Culture Clash - Vennskap Nord

azine
A mag
from
Friend
orth/S
ship N
outh
Culture Clash
no. 3 - 2012
Bondevik on religion and politics page 6-8
How to talk to Europeans page 9
Palestine: It´s about the land page 18-23
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By Ragnhild Olaussen
Friendship North/South
The deep layers
”What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences,
their attractions and repulsions.
Life is plurality, death is uniformity.
By suppressing differences and peculiarities, by eliminating different
civilizations and cultures, progress weakens life and favors death.
The ideal of a single civilization for everyone, implicit in the cult of
progress and technique, impoverishes and mutilates us.
Every view of the world that becomes extinct, every culture that
disappears, diminishes a possibility of life”
Ragnhild Olaussen
Nummer 3-2012
Published by: Friendship North/South,
Storgata 11, 0155 OSLO, Norway.
Tel.: + 47 982 63 530
Fax: +47 23 01 03 05
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.vennskap.no
2
Vennepunkt april 2010
On track
Our Spor participants arrived in
Tanzania and Guatemala at the
beginning of September. Read their
advice for new exchange students and
other travellers on page 23. Follow their
blog, where you can read, among other
things, what happened when Janne had
to go to the toilet in a box in the
backseat of a car.
Friendship North/South has a new
Facebook page. The new page is more
open and inclusive than the previous group.
Follow the link below and click ‘Like’ if you
haven’t already done so. By “liking us” you
FACEBOOK
can follow what we’re doing and help get
our message out to more people. You are
www.facebook.com/
welcome to share content and ask
friendshipnorthsouth
questions on the Facebook page.
Together for better partnerships
In August, friendship groups from across the
country met with friendship groups from
Ireland and Madagascar at Friendship North/
South’s local community conference in
Stavanger. Over 40 participants discussed
how friendship partnerships can be developed
further. The conference was arranged in
cooperation with the environmental organisation
Grønn Hverdag (Green Everyday), which has
partnership with Antsirabe in Madagascar. A
local newspaper was present and wrote about
the participants from Madagascar.
content:
Happy participants on the Elimu conference.
4 SPOR: Open Communication
5 SPOR: To learn
6-7 Bondevik: Open doors with belief
8-9 Theatre of the Oppressed
10-11 Egeland: Understanding our differences
14
New reports: Partnerships work
15 How to talk to Europeans
16-17 Equal in rights, different in Culture?
18-22 Palestine: On the wrong side
23 Our best advice
Friendship North/South (FNS)
is a network organisation for friendship linking that
offers different tools for exchange and cooperation.
Friendship North/South aims to create dialogue
between people from local communities in Norway
and in the South through friendship linking. Friendship linking is a direct, long-term, mutual contact and
exchange of experiences between two equal
communities in Norway and the South.
For more information www.vennskap.no
What is this??
In the magazine there are many so called QR codes. You
can read the codes with a smart phone and automatically
get to the webpage in question. You can download a QR
reader from App Store or Android Market.
Read Janne´s toilet story in the Spor blog.
read more
Read the Spor participant’s
blogs here:
http://sn.im/sporblogs
read more
See the news story on our
Facebook page
http://sn.im/rogalandsavis
3 What´s up?
Editor: Kristoffer Gaarder Dannevig
Chief Editor: Ragnhild Olaussen
Translator and language consultant:
Aled-Dilwyn Fisher
Front/back page photo: Rebecca Shirin Jafari
Layout: Brød&tekst, Anna Maria Pirolt
Print: Konsis Grafisk AS
Copies: 2500
ISSN 1892-0403
Published with financial support from NORAD.
?
p
u
s
´
t
a
wh
New Facebook page
The Mexican poet and diplomat Octavio Paz
Just like life in nature is conditioned by the rich biological diversity
and the relationship between all species, one could say that the
human culture is defined and conditioned by diversity in values, beliefs
and customs – and the interaction between human beings.
But this diversity that gives life to culture also creates challenges
based on misunderstanding or even lack of understanding. A culture
has different layers. Culture can refer to the more superficial and visual
expressions such as food, clothes, customs, music and dance. This
is what we experience on cultural festivals. They rarely cause conflict, and might be described as “spices” in the human interaction.
Beneath the surface you find the values and norms like the concepts of honor, respect, justice; where differences could be a source
of conflict or at least skepticism. For some reason we have a tendency
as modern citizens to measure and categorize all information we get.
I think we all have experienced when meeting people with different
values and norms from our own, how easy it is to think “my view is
better” or the opposite “I wish my culture was like that!” How can we
develop a tendency to meet each other without judging each other’s
values?
Deepest down in the culture lie the fundamental assumptions;
the things we take for granted. These assumptions are rarely subject
to discussion or ranging because we are hardly conscious that these
things might differ. They are the foundation in our way of seeing life.
To really understand other people, we must get to know their,
and our own, fundamental assumptions. But how can we understand something we are not even aware is there? What questions
should we ask? We might ask “What is sacred and inviolable to us?”
In this edition we discuss how we can go beyond that first “spicy”
layer and how to handle the differences we find underneath. Both top
diplomats and students on exchange face challenges when working
their way through these layers. We present some of their reflections.
We discuss if there are universal values that go beyond all cultures, and
how the human rights relate to cultural differences. And we give you
the advices from someone who learnt ‘how to talk to Europeans’.
The quality of our cultural dialogue improves when we are aware
of the deepest layers of cultures; not only because we see what the
other takes for granted, but because we realize that what we ourselves take for granted is not the only way to view life.
By Kristoffer Gaarder Dannevig
Friendship North/South
Ideas Exchange in
Tromsø
Global school
We want to contribute to integrating global
perspectives in school curricula. In order to
do so , Friendship North/south invited
teachers from across the country to a
conference on global understanding in
school – the Elimu conference. 51 participants, among them 42 teachers from our
network, gathered in Kristiansand in
On 26-28th April, we are arranging an
Ideas Exchange in Tromsø in cooperation with the Tromsø-Gaza friendship
group. The main topic will be peace
culture. Part of the event will be open to
the public. Friendship North/South
national conference will meet on
Saturday 27th April.
November. They discussed how we can
increase understanding of the bigger
picture globally and find ways to work this
into a hectic teaching timetable. There were
speakers from Agder University, RISC in
England and Junior Achievement in
Uganda.
What do we need the ”Norwegian Aid Championships” for?
We doubt the world will be a better place thanks to the Norwegian minister for
development’s new project called ”Norwegian Aid Championships.” We fear that
students are more likely to cram facts than building up sorely needed understanding for global issues. So writes Ragnhild Olaussen, Vennskap Nord/Sør’s managing director, and Gunnar Bech, deputy head teacher at Kristiansand Cathedral
School, in Dagsavisen on 28th September. Norad defended their aid championship
in a comment article some days later. Read both articles here:
read more
read more
Read the article by Olaussen
and Bech.
sn.im/nmibistand
Read NORADs reply
http://sn.im/nmibistandsvar
Vennepunkt December 2012
3
By Kristoffer Gaarder Dannevig
Friendship North/South
spor
To learn
After telling his host father that his customs say he shouldn’t have contact with pigs, Halfani worked with the cows. (Photo: Cornelie Safi Rindal)
Open communication
Halfani is Muslim and was put to mucking a pigsty. But then he asked to change.
- My host father took me to the pigsty and
gave me the equipment to muck the sty with.
But after five days, I asked about doing something else because of my religion. It didn’t feel
right to work there because my customs say
that I shouldn’t have contact with pigs.
Halfani Hamisi (20) from Tanzania didn’t
find it difficult to ask his host father in Sortland
to change jobs. He feels it is important not to
compromise one’s principles when on an
exchange.
