Peace Jam Costa Rica

One of my best experiences here in Costa Rica was PeaceJam. Peace Jam is an international educational organization, headquartered in Denver. It is built around Nobel Laureates who work personally with youth to pass on spirit, skills and wisdom. PeaceJam hopes to build leaders who will help transform thier lives, their communities and the world. Participants study peacemakers, create service plans, and meet together to share growth and experiences (www.peacejam.org). In Costa Rica youth 14-19 from all over the country spent the weekend with Rigoberta Menchu Tum. She is an indigenous leader and activist from Guatemala. She won the Nobel Peace Prize for waking the world up to the systematic and bloody human rights violations perpetrated by the army on the indigenous people during Guatemala's long and civil war.

I had the pleasure of spending the day seeing and getting to know 200 + active, engaged youth. The force of so many young people united, hopeful, involved and active in their communities makes me smile still. I was also lucky to get to spend some time with Marcos, the hardworking, tireless guy who is helping PeaceJam become a reality in Latin America. But most amazing of all, I got to speak with and listen to Rigoberta. I truly felt like I was in the presence of someone great. She was kind, profound, yet simple. She discussed everything from Obama's recently election, to cultural relativism and sustainability. She talked about how funny and awkward teenagers are, and discussed globalization's effect on women in Latin America. She talked about xenophobia and her deep connection with the land that is her home. It was really a magical and special experience.

Me meeting Rigoberta Menchu.

Hob-nobbin'

I was recently part of a delegation representing Upeace at a community and government meeting in Ciudad Colon. Members of the community spoke about new developments, problems and
progress in the region. Here we are with the Minister of Education.








And here we are (see my glasses poking out?) with Don Oscar Arias, the president of Costa Rica.

Refugee Children's Party

Some Upeacers recently spent the day with ACAI, an ngo that works closely with UN High Commission on Refugees here in Costa Rica. One of my classmates works with the refugee children group. I spent a fun filled day playing, doing art projects and enjoying these kids energy and hope. The refugee population in Costa Rica is 100% Colombian, mostly families from rural, conflict ridden areas that have had to flee their homes. Some of these children's stories are heartbreaking- but they are still kids. They love pizza, jumping castles, stickers and playing. So that's what we did. What a great afternoon!

Panama!

After a very intense human rights education class, where I studied and created a unit plan on global slavery, I was more than ready for a break. We had 4 days free so we hopped a bus for our neighbor- Panama. After a beautiful bus ride hugging the coast we arrived at the boarder- a river that divides the two nations. Since we only had a few days, we chose the closest nice place to visit, Bocas del Torro, a collection of beautiful beachy islands.




This is the view from the "ferry" to the islands- a 15-seater motorboat. The ride to the island alone justified the journey. Thick jungle on both sides. Small one room homes on silts. Dark longhaired women and children in wooden canoes. Thousands of majestic cranes poised on one foot watched us pass. On the return trip the river was so calm and still it formed a natural mirror, reflecting back the sky and the dense almost primeval vegetation.









































The only down side to the weekend was the visit to a Panamanian hospital. I got bit by some unknown insect and a few hours later my foot was double in size and the bite was rising 1/2 an inch off my toe. It was also a strange black-ish color. We sat in the waiting room, and after few hours, two shots, and 5 different types of medicine I returned to my spot in sun and fresh pineapple shakes.

Walk to School

So... a friend of mine was walking to school. She was looking up at the trees, her mind wandering, when suddenly she noticed a 10 ft. long boa spread all the way across the road. A few days ago I was walking home and saw a huge turtle hanging out in a drainage ditch. Last week a group of monkeys were spotted by the road. I figured I'd better post some photos of the walk to school.

Coffee Plantations line the road.

heros on a half shell... turtle power!

A few weeks ago a good of us went on a turtle rescue trip. These poor little guys have such low survival rate and are a protected species here in Costa Rica. Between pollution, predatory fish, birds and fishing, few will make it to adulthood. After they hatched from their eggs, we set them about 10 meters from the sea. They need to "imprint" the beach by taking their first scooting steps on the sand. This way they will be able to return to this beach during mating and to lay
their eggs.



Step one to rescuing turtles ... save the eggs from dogs and poachers. We arrived at 7:30 pm and went to work almost immediately. We split up into patrol shifts. All night we roamed up and down the beach searching for turtle's nests. Once we found the nests we quickly dug up the eggs, some times as many as 100, and brought them to the hatchery. During our roaming we often encountered huge mama turtles laying their eggs. This was a remarkable experience. Here, in the moonlit sky, a massive prehistoric creature breathes in strong rhythmic inhalations as she gives birth. There is silence and the sound of the sea. The sky is dotted with shooting stars. The turtle herself is in a type of trance. When she is finished, she rocks back and forth on top of the nest, securing her babies in the sand.

