bastards

my laptop was stolen yesterday. so was megan's. it was 12pm and we went for a coffee at a busy shopping complex in the safest neighbourhood. the parking lot was full. lots of security guards around. we put the laptops under the front seat, locked the doors and returned 30 minutes to find them gone. i can't even tell you how upset we are. ALL of my photos are gone. ALL of my work and research is gone. nothing was backed up. i have no idea what i'm supposed to do at work now. there isn't a computer for me and everything i've been working on is lost. i don't even want to start over again.

we were furious with the security guards. did they not notice someone breaking the car lock? i hate to be suspicious but wonder if they were in on it. i'm sure there is a lot of money to be made from these breakins. the police came,but i don't have much confidence. as much as i hate it, we made if very clear to the cops that we'd buy back out laptops or pay for info in helping us get them. its a very small country and word has gotten around fast. everyone is putting the word out and hopefully someone will know someone.....

we 've also told the local internet cafe. they thought that perhaps people had been watching us for awhile. we often go to the cafe and use wireless there so they thought it had been planned.
i'm trying not to be angry but i am . it was also my computer for when i go back to school in the fall.

the little things

i've had a tough week. perhaps it's the upcoming holidays or the lack of snow on the ground but i've been feeling tired and unmotivated. but thank god for the little things that put a smile on my face.

i was sitting beside a little boy yesterday on the kombi as i came to work. the driver was playing some upbeat music and i noticed the little boy dancing. i moved over beside him so our legs were touching and began dancing with him. he smiled and we broke out into big, back seat dance moves. the woman in the seat in front of us looked back, smiled, and she too started to dance. and so did the guy beside her. what a fun way to get to work.

Attended the World AIDS Day march on December 1st. Because of the heat (I presume) the march began at 6:30am and unlike the usual Swazi time; it actually began at 6:30! By the end I’d estimate that 1,000 people were marching, chanting and just having a good time.
I’m not sure why but I feel so charged whenever I’m with a big group of people who are trying to create positive social change.

About 1.5 hours into the march I spotted some warriors. They were chanting/singing (?) really loudly and doing this ‘shuffle’. For the rest of the march I stayed behind the warriors mimicking their foot movements and just enjoyed watching them. The contrast of a modern city, modern dress and barefoot warriors is still so thrilling for me. (I have photos but haven’t uploaded them yet).

I learned quite a few things this week about AIDS prevention that I wasn’t fully aware of. In Swaziland and Kenya, male circumcision is being performed as a measure of reducing the risk of transmission. Apparently it can cut the risk by 60%. I was shocked to hear this. Of course the problem is that men are getting circumcised thinking that they can’t get infected so proper education must be enforced – condom AND circumcision (if you are going this route). I met a Canadian journalist covering a story here and he had been to a few procedures. He said it takes a month for the men to heal but that the clinics are still fairly busy. Anyone know if they are promoting this in the ‘west’? Yes, I know, I should do a google search J

Attended the World AIDS Day march on December 1st. Because of the heat (I presume) the march began at 6:30am and unlike the usual Swazi time; it actually began at 6:30! By the end I’d estimate that 1,000 people were marching, chanting and just having a good time.
I’m not sure why but I feel so charged whenever I’m with a big group of people who are trying to create positive social change.

About 1.5 hours into the march I spotted some warriors. They were chanting/singing (?) really loudly and doing this ‘shuffle’. For the rest of the march I stayed behind the warriors mimicking their foot movements and just enjoyed watching them. The contrast of a modern city, modern dress and barefoot warriors is still so thrilling for me. (I have photos but haven’t uploaded them yet).

I learned quite a few things this week about AIDS prevention that I wasn’t fully aware of. In Swaziland and Kenya, male circumcision is being performed as a measure of reducing the risk of transmission. Apparently it can cut the risk by 60%. I was shocked to hear this. Of course the problem is that men are getting circumcised thinking that they can’t get infected so proper education must be enforced – condom AND circumcision (if you are going this route). I met a Canadian journalist covering a story here and he had been to a few procedures. He said it takes a month for the men to heal but that the clinics are still fairly busy. Anyone know if they are promoting this in the ‘west’? Yes, I know, I should do a google search J

another home sweet home

this was my home in harare, zimbabwe. unless you were in a very poor area, every house was protected by some kind of fence - usually barbed wire or broken pieces of glass ran along the top. we had a fence, barbed wire, 3 tier electrical wiring PLUS two security guards. houses in swaziland usually don't have the electric wiring.

