Another Peace education lesson

Today was presentation day in one of my classes. The topic? Four different groups presenting on non-violent movements in different parts of the world. The groups were:

1. Women in Africa- non-violent movements
2.USA Civil Rights Movement
3. Non-violent movements in the Arab World
4. Non-violent movements in Latin America

I was in the Latin America group. There were five of us in the group, and we each focused on a different country. When we first got the assignment I instantly remembered a movie I saw in college called the Agronomist- a documentary about Jean Dominique, who ran a radio station in Haiti. Dominique was an amazing person who dedicated his life to fighting (non-violently) for basic human rights for the people of Haiti who have suffered so tremendously under violent military dictatorships. Dominique was assassinated in 2000 while on his way to deliver a morning broadcast. His station broadcast in Creole, the language of the peasantry, not in French- which was the language of the ruling elite. That in itself was revolutionary. It was really great to watch the movie again, then do much more extensive research into Haitian history. It's really important for Americans to understand the involvement of the US in so many countries in central and south America- and Haiti is no exception. Dominique was often critical of US involvement in Haiti, and from what I've read, I agree with many of his points. When trying to "help," we often made things much worse. And that's saying something, given Haitian history.

There were many really interesting presentations today- and I'm especially interested in looking into the story of the Palestinian village of Battir, which was protected during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war by Hasan Mustafa. We heard a brief talk about it today, and there was a MA dissertation about it from a Coventry U student two years ago (which can be found here if interested). Really interesting stuff.

After class today (which ended early- at 4:45), I talked to a classmate for awhile about a lot of different topics- how classes are going, the civil rights movement, travel.... It was so nice to just sit down and chat with someone with no regard for time or topic. We sat in the really comfortable couches in the graduate centre (I really, really, really miss having a living room!), and talked until 7. It reminded me so much of my undergraduate years, and I realized how much I had missed this collegiate atmosphere.

I've been thinking a lot lately about how badly I want to go on a roadtrip. When I was at Pacific University during my undergrad, I took frequent trips to the ocean- to Cannon Beach. A beautiful part of the Oregon coast, and perhaps my favorite vacation spot. For those of you who aren't familiar with Cannon Beach, here's a classic shot of the beach, taken on one of my many trips a few years ago.

I miss being able to take those drives, to escape what's going on here, even if it's just for a few hours. After classes end in March, when I'm supposed to be deep in research and writing of my dissertation, I am seriously thinking about buying a used car, and traveling all over England. Short day trips, weekend trips, maybe as long as a week at a time exploring this amazing country. The worst thing I could do with this year is not explore. I'm going to be here for 14 months- I should see as much as possible! I've had several people tell me they'd be interested in joining me on a trip or two. Those are trips I'd remember for the rest of my life. Plus, I've got friends and family coming to visit over the summer... and it would be really convenient if I had a car so we wouldn't have to hire one... this is sounding pretty logical. Hmm...

We've got an All Student Meeting tomorrow for the Student Union which should be fun (free milk and cookies- gotta love being a student, right? haha). After that I've got class, then off to volunteer at a Rotary event. That's how I'm celebrating Thanksgiving. Then I'm off early Friday morning to my godparent's house just outside London for Thanksgiving, round two. I'm back in Coventry late Saturday night, then off to help cook dinner and provide entertainment (a speech) for 30+ Rotarians. Busy few days ahead of me!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!