People in Glass Houses

This year in my quest to do it all, I was on the hunt for volunteer or internship work at an NGO. Not only am I really quite obsessed with human rights and equality, but I also study International Relations and Social Policy, so this kind of work would certainly complement my studies.

In my search I came across a position to do communications on a locally run campaign by the international development organisation, Oxfam. The position was to work on 'Close the Gap', an initiative which aims to close the life expectancy gap, of almost 20 years, between Indigenous Australians and the wider community in one generation. It also aims to close the gap in mortality rates of Indigenous children under five years old, who die at more than twice the rate of other Australian babies.

These are staggering figures when we consider that we live in a democratic, first world nation with health and welfare benefits. One would expect these figures in a developing country but in Australia... surely not?

I have always been a huge advocate of international aid and development and fully thrown my support behind refugee rights, women's empowerment and grassroots development of the earth's poorest nations. Admittedly, I never looked in my own backyard. If I had, I would have seen the violation of numerous human rights, from land ownership to health.

I had always naively assumed that in a country full of people so quick to judge and condemn other countries on questionable actions toward their citizens that we should be pretty free from human rights violations ourselves.

How wrong I had been.



I now look around the world at all the first world countries who pride themselves on having achieved a 'civilised' democratic state and see the ways in which they deny or ignore Articles in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948). Also on how they condemn other nations on the very rights they also violate. 

What is an example, you ask?

I will state the most hypocritical and most obvious due to the countries position in the international arena. In Article 3 of the Declaration it states "Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person," I do believe this loosely translate as DON'T KILL PEOPLE! Now let's think who breaks this... oh yeah the United States. I should clarify here I'm talking about the death penalty still legal in many states, not the humanitarian/military intervention in the Middle East, although that arguably breaks a whole other set of international laws.

That is just one example, although there are hundreds, indeed reading through the first ten articles one can immediately jump to numerous examples of how many times the US has violated these rights since 9/11 in 2001 using 'freedom' as their motive.

 However, that is a whole other blog post.

So I did get the gig at Oxfam and have now been working on the campaign for a few weeks. In these few weeks I have really understood the power of beginning any kind of aid work in our own backyard. It provides context and nuance in understanding that people of any minority, in any country are quite possibly struggling an uphill battle of equal rights to basic living provisions.

It is important to recognise that because we believe ourselves to be in a better situation than many other nations around the world, this may not be the case for all of our citizens.

To find out more about Close the Gap click on the image link below -

Sign the pledge to show the Australian government that health equality still needs to be on the forefront of the national adgenda if we are to really call ourselves a civilised nation.

While you were sleeping...

I just saw this video and thought it was pretty spectacular.

Watch for the two books with black and white covers dancing together. It's the sweetest thing.

'The Joy of Books'

Kony2012: No Matter Which Side - We Can Agree On This

Since the Kony 2012 campaign last week the world has been in an uproar. Everyone has sat firmly on one of two sides; either promoting or condemning the video that was released and the charity behind it, 'Invisible Children'.

Quite literally hundreds of thousands of blog posts, news articles, radio and television shows, not to mention dinner conversations, have centred around Kony 2012, Uganda and the LRA. In multiple cases discussions were heated and intense. Innocent people unknowingly walked into a minefield by simply muttering the statement, "So what do you think about Kony2012?"

So here I will state the obvious - The campaign worked.

This campaign whether ill-informed, simplistic, or idealistic and with an apparently questionable fund dispersion system, reached tens of millions of people within days. Out of every campaign ever created this has without doubt been the most successful in the short term, particularly through the platform of social media.

Whether you agree or disagree on the issue at hand you cannot dispute the extreme reach of this remarkable social media marketing strategy. It will be interesting to see the effects this campaign has on marketing and social media campaigning from here on out.

So what's my opinion on Kony 2012? Well.... you walked right into that one didn't you!

While I do not necessarily condone the 'fundraising' aspect of the campaign as I don't much care for financial aid for military (especially of groups like the Ugandan Army who are constant violators of human rights) I do see a positive side to the campaign in its success of raising awareness.



I can see all of you nay-sayers raring up at that one with comments like "What, you mean people blindly following the new big fad?" and "They will forget about it in a week, how is that awareness!"

While I agree that both of these are valid arguments and have proven to be partly true over the last week, with people backtracking on opinions and already moving onto the next big thing, I still believe the awareness the campaign created will be beneficial.

