Dear all,
I've decided that, while I'm in the Niger Delta, it makes sense to try to understand its challenges and issues. Mentally, I've divided the challenges into: the oil industry, the government and the people (which involve both).
So, strangely enough, when I was looking to meet up with some oil people, I ran into one of the world's leading experts on the Niger Delta conflicts (and the people fighting against the oil industry/the aspects of Nigeria's government, in efforts to get their homes cleaned up and interests represented). Funny how that works.
So, I thought I'd help you, the reader, with some information.
I met Michael Watts from UC Berkeley. His Wikipedia page.
His Book: Curse of the Black Gold
Important articles by him:
List of Publications:
Goodnight and Goodluck Jonathan: The Niger Delta Cries Out for EcoJustice
Niger Delta Rising.
His Program at Berkeley:
Niger Delta: Economies of Violence See the link to the Stained With Blood and Oil: The Niger Delta video at the bottom.
Will go ask the oil people nosy questions tomorrow!
Best,
Alena
Showing posts with label violence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label violence. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Friday, July 23, 2010
How Do You Measure Militancy?
Dear all,
Now that I've been here a few weeks, and have my house in order, I can start to learn more academic things (aside from how to change a lock, which I learned how to do this week).
So, I'm starting to explore what is going on with several major issues in this part of Nigeria...what's going on in the oil sector? What's happening with the Amnesty Program? How do you reform militants?
In relation to that, part of the project I'm working on is trying to measure whether or not our project has an impact on a young person's inclination towards violent organizing. How does one measure that?
Have you measured tendencies towards violence? Gang affiliation?
I would love to hear your thoughts/methodologies/advice!
Best,
Alena
Now that I've been here a few weeks, and have my house in order, I can start to learn more academic things (aside from how to change a lock, which I learned how to do this week).
So, I'm starting to explore what is going on with several major issues in this part of Nigeria...what's going on in the oil sector? What's happening with the Amnesty Program? How do you reform militants?
In relation to that, part of the project I'm working on is trying to measure whether or not our project has an impact on a young person's inclination towards violent organizing. How does one measure that?
Have you measured tendencies towards violence? Gang affiliation?
I would love to hear your thoughts/methodologies/advice!
Best,
Alena
Monday, May 17, 2010
Counterterrorism: Communities and Terror
Dear readers,
There are many ways to approach counter-terrorism. The challenge is like that of David and Golliath--or Odysseus and the Cyclops. The terrorists are small, careful, smart, desperate and creative. Governments are large, lumbering, filled with internal bureaucratic issues. And, you might note, Golliath and Odysseus did not fare well--mostly due to my lack of good imagination to come up with a better parallel. :)
Two striking stories about extremist terrorist groups with ties to Islam.
Technology versus good old-fashioned spying: Europe's antiterrorism agencies favor human intelligence over technology
My favorite paragraph from this article is this one:
"You have to have people who go into a specific community, an ethnic group, religious group, a sectarian group, get acquainted with their people, their leaders, and get to know their community," Hamilton said in an interview. "Those communities know, usually, the people within the community that are disaffected, mad, angry, maybe even threatening."
Partially, because it deals with an understanding that terrorists, or people who become terrorists are an anomaly, not the mainstream. Also, if you build networks within a group, you can quickly find those anomalies...everyone knows the local weirdo, right?
The other story deals with the trickier aspect of the causes of terrorism--anger, frustration, the fact that the US is still killing people in 'Muslim lands' and how disconnected I think most Americans are from the reality of other people's fear--not just ours.
Just how deeply unpopular the United States is in the Muslim world?
My favorite paragraphs in this one are those that quote George Orwell:
Their violence, our violence
The palatable and politically safe answers – for conservatives, that Muslims are inherently violent, and for left-liberals, that only a small minority is violent – have always skirted around one important detail: our own violence.
This is no surprise. The notion that our violence motivates terrorism has always lost out to the notion that terror is absent from our violence. It was George Orwell who observed in 1945 that “the nationalist not only does not disapprove of atrocities committed by his own side, but he has a remarkable capacity for not even hearing about them”.
But this “remarkable capacity” is not shared by everyone. Civilian deaths and accounts of torture from Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine have fueled the radicalization of a minority of Muslims abroad, and it was only a matter of time before it produced the same effect on a minority of Muslims here, too.
It is only now, amid this growing domestic radicalization, that we are seeing some willingness to cure the deafness Orwell once wrote about.
Hope you enjoyed these stories.
Best,
Alena
There are many ways to approach counter-terrorism. The challenge is like that of David and Golliath--or Odysseus and the Cyclops. The terrorists are small, careful, smart, desperate and creative. Governments are large, lumbering, filled with internal bureaucratic issues. And, you might note, Golliath and Odysseus did not fare well--mostly due to my lack of good imagination to come up with a better parallel. :)
Two striking stories about extremist terrorist groups with ties to Islam.
Technology versus good old-fashioned spying: Europe's antiterrorism agencies favor human intelligence over technology
My favorite paragraph from this article is this one:
"You have to have people who go into a specific community, an ethnic group, religious group, a sectarian group, get acquainted with their people, their leaders, and get to know their community," Hamilton said in an interview. "Those communities know, usually, the people within the community that are disaffected, mad, angry, maybe even threatening."
