A New Perspective on the International Day of Peace

hello dear ones!! I hope this finds you well!

The updates on this blog have become increasingly sporadic over the past number of months as life continues in its frenetic beauty. I write today from yet another continent, after a month of travel, recuperation and reconnections with beloved people and places in Canada. I am now living in Bradford, a small industry city in the United Kingdom, where I am about to begin a graduate degree in African Peace and Conflict Studies.

I arrived on September 21st, which happens to be the International Day of Peace. (Imagine my delight at the coincidence!) I am very grateful to have a fellowship from the Rotary Foundation to pursue this dream, and am one of 10 scholars from around the world (Australia/Croatia, Zambia, Palestine, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa/Rwanda, the USA, and Canada) participating in the program at Bradford this year. While Bradford's MA peace programs normally run for 12 months, the Rotary program will be slightly longer. World Peace Fellows study for 9 months with many other peaceniks, and then head off to Applied Field Experience (AFE) placements around the globe for three months while the rest write their dissertations. Next September we'll come back to Bradford for another three months, participate in a conference in October, and defend dissertations before Christmas.

Already I have been profoundly touched by the generosity of Rotarians in both Canada and England! There is quite an extensive application process for the fellowship and I have been communicating with John Wahl at my local Rotary Club in Waterloo since January 2008. He and the club have been incredibly supportive... backing me up 100% as the application went to the district and then international levels, inviting me to attend and speak at a couple of meetings, and setting me up with a beautiful umbrella and provisions for the journey over. (Yes John, the umbrella made it here with me, and will be christened by the first downpour - any day now!) Through support from Fred Sweeny at the district level I have also had the honour of meeting Rotarians in Fergus, Simcoe and Cambridge, and deeply respect their commitment to service initiatives in their communities and around the globe (eradicating polio, investing in education, mobilizing humanitarian support through shelterbox etc etc!).

I have also been 'buddied' with one of the Fellows from last year's Bradford crew, Youla, (who also happens to be Canadian), who has been wonderful in answering all my questions and helping in the transition! And then of course each fellow has a host counselor who is an amazing resource during preparations and the transition over with their advice and support, in all kinds of unexpected ways. I have been blessed with two... one for preparations and one for the transition. The wonderful Wally Hirst was so generous with his time, answering logistical questions, connecting me with others, viewing potential flats and welcoming me into his world. Then, when I arrived Monday I was picked up from the airport (at 4:45am!!) by my new host counselor, Marcela Livingston. She's a sprightly Argentinian artist with a big heart... and we talked the whole way to Bradford (over an hour from the Manchester airport). From the beginning she has been nothing but welcoming, giving me a place to crash as I needed, feeding me, giving me loads of hugs and offering to help navigate the myriad things required to settled into a new life (registering for uni, getting a bank account, getting accommodations sorted, and even providing me with bedding). I know we're going to get along really well!!

I am now happily settled in a sort of residence, with my own private room with washroom, and a shared kitchen. It is a humble and cozy space that will suit me perfectly over the next 8 months. There are about 25 rooms in the building, with mostly students, and a strong contingent of Rotary Peace fellows. I am living across the hall from a lovely Palestinian woman named Rajaa (who will help me keep working on Arabic!), a friendly Somali man named Mahamoud, and a fun-loving Zambian woman named Mabel. Dear Yuko from Japan is just down the hall. Yuko and Mahamoud are a year ahead and writing their dissertations right now, which means they will leave in December, but it will be nice to have them so close as we settle in.

I have been told that up to 90% of Bradford is Muslim, and while that may be a bit of an exaggeration, (it's more like 25%) I can certainly believe it holds in this neighbourhood. It seems all the other flats on the street have Indian and Pakistani families living in them, and on Monday they were all out celebrating the Eid. The girls were all dressed up in bright shiny dress and pant suits with long scarves draped down their backs. But that didn't stop them from playing outside... they were full of laughter in their world of games. There are also lots of places selling halal foods, Indian clothes, and restaurants with shwarma. There are two large mosques close by, and I hope I'll hear their calls to prayer soon... I miss them so much!! Everywhere you go you hear people saying inshallah and hamdalillah and that makes me happy... feeling I am halfway back to Cairo. I think that the cultural diversity here is so beautiful, but I know that I'm still in the honeymoon phase of my relationship with Bradford. I have been told many times that there is a lot of inter-community conflict here, and it does seem quite segregated, which is quite saddening. The tensions seem ironic given that U of Bradford has a reputation for the best Peace and Conflict Studies department in the country. Shouldn't we start with addressing conflicts in our own community?! Well, I'm a newbie... who knows what all is underway as I write!

It's going to be a busy settling-in time with all our commitments to Rotary. This weekend the new fellows will go away to a gathering with all the new Rotary Ambassadorial Scholars and stay with host families at night. In October there will be a district conference somewhere in Southern England I think, and then a Rotary Peace Conference at Bradford for us to host, before other commitments like speaking at Marcela's rotary club follow in November. But each of these events will provide opportunities to connect with others committed to working for peace in the world, and it will be interesting to learn more about the communities and aspects of British culture through each adventure.


You may be wondering why I have decided to keep this blog up and running after I am no longer in Egypt. There is a very simple answer to this... I intend to return to Egypt as part of my studies in the UK. I am planning to go back for the Christmas holiday to reconnect with dear friends then, and inshallah finalize the details of my Applied Field Experience. I would like to work with either the UNHCR - if possible - or AMERA again, and at the same time conduct field research for a dissertation on livelihood opportunities for refugees who are single mothers in Cairo. Of course things could still change... I have yet to consult with academic advisors and colleagues in Egypt. However this is something I am very passionate about after working with so many single mothers at AMERA, and I see it connecting into broader urban refugee and livelihood challenges around the globe. Inshallah Inshallah... for now a bend in the river, beyond which we cannot see.


As I am exploring the neighbourhood I am beginning to make a home in, the most exciting place I have stumbled across is a building by the university called Desmond Tutu House. It is the home of a laid back worship venue called soulspace, and the meeting place for student groups like STAR... Student Action for Refugees! I also found an organization called Bradford Action for Refugees online, and am hoping to begin volunteering part-time with one of their projects in the weeks to come... a decision that was affirmed in a conversation with the Anglican Reverend at Tutu House who explained their need. Desmond Tutu House also hosts all kinds of peace-related events and on Monday a few of us got to attend their first event of the school year, a documentary screening about the inspiration behind and actions generated from the international day of peace. It's exciting to be around so many people who share values, who are keen to make the world a better place, and who you can have rich discussions with. The film screening and new connections with people and places here reminded me that peace is not just the big actions, but the day-to-day commitments that we make. And there is a niche for everyone. Or in the words of Franklin Roosevelt (which I re-encountered reading Barak Obama's speech to the United Nations today):

"The structure of world peace cannot be the work of one man, or one party, or one nation. It cannot be a peace of large nations - or of small nations. It must be a peace which rests on the cooperative effort of the whole world."

Watching the film Gandhi with my family before I left I was again struck by the realization that one person can never do anything on their own... not even Gandhi!!! Each has a whole network of support that enable them to dismantle unjust systems or remold communities. As I deepen in my understanding of what Rotarians are doing on individual and collective levels around the world, I see how they are working away at one piece of that collective, cooperative puzzle. I am incredibly grateful to them for laying the groundwork that enables these humble steps forwards... towards supporting peace and development in Africa. I welcome you to join this journey, and look forward to hearing more about yours!