Rural Reality

Saturday morning my colleague was going out to a rural community for work with one of the ‘Girls Empowerment Clubs.’ The clubs are in 8 schools in Swaziland, they are an opportunity for girls to get together, learn and discuss issues that affect them. One of the girls in the Ngcoseni High School club had mobilized her co-members to go and help a Go-Go (grandmother) who was living in poverty.

By the time we got to the rural community, Mankayane, the 20 girls had collected firewood for the family. They were waiting beside the pile of wood and the food supplies they had bought with their own money. I have never been involved with the girls clubs, but as soon as I got out of the car I got a hug from every single girl there. Their energy was fantastic.

I do not think that I can properly describe the poverty that was in that homestead without sounding like I am sensationalising the situation. There were two Go-Gos, wearing tight tight belts to silence their hungry bellies, a granddaughter who was lying in bed sick (looked very much like AIDS), and her two children, about 2 and 4, one with no clothes and the older one ashamed of her little sisters presentation, trying to find some clothes for her.

I was designated photographer for the event. The girls were very excited at the possibility of getting their photograph into the newspaper. They cleaned the fire pit, swept the yard, borrowed pots from neighbours, cooked some food and washed the two girls. One of the girls from the club, Samkelisiwe, filled a container with water, washed the 2 year old, was given a dress from her 4 year old sister who was more then willing to take the love and moisturised the 2 year from head to toe. I’ve attached that photograph, which I call ‘Love.’ The experience was simply amazing. We at SWAGAA are working on getting together that story for the newspaper.

Property Rights Again....

This is a link to an article that I provided comments for months ago. I have just found out that it was published also on the UN Refugee Agency website (the UNHCR), which is huge.

Take a look at it HERE. The article is 5 months old now, but still very relevant. I spoke to Doo Aphane a few weeks back about the case, she is a human rights activist and lawyer, who wants to buy a plot of land across the road from her house, and so brought the test case before the High Court of Swaziland. It was her feeling that there is not enough support for the women's right to own property movement, from the feminist activist community in Swaziland.

It is my feeling that too much of the rhetoric surrounding womens rights issues focus on abstract discussions about rights, and less on concrete manifestations of what a stronger framework of rights would mean for a woman. See my last blog post with the link to Just Governance Group writings. Property rights are a key area for the attainment of womens rights.

Awesome: proud of my writing

A link to my latest writing for the Just Governance Group, who are of course doing fantastic work. Take a look through their web page if you get a chance, it is full of interesting work.

For my latest writing peice I wrote about the issue with culture and the adoption of the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Bill. Which has still not been adopted. I have a meeting tomorrow with Nonhlanhla Dlamini, the previous director of SWAGAA and now MP. I am hoping she will be able to give me an update on the progress of the Bill. Which has been ten years in the making. Come on.

Kayaking and Absailing

This blog is heavy reading because I tend to focus on the serious stuff. Maybe I am misrepresenting my Swazi Living, especially because the Swazis are very quick to laugh at life. A few weeks back SWAGAA had the staff retreat. We stayed at Hlangano Sun hotel for two nights and had a team building exercise of white water rafting. I went rafting with my co-legal officer, and very good friend. All was going well until we went down the last rapid backwards, bumped into a big boulder which tipped the boat upside down and we then rolled and bumped our way down the remained of the rapids. When I emerged from the water my Maputo bought sunnies were gone. It was a sad moment.

Afterwards I went ABSAILING, which is no small achievement for someone with a sizable fear of heights. I took about 15 minutes to actually walk down the side of the rock (which was overlooking the rapids by the way), after stalling in very creative ways: ‘Is there someone waiting for me at the bottom?’….. ‘So is he aware that I will be coming?’…. ‘What is his name?’

I’ve posted some not too flattering pictures for proof.

Swaziland Sign...

At the top of the Eiffel Tower.

Just wanted to share this sign with folk. My little sister went to Paris this Summer and took a picture of this sign for Mbabane, the capital city of Swaziland about 20 minutes away from my office in Manzini.

Small small world.

Stories

Stories. I have lots of little stories, random things that happen during the day, small incidences that build upon each other and before I realise it, together they have created a greater understanding of the world I am living in.

Take last week. I had a detailed work plan for the week, a host of trial cases which I was to follow. The aim for the week was to test the M & E form that I have drafted and begin the baseline studies on the procedural aspects of trial cases at the Magistrates Court. I discovered on Monday morning that the chief magistrate was in Singapore for training, so no trials were happening that week.

I sat outside the court house, gathering my thoughts before going back to the office. A young woman was next to me with her daughter, completing some forms. Her daughers name was Letta, a toddler who enjoyed nothing more then sprinting away from her mum towards the car park. After asking how the woman was doing, Sebe asked for some help completing the forms. They were applications for passports for herself and Letta. The entire document was in English and Sebe was embarrassed to say that she was not ‘educated enough to fill them in.’ The forms required details on her next of kin, and a signature from an authority figure to declare they knew her. Of course I completed the forms in full, requiring a Swazi to complete technical English forms without any guidance is absurd.

