Markthal Rotterdam - Start bouw feest 18 november 2009

Build Baby Build!

“Beautiful house, but not the type of neighborhood I would like to live in.” That is what a friend – in search for a new house himself – told me last week after another friend of ours had showed us photos of a lofty house which he and his girlfriend were planning to buy in the Westside of Rotterdam. Indeed, it was a beautifully renovated building, situated in the old neighborhood Middelland, with spacious rooms and a roof terrace overlooking the Rotterdam skyline.

Middelland is known for its mixed population with predominantly first or second generation immigrants, prominent lanes, renovated streets, and many shops; as well as its grimy bars, few strip clubs, and not so inviting atmosphere during nighttimes. I understood my friend’s sentiments, but I told him that I was pleased to see that our friends, a young ‘mixed couple’ (read: racially mixed) with a double income, had decided to move to this neighborhood. Such movements, in my view, improve the image of particular neighborhoods and creates an even more cultural diversity in a city with nearly 50% of the population having non-Dutch origins (including myself).

Last Tuesday, the NRC Handelsblad reported that, according to a study by the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, Rotterdam has been one of the frontrunners in the last decade when it comes to building new houses within old neighborhoods. The same study concludes that the restructuring of existing neighborhoods mitigates segregation between rich and poor, and to a lesser extent between people originating from the Netherlands (Dutch: autochtonen) and people originating from another country (Dutch: allochtonen). As a result, segregation between rich and poor, and allochtonen and autochtonen has diminished in Rotterdam; whereas segregation has increased in cities like Utrecht and The Hague where high income families tend to move to newly build neighborhoods on the city outskirts.

Another article mentions that some scientists doubt whether the ‘mixing’ of population groups in neighborhoods will actually lead to social integration. Some good food for thought. I also live in an old neighborhood in the North part of Rotterdam with a balanced representation of autochtonen and allochtonen; mainly as a result of expensive and less expensive houses in close proximity to each other (sometimes even in the same street). It is the main reason why I enjoy living in this area, but I also wonder sometimes whether these different groups have actually merged or simply live together in segregated streets.

I am optimistic, nevertheless, that segregation in Rotterdam – and hopefully many other cities – will keep diminishing and eventually disappear. Nearly all of my close friends living in Rotterdam are in mixed relationships (including myself) and some of them are now having their first children. Most of them have good incomes and want to stay in the city. Thus, the only thing the Rotterdam officials have to do is build, build, build (some city parks would be nice too). In the meantime, we will keep having our mixed babies.

Jenny from the Block

In the spring of 2009, I posted an ad on the internet in which I offered a room for rent in my apartment. I had just decided that I would go traveling through South America for six months (which eventually became an internship in New York) by the beginning of 2010. Therefore, I needed someone, preferably an exchange or PhD student, to live in my apartment during my absence.

I received an e-mail in June 2009 from an Anthropology PhD student from the University of Western Ontario in Canada. Her name was Jennifer Long (hereinafter J-Lo) and she was coming to the Netherlands for one year to study Islamophobia and Nationalism in Rotterdam. My first thought was: ‘’A Canadian doing her PhD research on a controversial topic in Rotterdam. Why and how?”

Intrigued as I was, I replied to her message and we soon started an extensive exchange of e-mails; firing all sorts of question at each other. I soon learned that she was affiliated with the Meertens Institute in Amsterdam and that she was coming to Rotterdam to gather empirical data for her research through interviews with people living in the Rotterdam community. I also learned about her Dutch heritage (her mother moved from Maastricht to Canada at the age of nine) and she even made an attempt to write to me in Dutch. Her genuine openness and sense of humor made me soon realize that I had finally found my new roommate. Especially after she made the comment: “I think you've established yourself as not-being-an-axe-murderer via email.”

J-Lo would eventually become my roommate from September 2010 until last Friday. Her presence in my apartment and in Rotterdam did not go unnoticed. On her first day in town she managed to get her first e-mail contact by walking straight into the Islamic University of Rotterdam. This became the beginning of many research related activities over the course of a year, like teaching English to Turkish women, teaching immigrant women how to cycle, having frequent meetings with neighborhood organizations, volunteering at the neighborhood center, helping out at the International Film Festival in Rotterdam, volunteering as the Miss Tour de Bergpolder-Liskwartier (not sure how this fit into her research) and many other activities that I probably forgot to mention here. By the time I got back from New York she was speaking Dutch like never before and she told me that she was even conducting some of her interviews in Dutch. I was literally amazed…

In the end, J-Lo taught me a lot about the community projects in my neighborhood – especially through her must-read blog – as she was involved in nearly all of them. Besides being an enthusiastic researcher, she turned out be an amiable and fun person to live with. She also proved herself to be a reliable housekeeper during my stay in New York (even managed to keep my precious plants alive).

Last Saturday she returned to Canada to complete her research and write up her dissertation. Before she left, I told her jokingly that she should come back after her graduation and run for major of Rotterdam. She laughed and raised her fist angrily saying: “Aboutaleb you’re going down!”

