Let it snow! Second winter in Oslo

Last year around the 16th of October it was snowing for the first time in Oslo, it was the first time for me that I experienced the transition from one season to another. But the winter had started for me long time before.

2 weeks after arriving I went on a trip to a Mariapolis to Bergen, the second biggest city of Norway. In that road we stopped to have an open air pick nick , supposedly in a nice landscape. For me the temperature of 8° was to much to tolerate and my bread seemed to be alive! my hands were shaking, I had my mouth open in case I could make get it inside, but I also think I opened too much so close it could be a problem!

I had to enter back to the car, kill the sandwich, get a little warm up and then.... eat.

This year is completely different, the "real" cold of the winter took longer to arrive, even the snow was maybe thinking to wait until Christmas day. Is just today when one can finally say that is snowing in Oslo. The threes change from the ugly leaves-less image to a nice white dress. Now is all nice, good looking white and winter-like image.

The cold is another tale, I took it a lot much better this time, was not feeling even half of the coldness I felt last year, but a remainder that I´m not from this weathers came like a month ago with a sudden high fever, according to me, I was wearing too few clothes, I mean, I was not feeling cold enough to wear more. But I learned my lesson, now I don´t mind wearing extra wool, having fever is really bad.

Versainograma a Santo Domingo de Pablo Neruda

Perdonen si les digo unas locuras

En esta dulce tarde de febrero
Y si se va mi corazón cantando
Hacia Santo Domingo, compañeros.
Vamos a recordar lo que ha pasado allí
Desde que Don Cristóbal, el marinero
Puso los pies y descubrió la isla
Que mejor no la hubiese descubierto
Porque ha sufrido tanto desde entonces
Que parece que el diablo y no Jesús
Se entendió con Colón en ese aspecto

Esos conquistadores españoles
Que llegaron desde España, por supuesto
Buscando oro y lo buscaron tanto
Como si les sirviese de alimento

Enarbolando a Cristo con su cruz
Los garrotazos fueron argumentos tan poderosos
Que los indios vivos se convirtieron pronto
En dominicanos muertos

Aunque hace siglos de esta historia amarga
Por amarga y por vieja se las cuento
Porque las cosas no se aclaran nunca
Con el olvido ni con el silencio.

Y hay tanta inquietud sin comentario
En la América hirsuta que me dieron
Que si hasta los poetas nos callamos
No hablan los otros porque tienen miedo.

Ya se sabe en un día declaramos
La independencia azul de nuestros pueblos.
Una por una, América Latina
Se desgranó como un racimo negro
De nacionalidades diminutas
Con mucha flecha y con poco dinero.

Andamos con orgullo y sin zapatos
Y nos creemos todos caballeros.
Cuando tuvimos pantalones largos
Co escogimos pésimos gobiernos:
(rivalizamos mucho en este asunto,
Santo Domingo se sacó los premios).

En esta variedad un tanto triste
Tuvieron a Trujillo sempiterno
Que gracias a un balazo se enfermó
Después de cuarenta años de gobierno.

Podríamos decir de este Trujillo
(a juzgar por las cosas que sabemos)
Que fue el hombre más malo de este mundo
Si no existiera Jhonson, por supuesto.
Sabremos quien ha sido más malvado
Cuando los dos estén en el infierno.
Cuando murió Trujillo respiró
Aquella patria de tormentos
Y en una escalofrío de esperanzas
Subió la luna sobre el sufrimiento.
Corre por los caminos la noticia:
Santo Domingo sale del infierno
Por fin elige un presidente puro:
Juan Bosch que regresa del destierro
Pero no les conviene un hombre honrado
Ni a los gorilas ni a los usureros.

Decretaron un golpe en Nueva York:
Le echan abajo con cualquier pretexto.
Lo destierran con su constitución,
Instalan a cualquier sepulturero
En el tronco del mando y del castigo.

Y los verdugos vuelven a sus puestos
"La democracia representativa ha sido
restaurada en este pueblo"
Dijo El Mercurio en su "editorial"
Escrito en la Embajada que sabemos.

Pero esta vez las cosas no marcharon,
Y de modo interesado aunque severo
A norteamericanos y gorilas
Le salieron los tornillos en el queso,
Y con voz de fusibles en la calle
Salió a cantar el corazón del pueblo.
Santo Domingo con su pueblo armado
Sonó la inspiración de los violentos:
Tomó ciudades, campos y en el puente,
Con el pecho desnudo y descubierto,
Aplastó tanques, desafió cañones.

Y corría impetuoso como el viento
Hacia la libertad y la victoria
Cuando el texano Jhonson, el funesto
Con la sangre de muchos en las manos,
Hizo desembarcar los marineros.

