There are these other universes I am sure
Where my bones shattered and ground to dust
I rode her wave past myself down
I am a water skier
Down the middle the waves are fine
I can see there's not much else you need
There is an area of return they all ride on their edge
There is nothing that they create but danger
They're their own problem
Then you can't see and you are your problem
No one is going to save you
They can't see either
This one time I could see the way down
I found myself already cross there ice tracks
Over to the left descending and arriving as seen from the top
There are other universes I am sure
Where my bones shattered and were ground to dust
In this universe I found the way down
Allons it is safe for your bones arrive the dust heap in any case
I just hope to make it a few time more down Jahorina
Monday, June 15, 2009
Sunday, June 14, 2009
RAMBLINGS OF A MODERN DAY MAN, MAN
My first direct exposure to the environmental movement was when I visited the Center for Nonviolent Conflict Resolution in Nis, Yugoslavia, October 1997. I had been introduced to members of the center through mutual friends in the NGO community. During my visit I participated in the meetings, which included the intercultural, women’s, and environmental projects. As an American considering working in Serbia, I was naturally drawn to the environmental project as a less controversial area. During this time I was included in weekly organizational meetings with an average of fifteen members present and a majority of the trustees. The center’s strongest supporter was the Star Delphi women initiative. I met with the members of a delegation from Sweden. As a native English speaker and fluent in Serbian I helped with less literal translation. After a month long stay I had formed a very good opinion of the activities of the center. In my work earlier in Bosnia, working with youth, the majority of local organizations had been formed with direct international support. It was refreshing to find a truly local organization. The key-founding member had left before my arrival for Washington, D.C., with the Brethren Volunteer Service. An American volunteer had been placed in the center through the same program. The center, at the time I arrived, had a developing relationship with the nonviolent student movement in Kosovo. The numerous international delegations I met with during my first month gave me the impression that there was a strong desire by the international community to invest in Kosovo and southern Serbia. A general attempt was being made to contain an old problem, but Kosovo was being disturbed by the recent formation of the KLF (Kosovo Liberation Army). During my first visit to Serbia the international press had only theorized their existence. I returned to Bosnia in November to complete my contract with the United Nations Development Program in Gornji Vakuf.
I returned to Serbia for New Years and began working directly with Eko Tim, January 1, 1998. They had recently completed a neighborhood recycling drive with mixed results. Several members had moved on to other organizations, the first meeting I attended included seven other people. A majority of the members were environmental students and all members were university students. In early 1998 two members of Eko Tim were invited to the 1rst International Skill Share on Local Agenda 21, held in Szentendre, Hungary. The two members held several workshops on Local Agenda 21 upon their return. Quality materials in English were provided by The Northern Alliance for Sustainable Development (ANPED), the sponsor of the Skill Share. Eko Tim’s only project developing at the time was the creation of an environmental map of the Nis region. I attended ANPED’s annual meeting in Sophia Bulgaria with one other Eko Tim member. For three days we attended general workshops including green manufacturing, corporate responsibility, genetically engineered foods, and LA21. In general sessions my colleague was offered a position on the ANPED board. Eko Tim suggested Nis as a possible place for a LA21 case study. Several test programs throughout Europe had begun with strong support from the international community. Substantial financial support was offered to local governments included in these programs. The focus of Eko Tim was quickly shifted to Local Agenda 21 (LA21). The center received a large cash donation at a donor’s conference in Banja Luka, BiH. The project coordinator brought the money to Nis overland. This was how the majority of donations for all organizations in Serbia received their funding. Financial logistics was the most challenging aspect of the work. There was no direct support from the general operating budget of the center for Eko Tim. A limited amount of material resources was available in the center for all activities. In March 1998 Eko Tim began writing a LA21 proposal for the Regional Environmental Center for Southern and Eastern Europe (REC) located in Budapest. The local agenda material we had was limited to English, during the proposal writing process I was needed to explain more deeply some of the issues involved. Agenda 21 is the action plan for sustainable development agreed by over 170 heads of government at the 1992 Earth Summit, in Rio de Janeiro. The term sustainable development was defined in 1988 as: "Development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs"
The key concepts were the focus in our proposal; local agenda means that people should be responsible for the environment that they directly inhabit. In the Eastern European context there are several issues that lead to adaptations in the general approach. After the fall of the iron curtain, a large percentage of the responsibility for the environment shifted to the local government. This was certainly the case in Serbia and the Balkans in general. Local governments lacked the skills and resources, during an initial stage, to deal with a new area of responsibility. LA21 is designed to bring all the stakeholders into a dialogue of environmental concerns. An interesting finding from LA21 implementation is that a polling of the general population to set priorities for environmental action in most cases will mirror the recommendations of expert analysis. This idea was not arrived at lightly. The data in Eastern Europe is consistent, perhaps because the problems are more severe. LA21 calls for the creation of Local Environmental Action Plans (LEAP) and Eko Tim’s proposal included the creation of a LEAP for Nis. The general situation made public awareness our first challenge. A river cleaning and happening was scheduled to celebrate the anniversary of the Rio conference and the creation of LA21. Five Saturdays in May Eko Tim cleaned up a local wild dump along the Nisava (the river running through town). A concert with 15 regional bands was held June 5 1998 on the cleaned riverfront. Media coverage for this event was very strong. This was the first time the center appeared on the local news. Shortly after, the women’s project was the focus of a special report on local television. Although this project was the heart of our proposal to REC, funding had been delayed two months and local fund raising covered the shortfall. The local ministry for the environment donated 500 Dinars (about $40 at the time). The regional ministry for the environment was very helpful with contacts in the business community. The Yugoslavian oil industry actually provided electricity for the concert from a near by gas station. Five hundred dollars did eventually reach Eko Tim near the end of the summer. This money was used to develop an Internet project for the center and Eko Tim. Two versions are still active on free-servers, but are no longer maintained. A new proposal was being prepared for REC in the time leading up to the NATO bombing campaign. Two members had attended REC’s month long “Junior Fellowship” program and strong ties had been made locally as well as throughout Europe. Generally speaking, support for travel expenses to seminars and conferences were always provided to a limited number of organizations in Eastern Europe. Two things made our work possible in Nis; the local government was an opposition party, which generally supported contacts with the west and our ability to convince local politicians of the financial attractiveness of a LA21 case study supported by the international community.
In the fall of 1998, Eko Tim began working with the national Geographic Research Society (GID). The project focused on a gorge on the edge of the urban field. The British Embassy in Belgrade provided funding for an international work camp. The gorge was first described during the crusades. International volunteers arrived from all over Europe, but I was the only American as it was very difficult to obtain an extended visa. I extended my visa by teaching English at the local university. I first had contact with GID members during this time. Eko Tim supported GID with workshops for the local population. Our first workshop was boycotted due to the name of the river we place on our promotional material. A feud existed between the two largest villages as to the actual name of the river they shared. This problem was avoided in our later workshops, which were well attended. The focus of these workshops was the possibility of creating eco-tourism in the region. As far-fetched as the idea seemed at the time, a majority of those in attendance understood the logic and held hope for the long-term future. A key issue at many of these meeting was the fact that in the villages of Serbia there is no organized trash removal. Eko Tim members also attended the work camp, which lasted 15 days. After this experience I could see that the general approach of Eko Tim, raising public awareness, was very practical. Given the current situation in Serbia, eco-tourism remains only a long-term possibility.