Walking to the edge of the car park I told Sebe where I worked and Sebe replied, ‘when I need help, I will come to you at SWAGAA.’ Sure enough she came on Saturday morning looking for me, and was told to come back on Monday morning to speak with me. She wanted to tell her story: one of poverty, abuse, struggling to support her daughter and relying on the hands that abuse her to get by. Sebe needs a job.

And someone to listen to her.

She didn’t want to speak to a counselor on Monday, but the counselors here at work reassure me it takes time. This young 22 yr old has reached out to me three times, and I hope that she comes back, tells me how the job hunt went.

Prayers

There was a horrific storm on Saturday night. An awesome storm, in the Ulysses use of the word awesome. It was blowing a gail and the rain was falling so thick that one could not see more then a few metres in front of themselves. I did not go out. Instead I went to bed saying a prayer for someone, I could feel that it was a bad night.

I woke up at half 5 with a phone call from a dear friend whose brother had died in that storm.

I don't really have an observation or Swazi social commentary for this one. Death is a real thing here. My Swazi family and friends make comments about the Swazi national work being the need to attend funerals on the weekend. It is a lesson for me. Most notably in the ability to connect with people, cultural boundaries are not so big when there is a need for them not to exist. I will do what I can to support, knowing that I come into the situation not dealing with numerous bereavements of my own. Perhaps it helps. I am just posting this to ask for prayers.

The Privilege of Information

Freely available information in the name of education is key to progress. I have repeatedly had that reconfirmed to me while working here. Most recently the importance of information was confirmed at the second referral meeting held last week. To refresh; a referral meeting is a chance for all the partners who assist survivors of abuse (such as the police, NGOs, medical professionals, lawyers, etc.) to discuss challenges and successes for the prior two months.

One key partner, a police officer in the Domestic Violence and Sexual Offences unit, informed the group that the crime of rape can only be established if the female victim was a virgin at the time of the attack. This, he explained, was because there was no way for the doctors to ascertain whether the rape had in fact occured.

These comments were drawing nods of interest from listeners. Whilst listening I was weighing up the importance of ensuring that I was respectful towards my Swazi counterparts & did not embarrass my SWAGAA employees, with the need to explain in no uncertain terms that the information being shared was false.

I had to speak out and clarify for the group what the laws on rape and evidence are in Swaziland. In a way I was in a position of responsibility to do so; after almost two months of trying I managed to get a handle of case law from the High Court of Swaziland. In fact, the case law shows that the laws pertaining to rape are far more sensitive to the needs of rape survivors then was being shared with the group. Likewise the medical professionals are far more advanced then he would have led the group to believe. Bottom line in no way does an individual have to be a virgin in order to have her rapist convicted.

The miss-information about the law, even in circles that deal with rape crimes every day, is a direct result of lack of information. It took me weeks, repeated phone calls and a few wasted trips to Mbabane before I could get the information from very helpful but over-worked prosecutors. There is not even a textbook on Swazi Criminal Law.

Which would be a great project for someone to undertake.
Don't know who, I am just saying....

Babies and Tazzering

Yet more delays between posts (that is the line that I seem to be opening my diary entries with most often these days also). But new month, time to turn over a new leaf.

Friday night was a big one. Sitting sweltering hot in the office all day, leads one to go to the local hotel pub, sitting in the outside bar having a white wine spritzer (I've been listening to too much Lily Allen). Later in the night we ended up at 'Tinkers,' an outdoor nightclub. Which completely lives up to the Scottish understanding of the name- Tinkers is not the classiest club and it comes to a certain time of night when one has to clear out. That time came on Friday night when a man runs towards the exit gates with some women running after him, the man just managed to get through the exit when the guard caught up with him and began practicing his tazzering skills.

Driving through the back streets of Ngwane Park, we see a woman with her back to the road, sitting in a red satin negligee. We get out to see what is happening, her hair is disheveled and her face looks a little messed up, though i can not tell if these are old or new scars. The woman tells us that she has just had a baby. Just then a man comes stumbling up the road with a blanket for them both, they had been waiting outside for 30 minutes for the ambulance to come. Its a huge blessing that no one attempted to cut the umbilical cord. As we drive towards the main road, gooey baby girl with her small cries, mother and confused father in the back seat, we passed the ambulance, but didn't stop and drove straight to RFM hospital.

The attendants said Mother and baby were both going to be OK. While in the hallway waiting for confirmation of this, before heading home, my friend started telling the father that, 'you know, you musn't be scared. Women are strong, it's amazing. That is why you must respect women always.' To which the new father replied, 'yeah, thanks. I think I am going to go and have another drink now.' I am happy to say that the male nurse shut down this notion pretty quickly, basically ordering the father to remain and check up his new baby.

I don't know what had happened between the parents. My friend and I have our assumptions, perhaps I am projecting my knowledge of life in Swaziland onto these two people. The enormity of the situation; the small blessing that no one attempted to cut the umbilical cord; that the birth was straight forward; that maybe that gentleman has taken in a few words of respect for women that he will pass onto the mother of his child and that those words of respect will then permeate into every aspect of the girls life; that I had the opportunity to meet such a young female life with all the possibilities and challenges that girls face, before her. These thoughts have been with me since Friday night, and yet my host Make (mum) was not surprised at the whole situation. Simply commenting that it was nice of us to take them to the hospital.