Relaunch

The past few weeks I have come to realize that New York is not the only place worth writing about. Writing about my life in Rotterdam may seem less appealing or exciting, but that should be no reason for me to stop writing all together. In fact, I have come to appreciate Rotterdam even more after spending months in a city with, let's be honest, many imperfections and contradictions. Another reason for the continuation of this blog is the pleasure of writing about things I have a particular interest in. The many positive reactions over the past six months have also encouraged me to continue writing. I was a bit hesitant at first, but the relaunch of this blog could perhaps be the start of something interesting. The new template of my blog indicates a fresh new start. The phrase 'Big Apple', however, remains in the title, as it has become a significant  feature of my blog. Furthermore, the phrase, I believe, can be used as a metaphor for many things (think of: life, the world, the universe etc.). At least that's what I think.

Besides making up for lost time with friends and family the past few weeks, I have spent most time looking for a job. With no income and hardly a euro left in my bank account (thank you Greece), my first job became to find a job (I apologize for the frequent use of the word job). I soon decided to apply for welfare after realizing that it would take some time to find something. During my intake interview at the public employment service (UWV Werkbedrijf) I was told that I would be placed in a project called DaadWerkt. The aim of this relatively new project is to narrow the gap between young unemployed people and employers through a two-month internship consisting of training, coaching and schooling. Participants of this  internship are expected to find a job by using the Internet, at least four times a week and three hours a day, in a nearby employment service. In return, the interns receive a remuneration which is slightly higher than a welfare income. I did not really know what to think of this project, but I decided to go for a unprejudiced approach. I also needed an income. In other words, I had no choice. 

It is my second week in the project and I have slightly become more aware of the effects of this economic crisis. Today we had our first round of introductions and I was quite surprised by the stories of people who lost jobs they had for years. I also heard some stories of highly educated youngsters who were struggling to find a job in their field of specialty. As I heard these stories I almost felt embarrassed to tell everyone that I quit my previous job for a six-month internship in New York (actually six months of traveling in S. America). The same stories also illustrated that most were highly motivated to find a new job and some were even starting their own business. One lady was starting her own online lingerie shop. Another spoke about starting a youth center. Some also spoke about occupational retraining through the project. These positive signs convinced me that this project may bear fruit for young people who are willing to work. It has also encouraged me in thinking that the municipality of Rotterdam is working towards a better future for every 'Rotterdammer' willing to work. Of course, there are the stories of people who are not willing or in the position to work, but that could be the topic for another blog.

As for my future, I am in the lucky position to start working again at the Erasmus University by next month, although on a part-time basis. In the meantime, I will have to find another part-time job. Hopefully with the help of DaadWerkt... 

The Next Step?

My New York journey will end in less than a week. I am having mixed emotions right now. On the one hand I am sad to leave this electrifying city, but on the other hand I am more than happy to return back to Rotterdam and my family, friends and girlfriend. I just spoke to Laura a couple of hours ago on the phone and we were talking about how fast time has passed. We are both happy of course that our separation is nearly over, but also aware that this same separation has brought us even more closer together. The long distance between us did not make things easy, but the ride ended up being pretty smooth. It sure helped that we never considered the distance as a problem to our relationship, but rather as a challenge. Both of us did not know or could neither predict how my absence would affect our relationship. Therefore, we decided to just led it happen instead of concerning ourselves with the possible consequences.  

This was pretty much the same approach I had towards this internship and my previous plan of traveling through South America. In the months leading up to my departure I received many reactions from people ranging from "Sounds great, but why are you leaving again?" "Exciting, but what do you want to get out of this?" "Fantastic, but what will you do when you get back?" "New York is great, but how will you afford living in Manhattan and how will you find an apartment?" "Courageous step, but what will happen to your apartment in Rotterdam"? "Great an internship, but why unpaid?" The actual question was in fact "Aren't you afraid?" A question that I could not answer at the time in a rational manner. To be honest, I still can't. I just follow my instincts. First, a voice inside me told me to go traveling through South America for half a year. Then, the same voice told me to apply for this internship in New York. Now, the same voice is telling me to go back to Rotterdam without really knowing what the next step will be.

Apparently, I am not the only one with this internal voice. I am currently staying in a very hot and extremely humide Washington DC. The city of the White House, the Capitol, the war memorials and of course President Obama. A couple of days ago I found his memoir, Dreams from My Father, on Meg's book shelve. Inspired as I was, I immediately started to read it. It is a beautifully written book by Obama, providing a very compelling insight into his life story. Most of us know his story by now. Growing up as a kid in Hawaii and Indonesia. Becoming a student in California and New York. Moving to Chicago to become a community organizer, law professor, US Senator and finally the President of the United States. His book illustrates to me that he just did what felt right at each different moment of his life. That he followed his instincts. Little did he now that he would become the US President.

Little did I know last year that I would end up in New York doing an internship across the street from the United Nations. I am, nevertheless, happy that it happened. It has not led to any financial gain or a new job at the UN. However, the internship has provided me with a great opportunity to further develop myself and has given me a new sense of direction in terms of interests. I have become more and more interested in international law in combination with communications and journalism. I have presented GPF's weekly vodcast and written on the GPF blog about the International Criminal Court (ICC). Furthermore, I have interviewed several interesting people about the creation of the UN Ombudsperson in relation to the individual sanctions regime of the UN and the outcome of the ICC Review Conference (click here and here to listen to the interviews). I have also attended many interesting meetings, conferences, panel discussions and luncheons both within and outside the UN. Finally, I have had the chance to work with the kindest, most funny and intelligent people from different parts of the globe.

