Geneva’s in the Swiss French part (there’s also a German and Italian part) and so EVERYONE speaks french – it’s just a short train ride away to the French border. I seriously can’t get by with English, except in the main area where all the diplomats and tourists are. I’m trying to learn now. It’s tough but if I ever go to Africa, it’ll be very useful I always wanted to learn French so I guess here’s my chance! It’s hard to learn on your own though, and I have no way of taking a class: it’s expensive, and I don’t have the time.

I went to the Swiss Alps two days ago and my mom & I rode a cable car to the highest cable car station in Europe!! It was beautiful and with a view of a bunch of beautiful mountains, and we went very close to Matterhorn. It was really blinding with snow but the mountains are so gorgeous. Generally Switzerland is a gorgeous country! I still like Greece, though.

So I start work on Monday, nervous! I’m sort of just chilling in my mom’s family friends house now and my mom left this morning, so I’m in my flat right now, catching up on work and internet and prepping for my first day of my internship tomorrow!

I’m very happy because today, I bought adorable bows and boots from New Look (amazing store in London) for a total of only 12.86 quid! How amazing, huh? I know, that’s not particularly “travel” related…but I think fashion is an integral part of London. I was just thinking today that even when you go to the not-so-nice-or-posh parts of the city, you run into people dressed beautifully and with the latest trends and fashions. It seems to me that Londoners are just born with fashion in their blood. And money…because good lord, me and my American budget cannot afford anything BUT 10 quid shoes in this city!

Anyway…a few weeks ago, I made a trip to Stratford-upon-Avon…the birthplace of Shakespeare! We visited the house and farm of Mary Arden, which was nice and peaceful with lots of farm animals – cows, sheep, chickens, and so on. I have a fondness for farm animals, so that was especially enjoyable for me. I especially saw this sheep, whom I immediately named Dorota (Gossip Girl, anyone? Random I know.) and desperately wanted to take home. I swear I turn into a 5 year old child upon seeing cute farm animals. When I get my first apartment, I’m going to get a cat….and a sheep. Just kidding (or maybe not?). Anyway afterwards, we went to Shakespeare’s birthplace and where he lived as a child. Interesting to see how he lived in that time, but honestly not too fascinating. If you’re planning to travel to Stratford, I honestly say save your money for something more exciting. It was, though, a cute town.

Shakespeare's birthplace

Stratford-upon-Avon

My favorite part, however, was probably going to one of the main churches in Stratford. It was really quite lovely, and I’m a sucker for churches. Tell me that there’s a church and that’s probably the first thing I’ll want to see in any town. I just love stained glass windows, vaulted ceilings, flying buttresses, rose windows, and so on and so forth…here’s the art history nerd in me kicking in! Of course, this church wasn’t quite that glamorous but it was still lovely.

A reason for me to blog sooner: so I remember the names of places I've been to! That's right, I've forgotten the name of this church >.<

Did I mention that I LOVE stained glass windows?

The grave of William Shakespeare!

All in all, a relaxing little day trip. Next post — about my trip to Amsterdam, Delft, and The Hague! I really need to blog more often here. It’s just a nice way for me to chronicle my thoughts so I can come back to them a year later. It’s especially good since my memory is horrendous (as evidenced by me forgetting the name of above-mentioned church. Um, yeah, I have no excuse, again!) and this blog is the only way I’ll remember what I’ve actually done in this year abroad!

So, till next time. Cheers!

But this plan unraveled as I began to have the urge to write about other things, more diverse things, and not to confine myself to simply writing about my travels. I wanted to write about things that excited me – my education, international law, human rights, entrepreneurship, social media. And then I read about personal branding, and wanted desperately to ‘brand’ myself as a budding international/human rights lawyer. So I started to write about the ICC, Guantanamo, my arguments and beliefs. You see, personal branding is important to me because I want to meet like minded individuals and students who care about the same things I do. I want to educate myself more, and get more young people involved and interested in human rights. I see a lot of young people write enthusiastically about politics – but little about human rights and international law. By creating a personal brand, I’d also be able to show potential employers how interested I am, really, in legal issues.

But now, I’ve come to a crossroads.

I can either continue this blog, a random amalgamation and assortion of posts, haphazardly displayed with no particular theme. However, I doubt this blog will allow me to have a ‘personal brand.’ I really wanted this blog to be first and foremost, about my travels. It was never meant for intellectual discourse and political theory, or a post about how awesome Web 2.0 technology is. It was solely meant for my travels, and that’s where I’d like it to end. Second, I don’t really want to ‘reveal’ myself and my name in relation to this blog since it was mostly meant for my friends.

The better solution, I suppose, would be to create another blog, where I can actually write about things a bit more professionally, as well as create my ‘personal brand.’ But, I think I’ve identified the root of the problem: I’m still deathly afraid of the idea of revealing myself on the internet. I’m terrified of the idea that anyone can search my name and find all my opinions, thoughts, and interests. It’s like being split open for everyone to see and criticize. I’m afraid of this.

So how to overcome that? And do I really need to?

I guess this question will be the next part of this blogger’s identity crisis!

xoxo,
A.