Umhlanga: The Reed Dance

Like I said on my last post, I have been out of the country. My trip out of Swaziland happened to coincide with one of the busiest weekends of the year: the Swaziland International Trade Fair, the 2010 Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Summit and the Annual Reed Dance were all held over the weekend of the 28th August. The Reed Dance is a traditional three day event which involves 'maidens' walking overnight to collect reeds for presentation before the king. After rows upon rows of girls present themselves before the king, by dancing in their traditional attire, the King traditionally takes another wife at the dance.

For me, being out of the country was good timing. Watching an estimated 80,000 girls parade in front of the king in nothing except a slither of material around the waste and scarf band ornaments around their neck, is not something that I can reconcile with my belief systems. Thinking about the whole situation makes me uncomfortable, it is no coincidence that it has taken me two weeks to write about it (and I wasn't even in attendance). My friend who unlike myself had the courage to attend the event, was left with a sense of there being a overwhelming number of body parts on display and a huge concern for the vulnerable situation that the girls are placed in. The vulnerabillity is no joke: 80,000 girls un-supervised for three days, in very little clothing, with only a handle of male Tindvuna (guardians) to watch them. But as one Tindvuna reassured the 'Times of Swaziland,'(Page 11, Wednesday, September 1st 2010, 'Taking Care of the Imbali is Our Duty, We Enjoy It'):

The maidens are under control this years as compared to the past years where they would run away to consume alcohol and become scandalous.

The COMESA summit and the Reed dance being on the same weekend provided a happy chance for African heads of state to gather to witness this 'cultural event.' Within Swaziland there was no negative coverage or even insightful discussion about what the event means for girls growing up with such a patriarchal practice. In the Zimbabwe news one activist with a children's organisation reports on the practice of raping virgin girls in the belief that it will cure a HIV/AIDS infection and recognises that it was

disheartening that heads of state – who were better positioned to spearhead perception change in society – would gather to “feast on naked young women under the ruse of upholding culture”.

For full story see here. Article courtesy of Swazi Media Commentary.

I have read widely and spoken to a lot of people to get a sense of the reed dance event. After all, at the end of the day, I was not in attendance. Perhaps watching the girls bonding at the event would present me with a different view of the world and other cultures. For now I let my thoughts on the dance be guided by the words of President Mugabe, one of the COMESA dignitaries in attendance at the event who said of the event (The Times of Swaziland, 'President Mugabe Praises Umhlanga,' pg 2, Wednesday, September 1st, 2010):

I wish all other countries were like this and there is no other country which has this kind of a cultural activity where the future wives to husbands are groomed and taught in such a manner.

South African Friends

I went to SA for a week and fell absolutely in love with elephants. I got to know them twice, firstly at an animal sanctuary. There were five elephants at the sanctuary all of them were rescued from circus'. Then I saw many many at a safari park I went driving around (yes I drove). I saw a family walking down the mountain, just dark grey rock like shapes, slowly slowly moving. They came the whole way down the mountain, directly for the car, becoming less rock like with each plod and then dissappeared below the ridge. Funny how animals that size leave no trace, a car coming up the road just 5 minutes later would have no clue the elephants were 20 metres away.

Crossroads article

Ive been busy, so no blog posts. One of my recent ventures is an article that I wrote for the September eBulletin for Canadian Crossroads International (my fabulous support for being over here in the first place).

Here is the link for my article itself- Six Months with a Legal Clinic in the Kingdom of Swaziland.

Terrible picture of myself. I need to think about getting a new one to put out and about. I am rather proud of my work. And see below for a copy of

This article was originally published by Canadian Crossroads International in its September Ebulletin. Click here to read the full issue.

Swaziland's Burning

It is close to growing season in Swaziland, therefore one needs fallow fields. So the locals set fire to their fields. Driving through Swaziland a few weekends ago was like driving through something from Lord of the Rings, when the wee green elve thing is getting in the way of the heroic half man with those ears.

My friend took a few pictures of the burning fields. They don't show you much, but I am feeling artistic. Or maybe it is the Vawter talking.

Meeting with the Director of Public Prosecution

After three weeks of phone calls and a letter sent a month before that, I finally got to meet the Director of Public Prosecutions. The delay in meeting with her was not a surprise, things take time here. I can comfortably speculate that this is because of the lack of legal professionals in the public prosecutions service; The Swaziland Times has a weekly comment on the understaffing of the legal services, we especially need more judges at the Magistrate courts and the High court. The meeting was a chance for me to discuss the court watch programme with the DPP and if things went well, gain access to the public prosecutors library to get case law information. I am pleased to report that the meeting went better then expected. The DPP was totally on board with the aims of the programme, she could see the connection between the court watch programme and the eventual establishment of legal aid in Swaziland.

After a few weeks of reading and looking at the situation in Swaziland, I would advocate for the establishment of legal aid as being perhaps the single greatest possibility for the protection of countless number of women and childrens’ rights in Swaziland. Actually, I think I formed this opinion within a few days of landing, but decided to observe for a little bit in order to substantiate my thoughts. In the legal clinic at SWAGAA we have run out of funding that we would use to assist individuals who clearly have a legal claim, but no means to pay attorney fees. Currently therefore we can provide basic legal advice, reassure women that they don’t need to stay in the abusive relationship, that they can obtain a divorce and maintenance from abusive spouses, but, ‘er, sorry, SWAGAA doesn’t have the money to help you, you will need to find 2500 Emalangeni to pay a lawyer to assist you with that divorce.’