This internship has also given me many great moments and experiences outside the office, like the regular visits from friends and family, seeing Princes Maxima walking across the street, bumping into UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in front of the GPF office, taking a picture of my sister with Chris Rock, almost touching Janet Jackson in a bar, being the best man at my friends' wedding, and seeing an NBA basketball game. But also simple things like reading a book in Central Park, getting a haircut in Harlem, unexpected music and dance performances, simply walking to work and having a beer and burger at Ruby's, my favorite cafe in NY. Of course, I should also not forget Tom. He has been truly amazing in every aspect of the word. I was fortunate to have him as my flat mate.

This was my last blog entry. I would like to thank you all for reading my blog and all the great reactions I received throughout the last six months. New York has truly been a great experience. Now its time to move on.

Awareness

A couple of days ago I read the pleasurable blog of my flatmate back home in Rotterdam. Jlo described that after nearly a year in Rotterdam here knowledge of the space around her had grown. By knowing her way around the city she was able to show foreign visitors her favorite spots in the city. While reading it I realized that I have pretty much reached the same level of knowledge and awareness here in New York. New York of course is much bigger than  Rotterdam and in many ways incomparable, but nowadays I can basically go anywhere in Manhattan without having to stare on a map first. It felt great to show all the people around that came to visit me; take them to my favorite spots and tell them things about the city that I had learned. Without really realizing it, the city has really become a part of me and I really feel blessed for the opportunity I had to come and live here. 

My last two visitors were Aleks and Laura. Aleks was visiting New York for the first time and on the second day we met in front of the UN headquarters. Unfortunately, I was not capable to show him around the building, but I did show him our office. We used to be colleagues at the Erasmus University and he was of course very much interested in visiting the UN. He finally did the organized tour and was shown all the rooms of the main bodies. He told me afterwards that it was quite impressive and that he had learned something about the seat arrangement in the General Assembly. The countries are seated alphabetically, but the country which occupies the front most left position is rotated annually by ballot and the remaining countries fall into line by alphabetical order. I did not know this and it became clear to me why the Cape Verde was on the first row. Not because of its huge importance, but just for practical reasons.

The following week Aleks went to Indianapolis for a couple of days to visit a friend and Laura arrived the next day. It was a short visit this time, but it was great to see her again. Our main purpose was to avoid all crowded places and enjoy our precious time together. Despite its busyness, Manhattan harbors many areas where you can relax. One of the places we visited was the High Line which is located in the Meatpacking district and Chelsea. The High Line used to a railway constructed in the 1930's which lifted freight trains of the Manhattan Streets. It has now been turned into a mile-and-a-half-long elevated park with naturalistic planting. The first section of the park has been completed and it is truly a beautiful sight. I have been told that a similar plan exists for the old "Hofpleinlijn" in my neighborhood in the north of Rotterdam. I really hope that this plan will come through as it would give the city a great impulse.

Aleks came back from Indianapolis on a Sunday and the three of us went out for dinner in the West Village. We ate at Laura's favorite Italian restaurant, Bar Pitti. Afterwards, we went for a walk along the Hudson River and enjoyed the New Jersey skyline with the most beautiful sunset  in the background creating intense red and orange hues in the sky. Aleks and Laura flew back on Monday and I had to move to my new apartment on the same day. Tom decided a couple of weeks ago that he wanted to move to his cousin's apartment and told me I could move with him. The apartment is located on 61 St and Lexington Ave close to Midtown and I can actually walk to work now. The apartment has only one bedroom, which Tom has given to me, but it is more spacious and has all the required utilities. The move was quite stressful and hasty, but in the end it went fine and I must say that I really like the new apartment.

I have about one month left in New York and a couple of interesting projects are awaiting me at GPF (see next blogs). Next weekend I am going to Washington to visit the mother of my good friend Taimil who I studied with in Sydney four years ago. Then I'll have one more visitor from the Netherlands, my friend Alfred. I am also making plans for a trip in the US before I go back to the Netherlands in mid July. In the meantime I will enjoy my last weeks in the Big Apple that I admire and gotten to know quite well.

       

Being the best man

Last week I had the honor of being the best man at the wedding of one of my best friends. I was totally taken by surprise when Ramses and Ilham told me that they were expecting their first baby and that they wanted  to get married in New York. Their plan was to have a "speed wedding'' and they thought the best place to have it would be New York. I was even more surprised, however, when they told me they wanted me as their witness. I have gotten used to being a NY tour guide for my visitors the past few months, but this was something completely different and unexpected. I had never been a witness before and I started to get slightly nervous. I  asked them what I was supposed to do and they answered that I just needed to show up at the ceremony and sign the marriage documents. Just like that. 

