On a trip to Switzerland last year, my visit happened to overlap with Swiss Labor Day. I remember this day vaguely from my childhood days, as I used to attend the yearly event with my mother. It was nice to see that some things had not changed. People of all ages, babies to retired citizens, attended the march through Zurich to a podium where a leader of the labor movement, fighting for union rights, took the podium after being introduced by some fiddlers and a short play by a political youth group.

Something that was striking to me was that at least a third of the population which marched with signs in the Labor Day demonstration was composed of immigrants. I noticed many Kurds with signs in Arabic and Turkish. Many of the signs were about immigrant rights as well as worker’s rights. Also, the main speech which began once we reached the end point of the march, focused on immigration. The speech began with praise for the participants and the continued support of the labor party and unions fighting for fair wages and sufficient benefits: profitable employment. Then, the speaker highlighted international issues such as the many migrants dying in transit while traveling toward better economic opportunity and ended with a self-critique asserting that Switzerland must do better: to support its workers whether native or immigrants.

I appreciated how many immigrants used the right granted to them by the Swiss democracy of marching for their rights. It is a freedom many citizens of democratic nations take for granted and fail to make use of.

Unfortunately, freedom, tolerance, unity and solidarity are regularly tested. The march I’m speaking of occurred on May 1^st, 2015, only a few months before the attacks in Paris, San Bernardino, and more recently Brussels. However, I hope that the sentiment of believing in the strength of the whole as a reflection of the strengths and support of all its parts will continue. We cannot be strong if we fear everything that is different, rather than embracing it and building a stronger, more diverse unity. In a few more weeks, we stand to see how the current political and social climate will affect the rights of laborers and migrants in Switzerland on May 1st.

In the midst of downtown Boston in early December 2015, conversations focusing on the values of diversity and inclusion filled the conference rooms of the Park Plaza Hotel where the School for Global Inclusion and Social Development at UMass Boston (UMB) held Building Inclusive Communities (BIC): Neighborhoods to Nations, its first global conference on inclusion.

This event brought together hundreds of professionals, academics, and students to discuss the importance of developing inclusion strategies and addressing marginalization. Diverse institutions were represented at the conference, from the Girl Scouts of America to the University of Lublin in Poland.

The conference was filled with lively discussions covering a variety of issues related to inclusion such as education, health and wellness, research, funding, and economic opportunities. The entire conference had an extremely collegial and collaborative atmosphere as discussions were facilitated through plenary sessions, breakout sessions, and group activities conducted over lunch.

Inclusion and health equity

A great strength of this conference was its ability to discuss a variety of different issues related to inclusion. Health and wellness is one such area that the conference addressed, particularly health equity. Health equity is defined by P. Braveman and S. Gruskin (2003) as the lack of systematic differences in health, or the social determinants of health, among groups of people in the same setting who have different social advantages and disadvantages, such as economic status or power.

One of the conference panels focused specifically on global health equity and was titled “Our Differences Shouldn’t Mean a Difference in Care.” During this session, the panelists discussed how their respective institutions are contributing towards efforts to promote greater global health equity and thus global inclusion. This panel, moderated by Dr. Courtenay Sprague, Associate Professor at UMB, and Dr. Jean Edward, Assistant Professor at UMB, involved two panelists – Ms. Pat Daoust, the Associate Director for Nursing at the Center for Global Health at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Cory MacMahon, a Nursing Educator with the organization Partners in Health – who both spoke about the importance of adequate healthcare services and health equity in the global context.

When discussing MGH’s global contributions toward health equity, Ms. Daoust emphasized MGH’s foundational principle that healthcare is a human right and should be available, accessible, acceptable, and of good quality for the communities it serves. Through her work with MGH, Ms. Daoust described how MGH’s Center for Global Health has 50 programs in over 40 countries that focus on three issues critical to achieving greater health equity worldwide – care, education, and innovation. Regarding care, MGH provides disaster relief services worldwide, including in response to the April 2015 earthquake in Nepal. Along with care, MGH also focuses on education for healthcare workers worldwide, which is particularly important given the global shortage of health workers. MGH’s Global Nursing Fellowship Program and its degree programs aim to contribute to advancing the skills of health workers worldwide. In regards to innovation, Ms. Daoust explained the role of the Consortium for Affiliated Medical Technologies (CAMTech) at MGH in this endeavor, which works to help advance medical technology worldwide.