I am also surprised to find myself a proponent of legal aid in order to support the defendant through out the legal process. In my short time in Swaziland I have been in far too many court rooms where the defendant just does not understand what is happening; they don’t speak English, they don’t understand the legal significance of the questions they are asked, and in turn, they ask completely inappropriate questions of the survivor when they conduct their own cross examination. In that case that I referred to a few blogs back, with the two child victims of rape, the questions asked of the brave 5 year old just didn’t make sense. They were questions from a person who was not trained in legal jargon, with very little education generally, and yet expected to articulate his questions at the same level as a High Court Judge. To then also require a 5 year to make sense of such questions and respond should not be happening in a professional setting. A whole host of human rights of the different parties were being violated and yet every professional in the court was doing their best to protect the parties involved.

Meeting with the DPP was perhaps one of the strongest positive moments of the court watch programme to date. As is she says too many individuals ‘go without their story being told, and it shouldn’t be that way.’ It is great to know that there are legal professionals in positions of authority who are passionate about the need to strengthen the legal system and understand the ramifications of the lack of representation for all parties.

Having Nothing to Do

I have been sent here to research a court watch programme. To date however 70% of my time has been spent as a fully-fledged legal officer of SWAGAA- meaning I get sent to the high profile government meetings. Take this past week, spent at Orion, and the week before that, spent at Orion. Both meetings were for country programme action plans, firstly for the UNFPA and then this past week for the UNDP. Granted, I got sent to both of these meetings because 'I have nothing to do.' But at both meetings I did SWAGAA proud, getting many, if not all, of SWAGAA's programme's into the country action plans for the next 4 years. This means that when the UNDP decides to start funding the Court Watch programme, which I convinced the room of 30 gender specialists (including the Speaker of Parliament) was essential for combating GBV, well, the Court Watch activity has now become a national priority.

After three weeks of trying, I have in fact, found something for me to do - meet with the Director of Public Prosecutions to explain what the court watch is. The DPP is married to the Attorney General, how is that for a power couple and a half. I will report back about the meeting on Thursday- it feels good to be meeting with the Swazi powers that be.

The picture is just a pretty view from a hotel that I stayed at for a meeting, not Orion, but very nice. I plan to walk the mountains one day, but Swazis are not as hard core about their hiking as Koreans, hiking mountains is a foreigner thing to do. So I have delayed it, instead doing as the locals do (hang out in an outside pub in Ngwane Park on a Saturday night).

 

At the bottom of the hotel in Piggs Peak, there is one of those large chess boards, the pawns come up to my knees. I can not seem to find anyone to play with me. I also have not been able to find a portable version of the chess set to bring home. This will be my new goal whilst in Swaziland- find a portable chess set made up of traditional Swazi figures.

Manzini Bus Rank

 

This is faded SWAGAA public awareness sign hanging over Manzini Bus Rank, with SWAGAAs toll free counselling line number on it (95). It clearly has been there for a while, I am not sure how effective the message is. Actually I am not sure what the message is.

It's the Victims Fault

I'm aware that I write too much and do not put in enough pictures. So this is just going to be a quick one.

A quote from the High Court Judge Justice Bheki Maphalala, spoken in a ruling in a case of the murder of a university student by her boyfriend.

'Its a shocking fairytale of a man who nurtured, nourished, cherished and invested his hope and resources in a woman for a future paradise. This case will forever remain a lesson not only to Mngometulu [the accused] but to all men like him never to commit the same blunder.'

Apparently it emerged in court that the young women 'strayed, forming relationships with other men and generally disrespecting the accused.' The Comment Column of the Times of Swaziland, Sunday, oh so helpfully summarizes how the Judge was simply being fair in his handling of the case:

'On one hand, he not only castigated the man but gave him a custodial sentence, lenient though it was. On the other, he sent a warning to women to always to the right thing in relationships.' (The of Swaziland SUNDAY, Comment, 'A Fair Judgement,' pg. 18, 8th August 2010.)

Tabloids Inform us: The Justice Minister Resigned

We've not talked about the Swaziland newspapers yet. There are two, 'The Times' and 'The Mirror,' and both can be described as tabloids, though they are marketed as serious news and are in fact the only daily printed news sources. SWAGAA did some journalist training a few weeks back at Hawane Lodge (yet more attendance in hotels in Swaziland), the aim of the training was to look at the issue of protecting individuals human rights whilst reporting on news stories. The state of the lack of independence of the Swaziland media is common knowledge, but not talked about. One journalist highlighted at the training the extent that the media outlets are controlled, to the point of ensuring that royal family holiday shots are put in the papers on a certain day (one wonders why this would be desirable- perhaps photos of The Royal family in the is not a good PR strategy when 69% of the population lives below the poverty line).