- My father understood it straight away. And
he gave me something else to do on the farm.
After that, I worked with the cows.
Halfani says that communication with his
host family was open and good from the beginning.
- I became a part of the family right from
the off. I’m always going to be a part of my
Norwegian family.
I feared the snow. And it felt like the people
were just as cold as the weather. I would say
“hi” to people but no-one replied. It was
difficult.
Feared the snow
When Halfani came to Norway, it was winter
and colder than he ever could have imagined.
- The weather was one of the biggest problems for me. My first impression was really bad.
Globetrotters
Halfani was surprised that people in Norway
spend less time with their families than in
Tanzania.
- It was strange for me that people my age
4
Vennepunkt December 2012
”In Norway it’s
important to hurry
up, then finish to
go do something
else.”
Luckily, both the weather and the people
became warmer after a while.
- After just a few days it became easier. I
grew to like Norwegian culture after a while.
People behave well and have enormous respect
for each other.
didn’t live with their families, but alone or with
friends. Another difference is that in Tanzania,
people tend to use their holidays to be with
their family. In Norway, people use their holidays to travel to other places in the world.
Hurry up
Halfani brings up two other differences he
noticed.
- In Norway, people use machines for most
things. In Tanzania, most things are operated
manually.
And perhaps the efficiency of the machines
has been contagious for Norwegians.
- In Tanzania, people usually have time to
spare. In Norway, it’s important to hurry up,
then finish to go do something else, says
Halfani.
Read more:
Read more about
Spor exchange program:
vennskap.no/spor
Trym is gay. But he didn’t
tell his host family.
- Guatemala is not very gay friendly. I
checked the terrain with my family when they
discussed religion. They said, “oh no – gay
people dress up like girls – they cannot vote
because they have a boy’s name, but girl’s
clothes.” I said that wasn’t always the case,
but they didn’t believe me.
Trym Thune Flygel (20) is secure about his
sexuality. His family in northern Norway and all
of his friends know he is gay. No-one has a
problem with it. Still, he didn’t tell the two
Guatemalan families he lived with in Retalhuleu
and Xela during his exchange with Spor.
- I wasn’t there to teach them, I was there
to learn – about them and their culture. I didn’t
tell them I was gay out of respect. In addition,
I wanted to make the best of my stay, and it
might have come between us if I had made it
into an issue.
But didn’t you find it difficult to listen to
the way they talked about homosexuals?
- No, I was prepared for it not being
accepted. I do understand their view, even if I
think it’s the most natural thing in the world to
be gay.
Everyone in one house
Before Trym travelled to Guatemala, he hadn’t
been away from his parents for more than a
week. Five months seemed long, but it went
surprisingly quickly.
- It is so much fun, because there’s so
much that’s new, all the time. We didn’t speak
”I wasn’t there to
teach them, I was
there to learn.”
Trym worked in a hospital. There people called out “Ola Doctor” because he was white. (Photo: Privat)
the language and there were many misunderstandings. We were going to work at the
hospital – and there people called out “Ola
Doctor” to us because we were white.
Family life in Guatemala was different from
the normal Norwegian experience. But Trym
enjoyed it immensely because it was similar to
his own large family in northern Norway.
- I recognised the family loyalty but others
I travelled with, who were maybe only-children,
thought it was a little extreme. All generations
of the same family lived in the same house
and it was normal to live at home until you
were 30. There wasn’t much of a private life,
put it that way.
as him regarding sexuality, he felt they were
very open to new influences.
- Gender roles there are quite staid compared to Norway. So they were quite surprised
when I decided to bake a cake one day. It was
just completely crazy that I was the one
behind the cake!
Trym learned to understand a different
culture through his exchange. But the main
teaching was that despite some differences,
we are all very alike.
- My sister in Guatemala was lovesick. I
had to console her. It’s the same everywhere
– regardless of where you live and what you
have.
The same lovesickness
Trym developed a close relationship with the
families. He was surprised by the welfare and
middle-class living he encountered. He thought
people would be poorer in Guatemala. And
even though they were not on the same page
Read more:
Read Trym´s
personal blog:
trymtflygel.wordpress.com
Vennepunkt December 2012
5
Open doors with belief
Bondevik:
Open
doors
with
belief
•
•
•
”I don’t want to take from someone
their Christian belief, but I think
Bush connected his religion to his
politics in a simplistic way.”
Believes the most important thing is to
accept differences
Might have made Turkey more secular
Sees the Middle East in light of the Bible
Bondevik believes his background as a priest makes him better placed than for example Jens Stoltenberg to raise the relationship between religion and politics with
certain political leaders. (Photo: NATO)
Kjell Magne Bondevik is the leader of the
Oslo Centre for Peace and Human Rights. One
of the centre’s objectives is to work for intercultural and inter-religious understanding.
- This is important because conflicts between groups with different cultures and religions
have been a central part of the nature of conflict
in recent years – especially between the Muslim
and Western worlds. I don’t believe that religion
and culture are the cause of conflicts, but cul-
6
Vennepunkt December 2012
ture and religion often intensify conflicts, says
Bondevik to Vennepunkt.
Secularism through belief
Bondevik is an ordained priest and believes
his open Christian beliefs have had a great
influence on what he has achieved internationally.
- Some people think it is difficult for a
Christian to have fruitful dialogue with a Muslim.
But I have experienced the opposite. Devout
Muslims are on the same wavelength as Christians. God is an important part of our reality.
Many Muslims have a bigger problem understanding atheists and that the West has become so secular. I have almost exclusively been
met with respect for my Christian beliefs. It
hasn’t been a barrier – quite the opposite. It
has opened doors.
With his background, Bondevik feels he is
better placed than current Norwegian Prime
Minister Jens Stoltenberg to raise the relationship between religion and politics with certain
political leaders. Bondevik has had good discussions with leaders in Nigeria and with
president Erdogan in Turkey.
- These discussions would probably not
have been so constructive if we didn’t share a
belief in something religious. We talked about
how important it is to separate religious and
political organs. Erdogan is now the leader of
a Islamic party, but before it was more of an
Islamist party. They have become more moderate. I hope I have contributed a little to this
through our discussions.
- I had discussions with him on this issue.
I don’t want to take from someone their Christian belief – because I don’t have the right to
do so. But I think Bush and Tony Blair connected their religion to their politics in a simplistic
way on the question of the Iraq war, where I
had a different view than they did. Blair has
justified the Iraq invasion on the basis that his
faith says he must fight against evil. That is too
simplistic.
Yassar Arafat knew about Bondevik’s belief
Bush, Arafat and Jesus
George Bush is also a religious man – although
it doesn’t seem like he has contributed to religious understanding. Could it also be that
believers have too simplistic ideas about “good
and evil”?
Vennepunkt December 2012
7
s
By Kristoffer Gaarder Dannevig
Friendship North/South
s
facts:
Open doors with belief
By Baguma Tinkasimire
Secretary General, United Nations Association og Uganda (UNAU)
Kjell Magne
Bondevik
• Leader of the Oslo Centre for
Peace and Human Rights. The
centre works specifically with
democratic development, human
rights, and inter-cultural and
inter-religious dialogue.
• Norwegian prime minister
1997-2000 and 2001-2005 for the
Christian Democratic Party.
• Has been foreign minister, church
and education minister, party
leader, leader of the parliamentary party and a member of
parliament for the Christian
Democrats.
• Reformed the Christian De-
”It is not
uncommon for
a European to
greet their
parent with
a “Hi!” and
little else.”
mocrats from a quite conservative, special interests party to a
more modern, centrist party
with greater popular appeal.