As Eko Tim began to stabilize, the center began to fall apart. In 1998 with the creation of the KLF the Nonviolent Student’s Movement was all but abandoned. The intercultural project, which was well funded, faced an impossible situation. Practically speaking the project ceased to exist. At the time conflict within the center was focused on the problems of the intercultural project. While ties to Pax Christi were created the group had little direction. The worsening situation in Serbia created apathy in the membership. The leader of the women’s group left to create a new organization. Eko Tim soon followed suite, although the situation was not that clear cut. A new coordinator did attempt to hold an intercultural seminar to fulfill the letter of the grant. While the seminar was still in the planning phase the center ceased to hold weekly meetings. The original coordinator of the Intercultural program is currently the coordinator for Eko Tim in Nis. As the NATO bombing campaign started the center ceased to function. In the stressful environment several factions formed in the organization and equipment original donated by the US embassy was dispersed among them. Eko Tim was inactive for the duration of the bombing campaign, although, members met regularly.
At the conclusion of the bombing campaign, Eko Tim was contacted by REC’s office in Belgrade. Of all the projects REC funded in Serbia, Eko Tim was one of the few organizations that returned a coherent report. Because of this fact, we were invited to a meeting between the local government and United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP). The leader of the UNEV mission was also the deputy secretary for REC in Budapest. He was familiar with one of the members who had completed their “Junior Fellowship” program. UNEV came to Nis to do tests to assess the environmental impact of the NATO bombing. Of major concern was the damage to the electrical grid in Nis. Extremely toxic materials were released into the ground water. UNEV met with the local government as a courtesy. They had no mandate to discuss political issues, which made a meeting with politicians rather confused. The local government stated that all of the environmental problems were a direct result of the NATO bombing campaign. UNEV asked if there were any environmental occurrences in the city in the last several years. Members of Eko Tim reminded those present of a major fish killing on the Nisave. A large tire plant up stream was generally blamed, but the local government could provide no actual data. The politicians present expressed the political realities of environmental issues in Serbia. I believe the local officials were only interested in potential funding for any project. The local government expressed indirectly their opposition to the Federal Government. UNEV expressed once again that they were only present in Serbia to provide a basic sketch of the environmental conditions for the Security Council. There was first hard data available. UNEV asked those involved to state what they though was the greatest threat to the environment. Some local officials stated the radiation from various weapons used by NATO, but a consensus was reached at the end of the meeting; the lack of funding for Eastern Europe in general, made funding for Serbia almost nonexistent in the current political environment.
In July and August of 1999 we began making transition plans for Eko Tim. . The original coordinator of the intercultural project in the center was appointed as the coordinator for Eko Tim in Nis. I relocated back home to Cleveland in September of 1999, with my new wife and baby, to complete my degree in Environmental Policy and Management here at CSU. My wife was only the equivalent of a few credit hours from finishing her degree in Environmental Studies in Nis. She was also the coordinator for Eko Tim during my time in Serbia. In June of 2000, I began the procedure for incorporating Eko Tim Cleveland as a nonprofit organization here in Ohio. A core group of members is committed to continuing the work of Eko Tim. I have not encountered LA21 since I returned to Cleveland. In early 1999, a member of Eko Tim attended the European Union’s first Environmental Ministers Conference in Arhus, Denmark. LA 21 was the major focus of the conference. LA21 represents a general approach to the overall environmental movement. In contacting environmental organizations here in Cleveland I have not seen any reference to LA21.
www.ekotim.net
I returned to Serbia for New Years and began working directly with Eko Tim, January 1, 1998. They had recently completed a neighborhood recycling drive with mixed results. Several members had moved on to other organizations, the first meeting I attended included seven other people. A majority of the members were environmental students and all members were university students. In early 1998 two members of Eko Tim were invited to the 1rst International Skill Share on Local Agenda 21, held in Szentendre, Hungary. The two members held several workshops on Local Agenda 21 upon their return. Quality materials in English were provided by The Northern Alliance for Sustainable Development (ANPED), the sponsor of the Skill Share. Eko Tim’s only project developing at the time was the creation of an environmental map of the Nis region. I attended ANPED’s annual meeting in Sophia Bulgaria with one other Eko Tim member. For three days we attended general workshops including green manufacturing, corporate responsibility, genetically engineered foods, and LA21. In general sessions my colleague was offered a position on the ANPED board. Eko Tim suggested Nis as a possible place for a LA21 case study. Several test programs throughout Europe had begun with strong support from the international community. Substantial financial support was offered to local governments included in these programs. The focus of Eko Tim was quickly shifted to Local Agenda 21 (LA21). The center received a large cash donation at a donor’s conference in Banja Luka, BiH. The project coordinator brought the money to Nis overland. This was how the majority of donations for all organizations in Serbia received their funding. Financial logistics was the most challenging aspect of the work. There was no direct support from the general operating budget of the center for Eko Tim. A limited amount of material resources was available in the center for all activities. In March 1998 Eko Tim began writing a LA21 proposal for the Regional Environmental Center for Southern and Eastern Europe (REC) located in Budapest. The local agenda material we had was limited to English, during the proposal writing process I was needed to explain more deeply some of the issues involved. Agenda 21 is the action plan for sustainable development agreed by over 170 heads of government at the 1992 Earth Summit, in Rio de Janeiro. The term sustainable development was defined in 1988 as: "Development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs"
The key concepts were the focus in our proposal; local agenda means that people should be responsible for the environment that they directly inhabit. In the Eastern European context there are several issues that lead to adaptations in the general approach. After the fall of the iron curtain, a large percentage of the responsibility for the environment shifted to the local government. This was certainly the case in Serbia and the Balkans in general. Local governments lacked the skills and resources, during an initial stage, to deal with a new area of responsibility. LA21 is designed to bring all the stakeholders into a dialogue of environmental concerns. An interesting finding from LA21 implementation is that a polling of the general population to set priorities for environmental action in most cases will mirror the recommendations of expert analysis. This idea was not arrived at lightly. The data in Eastern Europe is consistent, perhaps because the problems are more severe. LA21 calls for the creation of Local Environmental Action Plans (LEAP) and Eko Tim’s proposal included the creation of a LEAP for Nis. The general situation made public awareness our first challenge. A river cleaning and happening was scheduled to celebrate the anniversary of the Rio conference and the creation of LA21. Five Saturdays in May Eko Tim cleaned up a local wild dump along the Nisava (the river running through town). A concert with 15 regional bands was held June 5 1998 on the cleaned riverfront. Media coverage for this event was very strong. This was the first time the center appeared on the local news. Shortly after, the women’s project was the focus of a special report on local television. Although this project was the heart of our proposal to REC, funding had been delayed two months and local fund raising covered the shortfall. The local ministry for the environment donated 500 Dinars (about $40 at the time). The regional ministry for the environment was very helpful with contacts in the business community. The Yugoslavian oil industry actually provided electricity for the concert from a near by gas station. Five hundred dollars did eventually reach Eko Tim near the end of the summer. This money was used to develop an Internet project for the center and Eko Tim. Two versions are still active on free-servers, but are no longer maintained. A new proposal was being prepared for REC in the time leading up to the NATO bombing campaign. Two members had attended REC’s month long “Junior Fellowship” program and strong ties had been made locally as well as throughout Europe. Generally speaking, support for travel expenses to seminars and conferences were always provided to a limited number of organizations in Eastern Europe. Two things made our work possible in Nis; the local government was an opposition party, which generally supported contacts with the west and our ability to convince local politicians of the financial attractiveness of a LA21 case study supported by the international community.