The Swaziland news of the moment is that the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Mr. Ndumiso Mamba, has 'resigned following certain allegations circulating in the country and internationally.' The Deputy Prime Minister, Mr. Sibusiso Barnabas Dlamini, also 'did not disclose the nature of the allegations.' (The Times of Swaziland, 'Minister Ndumiso Mamba Resigns,' pg.2, Friday, August 6th 2010).

The international news media gives a much more complete version of the story- The Kings 12th Wive has been having an affair with the Justice Minister. http://www.smh.com.au/world/kings-12th-wife-caught-cheating-on-him-20100803-115h0.html.

Drama Drama Drama in the personal lives of the Royal family.

Mocambique Partying...

..... no wait, Mocambique cultural sightseeing!

I went to Mocambambique Friday night, I went with my co-worker and a bunch of her friends who work for Swazi Travel. So they had the logistics of the trip covered. We hired a Khombi and drove to the capital of Maputo after work. It took 2 hours of travel in total, I held up everyone at the border with my need for a VISA, Swazis can basically walk through. Actually the whole set up at the border crossing Goba is hilarious, the Swazi and Mozzie border posts are about 100 metres from eachother, they look like random concrete outhouses one sees dotted throughout the country side. No lighting, the concrete is all broken and there are random booths around the perimeters of the Mozzie border post with men who are willing to change money for you- from Emalangeni to Rands to Metcash. I found myself doing mental maths for this low key money exchange and for the whole time I was in Maputo. Buying a bottle of water requires a whole thought process: 'if it is this much in metcash, then it will be approx. such an amount in Emalangeni, which is turn is about this much Pounds and finally approx., approx. so much Canadian dollars.' Going on holiday when one lives in a foreign country is tough!

After walking from one border post to the other, informing the Mocambiqaun authorities that I was an Aussie, from Aussieland (yes this is on my official VISA for Mocambique, but not to mind my work permit for Swaziland states that I am from Austria, which is fair enough because I am convinced that a whole heap of people still think I live in Switzerland), we drove straight to Maputo, and then to the club.

I'll not fill you in on the details, but the night ended at 7 in the morning sitting on the beach. The day was then filled with shopping at a flea market, finding the shopping centre (going to any sort of 'big' public building is important when a Swazi is on holiday, it may be due to the lack of large public areas in Swaziland, we don't even have a movie theatre here), eating lots, and dealing with street hawkers.

My overall impression of Maputo was of a faded, busy, hot (even in winter it was noticeably hotter then Manzini), and tropical city. Its miles bigger then Swaziland and one can clearly see the Portuguese influence, and a stronger foreigner presence generally. I have pictures, but of course I need to get new batteries in order to download them (it is always one thing or other with my pictures). But they will follow.

This week will be spent at the hotel in Piggs Peak again (I was there for the Convention on the Rights of the Child meeting). Blogs will follow with details of a weeklong Government workshop on the country programme of action (related to the MDGs). Cheers

Contrasts

I've not yet shared with folk what my goal over here is, so far I have been totally caught up with the going ons of the legal unit generally and all of the government and civil society hosted meetings on various goings on. I have very quickly become acquainted with the hotels and conference centres dotted through out Swaziland. This coming week I will be staying at the Mantenga Lodge for the SWAGAA annual strategic plan.

My main goal in Swaziland is to set up a court watch program, in order to monitor how survivors of domestic abuse & sexual offences are treated by the courts, in procedural terms. On Tuesday morning for example I was at the Magistrates court (finally getting permission to sit in court without the legal staff wondering who I am), two men were in the dock on charges of indecent assault to a 1 year old. Only one defendant could afford an attorney, however his attorney did not show up for the hearing. The trial is now delayed until the end of September and a woman in court, a witness though I do not know her role in the case, was visibly upset by this delay.

As far removed from the grass roots legal issues as could be, Monday morning was spent at Parliament presenting SWAGAA recommendations on the Sexual Offences & Domestic Violence Bill (the bill is now over a year old and not yet a law) to the Ministry of Justice portfolio committee (awesome!). After the entire room introduced themselves, the order of proceedings and background to the bill presented, entirely in Siswati, the chairman of the realises I am in the room and asks, are you Swazi yet? To which I reply, 'not yet chairperson, though I am learning to be i would appreciated it if proceedings were in english.'

For now I look forward to staying at the Matenga Lodge, it is in a place where there are monkeys in the wild! I have not had a chance to see any yet, despite the fact that every person I speak with says that monkeys are everywhere; the foreigners find them cute and the locals quickly point out how dangerous they are for ones car (the people travelling in the cars don't seem to get mentioned as often). I guess that I have been spending too much time in parliamentary meetings becoming a Swazi.

Attending Court

I forewent the MDG meeting last week to do what I came to Swaziland to do- go to court. I went to the High Court of Swaziland, in Mbabane. Braved the long distance Khombi ride to get there. Note to everyone as I do not think that I have been fully up-front about the Khombis. There is a group of British volunteers here and the British government has made Khombi rides off limits because of 'safety concerns.' So getting one for a half an hour trip, climbing up the mountain that Mbabane sits on, is dedication to my legal service.

