafsson, it is not a question of readiness, but rather a lack of opportunities and general knowledge about the procedures of how to become involved that restrains young people from going after their dreams.

Another problem that Mr Gustafsson mentioned is the persistent misconceptions about development work that young people seem to have. Development work simply is not always as positive as it may seem. In fact, there are often many drawbacks to development work. The proverb “give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime” is often used as an allegory for the different types of help that relief organisations can provide. While it is true that the delivery of direly needed supplies will prevent people from starving, it does not solve the deeply rooted problems that a region in need of development aid usually faces. Shipping grain to one part of the world does not guarantee that the local agriculture will do better at the next harvest. Another example that Mr Gustafsson gave was the used clothing collections in the industrial countries, which usually cause prices to plummet and the local textile industry to be destroyed in the regions where the clothes are distributed.

It is thus necessary to implement long-term solutions aimed at teaching how to catch the allegoric fish. Measures usually include economic help to strengthen the economy of the designated region; however, the industrialisation brought about by these programmes usually creates new conflicts. Just like in the industrial countries, inequalities in the Third World countries increase and threaten to disturb the progress. In fact, it is countries with high absolute and relative poverty – meaning that while people are generally poor by our standards, there are still big income differences amongst the population – that are most prone to outbreaks of armed conflicts.

As a result, one also has to think about protecting the disadvantaged from the hardships of poverty, income inequalities, corruption and discrimination. The rights-based approach to development, then, combines more traditional forms of economic development with the new emphasis on human rights, in order to provide for a positive long-term development for everyone. This approach, developed after the Second World War, is currently employed by many NGOs across the globe, as well as the UN.

One example that Mr Gustafsson gives for a successful implementation of the rights-based approach is the Van Gujjars in India, who he worked with during his time with the Swallows India Bangladesh. The Van Gujjars are an ethnic group of nomadic herdsmen who roam the woodlands in the northern parts of India and the foothills of the Himalaya, depending on the time of the year. This nomadic way of life is endangered due to regulations that were recently imposed on them in the form of forest rights. Since they constantly migrate between various administrative regions of the country, none of the local governments feel responsible for them. Further, many Van Gujjars lack documents of identification and formal education, which makes them even more vulnerable to discrimination and corrupt officials. The Swallows India Bangladesh and their local partner organisations assisted the Van Gujjars in obtaining passports, and creating dialogue with the forest authorities in order to establish relations between the two parties. These measures strengthened the position of the Van Gujjars in their struggle for forest rights appropriate for their way of life.

As can be seen, getting into the field of development can be harder than it seems. It is necessary for young people to know about the rigidity of the organisational system so as not do start with too high expectations and be disillusioned afterwards. While being motivated is a must in the struggle for changing the world, one also has to give thought to the consequences of one’s actions. The rights-based approach to development provides the ideal basis for sustainable improvements to the lives of everyone.

By Michael Schätzlein

Image credit:

Picture 1: United Nations Photo, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Picture 2: sandeepachetan.com travel photography, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

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Viral Misinformation

Andreas Kechagias — Fri, 28 Nov 2014 12:13:01 +0000

The possibility of a devastating epidemic seems to have been weighing heavily on the public mind for the past few years. Whether it is the swine flu, the bird flu, or the current outbreak of Ebola, fear that a deadly pathogen is going to slip past our careful precautions seems to lurk at the back of our collective psyche, aided by mass media happy to blow any threat out of proportion. But while the focus has been primarily on preparing for some newly mutated deadly critter arriving from some exotic locale, old foes have been making a dramatic comeback in unexpected places.

Outbreaks of preventable diseases, like polio, measles and the whooping cough, remain common in the developing world. A combination of economic constraints, poor health care infrastructure and, in a number of cases, fundamentalist groups that take violent action against vaccination efforts, have allowed these maladies to survive in Sub-Saharan Africa, Central and South-East Asia decades after they could have been eradicated. However, one wouldn’t expect to find infection clusters in, say, the most exclusive neighborhoods of Southern California. Surprisingly, one would be wrong.

Anti-vaccination movements are not new in Western societies. Historically their roster has been populated by those that refused medical treatment on religious grounds, or civil libertarians who opposed mandatory vaccinations, seeing them as governmental overreach. But in recent decades there has been a fundamental shift, bringing new momentum by drawing support from a different source altogether: New Age suburbanites.

Anti-corporatism and dedication to “all natural” alternative remedies, both central tenants of the New Age movement, have put it at ends with the practice of vaccination. Opposition ranges from seeing them as unnecessary, ineffective snake-oils, marketed as essential by big pharmaceutical companies to bolster their profits, purport them as causes of autism or auto-immune conditions in children.

