Vanuatu: September 2007

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Work trip to Moso Island - Thursday, jan 18th

I love how things work here. I walk into work 1.5 hours late (9 am) and find out that the four people I was supposed to teach today are going out to Moso, another island close to Efate, so I'm free to do my own thing. Another Australian volunteer at Shefa suggested that I also come with; so I did. And that is how I spent my entire work day on thursday! :P Moso has two villages, Sunai and *something else that I don't remember the name of*. Sunai has a total population of 50 people (that includes all the kids!) and the other as a population of 200-250. Turns out everybody lived together in Sunai back in the day (4 years ago I think) but there was a split, so a certain faction moved out to the another part of the island. I have my reservations when people want to split up or move out in response to a problem, but if the conflict is serious/non-manageable enough than really, what better way than some distance between the two parties to make matters less explosive.

- everybody gets a chance to talk
- sitting on higher level but sense of having responsibility to answer along with this privelege
- kids vandalizing primary school: stupid alcohol
- community tourim projects:
= who gets dividends?
= how do you make sure everybody is doing their job?
= do you provide recognition to the people going the extra mile? How?

Traditional Economy

What is it:
http://www.vanuatuculture.org/documents/CustomEconomyBlurb.doc
http://www.vanuatuculture.org/trm/20070207_kastom_ekonomi.shtml

My opinions

Good side: If I had to give a general statement, I am definately in support of the idea behind traditional economy; preventing the global push for the entire world to covert to a cash economy can, in my opinion, prevent great a many violent and non-violent conflicts.

Bad side: I've observed a power struggle to establish a personal legacy rather than working altruistically for the sake of a cause and/or betterment of a situation.

Question: is it humanly possible to work passionately and endlessly towards a cause without letting ego come in the way?

women advocating for female oppression?

idea that it is the women's fault if she got raped while wearing pants <-- women are the ones pushing towards retaining the cultural island-dress while (some) male activists are against the idea. why is it that women are often the ones most strongly holding onto tradition and culture, even when it goes against their self-interest and is most oppressive of women? this is similar to south asian culture where the (sometimes) mothers try to find a way of taking inheritance rights away from the daughter so that the son can have more!

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Conversations with a strong female leader...

While working for CUSO, I had this really amazing opportunity of being able to get to know and hear from an amazing woman, Hilda Lini, who is also the sister of current PM and the deceased "Father of Nation". She is also the woman who is heading off the entire traditional-economy movement for Vanuatu. There were a few things I was *really* keen on discussing with her, however, unfortuntaley, due to lack of time on both of our ends the conversation never took place. However, still posting a list of the questions I had in mind for her, in case posting it here might trigger similar conversations with readers...

Female leaders / strong women: do they “loose” on something, when contrasting with the required or preferred female attributes.
Militant image of Muslims / Palestinians: how to balance image politics with independence struggles? How do you draw the line between forwarding your aims and caring about your image in the community
Making decisions for others’ betterments vs. individual / free choice?
Censorship: not translating certain parts of the speech
Cultural / kustom is always changing and made b man: how do you make sure then that this culture or kustom is not oppressive?
Internal peace vs. doubting others’ intentions; latter is necessary to not fail in cause but former is preferred. How do you find the balance?
Kustom is not stagnant: how do you make sure that the “full package” is passed down and practiced rather than only certain points?
Kustom, culture, and religion are not stagnant: and if it its man-made, how do you justify the over-the-top struggle to retain it?
I’ve been blamed of being racist, intense during my work with the anti-discrimination movement: how do you respond to such claims or insults/
What do you think about others coming to MIPST / Pentecost to learn so that peace models and peace culture can be replicated in other countries and cultures? Is privileged information given to outsiders if they promise to use it for good?
How do you explain working against he white man’s system but using the white man’s invention and discoveries such as facilitation skills, mics, lights and conference breakdown
How can is how solidarity to the people of West Paua and help to show that Muslims support their struggles for self-determination and independenceChief said okay to me for not wearing dress but still taking part in the community dance: where do you draw the line of making compromises for minorities following different belief system?

REDI - Rural Economic Development Initiative

VSO volunteers from the Philippines seem to have a monopoly over the REDI development in each of the provinces. Therefore, wouldn't it be a safe conclusion to say that the grassroots structure and activism within Vanuatu's islands is very much influenced by the Phillipino cultural and national history, especially history of resistance and community activism.