In the fall of 1998, Eko Tim began working with the national Geographic Research Society (GID). The project focused on a gorge on the edge of the urban field. The British Embassy in Belgrade provided funding for an international work camp. The gorge was first described during the crusades. International volunteers arrived from all over Europe, but I was the only American as it was very difficult to obtain an extended visa. I extended my visa by teaching English at the local university. I first had contact with GID members during this time. Eko Tim supported GID with workshops for the local population. Our first workshop was boycotted due to the name of the river we place on our promotional material. A feud existed between the two largest villages as to the actual name of the river they shared. This problem was avoided in our later workshops, which were well attended. The focus of these workshops was the possibility of creating eco-tourism in the region. As far-fetched as the idea seemed at the time, a majority of those in attendance understood the logic and held hope for the long-term future. A key issue at many of these meeting was the fact that in the villages of Serbia there is no organized trash removal. Eko Tim members also attended the work camp, which lasted 15 days. After this experience I could see that the general approach of Eko Tim, raising public awareness, was very practical. Given the current situation in Serbia, eco-tourism remains only a long-term possibility.
As Eko Tim began to stabilize, the center began to fall apart. In 1998 with the creation of the KLF the Nonviolent Student’s Movement was all but abandoned. The intercultural project, which was well funded, faced an impossible situation. Practically speaking the project ceased to exist. At the time conflict within the center was focused on the problems of the intercultural project. While ties to Pax Christi were created the group had little direction. The worsening situation in Serbia created apathy in the membership. The leader of the women’s group left to create a new organization. Eko Tim soon followed suite, although the situation was not that clear cut. A new coordinator did attempt to hold an intercultural seminar to fulfill the letter of the grant. While the seminar was still in the planning phase the center ceased to hold weekly meetings. The original coordinator of the Intercultural program is currently the coordinator for Eko Tim in Nis. As the NATO bombing campaign started the center ceased to function. In the stressful environment several factions formed in the organization and equipment original donated by the US embassy was dispersed among them. Eko Tim was inactive for the duration of the bombing campaign, although, members met regularly.
At the conclusion of the bombing campaign, Eko Tim was contacted by REC’s office in Belgrade. Of all the projects REC funded in Serbia, Eko Tim was one of the few organizations that returned a coherent report. Because of this fact, we were invited to a meeting between the local government and United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP). The leader of the UNEV mission was also the deputy secretary for REC in Budapest. He was familiar with one of the members who had completed their “Junior Fellowship” program. UNEV came to Nis to do tests to assess the environmental impact of the NATO bombing. Of major concern was the damage to the electrical grid in Nis. Extremely toxic materials were released into the ground water. UNEV met with the local government as a courtesy. They had no mandate to discuss political issues, which made a meeting with politicians rather confused. The local government stated that all of the environmental problems were a direct result of the NATO bombing campaign. UNEV asked if there were any environmental occurrences in the city in the last several years. Members of Eko Tim reminded those present of a major fish killing on the Nisave. A large tire plant up stream was generally blamed, but the local government could provide no actual data. The politicians present expressed the political realities of environmental issues in Serbia. I believe the local officials were only interested in potential funding for any project. The local government expressed indirectly their opposition to the Federal Government. UNEV expressed once again that they were only present in Serbia to provide a basic sketch of the environmental conditions for the Security Council. There was first hard data available. UNEV asked those involved to state what they though was the greatest threat to the environment. Some local officials stated the radiation from various weapons used by NATO, but a consensus was reached at the end of the meeting; the lack of funding for Eastern Europe in general, made funding for Serbia almost nonexistent in the current political environment.
In July and August of 1999 we began making transition plans for Eko Tim. . The original coordinator of the intercultural project in the center was appointed as the coordinator for Eko Tim in Nis. I relocated back home to Cleveland in September of 1999, with my new wife and baby, to complete my degree in Environmental Policy and Management here at CSU. My wife was only the equivalent of a few credit hours from finishing her degree in Environmental Studies in Nis. She was also the coordinator for Eko Tim during my time in Serbia. In June of 2000, I began the procedure for incorporating Eko Tim Cleveland as a nonprofit organization here in Ohio. A core group of members is committed to continuing the work of Eko Tim. I have not encountered LA21 since I returned to Cleveland. In early 1999, a member of Eko Tim attended the European Union’s first Environmental Ministers Conference in Arhus, Denmark. LA 21 was the major focus of the conference. LA21 represents a general approach to the overall environmental movement. In contacting environmental organizations here in Cleveland I have not seen any reference to LA21.
www.ekotim.net
Get Carter
OK some background. When I became aware of myself Jimmy Carter was President. My third grade class was the first to integrate and everything made sense. The Busing in my history book had finally reached these Yankee Indian Hills. There was something ominous to me in the idea that someone else would be President. I long imagined how could it happen. Watching the adults around me watching it happen I understood something totally new for the first time.
Today I understand it was history. Desegregation stopped. The white middle class deserted the inner-ring suburbs. The largest economy in the history of the world set to work upon their new markets and new suburbs. You see my generation was told a lie and an illusion. Yet we all pretend so well that something is real in race. Today it is the RTA bus driver who sets me to task, “we’re all in this thing together.”
