Friday, October 28, 2011
Civil Society in Armenia
The Manana Youth Center extended me to the honor of talking with their students about civil society this past month. The Center and the youth that participate in classes and activities there continue to inspire me as they have for about 12 years. (The picture below does not represent how truly interested and engaged they were in exploring what civil society means to them!)
The Republic of Georgia: Blazing Its Own Trail
With a population of some 4.5 million, the Republic of Georgia has been evolving and managing conflict ever since the collapse of the Soviet Union, which Georgians view as having been an occupation, evidenced by the construction of the Museum of Soviet Occupation in 2006 in the capital city of Tblisi. The unofficial unemployment rate is said to be about 40%, though roughly 10% of that statistic includes people who have occasional but inconsistent employment.
Unlike the rest of the former Soviet Republics (save for the Baltic states), Georgia is not a part of the Commonwealth of Independent States, an association of states, due to its bitter relationship with Russia. As a result, it is in many ways politically isolated. The U.S., though, as you may recall, showed its staunch support of Georgia during the 2003 Rose Revolution and the 2008 Russian invasion of South Ossetia, which is one of two de facto independent regions that are part of Georgian territory (the other of which is Abkhazia).
Georgia was a nation with its own mind even in the 12th century, when a woman, Tamar, was given the title of king, which in Georgian can be understood as “sovereign.” There is a separate word for queen, so it would seem that using the term king was a larger statement that the people made about their first female ruler. In any case, it is certainly a point of pride for Georgians today.
The largest minority groups in Georgia are Armenians and Azerbaijanis. The latter is the faster growing population due to continuing migration and bigger families. The diversity is apparent through the presence of a mosque currently used by the Azeris (pictured below), a synagogue, and an Armenian church in the old town of Tbilisi, not to mention the diverse roots of Abanotubani, the so-called bath district, also pictured below. Though Armenia and Azerbaijan have unresolved issues and a history of conflict with one another, the Armenians and Azerbaijanis of Georgia are said to have good relations and are both successful in business. My new friend, Diana, who I call "The Diplomat," is an Armenian from Georgia. She was evidence of the potential for good relations between long-time adversaries when we visited the mosque, took pictures, and she was granted permission to attend Friday prayers sometime.
Unlike the rest of the former Soviet Republics (save for the Baltic states), Georgia is not a part of the Commonwealth of Independent States, an association of states, due to its bitter relationship with Russia. As a result, it is in many ways politically isolated. The U.S., though, as you may recall, showed its staunch support of Georgia during the 2003 Rose Revolution and the 2008 Russian invasion of South Ossetia, which is one of two de facto independent regions that are part of Georgian territory (the other of which is Abkhazia).
Georgia was a nation with its own mind even in the 12th century, when a woman, Tamar, was given the title of king, which in Georgian can be understood as “sovereign.” There is a separate word for queen, so it would seem that using the term king was a larger statement that the people made about their first female ruler. In any case, it is certainly a point of pride for Georgians today.
The largest minority groups in Georgia are Armenians and Azerbaijanis. The latter is the faster growing population due to continuing migration and bigger families. The diversity is apparent through the presence of a mosque currently used by the Azeris (pictured below), a synagogue, and an Armenian church in the old town of Tbilisi, not to mention the diverse roots of Abanotubani, the so-called bath district, also pictured below. Though Armenia and Azerbaijan have unresolved issues and a history of conflict with one another, the Armenians and Azerbaijanis of Georgia are said to have good relations and are both successful in business. My new friend, Diana, who I call "The Diplomat," is an Armenian from Georgia. She was evidence of the potential for good relations between long-time adversaries when we visited the mosque, took pictures, and she was granted permission to attend Friday prayers sometime.
Understanding BiH
On arrival in the Sarajevo International Airport, one would assume that Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is a country run like any other country. But it doesn’t take much knowledge of recent history, or many conversations with Bosnians, to learn how very complicated the affairs of this Balkan nation of just 4.6 million people is. And that's just what I did last month.
The three-year war that ended 16 years ago leaves behind a fractured state rife with ethnic and political tensions. All who live within the borders of BiH are called Bosnians, but the population is made up of three ethnic groups: Bosniaks (48%), Serbs (37%), and Croats (14%). (For those who aren't familiar with the region, these terms are slightly different from those used in the neighboring countries. That is, the Serbians of Serbia, and the Croatians of Croatia.)
It is impossible within one week, or perhaps a lifetime, to completely understand the history and bureaucratic workings of BiH. The Dayton Accord of 1995 determined how the country is politically structured today. The result is two distinct entities (the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Republika Srpska); the Brchko District, which is comprised of land from both entities; 10 cantons within the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina entity; as well as 74 municipalities in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and another 63 in the Republika Srpska. Got it?
The presidency of BiH is most curious. In effect, there are three presidents: a Bosniak, a Croat, and a Serb. Those in the Federation elect the Bosniak and Croat, and those in the Republika elect the Serb. The Chair of the Presidency rotates between these three every eight months over a four-year term. As one might expect, each tends to advance their particular political and ethnic interests just in time for the next candidate to assume the Chair position.
There is reportedly a great deal of duplication within the Bosnian bureaucracy. For example, there are 89 ministries: need I say more? To boot, there are three official languages that, until the dissolution of former Yugoslavia, were treated as a unitary Serbo-Croatian language. Today, the language is printed on signage and other documents in both Latin and Cyrillic alphabets, and officially documents are translated from one to the other, but they are functionally the same language.
And so, after spending a week in BiH, it's possible that I'm more befuddled than when I first arrived!
The three-year war that ended 16 years ago leaves behind a fractured state rife with ethnic and political tensions. All who live within the borders of BiH are called Bosnians, but the population is made up of three ethnic groups: Bosniaks (48%), Serbs (37%), and Croats (14%). (For those who aren't familiar with the region, these terms are slightly different from those used in the neighboring countries. That is, the Serbians of Serbia, and the Croatians of Croatia.)
It is impossible within one week, or perhaps a lifetime, to completely understand the history and bureaucratic workings of BiH. The Dayton Accord of 1995 determined how the country is politically structured today. The result is two distinct entities (the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Republika Srpska); the Brchko District, which is comprised of land from both entities; 10 cantons within the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina entity; as well as 74 municipalities in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and another 63 in the Republika Srpska. Got it?
The presidency of BiH is most curious. In effect, there are three presidents: a Bosniak, a Croat, and a Serb. Those in the Federation elect the Bosniak and Croat, and those in the Republika elect the Serb. The Chair of the Presidency rotates between these three every eight months over a four-year term. As one might expect, each tends to advance their particular political and ethnic interests just in time for the next candidate to assume the Chair position.
There is reportedly a great deal of duplication within the Bosnian bureaucracy. For example, there are 89 ministries: need I say more? To boot, there are three official languages that, until the dissolution of former Yugoslavia, were treated as a unitary Serbo-Croatian language. Today, the language is printed on signage and other documents in both Latin and Cyrillic alphabets, and officially documents are translated from one to the other, but they are functionally the same language.
And so, after spending a week in BiH, it's possible that I'm more befuddled than when I first arrived!
Monday, October 10, 2011
From Yerevan to Athens
Here is a story about the non-stop kindness of strangers. These kinds of experiences give me hope for the world. I am so grateful to have lived this.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)