In an online (of course) debate I had with a friend of mine, my reasoning for this was that for every 10 million people who blindly followed the campaign, there were perhaps 1000 who did further and extended research on Kony and the LRA. Maybe of these thousand, 100 people then researched the best method for getting involved in a grassroots movement to either minimise or prevent further events like this from happening. And maybe 20 of these people will continue in an effort to learn, raise awareness or help implement more appropriate prevention strategies in their lifetime.

As I write this there has been over 70 million hits on the video - if I work with my numbers above that is 140 people (I hope, I'm terrible at maths) who could possibly work towards beneficial solutions to prevent violations of human rights.

Isn't that an achievement? I think it is. It is also why I maintain my position that the Kony2012 campaign is a positive thing.

But here is the thing, don't just take my word for it. Be one of the 1000 who research further. Here are two great articles I have found, one from each side of the fence.

Some articles disagreeing with the campaign can be seen at:

-  'Unmuted - You Don't Have My Vote'

- 'Visible Children - We Got Trouble'

Some articles agreeing that the campaign has positives can be seen at:

-  'At Water's Edge - Can the United Nations Harness Kony2012's Energy?'

- 'Congo Siasa - From Campaigning to Action on Joseph Kony and the LRA'


Also to watch continued debates from both sides Al Jazeera has a spotlight on Kony - 'Al Jazeera - Spotlight: Kony'

I willingly admit that my opinion, is just that. This issue is vastly more complex than watching a 30 minute video. It would take years to understand, to any extent, the gravity of Uganda's political and  social history and why things are the way they are. Yet, as I referenced earlier, it could be a start for some people.

Blogging on...

Due to the unprecedented amount of interest I am paying toward this semesters university readings, I have not had a chance to get my blog on. So today will be a short post, with a promise of more to come in the next few days.

To tide you over I've compiled a little list of some friends blogs which I love to read. All make me smile and I'm sure they will make you smile too.

• Charlotte an expatriate from old Sydney town who now lives in Rotterdam, Netherlands writes 'I Like Lovely' a beautiful and whimsical page filled with inspired lists of lovely things, new found creations and pictures of her adventures. 

• Caitlin tells the hilarious tales of the transition from uni student to real life, and the realisation that she may just be too cynical in 'Cynicism Exorcism'. I find myself snorting (yes, snorting) with laughter at every post as she mixes some still trademark cynicism with her observations of the past and present.

• For all you foodies and fashion lovers, Hayat Ulku has started a new blog combining the best of both worlds. A fashion designer herself Hayat mixes her signature outfits (many pieces made by her) with the most delectably gorgeous shots of local Sydney eateries. Check out 'food.fashion&faces', you'll be drooling in no time. 

• If you thought I had forgotten the male bloggers, think again. In what I can only describe as the most rip roaring and anticipated read since Twilight, Andrew bell writes about his love and loss over the last two decades of his life. It documents his search for the "love of his life and the girl he is going to spend the rest of his life with" with all the gory details along the way. A great read, especially if you actually know the guy and can try and guess who he is talking about. Laugh and cry with him at '101 Broken Hearts'.

Enjoy!

What ever happened to that blog you wrote?

So after taking a not so brief hiatus to 'concentrate on my studies’ last semester (admittedly this mainly consisted of watching trashy tv shows), I am back in the blogosphere. Intent on making knowledgeable contributions to the World Wide Web, this will again become a regularly updated space, because let's face it; there aren’t enough cynical or insightful individuals hiding behind their laptop thinking they are witty, clever and just the right amount of artsy... Wait, what, that's what every blog is? Oh, well... here is one more. 

After taking stock and evaluating the experiences and changes that have helped shape who we are and what we know, it seems inevitable that we start the year with a (longggg) list of what we will do differently and hope to achieve by facing up to these realities.

The three things that greatly impacted my 2011:

1.     Started university

2.     Moved house- twice!

3.     Said goodbye as two of my best friends moved overseas

These three experiences were tumultuous and challenging (to say the least), but have provided me with an insight into who I am. Without realising, they have solidified by independent existence and I’m now living alone again, enjoying the controlled chaos within my own head.