I ride the bus almost everyday I come from Euclid I-90 west Cleveland 39F when I catch it. There is a place in the city I like to think I see the most. I live in Euclid on East 233rd street next to Sims Park. This stretch of Lakeshore Boulevard is considered downtown Euclid. As you drive through this area you are sure to be stopped by at least one red light. We couldn’t have people just drive through without stopping to have a look. We have a movie theater in our neighborhood, pizza delivery, blockbuster video, CVS, Marc’s and all the necessities for the downtown of an inner ring suburb. Of course the movie theater doesn’t take credit cards, I’m not too sure what that means, but I was sure taken by surprise and ended up renting a video that brisk April night. The link to downtown Cleveland here is RTA’s 39F, my bus. I don’t now what percentage of Euclid works downtown, but every morning I jump in the flow and every afternoon we make our way back to Euclid. As I pass downtown I normally see seniors going about there business, you see the kids are at school; the rest of us are usually at work and Euclid for those fleeting afternoons seems to be overrun with retiree’s. Later in the afternoon the families start to return to their natural majority. That’s when I come home normally. There is only one real reason I live here in Euclid. Well my grandparents and parents are here, but that’s not really the reason. I live next to Simms Park; you see here in Euclid and most places in Cuyahoga County there doesn’t seem to be any associated cost for living on the lakeshore. Everyday that we can we go down to the beach with our daughter and make believe we live somewhere on the ocean. You see I’ve been on many of coastlines in my time and they all have one quality in common: the water meeting the land. I haven’t lived in the Cleveland area five years so maybe I have a different perspective, but the shoreline here for me is as enjoyable just to watch as any other shoreline. I grew up in Euclid, but I didn’t learn that here. As I traveled I have seen coastal people and have always been envious. There is something about them that defies qualification. Maybe it’s too much sun on the brain, but there is always something. I normally find myself envious watching young children who have known no other life than the shoreline. There is a certain percentage of the population that lives on the shoreline and in my estimation they are in an advantages position; if just the simple sound of the water meeting the land to add a certain knowledge to their soul.
It is at this point that I normally remember that Clevelander’s are a coastal people. They’re not like any I’ve come across before. I guess when I think about it we have our boats and certainly an advantage over many a city, but there are many problems. The first thing that seems backward to me is that we seem to build too much industry along the shore. The St. Clair- Superior neighborhood is an example of this phenomenon of neighborhoods cutting themselves off from the lake. In Euclid it’s a different story, we have our access, but we just don’t seem to have our connection. As someone who grew up in Euclid I find it doubtful that I am the exception: I have never felt like a coastal person as I watch the fisherman bring in there catch along the Mediterranean. There are more beautiful stretches of shore in that part of the world, but there are worse and what’s more they seem to me the same. Well maybe it’s because Lake Erie sometimes has a tendency to freeze over in the winter. Perhaps this is the reason for our cool relations.
Simms Park comes to life with the spring. Walking there on a nice spring afternoon it is always alive, but seldom crowded. You can always find yourself 100ft of personal space. Between the lovers, families, friends and occasional marching band there is always more beach than us. The beach is unguarded and posted for no swimming and that I’m sure keeps the crowds away. Still as I look back to Lakeshore Boulevard it seems to me that many people are simply not aware of the incredible gift they have in Cleveland. Maybe even the only one; whoever decided to build downtown on a wind swept knoll may have though different. The Indians knew not to build there. Of course there are other things that keep people away. The first time I walked the beach this year in the sun I was overcome with the smell of dead fish. I tried to rationalize this fact, but of all the coast lines I’ve been down I have never seen such a situation. Big fish little fish all kinds of fish. No one seems overly concerned as the Euclid Park maintenance people plow the piles away. You see the kind of things I’m talking about are not the primary things they are concerned with in Simms Park. Sometime ago there was a decision made to turn this shoreline into a big drain for the freeway system. That’s just Clevelander thinking for you: the lake is nature’s way of making our sewage problems go away. Between where I live and the beach is a large concrete pipe that constantly brings runoff water from I-90. Around this pipe are more dead little fish and dead big fish. It is a sad place that no one seems to see. I would like to have been able to be at the meeting where this decision was made. As a resident of Euclid I find it hard to believe that it was made in my interest. Of course if we’re not really coastal people. All we need is a higher percentage of the fortune 500 in town? First we need to understand our assets.
When I arrive in Bosnia the war was still raging. Zenica is a central area and was relatively far from the frontlines. There was occasional shelling in the summer of 1995 in Zenica. I arrived in the Youth House with a very broad job description. I stayed in the center eight hours a day and was forced to create a place for myself. There had been constant problems with the video teacher, I had had a semester of video art in high school and took over the video department. I was responsible for creating curriculum for video classes and workshops. I lead many mixed video groups in various field experiences including documenting the visit of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to the UMCOR office in Tulza. The Travnik Youth House was opened in September and my video project was expanded to include Travnik. I traveled regularly bringing children from Zenica to Travnik and vise versa. I also took an active role within the UMCOR office, but unlike the professionals I worked with I had an alternate space in the Youth House. I gained exposure to crisis refugee management including the building of a tent city after the fall of Srebrenica in July of 1995 and Zepa a week later. During these times it was not uncommon for 10,000 refugees to arrive in a single night. The war in Bosnia finished in November of 1995.
May 96 – Nov. 96 United Methodist Committee on Relief; Zenica, Bosnia
In early 1996 I passed up an opportunity to be the long term volunteer in Sarajevo. I had been part of the team that created the project after the signing of the Dayton agreement. While Sarajevo offered greater possibilities I chose to stay in Zenica as I had developed close ties in my work there. In May of 1996 I was offered the position of Community Services Officer, which included responsibilities throughout Bosnia. While I spent part of every week on the road I kept Zenica as my primary location. During this time I was the lead person for the creation of a Youth House Project in Sanki Most (northwestern Bosnia) and developmental plans for Gorazda (Eastern Bosnia). From my experience in Zenica I was able to create budgets, schedules, and most importantly I designed the usage of the space. With as many as fifteen activities taking place it was crucial to keep the space constantly in use. My primary tasks involved supporting the general implementation of Youth House projects (Zenica, Sarajevo, Travnik, Sanki Most, and Gornji Vakuf). My secondary task implementation of the video project "Witness" in cooperation with the Lawyers Committee on Human Rights. The Witness project was designed to give free video equipment to organizations involved with human rights in the hopes of expanded documentation. Along with my students we created several documentary films. The highlight of this time was a documentation of the tunnel that lead in and out of Sarajevo during the siege of Sarajevo. In the summer of 1996 I also worked as a featured extra in the movie “Welcome to Sarajevo,” I played the first of two cameramen for Woody Harlsons character. I was scheduled to work ten days including shooting in Croatia and Macedonia. I was only able to work four days due to my commitments to UMCOR. For two summers I supplied logistical support for the short-term volunteer program. At peak times I average 600KM travel distance a day. Through this process I was exposed to administrative task involved in large volunteer projects. There was on average eight groups coming for two weeks throughout the summer. At this time the Sarajevo Airport was closed and the airport in Split, Croatia was used as the arrival point. I along with one other driver were responsible for coordinating free time in Split for each group upon their arrival and departure. We each drove a passenger van with an average of eight volunteers each. During this time I had a perfect driving record driving on war ravaged roads and improvised United Nations supply roads. I also had extensive exposure and coordination with UNPROFOR, IFOR, and SFOR (Peace Keeping Missions). Eventually I lost my position due to a controversy involving intellectual property within the Youth House System. Students came to me with documentation of wrong doings that had earlier been passed over by the Head of Mission’s wife (then Director of Social Services). After an extended battle students asked me to return the material as they did not wish to continue. I was fired and hired the next day by our partner organization in Gornji Vakuf.