The ceremony was at the Manhattan Marriage Bureau and I got there before the bride and groom. As I waited, I observed all the other couples getting ready for their big day. Some just came in their jeans and sneakers while others came in beautiful dresses and suits. Despite these differences, I noticed the simplicity and relaxedness of the whole thing. This was exactly what Ramses and Ilham wanted and they got in the end. Both looked stunning. Ramses was wearing a spiky white suit and Ilham a lovely black and white dress. The wedding performer turned out to be a very cranky lady who probably does fifty ceremonies a day. She had a huge pile of wedding documents and mistook my friends for the wrong couple. It made the whole situation even more hilarious. It took her about a minute to find out who they were and after a couple more minutes Ramses could finally kiss his new wife. 

Afterwards, we went to a park for some romantic wedding pictures and we ended the day in a tiny restaurant in Soho with beer and burgers. The perfect end of a special day.

Aleks, my latest visitor, arrived yesterday. So I am back to being a happy tour guide again...

Celebrity week

New York is famous for the celebrities you might bump into while walking down the street or sitting in a bar or restaurant. I had already heard a few stories from people who had spotted a movie star, singer, model or politician, and I wondered whether the same thing would to happen to me. Well this week it finally happened. Ironically, in the same week that my sister came to visit me. It was her first time in New York and probably a visit that we will both never forget.

It started Friday last week, when I attended a seminar at the UN on the International Criminal Court Review Conference which takes place in Kampala, Uganda, this month. This conference is very crucial for the future of the ICC and I expected some interesting discussions during the seminar. I was unaware, however, that the Secretary General of the UN, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, would do the opening speech. His speech of course was very general in terms and quite predictable, as he recalled all UN member states to ratify the statute of the ICC and to support the work of the Court. I was nevertheless happy to witness the "UN boss" speak.

Another speaker at the UN this week was the controversial President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He gave a speech before the General Assembly at the conference on nuclear non-proliferation. He of course criticized the US and other Western powers for failing to fulfill their obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. This lead to a walk out during his speech by several delegations, including the Netherlands. He also spoke at a news conference at the Millennium Hotel, across the street from our office. During this speech he warned that Security Council resolutions against Iran would further jeopardize any prospects of normal ties between the US and Iran. I did not see President Ahmadinejad in person, but I certainly noticed his presence at the UN. There were tons of police and security agents standing in front of our building, armed with machine guns and wearing bullet proof vests. I almost felt like being on a movie set.

On Tuesday, my sister and I attended the launch of a short documentary called the "Lazarus Effect". The film captures a series of true-life stories of HIV-positive Africans who are still alive through the effects of antiretrovirals. The film is part of the Red Campaign which raises awareness of the issue and includes many stars, like Bono, Penelope Cruz and many others. The screening of the movie took place in the Museum of Modern Art and Tom had arranged tickets for us through his work. It started with a cocktail reception and soon the first celebrities arrived on the red carpet. My sister, like a real paparazzi, managed to worm her way through the crowd and took really good pictures of Bono, Iman (wife of David Bowie), Gabourey Sidibe (actress Precious) and some other semi-stars. Before the film, we noticed the presence of stand-up comedian Chris Rock who had avoided the red carpet. After the film, my sister and I waited at the exit to see if we could spot him. He finally showed up with his wife and Carla, Ms. Cheekiness herself, approached him, gave him a hand, told him who we were and asked if she could be on a picture with him. He seemed quite surprised by my sister's self-confidence and before he knew it I took a picture of them. Carla and I couldn't stop laughing while leaving the building. However, the fun was not over yet.

On Thursday, I met with Dominik, a German friend of mine. We both studied in Sydney four years ago and became good friends. He was in New York this week with a couple of his friends and we decided to meet in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. We had dinner first and went to a bar afterwards called the Brooklyn Bowl. This bar has become one of my favorite bars here and the drummer of the band the Roots, Questlove, was the DJ of the night. We stood there for a while drinking and talking when one of Dominik's friends approached me and told me that Janet Jackson was sitting five meters behind us. I did not believe him at first and turned around to have a better look. It was her, with very short hair, talking to some friends and just having a good time. We tried to get a picture with her, but her bodyguards were not too keen. Unfortunately, my sister decided to stay home that evening. Her cheekiness would have definitely gotten us another picture. Nevertheless, it was a moment to never forget...

Sign of life

It has been a while since I last wrote on my blog. Has it been laziness, busyness or lack of inspiration? Or maybe a combination of all three? Yes maybe. I am pretty much past the excitement of my first few weeks here. But I consider that normal. I have felt it before in Sweden and Australia. After a while things start to loose their shine and brilliance, work becomes work, and you get into your daily routines. Yes even in New York! It is probably a good sign too. It means I have adapted to my new live here and that I am slowly becoming a New Yorker. Nevertheless, there are still enough exciting things to write about, like the arrival of my sister today. Many more visitors will follow the coming weeks, so I have to get myself on the horse again. Once you start writing you have to keep going... 

For now, I will leave you with my latest entry on our interns weblog. Here it is.

