DC Trip Day 3

This was our intensive conference day - 13 hours of training! After breakfast, we piled in a couple vans to avoid the icy sidewalks and arrived at 830. Our first panel was about sexual violence in conflict areas. 

It is a terrible problem in so many countries but there are efforts like the International Protocol from last year's Global Summit that could make a difference IF they were implemented. 

Next was our keynote speaker US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power (!!!) who joined us by Skype hosted by John Prendergast (!!) Founder of the Enough Project. 

She gave us so much current detail about our efforts in various conflicts, and also told us how she started as a sports reporter until images of Tiennanmen and then Bosnia inspired her to become a war correspondent, then lawyer, author of A Problem From Hell, and then am advisor to Obama. See video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtgBlGyCrkA 

We then had a very heady panel about the shift to using a new economic "tool box" to combat mass atrocities - sanctions, etc. 

 We then had a working lunch in which we broke into groups to hear about different conflict areas. 

From Emily: "Violence in Sudan is increasing and the genocide has killed over 2 million people in the past few decades. This year, the UN estimates that around 7 million people are currently in need of humanitarian services. The government of Sudan, especially the president in Khartoum, Omar al-Bashir has been the infamous driving force behind this genocide and he must be stopped."   From Dalton: "After achieving independence in 2011, violence in South Sudan escalated in December, 2013. The country is now in the midst of both a civil war over their leadership and in a war with Sudan over territory. 2014 was the bloodiest year in the past ten years for Sudan and South Sudan. Attention must be given to stop the violence, too many empty peace agreements have been signed, it has to come to an end."

This is our old friend Omer Ismail who came to the Cape for our event in the summer of 2009 - see http://hhsstand.blogspot.com/2009/08/dinner-and-concert-fundraiser-nets-4170.html 

After lunch we came together to hear from Larry Wohlers - retired US Ambassador to the Central African Republic, who helped us understand the background and current prospects for peace. CAR is a focus for STAND this year. 

After some advocacy training, we met as a group to plan our presentation for our Capotol Hill hearings tomorrow. 

After a break, we did a fun story telling exercise and did some media training. We then finished up with discussion groups over a late dinner. Finally, a beautiful night's walk down H Street to our hotel. 

Need to rest up for a busy Lobby Day tomorrow!

DC Trip 15 Day 2

After a long winter night's sleep we had a nice hotel breakfast and headed out at 915 for a brisk walk to the Holocaust Museum. 

We spent a couple powerful hours going through the permanent exhibit. New January 1, they allow non-flash photography. 

When we got out the snow had started. 

We met our driver for the afternoon Anthony and he took us to the Museum of the American Indian to grab lunch. Then we started our Monument tour at the Jefferson.  

Then we headed to the FDR. 

Then to the MLK. 

And finally to the Lincoln Memorial

and the Vietnam Memorial. 

An unforgettable day of the monuments in the snow. Anthony then dropped us off at the Conference which started at 4. After getting our packets and mingling with the other conferees, the conference opened with an amazing talk/rap by Omekongo Dibinga. 

Check him out at http://upstanderinternational.com We got to talk with him and have invited him to come visit MRHS. 

We watched a screening of the documentary Watchers of the Sky which connects the story of Raphael Lemkin (this conference is named in his honor) with people struggling to combat genocide today - and had pizza during the film. Finally we heard from Dydine Umunyana, a survivor of the Rwandan Genocide (introduced by HHS alum Mac Hamilton). 

We survived an icy walk back to the hotel - let's hope for better weather tomorrow!

DC Trip 2015

Welcome to MRHS STAND's 2015 DC trip! We had a flawless first day - at least once we got to Logan. Traffic was unexpectedly awful at 6am - took everyone  30-45 extra minutes. But we got checked in and through security a half hour ahead of departure. JetBlue is awesome! Arrived ontime at Logan and caught the 1040 MARC train to DC. 

We had lunch at Union Station before walking to our hotel - Fairfield Inn.

 

After dropping our bags, we walked down to the Mall and did a quick visit to the East Wing of the National Gallery of art.

From there we walked to the Capitol. Alison Donovan had arranged a Capitol Tour through Rep. Kennedy's office.

We split into two groups for the tour, highlights such as the Rotunda and Sam Houston's statue.

After we visited the Natural History Museum, 

and posed for a picture at the National Archives on the way back to the hotel. 

We had a later dinner at Busboys and Poets - best group restaurant experience ever!  Team huddle to plan for tomorrow, then early bedtime since we've been up since 4!