The case that I sat in on involved two wee girls, 6 and 4, who were raped by a man in their town, Piggs Peak (where I went to stay in the luxurious hotel for the CRC meeting). A passionate and dedicated counselor from work was in attendance to provide translation services for the children as they were giving evidence in the child friendly closed circuit camera room off to the side of the court room. It was a little unnerving sitting 2 metres away from such a person and there were more then a few things wrong with the whole process- the defendant could not afford a lawyer and so was cross examining the girls himself. His preparation was complicated by the fact that he could not read, nor could he understand English- the language which a majority of the proceedings were conducted in.

I was very proud of the 6 year old when she was able to come out of the child friendly room and point directly at the accused. She was totally confident and looked a little bit bemused about having to do such a thing, her story and answers to the court was so unwavering and complete you couldn't really blame her.

Education For Kids

Free primary school becomes a reality in Swaziland

ENTFUBENI, Swaziland, 14 May 2010 – At sundown, Thulani Gama tells his 10-year-old twin siblings to collect firewood while he grinds corn for their supper. At sunrise, he wakes the twins and tells them to wash. Without breakfast, all three children begin their hour-long walk to school in rural Swaziland.

work work work

I've not blogged for days now, which can only mean that I have been working!

Last week there was a three day meeting/ conference in Piggs Peak, a town about an hour and a half away from Manzini. The meeting was hosted by the National Children's Co-ordination Unit (NCCU). The aim of the meeting was to begin preparations for submission of the state party report to the Commission on the Rights of the Child, in Geneva. Civil society, government departments were available to collect information about the steps that the Swazi government has taken to implement the commissions recommendations to Swaziland in 2006. The are some challenges in presenting the information to the commission, caused by the over enthusiasm of the last report in which the Swazi Government may have overstated the protection of children's rights in the country.

Tomorrow is another meeting regarding the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals in Swaziland. All these international reports are due around the same time. It makes for an interesting over view of the situation in Swaziland, and also for a whole heap of quick reading to bring me up to speed.

Property Rights

A big property rights case was before the High Court of Swaziland just a few months before I got here. In the case her lady ship, Justice Qinsile Dlamini finally allowed women to own property in their own names, invalidating a act of parliament that had not been updated to give effect to equality rights. Previously women were only allowed to buy property in their husbands name, which of course creates problems in cases involving abuse or divorce proceedings. It was a landmark case.

However just two days before I arrived here, this decision was over turned at the Appeal Court. Justice Moore cited reasons of separation of powers- simply put, he found that the court could not direct parliament on how to update its law. This is despite the fact that it had taken parliament 5 years (and counting) to address their laws in order to bring them in line with the constitutional act containing the bills of rights (passed in 2005).

Of course I was, and still am, flabbergasted by this situation.

So I got in touch with a journalist with IRIN news. Here is the article: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=89510

Enjoy.

Thanksgiving

Yesterday I went to a thanksgiving celebration. Thanksgiving was for my host mothers uncle, who brought my host mother and her 5 siblings up. The idea was to have a celebration of life a chance for the whole family to get together. We drove for an hour and a half to Piggs Peak at the top of Swaziland, to get to my host family's homestead. Every Swazi family living in the cities have their family homestead in the rural areas, usually it is a peice of land given to them by the king a generation or so ago, that the whole family will them build their individual houses on. The result is a jumble of cement houses built on the land, animals walking free, chickens, cows and goats. There was a group of chicks walking in and around the outside cooking pit.

The event itself was in Swati. A lot of speeches, an MC and some dodgy music to welcome each speaker on the stage. The Zion church was in attendance as well, I am told in the rural areas that the Zion church is most prevalent. In the Zion church all men carry sticks as if they were staffs, and do they like to sing and dance! From where I was sitting, it seemed like any lull in proceedings meant a chance for the entire church to start dancing, a constant side two step move.

Any event in ones homestead is an open invitation for the entire neighbourhood to come along to share in food. There is no such thing as an invitation in Swazi culture. I noticed during the proceedings there was a host of people waiting outside the tent, and a lot of children occupying the seats in the centre of the tent. As soon as the presents were given to the Mtethwa family Uncle & Aunty, food started getting served and an instant line formed. Everyone ate their fill and got containers of food to go home with. A entire cow was slaughtered for the event, the entire animal went into those pots. It was delicious.

Khombi Experiences

Getting the Khombi home from work is perhaps the most Swazi experience that I have here. Not getting the Khombi to work, which merely involves waiting beside the road, the aforementioned designated tree station, and waiting for a Khombi to come up the road; a relatively sedate experience compared to the afternoon. The Khombi itself is a 14 seater van, 4 rows deep, the back row seats 4 people squeezed shoulder to shoulder. The hot seat is up besides the driver. It gets to a certain point in the road, a part of highway just going into or leaving town, and the conductor starts collecting 4 E from all the people on the bus. He doesn’t ask for the money, everyone just starts passing money to the front, hand to hand if you’re squeezed in the back row.

In the afternoon, the bus rank is chaotic. Roughly 60 Khombis are parked at all angles throughout a dirt parking lot, which itself is spread over three different sections, on a hill. Along two sides of the bus rank are long markets, selling mostly fresh fruit and veg, some sell a selection of clothes. Throughout the bus rank there are stalls selling lollipops and chips, with MTN workers selling airtime to top up mobiles. And at the far side of the bus rank there is a flea market. The first afternoon going to the bus ranks involved walking around in circles, asking various conductors where the bus for Fairview north was, only to be sent left to right, right to left and back again. Walking around in circles resulted in a few marriage proposals being sent my way, one person asking for money and in my mind at least, a lot of people looking.