Complementing Ms. Daoust’s discussion, Ms. MacMahon described how her work with Partners in Health (PIH) as a Nursing Educator is also helping contribute towards greater global health equity. Just like MGH, the same foundational principle – that health is a human right – guides the work of Partners in Health. Ms. MacMahon described how PIH operates over 60 health facilities in 12 countries with about 13,000 employees that are based locally in those countries. Specifically, PIH focuses on strengthening the health systems of the countries within which it works by building local capacity and working with the local public sector. The organization prioritizes partnering with local organizations in order to ensure sustainability in its programs. Specifically, PIH follows a principle of “accompaniment” through its work with local partners. Ms. MacMahon also emphasized that the impact of disease cannot be separated from the local socio-economic context, which plays a great role in PIH’s work worldwide.

One of the most prominent and compelling messages highlighted throughout these two presentations was the importance of understanding the local context in order to attain health equity. Ms. Daoust and Ms. MacMahon both described how two Boston-based institutions are having a global impact in trying to improve inclusion worldwide by contributing towards greater health equity. However, both panelists emphasized that implementation at the local level with local partners is critical for any international institution to adequately contribute to global health equity. Since health equity cannot be separated from a country’s specific local context, it is critical to remember that health equity efforts must be tailored to each specific context.

The way ahead

The closing plenary with Senator Tom Harkin, the architect of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), was another highlight from the conference that provided valuable insight into issues that need to be addressed in order to progress towards further global inclusion. For example, Senator Harkin discussed how even after the ADA passed, there are still attitudinal barriers that need to be broken down in order to achieve adequate inclusion of people with disabilities. In particular, people with disabilities still need more access to higher education, which is something he praised UMB for undertaking.

Despite his discussions about people with disabilities, Senator Harkin emphasized that there are also other excluded groups in addition to the disabled, such as the homeless and people of lower income. As a result, in order to adequately solve these inclusion issues, Senator Harkin emphasized that we need to include those who are marginalized in solving these problems.

The conference’s spirit and message can be well-captured in a closing remark made by Senator Harkin. He ended his inspiring speech by emphasizing that we should not put limitations on any segment of the population and that we should not accept anything as being fixed. Progress can always be made towards inclusion, particularly by including the excluded.

Resources: 

P. Braveman and S. Gruskin. 2003. Defining equity in health. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 57: 254-258.

Joseph Nye, distinguished professor of service and former dean of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, famously said the following: “Soft power is the ability to affect others to obtain the outcome you want” (Nye). In a world that is experiencing a spike in terrorist activities with spectacular displays of cruelty, soft power is politically harder to sustain but even more essential for effective governance. For the U.S., recent rhetoric on the campaign trail (Donald Trump suggested that all Muslims be banned from entering the U.S., or Ted Cruz who suggested that they carpet bomb areas that pose a threat to the U.S.) threaten more than just America’s loss of leadership in rallying the world in the fight against terrorism. Politics like this will alienate Arab countries; without whom the war on terror is already lost.

There is no doubt that America maintains an edge over all other countries in the world in terms of military might. The U.S. Defense budget is estimated at $585.2 Billion for fiscal year 2016, while that of Russia is estimated to be at $50 Billion in 2016. However, American leadership is only effective when the U.S. successfully deploys both military and diplomatic tools at its disposal. Failure to strategically deploy these tools undermines U.S leadership and prevents it from building bridges of trust. This is even more important after America’s military involvement in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and other Muslim countries. The toxic and inflammatory rhetoric seen recently on the campaign trail threatens America’s ability to gain a diplomatic upper hand.

The U.S. should be doing more to boost its public diplomacy efforts, not undermine them. This is important because as Nye states, “soft power is a staple of daily democratic politics” (Nye). With more than 9000 air strikes in Syria and Iraq since the campaign against ISIL begun, coupled with ISIL’s ability to still recruit, gain sympathizers in Western capitals, loosing the public diplomacy battle is a strategic blunder that should not be allowed to happen. Yet, this is exactly what the crop of republican candidates have offered in their language on the fight against terrorism.

One of the central components of soft power, according to Nye, is its foreign policy (Nye). America’s foreign policy as it currently stands has indisputably challenged its diplomatic leverage. In many countries, the U.S. has lost its “legitimate… moral authority” (Nye).