Life back to normal

Everything is pretty much back to normal since last week. Laura left a week ago and it took me a couple of days of getting used to being alone again. It was great to have her here with me, especially on my birthday. She has been here a few times before, so we decided to avoid most of the touristy places. The weather was nice and sunny most of the time, so we just went for long nice walks and I showed her some nice parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. We also went to some nice restaurants, little cafes, bars, and we attended a beautiful dance show in the Lincoln Center. It felt like a mini holiday. Another great surprise was a three day visit by Tijmen (my KLM friend) and Dave, another good friend of mine from back home. Laura met with them during the day and I met with them after work.

They also came to see me at work one day and the funniest thing happened. We were sitting outside in the sun during lunchtime and I was telling them that our Princes Maxima was visiting the UN, as she is the Secretary General's advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development. She had given a speech the day before at the Finance for Development Conference. Then we started talking about her in general and that same time I noticed her walking across the street from us. I stood up and said, "look, look, look, I think that's Maxima!" Then we all walked up closer and saw that it was her. She was surrounded by maybe four people and she was carrying some documents. She looked really relaxed and there was no royal aura surrounding her. It all went really fast, so we did not get the chance to talk to her or take a picture. Nevertheless, it was an unforgettable moment.

I also showed the guys the office and they met with my boss and some of my colleagues. The atmosphere and work ethic in the office has much improved since we made the necessary changes. Everyone has been attending tons of meetings and some projects have finally taken off. I have attended two interesting panel discussions myself  hosted by New York University. One was on the International Criminal Court and the United States. And the other one was on the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. I especially enjoyed the first one as it had Stephen Rapp as one of the keynote speakers. He is currently the US State Department's ambassador at large for War Crimes Issues. I have been reading a lot about the ICC since I started working at GPF and it inspired me to write something on our new interns blog about the ICC applying double standards with respect to African countries. You can read it here.

We also have weekly vodcasts now on our website in which we inform the public about our latest posted articles and activities going on at the UN. Last week it was my turn to stand in front of the camera. You can watch it here. I am also in an other video for future interns which was filmed during my first week at GPF. I kept it quiet until now as I felt a bit embarrassed. It is not the best video in terms of editing, but you can watch it here.

Enjoy!

Positive things ahead

I have been in New York for nearly two months now and it feels the city has really become an integral part of me and vice versa. Although the honeymoon is over, it feels I have really settled down into this gigantic and rich city. New York, like any other city or country, has its annoyances but these things do not weigh up to the many positive things it has to offer. I understand now why people keep coming back to this city. A normal holiday is simply too short. I sometimes even wonder whether six months are enough to fully enjoy this city. Probably not when you're working from Monday until Friday, but I am not complaining. So far, my evenings and weekends were well spend. I have met with colleagues for lunch in Brooklyn and dim sun in Queens. I have been jogging in Central Park and I have made long walks to Washington Heights, Harlem and along the Hudson River. Furthermore, I have been to a NBA basket ball game, to bars with very good live jazz music ,several restaurants and one ore two art gallery's. Nevertheless, there are still many things left on my "to do list". 

Last Tuesday I had my first visitor from the Netherlands. Tijmen, a friend of mine working for the KLM, had a 24 hours stop in New York. We met in his hotel after work and had dinner in a really nice tapas restaurant in Soho. Afterwards we had a couple of drinks in Greenwich and the Meat Packing District. It was a great evening and it was nice to catch up with a good friend from back home. Next week, I will have my next "special" visitor, Laura. I am really looking forward to see here again after two months of separation. I have never been a  believer of long distance relationships and never thought I would end up in one, but it is working out pretty well so far (thanks to skype as well). She arrives next Wednesday and is staying for ten days. I will take Friday and Monday off from work. Friday the 19th is my birthday as well, so it will be a very special one as I will turn 30 in New York with my girlfriend. I have nothing else to wish for. Well maybe a sunny week like last week, because it is raining constantly right now. 

This is also a good moment to reflect on my first six weeks with GPF. I have to admit that the internship has not fully lived up to my expectations so far. This has a simple reason. GPF is an independent non-governmental organization which relies on funding from individuals, foundations, partner organizations etc. Lately, GPF, like many other non-governmental organizations, has been the victim of funding cuts. Last year our boss Jim had to let go all of his paid senior staff as he simply could not afford having them on board. As a result, the interns run the office without, in my view, proper guidance and structure. Everyone has been working within their portfolio without  properly informing the others about their work and activities. I noticed, furthermore, that there were many ideas and projects floating around the office, but that there was no incentive into materializing them. This has negatively affected the atmosphere in the office in terms of motivation and inspiration and most people were quite annoyed about it.

Jim was away last week and I proposed an intern meeting to sit down and discuss how we could better structure our work and make it more challenging for ourselves. It turned out to be a very fruitful meeting with many good ideas and plans and we decided to make some important changes, like two weekly staff meetings (a regular one and a thematic one), the creation of an interns blog, and the creation of vodcasts and podcasts for the website. Me and Joe have also decided to take up a project on the UN individual sanctions regime and the recent creation of the UN Ombudsman. We had our first thematic staff meeting last Wednesday in which we briefed each other about the latest developments in our portfolios and we got some nice discussions and idea's going on. The atmosphere in the office seems to have improved since last Monday and everyone seems to enjoy their work much more. Let's hope it stays this way.