We spent our days working in the hatchery. After taking the eggs from the beach, we dug deep holes the shape of a T and placed the eggs inside. The holes are covered with sand, and in 45 days the babies come pouring up from the earth. in the late afternoon or night they are brought out to the sea. The work at the hatchery was difficult, digging and hauling in the hot sun, but we cooled off with most needed dips in the sea.




Here's part of my "international" turtle rescue crew that made the hard work seem easy. Upeace is great in that you meet people from all over the world. In this photo you see Brazilians, a Canadian, a South Korean, a girl from Iceland and a girl from Thailand. Thanks Rotary for helping me (and the baby turtles) enjoy international fellowship and exchange.

World Food Day

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN is celebrating world food day on October 16th as a way to raise awareness about the problems associated with food security.

I wrote a short piece for the Peace and Conflict Monitor. You all can check it out at :
http://www.monitor.upeace.org/innerpg.cfm?id_article=548

I will be writing and article every month based on a UN theme. Scope it!

Mes 1

The afternoon rains have rolled in and I am sitting here listening to the tropical downpour that defines the rainy season in Costa Rica.  It's been a month and finally I understand why people wake up at 5 am.  The idea is to get everything done in the morning because if you go out during the afternoon you are guaranteed to be waterlogged.  My umbrella has become a permanent accessory.  

It's been a whirlwind of new places, new friends and more than anything homework.  I hadn't been in school for a long time, so I am having to learn how to pace myself and plan properly. Still, regardless of how I plan, this is a Masters in one year and its going to be intense. 

 

Friday was the last day of our foundation course.  The first part of the day consisted of a lecture with all 150 students and then we broke down into smaller groups to discuss the lecture and role play different parts of peace-building, using real conflicts.  Some things we did included a conflict analysis for the Georgia/ Russia situation, Defending or Critiquing the decision of the International Criminal Court's call for the arrest of Sudan's president, and preparing a plan for Egypt on how to build friendly relations with their neighbors while maintaining a monopoly on the water in the Nile.  All in a days work... right?

The lectures consisted of presentations from each master's area.  We had readings and lectures on International Law and Human Rights,  Environmental Security and Peace, Natural Resources and Sustainable Development, Media Peace and Conflict Studies, Gender and Peacebuilding  and of course Peace Education.  We also had many general Peace Studies classes where we learned about conflict mapping, theories  of conflict, obstacles to de-escalation, implementing  agreements, reconciliation, rebuilding and much more.  All of this in 3 weeks!! (now you know why I haven't written before).

The work load is doesn't let up, about 4-5 hours of reading per night, one or two papers per week and a presentation or 2 per class.  The papers take me much longer than they did in my undergrad- but maybe that's because I am writing about such complicated subject matter.  

The faculty are unlike anything I've ever seen.  Not only do they come from all over the world, but many have profiles that differ from the typical academic.  They have done field work in volatile conflict situations, they have been ambassadors, UN employees, and held leadership positions in massive NGOs.   Listening to them talk about their experiences is a little like meeting someone famous, they leave you speechless. 

Perhaps the biggest learning opportunity comes from my fellow students.   In my seminar class I listened to a girl from Sudan talk about Darfur, a girl from South Korea talk about the long term effects of the separation from North Korea, a man from Egypt talk about the conflicts  in the Middle East.   

The university found me an apartment, but it was small, dark and a little depressing.  I met a great Brazilian girl and her boyfriend and we found an amazing condo to share.  She is studying International Law and Human Rights and has already worked for the UN in Brazil.  He is a lawyer at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in San Jose.  Dinnertime at our place is full of conversations on art, history and current events.  Ana, my roommate, has been accepted to Columbia's Human Rights department next year and is now trying to find a scholarship... (this is a shameless plug).  If anyone knows of any scholarships ... send em my way. 

It hasn't been all work and no play. My second weekend  I met up with a friend from home who has some property here.  We drove about 3 hours to San Isidro del General and stayed on his land, which is a sustainable farm shared between a few families.  We walked in the jungle (I finished with 3 different types of bug bites), bought fresh goat cheese from the neighbor, watched night descend, ate fruit right off the trees, saw all types of bugs and tropical birds and ate meals of hearty natural food. 

 Students have already had some parties with Costa Rican rum and food from all over the world.  I've joined the yoga club and am learning how to breathe and bend my body into a myriad of shapes.  Next weekend my roommates, some friends from school and I are going to do a turtle egg rescue.  We'll collect the eggs from the beach and move them to safer spots, away from poachers.

At my school there is another Rotary Scholar, a kind guy from Florida who is studying Sustainable Development.   One day we were in the cafeteria and realized that the woman who serves us food had a Rotary apron on!  Turns out she is part of a neighboring club.  Next week we will visit her club.   I am looking forward to it!  

I'd love to hear from any and all of you, here or at my email or maybe (does it still exsist?) real mail?

My Address is 

University for Peace

Kerri Drumm

PO Box 138-6100

San Jose, Costa Rica

Central America.  

Pura vida desde Costa Rica!