III. Secondary tasks involved coordination of activities with the UMCOR offices in Mostar, Tuzla, Sarajevo, Gornji Vakuf, Travnik, and Banja Luka in creation of video propaganda using youth house video students as implementing members.
IV. During my time I witnessed total implementation budgets grow from $1,000,000 to over 40,000,000.
V. Participation and performance as a volunteer led to a paid position with expanded responsibilities.
VI. Logistical support for outreach project serving 9 refugee camps throughout central Bosnia.
Nov. 96 – Dec. 97 United Nations Development Program; Gornji Vakuf, Bosnia
Youth Development Volunteer
I had worked with this volunteer group helping to create the Youth House project in Gornji Vakuf. From the start I worked in the over-all UNOV and as a subordinate to the local coordinator the Youth Club Project.
VII. Primary task involved developing and implementing a 15,000 DEM video income generation* and cultural documentation project within the project "Youth Club '96."
VIII. Including project design, proposal writing, logistics and general administration.
IX. Participation at Civil Service International’s Balkan Task Force conference in Slovenia in 1997.
X. Participation and logistical support at Pax Christi’s youth seminars throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bringing mixed groups of youth together.
XI. Secondary tasks involved coordination of activities with the Office for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Jablinica and Mostar "round table" of youth oriented local organizations.
XII. Responsible for documenting OSCE’s youth festival “Some Like it Hot” in 1998 working with youth from all over Bosnia and Herzegovina.
XIII. Logistical support for members participation at the Pavorati Music Center opening in Mostar working with youth from both sides of the divided town.
During my time there we registered Youth Club ’96 as a local NGO. Funders included OSCE and US Aid. Direct coordination of relationship with US Aid. Conflict resolution skills gained through summer camp with mixed Moslem, Croatian and Serb youth as well as various other conflict resolution skills seminars. Project administration, budget, proposal writing. Extensive logistical support of club members: planning, resource allocation and coordination with UNDP office. Created curriculum for video and newspaper sections in the club. Including supervision and training for desk to publishing. Extensive coordination with and exposure to the British IFOR/SFOR Headquarters Located in Gornji Vakuf. Attended weekly administrative meetings for the larger UNDP volunteer project. This project received a very good review by the UN, we considered ourselves the lowest level of the United Nations as the janitors in the building in New York were making much more money. During times of need the volunteers pooled money from personal stipend for the operating budget. The coordinator of the project went on to create a large rehabilitation project in Travnik with UNDP.
Jan 98 – Sept. 99
I moved to Nis, Serbia in Jan. 1998 after my contract expired with then UNDP project in Gornji Vakuf. I had saved five hundred DEM, which in Serbia was a very sizeable amount of money. I had met my future wife at the U2 concert in Sarajevo through mutual friends working in the peace movement. I arrived in Nis with hopes of working with the Center for Nonviolent Conflict Resolution. I had spent October of 1997 in Nis before deciding to relocate there. The language usage was very different in Serbia for me, but it is basically the same language. My wife is a refugee from Sarajevo and speaks a variant I was more comfortable with. I originally extended my visa by working as an English teacher at the University in Nis. I was not paid for this work, but receive free Serbian language classes. On July 4th , 1998 with my money running out we were married in Nis. We had decided to live with her parents in order for her to finish her degree. My wife was in her last year of Environmental Studies and was the coordinator of the environmental project “Eko Tim” in the center. Are estimation of the situation was that things would most likely not get worse. Serbia had struggled many years, but for the most part had not seen much change. We had made her degree our first priority. We worked in the center and lived with her parents in Nis. Her brother had recently relocated to Canada, which opened up space in her parents apartment. Most housing in Nis is allocated by the number of people in the family. I attended a weeklong interview process with the Balkan Peace Team in Holland. Eight candidates participate in workshops and “Long Role Playing” situations. I was later declined as a candidate due to my marriage to a Serbian woman. My daughter was born in Nis April 26, 1999. I was the only American present in Nis during the NATO Bombing campaign. I returned from Sarajevo the second day of the bombing (international border crossing – avoidance of conflict). I met with the Regional Secretary for the Global Board of Ministries March 23 (the reason for my trip to Sarajevo). I witnessed first hand so called collateral damage when my wife’s Grandfather was thrown out of bed and all his windows broken by the mistaken bombing of the apartment building across the street. The hospital my daughter was born in was also mistakenly bombed the day before the Chinese Embassy was mistakenly bombed. My daughter had been released the day before; I had taken my wife hours before to have her bandage changed for an infection she had received in the hospital. We relocated to Cleveland in September 1999 to complete my degree (My wife left six credit hours away from her degree in Environmental Studies) after 4-½ years cultural immersion working with grass-roots groups and Multi –million dollar NGO’s.
Today I understand it was history. Desegregation stopped. The white middle class deserted the inner-ring suburbs. The largest economy in the history of the world set to work upon their new markets and new suburbs. You see my generation was told a lie and an illusion. Yet we all pretend so well that something is real in race. Today it is the RTA bus driver who sets me to task, “we’re all in this thing together.”
I ride the bus almost everyday I come from Euclid I-90 west Cleveland 39F when I catch it. There is a place in the city I like to think I see the most. I live in Euclid on East 233rd street next to Sims Park. This stretch of Lakeshore Boulevard is considered downtown Euclid. As you drive through this area you are sure to be stopped by at least one red light. We couldn’t have people just drive through without stopping to have a look. We have a movie theater in our neighborhood, pizza delivery, blockbuster video, CVS, Marc’s and all the necessities for the downtown of an inner ring suburb. Of course the movie theater doesn’t take credit cards, I’m not too sure what that means, but I was sure taken by surprise and ended up renting a video that brisk April night. The link to downtown Cleveland here is RTA’s 39F, my bus. I don’t now what percentage of Euclid works downtown, but every morning I jump in the flow and every afternoon we make our way back to Euclid. As I pass downtown I normally see seniors going about there business, you see the kids are at school; the rest of us are usually at work and Euclid for those fleeting afternoons seems to be overrun with retiree’s. Later in the afternoon the families start to return to their natural majority. That’s when I come home normally. There is only one real reason I live here in Euclid. Well my grandparents and parents are here, but that’s not really the reason. I live next to Simms Park; you see here in Euclid and most places in Cuyahoga County there doesn’t seem to be any associated cost for living on the lakeshore. Everyday that we can we go down to the beach with our daughter and make believe we live somewhere on the ocean. You see I’ve been on many of coastlines in my time and they all have one quality in common: the water meeting the land. I haven’t lived in the Cleveland area five years so maybe I have a different perspective, but the shoreline here for me is as enjoyable just to watch as any other shoreline. I grew up in Euclid, but I didn’t learn that here. As I traveled I have seen coastal people and have always been envious. There is something about them that defies qualification. Maybe it’s too much sun on the brain, but there is always something. I normally find myself envious watching young children who have known no other life than the shoreline. There is a certain percentage of the population that lives on the shoreline and in my estimation they are in an advantages position; if just the simple sound of the water meeting the land to add a certain knowledge to their soul.
