Human Rights Day

"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood." 

- Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

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Today, December 10th, 2011, is Human Rights Day.

While we celebrate that sixty-three years ago the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the UN General Assembly, I can't help but think about how the rights that are guaranteed in the Declaration have yet to reach millions of marginalized people around the world. 

I don't like to write much about politics and I don't really know what the defining qualities of a human rights"activist" are supposed to be, but since technology has given the gift of letting everyone have a voice I want to take the opportunity to have mine heard on the topic of human rights and how it relates to my work at ICAP. As I've mentioned in earlier posts, the goal of my project is to provide comprehensive services to survivors of gender-based violence. Acts of gender-based violence include: spousal battery; sexual abuse; dowry-related violence; rape (including marital rape); female genital mutilation/cutting; non-spousal violence; sexual violence related to exploitation; sexual harassment and intimidation; trafficking in women; and forced prostitution. I think everyone would agree that these acts are a clear violation of human rights. Therefore, for once, I'm not going to talk about gender-based violence as a violation of human rights. It is a given.

Instead, I'm going to discuss my other project - providing healthcare services to men who are having sex with men (MSM). Our MSM program is something that the ICAP-New York office is very proud of. There are several challenges in implementing a program like this in East Africa so the development of the program is most definitely an accomplishment.The attitude towards this program in Rwanda is another story. In an effort to be culturally sensitive of people's religious beliefs, the MSM program is not about social change but instead about doling out health care services for an at-risk population. "We are not gay activists, we are not promoting homosexuality" - these are the words often used when discussing the program with others in Rwanda in an effort to garner support. 

But how can we discuss the health care needs of the LGBT community without recognizing that they have rights as human beings? This division between MSM programs and the LGBT movement seems detrimental to progress since it ignores the big picture. The big picture means recognizing the rights of all people and how these intrinsic rights guarantee that they have equal access not only to health care but also equality in all spheres of life. Ensuring that gay men have access to HIV testing and anti-retroviral treatment will make no difference if they later are beaten because of their sexual orientation or ostracized by their family and friends. Rwanda has shown that it can implement important programs and push social changes if it chooses to prioritize such issues. Despite this fact, I'm not expecting anything to change in Rwanda in the near future. The U.S. has also been far from perfect about leading the way for equal rights when it comes to the LGBT community. However, on Human Rights Day I think it needs to be said that human rights belong equally to each of us and bind us together as a community regardless of race, ethnicity, sex, or sexual orientation.

In case anyone is interested, video of Secretary Clinton's speech on LGBT rights. She mentions many of the same points (but more eloquently)...

Thanksgiving - Rwanda style

It can really suck not being home for the holidays when family and friends are all together eating delicious, traditional Thanksgiving food. Luckily, my friends here in Rwanda were going through the same thing so it only made sense to band together and prepare a traditional (or as traditional as we could make it) Thanksgiving meal! 

The cooking process was arduous but completely worth the effort. My good friends Sierra, Tristen, Georgina, Megan (my roommate) and I worked collaboratively to make all the potato dishes. We also helped Megan with her delicious dish of carrots and beets. The day before Thanksgiving we headed to the market to pick up potatoes and other ingredients. We were hoping to make a tasty sweet potato dish but it didn't quite work out how we hoped - we were only able to find white sweet potatoes as opposed to orange ones and unfortunately none of us were certain how to cook the white sweet potatoes. In the end we bought a large bag of carrots and beets along with 25 kilograms (55 pounds) of potatoes!!! Looking back, it made absolutely no sense to buy so many potatoes but we figured better to have too many than too few since we were cooking for about 40 people. 

By the end of the night, my back was killing me from washing, peeling, boiling, and mashing so many potatoes. We had whipped potatoes, garlic mashed potatoes, and spicy baked potatoes! The whole process made me realize what I'm thankful for this year - having family, friends, and a boyfriend who supported and encouraged me to work in Rwanda (even though I know they would prefer that I stop leaving the country all the time) and making friends in Rwanda who have been like family.

With less than 2 weeks left to go before I'm home, I'm equally excited to be going back home and deeply sad to be leaving the incredible friends I've made here. It's hard to find people who will sit with you and cook 55 pounds of potatoes. =)

Me and Sierra working hard to get those potatoes ready

A Thanksgiving Feast!

So full after dinner...