• Born 1947 in Molde, educated
From his office in Oslo Bondevik is working with leaders from across the globe to strengthen the understanding
between different religions and cultures. Here he is between a statue of Aung San Suu Kyi and a present from
Pakistan. (Photo: Kristoffer Gaarder Dannevig)
and might have tried to use them to draw
Bondevik closer.
- Arafat said, ”you know I believe in Jesus,
but the Jews don’t.” I replied, “yes, but you
believe in him in a different way. For you, he is
a prophet. For me, he is Lord and saviour.” He
said, “yes, but the Jews don’t believe in him at
all,” recounts Bondevik with a smile.
The handmaid Hagar
Bondevik believes both Israelis and Palestinians
have the right to live where they do because it
says so in the Bible. Neither of them has the
right to say that the other cannot live there.
- My view is that the Bible scripture makes
it clear that there is a connection between
people and land. The Jews have a right to a
state, but I think it is impossible to find the
geographical borders by reading the Bible. But
the Jews have a special place in Christianity
because Jesus was born among them.
But the Palestinians also have their biblical
story.
- The Palestinians are believed to stem from
Abraham’s child with the handmaid Hagar. It is
written that these people would live peacefully
together.
Bondevik supports a two-state solution and
believes both people must be allowed to live
within secure and recognised borders.
Ruled by clergymen
Bondevik cooperates closely with the former
8
Vennepunkt desember 2012
president of Iran, Muhammed Khatami. Khatami
has taken the initiative to set up a similar centre
for dialogue and cooperation in Tehran, but it
has been shut down by Iranian authorities.
- Khatami and I are on the same wavelength. We understand each other and are
familiar with both political and religious communication. We have a similar view on the
relationship between religion and politics. He
is a learned Muslim, I am a priest and we were
both political leaders – so we joke that Norway
and Iran were the only countries ruled by
clergymen.
Bondevik and Khatami have together arranged a series of conferences in Oslo, Tehran
and Geneva, where the aim was to promote
intercultural dialogue and respect for diversity
and human rights.
- The most important thing is probably respect for cultural differences. We have a limited
ability to live with differences – both nationally
and internationally. Some differences will always
be there and there is no point in agreeing on
everything. For example, we have to accept
that some people have a different view of the
relationship between religion and politics. For a
number of Muslims, believe in God is a central
part of their view of society, says Bondevik.
Other things Bondevik feels we have to be
able to accept are different views on Jesus, and
gender and family roles. Shared values are a
sense of justice, the idea of peace and respect
for the holy – even if there are different views
A conversation might be awkward and unpleasant if both parties believe the other is being disrespectful and rude.
(Photo: Rebecca Shirin Jafari)
as a theologian and ordained as
a priest in the Norwegian Church.
on what is holy. The limits for acceptance are
set by human rights, says Bondevik.
All the way
Bondevik works on dialogue and cultural understanding at the highest international level.
But local friendship groups and exchange students all over the world are just as important.
These complement Bondevik’s work.
- We have to bring people together across
dividing lines, especially the young. We have
to meet at the grassroots level in addition to
the leadership level. This way, we create good
attitudes to diversity. Leaders have to understand each other, but if the grassroots doesn’t
have the same understanding, we have only
gone halfway.
Read more:
Visit the webpage of
Bondevik´s Oslocenter:
www.oslocenter.no
På norsk:
Les denne artikkelen
på norsk her:
http://sn.im/bondevik
How to talk to Europeans
Here are four quick steps to ensure good communication.
Communicating with Europeans (or any
other culture for that matter) depends on some
things that are obvious, some that are below
the surface and others that are deeply engrained and not clearly apparent. Good communication relies on understanding the receivers
and one’s own cultural predispositions. If one
does not have this understanding, it can cause
frustration for the parties involved. Here are
four things that might help you understand and
be understood.
1) Be on time
Consider time when communicating with
Europeans and people from the western world.
For Westerners, time is looked at from a linear
perspective. Programs, transport schedules and
appointments are made on an up-to-theminute schedule,for example the train departs
at 1102 and arrives at 1207. There is hardly
anywhere in Sub-Saharan Africa where you will
find such a transport schedule. Instead, for
most Africans, time will be approached from a
cyclical perspective. A bus will leave in the
morning or is expected to arrive in the afternoon,
hence time is looked at in approximation. This
means that a 15 minute difference might be
considered a crisis by a European, while it
might be considered normal timing by somebody in Africa.
This is commonplace among many Africans
but can be extremely strange to Europeans. If
an older African who expects to be greeted
with politeness and humbleness comes across
a European youth who has learned that it is
normal to look people in the eye when you talk
to them, the ensuing conversation might be
awkward and unpleasant, because both believe the other is being disrespectful and rude.
2) Keep it short
In most African cultural contexts, greetings are
long, elaborate and fairly detailed. But Europeans use short, almost staccato, greetings.
This is even more the case with telephones and
the internet, which are more frequently used
by Europeans. It is not uncommon for a European to greet their parent with a “Hi!” and little
else. For many African parents, a mere “Hi!”
could be considered disrespectful and an act
of indiscipline. A greeting can be so important
to the outcome of a communication process.
4) Have a good internet connection
Most European communication environments
have higher levels of technological resources
and services. In Europe, it is largely expected
that one will have very regular access to the
internet with the necessary reliable electricity
sources, allowing people to respond to electronic communication within a short span of
time. This may not be so in Africa. Occurrences
like power outages and very slow internet
connections may not come to mind quickly for
a European. A European might consider it sluggish, improper in manner or curious if a “reasonable” response time is not observed by an
African colleague.
3) Look them in the eye
Africans respect their elders in a different way
than Europeans, and might kneel or bow while
they greet. Africans might wait to be greeted
by an elder, might not maintain eye contact
when they talk to more senior people and might
not talk back to their elders even when they
are not in total agreement with their positions.
Vennepunkt desember 2012
9
facts:
By Camilla Victoria Aubert Hellern
Drama and Norwegian teacher, Greveskogen Upper Secondary School
Theatre of the
Oppressed:
• Theatre of the Oppressed was
developed by the Brazilian Augusto
Boal (1931-2009).
• His theatrical method was recognised
as “a tool for social change” by
UNESCO in 1994.
”The Africans
acted out situations
where they were
punished with
strikes from
bamboo sticks.”
• Boal dedicated his life to fighting
oppression and was nominated for
the Nobel Peace Prize in 2008.
Youth Empowerment
Assembly:
• Arranged by Friendship North/
South every four years.
• Held in Kampala in August 2012,
with nearly 100 participants from
Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and
Norway.
• The majority of participants are from
friendship schools linked to
Friendship North/south’s school
cooperation project ELIMU.
The oppressive teacher is intimidating a student. This “student” is from the audience and shouted “stop” to change place with the oppressed on the stage. He then
acted out his solution off the cuff with the actors. (Photo: Ingrid Kjelsnes)
Sharon from Uganda played the oppressed. (Photo: Camilla Hellern)
Theatre of the Oppressed
Young Africans are more familiar with having to put up with oppression than
Norwegians. But when a boy from Uganda shouted “stop!” and stood up
against an oppressive teacher, enthusiastic cheers raised the roof.
In the summer, I was invited by Friendship
North/South to hold a theatre workshop at a
youth conference in Uganda. I accepted and
looked forward to trying out the Theatre of the
Oppressed with east African youth aged
18 to 24.
Theatre of the Oppressed is all about involving the audience in resolving situations the
actors present on stage. 12 east African youths
were involved in creating a play based on
oppressive situations they had experienced.
Like Norwegian youths, they drew inspiration
10
Vennepunkt December 2012
from situations in school and family life. But
the Africans could also call on situations that
are rarely an issue in Norway. Examples were
acted out where they were punished with strikes from bamboo sticks, where unpaid school
fees led to expulsion from school and where
the authorities laid down harsh restrictions on
the youths’ freedom and future prospects.
