to Geneve

Official diary entry:

Sunday 29th

The Spire-WTO journey began. A rush to get to the Central Station, take the Flytoget and depart in a nice and cheap flight to Geneva.

From the arrival Geneva is a city that welcomes you, first everyone receives from the airport a free all-public transport ticket valid for 80 minutes (enough to get anywhere), right there we find out that when you reserve in a hotel normally there is a transport card included in the price, those are great first steps to get around the city. I was lucky to find from the Swiss Christian solidarity roots a nice and cozy shared-room and my partner Mari tempted her luck by hunting a reasonable-price hotel in that very same night in the city center, and did it!

It is always a fabulous thing to live the concrete feeling of realizing the fact that I have a global family called: Focolare.

I try to find hotels, to get hosted by Couch Surfers, but I was almost forgetting the focolare. Since I tough there were no focolare in this city, just in the last minute I decided to find out if at least any Gen or volunteer family was present. For my luck there is a nice focolare and on top my dear friend Rainer is living here and Rafi as well. Martin, the leader was very welcoming from the beginning. That phrase of "it was like we knew each other since for ever" is again more true than the floor I am stepping.

Many things happening

I guess this is just an non-structured diary entry.

Very, very busy days!!

Today (afternoon) I plan to finally have a time to re-start working on my thesis and on the end of next week as well.

This Saturday is going to be busy in the afternoon, I still don´t know exactly what I´ll do, options are too many.

On Sunday, after work I´ll travel to Geneva for the WTO Conference and I´ll be there until Thursday when I´ll come straight to work.

I just got my residence permit! So I can stay until February. Do I want to do it? I guess yes! Do I want to stay longer? First it does not depend on me. I need a full-time job. There is a nice offer presented through my friend Sebi, but the clients should decide if they want to do this job and more important if they want me to do it! Let´s see! If that becomes truth then, and only then I should get to ask myself how long more do I want to stay around here. A Lithuanian friend told me that once you pass the winter everything is much better and she is right. So, let´s see!

I´ll be receiving a Polish couple for 2 days soon. Some fun might be coming.

Right after we´ll go to Paris. That for sure will be fun!

Christmas will be very close after that! the plan is to go to Barcelona again to visit my cousin, probably for the last time in many years. This time a new nephew will be at home: Aaron, who should come in these days.

At some point I plan to take a cruise boat to Copenhagen and travel a bit inside Norway. (As, Stavanger, Trondheim, Volda and/or Tromso) Let´s see what can become possible and not remain a dream.

Speaking of dreams, in these weeks I´ll like to confirm the real possibility of being Consul.

I´ll present my formal resignation in Aftenposten to get the at least January free from that job.

Finish the Vivencia course.

Have job offers when coming back to Dominican.

La cuenta contracorriente

Este escrito me llegó por la lista de correos de Media-Isla, muy buena lista de correos de corte litarario muy interesantes.

Este habla sobre el Capital Social que es uno de mis temas favoritos.

La cuenta contracorriente

Por Gorka Andraka | © Gara

No tener a nadie. ¿Se puede ser más pobre? N´Demba, un senegalés que vive en Sevilla, cayó enfermo y fue hospitalizado. En el tiempo que pasó ingresado recibió la visita de varios compatriotas y amigos. Entre ellos, Susana, la joya sevillana que me contó esta historia. El vecino de habitación de N´Demba, un español, sorprendido ante el constante ir y venir de gentes que atesoraba la cama del africano, preguntó: "¿Y éste quién es? ¿Por qué recibe tantas visitas? ¿Es alguien famoso?". No, no lo es, ni rico ni importante ni poderoso, al menos para nuestra bolsa de valores.

Las principales lenguas del África subsahariana no disponen de palabras para designar al pobre en el sentido económico de este término. Sus distintas maneras de decir "pobre", traducidas a nuestro idioma, vendrían a significar algo así como "huérfano". Muchos pueblos africanos, en todos los aspectos de su vida cotidiana, cuando hablan de miseria no se refieren exactamente a la falta de dinero. Pobres son los que están solos, sin apoyo social, sin una comunidad, otras personas, que los arropen y acompañen.