The best part of my internship has so far been my UN pass, which has given me almost unlimited access to any UN meeting and the opportunity to meet very interesting people and other interns.  Last Thursday I attended a forum addressing the Goldstone Report on the Gaza conflict and the underlying question whether international law really matters. It was a very interesting meeting and I was especially impressed by one of the keynote speakers, Richard Falk, an American professor emeritus of international law at Princeton University and Special Rapporteur for the Palestinian Territories of the Human Rights Council in Geneva. His arguments in support of the report were spot on and he spoke very clear and eloquent. Yesterday I attended a meeting of the UN Human Rights Committee (HRC) as it was considering a state report by Uzbekistan under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. This was also very interesting  as I got a better notion of the work of the HRC. Hopefully, I will attend more interesting meetings in the near future.  

So yes, things are looking positive right now. Both personally and professionally. 

 

       

Looking for Bill

Last week I attended my first Security Council (SC) meeting. In this meeting the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, John Holmes, and Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Alain Le Roy, briefed the SC about the humanitarian situation in Haiti. John Holmes had just returned from Haiti and stated that the humanitarian situation in Haiti had improved and that the most needed medical needs were pretty much taken care of. He emphasized, however, that much more needed to be done in terms of emergency shelter, non-food items and sanitation. He was calling for a “shelter and sanitation surge” for the Haitians still in need after last month’s devastating earthquake. Alain Le Roy stressed that the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) counted on the SC’s support to help the Haitian government meet the enormous challenges before it. Since 12 January MINUSTAH has been supporting and assisting in relief operations and in securing security and public order. Le Roy, made clear that the security situation in Haiti is stable, but still fragile. Finally, Leo Mérorès, the Permanent Representative of Haiti at the UN extended his thanks to the “great family of nations” in assisting his country.

To be honest I did not pay much attention to the words spoken by the speakers during this 30 minute meeting. Luckily there are always press releases after each meeting. I was rather looking for Bill Clinton as he is the United Nations Special Envoy for Haiti. The day before, he and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched the UN’s largest-ever appeal for $1.4 billion to assist 3 million Haitians in need. Some colleagues told me that they had seen Clinton during a SC meeting on Haiti last October. I did not see him unfortunately. Maybe he was still recovering from the heart procedure he underwent two weeks ago. My colleague, Joseph, has written an interesting story on his blog about the irony of Bill Clinton’s current role in Haiti. It is an interesting read.

Besides looking for Bill, I was also observing the fifties style chamber of the SC. I had seen a photo of the SC chamber taken in 1954 and I came to the conclusion that it has not changed a bit. The decorations on the wall, the two large windows overlooking the East River, the huge mural between the two windows, the council’s horseshoe table and the seats for the delegates and diplomats. It made me think about all the decisions taken in this chamber in the last 58 years that have had major global impacts (think of the Korean War, the Gulf War, the economic sanctions against countries such as Iraq, Iran, Nord Korea). It also reminded me about the moments the SC did not rise to the occasion (think of Srebrenica, Rwanda and Darfur). It made me realize that it is always nice to read about the SC from books and articles, but you get a better sense of reality while sitting there up close and seeing the council at work.

By the way it is snowing again...  

Snowmageddon II and Bantanamo

Today it is President's Day. The day that all people working for federal offices enjoy a national holiday on the third Monday of February. This holiday is to honor the birthdays of both former Presidents Washington (February 22) and Lincoln (February 12). GPF ofcourse is an independent non-governmental organization. Nevertheless, our boss decided to give us the day off. It was also his way of thanking us for showing up at work last wednesday. This was the day the heavy snow storm reached New York. The day before, weather analysts warned us to brace ourselves for the coming snow blizzard and the NY authorities decided to close all schools and to deploy a full armour of snow plow operators on the streets. On the internet jokes were being made about ´Snowmagaddon II´. Actually not a strange thought as New York, especially the Statue of Liberty, is always the first city to go in natural disaster movies. Think of: The Day After Tommorrow, Armageddon and War of the Worlds. Well at least I had the honour of being in New York as the world was coming to its end. 

As we all know by now New York held its ground and I managed to get to work the next day. It did feel, however, as if I was walking through a ghost town. Everyting was covered in snow and there were hardly any cars and people on the streets. I could actually sit in the train which is a rare novelty during NY rush hours and I arrived at work earlier than usual. I believe 60% of the NY people stayed home that day including all UN staff. I was impressed, however, by the effective and efficient way the New Yorkers dealt with the snow. It reminded me of our own efforts in dealing with the snow back home. 

Finally, I would like to get back to the UN staff. Last week Aleks send me this interesting article about the new temporary headquarters of the UN. The UN headquarters tower and the General Assembly hall are currently undergoing a $1.87 billion renovation. Therefore, a three story steel building has been erupted on the UN north lawn. According to the article the building looks like ``a cross between a suburban big-box store and a high-security lockup facility`` that ``bears a resemblance to Wal-Mart or Ikea``. I have seen the building with my own eyes and these comparisons seem justified. Many UN staff argue that the UN has lost much of its grandeur and have nicknamed the new building `Bantanamo´. Last Tuesday I finally got my UN pass and on Friday I entered the ´old´ UN building for the first time together with Joel. We went up the 37th floor which, like all other floors, was completely deserted and a huge mess. It was a sobering experience. There I was, in the epicentre of global decision making which looked like a hurricane struck desert. The only positive thing was the magnificent view of midtown Manhattan.         

