Thoughts on the internship

As I sat on a train going from Geneva to Zurich, I tried to let the thoughts swarming around in my head have an outlet into written words. I'm not re-reading back through this so and I don't exactly remember what I wrote anymore. I do remember that it's raw and uncut. As my writing tends to be anyway. Here goes.

Thoughts on the CRR’s 2013 Geneva Internship

·         It was an invaluable experience to be able to attend the UNHCR Annual Consultation Meetings to understand how advocacy and partnership takes place between NGOs and UNHCR, which is perhaps a reflection of how this relationship would look with other international and UN bodies. Though I knew in theory that asking questions was the predominant form of advocacy at these meetings, I was still surprised that this is the main way in which advocacy takes place. Having to form your issues into a question, decide what you’re asking for/about. Being very specific about what kind of outcomes you want to see.

·         The partnership between the Australian organisations including the Centre for Refugee Research, the Refugee Council of Australia and the Australia Pacific Refugee Rights Network, was exemplary. These groups come together prior to the meetings to discuss issues of the communities in which they’re working, and compiling questions that are relevant for each of the sessions of the Annual Consultations. These questions are then finessed, prioritised and disseminated. This allows for multiple people to raise their hands to ask a question and for sometimes multiple questions to be asked during one session. This strategy was further facilitated by the fact that representatives were registered under through multiple organisations, allowing for a wider spread throughout sessions.

·         Having community representatives, from various refugee and former refugee backgrounds, was invaluable in portraying the issues being addressed by the group. These members were able to speak about their own experiences, families and communities affected by displacement, lending a very personal lens to the issues they addressed. During these meetings, many of the issues discussed—SGBV, statelessness, war, vulnerability—were spoken about in almost a sanitary way. Without meaning, feeling or emotion. When a community representative raised their hand, said they were a former refugee from Iran, Afghanistan, or Bhutan, the attention in the room clarified, the language used changed, and the UNHCR and NGO representatives in the room became somehow more accountable. An intermediary advocate will never carry the same gravity or be able to convey the issue in the same way as a community representative. This personal experience and voice is necessary at international forums such as these. Although the step in working on the partnership between UNHCR and their partner NGOs was a positive first step, it is still missing a crucial element—the participation of the communities in which they work.

·         On a personal note, my interactions with community representatives was incredibly enlightening. The first meeting we had prior to arriving in Geneva with these representatives, including Faduma, Saarah, Joseph and Abdul, was eye opening for me. It was the first time I had met anyone from Iraq or Afghanistan. Joseph and Abdul were both, I can only assume, displaced from their homes because of the politics and military of my own country. In a sense, I feel responsible for their displacement, for the fact that Abdul arrived by boat to Australia and went through detention. For the fact that Joseph’s family is scattered throughout the world and for the fact that he became an interpreter for the US army during the occupation. I was and still am completely shaken by this experience. To come face to face with people who have gone through difficulties I can’t even imagine (and am afraid to ask about) because of the actions of my country, because of politics and views held dear by my own family members. I understand that I am in no way personally responsible for what happened to them, but I am a representative from my country. I take this role with far more than a grain of salt. And while my own politics and views were against the actions that resulted in their displacement, it’s not something I can be immune to. The first Sunday night we were all in Geneva, out at the Lebanese restaurant, listening to Afghan and Iraqi jokes (that didn’t really translate!), I felt like part of something so much bigger. Bigger than country lines and politics. I felt like a part of humanity, everyone working toward something greater, toward less violence, toward the alleviation of conflict and poverty. Part of a group that genuinely care for the well-being of others, part of a group that is willing to look beyond the white washed news and to understand the personal stories behind conflict. To understand how conflict affects people differently, how the decisions and actions of one group of people can impact upon others. I continue to be surprised. Surprised that Saarah and the girls from Burma have to guard their activities and identities so as not to endanger their families (and themselves). The fact that someone in another country would monitor their activities and make threats to their families.

·         And Burma. I have to talk about Burma. A country I knew very little about, and still feel only acquainted with in a limited way. The experiences of Cheery, K’nyaw Paw and Poe are things I’ve read about in books, but have never heard the stories first-hand or known people to whom these things have happened. Girls that have been arrested because of their identity documents, linked to their country of birth and ethnic backgrounds. The levels of discrimination, violence and hardship they have faced are beyond my comprehension, yet they have to take all of these things in stride and carry on. They are experienced in programming and advocacy not because they want to be involved, but because their lives, livelihoods and those of their families, friends and communities depend on them. They do these things out of necessity. Cheery has lived in refugee camps for 15 years of her life. K’nyaw Paw and Poe still live in refugee camps. I wonder what their daily lives are like. What their families are like. I wonder what their lives will be like in 10 years from now, 20 years from now. How will Burma evolve? How will their lives be affected? How much change will they influence? How many more world leaders will they meet and will this change anything for their communities? Who are the people that can really influence change within Burma? What kind of outside pressure will it take? Questions that cannot be answered quickly or easily. Will I go to Burma during our transition months?