Part of the solution

I know I haven’t been talking about my internship that much, but that’s not because I’m unhappy. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. As most of you know, I’ve been interested in transitional justice for a long time, particularly in post-conflict situations with multiple transitional justice mechanisms. South Africa was one of the first cases that I studied way back at the beginning of undergrad, and I’ve been hooked since. They had one of the most widely publicized truth commissions and have been used as a model for other societies.

(A short lesson for those who aren’t so familiar with this field: transitional justice is pretty much like it sounds. In the world of post-conflict reconstruction, it refers to a set of mechanisms that address issues of the past while fostering greater sentiments of healing, reconciliation, and justice. It places the emphasis on nurturing a collective narrative, hoping to build a cohesive society amongst those who were formerly divided, in many cases, between victims in perpetrators. Truth commissions are a commonly used mechanism where participants fully disclose details from the past. In many cases, perpetrators are offered amnesty in return for telling the truth. This is what happened in South Africa.)

CSVR has many different divisions but I work in the Transitional Justice Programme. Today and tomorrow our colleagues from Johannesburg are in town for a strategic planning meeting where we go over current projects and discuss new ones. I’m thrilled that I’m here for this (it happens only twice a year) so that I can meet everyone involved. Everyone has come from different backgrounds and brings extraordinary passion and skill to the work we’re doing. For the first time, I really feel like I’m able to contribute and be part of the general solution of working toward peace.

Here are just some of the projects that we’re working on:

- Violence in Transition: very long term project (has had continuous funding for 10 years now) surveying the role of violence in transitioning and post-conflict societies.

- Gender and Memory: looks at issues of gender in conflict and conflict resolution, as well as how conflicts are remembered. A current project is developing an exhibition and book telling the stories of 8 mother-daughter pairs in which the mothers played a role in the anti-apartheid struggle. We are interested in understanding how they live their lives now, and how they convey their experiences to their daughters. The exhibition is tentatively scheduled for September and I’m so sad I’m going to miss it.

- African Transitional Justice Regional Network: working to establish connections between NGOs, research centers, and practitioners that focus on transitional justice throughout the African continent. A website allows people/organizations to engage and inform.

Today, all the projects were discussed. We also talked a lot about the current xenophobia problem here in South Africa (hopefully you’ve been watching the news and know what I’m referring to). An ad hoc project has been established as we scramble to understand what’s going on. Xenophobia is not a new issue and there is lots of scholarship and evidence out there that allows us to understand a violent demonstration of xenophobia but nevertheless, it still is a frustrating and unpredictable experience. Many people today discussed if we ever can really predict or know why this occurs, which led to a larger discussion of our roles not just as practitioners but neighbors, friends, and habitants. Many people in CSVR are foreigners and can identify with the issues of resettling, but are also in a completely different world than those who are being targeted. It’s upsetting to see a country from which so many fled to the safe havens of other nations become so intolerant of outsiders, many from countries that provided refuge during apartheid. Coming from the United States, a country filled with immigrants and descendants of immigrants (my great-grandparents came over from Eastern Europe in the early 1900s), it’s sad to see people having to flee their homes because they’re not from here. Mind you, I know that the US is not exactly a model society for immigrant treatment, but still…

Switching gears completely…this weekend I was able to get out and about to explore. On Saturday, I went to the Gold of Africa Museum. I’m a museum junkie and heard this one was unique and beautiful. It told the story of the gold trade on the African continent, and the role of gold in many societies. The museum space was indeed incredible and offered an interesting historical lens. We also tried to go to the Jewish Museum but not realizing that it was an active synagogue, found it closed for Shabbat on Saturday. There is a large Jewish population in South Africa (one of my new friends here was originally born here but moved to the US when she was young but comes from 3 generations of Jewish South Africans) and I’m very interested to learn more about them.

On Sunday, we finally had nice weather and took the train down the peninsula to Simon’s Town, an adorable area. It’s the Royal Navy Base of SA and is a big naval area. It’s also home to the Boulder’s Beach community of penguins! There is a colony of about 3000 jackass penguins here, which are indigenous to this area. They’re quite little and funny (and smelly!) and we were able to get quite close to them. They make a funny noise that sounds like a donkey, hence their name. Simon’s Town also has great seafood so we had a leisurely lunch on the water enjoying fish and chips (and wine of course). The train which ran from our neighborhood all the way down was about an hour and allowed us to see the various towns and beaches, especially the big surfing areas. Surfing is done year round here – I don’t even want to know how cold the water is now!

Tomorrow morning we’re finishing up our planning and then spending the afternoon hiking in Newland’s Forest, which is at the base of Table Mountain. Then, it’s out for drinks and dinner which should be fun. Just another day at the office, eh? Wednesday it’s back to (real) work.