Disclosure of information

The first week at GPF is behind me and it has been a week of many activities both inside and outside the office. I must admit that I felt quite nervous at the start of my first day. That feeling of having to start all over again and those many questions that run through your head constantly. Why am I doing this? Why is this fun? What kind of work will I be doing? Will I like my colleagues? Will I get there in time? Which tie should I wear? In the end ofcourse it all turned out fine. As I walked out of Grand Central that monday morning into that thrilling chaos New York is known for, I got that magic feeling of excitement again. Seeing all those people rushing to work, the newspaper and food vendors on the corner of the streets, the smoke coming out of the wells and all those yellow taxi's honking their horns made me forget all about my nerves at that moment.

After a warm reception by James Paul (hereafter JP) and my colleagues I was shown my desk and computer. Then I started reading my introduction map which included the instructions for my portofolio, the website, the office rules, my usernames and passwords, and my personal GPF cards. One of the things I read was that GPF aims to use a very direct and straightforward language in its texts. As interns we must avoid writing in vague, wordy and specialized terms as often used in the academia. The reason for this is that our texts and documents must remain accessible for the 'normal' public. I could not resist a smile on my face when I read that we should not use words such as 'conceptualize'. Then I had my first meeting with JP. He told me that my primary task would be to follow all latest developments on the topic of international justice. More specifically, this means that I will be searching for critical and analytical articles on the internet relating to the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, the International Criminal Tribunals and the Special Courts and topics such as universal jurisdiction. I will then post these articles on our website and I will be fully in charge of the maintenance of this website section. JP also told me that I would get involved with the UN Security Council portofolio during a later stage of my internship. It all sounded good to me. When I applied for the internship position I was actually hoping to get one of these two portofolio's. 

I spend the rest of the day reading all my instructions and getting to know my colleagues better. As I wrote  earlier the interns all have differerent backgrounds in terms of country and education ranging from law to poltical science and sociology. The interns I work with are Joseph and Nicola for England, Joel from Canada, Trish and Denise from Australia, Duygu from Turkey, Segolene from France and Alice who is half French and half British. We all share a common workspace and the atmosphere in the office is low on stress and high on results. Everyone seems to get along very well and people meet regularly outside of work. That same day we had a dinner at Trish's place who lives one block away from me. Last saturday there was another social gathering at Duygu's place who is leaving us next week. It was really 'gezellig' as we say in Dutch on both occasions and my integration into the group has been very natural.

The remainder of the week I have mainly read a lot of documents in order to become familiar with my portofolio. Furthermore, I posted my first article on the website regarding the decision of the Appeals Chamber of the ICC to reverse the decision of the Pre-Trial Chamber not to include the crime of genocide in the arrest-warrant against President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan. I have also tried to get my UN badge for entering the UN buildings, but the UN staff  were tossing me around the whole week. In other words, I got my first taste of 'UN bureaucracy'. 

On friday I attended my first NGO working group with the Security Council representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ivan Barbalic, and his staff. B&H is currently one of the non-permanent members of the SC. During this meeting the representative of B&H briefed representatives of NGO's such as Oxfam, Human Rights Watch and Security Council Report on all current topics on the agenda of the SC. The NGO representatives were allowed to ask questions about topics that concerned them. It was an interesting meeting, but in my view the respresentative of Bosnia circled around a lot of questions. His favourite answers were in the line of: "We are addressing that", "We are working on that", "We will look at that" etc. I suppose he is not allowed to give much information about matters discussed at Security Council meetings. My colleague Joel told me that other countries, especially big players like Russia and China, tend to be much worse in the non disclosure of information.  He told me this story in which a Russia representative during a meeting at his university answered a student question by simply saying that "These matters are not of your concern".

New job(s)

As I was walking through Manhattan again last tuesday I decided to go to the UN area. I had not been there yet and I thought it would be nice to get a first glimpse of my new working environment. As I came closer to the the area I saw the impressive UN building appear in the background. As I stood in front of the buillding taking some pictures I began wondering where the GPF office was located. I did not have the address on me but I remembered that their office was right in front of the UN building. I took a wild guess and walked into one of the buildings on the other side of the road and asked the security guard where the GPF office was located. He replied that it was located on the third floor and before I knew it I was standing in front of my future boss, James Paul, and my future colleagues.

The atmosphere was very kind from the beginning. I first introduced myself to everyone and I then started chitchatting with the whole group. I felt immediately at ease and everyone seemed very interested towards me. I noticed that the group of interns was very mixed in terms of background and they were all relatively young. James Paul finally told me my new job would start on monday at 10 a.m.. I left the office feeling really excited.

Speaking about new jobs. Yesterday evening I watched President Obama's State of the Union address on television. In the State of the Union, comparable to our 'Prinsjesdag', the President reports on the state of the nation and outlines his political agenda to the American Congress. Obama and his Administration have been under a lot pressure lately. Their notorious health care reform plan has still not passed the Senate and to make things worse the Democrats lost Ted Kennedy's Senate seat last week to the Republican Scott Brown meaning that the Democrats lost their 60-vote supermajority in the Senate. In other words, health care reform seems to be further away than ever.