In saying this, my reflections have also shone a light on one huge fact: The emotional rollercoaster that these aforementioned challenges provided me with saw me sink in to a big of a rut. I could stay in my pyjamas all day drinking tea, with the biggest motivation to go out being that ghastly moment when I realised I have no more milk or cigarettes.

I’m grateful for the enlightenment that the unavoidable truth has provided me with. I can blame everything on everybody else, but quite simply; things had to change- because I wanted them to.

First step: rediscovering my love of The Blog.

And so began my year of 2012 with grand aspirations and a chaotic schedule of 'things to do', which led me to a somewhat drunken conversation with a friend of mine and the statement, "You know, the more I do, the more I can do, and the less I do, the less I can do." The reply was along the lines of "What the fuck are you talking about?". While I repeated it several times in adamant confirmation and swilled some more whiskey and dry. I knew exactly what I was talking about.

To me the statement was as clear as vodka. The one thing my rut taught me is that allowing yourself to slip in to the habit of not doing enough and not staying busy, can be a downward spiral. This has been further evidenced by watching a drunk flatmate lay on the couch, day in and day out with his hands down his pants, viewing the premier league while the filth built up around him. The scary thing was that I wasn't that far from being him- minus the premier league. Obviously I would have been watching something intellectual, like The Housewives of Beverly Hills.

So this, the year of my "The more I do, the more I can do" is now in full force. A ridiculously full university timetable, work, friends, a new language, family, hopefully some internships and to add to that, this blog, let's hope my drunken self knows what the hell she's talking about.

And if you still have no idea what that statement means, then get me drunk and it will all become clear. Or I will just keep saying it until you stop questioning me. Got it, good.

Being Kind

Some things really piss me off about people. One of those things is when people push past others on the bus without any kind of regard for the person they are sending sprawling, usually crutch first, into a seated person. Why can't people be more kind?

As I was on my way to work, I and a few others were getting on board the bus, there was one elderly lady amongst us. As we all shuffled on, a middle aged lady and a well-to-do looking man literally pushed past the older woman trying to insert her ticket in the wrong side of the machine and upside down.

I quickly said I'd do it for her and put it in the right way. She looked at me like she was about to cry and said, "Thank you dear, I can't see very well, I don't want to be a nuisance and hold everyone up." What a darling. As I was getting off at my stop she grabbed my arm and said thank you again about three times and said I was lovely.

Well, that did put a pep in my step, and the thoughts in my head were something like, I AM lovely aren't I, helping out an elderly woman.

Conveniently, the next day I read an article about random acts of kindness on Mamamia. This made my brain tick over time to all the Random Acts of Kindness that we can do for people, but rarely do.


From a purely selfish point of view, I don't see why we don't do kind things all that often. I mean, regardless of the other person, it makes you feel great! It makes you feel as though, yes I am pretty awesome and I am a kind person. This thinking, however selfish, does have positive effects for others.

The problem is that, being kind isn't that big a deal to people anymore, probably because we get the "I am pretty awesome" feeling from so many superficial things nowadays.

Remember the stories of the good old days, when we helped our neighbours, chivalry was alive and well and the elderly deserved our respect and patience. My theory is that this was because we didn't have much of the self inflating ego things like brands, technology, a dominant hierarchy of clothes, to make us feel like we were someone. You were someone because of the things you DID.

Living in a city there is that idea of alienation, anonymity and separation, but personally, coming from a place where everyone knows your name (yeah, like in Cheers), I can't help but shake off some of those things that you do when you know everyone. My boyfriend doesn't quite get why I always say thanks to the bus driver or why I get pissed off when he rustles his chip packet all through a movie because it might annoy others.

 

It seems some of the things I do aren't very city-like. It's weird to him because as he points out, it isn't actually necessary when most people don't care.

In my head I think, but what about the people who do? It's nice to do nice things, I like seeing someone smile when they aren't expecting someone to be kind, it makes my day and makes me feel pretty awesome and the high lasts a lot longer than buying a nice piece of clothing, maybe why I am writing about this and not a recent purchase.

I can't help but notice there are a number of city folk who don't really do the kindness thing, I mean they are no doubt kind to their friends, they just don't bother with others. I'm definitely not always kind to people either. We're under the illusion that we get behind by being kind. Let someone on the bus in front of you, they get the last seat. Carry someones bags to their car, risk being stuck in a long conversation. Wave a car to go in front of you, you're stuck at the next set of lights for 5 minutes.