It is at this point that I normally remember that Clevelander’s are a coastal people. They’re not like any I’ve come across before. I guess when I think about it we have our boats and certainly an advantage over many a city, but there are many problems. The first thing that seems backward to me is that we seem to build too much industry along the shore. The St. Clair- Superior neighborhood is an example of this phenomenon of neighborhoods cutting themselves off from the lake. In Euclid it’s a different story, we have our access, but we just don’t seem to have our connection. As someone who grew up in Euclid I find it doubtful that I am the exception: I have never felt like a coastal person as I watch the fisherman bring in there catch along the Mediterranean. There are more beautiful stretches of shore in that part of the world, but there are worse and what’s more they seem to me the same. Well maybe it’s because Lake Erie sometimes has a tendency to freeze over in the winter. Perhaps this is the reason for our cool relations.
Simms Park comes to life with the spring. Walking there on a nice spring afternoon it is always alive, but seldom crowded. You can always find yourself 100ft of personal space. Between the lovers, families, friends and occasional marching band there is always more beach than us. The beach is unguarded and posted for no swimming and that I’m sure keeps the crowds away. Still as I look back to Lakeshore Boulevard it seems to me that many people are simply not aware of the incredible gift they have in Cleveland. Maybe even the only one; whoever decided to build downtown on a wind swept knoll may have though different. The Indians knew not to build there. Of course there are other things that keep people away. The first time I walked the beach this year in the sun I was overcome with the smell of dead fish. I tried to rationalize this fact, but of all the coast lines I’ve been down I have never seen such a situation. Big fish little fish all kinds of fish. No one seems overly concerned as the Euclid Park maintenance people plow the piles away. You see the kind of things I’m talking about are not the primary things they are concerned with in Simms Park. Sometime ago there was a decision made to turn this shoreline into a big drain for the freeway system. That’s just Clevelander thinking for you: the lake is nature’s way of making our sewage problems go away. Between where I live and the beach is a large concrete pipe that constantly brings runoff water from I-90. Around this pipe are more dead little fish and dead big fish. It is a sad place that no one seems to see. I would like to have been able to be at the meeting where this decision was made. As a resident of Euclid I find it hard to believe that it was made in my interest. Of course if we’re not really coastal people. All we need is a higher percentage of the fortune 500 in town? First we need to understand our assets.
When I arrive in Bosnia the war was still raging. Zenica is a central area and was relatively far from the frontlines. There was occasional shelling in the summer of 1995 in Zenica. I arrived in the Youth House with a very broad job description. I stayed in the center eight hours a day and was forced to create a place for myself. There had been constant problems with the video teacher, I had had a semester of video art in high school and took over the video department. I was responsible for creating curriculum for video classes and workshops. I lead many mixed video groups in various field experiences including documenting the visit of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to the UMCOR office in Tulza. The Travnik Youth House was opened in September and my video project was expanded to include Travnik. I traveled regularly bringing children from Zenica to Travnik and vise versa. I also took an active role within the UMCOR office, but unlike the professionals I worked with I had an alternate space in the Youth House. I gained exposure to crisis refugee management including the building of a tent city after the fall of Srebrenica in July of 1995 and Zepa a week later. During these times it was not uncommon for 10,000 refugees to arrive in a single night. The war in Bosnia finished in November of 1995.
May 96 – Nov. 96 United Methodist Committee on Relief; Zenica, Bosnia
In early 1996 I passed up an opportunity to be the long term volunteer in Sarajevo. I had been part of the team that created the project after the signing of the Dayton agreement. While Sarajevo offered greater possibilities I chose to stay in Zenica as I had developed close ties in my work there. In May of 1996 I was offered the position of Community Services Officer, which included responsibilities throughout Bosnia. While I spent part of every week on the road I kept Zenica as my primary location. During this time I was the lead person for the creation of a Youth House Project in Sanki Most (northwestern Bosnia) and developmental plans for Gorazda (Eastern Bosnia). From my experience in Zenica I was able to create budgets, schedules, and most importantly I designed the usage of the space. With as many as fifteen activities taking place it was crucial to keep the space constantly in use. My primary tasks involved supporting the general implementation of Youth House projects (Zenica, Sarajevo, Travnik, Sanki Most, and Gornji Vakuf). My secondary task implementation of the video project "Witness" in cooperation with the Lawyers Committee on Human Rights. The Witness project was designed to give free video equipment to organizations involved with human rights in the hopes of expanded documentation. Along with my students we created several documentary films. The highlight of this time was a documentation of the tunnel that lead in and out of Sarajevo during the siege of Sarajevo. In the summer of 1996 I also worked as a featured extra in the movie “Welcome to Sarajevo,” I played the first of two cameramen for Woody Harlsons character. I was scheduled to work ten days including shooting in Croatia and Macedonia. I was only able to work four days due to my commitments to UMCOR. For two summers I supplied logistical support for the short-term volunteer program. At peak times I average 600KM travel distance a day. Through this process I was exposed to administrative task involved in large volunteer projects. There was on average eight groups coming for two weeks throughout the summer. At this time the Sarajevo Airport was closed and the airport in Split, Croatia was used as the arrival point. I along with one other driver were responsible for coordinating free time in Split for each group upon their arrival and departure. We each drove a passenger van with an average of eight volunteers each. During this time I had a perfect driving record driving on war ravaged roads and improvised United Nations supply roads. I also had extensive exposure and coordination with UNPROFOR, IFOR, and SFOR (Peace Keeping Missions). Eventually I lost my position due to a controversy involving intellectual property within the Youth House System. Students came to me with documentation of wrong doings that had earlier been passed over by the Head of Mission’s wife (then Director of Social Services). After an extended battle students asked me to return the material as they did not wish to continue. I was fired and hired the next day by our partner organization in Gornji Vakuf.
III. Secondary tasks involved coordination of activities with the UMCOR offices in Mostar, Tuzla, Sarajevo, Gornji Vakuf, Travnik, and Banja Luka in creation of video propaganda using youth house video students as implementing members.
IV. During my time I witnessed total implementation budgets grow from $1,000,000 to over 40,000,000.
V. Participation and performance as a volunteer led to a paid position with expanded responsibilities.
VI. Logistical support for outreach project serving 9 refugee camps throughout central Bosnia.
Nov. 96 – Dec. 97 United Nations Development Program; Gornji Vakuf, Bosnia
Youth Development Volunteer
I had worked with this volunteer group helping to create the Youth House project in Gornji Vakuf. From the start I worked in the over-all UNOV and as a subordinate to the local coordinator the Youth Club Project.
VII. Primary task involved developing and implementing a 15,000 DEM video income generation* and cultural documentation project within the project "Youth Club '96."