Most prominent among the evidence presented by the anti-vaccine advocates is a 1998 study by former surgeon and researcher Andrew Wakefield, linking the widely used MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine with the appearance of developmental disorders in previously healthy children. This study has seen been subsequently found to contain a multitude of gross inaccuracies and has been retracted by the journal that published it. As for Dr Wakefield, he earned the ‘former’ in his title when it came to light that prior to, and in parallel with, the study, he was receiving payments for participating as an expert in a lawsuit against the makers of the MMR vaccine, while also working to create and market his own, competing vaccine.

Another oft referenced concern is that vaccine additives can be harmful to those receiving them. Specifically, the preservative Thimerosal (or Thiomersal) has often been identified as the culprit behind the alleged link between vaccines and autism. While this compound metabolises into ethylmercury, a molecule that is quickly eliminated by the human body, the anti-vaccination movement often confuses it with methylmercury, a different mercury compound that remains in the body for much longer and is toxic in high concentrations. Despite the lack of any scientific evidence against it, public concern regarding Thimerosal reached such high levels that most Western governments banned its use on vaccines about fifteen years ago. Since then, the frequency of autism in children has remained unchanged or increased in all the countries in question.

All this is not to say that there aren’t legitimate risks associated with vaccination. A vaccine, like any medicine, can cause unintended reactions. Those usually include sore throats, headaches or low-grade fevers, and in rare occasions can manifest more severely to include fainting spells or seizures. Lasting damage caused by most commonly administered vaccines is typically so rare as to not be statistically measurable.

This was not the case however for the vaccine Pandemrix, intended to inoculate against the 2009 H1N1 “swine flu” pandemic, which has been confirmed to be a contributing factor in a cluster of narcolepsy cases in Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Investigations by the Swedish Medical Products Agency and the Finnish National Institute for Health and Welfare have concluded that a clear link exists between those cases and Pandemrix. The exact nature of this link is still unknown and currently under intense scrutiny, while similar vaccines administered the same year in the United States and China have also been examined, and shown to have no link to narcolepsy.

Unlike their possible harmful effects, there is nothing ambiguous about what happens when a large enough percentage of a population foregoes vaccination. Since a small chance of being infected remains even in those that have received the vaccine, successful prevention depends on near universal coverage. This has been amply, and tragically, demonstrated in the numerous occasions where a drop in vaccination rates has been quickly followed by epidemics of preventable diseases. This has been equally true in developing or developed states, counter to a common anti-vaccination movement refrain, claiming that increasing levels of sanitation is the real cause for the elimination of those illnesses.

Examples abound: Vaccination rates against the whooping cough in Japan were approximately 80% in 1974. An anti-vaccination movement caused those rates to fall to 10% within two years. In 1979, a whooping cough epidemic numbered 13.000 infected and 41 dead. After the revival of a similar movement in Southern California in the early 2000s the state suffered epidemics both in 2010 and 2014, with 8000 and 9000 infected respectively, and a total of 13 deaths, all of them young children or infants.

Modern medicine for the past two hundred years has achieved miracles, more than doubling human life expectancy and offering relief from scourges that had plagued humanity for most of its history. And while these life-saving advances have certainly not been uniformly distributed worldwide, every year they become available to more and more people across the globe. As battles are slowly won, against greed and corruption, against dogma and violence, it is truly disheartening to see these same technologies being spurned by those that already have access to them, simply because they feel they know better.

Information has never been easier to get to, with an ocean of knowledge at the fingertips of every one of us. It has become imperative that while researching any subject, a variety of different angles is examined before forming an informed opinion. Not all information is created equal, and one should always be mindful of the natural tendency in all of us to overvalue evidence that supports what we already believe to be true. Additionally, while never slavishly deferring to them, one should always give due weight to the conclusions of those that engage on a subject professionally. Especially when, as in this case, it concerns matters of life or death.

By Andreas Kechagias

Image credit:

Picture 1: DFID – UK Department for International Development, licensed under CC BY 2.0

Picture 2: Sanofi Pasteur, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

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A Career in the International Field: Interview with Thomas Ruttig

Michael Schätzlein — Fri, 28 Nov 2014 12:01:17 +0000

On the 14th of October 2014, the Malmö Association of Foreign Affairs, in cooperation with the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan (SCA), hosted a lecture held by Thomas Ruttig. Mr Ruttig is the co-director and co-founder of the Afghan Analysts Network, an independent non-profit policy research and analysis organisation, who has a degree in Afghanistics from Humboldt University in Berlin and has a long history of working in Afghanistan. Throughout his career, he has worked in the fields of diplomacy, journalism, development, and analytics. In this interview, Mr Ruttig talks about his career and gives insights on how to get started in the field.