Liberia Fundraiser

Together with the National Arts Honor Society, MRHS STAND hosted our first event of the year - a talent show fundraiser for a Liberian education foundation, to help students who can't attend school because of the Ebola outbreak. The program featured 10 musical acts playing, dancing, and singing. An enthusiastic crowd of 150 cheered the students on at the first musical event to be hosted in our new auditorium. In all, we raised over $900. Thank you to all who attended and donated, and all the STAND and NAHS students who made this great event happen.

Emmanuel visits HHS

On Monday, March 24, 2014, Emmanuel Habimana, a survivor of the Rwandan genocide visited Harwich High School as part of his national tour on its 20th commemoration sponsored by World Outside My Shoes. He spoke to five groups of classes in the library, discussing his experiences before, during, and after the genocide. He gave us a sense of the buildup to the genocide during which there were many massacres and his family moved twice to try to find a safe area. Once it began, he escaped attacks by hiding different places and when he was found by soldiers in a school desk he pretended to be a Hutu taking on the identity of a family of former neighbors. He eventually walked alone to Zaire ending up in a camp there. After the genocide he was stuck in that camp for another year before returning to Kigali and being reunited with his surviving siblings. In the 20 years since he has attended school, graduated from university, entered law school, and co-produced a documentary about the orphans of the genocide called Komora: To Heal which we were able to view excerpts. Watch the trailer here or a video from one of the class presentations here. Thank you Emmanuel for visiting and sharing with us. This was an eye-opening experience for our students. 

After school, Emmanuel was interviewed by Heather Goldstone for The Point on WCAI. Check out the broadcast streamed here.Or watch a video of the broadcast here.

Hear Her Voice Day 3

After packing up, checking out, and navigating the Metro (don't get me started about the surcharge) and getting to Cannon through security (and snow), we made it on time to the minute to our first meeting with Kerry O'Brien in Rep. Keating's office.

(Check out Graham trying to catch a snowflake on his tongue)

We did our rehearsed presentation with nine students each explaining a part. The "asks" are to support HR1692: The Sudan Peace, Security, and Accountability Act, attend a hearing tomorrow, push the administration on Congo, and support HR3571: The International Violence Against Women Act. Keating is already a co-sponsor of both bills so this was an easy sell. 

From there, we trekked through the snow across Capitol Hill to Sen. Markey's office. 

We met with Matt Willner who was thoroughly on top of all these issues and in fact we got into greater depth about aid issues - Sen. Markey is chair of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee that oversees USAID. Then Sen. Markey stopped by the meeting which was a thrill. 

After the meeting we trudged back through the snow to Longworth. 

After a couple of drop bys to leave info packets (one for Rep. Kennedy) we went to the conference luncheon. At the luncheon we heard from Amb. Garvelink (former ambassador to Congo), JP, and then Rep. Ed Royce - the chair of the House Foreign Relations Committee. He was great! He knows the issues deeply and he really cares. He mentioned a bill he is sponsoring to Electrify Africa. And he encouraged us to keep holding our legislators' feet to the fire. When they feel the heat, they may see the light.  What an ally! 

To top it off, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke. She was awesome! She seconded all Rep. Royce's remarks. She described a trip to Darfur a few years ago - children who had seen too much and seemingly lost their souls - and a more recent one to Afghanistan where she met with several groups of women. These women emphasized the need to end corruption in order to create security. She ended with a great motto for the students. Don't agonize, organize!  The students accused me of fan girling. Guilty. 

We also got to talk to JP and to compare his flowing locks to Troy's. 

MacKenzie met us there and took us on a Capitol tour - she said it was her favorite part of being an intern. 

We saw the Crypt, and the Rotunda. 

We next went to see the old Senate chamber where a guide gave us a vivid description of Preston Brooks' cane attack on Charles Sumner that occurred here. 

We also went to Statuary Hall and took at picture with Sam Houston for Mr. H. 

To top off the tour, Mac had gotten us tickets to the House gallery. No pictures but it was fun for me to try to describe the scene at the State of the Union. 

Our next appointment was at Sen. Warren's office, where we met with Feras Sleiman, her foreign policy aide. The students again knocked it out of the park with their presentation. They were great lobbyists in the best sense of the term. 

Now the sun was out and the day had turned quite nice for some pictures at the Capitol. 

We grabbed all our bags which had been in Keating's office all day and then headed across Capitol Hill one last time to Union Station. 