Portobello Market - it's signature colorful storefronts

My favorite parts were the well-known brightly-colored houses and the miles of antiques, including old maps (which I adore) and prints, vintage silverware, earrings and other jewelry, and old cameras. I loved also the food market where I had delicious falafel in a wrap; they also had incredibly cheap fruits in a great variety, churros, german sausages and other cool food stalls. The clothes were not that much different from those at Camden Market, but I liked them regardless. I LOVED the scarves – beautiful and colorful, and I bought two of those for just 4 quid each. I also got some much-needed legwarmers and a cute necklace for about 3 quid each!

Portobello Market!

The exciting news: I will be visiting the ICC in February with other students, and will hopefully have the opportunity to meet the Chief Prosecutor as well as sit in on the Lubanga trial! So this news is just in time for my visit .

Thomas Lubanga

One of the ongoing debates in international law is how exactly child soliders should be treated before the law. Many of the children abducted by Kony and his forces, for example, have grown up to become powerful military leaders themselves, often commanding large armies and continuing to recruit children into their ranks. Should these leaders be convicted or rehabilitated into society? And moreover, what about the child soldiers who maybe haven’t risen in their ranks, but still are responsible for maiming and brutally killing thousands of civilians? How can we distinguish between their roles as victims, but at the same time – horrifying perpetrators?

But the truth is, if we simply condemn these child and teenage soldiers to be perpetrators of war crimes and attempt to indict them, we are ignoring the forces behind their involvement in these armies. First, many children were abducted and threatened, thus forced into joining the army. Often, one of the first tasks that militia leaders forced abductees to do was to chop off the limbs of family members and friends, or torture nearby civilians while watching them writhe in pain, and eventually die. These are ‘initiation tasks’ that children are forced into performing; otherwise, the answer is certain death. After performing such horrific acts within their local communities, the children have no choice but to accept the army as their new home. After all, they will forever be stigmatized within their communities, and often no longer can obtain the support they need to return home. These children are then trained to use a gun – and again and again, are threatened with death or torture unless they kill and harm others. Being brainwashed into a vicious cycle of killing for survival, it is no wonder that these child abductees grow up with a thirst for blood and often a need to continuously engage in violence. The psychological damage suffered by these children is extensive, but the answer to this problem is not to put them behind bars. Ultimately, we have to not just feel compassion for these children – but also understand that they can be and must be rehabilitated into society in order to reclaim their lives. True, they might have killed hundreds of men and women — but forgiveness and psychological support is what they need more than life in an overcrowded prison cell. One amazing success story is that of Ishmael Beah, who tells a heart-wrenching & yet uplifting story of his abduction into a child army and his eventual rehabilitation into society in his memoir, A long way gone. There is hope for even the seemingly bleakest cases, and though it proves to be a great challenge, the rehabilitation of child soldiers is not something governments and international law can ignore.

The second underlying problem is that of poverty and destitution itself, a reality for many children who are tempted to join the army in exchange for food, false promises of protection, drugs, and weapons. Although most children tend to be abducted, and are generally afraid of joining the army, there are certainly those who join by choice. However, it is dangerous to title these children and young adults as “criminals” because this simplistic assumption ignores the challenges these boys and girls face on a daily basis. Children, often lacking basic needs or the support of a caring family, can easily be lured by hopes of a better future. If the present is so bleak, children might view the army as an opportunity for growth and success; at least they’ll be fed, have a group of friends, and perhaps one day even become a leader! I think even these children ought to be counseled and rehabilitated, because ultimately the perpetrator is poverty and lack of education – not the children themselves.

Understanding all of this, though, I still support the ICC’s indictment of Mr. Lubanga. He is one of the senior commanders responsible for some of the killing in Congo, and we must indict the top-most officials in order to slowly put an end to the abduction of child soldiers. Moreover, the statement made by the ICC through this trial is very significant and Lubanga’s is a gory story that simply needs to be heard by the international community in order to raise awareness about the plight of child soldiers in Africa, especially Congo & Uganda.

The opening of Lubanga’s trial suggests how powerful the court may be in deterring war crimes and providing a voice for victims. As Lubanga pleaded not guilty, his court appearance, and prosecution video of him in training camps with child soldiers, was broadcast live on giant screens in Congo’s war-ravaged northeast, devastated by years of attacks by militias like Lubanga’s. — LA Times

The commanders must no doubt be brought to justice in order to expand the rule of law — the focus, yet, must be on the abductees themselves and on ensuring that they are adequately receiving the treatment they need. I think sometimes we tend to lose sight of the actual issue and the hundreds actually involved in the bloodshed when we start focusing on high profile cases and ‘exciting’ events such as this one. There are many more criticisms of the ICC, but that I will save for the next post.

Moreover, another advantage of this case is that it takes a new step in international law; it allows victims to play a direct role in the trial and to be represented by their own lawyers. A group of 93 victims is participating in the Lubanga case.

In fact, this is a small, tiny step forward for international criminal justice — only time will tell if Lubanga and others will finally experience justice for their acts. In the meantime, there is much more to be done in terms of helping the actual victims of his crimes — young children that we can’t forget in our elusive quest to find justice.