Thoughts from Pentecost Trip

I had to visit Pentecost, an island in the North of Vanuatu, for a conference on traditional economy. There will certainly be a seperate post on traditional economy, just because the whole idea and movement amazes me lots. Pentecost *had* to be my most intense experience while in Vanuatu; I was in a custom (traditional) village on an island of valleys, and the experience was so constantly unreal and emotionally/psychologically taxing that I did not think of taking pictures. However, every now and then, I did jot down notes.. I find that re-telling the bits and peieces of the experiences wouldn't do justice to it, so I'm just going to go ahead and post the notes I scribbled during the 9-day trip...

crazy ride back home: life flashed before my eyes
scared of making mistakes
it’s wrong that we get to attend a meeting with the Prime Minister and other “big men”: oinly thing I’ve done to desrve this is that I’m a CUSO volunteer froma first-world country
culture: changing over time. Who decides what’s true custom. Who’s voice get’s left out?
Culture: changes over time. Even if its equalatarian to beign with, over time, only certain elements get left behind and applied to future generations. However same problem exists with the implementation of religion
Why do we find it so hard or threatening to give up our culture, religion or belief syste., as most of the times it is only something passed dwon by our fathers and mothers? Why is the way of our ancestors so hard to give up?
Walking stick / talking stick: only chiefs are allowed. What would be the indigenous explanation for why this technique failed in Lord of the Flier?
Culture shock everytime you think you’ve become an expert on adapting, everytime you’re proven wrong. Still there’s no end to this fall sense of confidence you feel.
Respect: equality for women but respect for men is mentioned simultaneously, almost like the latter is a prequisite for the former. Does this take away from equity?
MIPST is possible on Pentecost or Vanantu due to geographic inaccessibility and communication barriers. Can land-locked nations or communities expect the same optimistic results in a similar culture-retention movements?
Kustom blong white man: why is that everything is assumed to be an attribute of the Western World: because of media? Because they are the current power-playerS?
Resisstance to WDO tactics: I might, morally, not be able to adpot a culture by regardless, the model or idea is out of this mind and is an invaluable opportunity for others to learn ots
April 20th: anything that could go wrong, did go wrong: lost my ticket, paid 3000 vt for new ticket, got *really* late for my plane
Definition of indigienous?
When you have a huge gathering with everybody who’s anbody, people don’t flaunt their status or credentials but still expect and require special treatement. How does that work? Struggles between who should serve and should be served?
Imagine a full-line of grown men, waiting to be served dinner, all of them starting at you. Are you supposed to pretend like there’s nothing out of the ordinary happening?
Welcoming evyerbody by name: political correctness? Etiquettes? Custom” politeness? Whatever it is due to, I really like the gesture
A separate person comes to say thank you: a way of including everbpdy. But MC is still sspeerate. Thank you by chiefe of council of chiefs
Search “daioly post” and “independent” for stories on WIP Forum and Peace and women
Religious tolerance: got invited to join women’s dance even though I can’t wear the grass skirs due to limits of my custom or religions. Why and how does Vanautu manage to remain tolerant in spite of strong influence from extremist factions in Australia, US and the geographical isolation?
Custom: what you should / can do? Relgion: what you can not do. Is this a fair distinction between the two?
Will take over the country: evnaglelical side of Islam: why? How can we as muslims want to convert others when Muslim states are some of the worst ones?how much of your relgion do you let go and how much do you hold on to?
Stressed, scared and anxious before each conference ibecause it’s new or outside my comfort zone? Or because I know that I’ll have increased trouble simplifying things abotut he world
Nuclear testing and militarization of the Pacific?
Did the missionas bother hearing about custom or culture before preaching? If they had, there might not be so much resistance to religion ?
Respect versus oppressions: who decides fine line between the two?
People being in full support of collective cultures but still raising children and owning things based on the individualistic approach
Kids are encouraged to listen in collective cultures but speak in individualistic communities. Balance between listening and learning from elders, confidence and not speaking up against unjusticies?
Hilda: good leader since she’s strong woman. But hard to live with? Same for all leaders? Or only women leders? Do you have be harsh to be revoluationary? Is it pimpossible to be passionate about a cause but be sensitive to normal, miniscule or “invisible” thigns at the same time?
Girls not beign allowed to live way from home: always thought that was a matter of oppression. Byt maybe this opinion was fromed by my cultural heritage. Maybe the whole “females need security” has something to do with the reality of the majority of the world? Or maybe this gender-exlcusive limitation is a result of colonial and outer-cultural interference?
Girls not being allowed to move away vs. limiting women’s experiences so that they are unable to realize their full potential
New foundr especet for Islamic schools that work according to tradition and for traditionalists. Still not one to join them bu interesting to realize that the rational ius pretty impressive, logical and anti-colonial
“peace shall destroy many” creating the perfet society for future generations. Same as MIPST: great, but what about individual choice? Or is this preference or need for individual choiuce as well a result of colonialist influences.
Does law of nature dictate that we all are not capable of making intelligible decisions and needs others to decide what’s best for us
“Ha! Let them try as hard as they want; we’ll win in the end": respoinse to a liberation or revulationary movement you don’t completely agree with
Quote: "You can not hold the sky with one hand. You need two hands to hold the sky": quote by Nelson Mandela. Should apply to gender treatment and opportunities available to both
Quote: "If you don’t respect environment, how can you respect another man", by a conference attendee, probably a chief
Drinking water finishing on island 4 days into the 7 day form. 200 participants and village residents were “water-less”
Immigration: in the end, we’re supporting the colonizaers and opresseors by moving into the stolen territory and supporting the conomic eneterprise?
Tamata: please stop. The facilitator doesn’t call out. The audience members call out so the facilitator’s impartiality is not questioned