After a nice meal in the food court, we took a rather crowded commuter train to BWI and caught our 715 flight home. Everyone was on the road to the Cape by 9 and home by 11. No excuse for missing school tomorrow! Except that we ran them ragged and some of them will need a day or two to recover. What an awesome trip!

Hear Her Voice Day 2

It has been a long, intense day. Our first panel this morning was on the current situation in Sudan and South Sudan featuring Princeton Lyman who as US Ambassador to Sudan helped negotiate and implement the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that led to independence for South Sudan. We reviewed the history of Sudan being ruled from the center to the neglect and marginalization of those on the periphery. Lyman emphasized the ways that the CPA has not been implemented especially the steps toward democracy that are prescribed for both Sudan and South Sudan. In regions near the border - South Kordofan, Blue Nile, Nuba Mountains especially - Bashir has induced famine by indiscriminate bombing of fields and villages forcing people to take shelter in caves and at the same time blocking all food aid from the area. In Darfur, focus on South Sudan has led to increased attacks with 400,000 newly displaced in 2013 - more than 2011 & 2012 combined. And in South Sudan, weak democratic development led to the tragic outbreak of civil war this last December that for now is paused by a cease fire since the end of January. Some of the strategies we want the US government to adopt are to refine sanctions to block all military aid to the Bashir regime (currently only restricted relative to Darfur) and to allow for information and communications technology to enter (currently companies like Samsung won't do business there for fear of violating sanctions with the result that civilians are isolated and unable to communicate about attacks in real time). We also need to step up our support for the African Union peacekeepers, providing resources when requested. In general in both Sudan and South Sudan we need to support the development of civil society - education, etc. And we need to support a comprehensive approach to all the different conflicts in Sudan. The current piecemeal approach works to Bashir's advantage. Bashir must go. 

Our next panel brought us up to speed on the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has suffered through the worst war since World War II with over 5.4 million killed since 1998. Recently progress has been made in a few areas. Security has improved since the defeat of the deadly M23 militia in Eastern Congo last year. The trade In conflict minerals (tin, tungsten, tantalum, and gold) has been reduced as processes are being developed to certify conflict-free mines in Congo and companies like Apple have made efforts to certify their supply chains for these metals which are critical in technological devices. Intel is coming out with a certified conflict-free computer chip - a first. The progress on this is attributed to a provision in the Dodd-Frank law that requires companies to report the sources of the minerals in their products. Jewish World Watch and the Enough Project were critical in making this happen. Despite this progress, the problem of sexual violence is still pervasive as militias and parts of the Congolese army use rape to terrorize local populations. And governance is a huge problem, especially corruption. Jacques Bahati described how the Catholic Church in many areas provides more education and health care facilities than the government despite the government's billions of dollars of aid and mineral wealth. 

After lunch we listened to a panel discuss transitional justice in Sudan and Congo, and the reasons why there can be no justice without peace, and no peace without justice. Creating a process to pursue justice for the victims if war crimes is a critical step toward a lasting peace. The discussion got quite detailed calling for the use of a mixed court process in Congo and a hybrid court process in Sudan. (The difference? A hybrid court would be in international court conducted in the local country with local participation and assistance - Sudan and South Sudan has little in the way of a reliable court system. A mixed court would be a local court with international court assistance and oversight - Congo has a legal infrastructure). 

We then were honored by a visit of a couple true heroes of the anti-genocide movement - John Prendergast, who is the co-founder and leader of the Enough Project as well as several other leading organizations working with celebrities like George Clooney. And Gayle Smith who after 20 years as a reporter in Africa became an activist (co-founded The Enough Project) and then a policy maker serving as a Special Assistant and member if the National Security Council under Presidents Clinton and Obama. What an inspiration!

 After this panel, we spent several hours preparing for our lobbying day tomorrow. We got detailed briefings on the information and "asks" we will present to members of Congress. Then we huddled as a group over dinner and assigned to various roles in our script for our three presentations for staffers of Keating, Markey, and Warren. Thank you to Maggie Quick especially for stepping up as a policy leader. 

To top it all off, we took a night monument tour. Herbert was our guide as we visited the Capitol, the White House, the Lincoln, Vietnam, Korea, FDR, MLK, and Jefferson memorials, and drove by many more learning lots of history along the way. Yeah!  E.g. I never know that Virginia ceded its part of DC the took it back in 1846 since the government wasn't using it. Finally back to the hotel at 10:15. Need sleep for our big day tomorrow. 

A quote to inspire our anti-genocide work: