War Games

So I saw The Hunger Games the other day.  I hadn’t read the books, but knew the basic plot.  The whole idea of children fighting to the death for the sake of entertainment sickens me, but I went to the movie anyway, sure that if so many people saw value in the books, I would find something to like.

Didn’t happen.  To all those friends and family that told me “it isn’t about the killing,” I’m sorry, but it was.  I was on the verge of tears the entire movie, not only because of the story, but because I couldn’t stop thinking of all those children out there in our own world to whom this isn’t just a story.

Children under 18 are not permitted to be recruited into armed forces or directly participate in hostilities, according to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, yet hundreds of thousands of children have been affected by armed conflict, been forced to fight and kill to survive.

Someone said to me: “I didn’t think child soldiers still existed.”

Yes, they do.  Children don’t remain children for long in a war zone, and today’s battlefields look more like The Hunger Games than many of us would be comfortable with.  Don’t picture trench warfare like we learned about in high school history.  Picture snipers and mines and sudden attacks.  Picture being kidnapped from home, from school, or from the field where you play.  Imagine being handed weapons, pointed at an enemy and told to kill.  Now imagine that you’re 10, or 12, or 16 years old.

The Hunger Games is a story of a dystopian world.  I know that from only watching the movie I don’t have the complete picture of the fictional world the author has created, and I don’t denounce anyone who enjoys the books/movie.  However, I’m afraid that I will never be able to see past the concept of children forced to kill one another to provide someone else’s entertainment. 

For more information:
Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (2000)

Guide to the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (UNICEF, 2003)

Getting Children off the Battlefield (Human Rights Watch, 2012)

Passion

Have you every found something that you were so interested in, so passionate about, that is became your entire life?  Unless that interest is associated with a particular career (health care, law, business, etc.), these pursuits can be labelled as frivolous and dismissed by those around us, whether they be parents, teachers, friends or strangers.

I’ve always known what my passion is.  I have been writing and telling stories since before I could even hold a pencil and my mom had to patiently copy my dictation.  Writing has always been part of my life in one way or another.  In high school I jotted poetry in the margins of my notebooks.  In university I sketched out novels in between lectures.  Even now I think of my projects on the go, which include a young adult novel, a stage play, a television script, an academic article and a short article for my department’s newsletter.

So why did I never follow my passion?  Why do so many of us fail to follow our dreams?  Because they’re impractical?  Unrealistic?  Frivolous?

In a recently posted TED talk at the University of Waterloo, Larry Smith spoke about why we will fail to have a great career.  He spoke of the excuses we make to avoid pursuing our dreams and the perceived obstacles that block our paths.

Perhaps it was this talk that initiated the train of thought that led me to my moment of realization, my epiphany.  I want to write.  I have always wanted to write.  Whether that writing will be on the more creative end, or also involve my passion for human rights and international development, I don’t know yet.  I only know that if I want a great career, a career I am proud of and happy with, I need to follow my passion.

Maybe this is something I should have realized in high school when choosing a university.  Or perhaps in university when choosing my majors.  Or even after my Masters when I was deciding which jobs to apply to.  Too late for second thoughts.  All I can do now is go out into the world and show everyone what my passion truly is.

Larry Smith: Why you will fail to have a great career

Refocusing

It is time for me to refocus.  I am more than ready to begin my career in international development, but I'm afraid that I have gotten wound up in the incredible variety of issues, organizations and approaches that define the field.  It is necessary for me to take a step back and think about what my passion truly is.  

I began my studies in International Relations knowing that the field of human rights was something that interested me.  Over the course of my education and travel around the world, I realized that although the rights of all humans need to be upheld at all times, it is the children of the world who most often are disregarded or taken advantage of.  Whether they are perceived as too young, too uneducated, too unable to be rehabilitated or too weak, every child has a life and voice and deserves equal rights as adults.

By coincidence or design, my studies and career have led me in the direction of labour law.  Although I seldom work directly with children at the moment, I have only recently completed organizing and facilitating a three-day program for youth over the March Break to teach employment skills and job search skills, including their rights when finding a job.  This truly brought home the fact that while I enjoy public speaking and workshop facilitation, my real passion lies in the research and development of policies that will make a difference for more than a few children at a time.  Educating businesses and corporations, advocating government changes, and promoting enforcement of policies already in place; this is where a difference can be made.

So begins my journey.  In  choosing this path I know that it may be longer than I like before I find a job and a career path that truly suits me, but I think I'm willing to take the time to work for it.

While this blog initially began as an assignment for my International Community Development classes, it will now be a record of my journey and of the steps I will take in pursuit of my goals.

Intergovernmental Organizations

I tend towards a variety of non-profit organizations as a rule, but there are certain IGOs of which I am especially fond.

The United Nations (www.un.org) - It has its issues, but the UN revolutionized international relations and the combination of UNICEF, UNDP and UNESCO, among other agencies, have made significant advances in human rights and development issues.

The European Union (europa.eu) - An entire class during my Masters was devoted to this regional IGO.  I loved studying the evolution of the organization.

Interpol (www.interpol.int) - Revolutionized the pursuit of criminals across borders.

Picture

Picture of me on Victoria Peak in Hong Kong this past September.

Introduction: Foundations for International Community Development

Hello everyone!

I am a passionate believer in human rights, particularly the rights of children. Because of this, all of my studies, volunteering and employment have focused on improving the circumstances of others. My educational background is in Political Science and French, and I travel as much as I can! (Most recently to Hong Kong in September 2010).

Currently, I work for Ontario Works, the social assistance program here in Ontario. Every day I see people who are desperate for some kind of help just to provide for their families. Although international development is my focus, I also believe that it is important to develop our own communities, as there are always those who struggle.

In the process of completing my Masters degree in International Relations in 2007, I travelled for a year to countries on five continents. I saw quite a range of development in my travels, from the very developed EU countries to those where the citizens struggled to get by. I participated in building houses, visited people in their homes, and backpacked through small towns to really get a feel for the country and the people. This is where my interest in international community development began. To really affect change, it is necessary to empower a community by providing the skills they need to make change occur. I am especially interested in the role of women and children in affecting change, as I found that they are often an overlooked, yet powerful, element of local cultures.

My personal goals for this course are to learn the structure and the basics of international community development so that I can earn the certificate in ICD and pursue employment in an international development or human rights organization.

International Community Development Links:

The Citizen's Handbook (http://www.vcn.bc.ca/citizens-handbook/) - Although a British Columbia based site, the Citizen's Handbook has a wealth of practical information on community development projects that are easily adapted for different communities in Canada or abroad.

The International Association for Community Development (http://www.iacdglobal.org/) - An international nonprofit that works towards social justice through community development approaches.

The Girl Effect (http://www.girleffect.org/) - An organization that works towards the empowerment of the 600 million adolescent girls who live in poverty around the world. One of my personal favourites, and the videos are particularly effective in getting attention and describing their process of community development.