I moved out of my homestay yesterday and it was actually a very hard thing to do. When I originally started this internship in Zimbabwe (which seems like ages ago), I was living in a house. When I came to Swaziland I was told I’d have to do a homestay. I wasn’t happy. The family turned out to be quite nice. The mother was very kind and I could tell we could have been friends – if there wasn’t the whole ‘hostmom/hostdaughter’ dynamic.

I had two main issues that lead to me wanting to move out 1) privacy 2) freedom. I didn’t have a lot of privacy in the house. My room was the family’s common room – everyone had something in the closet that they always seemed to need while I was in there. It may not seem like a big deal but for any of you who have lived and worked in a different country know, at the end of some days you really need a room to call your own.

I also didn’t feel like I had much freedom. I wasn’t given keys to the house so anytime I came home after the gate and doors where locked I’d have to call my hostmom and wake her up to let me in. Even if I did have the keys the guard dog would have attacked me.

I told ‘M’ on Sunday that I’d be leaving Tuesday. I hadn’t been there for 2 weeks so she wasn’t surprised. She said she wasn’t angry and that she understood but yesterday when I went to get my things she didn’t say much. I hope I didn’t burn any bridges. Sometimes you just gotta do what’s best for you, even if it does offend some else.

I’m now renting a bachelor apartment on a farm. 2 other friends rent rooms in the house. I have space and privacy and live in a gorgeous part of the country. Since August I’ve lived in 3 different homes and at least a dozen hotels. If I make it longer than 4 weeks it’ll be an African best!

workshop

I attended a very interesting workshop over the weekend dealing with working women’s rights, the new constitution and CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination on all forms of Discrimination against Women). On the first day, we discussed the categories of sex and gender. For most participants, it was the first time that they had heard of gender being a social construct. Many could not understand (nor want to believe) that men and women are taught their behaviours – men are not ‘naturally’ superior and women ‘naturally’ inferior. Some of the men were getting very angry and I think threatened by the discussion. I was getting frustrated because the issue is nothing really to discuss to me – it’s just fact. I quickly realized that if I want to work with gender issues/women’s rights while I am here, I need to learn how to discuss this topic without getting frustrated. It may take a long time for people to understand but it is essential if we are to help women.

The discussion became equally interesting when we started discussing human rights and what it means. Again I thought it was obvious – equal and fair treatment of all regardless of sex/gender/race/sexual orientation/religion and so forth. When stating our definitions everyone but myself said that human rights were given from god. We got into a lively debate when I tried to explain that I was uncomfortable with that definition as they were using the Christian god and what about all of those people who didn’t believe in that god? They were equally confused (and some outraged) with my category of sexual orientation.

Learning about Swaziland’s new constitution was very interesting for all of us. While it states it is a democratic country, there is a section giving the king ultimate authority and being above the law. It states he and anyone he orders to do anything will not be subject to the laws nor have to appear in court and so forth. There is also a section on social objectives. Within this section it states that “the state shall ensure gender balance and fair representation of marginalized groups in all constitutional and other bodies” along with other equally important social promises. Right before these sections is this little beauty “the provisions of sections 57 – 63 inclusive are not enforceable in any court or tribunal.” Lovely……..

We all left the second day discussing the various aspects that we had found so interesting. I know everyone learnt something and that we all realized there is a lot of work to do, especially in the realm of women’s rights.

Cindy walks into my office yesterday and hands me a document that I had been looking for. I ask her how her weekend was. She tells me that she went to visit her brother who is sick. “He is infected” she states. Infected = HIV positive. She explains that he has recently started ARV treatment and is feeling much better. His wife, in denial of being infected, refused treatment and has died. So has his eldest daughter. I tell her I am very sorry and that I will pray for him (Swaziland must be the most religious country in the world). I normally don’t pray but I did last night. She thanks me and asks for some computer training when I have some time. I say no problem and she leaves my office.

I’ve been thinking about this conversation all day. To tell a virtual stranger something so personal in such a public and open setting has left me speechless. I have no idea how to describe how I’m feeling. To her and to too many Swazis, the reality of HIV/AIDS is nothing shocking nor worthy of a ‘private’ conversation. Swaziland has the highest rate of HIV/AIDS in the world. You honestly can’t go more than an hour without hearing someone talk about it, read a billboard about it or read a newspaper in which the topic isn’t discussed on every page. EVERY PAGE. EVERY DAY. ALL DAY.

December 1st is World AIDS day. Please wear a red ribbon.