Lecture @ USP (University of South Pacific)

I figured that attending the local university for at least one lecture would be a requirement before I can claim that I have "experienced" living in Vanuatu.. or Port Vila at least.

So, that’s what I did: I attended one-day lecture of a 2-week-intense course of Law & Human Rights. There was a visiting professor from Australia who was teaching the course, so understandably so, this wouldn’t qualify as a true “local” experience. But regardless, my observations are as follows:

there is this amazing uniformity or similarity between all academic institutions, maybe because USP is so strongly influenced by the academic community in Australia and New Zealand. But doesn’t this cut down, dramatically, on the possibility of creative solutions or unconventional discourse?
Cultural diversity or cultural retention is used, today, as n acceptable social-justice ideal or belief. But the action in custom to be violent or take revenge doesn’t receive the same examination or criticism as is accorded to the “eye for an eye” principle in Islam
The influential or power-broker community of Pacific islands is more often than not educated in the West. The professor asked if this community *really* knows the true custom or tradition, since they have been away and educated in a non-traditional system of education? My personal opinion: no. if you’ve been education then, unconsciously, there is this really strong push or desire to appease your authorities i.e. teachers. Therefore, your replies are more “moderate” or diplomatic; over time your principles get diluted to an extent that they no longer are “real” or in line with the traditional opinions on the grass roots level
Even strong proponents of custom say that certain things in custom, either those that were present or those that have been misinterpreted and included over time, have to done away with. But the question is: who decides what we do away with? More importantly, how likely are the “deciders” to consider interests of stake holders and how often are they going to resist the temptation to give into ideas that personally benefit them first?
What is the correlation between countries that have a majority of young (under 15 years) populations and the country’s status as: developed, developing or under-developed
Most, if not all, education at USP is done in English. You can’t, realistically, expect to not put a Western flavor or spin on “everything” that is being taught since English is being used as the tool of expression. What good does it do to acknowledge the overwhelming (undeserved?) Western influence on education system when the tool of delivery remains the same and doesn’t undergo significant change?
Self-Determination: some student in class said that self-determination is more of a group, rather than an individual, thing. Interesting, because earlier I never thought of a distinction between the two

Observations (2)

Some things that I might have typed up during the very beginning of my placement... apologies if this information has already been posted somewhere on this blog before...