Partially, because it deals with an understanding that terrorists, or people who become terrorists are an anomaly, not the mainstream. Also, if you build networks within a group, you can quickly find those anomalies...everyone knows the local weirdo, right?
The other story deals with the trickier aspect of the causes of terrorism--anger, frustration, the fact that the US is still killing people in 'Muslim lands' and how disconnected I think most Americans are from the reality of other people's fear--not just ours.
Just how deeply unpopular the United States is in the Muslim world?
My favorite paragraphs in this one are those that quote George Orwell:
Their violence, our violence
The palatable and politically safe answers – for conservatives, that Muslims are inherently violent, and for left-liberals, that only a small minority is violent – have always skirted around one important detail: our own violence.
This is no surprise. The notion that our violence motivates terrorism has always lost out to the notion that terror is absent from our violence. It was George Orwell who observed in 1945 that “the nationalist not only does not disapprove of atrocities committed by his own side, but he has a remarkable capacity for not even hearing about them”.
But this “remarkable capacity” is not shared by everyone. Civilian deaths and accounts of torture from Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine have fueled the radicalization of a minority of Muslims abroad, and it was only a matter of time before it produced the same effect on a minority of Muslims here, too.
It is only now, amid this growing domestic radicalization, that we are seeing some willingness to cure the deafness Orwell once wrote about.
Hope you enjoyed these stories.
Best,
Alena
Monday, April 26, 2010
What's it take to have a successful women's movement in Africa?
Moral clarity, persistence, and patience (According to Lehman Gbowee (the now-famous figure from Pray the Devil Back to Hell).
I would add: creativity and courage
Most of this post comes from reading a great blog post "It's Time to End Africa's Mass Rape"
The Liberian story, like many others, really brings home the ability of women within a society to completely transform a war into peace. I highly recommend seeing Pray the Devil Back to Hell.
I know its not necessarily the case that women automatically change the nature of a conflict, but its great to see the impact of these tough, strong, paradigm-changing ladies.
Movements to watch:
Women Peace and Security Network Africa (WIPSEN-Africa)
Women of Zimbabwe Arise
African Women’s Development Fund
The African Feminist Forum
Peace is Loud!
I've always been fascinated by the stereotype of 'quiet' women. Sure, I've met one or two, but I've been fortunate (yay Wellesley!) to have known many warm sisterhoods and some pretty feisty ladies.
Best,
Alena
I would add: creativity and courage
Most of this post comes from reading a great blog post "It's Time to End Africa's Mass Rape"
The Liberian story, like many others, really brings home the ability of women within a society to completely transform a war into peace. I highly recommend seeing Pray the Devil Back to Hell.
I know its not necessarily the case that women automatically change the nature of a conflict, but its great to see the impact of these tough, strong, paradigm-changing ladies.
Movements to watch:
Women Peace and Security Network Africa (WIPSEN-Africa)
Women of Zimbabwe Arise
African Women’s Development Fund
The African Feminist Forum
Peace is Loud!
I've always been fascinated by the stereotype of 'quiet' women. Sure, I've met one or two, but I've been fortunate (yay Wellesley!) to have known many warm sisterhoods and some pretty feisty ladies.
Best,
Alena
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Two Important Events: Niger and Myanmar (Burma)
These stories were just posted by a friend of mine, but I want to make sure they get more exposure.
A coup/coup attempt is underway in Niger. "The country has gone through five constitutions and periods of military rule since it gained independence from France in 1960."
What will ECOWAS say/do? They've been pretty vocal that no coup-leadership/forced change of power will be recognized...
"The opposition also boycotted October 20 legislative elections, after which the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) suspended Niger as a member and the European Union put a freeze on its development aid."
Also,Burmese/Myanmar refugees are the victims of violence in Bangladesh.
"Described by the UN as one of the most persecuted minorities on earth, thousands of Rohingyas from Myanmar's northern Rakhaine state stream across the border into Bangladesh every year."
"Bangladesh recognises 28,000 Rohingya as official refugees, who live in official camps under the supervision of the UN.
This figure is a fraction of the estimated 220,000 unofficial refugees, MSF says.
There are an estimated 700,000 Rohingya in Myanmar, where they are not recognised as citizens and have no right to own land."
Thanks for reading. Please let me know if you have updates.
Best,
Alena
A coup/coup attempt is underway in Niger. "The country has gone through five constitutions and periods of military rule since it gained independence from France in 1960."
What will ECOWAS say/do? They've been pretty vocal that no coup-leadership/forced change of power will be recognized...
"The opposition also boycotted October 20 legislative elections, after which the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) suspended Niger as a member and the European Union put a freeze on its development aid."
Also,Burmese/Myanmar refugees are the victims of violence in Bangladesh.
"Described by the UN as one of the most persecuted minorities on earth, thousands of Rohingyas from Myanmar's northern Rakhaine state stream across the border into Bangladesh every year."
"Bangladesh recognises 28,000 Rohingya as official refugees, who live in official camps under the supervision of the UN.