Judging by what Norwegian youths usually
focus on in Theatre of the Oppressed, there
are few young people in Norway struggling
with the same.
In the shoes of the oppressed
After two days of workshop sessions, the 12
youths from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda were
ready with a play based on the situations on
which we had worked. The play was performed
in front of the entire conference, with nearly
100 youths and young adults present. The
method was explained beforehand and the play,
which always ends badly for the oppressed,
was performed once. Following this, the audience were asked to shout “stop!” if they had
suggestions for how they would tackle the si-
tuation if they had been in the shoes of the
oppressed. Those shouting “stop!” had to
change place immediately with the oppressed
on the stage and act out their solution off the cuff
with the rest of the actors. The other actors
have to improvise based on what happened.
The solutions offered were discussed after each
time the play is performed and a new person
says “stop.”
Seductive solution
The primary difference between Norwegian and
African youths is what they have to tolerate.
African youths are accustomed to putting up
with a lot and know where their place is in the
hierarchy. Africans beg and implore, while
Norwegians, to a greater extent, report bad
treatment. Norwegian youths know their rights,
while Africans largely are not aware of any rights.
One of the most challenging solutions that
were tried was when one of the girls tried to
get around an oppressive teacher by seducing
him. In a way, she did manage to get out of
the situation. But the majority felt afterwards
that such a resolution was unacceptable and
unethical. And, according to the founder of
Theatre of the Oppressed, the solutions cannot be magical, violent or unethical.
unfair treatment. To enthusiastic cheers, he
announced that he would report the teacher.
The boy received a standing ovation afterwards,
and it was as if something in the room was
released.
The youths will now take their experiences
of Theatre of the Oppressed with them to their
local communities. Several plan to perform
similar plays at their local school and in church.
Something was “released”
We performed the play right up until there was
no longer anyone who shouted ”stop.” The last
person to shout “stop!” was a young African
boy. He joined in and refused to be beaten by
På Norsk:
Les denne artikkelen på
norsk her:
http://sn.im/teater
Vennepunkt December 2012
11
facts:
By Kristoffer Gaarder Dannevig
Friendship North/South
Jan Egeland
• Jan Egeland (born 1957) is
Director of Human Rights
Watch Europe and Deputy
Director of Human Rights
Watch.
• He was Undersecretary-
General for Humanitarian
Affairs and Emergency Relief
Coordinator from 2003 to 2006.
• He was named one of 100
”People Who Shape Our
World” by Time Magazine in
2006 for his extensive work all
over the globe helping people
in need. The magazine called
him ”the world’s conscience.”
• Egeland was previously the
Director of the Norwegian
Institute of International Affairs
and is a visiting professor at
the University of Stavanger.
• He served as State Secretary
Understanding
our differences
in the Norwegian Ministry of
Foreign Affairs from 1990 to
1997.
• He has been Secretary General
of the Norwegian Red Cross
and Chair of Amnesty
International Norway.
Cultural differences are making international work increasingly difficult.
More exchange work and more community linking is part of the solution,
says Jan Egeland. The Norwegian expert and humanitarian celebrity’s own
life was changed after going on an exchange as a teenager.
- There’s a lack of understanding between
different cultures. This has been a problem
since time immemorial but it’s worse now than
it has been for a long time. People usually
have an exaggerated conception of their own
culture’s superiority. At the same time, we lack
knowledge of other cultures. This hinders
international cooperation and dialogue, says
Jan Egeland in an exclusive interview with
Vennepunkt.
Egeland has decades of experience in
international and humanitarian work through
different, high-profile roles. He sees an enormous amount of mistrust between the West
and the Rest in today’s world, especially when
it comes to the Islamic-Arab world. This mistrust has grown since 9/11.
- The War on Terror was fought in the
wrong way, and the West started thinking of
Muslims as responsible for terrorism. This
widened the gap between the West and the
12
Vennepunkt December 2012
Islamic-Arab world. At the same time, within
the Islamic world, one must ask why there are
so many young men who are willing to resort
to violence.
The difficulties in international cooperation
are also caused by a gradual shift of power,
especially economic, from West to East. According to Egeland, both the West and the East
have problems adapting to their new roles.
- I was recently in India and was barely
given a chance to mention, for example, India’s
growing responsibility for human rights before
I was told about the West’s hypocrisy and
how the West is to blame for how bad the
world is. They think diplomats in the West are
only interested in telling them what to do, but
it’s not like that.
Fundamentalism in context
Egeland says all three monotheistic religions
(Judaism, Christianity and Islam) have been
radicalized in recent years. We should not underestimate how much fundamentalism there
is in today’s world.
- Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s (Iran’s president)
view on Israel is absolutely rotten. He probably
doesn’t think it is realistic to erase Israel from
the map, but it might well be that he would like
to see it happen. Although it is rare for this kind
of fundamentalism to reach the presidential
chair, as in Iran’s case, there are also evangelical fundamentalists with extreme views in the
Tea-Party movement and in the American
Congress. This fundamentalism must be taken
seriously.
And the way to take it seriously is by trying
to understand the background for such beliefs, says Egeland.
- If you don’t know people’s history, you
might contribute to reinforcing differences. It is
important to understand that people act in a
cultural and historical context. Norwegians,
”You can’t create
a better world just
by sitting around the
camp fire singing
‘Kumbaya’”
Egeland believes the world is going forward due to cooperation, education, free flow of information, international trade, community linking and exchange programs.
But he warns not to be naive. (Photo: Kristine Nyborg)
for example, are a product of a unique history
of nation building.
Life-changing exchange
This wish and ability to see people’s and leaders’
actions in their cultural and historical context
is crucial for success in international work.
- To do a good job internationally, you must
be consistently curious and genuinely interested in people’s arguments and backgrounds.
Why do they have these views and how did
they end up where they are? We shouldn’t accept everything, but we must at least try to
understand!
When Egeland was 18, he went on an
exchange to Colombia for a year. This experience would lay the foundations of his curiosity
for other countries and cultures.
- I have worked in 110 countries and my
early experience of being on an exchange has
helped me to always be equally curious of
every country I visit. I could not have achieved
what I have without this early exposure to dif-
ferent cultures. My stay in Colombia made me
into the person I am today and shaped everything I stand for.
Egeland is in no doubt that exchange work
and community linking benefits the world in the
long run.
- I am very optimistic about the future.
Despite increasing conflict between religions,
civilizations and continents, I think more knowledge, education and the free flow of information are inevitably driving the world forward. This
is connected to international trade, cooperation,
community linking and exchange programs.
ding success. But soon after the participants
return home, newly-built friendships can be
quickly torn apart.
Egeland suspects there is a certain “Scandinavian blue-eyed naivety” that makes some
people believe that bringing people together is
all it takes.
- In Norway, we get along great with the
Swedes and Danes – and we take this for
granted now. But it has taken a thousand
years of conflict and cooperation for us to get
here. For some countries, it will take generations to build a similar relationship.
He pauses for a second before he sums
up his point:
- You can’t create a better world just by sitting around the camp fire singing ‘Kumbaya’!
Scandinavian blue-eyed naivety
Even though exchanges build cultural understanding and can be life-changing for individuals, Egeland warns against believing that it is
easy to build peaceful international relationships.