VIII. Including project design, proposal writing, logistics and general administration.
IX. Participation at Civil Service International’s Balkan Task Force conference in Slovenia in 1997.
X. Participation and logistical support at Pax Christi’s youth seminars throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bringing mixed groups of youth together.
XI. Secondary tasks involved coordination of activities with the Office for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Jablinica and Mostar "round table" of youth oriented local organizations.
XII. Responsible for documenting OSCE’s youth festival “Some Like it Hot” in 1998 working with youth from all over Bosnia and Herzegovina.
XIII. Logistical support for members participation at the Pavorati Music Center opening in Mostar working with youth from both sides of the divided town.
During my time there we registered Youth Club ’96 as a local NGO. Funders included OSCE and US Aid. Direct coordination of relationship with US Aid. Conflict resolution skills gained through summer camp with mixed Moslem, Croatian and Serb youth as well as various other conflict resolution skills seminars. Project administration, budget, proposal writing. Extensive logistical support of club members: planning, resource allocation and coordination with UNDP office. Created curriculum for video and newspaper sections in the club. Including supervision and training for desk to publishing. Extensive coordination with and exposure to the British IFOR/SFOR Headquarters Located in Gornji Vakuf. Attended weekly administrative meetings for the larger UNDP volunteer project. This project received a very good review by the UN, we considered ourselves the lowest level of the United Nations as the janitors in the building in New York were making much more money. During times of need the volunteers pooled money from personal stipend for the operating budget. The coordinator of the project went on to create a large rehabilitation project in Travnik with UNDP.
Jan 98 – Sept. 99
I moved to Nis, Serbia in Jan. 1998 after my contract expired with then UNDP project in Gornji Vakuf. I had saved five hundred DEM, which in Serbia was a very sizeable amount of money. I had met my future wife at the U2 concert in Sarajevo through mutual friends working in the peace movement. I arrived in Nis with hopes of working with the Center for Nonviolent Conflict Resolution. I had spent October of 1997 in Nis before deciding to relocate there. The language usage was very different in Serbia for me, but it is basically the same language. My wife is a refugee from Sarajevo and speaks a variant I was more comfortable with. I originally extended my visa by working as an English teacher at the University in Nis. I was not paid for this work, but receive free Serbian language classes. On July 4th , 1998 with my money running out we were married in Nis. We had decided to live with her parents in order for her to finish her degree. My wife was in her last year of Environmental Studies and was the coordinator of the environmental project “Eko Tim” in the center. Are estimation of the situation was that things would most likely not get worse. Serbia had struggled many years, but for the most part had not seen much change. We had made her degree our first priority. We worked in the center and lived with her parents in Nis. Her brother had recently relocated to Canada, which opened up space in her parents apartment. Most housing in Nis is allocated by the number of people in the family. I attended a weeklong interview process with the Balkan Peace Team in Holland. Eight candidates participate in workshops and “Long Role Playing” situations. I was later declined as a candidate due to my marriage to a Serbian woman. My daughter was born in Nis April 26, 1999. I was the only American present in Nis during the NATO Bombing campaign. I returned from Sarajevo the second day of the bombing (international border crossing – avoidance of conflict). I met with the Regional Secretary for the Global Board of Ministries March 23 (the reason for my trip to Sarajevo). I witnessed first hand so called collateral damage when my wife’s Grandfather was thrown out of bed and all his windows broken by the mistaken bombing of the apartment building across the street. The hospital my daughter was born in was also mistakenly bombed the day before the Chinese Embassy was mistakenly bombed. My daughter had been released the day before; I had taken my wife hours before to have her bandage changed for an infection she had received in the hospital. We relocated to Cleveland in September 1999 to complete my degree (My wife left six credit hours away from her degree in Environmental Studies) after 4-½ years cultural immersion working with grass-roots groups and Multi –million dollar NGO’s.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Happy Birthday
Adis
It wasn’t what the reality was necessarily that mattered, but how it was I perceived it. I came across this name all the time written on the walls and through the halls of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Or was it mostly in this Bosna I knew.
There are simple reasons that the multiverse has for doing this all. Is it so absurd to find us the only intelligence in this entire universe? Perhaps sad, but certainly not impossible. It could be a low percentage chance and yet necessarily required to happen if it was to all happen and our improbable happiness real.
It takes a lot of time it is true. Many rules made to be only agreed upon and relative only in this our context. I remember walking the streets of Sarajevo alone and cold. I saw this name one million times and my reality I somehow chose to believe. There was this need to do.
Words string together and one word repeats itself all over Bosnia. Moving all the time I found it in static places. Realities I would never understand beyond the connection to that other wall written upon. Perhaps I was the only connection or there were others. The point is that they connected me to a place and time New Sarajevo a quality from quantity.
Alternative perspectives are difficult to release because they are rare. There are many words written on wall and through to them all are only relative those who perceive them. What do you see? What you see. That is no great mystery. What I see is the only question I have. It never seems I have enough time here.
Happiness is real just a low percentage occurrence when looked for in geological time scales. In this our time it isn’t as fleeting. Anything missing would leave this life less. These are the reasons we are. We build upon the bedrock of our soul. Sometimes a message scrawled on the wall becomes ones point before waking up.
Final is always the end and the all we perceive as life continues forward and certain realities merge and grow to build the biosphere. One universe is a confining space for just one person’s dream. And yet it is filled with six billion at the very least. It seems elusive to find sense of these. Is struggle for alternative perceptions.
Then I find Adis written on a thousand places Sarajevo and remember a story but not the words of a soul awoken by death as he had scribbled upon the wall in Gornji Vakuf.
It wasn’t what the reality was necessarily that mattered, but how it was I perceived it. I came across this name all the time written on the walls and through the halls of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Or was it mostly in this Bosna I knew.
There are simple reasons that the multiverse has for doing this all. Is it so absurd to find us the only intelligence in this entire universe? Perhaps sad, but certainly not impossible. It could be a low percentage chance and yet necessarily required to happen if it was to all happen and our improbable happiness real.
It takes a lot of time it is true. Many rules made to be only agreed upon and relative only in this our context. I remember walking the streets of Sarajevo alone and cold. I saw this name one million times and my reality I somehow chose to believe. There was this need to do.
Words string together and one word repeats itself all over Bosnia. Moving all the time I found it in static places. Realities I would never understand beyond the connection to that other wall written upon. Perhaps I was the only connection or there were others. The point is that they connected me to a place and time New Sarajevo a quality from quantity.
Alternative perspectives are difficult to release because they are rare. There are many words written on wall and through to them all are only relative those who perceive them. What do you see? What you see. That is no great mystery. What I see is the only question I have. It never seems I have enough time here.
Happiness is real just a low percentage occurrence when looked for in geological time scales. In this our time it isn’t as fleeting. Anything missing would leave this life less. These are the reasons we are. We build upon the bedrock of our soul. Sometimes a message scrawled on the wall becomes ones point before waking up.
