Doctors Without Borders, also known as MSF, has published a new book entitled Humanitarian Negotiations Revealed – The MSF Experience, which describes how working in conflict zones makes negotiating inevitable if medical treatment is to be administered. This is not dissimilar to the work that SFCG does in the countries where we work, and we think the parallels between our work and that of MSF are interesting.
The book makes the case that there is no such thing as an abstract humanitarian space, but that there is huge responsibility from the aid actors themselves to defend and conquer their own space of work through negotiations, through compromises, through power struggle with authorities intersecting with civil society groups, international organizations, and governments.
Negotiations center on a search for common ground.
An MSF employee says, “You shouldn’t believe in yourself as the bearer of some absolute moral virtue. We have interests, the authorities have interests. And so we have to find common interests between those different parties and groups.”
You can read a recent Voice of America article about the book here.
SFCG Ads Encourage Voter Participation in the DRC
DRC votes in second free election
By Audra Gustin
Do you know how to vote?
We consider it a basic political right in democratic societies, but when your country has denied it to you for generations, either through sham elections or simple autocratic rule, voting can be a daunting and even meaningless action.
SFCG set out to change that in the Democratic Republic of Congo. read more…
Call for Applications: 2012 SFCG International Internships
Sangwe Festival in Burundi, organized by SFCG.
Do you want to be part of the work force that drives the largest conflict transformation organization in the world?
Would you like to spend 3 months living and working in one of the 28 countries in which SFCG currently implements cutting-edge peacebuilding projects?
Then check out our most recent call for applications for our 2012 International Internship Program.
On Holocaust Remembrance Day, a ray of hope
By Audra Gustin
As we remember the horrific events of the Holocaust, we regret that this historical event still falls victim to denial and accusations that Jews have distorted facts to advance their own interests in the Middle East. But a tide seems to have turned, at least in one country in the Middle East.
The Holocaust has been the subject of numerous movies, including Claude Lanzmann’s “Shoah.” “Shoah” is the Hebrew word for Holocaust; the movie is composed of first-hand accounts of concentration camp survivors and employees. First released in 1985, the first part has just aired on public state television for the first time in a majority-Muslim country, Turkey.
“It is a historical event,” Lanzmann told the Associated Press. “The Turks are engaged in a pioneering work and I am sure [the showing] will be followed by other Muslim countries.”
SFCG shares Lanzmann’s hopes, especially as Turkey also took the initiative to release its own movie last year, “The Turkish Passport”, which commemorates the heroic actions of Turkish diplomats during the Holocaust who issued Jews Turkish passports, saving thousands of lives.
Life presents us with many opportunities to be courageous, to start a dialogue about painful things, and to make unpopular decisions in order to do the right thing. At SFCG, we will go into the weekend reflecting on the actions of leaders and everyday citizens alike that are taking steps to ensure a more peaceful future throughout the world.
Audra Gustin, a student of intercultural communication, is finishing her M.A. in International Communication from American University. She is currently an intern with SFCG’s Communications Department in Washington, DC.
Peacebuilding reality show, Salam Shabab, gives Iraqi youth a voice and promotes inclusion
By Audra Gustin
In the midst of massive change in the Middle East and North Africa, youth have often been left voiceless, unsure of their roles in the social shifts and revolutions surrounding them. A new television program focusing on real life peacebuilding has given Iraqi youth the opportunity read more…
Can America Find its Common Ground?
Gabrielle Giffords' Goodbye via Youtube
Representative Gabrielle Giffords urges the American political system to do more by working together
“I know on the issues we fought for, we can change things for the better. Jobs. Border security. Veterans. We can do so much more by working together.” ~ Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in her farewell speech
This Sunday, January 22nd, Representative Gabrielle Giffords took to Youtube to announce her resignation in order to best serve her community. A year after her nearly fatal shooting, she still has much to do to recover. She has been much lauded by her fellow Representatives for her courage and determination, but here at SFCG, we find ourselves struck by her final message.
“We can do so much more by working together.”
Laurie Roberts, in her column at The Arizona Republic, asks ‘Can we?’ read more…