- Don’t be naive! I have organized exchanges
between Israelis and Palestinians, and between
disputing parties in Colombia – with resoun-
Vennepunkt December 2012
13
Kartillustrasjon: www.brodogtekst.no
Honningsvåg
Tana
Risøyhamn
Sortland
Flakstad
Tromsø
Kvæfjord
Hamarøy
Nordre Sørfold
Bodø
A world
of friendhip
Fauske
Mo i Rana
Namsos
Opphaug
Verdal/Levanger
Stjørdal
Trondheim
Molde
Tingvoll
Skodje
Rondane
Volda
Flora
Sogndal
Luster
Lærdal
Rossland
Vindafjord
Stord
Community linking, school partnership and
exchange programs tied to Friendship
North/South.
Haugesund
Nedstrand
Stavanger
Gjøvik Elverum
Ål
Hamar
Tinn Kongsvinger
Oslo Nes
Sauda
Drammen Moss
Kviteseid
Marker/Aremark
Siljan Re
Fredrikstad
Porsgrunn Tønsberg
Kragerø Sandefjord
Arendal Risør
Tajikistan
Kristiansand
Lebanon
Palestine
Pakistan
Community Linking
India
School Partnership (Elimu)
Democratic Republic of Congo
Mali
Bangladesh
Eritrea
Exchange Program (Spor)
Guatemala
El Salvador
The Gambia
Nicaragua
Kambodia
SouthSudan
Bangladesh
• Badhair – Vågsbygd
• Chittagong – Lier
• Dhaka – Drammen
• Galachipa – Flakstad
• Rajshahi – Kristiansand
Brazil
• Rio Branco – Oslo
Chile
• Maipú – Oslo
Colombia
• Isla Grande – Sandøya
•
Democratic Republic
of Congo
Santo Domingo – Gjøvik
•
Ecuador
Tambo – Tana
•
El Salvador
Santa Tecla – Nesodden
•
•
•
Eritrea
Aditekelzan – Kragerø
Keren – Trondheim
Massawa – Stavanger
•
•
•
•
•
Ethiopia
Hawassa – Kviteseid
Ijaji – Arendal
Kotebe – Marker og
Aremark
Nedjo – Nidaros
•
The Gambia
Sutukoba – Risør
14
Guatemala
• Aguacatán – Moss
• Amigos Peku Peku
(Tanzania – Norge)
• Comalapa – Stord
• Galachipa – Ramberg
• Guatemala by – Oslo
• Guatemala by – Rettferdig
handel i Østfold
• La Lucha – Risøyhamn
• Panajachel – Stjørdal
• Patzun – Kråkerøy
• Quetzaltenango (Xela) – Tromsø
• Retalhuleu (Reu) – Tinn
• San Andrés Sajcabajá – Oslo
• San Lucas Tolimán – Kvinnherad
• San Martin – Fredrikstad
• Sololá – Ål
• Spor utveksling
• Zacapa – Hvaler
India
• Paonta – Teigar
Kambodia
• Siem Reap – Kristiansand
Cameroon
• Ngaoundéré – Nedstrand
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Kenya
Alara – Verdal
Homa Lime – Verdal/Levanger
Kandiege – Fauske
Kisumu – Porsgrunn
Kisumu – Porsgrunn
Mombasa – Oppegård
Nairobi – Haugesund
Nairobi – Høvik
Nakuru – Volda
Taveta – Melhus
Thika – Stjørdal
Thika – Kampala (Uganda)
Voi – Skodje
Vennepunkt December 2012
Lebanon
• Beirut – Mjølan
• Beirut – Mo i Rana
• Mazraat el chouf – Stokke
• Tyr – Jessheim
Ecuador
Kenya
Tanzania
Brazil
Madagascar
Malawi
Zambia
Malawi
Lilongwe – Vågsbygd
Nkhotakota – Flora
Namibia
Mali
• Niétiabougou – Rossland
Mosambik
• Maputo – Fredrikstad
Namibia
• Outjo – Molde
• Tsumeb – Elverum
• Windhoek – Kvæfjord
Nicaragua
• Esteli – Betlehem (Palestina)
• León – Tønsberg
• Managua – Hamar
• Managua – Kristiansand
• Puerto Cabezas – Sortland
• San Juan del Sur – Sauda
Pakistan
• Gujrat – Oslo
Palestine
Uganda
Kongo
• Antsirabé – Stavanger
• Antsirabé – Stavanger
• Ihosy – Vindafjord
•
•
Cameroon
Colombia
Kongo
• Mpouya – Siljan
Ethiopia
South Africa
Chile
Mozambique
Madagascar
• Betlehem – Esteli
• (Nicaragua)
• Betlehem – Sarpsborg
• Gaza – Tromsø
• Jayyous – Nes
• Jeriko – Lærdal
• Khan Yunis – Hamar
• Nablus – Stavanger
• Ramallah – Oslo
• Ramallah – Trondheim
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
South Africa
Alexandria – Honningsvåg
Atlantis – Hamarøy
Cape Town – Moss
Cape Town – Oslo
Johannesburg – Nordre
Sørfold
Mabaan – Oslo
Middledrift – Moss
Mpumalanga – Sarpsborg
Paarl – Oslo
Pretoria – Namsos
Soweto – Sandefjord
uMlalazi (Eshowe) – Sogndal
Uganda
• Amuria – Ullensaker
• Kampala – Bodø
• Kampala – Kongsvinger
• Kampala – Oslo
• Kampala – Rjukan
• Kampala – Thika (Kenya)
• Katwe – Re
• Mbale – Trondheim
• Mukono – Gjøvik
Zambia
• Kabwe – Oslo
• Livingstone – Luster
Zimbabwe and Malawi
• Gweru og Lilongwe – Fredrikstad
Tajikistan
• Dusjanbe – Oslo
Tanzania
• Amigos Peku Peku
(Guatemala, Norge)
• Arusha – Opphaug
• Bagamoyo – Saltdal
• Bunda – Tingvoll
• Haydom – Kvål
• Kilimanjaro – Rondane
• Mbulu – Levanger
• Mbulu – Trondheim
• Morogoro – Stange
• Tanga – Tønsberg
• Spor utveksling
Vennepunkt December 2012
15
facts:
By Maria Sørlie Berntsen
Writer
Exchange participants claim to be more open-minded towards other cultures after, including within their home country.
Here is Martine Melleby from Sarpsborg learning traditional Swazi dance in Sidlamafa. (Foto: Laila von Hafenbrädl)
The reports:
• Two reports have recently been
written about Friendship North/
South’s work.
• One is about cooperation between
local communities in Norway and
countries in the South, while the other
is about partnership between
schools.
• This article is a short excerpt of the
rapport on school partnerships.
• The reports have been written,
among other reasons, in order to
meet the increasing focus on
measuring results.
• Using statistics and personal
New reports:
Partnerships work
- In future when I get along so much better with
people that are different from me, it will be because
of this project, says a Norwegian girl after her visit
to a friendship school in South Africa. New reports
show that she is one of many.
The girl took part in a friendship collaboration
between a school in Sarpsborg and Sidlamafa
in South Africa. One teacher explains that, at the
beginning of the project, a significant barrier for
the South African students was cooperating
with white people.
- The very thought of taking a long flight to
live with white people was almost terrifying for
many students given the history of apartheid,
said the teacher.
Now these obstacles have been overcome.
Reports show that after six years of school
partnership, teachers and pupils in both schools
show an increased understanding and respect
of other people’s mind-sets, regardless of skin
colour.
They tell a familiar story. Participants in
Friendship North / South’s exchanges consistently report that they have gained an improved
cultural understanding and abandoned old
prejudices.
Questioned her own prejudices
Global friendship connections can prevent
racism and create more inclusive local communities. Participants claim to be more openminded and respectful towards other cultures
after the exchange, including within their home
country. They say new relationships abroad
have made them more curious and open to
16
Vennepunkt December 2012
making new boundary-crossing friendships at
home. One 17 year old Norwegian boy explains:
- After participating in the project, I realized
that I never used to spend time with students
from other cultural backgrounds at my school.