Cuarenta y cinco mil hijos de perra,
Bajaron con sus armas y sus cuentos,
Con ametralladoras y cuchillos
Con objetivos claros y concretos:
"Poner en libertad a los ladrones,
Y a los demás hay que meterlos presos".

Y allí están disparando cada día
Contra dominicanos indefensos
Como en Vietnam el asesino es fuerte,
Pero a la larga vencerán los pueblos.

La moraleja de este cuento amargo
Se las voy a decir en un momento
(no se lo vayan a contar a nadie:
Soy pacifista por fuera y por dentro)

Ahí va:
Me gusta en Nueva York el yanqui vivo
Y sus lindas muchachas, por supuesto,
Pero en Santo Domingo y en Vietnam
Prefiero norteamericanos muertos.

Este poema fue escrito por Neruda en honor a los Dominicanos a raíz de la ocupación norteamericana del 1965.

Working with the Delegations

I come from the Dominican Republic, where it seems that the way of managing the relations between the Third sector and the First sector (NGO´s and Government) is very similar to the other Latin American countries and most of the Less-Develop Countries (LDC) Thus, having the experience of participating in this WTO Conference confirmed that to me.

For the other half of the coin, there are the relations between the Civil Society institutions and the State´s entities in the High-Income Countries tending to be in an opposite direction than to the LDC experiences and with similarities among them.

The specific case I lived was the confrontation of the relations between the Official Norwegian Delegation (OND) and the Official Dominican Delegation (ODD) with the NGO´s.

There are 3 main things to highlight.

From the very beginning I got surprised by the first item of the Norwegian NGO´s agenda: To meet with the OND at their offices in Geneva.

On top of that, there were some people from the NGO´s working closely with the OND in almost all meetings.

And on the second day all the Norwegian NGO´s had a meeting (quick but 1) with the OND to talk directly to the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

These 3 issues didn’t seem to surprise the Norwegian NGO´s too much (at least not that obvious, or as it was for me)

In the other hand, for the Dominican side, things were a bit different.

The names and institutions of the representatives to come to Geneva were never clear, not to the Dominican NGO´s network or in the State Press and Communications Office. I tried to contact the only NGO that was listed to participate, but didn´t got any answer and at the end they did not came (anyway it was a Sindical Union which is known to be too much on the government side and not on the workers side)

Wandering a bit in the hallways I could distinguish a familiar Spanish accent and immediately I approached them. Indeed they were part of the ODD. We talked for a little while and with some friendly efforts they agreed on having their breakfast together with me on the next day.

The meeting had a few interesting or surprising points to highlight, at the end I realized they didn´t expected me to be interested in the matters of the country with the WTO, in fact they confessed to be expecting from the meeting some tips and ideas on moving around Geneva and Europe. I shared some smiles and cheap talk to get along that flow and then get space to my questions.

I meet 4 people, although they told me in the Delegation they were 5, a mysterious fifth that I never meet, heard about or got any answer when inquired.

Of course they didn´t knew of any NGO coming from Dominican and assure that the entire Delegation was just 5 persons.

Finally they said that the Delegation did not to have any Plan, Mission, Goal or Strategy towards this WTO Conference Meeting, they just came, and I quote: “to see what was happening in the World and to get updated on the international flows and ideas”

Later I got the information from the Conference Registration that from Dominican 18 persons were in the list to come. How many did come or any names, was not a public information -I was told.

So, for me to see the way that the Norwegian NGO´s work with the OND was very satisfactory, perhaps even this level of work this is not enough. Influence, pressure and more access is still needed to achieve better goals. But, for other countries/NGO´s Networks this level of cooperation is a dream.

Is now interesting to know how this was achieved and how it is maintained. Via Media? Newspapers and TV? Public campaigns, lobbying?

Anyway is nice to see it here in Norway, it will be nicer to know how to implement this or something similar in other countries/societies and also how to improve it here to reach greater levels of cooperation.

WTO Geneva: Diary entry for Wednesday 2nd December

Third and final day of the Conference. Last efforts and usage of the last reserves of energies! Everyone was looking forward to all things the day could offer!

The morning briefing meeting with the OWINFS network is the by-now usual way of starting the day, we prepared the strategy for the day, the stunt actions ideas to focus on and meetings to follow.

Then we went to the Seminars happening in the different buildings, like the Symposium on [NAME] where the seminar on “Market improvement for LDC from the Doha round” was held. This symposium was interesting for all the organizations present thete, it became a great space to meet people, gather information and get interesting details about negotiations that happen or o-the-way.

After we came back to the NGO Center where conferences about the NAMA and “Decent work in the South” were taking place.