This figure is a fraction of the estimated 220,000 unofficial refugees, MSF says.
There are an estimated 700,000 Rohingya in Myanmar, where they are not recognised as citizens and have no right to own land."
Thanks for reading. Please let me know if you have updates.
Best,
Alena
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
The Tamils and the Sinhala...no one won.
Dear Readers,
Well, most of you are probably familiar with Sri Lanka's 30 year civil war, full of hyper-nationalism, guerilla warfare, rape and violence. If you're not, this article gives an oversimplified summary of the past and important current events. Hindu against Buddhist, with Muslims caught in the middle. All on a tiny island with some of the highest education, literacy rates and equality for women in South Asia.
Well, hopefully this is the beginning of the end. All the best to the people of this beautiful place.
NMRK.
Alena
Well, most of you are probably familiar with Sri Lanka's 30 year civil war, full of hyper-nationalism, guerilla warfare, rape and violence. If you're not, this article gives an oversimplified summary of the past and important current events. Hindu against Buddhist, with Muslims caught in the middle. All on a tiny island with some of the highest education, literacy rates and equality for women in South Asia.
Well, hopefully this is the beginning of the end. All the best to the people of this beautiful place.
NMRK.
Alena
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Don't go to war unless you can commit.
This is going to be a bit of an opinion piece. I'm sure I can find articles to support my thoughts, but this is one of the things I really learned in my ISP (International Security Policy) concentration at SIPA.
As Dr. Betts would say every year as he met the ISP incoming class: War is a serious business. It's about life and death. If you're not a serious person, get out and don't join ISP. At the time I thought he was just trying to scare off people who might waste his time. Now, I tend to agree with him.
I'm a pacifist, first and foremost. I generally think that violence is the tool of the desperate and unimaginative. Violence is easy to commit, easy to do, easy to justify. Nonviolent solutions to conflicts are difficult, hard to manage, confusing and require a pretty strong belief in the capacity of mankind.
US (and many other countries') leaders seem to approach war in a piecemeal fashion. Let's send 10,000 troops...which will take a year from order to boots-on-the-ground...and haggle over how many copters, what kinds of guns, etc. Bombing campaigns are popular and expensive. Like sanctions, they 'send a message' and don't cost a lot at home in terms of political support.
Fighting a proper war requires sacrifice, commitment, political will, lots of money, lots of imagination, lots of planning (and a clear set of goals!!), a well-trained military, civilian counterparts who understand something about war and clear communication. If you are haggling about troop numbers, I feel like you don't truly realize that you have to commit totally (i.e. fighting a total war to win even a limited war). If you aren't willing to commit, don't go in the first place, because the costs and realities of war will drag you to give more and more than you expected and then you'll be stuck fighting a total war anyway.
So, I'm in a funny place as a pacifist. Don't go to war, don't use violence. Ironically, my study of war reinforced my pacifism, since its clear that the costs of war escalate unless you have a lot of factors and will in your favor. So, don't go unless you're going 100% and are willing to pay the price in deaths, casualties, money, popularity and moral confusion.
(note, this is not an argument for increased violence in war, just better preparation. Fight smarter, not more brutally (brutally is counter-productive and just legitimizes and galvanizes your enemies)
I'll write more later that relates to others' analysis. I look forward to counter-arguments! :)
best,
alena
As Dr. Betts would say every year as he met the ISP incoming class: War is a serious business. It's about life and death. If you're not a serious person, get out and don't join ISP. At the time I thought he was just trying to scare off people who might waste his time. Now, I tend to agree with him.
I'm a pacifist, first and foremost. I generally think that violence is the tool of the desperate and unimaginative. Violence is easy to commit, easy to do, easy to justify. Nonviolent solutions to conflicts are difficult, hard to manage, confusing and require a pretty strong belief in the capacity of mankind.
US (and many other countries') leaders seem to approach war in a piecemeal fashion. Let's send 10,000 troops...which will take a year from order to boots-on-the-ground...and haggle over how many copters, what kinds of guns, etc. Bombing campaigns are popular and expensive. Like sanctions, they 'send a message' and don't cost a lot at home in terms of political support.
Fighting a proper war requires sacrifice, commitment, political will, lots of money, lots of imagination, lots of planning (and a clear set of goals!!), a well-trained military, civilian counterparts who understand something about war and clear communication. If you are haggling about troop numbers, I feel like you don't truly realize that you have to commit totally (i.e. fighting a total war to win even a limited war). If you aren't willing to commit, don't go in the first place, because the costs and realities of war will drag you to give more and more than you expected and then you'll be stuck fighting a total war anyway.
So, I'm in a funny place as a pacifist. Don't go to war, don't use violence. Ironically, my study of war reinforced my pacifism, since its clear that the costs of war escalate unless you have a lot of factors and will in your favor. So, don't go unless you're going 100% and are willing to pay the price in deaths, casualties, money, popularity and moral confusion.
(note, this is not an argument for increased violence in war, just better preparation. Fight smarter, not more brutally (brutally is counter-productive and just legitimizes and galvanizes your enemies)
I'll write more later that relates to others' analysis. I look forward to counter-arguments! :)
best,
alena
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