It had such a great impact on me, because I
realized that we have so much in common
and that I had been oblivious to these great
people in my own school. Today, I often talk to
them in the hallways between classes.
Another Norwegian girl questioned her
own prejudices after a visit to South Africa.
- Before the project began, I thought of
myself as a rather tolerant person, but I have
learned that I am not as tolerant as I like to
believe. The truth is that I do judge, I do compare. It is sad to see how culture and skin colour
cause separation at our school.
She returned home determined to break
those barriers.
Skirts and hijabs
Participants report that exchanges make them
realize that the similarities with their host country are greater than the differences. A teacher
concluded her report by saying that she had
come to realize that the barriers between
herself and others are, above all, mental constructions.
But it is particularly young people who
accounts, the reports show that
friendship partnerships and exchanges build global knowledge and
cultural understanding, in addition to
working against prejudice and
racism.
• The reports were authored by Maria
Sørlie Berntsen.
emphasize the similarities. They listen to the
same music, share many interests and laugh
at the same things. Many say they have become more tolerant of other religions and are
inspired by what they have seen abroad.
- It was so nice to see how well Muslims
and Christians lived together in Tanzania! It was
not uncommon to see a Christian girl in a skirt
walking hand-in-hand with a Muslim girl wearing trousers and a hijab. I think we have a lot
to learn from this here at home, comments a
Norwegian girl.
Classrooms without walls
- Skills such as cultural understanding and tolerance cannot be taught by reading books,
but only through the direct interaction exchange
work makes possible, said a Lebanese teacher.
-Together, we have achieved classrooms
without walls.
Today, students of these global
classrooms are becoming teachers. Many say
that they are inspired to share their global
knowledge and understanding with others.
read more
Read the full reports here.
http://sn.im/reports
Vennepunkt December 2012
17
On the wrong side
On
the
wrong
side
Palestine: It’s about the land.
Bombs and rockets could not feel farther away. We are
standing between olive groves and citrus trees in Hayyous in the
West Bank. Nevertheless, we are in a small part of the core of
this great conflict. For Shareef Khalif, it’s about the land. His trees,
his fruit, his life. Or what’s left of it.
First, more than 1000 trees were set on fire and burned.
Then, Israel reduced the olive groves to rubble to make way for
a shooting range for its soldiers. At around the same time,
they built an impenetrable security barrier between Shareef’s
home and what is left of his trees. From then on, he has had
to seek Israeli permission to be on his own land.
- No permission, no land. No land, no life. The wall is the
worst part of the occupation, says Shareef, who recently celebrated his 70th birthday.
”I’m afraid that I’m
going to die and that
everything I’ve built
up will be lost.”
Father of the trees
The security barrier was built 6 to 7 kilometres further inside
Jayyous’s land than the original 1949/1967 borders. Once, Shareef went seven months without permission to cross the barrier.
His wife went through and tried to work, but the fruit went rotten
and the olives were not harvested.
- For a farmer, the trees are like his sons. Imagine how I felt
when my trees burned. 850 were destroyed the first time, 236
the second time.
Shareef has real sons as well. But it is difficult for them to
help him. Israel sees them as a security problem and they are not
allowed through the barrier. This year was an exception – two of
his sons were allowed temporary permission to help for a few
Here is where the olive trees once stood. Shareef is scared for what will happen when he dies. His sons are not allowed to work here. (Photo: Kristoffer Dannevig)
18
Vennepunkt December 2012
Vennepunkt December 2012
19
s
By Kristoffer Gaarder Dannevig
Friendship North/South
s
Background
Community linking
Norway – Palestine.
Shareef is involved in a community
linking between the agricultural
municipalities Jayyous in Palestina and
Nes in Norway.
Several Norwegian and Palestinian
communities are linked together. See
which one on the centrefold.
along the 1967 borders. Others believe all
Palestinians are terrorists.
Shareef has many Israeli friends. Every
Saturday during the harvest period, around 100
Israelis come to help him and other farmers
that have ended up on the wrong side of the
barrier. They come mainly from an Israeli organisation called “Co-existance.”
- But I don’t know anyone from the Israeli
settlements, says Shareef, looking up towards
the settlement on the top of the hill a couple of
kilometres away.
- But I know the face of their leader. He
comes down here often. But I never talk to him.
I don’t like him.
This is Shareef’s neighbour and stepson. He is always smiling and they help each other. (Photo: Kristoffer Dannevig)
”No permission, no land. No land, no life. The wall is the worst part
of the occupation.”
weeks. When Shareef tells me about this, his
mouth makes his face even wider.
- My sons are luckier than many. They have
permission to travel to all Palestinian cities, but
to help their father on his own land – that is
clearly a security problem.
In their blood
- Taste this! It’s sweeter than the others.
Shareef gives me a plastic bag that becomes heavier and heavier to carry. I try to be
humble, but do not want to be rude and do
not protest much when he throws another
Clementine in. His hands are powerful, brown
and worn.
- I’m afraid that I’m going to die and that
everything I’ve built up will be lost. All my sons
can look after the land – it’s in their blood. But
they need permission from the Israelis. If they
don’t get it, everything will be lost.
Stones and diamonds
One can never be absolutely certain about who
20
Vennepunkt December 2012
set the trees on fire in October 1988. But Shareef has never been in doubt. 50 days before
the fire, he received a message from Israel that
his land would be confiscated because 50
pecent of it was made up of stone. In Israel’s
eyes, the land was therefore not cultivable and
could be confiscated. Shareef refused to accept
this.
He pulls me in between the bushes and
shrubs to show me what he means.
- Look at that tree. It grows through the
stone. Exactly like us Palestinians – it clings to
life through all the hardship.
Despite the clementines and olives, Israel is
adamant. Shareef sold all his goats and sheep
in order to afford to rent bulldozers and manpower to clear the stones. But the sheep and
goats did not stretch far enough.
- Here in Palestine, it isn’t enough to say ”I
love you” to get a woman to marry you. You
have to buy gold and diamonds for her. Naturally, my wife received these before we were
married. But when I was about to lose my
”I have hostile feelings for Israel, but not
for Israelis. They are victims too.”
land, she came to me with her jewellery. She
said we should sell them. I’ve promised to buy
her new ones before I die.
His smile slowly fades. He looks down.
Israeli victims
Shareef was allowed to keep the land – temporarily. After clearing the stone, the lawsuits
were non-stop. According to Israeli law, only
military courts can preside over conflicts regarding land, while it is the civilian courts that decide
questions of permission. Both of Shareef’s
cases went to the supreme court.
Shareef has been allowed to keep most of
his land. He is one of the lucky ones. 79 farmers went to court; 18 lost everything. The
majority lost large amounts of land.
Still, Shareef manages to be nuanced
when he talks about Israel and Israelis.
- I have hostile feelings for Israel, but not
for Israelis. They are victims too. The government fools its people through the media – I
have met Israelis that think the wall is built
Freedom
The teapot sits on the fire by the wall in the
little house between the trees. We pluck fresh
sage and put it in the tea. It is like something
from a cliché-filled film, apart from the white
and pink plastic chairs. Shareef likes it best
here – there is no way to follow the news.
- It pains me to watch the news from Gaza.
Nothing good comes of Hamas’ rockets. We
don’t know if they hit good or bad people. But
I want the Israelis to know that if they shoot at
Gaza, they will not be safe.
Shareef is serious.
- The South Africans got their freedom before us because Europe boycotted the Apartheid regime. Now we expect the world to
boycott Israel. If the occupation cost the Israelis something, they would have ended it. The
new generation must be able to live without
masters. We believe you will help us.
