Kristin empowered to discuss Human Rights

Kristin on Human Rights Training Weekend

The Human Rights workshop was really a cool experience. We traveled an hour outside of Cape Town to an olive farm with this crazy name I have no idea what it's called, but it was really nice to get out of the city and into a more rural area. It was so beautiful and at night we could see the cloudy line of the milky way, as there was much less light pollution at the farm. Some of us sat underneath the night sky for hours, talking about life and the universe and watching for the occasional shooting star. 

There were the 21 of us from UConn at the HR workshop and then around 20 other people who belong to Africa Unite. Most are native to South Africa but there were people from other African countries such as the Congo, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Ghana, and Mozambique.  All of us got along quite well and enjoyed each other's company. It was a great opportunity to get to  hear different perspectives and how other people live in different cultures. 

During the workshop, our Facilitator Vincent stressed that he was not there to "teach" us about Human Rights, but he was there to facilitate the learning process. there were times we would sit and listen to him and other times he would split us up in groups and give us something to read and then explain to the rest of the people in our own words.  There were simple demonstrations to get us to think and discuss, and sometimes we were given scenarios to decide what we would do.  One of my favorite activities was the New Planet scenario. We were split up into four groups, each labeled as different countries. I was part of Kenya and the others were Egypt, Congo, and Ethiopia. The scenario presented was that the Earth we live on had become uninhabitable, but no worries! There was a planet discovered which was capable of inhabiting life! Vincent drew a diagram of the new planet: there was a mountain range separating very fertile land from arid, infertile land. In the scenario, Egypt was the first country to travel to the new planet and landed in the fertile area. The next two countries to come were Kenya and the Congo, but both landed in the arid, infertile area. Ethiopia is still back on the old earth but is requesting to come to the new planet since earth is uninhabitable. The task of the three countries already on the new planet was to decide (individually) whether they would allow Ethiopia to come to the new planet or not. And the task for all four countries was to come up with a set of rights and laws for their own country and a set for the other countries. We were given the freedom to decide whatever we wanted.  The group I was in (Kenya) discussed many different possibilities.  But, since this is a brand new start and an opportunity to create an ideal world, we made decisions based off that notion. It was hard to step outside what we have come to believe to be the only way to live and to create a new way, a better, more equal way. So, instead of making separate rights and laws for our own country and for the others, we decided we would like a planet with rights and laws that apply to everyone and that everyone is a global citizen, NOT separated by borders or the social constructs that the old earth's society had established. In an ideal world, we would want everyone to be treated the same and with respect and dignity, the main points of Human Rights. Some rights we included were the right to life, equality, expression, housing, education, healthcare, food, water, basic resources, and more. One important law included requiring education of all citizens. We felt that education was to be stressed and that all people should have equal education and must learn about cultures, religions, sexuality's, and basically the different ways others live in order to recognize people's differences but to accept and celebrate them instead of trying or forcing everyone to assimilate into one mindset. Because although we want everyone to be global citizens, we would not be asking anyone to give up their cultures or beliefs, but to just accept one another as equal human beings with different lifestyles. 

In fact, our instructor Vincent did this demonstration that really stuck with me: he had two people stand back to back with one another and there was a flip chart on one side of the room. Vincent asked the two people where the flip chart is. One answered "In front of me" and the other answered "In back".  Since they were back to back, they were facing different directions, so both were correct. It seemed so obvious: Sometimes in life, although we may be looking at the same thing, there may not be ONE right answer. Every human being is at least slightly different from another if not very different. When thinking of international relations and people trying to make a decision looking at one topic, we must keep in mind that our answer/solution/idea may not be the only right one or at least that there is a reason for different perspectives. Sometimes it is hard to step back and remind ourselves that if we were that person, we would have done the same thing, because if we were that person we would have experienced life much differently and see things much differently than we do. In order to live and make decisions involving each other, we must try to understand one another as much as possible if we want to make any progress in this world.

Needless to say, there was a lot of arguing going back and forth between the different countries.  Mostly it was between Egypt (the country in the fertile land where resources are plentiful and nowhere else) and the other countries. Egypt was the only country who had not thought of everyone sharing the same rights and laws, or in other words, they wanted to maintain their sovereignty from the other countries. 'Egypt agreed they wanted to share any resources they had equally with the other countries, but they still wanted to control the land and distribution of those resources. This was extremely controversial. If we were going to set up a new world order and had the opportunity to start something new, we have to let go of the old. On the old earth (Earth we actually live on in reality), there were many instances where one country would want to control certain resources and the distribution of them. But why was it so important to claim ownership of a resource? And to be in power of its distribution? I suspected it was out of fear. Fear for the loss of resources, that you won't have enough. It is natural to fear this. But we must recognize that fear and be sure we do not act upon it. When I brought this up, Egypt made it clear that they eventually have decided that they would like all countries to be in control of the distribution of resources, but still wanted to maintain sovereignty. 

So as you might be able to tell, the workshop really got us thinking. I found it a worthwhile experience and wish more people could have the opportunity to attend one. I feel a bit more empowered now to talk about Human Rights and encourage other people to learn to become more conscious of them and the inhumanities occurring around the world along with those happening right in front of our faces in our every day lives