houses are called "sleeping houses" as people spend most of their time outside, and only use the houses for the purpose of sleeping. For that very reason, there is not much furniture inside these houses.
everybody here is from an island; family dictates how you act to each other
how corrupt politicians stay in power <-- through helping relatives when in need, and then asking them for the favor back
impossible to avoid eye contact
hard water!! <-- everything becomes STIFF
se - beliefs etc.
you address somebody's wife as: woman blo NAME (woman OF name) .. side note: man blo NAME exists as well
very small town: everbody knows who's going out with whom
people WANT to go to school, there is just no money! This, as opposed to the sometimes this feeling of “we HAVE to go to school” that we come across, especially while attending (free) public high school
police is not trusted legal force, because the call of relations + communal living is too overpowering. judges are not trusted either. instead, chiefs are chosen source of arbitration
custom is based on compromise -- create a win-win sitaution rather than the western-traditional win-lose arrangement
kava was not mass-consumed before independence. it was the locals who decided to make it commercial, and to quite a large extent, it helps to cut down crime in the city. women might disagree since men don't do anything after kava
as expected, women had to take up both the traditionally-female and currently-female roles, but nothing changes about men's performance: so women keep getting worked harded and harder, and men, softer and softer
melansia: only three countries where the natives still control the indigenious land. That also explains the "zero poverty, homelessness, hunger" idea
1000 languages within this area <-- most linguistically diverse in the world
land ownership is still communal, but the leases are 75 years and have a "roll-over" policy. so if you fail to realize that you need to petition for yhour land, you lose it for another 75 years = 2 or 3 generations. This also means that the locals no longer have any relationship with the land
there are STILL places being colonized: new caledonia by france; west papua by indonesia
vanuatu is non-aligned; struggle to mantain this position is really hard. Mel-Trust is an organization that works towards this
Vanuatu is one of the only 3 (or 4) countries in the UN that still supports the de-colonization and independence struggles of west papua
melanesia, polensia and micronesia (the latter two) are major attraction spots for US naval bases. So there is a current movement towards de-militrization. With the new terrorism scare, a lot of old, isolated bases are starting to open up again
you don't disagree with somebody, without being offensive. Therefore, people will "disagree" but never vote against somebody's proposed ammendment during parliament sittings
big division of sexes - men interact with men and women, with women. But how do you keep this balance when men are constantly asking you about your hijab.. also, how do you deal with the whole "don't walk alone with men" if you see somebody on the street (chances of which are VERY high!)
sand drawings are pictures of stories.. so stories about heroism, love, unity, marriage, and life in general. Holding hands has a BIG significance in melanesian-fable. I would love to go to a story-telling festival of sorts!
avg earning: $50/wk.. so $200 - $250 / mnth!!!
people are very happy with their state: they don't want to be like the "white man", and they realize the true importance of what they've got.
food is completely organic and the amount of energy put into creating food from purely natural form makes sure that girls who are barely 6 have more arm muscles than I do (and I've been trying to work out for god knows how long!)
people at one point used to drive on both sides of the street, when the entire french vs. british thing hadn't been ironed out. This dispute was literally settled by saying: “ok, we will follow whatever the next truck does!” The next vehicle to enter was driven by a British national, so now everybody drives on the right.
architecture = tin houses. extremely modest, btu that doesnt matter since they sepnd most of the day outside anyways.
people dont own too many clothes; very common to see people waering clothes with holes in them. really nice to be aroudn this lack of superficiality.
it's amazing: you see the same people around
business owners made people work on Christmas, and the sucky part is that there are no labour laws to protect these workers. so, they have to work on a public holiday on normal (non-enhanced pay) and if they don't show up, than they get sacked!
arite with the fact that no matter how long somebody has been living here, he is still referred to as "chinense" or "white" rather than ni-van or local
copies of biblical stories were present in myths of islands before the missionaries came.
PeaceCorps get paid almost NOTHING while here but then get 6000 once they return + first dibs on any government job

Monday, September 24, 2007

Overstepping onself...

Ever had one of those moments where you get a scary remind of how much you don’t know, and in spite of not knowing any of his, you still talk too much for your own good?

Often, back in Canada, either you interact with your own peers in the school setting or with elders in your own family or social circle: in the former case, this revelation is not very frequently as others (usually) know as less as you. The latter, on the other hand, has a very strong power hierarchy and due to this assumption (by yourself) that you, in comparison, don’t know anything at all, you usually save yourself from putting your foot in your moth or overstepping yourself.

But being here in Vanuatu and getting a chance to interact with fellow volunteers on a somewhat level footing, it is absolutely amazing how often one tents to perform this act of making a fool of themselves.

Most of these volunteers are 25+ (with majority going towards the higher age bracket) and the fact that they were selected for an international placement (almost) always means that they are accomplished in their field or profession that, and you realize that, culturally, they might not be as flashy and forthcoming with declarations of their achievements.

But in spite of acknowledging this, you can’t stop making a fool of yourself. You can’t stop stating your opinion even though it is more often than not founded on incorrect or incomplete information and simplistic conclusions. It’s almost like word vomit: you realize right when you open your mouth that what you’re saying can probably be attacked from a million sides, but regardless, you can’t shut up.

Secretly, I partly blame my education and experience in North America where confidence and being (overly?) vocal / assertive is culturally accepted as the right formula to succeed in life. But regardless, I acknowledge the fact that I still continue to “overstep” myself and often am not afforded the luxury of escaping public mockery, even if this mockery is something that goes on in people’s heads rather than being verbalized.

Moral of this post is: I need to learn how to be silent, especially when I realize the need to be silent!

Vanuatu