Q: What got you interested in Afghanistics in the first place?

A: I am from East Germany and in those days, it was a little bit difficult to go to other countries. Someone mentioned to me that you could get a degree in Asian, African or Middle Eastern Studies. When I came to my interview at the university in Berlin, I wanted to do something completely different. Indonesia was what I was interested in, but they said that they did not have that course any more, but that they’d have something new. They told me that this new course was about Afghanistan and that I might even be able to go to Afghanistan for a while during the course, to which I replied that they could count me in. I didn’t know much about Afghanistan, to be frank. Just a little bit from what I had read.

Q: Was it because the Soviet Union had just invaded Afghanistan?

A: Yes, it was linked to that. That course did not exist before.

Q: How would you describe your career prior to 9/11? How did you get started in the field?

A: I was in Afghanistan for the first time in 1983. I was a student at Kabul University for half a year, living in the dormitory there, amongst the Afghan students. Later, in ’89, I worked two years at the East German embassy in Kabul and I was able to establish some contacts because I was able to speak the local languages. I started on the East German side and ended up in unified Germany. I’m probably the only one who got to work in both of the German embassies in Kabul.

When the Taliban took over and the “factional war” between the Taliban and the Northern Alliance of the Former Mujahidin did not end, the UN decided to start a mission and try to get the warring parties around one table in order to end the armed conflict and start rebuilding the country afterwards. I was part of that political mission, during which I had to liaise with the Taliban. Being able to speak Pashto made it easier for me and them to relate to each other.

On the 11th of September 2001, we were in Geneva for some Track Two talks between Afghan factions and a couple of western governments. We were in a meeting when someone came in and told us what was happening. That was the end of these Track Two talks.

Q: How did your career change after 9/11?

A: My career did not change that much. What shifted was the international attention paid to Afghanistan, which for us had been a very low-key mission before what obviously became a very big issue afterwards, so the UN mission grew and grew. I was part of that and was allowed to continue my work there. I was involved in organising both of the loya jirgas, which took place in 2002 and 2003. In those days, there was still a lot of optimism and we all thought that we could, along with the Afghans, pull Afghanistan together and make it a peaceful country, a thing that most of the Afghans aspire to.

Q: What advice would you give people who want to start in your line of work?

A: I don’t know whether I have a lot of advice because careers in that field are often linked to political events, which you cannot predict. I had the chance to be there twice when something completely new started: First, when the Wall in Germany came down, I could work for the UN, which would not have been possible in East Germany. Secondly, when 9/11 happened, this big opening created something like a white sheet of paper on which you could draw a new plan for Afghanistan.

I have worked in so many different capacities. I was a diplomat, I was a journalist, I have worked for development NGOs, I was a freelancer, now I’m an analyst. The best thing is to develop different insights and strengths and qualities in yourself and learn languages very well. My big advantage was that I spoke Pashto. There are not too many non-Afghans who speak Pashto, so I would immediately stumble into the next job if I wanted to.

Have an open mind, be interested and be ready to work under conditions, which sometimes aren’t what you would be used to at home. That was the case in many places and on many occasions when I was in Afghanistan, but I’m still alive and well.

By Michael Schätzlein

Image credit:

Picture 1: Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Picture 2: ResoluteSupportMedia, licensed under CC BY 2.0

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The Grand Chessboard 2.0

Ruzanna Baldryan — Fri, 28 Nov 2014 11:47:34 +0000

On October 9, 2014, Armenia signed the corresponding accession treaty with the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. It officially joined the ”East’s EU” as many western experts like to say. Whilst the treaty awaits the ratification of the parliaments of the above mentioned three member states, the West recalls the Euromaidan, the Crimean crisis, and other Russian attempts to recreate the USSR, seeking the revival of a bipolar world system which can bring on a new Cold War.

The Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), unlike the EU, was initially only an economic union, which has undergone economic integration since 1995. The Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEc) was established in 2000 by Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan; it became a Customs Union on January 1, 2010 with an agreement signed by Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus. (EurAsEc) was officially dissolved this year in order to prepare for the new union.