Hace casi 20 años ya que la ONU declaró el 17 de octubre "Día Internacional para la Erradicación de la Pobreza". Con la crisis económica ensañándose con los más desprotegidos, recién alcanzados los mil millones de hambrientos en el planeta, suena obsceno restarle valor y mérito a la cartera. Aún así, conviene no olvidarlo: hay vida, riqueza, más allá del dinero, aunque no lo parezca. Hagamos cuentas. Contracorriente. Si apartamos la pasta, ¿qué nos queda? ¿A cuánto asciende nuestra fortuna? Descontemos. Comparemos. No hay duda. Los más pobres, los sin nadie. [lilibrik]

Crecimiento no es Desarrollo

Estoy publicando otro articulo de mi primo Miguel Román del que comparto casi todas las ideas planteadas:

La República Dominicana va a cumplir, en el 2011, 50 años de comenzar su trán-sito por el sendero de la “democracia”. Sin embargo, gobiernos van y gobiernos vienen pero ninguno aparenta encontrar la formula mágica del desarrollo. No ha habido, desde 1961, ningún plan mínimamente inteligente, factible, armónico, equitativo, y económi-camente viable que esté orientado a desarrollar el país, no solamente la economía. La improvisación ha sido el norte en lo referente a planes de desarrollo nacional. Cincuenta años de crecimiento económico (un promedio de 5% al año, la tasa más estable y consis-tente de América Latina) no han sido suficientes para que los dominicanos tengan hoy condiciones de vida mínimamente aceptables.

Muy a propósito de estas reflexiones, me encuentro con que la República Domini-ana ha vuelto a aparecer en los últimos lugares del desarrollo democrático, de inversión en educación y salud y en calidad de la gestión pública, muy en contradicción con los índices de crecimiento económico que se siguen registrando. La R.D. aparece entre los últimos 3 países (debajo sólo quedaron Venezuela y Nicaragua) en el Índice de Desarrollo Democrá-tico (IDD) difundido a fines del 2007 por la Fundación Konrad Adenauer de Alemania. De una probable puntuación máxima de 10,000, la R.D. sólo obtuvo 2,900 puntos; muy por debajo del promedio regional, el cual se sitúa en 5,114 puntos. Chile, Costa Rica, y Uruguay encabezan la lista de los países con mayor puntuación.

El Índice de Desarrollo es calculado en base a 4 parámetros: condiciones básicas de la democracia, respeto de los derechos políticos y las libertades civiles, calidad insti-tucional y eficiencia política, y ejercicio del poder efectivo para gobernar, y presenta resultados de la totalidad y en cada una de esas dimensiones. La peor evaluación de R.D. se encuentra en la cuarta área, con el indicador titulado “capacidad para generar políticas para asegurar bienestar”, donde aparece en el último escalón del ranking de los 18 países anali-zados (menos Cuba y Haití), con 2958 puntos. Este bajo porcentaje es causado por conse-cuencia del bajo gasto en educación y salud, índice de desempleo urbano, y número de hogares bajo la línea de la pobreza. En resumen, el estudio muestra lo siguiente: 1.4% del PBI es asignado a la salud, último lugar en América Latina; 2% del PBI es asignado a educación, por debajo del 4% que manda la ley; 45% de la población vive bajo la línea de la pobreza. Muy particularmente, en lo referente a educación, se añade que el informe de la UNESCO sostiene que el país ha fracasado en mejorar la calidad y alcance de la educación dentro de los objetivos establecidos por las Naciones Unidas para el Milenio.

Fruto de gestiones administrativas malas y peores, y de la presión e irresponsabi-lidad de las élites nacionales, el crecimiento económico del último medio siglo se ha con-centrado hasta un punto que la República Dominicana no es una, sino dos naciones, con un mínimo de la población viviendo en la abundancia, y la casi totalidad restante sobrevivien-do en medio de la escasez y la miseria, y con escasas oportunidades de elevar sus condi-ciones de vida. Los gobiernos deben revisarse y replantearse sus metas de desarrollo inte-gral nacional dentro de cuatro parámetros básicos: reducir efectivamente la pobreza, crear fuentes de trabajo, proteger y regenerar el medio ambiente, y promover el adelanto de los sectores tradicionalmente marginados, como las mujeres.

Es fundamental entender que crecimiento económico no es necesariamente un indicador de desarrollo humano. Los países que hoy son desarrollados, al mismo tiempo que desarrollaron su andamiaje económico, establecieron metas de desarrollo nacional sostenible a corto, mediano, y largo plazo, y las fueron cumpliendo sin importar quién estuviera en el poder; hubo continuidad del Estado. Lamentablemente, hasta que en la República Dominicana no entendamos eso seguiremos dando palos a ciegas.

También publicado en:

http://www.rumbony.com/article.cfm?id=3172

Narvik: I was there!

Situated in the arctic landscape of Norther Norway, the location is perfect. The town is surrounded by astonishing nature, mountains and fjords, something that characterizes… bla, bla, bla and more brochure bla, bla…

For me, Narvik is a small cozy town with more history than inhabitants, a very lovely place to visit, everything is in a fair walk distance but especially the mountains are very near, for ski lovers this is probably a dream town.