På norsk:
Les denne artikkelen på
norsk her:
http://sn.im/palestina_land
Shareef gave his wife gold and diamonds to get her to marry him. She gave them back when he needed money to
move the stone as Israeli demanded. He has promised to buy new ones for her before he dies. (Photo: Kristoffer Dannevig)
Vennepunkt December 2012
21
s
facts:
On the wrong side
s
On the wrong side
Lake Tiberias
Palestine
Background:
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Nazareth
Under Israeli Occupation since 1967
1949 Armistice (Green Line)
•
The area was under Ottoman rule from
the 1500s to 1918, when it became a
British protectorate.
•
At the end of the nineteenth century,
the Zionist movement began working
for a Jewish state in the biblical area.
•
Pogroms in Eastern Europe led to
several thousand Jews moving or
fleeing to Palestine at the beginning of
the twentieth century. In 1922, Jews
made up 11 percent of the population.
Nazi persecution of the Jews in the
1930s and 1940s forced even more to
flee. By 1945, the population was
around 33 percent Jewish.
•
•
•
•
•
22
The British promised both Jews and
Arabs in Palestine their own state. But
the negotiations did not find a solution
and the British were under attack from
both Jews and Arabs.
In 1947, the British gave up trying to
find a solution that both parties would
be satisfied with and ask the newlyestablished UN to take over.
The UN established committee
recommended by a small majority that
the state would be divided. The
recommendation was adopted by the
General Assembly, with 33 votes for, 13
against and 10 abstentions.
Before the British withdrew in 1948,
American President Harry Truman
proposed that the division should not
go through after all because it would
lead to a situation where “violence and
bloodshed will descend upon the Holy
Land.”
The day the British withdrew from
Palestine, the Jewish People’s Council
in Tel Aviv declared the establishment
of the Jewish state Israel. The same
day, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and
Iraq invaded the country.
Vennepunkt December 2012
•
•
•
•
•
•
Largely because of the strength of air
forces, the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
ended with Israel getting more land
than the UN partition had agreed upon.
The new border of 1949 was known as
“the green line.”
•
Prior to and during the conflict,
713,000 Arabs fled or moved from their
homes. Many fled as a response to
alleged massacres of Arab towns by
militant Jewish organisations. Others
fled because they were promised by
the Arab countries that they could
return after the war was won – something that never happened.
•
The 1948 war caused Jews in Arab
countries to lose their rights and
become exposed to persecution. The
vast majority fled or moved – many of
them to Israel. At the end of the 1960s,
850,000 Jews had left their countries
of birth in the Arab world.
ISRAEL
Palestinian Authority
During and after the Second Intifada, Israel
built a security barrier, partly a wall, between
Israel and the Occupied Territories. The barrier
goes partly along the 1949 green line and
partly within the Occupied Territories, in order
to defend the settlements.
Afula
Israeli control
Wall/fence
Israeli Settlement
Jenin
Israel retaliated harshly against the Intifada.
From October 2000 to 2012 more than 13.000
Palestinians were killed by Israelis, while more
than 1.600 Israelis were killed by Palestinians,
according to the Israeli information Center for
Human Rights in the Occupied Territories.
”Violence and
bloodshed will
descend upon
the Holy Land”
Maps from Wikipedia.org
Comparison of 1947
Partition Plan borders
and armistice lines
of 1949
Tulkarm
Nablus
Harry Truman 1948
Tel Aviv
WEST BANK
In 1967, Egypt and Jordan attacked
Israel. But using superior air strength,
Israel quickly defeated them. After six
days of war, Israel occupied the West
Bank, Gaza, Sinai and the Golan Heights.
The green line from 1949 was reinforced.
Sinai was given back to Egypt as part
of a peace agreement in 1978.
Ramallah
Jericho
Jerusalem
Since 1967, Israel has built more and
more settlements in the Occupied
Territories. The number of settlers has
increased steadily and now numbers
nearly 500,000, almost all of them in
the West Bank. The international
community considers the settlements
to be illegal.
The 1970s witnessed a series of
Palestinian terror attacks aimed at
Israel. In 1987, the First Intifada was
launched, a mass Palestinian uprising
against Israeli rule. Like the first, the
Second Intifada, from 2000 to 2005,
principally took form of non-violent
resistance, but also brought with it
terror.
Tiberias
Haifa
West bank & Gaza
Bethlehem
Qiryat Gat
Gaza
Area assigned to a Jewish
state in the United Nations
General Assembly partition
plan f November 29th, 1947
(Resolution 181)
Dead
Sea
Hebron
GAZA
Area aasignes to Arab state
in the plan
”Corpus separatum” og
Jerusalem (neither Jewish nor
Arab) in plan
Israel in the 1949 armistice
lines
Controlled bu Egypt and
Jordan fom 1949 to 1967
EGYPT
Beersheba
Vennepunkt December 2012
23
By Gerald Kador Folkvord
Political advisor/coordinator for human rights education, Amnesty International Norway.
Amnesty International
All people have the right to follow their traditions,
if they choose. But some traditional practices, like
female genital mutilation, demand interference.
Access to education is a human right, but can also be an efficient mechanism of oppression, says The Rainforest Foundation. Here are three Xingu girls in Brazil
being educated in a culturally sensitive way. (Photo: Rainforest Foundation Norway)
Equal in rights,
different in culture?
We need to understand human rights in context of indigenous peoples right
to be different, says The Rainforest Foundation. But some cultural traditions
demand interference, adds Amnesty. Both organizations believe the main
problem is that human rights are being used as a tool for abuse and
oppression.
International human rights law explicitly
protects the right of minorities to “enjoy their
own culture, to profess and practise their own
religion, or to use their own language”. In fact,
human rights guarantee every person’s right to
live his or her private life without interference,
unless such interference is absolutely necessary to protect other human rights or to protect society in general from serious harm.
Human rights are also at the heart of considerable efforts the United Nations and many
organizations are investing in protecting the
possibility for members of indigenous peoples
and other minorities to live according to their
cultural traditions.1
Cultural indoctrination
The major threats to indigenous peoples’ and
other minorities’ traditional ways of life do not
come from a conflict between universal values
like human rights and perceived traditional
values, but actually from minorities’ lack of access to protection from human rights abuses
by actors like corporations or big land owners.
Ironically, human rights are often used as
an argument to defend such abuse. Indigenous
groups will be driven from their land in the
name of a common interest, like economic
growth. The fight against poverty will be used
as an argument to destroy traditional ways of
life and force minority people into exploitation
– and often even deeper poverty - as sweatshop workers.
The state’s obligation to protect the right to
education will be misused to force cultural indoctrination on children with minority backgrounds,
teaching them to stop using their mother tongue
or to despise their parents’ culture. (We don’t
have to look farther than the treatment of Roma
children in many eastern European schools to
see that this is happening.)
of corporal punishment with cultural or religious tradition respectively, and accuse critics of
discriminating against their culture.
Abuse of power
There will, however, be situations where human
rights do demand an interference with traditional
practices. The inaction of many African governments in the face of widespread female
genital mutilation is a blatant human rights violation. Authorities’ reluctance to interfere with
the local power structures behind this practice
has terrible consequences both for the victims
and society in general.
Power is the key term here. Not all traditional
practices are an expression of the explicit wish
of people to live that way. What is tradition and
culturally correct behaviour will often be decided by those in power, and power that is not
controlled and limited will always be abused.
One of the key elements in any struggle for
power is education. States have an obligation
to realize all children’s right to education,
which includes making education compulsory,
to empower them and enable them to make
their own choices about their lives. But education also has to be culturally sensitive, and
enable children to appreciate their families’
language and traditions.