These stages of economic integration prepared space for a common economic zone for the free flow of goods, services and assets where the key sectors such as energy, transport and agriculture will be coordinated by common policies. The EEU is already an existing institution which has its headquarters in Moscow, includes a population of 171 million (with Crimea 173 million), a total GDP of $2.4 trillion, 20% of the world’s natural gas, and 15% of the world’s oil reserves. Members of the Union are free of Customs duties, they allow a free flow of labour, and may import customs-free raw material from each other, thus increasing the production of related goods and trading alliances as well as.

Belarus and Kazakhstan, particularly Kazakhstan, unlike Russia, insists on an economic integration which solely limits the union’s geopolitical role in the international area and doesn’t let it turn into a block equivalent to the EU or ASEAN just yet. Furthermore, politicisation is unacceptable as they believe it may lead to the escalation of an East-West confrontation.

For this reason, the EEU has four decision-making and executive institutions equivalent to the European Commission and EU Council but nothing equivalent to the Parliament or Court of Justice.

Though it is too early to talk about the EEU turning into a distinctive pole of influence, this new single economic market, which was ignored by the West, continues its economic and strategic trajectory. Armenian accession proved that the project is ongoing, and now, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are expected to join the union soon.

But what about other Post-Soviet countries that have the potential to participate in the “new great game”?

Although western experts claim that Russian leadership tends to broaden the EEU as much as possible bringing about the Moscow’s intention to build the new Union on the best values of the Soviet Union, at the current stage, the Soviet resurgence doesn’t seem to be realistic.

Georgia, from the first day of its independence from the USSR, has had a Western orientation and has not forgotten the 5-day war of 2008, making it is still too early to talk about its possible integration. Moldova has during the recent years had tighter trade links with the EU and Georgia than with Russia, and has signed the Association Agreement with the EU, showing its broad interest in having closer relations with the EU.

Azerbaijan has never shown enthusiasm for joining either EU or EEU integration projects so far, except for claiming they were not ready for any integration as of yet.

The Ukrainian crisis is an ongoing one, leaving us with vague tools to predict future developments.

Central Asian countries on the other hand, are in some sense more manageable for the diplomatic efforts as they depend on the Russian labour market. Seasonal work in Russia shapes the social stability in these countries and compensates for the lack of jobs back home, as it facilitates migratory and capital flows, which affects the GDP. Of course it doesn’t mean that there are no issues regarding their integration.

Central Asian countries have stronger commercial and trading links with China rather than with Russia. Turkmenistan possesses the fourth largest gas resources in the world but due to a price dispute with Russia, fulfills its own gas policy. Turkmenistan is China’s largest foreign supplier of natural gas and plans to supply gas to the EU, India and Pakistan.

Uzbekistan is not stable in the sense of foreign policy and has experience of joining and then withdrawing from regional organizations, such as GUUAM and the Collective Security Treaty Organization.

The accession of Kyrgyzstan is questionable because of the Chinese factor. Although the Union threatens to reduce China’s influence in Central Asia, Nicu Popescu assumes Kyrgyztsan may be the “gate” that will let Chinese goods into the EEU market partly because of the corruptibility of customs officials

The presence of Russian troops in the Tajik-Afghan border as well as the GDP of Tajikstan, for instance, which is affected by the Russian slowdown due to dependancy, should play a key role in the accession of Tajikstan which is still being negotiated.

China abstained from the Union, potentially competing with its own project the ”Silk Road Economic Belt”. It is already a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) where Russia and China share hegemony for certain economic and security goals. Besides, Chinese suggestions to create a free-trade zone between SCO member states, has been ignored so far.

Apart from the Post-Soviet countries, in 2013 it was suggested that some European countries, such as Cyprus, Greece and Turkey, would be welcome members to the Union, which would require their withdrawal from the EU bloc (unrealistic). Moreover, Iran and Syria have recently showed their interest in the EEU as well.

The EEU promises to be the most advanced project of regional cooperation in the short-term perspective. Nevertheless, the sanctions imposed on Russia, followed by the oil price slide, may threaten the economic benefits of the member states. As we live in the globalising world where the economic crisis of one country may have a butterfly effect, the ever-changing situation leaves us with vague tools to predict the future. Time will show if the EEU may develop further and lead to the creation of a political component or not.

By Ruzanna Baldryan

Image credit:

Picture 1: kremlin.ru, licensed under CC BY 3.0

Picture 2: Eurasian Economic Union, no copyright

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Don’t Hold Back

Wiebke Arnold — Fri, 28 Nov 2014 11:37:40 +0000

Going on exchange can either be a marvellous experience or a nerve-wrecking disaster. Finding accommodation at the last minute, travelling to your destination, tackling language barriers, scouting your way around the city as well as the university campus, getting lost on your way to class – there are a lot of things to work out in the very beginning and whole lot more debacles to figure out on a daily basis, such as mastering your host city’s public transport system.