Between the beautiful mountains and the shores of the fjord, the landscapes constitute an unforgettable panorama, totally worth to see. For many of us just knowing that to be in Narvik means crossing the Polar Circle latitude line was already an attractive idea that rendered the whole trip more fun.

We were students from many places of the world, studying in many universities and colleges in Norway, gathered to celebrate the National Assembly of the International Student Union. The host branch made a fantastic job from the beginning to the end; it seems that the passion and charismas of the internationals together with the Narvik style of hospitality is a very effective combination.

Being in the northern part of Scandinavia also means the possibility of seeing the natural phenomenon of the Northern Lights or Polar Lights. Our eyes to the sky were raised many times by all of us during the nights. One of us claimed, and still assures, that we saw it, a weak one, but one!! For the few of us who got that “lucky” chance, is up to each one to try to see “another” or to erase that item from the to-do list.

A lot of non-peaceful situations had happen in Narvik throughout time, when moving around the town is impossible to not get immerge in those pieces of history. Is a little city were people have a hard-working tradition, enough things and facts to be proud of and few offers for night life activities, and of course the fun is your own responsibility. Is a kebab-free town (at least for what we could see) in which, with the excellent guide of the “internationals-locals” can become a terrific city to experience and have exciting adventures.

Also published in:

http://www.mybestjourneys.com/story/2009-11-06/narvik-i-was-there

Manifesto of my Believes and Spirituality. Life reflections of a Theist.

First I must say that I am just finishing the first quarter of my life, so the deep of these reflections are limited to what the time and life has given me and is what I have until now.

I was born in a Catholic family, the costume is that the parents baptize you during the first 2 years of age to keep the traditional rituals of Catholic Church membership, whereas it is done for faith or social pressure/costume is a very thin line to state, that I will not discuss here. I was not only born but also raised inside the Catholic womb, I did all my basic education in a Catholic private school run by (and many times for) nuns. Outside those 2 imposed appendixes pushed into my life, I also have what is the brightest aspect of Catholicism in my life: the Focolare movement. It also came through my family, but moreover it was my own decision to keep being part of it.

I am very grateful of being born Christian and also Catholic; I thank God for all that has happen in my life, for the full development and construction of my whole being until now.

I have such an excellent parents and broad family, who have teach me, more with acts than with words, some concrete family values that are now part of my integral and spiritual being. The friends I have and have had are also excellent (the standpoint of they meeting me or I meeting them is irrelevant) I have manage to learn from the many experiences with them or through them and incorporate all that builds up.

The most important thing that I have learnt from the years of my life attending the catholic school and church, I can summarize it in: the importance of living what you are preaching.

Via strong experiences and symbolic examples I understood that True Christianity does not require especial clothes, rituals, structures, hierarchies or churches. Perhaps, like any other Spirituality, what it requires is meanings, actions, integral commitment and the radicality of applying it to one´s life and create a life-style full of it.

In that sense, that is why the Focolare movement spirituality became such a bright spot on my life line. This movement push one to seriously consider a life-style that overcomes the rancid borders of the churches, a life-style that is based on a real call for human unity and fraternity, all and each one in their own faiths, believes and convictions, but united by the unquestionable truth of a God that loves humanity with all our differences and diversity. There, one can see not just the inutility of conflicts and fights among the various beliefs and faiths, but it becomes obvious that the goal of the human kind is to be happy and God´s goal is that we reach that. And the easiest and more concrete way is through our brothers and sisters, all in unity, is a collective action. (I agree that there are also other ways, but I found this to be the more efficient)

So, from my experiences, reflections and meditations I feel every day closer to God. I am decisively and convinced of sticking with these ideas and answering to this life-style in its radicality, rejecting structural, hierarchical and misleading ideas, concepts and interpretations of the churches and appreciating a one loving God spirituality with the Christian faith in the base of my life-style.

To be more clear, I am Theist, I believe in God, without doubts, I do understand others believes, faiths and convictions from which I can encourage them to live it fully, but I decide to follow another line.

I personally don´t see the point of referring to God by name, any name (whereas is an Arab name, Hebrew name, Chinese, modern or ancient name). There is no gain on giving God a face (gender, ethnic and skin color included). There is no point on structuring which is “the way” or “how to” contact God of communicate with God or “be” with God. And definitely there is no relevance on sub-dividing or sharing God´s power or Divinity (whereas is with other gods, or other bodies like the Son and the holy spirit, or with other figures like Mary, the saints or the angels) Is not that they existed or not; or that they are fair life-style examples of relevance to anyone or not, is just that if you have God, and a way to get connected with God (like through the brothers and sisters) why would you need to refer, claim, ask or need someone or something else? I do not see why and further more I do not feel I need more.

I am sure and confident that God will keep guiding my way to happiness while I keep running in this everyday-challenge of searching God in every moment.