my life according to tracy chapman

ok, this has been making the rounds on facebook, and i finally gave in. (yes, i do have work to do --too much in fact, hence the procrastination!) it was actually fun, and gave me an excuse to go over some of my favorite music :P

Using only song names from ONE ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions. Pass it on to 15 people you like and include me. You can't use the band I used. Try not to repeat a song title. It's a lot harder than you think! Repost as "my life according to (band name)."

Pick your Artist:
tracy chapman

Are you a male or female:
she's got her ticket

Describe yourself:
tell it like it is

How do you feel:
talkin' about a revolution

Describe where you currently live:
subcity

If you could go anywhere, where would you go:
across the lines

Your favorite form of transportation:
fast car

Your best friend is:
paper and ink

You and your best friends are:
almost

What's the weather like?
another sun

Favorite time of day:
in the dark

If your life was a TV show, what would it be called:
born to fight

What is life to you:
something to see

Your relationship:
a theory

Your fear:
unsung psalm

What is the best advice you have to give:
be and be not afraid

Thought for the Day:
if not now..

How I would like to die:
the first person on earth

My soul's present condition:
new beginning

My motto:
don't dwell

happy day

there was this one awesome day last week, when everything went well, ilhumdolillah! it started out with a short but animated chat with z, whom i hadn't chatted with in forever. the rest of the day flew by in useful discussions and brainstorming sessions for ongoing/future projects on torture, corruption and other fascinating stuff. even lunch that day was particularly enjoyable -homemade chow mien! to end the day, i went to a mitishitabi (girls' party), where both the food and conversation were fun.

so, recap: intellectual stimulation, hanging out (both virtual and physical) with friends and good food made a wonderful day!

i would wish that all my days were that great, but that would be asking for the impossible. there are usually moments of happiness in each day, but to have an entire day of happiness was bliss :)

ethics in action

working on the latest issue of 'ethics in action' was particularly enjoyable, so i wanted to share :)




my personal favourites:

Building back a better community: Transforming disaster into opportunity in Nias

Five years post-tsunami: Land conflicts yet to be resolved

Transcending caste in the classroom

Hypocrisy of mourning in Bangladesh

occupational hazard

the following are reactions that i encountered to human rights work on my recent trip to india (ok, the trip was three weeks ago; it's taken me this long to calm down and write about it):

-what do you do? human rights? why?
-you know, this human rights stuff is all spouted by rich countries, by america. they're just trying to interfere again.
-did you hear about that lady? she was opposing project x, causing a lot of problems for the state government, and in the end they found she was paid by some western groups to make a lot of noise.
-these so called human rights groups, all they do is oppose development projects.
-is your organization doing anything about all the human rights abuses committed by america? by other western countries? are you complaining to the australian government about the indian students who were recently killed? why are you focusing on india, on asia?
-after reading this report on burma's poor response to cyclone nargis, you're going to write an article? for who? will the burmese government care?
-look at the issue of nuclear weapons. why shouldn't india have nuclear power if everyone else does? america talks about non-proliferation, but refuses to destroy its own nuclear arsenal. what about our rights?

when i told some sri lankan friends about how frustrating an experience i had, they commiserated by sharing their own similar experiences. friends from korea, australia and elsewhere had other anecdotes to share, all of which underlined how dirty and unpopular a phrase 'human rights work' is.

they also show how little understanding there is of human rights, of the actual principles -the rights to life, to food, to shelter, to expression and opinion, to be free from arbitrary arrest, detention or punishment.

suddenly, i realize that my work involves not only fighting against the systemic abuse of human rights, but also the cultural attitudes and misconceptions surrounding those rights. (okay, not suddenly.. but i have to say that my india encounters were a bit of a slap in the face.)

in india, i also came across the opinion that corruption is normal; there is no harm in paying bribes to get your work done; it is what makes the world go round. under that mentality, rights can simply be bought, so what they are exactly and where they stem from is totally irrelevant.

on a lighter note: "A friend felt oppressed in the US. He returned to Delhi so he can ignore laws, be loud, yell at people, & smoke anywhere. Now, he is happy."

june 26, international day against torture

"...The practice of torture remains the central defect in protecting, promoting and fulfilling human rights in the region. From the standpoint of state responsibility to protect, promote and fulfil human rights, the fight against torture is an important component of human rights work. In essence, human rights work is engaging in a dialogue with the state, reminding the state of its responsibility to serve the people and identifying its failures in meeting people's demands.

In most of Asia, states notoriously attempt to reduce the space for this dialogue by instilling fear, largely through law enforcement agencies. By using law enforcement agencies as a tool in this way, the state engages in a counter dialogue with citizens, reminding them it has the means to silence dissent and enforce its writ...

Working against torture is thus crucial to enlarging the space for democratic dialogue. Human rights work in the region and globally has yet to appreciate this fact..."

notorture.ahrchk.net

living in the now

this week's scmp sunday magazine has an interview with eckhart tolle, who said a few things that got me thinking. he said the present moment is usually seen as an obstacle to overcome, which is a crazy way to live since now is the only real moment you have. how true. and sad. (note to self: enjoy all moments hereupon!)

he also said that while everyone's life situation had pressures and conflicts, you must ask yourself whether at this very moment you have a problem. the answer for me--at this moment--would be no. but i feel a sense of denial or escapism here.. just recently, i was asked a question to which i replied, "i simply do not want to think about it right now." this prompted the response that i would have to address the issue at some point; the more i ran away from it, the more it would run after me. which is also true. so then, how is a balance found between the two?!

people i meet

several of the blogs that i usually read have been on a hiatus for some time now. as i was mourning my daily post intake, i came across the 'people i meet' blog, which is awesome, and very inspiring.

what a great idea, to write about people you meet: whoever said 'the world is your classroom and the people your teachers,' had it right. even if we get so caught up in ourselves that we sometimes forget this.

in the past two days, i have tried to be more open, and pay more attention to, the people i interact with. needless to say, even though it takes up more time, it is definitely rewarding and educational. i'm sure i will get tired at some point, and revert to old habits however :p

thank you for the author of 'people i meet'!