Nevertheless, no matter how your experience turns out, going on exchange offers opportunities for self-development and enhances future employability. This is of even greater importance for students who are at risk due to social exclusion, such as people with disabilities. Ensuring a smooth and enjoyable time on exchange, good organisation and support from both your home and host universities is the most essential thing. Unfortunately, not all universities are equipped with a care service and sufficient accessibility on campus to cater to the needs of all students.

“Sometimes I had some problems with accessibility”, Eric recalls, a French student, who uses a wheelchair. “I had to change residence; I was often refused on the bus if I was not with many friends and I had to ask the faculty to change the place of some classes in order to follow the course.” For the purpose of creating more awareness and facilitating the exchange process for students, organisations such as the Erasmus Student Network (ESN) project ExchangeAbility have come about with the purpose of removing obstacles to participation in student exchanges and promoting the opportunities available.

Having been introduced to Sweden mere months ago, the project is still in its first phase of acquiring local coordinators for each ESN section. “As soon as a section appoints a local coordinator, he or she will start cooperation with the university’s disability unit and together figure out how to promote and raise awareness for students with disabilities to participate in exchange” Ben Sejdaj explains, the ExchangeAbility ambassador in Sweden.

Promoting awareness of disabilities in university studies, in particular exchange studies, is an important undertaking, as it shapes the future of our workforce as well as creating future career opportunities and opening doors to new connections. Taking a closer look at the Erasmus Programme, for instance, in the year of 2009/2010 only 230 students with special needs received a supplementary Erasmus grant – this represents only 0.14% of all Erasmus students – signifying room for improvement.

“ExchangeAbility covers both physical and psycho-social disabilities such as physical, hearing, visual, speaking, intellectual impairments; mental health conditions; and Autism Spectrum Disorder” says Ben, addressing a range of disabilities, and so ensuring anyone can get support. He further points out, “The two main things higher education institutions are supposed to be able to provide are care services for students with disabilities and good accessibility to their buildings“, . Unfortunately, only 33% of the universities in Europe have a disability unit, office or similar facility where students can get support and guidance.

Coming to Sweden as an exchange student with a disability, you’re in luck, as “Swedes are very tolerant and aware of persons with disabilities, which makes the communication easier”, Ben observes. However, despite the awareness, there are still gaps in the system. Although Malmö University has a disability unit, not all students with a disability know of the support and assistance they’re entitled to. Philipp, a student from Malmö University remarks that even though “[he] only [has] a stutter”, the Disability Service at his host university in Sussex, UK, still wanted to meet with him. “In the end, however, it seemed unnecessary, as a lot of the teachers there were less bureaucratic and more understanding than in Malmö.”

Similar organisations to the ESN ExchangeAbility exist in the US, such as the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs or Mobility International USA. As for Europe, projects like The Link Network and ExchangeAbility were some of the first student exchange orientated organisations in Europe signifying an important step towards an inclusive academia and employment sector?. Not only do projects like these open doors to international experiences, they set the cornerstone for a more accessible workforce. Organisations such as Workability Europe, UN Enable, and Disability Awareness in Action (DAA) of the International Disability and Human Rights Network represent some campaigns that actively deal with the issue of promoting awareness and inclusion of people with disabilities in the workforce.

“If you have a physical disability, you know that not everywhere is going to be accessible, so don’t let it overwhelm you and just remember that there is a solution to everything with some careful planning and organisation”, is Jessica’s advice, an Irish student living with Cerebral Palsy. Even though the ExchangeAbility project had not been introduced to her host university in Barcelona when she went there on exchange, she remembers that “my disability was never an issue, as everything was planned well in advance to ensure that my needs were met.” On her first day, she met with a disability officer to arrange transportation to and from campus, as well as to and from her campus accommodation.

In the end, it comes down to this: students with disabilities should by no means feel discouraged or intimidated of taking the risk of going abroad. A disability should not hold you back. The first steps have been taken towards a more accessible academia across borders and with that a step towards a more inclusive future. “I’ve learned over the years that there are always going to be obstacles to overcome when you have a disability”, Jessica points out. “But, how you tackle those obstacles makes a big difference to your overall experience. You shouldn’t let them hold you back.”

By Wiebke Arnold

Image credit:

Picture 1: Jeff Ozvold, licensed under CC BY 2.0

Picture 2: Oliver Gouldthorpe, licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

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