It's a very western way of thinking. I have a friend from Nepal who is genuinely kind to everyone, his time, his effort and his patience are never too much for someone. To be honest it was confusing when I first met him. I wasn't sure if he was being genuinely nice. Isn't that sad.

I know society has a problem when we get confused about why someone is kind all the time. I am no saint in any sense of the word, I hate most humans, most of the time. There is that saying that goes something like, be nice, everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. It is true and I want to be nicer to people around me from now on, even if it means waiting a few extra seconds to let someone on public transport first, or getting up so someone can sit. Hey, it also makes you feel great and doesn't cost a dime!

If you want some inspiration or a bit of encouragement check out these sites I found below:

Wake Up Sydney! 

Which actually sends you free kindness cards, the purpose of these are almost like a pay it forward idea. If you do something nice, say pay for someones coffee you leave a little card which urges them to one day repay the favor for someone who needs it. Or hell, just leave them anywhere and someone might see it and do something kind. Wouldn't that be worth it?

Random Acts of Kindness Foundation 

Which has ideas, stories and resources for the movement of being more kind. They have also come up with the idea of reporting acts of kindness rather than crime, because we see enough of the latter. To check out this idea go to their website or on twitter @reportkindness if you want to report kindness you can tag something #reportkindess in your posts.

Australian Kindness Movement 

This website holds so many resources for spreading kindness not only personally but in business, schools, workplaces and councils. It is an advocate of World Kindness Day and asks the question, What kind act have you done today?

I'm sick of staying...

The other day I had a, I'm not sure what you'd call it... maybe a 'realising how lazy I am experience'. I was sitting down with my good friend Steph, who lives a mere 20 minutes away in Maroubra, and she began talking about her area. As she was talking about the suburbs nearby, I realised I actually knew nothing about that part of Sydney. I mean I know there are beaches around there but apart from that I drew a blank.

I then started thinking about how much I knew about the other areas of Sydney apart from my inner west bubble. Again... blank. 

I'm sure many people are in this situation no matter which city you live in. For some reason we just don't travel far outside our home ground. We like things at our home ground, that is why we live there. One reason for this could be the absolute annoyance of public transport (ever seen that scene from Seinfeld where Elaine is on the subway screaming in her head, that's me) but another reason I know I, at least, don't go far is because it is just such an expensive, tiring hassle.

Source: To Start a New Thing

My friend Amanda and I used to get all ready to go out for girls nights, hair did, dresses on and then somehow we would end up drinking and smoking on my balcony and then falling asleep. We were wild ones I tell you! It was just such a hassle.

But then thinking about this I asked myself, so what? Which evidently is one of my Mums new catch phrases, apparently it stuck.

So I typed into Google, "Why do we stay?" A number of things came up:

• Why do we stay in boring jobs?
• Why do we stay in abusive relationships?
• Why do we stay in overcrowded cities?
• Why do we get wrinkly when we stay in the bath? (not sure if this one relates)
• And the most elusive - Why do we stay the way we are?

Well, apparently we are all just a big bunch of stayers (even if it means getting wrinkly).

So I've made a decision, now that I am on holidays for the next month I'm going to be a non-stayer. Oh yes you heard right, I'm going to go against every fibre of my being and purposefully do things and go places. Is that gasps and shocked faces in the audience? Yes, I'm kind of scared myself.

So below is a list of the places in my OWN CITY that I never go but WILL go over the next four weeks, anyone is free to join me to anyone of these places should the mood strike you:

• Paddington for coffee and a bookshop peruse 
• Kings Cross for a night out
• The North Shore for... well I'm not sure what happens on the North Shore yet
• Maroubra to see Steph's apartment
• The Gallery to see the Archibald Prize
• Blacktown or Cabbramatta to get some yummy food
• The Blue Mountains to go for a bush walk (this one's a little crazy I will admit - exercise?)
• Bondi Markets
• Catch the ferry to Manly and have an ice cream on the beach 
• Watch the buskers at Darling Harbour
• Walk across the Harbour Bridge (not climb over it, I can't afford that)

So there you have it, I know it's a pretty generic list but that's the point of the whole thing. Now I have put it out there for people to see I better do it or things could get awkward. I'll let you know how it goes.

Also if anyone has some suggestions for things to do that I have left out leave a comment at the bottom of the page, if you want to do any of this with me then awesome, let's go, not stay.