Final is always the end and the all we perceive as life continues forward and certain realities merge and grow to build the biosphere. One universe is a confining space for just one person’s dream. And yet it is filled with six billion at the very least. It seems elusive to find sense of these. Is struggle for alternative perceptions.
Then I find Adis written on a thousand places Sarajevo and remember a story but not the words of a soul awoken by death as he had scribbled upon the wall in Gornji Vakuf.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
FRECKLED CONSCIOUSNESS
Various victims of rape in Italy in the early seventeenth century have left us a wealth of information through the court records. Clear indications in Elizabeth Cohen’s article show us that court was not the first choice for woman to remedy a perceived loss of social honor to herself and family. Rape victims saw marriage as the responsibly of their attacker; they had taken from them a commodity of measurable value. A broad spectrum of relationships is represented in the cases presented, yet the one common thread is a desire to legitimize the sexual activity in marriage. The loss of virginity by force and or coercion was a grievance the courts could not ignore because of the importance of chastity to the medieval family economy. The issue at stake was essentially the market value of the women’s second dowry. The individual woman in this last desperate attempt to defend her value in society also found herself in a unique situation before the court to speak her mind. The opportunity was rare, yet these woman seemed prepared and demonstrated their individuality, but beyond this they remained defined by their sexuality.
These cases would not be in court had the men agreed to marriage. We know the rape victim would prefer direct compensation to a legal battle. In a litigious society the threat of action produces more results than actual court orders, this fact seems timeless. A large number of victims were to become brides and avoid the public forum of a court. Across the spectrum of possibilities it seems a minority of each made its way to the court of the Governor of Rome: The simple flirtations that lead to broken promises. The active woman seeking to force her destiny beyond the wishes of her parents. The violent and arbitrary case we associate rape with today. Each unique woman stood before the state and created a rhetorical independence. These victims created a greater sense of ownership to their experiences and themselves than a woman who did not talk about her experiences(170).
“Upon Chastity, declared Samuel Johnson in the eighteenth century, ‘all the property in the world depends’”(King 31). This was perhaps never truer than in Italy at the start of the seventeenth century. Daughters forged new bonds with respectable families and brought new honor and standing to her family. They had two primary assets: their dowry and their virginity. Families went to great lengths to protect their daughters from possible attack, but more importantly they thought for themselves. The limited role of woman was an attempt to keep them chaste. The fact that children often lived separate in their teen years made these ideals difficult to realize. A woman was supposed to be a virgin or a wife. At the same time a double standard existed as no one expected a males to be as virtuous. These contradictory beliefs in their society made the intervention of the courts necessary. It was not practical to ignore the various victims of rape. They were neither virgins nor wives, what were they to be, they needed to be defined in relationship to a male (Cohen 173).
From the courts point of view again it was simplest for the victim to marry her attacker. The standard statements included blood, resistance and promises made (either marriage or gifts). These were the first details sought by the courts. Blood and pain showed that the woman was indeed a virgin in their mind. Resistance was described to show that she was not a willing party to the act. These facts created the legal definition of rape. It is interesting to note that in the cases where woman seem to be forcing their own destiny pain was also an integral aspect. As bold as a woman may have been in court, she certainly would not forget what specifically the court wanted to hear.
The material presented in the Cohen article offers us several portraits of woman in very specific situations. The first two cases are examples of passive victims. A young girl raped twice by a stranger. She speaks of the attacker as a devil and provides vivid detail. This girl already ruined, as her mother perceived, and was doubly injured by having a stranger as attacker. This would be the worst case scenario for the time. No one to marry. No one to take to court for compensation. Nothing to be done. Could she escape from her sexuality? Powerless and in poverty the question seems nonsensical.
Another case involves a woman who is raped after a period of flirtation. In this and similar cases there was always promises of marriage. To the church at this time the doctrine of mutual consent defined marriage. Two adults (male over 14, female over 12) could make a binding agreement in private or public and be recognized as a marriage. Men would speak of love and marriage. Some would marry after “taking” their women, others would deny any promises had been made, and the rest would just leave. These are not only medieval options for men, but still present today. What is different is the focus of the society again on the virginity of woman.
Who could escape from sexuality? A modern equivalent question might be: who can escape the dollar? A society must be based on something. What was the best possible solution to the medieval rape victim? Not for the courts or the parents, but the victim: marriage to the attacker. Where love is present then we must accept that rape held a broader definition in the Italian context, but again the arbitrary victim of violence also preferred marriage.
The woman who sought to follow their own will first began as the others: dismay, fear and anger somehow mixed expertly with love and ambition (Cohen 176). Perhaps their father had been lapse in seeking marriage contracts. He may have wanted to wait for something better. In this situation a woman could assert her will through secret marriage vows, but this surely was more a practical matter than evidence of liberation. The most ambitious women who did trade sexuality for favors were no more liberated. They crossed a line which they could never return and lived their lives in the margins. Their position made them practically speaking more vulnerable. A woman had no rights except in relationship to men. Certain woman must have had liberated beliefs about their own sexuality, but the fact that the entire society was based on the female reproductive system suggests there was no where to escape except perhaps in dreams.
The victims who settled matters according to there will were still operating within the accepted beliefs of the community at large. “A close examination of (Cammila’s) self-presentation leads us to suspect strongly that she was pursing a marriage strategy of her own devising”(Cohen187). In a sense she had escaped directions of her family, but not the conventions of the society. The contradictory assumptions that were the basis of community life created the unique forum where these women found themselves. In essence the courts allowed the society to release some of the pressure created in contradiction. The society could not function unless these questions were addressed.
The women involved seemed to draw on a common sense that was available in the society as a whole. These cases must have been talked about and shared. The process created a bottom line reality that underlined the gentile society. After the loss of virginity women must have been aware somewhat of the process involved. Even if it was a minority of women, there must have been a psychic release of energy for women as a whole. The rhetoric is far beyond what the modern observer would expect to find. These women managed to present themselves not as the society defined them, but how they used the precepts of their society to define themselves. The creation of economic value associated with female virginity bound these women to their community.
Image for a second a society that places a high value on freckles. How would the freckled child escape the reality of value being assigned by the entire society? Understanding how to be freckled, or a woman in Italy in 1602, is the first step to creating freckled consciousness. Women in their rhetoric could make use of the system to define their relationship for themselves. Escaping the nightmare of sexuality would only be possible for a minority of women in times to come. These first steps were required, but the notions of society making rational choices still remain elusive. The modern perspective offers us the choice to work from the outside. This is liberation as far as I can tell. To work from outside, understanding the system inside, to catalyze change. In Italy in 1602, there was no outside for man or woman, yet the rhetoric of these few women force us to ask the question: what made liberation possible? These women are part of the dream, a single step for humanity, even as their own lives remained defined by sexuality. These women understood their system, others spoke of them, and some saw contradiction: society changed eventually. And will again eventually. They defended themselves to the male standard and later other women and men would question that standard.
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