Perceptions matter and how one is perceived can be the deciding factor in politics. Those who witnessed the debate between Kennedy and Nixon would remember his perspiring face next to the calm and well-controlled Kennedy. Kennedy was perceived by many to be ready and charismatic, while Nixon looked uncomfortable and unprepared. With the rising threat of lone wolves, the ability of non-state actors including terrorists groups to use social media to recruit in the West, how can the U.S. build its soft power to counter the message of hate and terror? The divisive rhetoric and at times outright racist comments made by some republican candidates for the White House can only contribute to a decline in America’s soft power, and, by extension, a less safe world.

It would be wise for the likes of Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, and others to think beyond the primaries, and even the general election to what kind of a world they would face on day one after taking office should they be elected. Would it be a world ready to welcome and partner with the new U.S leadership, or one that sees the U.S as seeking to antagonize them? The complexity of current global governance issues require consensus building, and the broadening of coalitions as the Paris Climate talks demonstrated. As we push deep into the 21st century, successful leaders are going to be those who can appreciate international trends such as the increasing power of social media and non-state actors, and the challenges these pose to traditional governing bodies. In such a world, a wise leader would pay just as much attention to the power and effectiveness of public diplomacy, as they would that of military capabilities.

Reference:

The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 616, Public Diplomacy in a Changing World (Mar., 2008), pp. 94-109 published by Sage Publications, Inc.

Early in my work as coordinator of the Colombian Refugee Project in Quito, Ecuador, I learned about a courageous group of women supporting victims of forced displacement and sexual and gender based violence (SGBV) in Buenaventura, Colombia. They are called Mariposas de Alas Nuevas Construyendo Futuro (Butterflies with New Wings Building a Future). Last year, they won the prestigious Nansen Award from the United Nations for their extraordinary work. When we shared this inspiring story with the refugees, a woman from Buenaventura told us that she knew of them and asked us, “When are they coming to Quito?” I managed to contact them and they accepted our invitation, but invited us to Buenaventura first to witness how they work for peace amidst conflict. In a series of earlier blog posts, I write about my visit.

I wrote a proposal to fund this initiative as a final project for the course Conflict Transformation Across Borders offered through UMass Boston. In the class, I gained invaluable skills in researching and designing the proposal, and received considerable support submitting it to funding agencies. Thanks to generous support from the Mennonite Central Committee, Asylum Access, Catholic Relief Services and the UNHCR, we hosted two Mariposas—Rut and Victoria*—in November to speak about their work and to offer a workshop with refugee women on the prevention and elimination of violence.

In the Refugee Project, we encounter many refugees who have suffered from sexual violence not only when they were persecuted and compelled to flee Colombia, but also during their flight across the border into Ecuador where they continue to face the risk of SGBV. Once, a refugee from Buenaventura who came to the Project wondered aloud, “Did I escape from the violence in my home country only to suffer another kind of violence here?”

Recognizing that women on both sides of the Colombia-Ecuador border are finding nonviolent, creative and effective strategies to mitigate violence, we believed that it would be valuable to bring them together. With their profoundly personal experiences living within the Colombian armed conflict, the Mariposas were best suited to facilitate workshops to transfer their knowledge and animate refugee women to continue organizing themselves to respond to SGBV.

Beginning with a public panel discussion with representatives from Ecuadorian institutions at the Facultad Latinamericana de Ciencias Sociales (FLACSO), the Mariposas shared their testimonies while panelists offered their perspectives on combating sexual violence in Ecuador. Then they met with staff at the United Nations to talk about identifying and responding to sexual violence and visited a women’s shelter.

At every occasion, they spoke from the heart. For the Mariposas, their identity as women, their painfully personal stories of persecution, their connection to their ancestors, and the strong bonds of solidarity that tie them together are the bedrock on which they build their nonviolent resistance. “It is impossible to forget what has happened to us, but the fear with which we live unites us as women and compels us to continue our struggle—we are the descendants of the cimarronas† that could not be enslaved,” Victoria said, ending her sentence on a note of pride.

The fear is real, however, as the Mariposas have no guarantees for their protection when they cross invisible boundaries drawn by illegal armed groups and enter violent barrios to accompany victims of sexual violence. By analyzing the changing dynamics in the barrios, keeping a low profile, and staying in constant contact with one another, they minimize the risk to their lives.

Despite the risks, Rut affirmed, “When a woman is violated, we go immediately to protect this woman, because for us, a neighbor is part of our family.” But, mistrust and fear exist among neighbors because the illegal armed groups live among them. “The first thing that the armed conflict has done to us is divide us,” Rut lamented. And, this is worse for victims of sexual violence for whom stigma and reprisals from their aggressor(s) intimidate them into silence.