A co-worker got me on the right bus that afternoon. Since then I have had the help of a gentleman who stands next to the small food stand and MTN guy closest to the Fairview north buses. The first time I was there alone, and there was a rather abrupt, ‘where?’ coming from behind me. I don’t hear at first, as intent as I am on not having to decline any marriage proposals for that day. ‘Where?’ he repeats. Fairview north. ‘Here, stand here.’ The man points to a very specific part of the ground. He wears a red fleece and a red beanie (toque).

It has been the same every afternoon that I have seen him. If there are two Khombis waiting, he points me towards the right one. If there are people milling around, he tells me exactly where to stand to start a line for the next Khombi that comes. Always he sounds a little angry with me, like I am disappointing him by letting people creep in front of me. Last week there was no one there, I guess that a Khombi had just left. So I waited, not sure exactly where would be the best place to stand, so as to secure the coveted front row seat. Slowly 6 people came, all ended up in front of me until the man pointed me towards the space in the loose line. With his help, I held my ground so people ended up behind me instead of in front. I thanked him as I passed him to get on the Khombi, he says ‘don’t worry about me, just get on the bus!’

Just Governance Group

So part of being a 'Crossroader' is raising money to support Crossroad initiatives. I've almost got all the money that I needed to get, see the link at the side if you want to check it out.

Part of the way I will be raising money is to write monthly for a organisation in Canada, The Just Governance Group. I have been working with them part-time for a year and a half now, carrying out research into governance, political, social and cultural rights in different contexts.

Check out their website with the link to my writings. http://www.justgovernancegroup.org/en/home_eng.htm Thanks

Day of the African Child

On Tuesday I went along to a UNICEF launch event for the Day of the African Child, at a school in Ekukhanyeni, an area with 10 chiefdoms about an hour outside of Manzini. The theme of the event is to stop child trafficking, a problem which civil society fears will be heightened with the influx of visitors during the world cup just across the border. The event brought together all the schools in the township, around 1500 pupils in total, to enjoy performances, speeches, receive bright blue UNICEF T-shirts, and to get information about children’s issues (Save the Children, and SWAGAA were also present to hand out information). Under the blue tent at the edge of the field, the front row seats for most of the performances, sat the dignitaries, one of the kings thirteen wives was present on behalf of the king.

I had a wander around the events and then went into the high school, a scattering of cement buildings that would be classified as somewhat in-complete at home, walked past the huge cow drinking from a small trough (maybe school property, perhaps just an animal that is in the guardianship of a family in the rural area for those living in the city) and found a group of men cooking over a barbecue for all the kids. Perhaps the highlight of any event for those in the rural areas is the accompanying meal. There is the problem of kids receiving their meal, walking to rejoin the line whilst eating their first meal, or perhaps putting the contents in a larger container hidden behind a building and returning for more. It is tough to control this kind of situation when we all know that the kids are not taking numerous meals out of greediness, this knowledge induces complacency in the organisers. But still, every one of those children needed to get a meal.

After deciding on a solution, penning every child on the hand (I don't know if they managed to track down a marker for that), we were taken into the foyer next to a huge kitchen. And unceremoniously had a heaped place of food placed on our laps. The difference in situation was startling and for sure the food tasted great, but was difficult to swallow. Another note to self should I find myself in a similar situation in the future.

neighbourhood

How to describe the area that I live in. Fairview North, Manzini. Bus stop- Esinlahleni. Which literally translates as 'the tree.' I've been given strict instructions to make sure I get on the correct khombi (bus) before I ask to get dropped off at esinlahleni, otherwise I will find myself at a tree just not the right tree. Its difficult to describe where I live when I seem to spend my time looking at the similarities between here and there, rather than the differences. Same people, some say hi, some Sawubona (hi in Swati), some holler goodness knows what out of the khombi as it goes past. The roads are dirt alcoves and driveways, connected by run-down asphalt main roads. Houses are a little worn, and often hidden behind concrete walls. At the moment all of the kids have the vuvuzelas (the long trumpet-like plastic instruments) for the world-cup- I woke up to the kids in a house across the road having an orchestra session with them at 8 in the morning. They were practicing last night, they are getting rather good.

Maybe I could describe the locale as a little tired, but not the people.

Anyway, this is my road. I walk down it to get the Khombi in the morning for work. Those are the kids who will have mastered the art of playing the world-cup vuvuzelas by mid July.

'Average' Swazi Problems

Today was spent driving around the Swaziland country side attending to errands- picking up files from Save The Children, checking up on a counselling site run by SWAGAA, attempting to get a work permit and dropping note books off at one our highschool which holds a 'girls empowerment club.'