Right after we moved back to the Symposium to participate in the seminar “Latin America and the WTO: current and future scenarios”, the main arguments presented there were the role of Latin American countries should be assigning to their bargaining strategy at the Doha Round in the WTO. Which so far, has being somewhat a residual role in the economic and trade policymaking; in this multilateral arena, Latin America has shown relative lack of interest for WTO liberalization proposal. It was argued that this is mostly due to a concrete interest for preferential trade agreements and unordinary commodity prices which sums a much larger list of benefits than the WTO negotiations proposals.

This was an interesting perspective to contrast with the “common” arguments about LDC (Latin American countries included) were the arguments are that WTO proposal are taken like uncontested recipes.

Mari had to leave early In the afternoon, I manage to meet again with the Dominican delegation in the hallways and then the actions for the Closing Ceremony took place.

The day ended with the last OWINFS briefing, very interesting as well, this time especially because a strategy for the work from now on was drafted.

This is also published on:

http://inspirerende.wordpress.com/2009/12/05/wto-geneva-diary-entry-for-wednesday-2nd-december/

WTO Geneva: Diary entry for Monday 30th November

This is another official diary entry:

First day, first little getting-lost trip in the city, we pass by the famous broken chair monument, took the picture, saw the huge installations of the United Nations (Big enough to be the global headquarters of the UN) and keep moving towards the WTO Offices to do the registration process and pick up the badges.

Right after headed to the Norwegian delegation office, to meet with the Official Delegation (OD) and all the Norwegian NGO´s and Civil Society Institutions (CSI).

In this informational meeting the OD shared some of the ideas of their agenda and opened the table for questions from the people present.

It was a nice and interesting expression of transparency and cooperation. With people of deep knowledge in different issues, making the right and perhaps controversial inquiries, it all became a full exercise where the official and “normal” answers of the OD were demanded.

With that spirit we walk to the Centre International de Conferences Genève (CICG) where the Conference is being held. Strict badge checks, airport-style security procedures and then you are in the main building. But this infrastructure is just for the “real” Conference, the one were only the Official delegations can be inside the auditoriums doors, properly identified press and civil society representatives can get close and be in the halls, but not inside the auditoriums. For us there was a building right in front, where Seminars and Conferences were about to take place. These, and other venues around, are the places to exposes the ideas, policies, messages and debates that keep our institutions running on the pursue of Justice, Fairness, Development and Improvements goals in the Trade issues. I guess the main strategy is not to have seminars and conferences to justify our work and present our ideas among the same group of people, but to also and specially involve the official institutions, politicians and main actors in this play, in order to influence, create conscience, commitment, awareness and overall action.

This is one of the greatest challenges, and with the presence of the NGO´s and Civil Society Institutions, we are putting up a concrete fight for it: achieve a transparent and democratic functioning of the WTO.

In the meeting with the Norwegian delegation Aksel, the leader of The Development Fond, ask their opinion about NGO´s and CSI´s participation in the plenary sessions, it was pleasant to know that they did not see any reason for us not to be in any of the plenary sessions, but more than comforting, this confirmation from the Norwegian delegation became useful, it was during the first press conference between the WTO venue organizers and the NGO´s representatives, Aksel himself raised the comment and demand of participate in the plenary sessions supported by the Norwegian delegation. It was the only round of applause during the meeting. But it can also make us think of a proposal where each official delegation can agree on letting NGO´s and CSI´s participate, therefore the will of the plenary will allow an open, transparent and more democratic flow of the meetings.

From the program of activities we choose to attend to the Conference called “The Rights approach to trade rules”, in short there were presented different aspects on how to incorporate the Human Rights approach or perspective to Trade, with special attention to the right to food, which is an item ratified (made law) by more than 160 countries.

A briefing of the day from the O.D. to all the NGO´s and Civil Society Institutions was schedule for the end of the evening, but it was cancelled. We don´t know the reasons (yet), but as soon as we know it, we´ll let you know.

Also published on the Spire blog:

http://inspirerende.wordpress.com/2009/12/02/271/

Professional Profile

I made this profile of myself for apply to an internship, it was interesting because it had to be in third person and include aspects of my professional background.

Here it is:

He is a young adventurer, willing to experience the cultures of the world. Passionate Social Worker, who has now a Master in Social Welfare and Health Policy, with 4 years of experience on the Social/NGO sector he wants to devote himself to the Development work. With experience in community and projects evaluation, provision of social services, social programs manager and research.

To find and understand the reasoning behind every human action (and no-action) really fascinates him. He believes in the capacity to build your own future based on the present moment actions, the social empowerment of people and communities is visible in all his work. He has great commitment to his work, to manage projects and social programs, conduct research, be fund raiser, lead capacity building processes, make effective and human distribution of social services and get involve with people are the sparks that sets up his fire. He is social sensible professional that beliefs in the people and on collective changes for good.