Living according to one’s traditions is a human right. Imposing one’s cultural views on
others against their will is not.
Pick-and-choose
All these cases are not examples of human
rights colliding with traditional values, but of
states taking a pick-and-choose approach to
their human rights obligations. Human rights,
however, are by definition not only universal
(the same rights apply to everyone) but also
indivisible: no right is more important than
another. And when there is a conflict of rights
that means the exercise of one has to be limited to protect the other, it is the state’s responsibility to make sure that there really is no other
way and that the interference is limited to what
is absolutely necessary.
Actually, the argument that human rights
should be seen relative to culture and tradition
is not primarily used by indigenous peoples or
other minorities struggling to defend their way
of life, but by those in power trying to evade
supervision or criticism of human rights abuses.
The leaders of Zimbabwe will reject all criticism of their brutal oppression that has driven
a whole nation into deepest poverty and despair
by dismissing human rights as an instrument
of neo-colonialism. Authorities in Singapore or
Saudi-Arabia will defend the absurd practice
1) See for example the United Nation’s Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities.
24
Vennepunkt December 2012
Vennepunkt December 2012
25
s
Equal rights, different inculture?
s
By Siri Damman
International Policy Advisor, The Rainforest Foundation Norway
Equal rights,
different inculture?
By Cornelie Safi Rindal and Kristoffer Gaarder Dannevig
Friendship North/South
The Rainforest
Foundation Norway (RFN)
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i
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d
a
t
s
e
our b
The Rainforest Foundation Norway (RFN)
is committed to protecting rainforests,
and the rights of forest dwellers, in
collaboration with the people who
depend on the rainforests. Many of these
are indigenous peoples. Our experiences are summed up in a report which
this text is based on.
Photo: The Rainforest Foundation
Photo: Aida Jobareth
The Rainforest Foundation
Education is usually seen as unquestionably good.
We want to nuance this view.
Indigenous peoples have a right to uphold
their culture, and to decide themselves how their
societies should change and adapt over time.
All individual human rights apply to them, but
these need to be understood in the context of
their rights as indigenous people, and their right
to be different.1 If national policies, laws and
service delivery don’t take this into account,
these may in fact be part of undermining indigenous peoples’ rights and itself become a
tool of assimilation.
Indigenous peoples are peoples in their own
right, with a culture, language and religion that
is distinct from the mainstream population. They
tend to be relatively poor, at least in monetary
terms, and score low on socioeconomic indicators. Still, they will often resist external efforts
to ‘modernize’ and assimilate them, and have
their own vision for their future.
Badly prepared teachers
Having access to formal education is almost
universally seen as unquestionably good. Illiteracy is equated with lack of development, while
schools and literacy are signs of progress. We
want to nuance this view.
Schools and educational systems can also
be efficient mechanisms of oppression and
cultural disintegration, and sometimes actually
perform this function. Orally transmitted local
knowledge is portrayed as irrelevant, and even
if badly prepared teachers from the majority
culture may not have much success in teaching
their pupils mathematics and writing, they often
succeed in shattering their self-esteem.
A culturally adequate way
On the other hand, if you live in the rainforest,
reading, writing and becoming familiar with the
knowledge systems of the Western world is
important, even necessary, for defending your
own rights and interests. Finding a culturally
adequate way to transmit skills and knowledge is therefore essential.
RFN has engaged in education projects for
indigenous peoples for a long time, such as in
Brazil since 1992. These pioneering projects
have later become models for the official culturally differentiated approach to indigenous
education in Brazil.
This bilingual, culturally sensitive and innovative education system became a way of fulfilling the right to education in these communities, by developing an educational system which
combined respect for the knowledge, culture,
language and social values of each indigenous
group with the provision of new skills and
knowledge necessary for dealing with new
challenges.
Furthering their rights
RFN in various ways contribute to furthering
the rights of indigenous peoples. We enable
indigenous organizations to influence laws and
policies that affect them. Indigenous peoples
often live on land formally belonging to the state,
with insecure land tenure. This may threaten
their economy and future. RFN supports work
to demarcate and map ancestral land and territories. This is needed in order to have these
land areas formally registered to these communities. RFN also supports court cases needed
to defend their land against intruders.
Bear this in mind when going on an exchange – or other long periods
abroad. Our Spor participants in Tanzania and Guatemala give you their
personal tips.
out of your comfort zone. Be ready to live a little uncomfor1) Go
tably, both physically, psychologically and socially. That way,
you will experience much more and learn a little extra about
the culture you’re living in. (For example, it isn’t unusual to
find animals living in your bed!)
a part of the culture. Wear local clothes and you’ll get a lot
2) Be
of positive feedback. Eat food with your host family; after all,
it’s free.
things with a smile. You’re going to find yourself in lots of
3) Take
linguistic and cultural misunderstandings. Some are a little
awkward. Take it with a smile and you’ll get twice as many
smiles back.
curious. People will do things that would be wrong or
4) Be
strange in Norway. Ask them why. Maybe you’ll disagree but
you will understand more. Ask natives about everything you
want to find out.
difficult periods. Not everything will go without a hitch
5) Accept
all the time. Be prepared for short or longer periods of
homesickness and “difficult moments.” These moments can
open your eyes to what you’ve gotten yourself into. They are
often followed with moments where you love everything that
happens.
streetwise. The majority of people you meet will be nice.
6) Be
But don’t trust everyone. Don’t flash the cash or expensive
read more
Read The Rainforest
Foundation’s full report here:
sn.im/regnskog
items. Many people will be poor and some could steal or rob
you. Agree the price of transport beforehand.
patient. Be open to the majority of people and situations
7) Be
you encounter. That way, you’ll meet lots of fantastic people
that could change your life.
out as much as possible. This is your chance, so use it! You
9) Try
never know whether you’ll get the change again. Not much
26
Vennepunkt desember 2012
1)
Bugs and bellies. Don’t expect your belly to behave exactly as
it would at home. Wash your hands. Have wet wipes handy.
Take some pills and salt solution. Don’t skimp on mosquito spray.
2)
Wash by hand. You’re probably going to have to wash clothes
by hand. Take clothers that are easy to wash by hand. Try it
out a little before you go.
3)
Sleeping bag. You probably don’t think you’re going to be cold,
but you can be! Take a little sleeping bag. You won’t regret it.
4)
Check your passport and credit/debit cards. Check the
duration of both. Check with your bank whether there are
charges attached to use abroad. Skandiabanken is free.
5)
Remember a raincoat. Take a light but good jacket. As soon as
it rains, the heavens open up and let everything they have out!
6)
Use a dictionary. It’ll make your life easier. But also take other
books so you have something to do when you are tired of not
understanding anything.
7)
Light in the dark. Take a torch. You never know when the
electricity will cut out.
8)
A taste of Norway. If you’re going to take presents from Norway,
then take something that can stand being at room temperature.
9)
Save some place in your suitcase. You’re definitely going to
do some shopping. So it would be annoying to have a full
suitcase already.
Thanks to Kristine, Knut, John Anders, Malin og Janne for
sharing their advice.
a spunge. Take off your Norwegian glasses and take
8) Be
everything in. Something that seems negative can actually be
very positive.
1) This is most clearly expressed in ILO Convention 169 and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The UN declaration affirms that indigenous peoples are not only equal to all other
peoples in rights, but they also have a right to be different, to consider themselves different, and to be respected as such.
Practical
Mental
will change at home while you are out enjoying the greatest
experience of your life.
read more
Read the Spor participant’s
blogs here:
http://sn.im/sporblogs
Vennepunkt desember 2012
27
B-økonomi
Returadresse: Vennskap Nord/Sør, Storgata 11, N-0155 OSLO, Norge
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