Then ofcourse the Obama Administration has taken other economic decisions the past twelve months which were not received with much enthusiasm by the American public. Think of the economic stimulus package which cost $ 787 billion and the hundreds of billions spend on bailing out big banks. Obama had some explaning to do yesterday and I was curious to see how he would perform. In the end I think he did well. In his eloquent speech, as usual, he aggressively made clear that he was not planning to change his political agenda and that his main priority for the year would be the creation of new jobs. He finally said that during his campaign in 2008 he never said his changes were going to be easy or that he would realize them by himself.

Indeed, people seem to forget very easy. I would say give the man some more time!

Off to a good start

I am sitting behind my laptop in my new apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York. Yes you read it well, my new apartment! After having spend one week in a cheap but decent hotel in the Upper West Side I have found the perfect place to live in for the next six months. My new roommate, Tom, is out to work so I have the place all to myself right now. I picked up the keys yesterday and took a cab to my new address about an hour ago. I have just unpacked my suitcase in my new room and I thought it was a good time to finally start with my first weblog story. Besides, I have no place to go today because it is pouring rain outside.

Let me start at the beginning. I arrived monday last week in New York after a normal flight from Amsterdam. I was a bit anxious about the increased security measures at the airports as a result of the failed suicide bomb attack on the plane to Detriot a few weeks ago. If you think of it I do fit the profile (male, in his twenties, of African descent,  travelling alone etc.). I thought I would be asked a lot questions at customs and that I would be strip searched very thoroughly. I also expected to go through the infamous body scan machine or better said the 'naked' body scan machine. But none of that. I was asked some questions and  it took a bit longer than normal but they did not get to see me naked. I believe that it also helps a lot when you have a UN visa  stamp in your passport...

On my drive from the airport to my hotel I got to see the first glimpses of this impressive city. We drove past Times Squares with all the lights and dozens of people and it then finally hit me. At that moment I realized how fortunate I am that I will be living and working in this great city for half a year! I immediately felt that thrilling energy that everyone had told me about before I left the Netherlands. Indeed, I have travelled to many places in recent years but this is something different. Since my arrival I have just  been walking, walking and walking through Manhattan. I have been exploring all the different neighbourhoods and I have gotten a pretty good sense of the people here. In general, people seem to be kind, open and very helpfull. I have already had some nice conversations with some people in shops and restaurants. It is also fascinating to see that  the majority  of people never take their eyes of their I-phones, blackberries and books in the subway and buses. I have even seen people reading a book while walking on the street.

While exploring the city I have also been looking at rooms in many different neighbourhoods. This was really an interesting experience. On wednesday I saw five different rooms. That day I also got a reaction from a women from Kenya who has lived in New York for more than fifteen years. She works for Unicef and lives in Queens. She invited me over to Unicef building and we had a little chat. She works at the IT department and turned out to be really nice. She then invited me to go see the room that she was offering in her house in Flushing, Queens. We took the train and I got to see her place which was really nice. After that she drove me to another address in Queens where I had another appointment for a room. How nice of her. In the end I did not take the room because the commute to my work would be too long. All the other rooms  that I saw were either too expensive, too small, too far etc. I had another interesting encounter with a middle aged man who lives in an apartment in the Upper East Side. He just got divorced and he literally  'hates' women. In case I was thinking about bringing women over to the apartment  he said that it would be fine, but added: "I do not want to see them, hear them and talk to them. I want to be able to walk in my boxershorts whenever I feel like it." His actual words... I told him about my girlfriend back home who will  come and visit me and he repeated the exact same words. I do not know what his ex-wife did to him but whatever it was, it must have been really bad...

Thank God Tom reacted to my posting as well last wednesday. He already sounded very nice on the phone and when I walked into the building last friday I felt immediately that this would become my new home. The  building is beautiful (see picture left) and the location is perfect. Only five subway stops from the UN. The apartment on the 4th floor turned out to be small (like all apartments on Manhattan) but modern and cosy. Very important too is that it has a kitchen. Or at least something that looks like an actual kitchen. Tom has an eighteen year old son who has just moved out of the house. He told me that he was not looking for a roommate for the money but just for the company. He showed me his son's room (see picture below) and then we negociated about the rent. After that I told him I would take the room and the deal was made. Tom is, I  guess, in his beginning forties and he is the senior vice president of a public relations company called Rubenstein Communications, INC. See the website: www.rubenstein.com  The UN is actually one of their clients. He also told me that he is a writer in his free time and that he was almost chosen as Michelle Obama's speech writer in the White House. Yes Westwingers I know what you are thinking! He said that if I need any help I just needed to ask him as he knows many people and places in and outside NY. Therefore, from now on I will call him Tom Tom. My roommate Jennifer back home in the Netherlands came up with this brilliant name.

So yes, I am definitely off to a good start! Now I can relax and settle into my new apartment and enjoy New York for another full week untill I start working at GPF.

You will be hearing more from me... 

Paulo