Notice that we only attempted to get the work permit, highly unsuccessful. But very important considering I told the lovely border officer who was sitting behind a plywood desk when I landed in Manzini that I was only here for a holiday for a few weeks. The government building which holds all to do with immigration, visas and work permits, is like an old victorian hospital, like something out of 'A Series of Unfortunate Events.' Imagine a badly lit, zero security, measles outbreak era hospital with various food stuffs being sold in the lobby. After we found the correct floor we walked up and down the hallway, knocking on numerous doors, stepping over and around the queues of people in the hallway. When we found the correct room, literally a 2 metre by 3 metre room, we were told in 3 words that we didn't have the correct documents. Right, better luck next time.

But no complaints really, the next stop of the day puts the queues in perspective. We went by one of the girls empowerment clubs in a girls highschool about 40 minutes drive out of Mbabane on rough dirt roads. A girls empowerment club is a forum for girls in primary school and highschool to learn about issues that effect them, and to speak up on the same. Maybe there will be a workshop on AIDS issues one week (age permitting of course) and the next about violence in the home.

We get to the school and one of the highschool teacher says, 'we lost one of the girls.' Since we were talking about membership and activities in the club, I didn't understand immediately what the highschool teacher meant. One of the girls in the club had died of AIDS. She was 16 and had been suffering from birth. I can see why the government buildings are falling apart, when in the every day reality for a Swazi person there are much bigger fish to fry.

Swaziland Commission on Human Rights

Yesterday I was asked if I wanted to go to a meeting today for work. OK.

Turns out that the meeting is a two day consultation conference about the establishment of a Human Rights Committee for Swaziland. Officially, the 'National Consultative Conference on the Swaziland Commission on Human Rights and Public Administration.' It is being held at the Royal Swazi Spa in Ezulwini, about 20 minutes out of Manzini.

The commissioners for the HRC have already been appointed, on the basis of Constitutional provisions (a very new constitution, 2005), now they are in the process of passing a bill to finalize the commission itself. The bill has been in the works since 2007- it takes a while for things to get done here.

It was very interesting getting a feel for the politics of human rights in Swaziland. At day 1 of the consultation there were politicians, chiefs, NGO representatives and HRC representatives from other Commonwealth countries, including Justice Emile Short a former judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and now the Head Commissioner for the Ghana HRC. A lot of the attendants were very annoyed that they only saw the Bill for the first time today, so I imagine the debates will be very lively tomorrow after attendants have pored over documents tonight.

Life Lessons

Swazi Lesson 1:
When possible, Swazis do not buy food, they pick it.

Shopping in the local supermaket I pick up an avocado. As you do. Just a regular, hand sized avocado. My host brother laughs at me- these Swazis love to laugh, as my new co-worker says 'try to figure out if they are laughing with you or at you.' As my host brother explains to me, Swazi folk don't pay for avocados, they pick them!

Sure enough, I get home and our next door neighbour drops by with an avocado the size of 4 avocados from the tree in her garden.

Lesson learnt. Now if only i was here for mango season!

Welcome Party

Fresh off the plane, jet-lagged to high heaven, just a few days in and I am thrilled to learn that the lovely Kingdom of Swaziland has thrown me a welcome party... Well not quite, it is more that I happened to arrive in Swaziland on the weekend of the 'Bush-fire Festival,'a three day international music festival held in Ezulwini Valley (about 30 minutes from my house in Manzini). People come from all over Southern Africa for the festival. I saw a fantastic SA band, Freshly Ground, perform and I am surprised to learn that there is a 'Çlowns Without Borders'- for anyone with thoughts of joining 'doctors without borders,' or 'engineers without borders,' be aware that you have other options!

It was nice to relax with good company in a semi-familiar setting (bush-fire is not too different from the Ottawa bluesfest)before starting work on Monday. I already had the chance to meet my co-workers at my Swaziland Action Group Against Abuse (SWAGAA) on Friday. (Though I am not sure that I made the best first impression wearing my 2 day old plane clothes because my luggage did not make it to Swaziland with me on Thursday night.) It will be good to get into the business of work and get back to you with my impressions of the local scene. For now I've still got some sleep to catch up on.

New Beginnings

`I believe this sincerely. We are here, you, me, and everyone we know, because there is something inherently valuable to our presence. It is the concrete manifestation of a quality in all of us, one that when exercised feels entirely correct.`

- James Maskalyk

Six Months in Sudan.

A young doctor in a war-torn village

This may come as a surprise to a whole heap of you- I am not very good with keeping in touch. Well, that is what I have been told. So the aim of this blog is to keep all you folk posted with what I am up to, and where on earth I am. In two weeks I will be heading off to the Kingdom of Swaziland to work as a court watch researcher, with a local NGO, Swaziland Action Group Against Abuse. For the next 6 months, the city of Manzini will be my home.

Swaziland (not Switzerland my friends) is a landlocked country in Southern Africa- by South Africa on three sides, and Mozambique on the last side. For my British mates, I am told that it is the size of Wales. For everyone else, I will be living just two hours away from the Aussie v. Serbia match in the group stage of the world cup.

Though, the world cup is not my reason for living in that part of the world. Swaziland unfortunately has the greatest prevalence of HIV in the world, and the legal track record for the protection of women’s rights is not great either. But, I am certain my experiences over there be positive and, it has to be said, life changing. I look forward to the time when I refer to legal knowledge gained out in Swaziland, whilst working as a lawyer in Canada. This is what I have chosen to do with my law degrees and I look forward to keeping you in the loop.