“Enough,” Rut said, “Our work is to go into communities to prevent violence and to sensitize women. How do we do it? By getting them to fall in love.” The Mariposas knock on doors, talk over coffee, share their personal stories, and even tell a few jokes to lighten the mood. Slowly, respectfully, they begin to build trust and break through the silence. Whereas the illegal armed groups employ a strategy of violence against women as a form of control; the Mariposas use a strategy of love to build a network of comadres, women knowledgeable of their rights, providing mutual support and protection to resist displacement and struggle for peace and justice.

Of their visit to Quito, one thing is for certain: the Mariposas’ strategy of love easily won over the refugee women. For two intensive days, the Mariposas facilitated a workshop at the Refugee Project with refugee women on the identification and prevention of sexual violence. At the end, the participants shared their intention to take what they learned back to their communities in Ecuador.

Curious, a refugee asked them, “Why do you call yourselves Butterflies with New Wings Building a Future?” “Because of a seven year old girl who had been violated,” Victoria responded. The only way this girl could give words to the unspeakable pain she felt was to utter: “I feel like a butterfly with broken wings.” When the women gathered to form their group they discussed what name to give themselves. The wilted spirit of this young girl weighed heavy on their hearts. One woman proposed the name Butterflies with Broken Wings, but another asked, “How will this little girl fly again if her—and our—wings are broken?” At that moment, they agreed to exchange their broken wings for new ones.

The Mariposas are building a peaceful future because they know that Buenaventura—and all of Colombia—can change. Structures of violence can be undone. For the refugees in Ecuador, the same hope is taking hold. A refugee from Buenaventura who participated in the workshop said, “My dream is to go home some day.”

David Sulewski participated in the UMass Boston/FLACSO Summer Institute on Conflict Transformation Across Borders in Quito, Ecuador. He works in Quito with the Mennonite Central Committee as coordinator of the Colombian Refugee Project.

* Their names have been changed

† Cimarronas are the enslaved Africans who escaped the chains of bondage and fled to live free in the mountains.

Given Turkey’s membership to NATO and the privileges that come with this membership, Russia will likely not choose to escalate the current crisis vis-à-vis NATO following the downing of the Russian jet by the Turkish Air force. However, short of a military response, Russia has a number of other highly effective tools that can ‘hurt’ Turkey. Russia provides over 50 percent of Turkey’s natural gas needs. In fact, both Iran and Russia (the two are very close allies in the Syrian conflict) provide more than ¾ of Turkey’s energy needs. Considering the winter months ahead, if Russia cuts off the natural gas, Turkey might face a huge energy shortage and that would surely have a devastating impact on Turkey’s already fragile economy.

Closely related to this issue, just a few months ago Turkey and Russia inked a natural gas pipeline deal – Turkish Stream – that would supply Turkey and parts of southern Europe with a much needed supply of natural gas. Such a project was going to be another ‘notch’ on Turkey’s growing influence in becoming a major energy transportation hub via a web of pipelines running primarily from East to West. Having these webs of pipelines is important, however, if you don’t have gas/oil to fill those pipes, it means nothing; especially if the supplier has other options to transport its products.

In addition to natural gas deals, Turkey and Russia finalized another huge energy project just this year. Turkey agreed to grant the construction deal of the country’s first nuclear power plant to Russia. The initial phase of the construction is already underway in Akkuyu, Mersin, Turkey. The project was to be completed in 2020 and, this project is part of Turkey’s comprehensive energy security plan to curb the nation’s growing energy reliance on imported natural gas and oil. If Russia or Turkey scraps this project that will be a huge setback for Turkey as such an action will delay the building of Turkey’s first nuclear energy plant for at least a few years.

Also, the Turkey-Russia tensions will place a huge pressure on Azerbaijan, Turkey’s closest ally in the region. Even though the current Azerbaijani government has very tight relationship with Turkey, it should not be expected that the Azeri government would openly stand by with Turkey against Russia. Since the fall of the Iron Curtain, Russia successfully ‘reintroduced’ its reformed influence onto many former Soviet republics, including energy rich Turkic republics of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. Russia will not hesitate to pressure the governments of these states to significantly reduce/if not cut their close ties with Turkey. And this is another area where power dictates the terms.

On a different front, the Kurdish issue is Turkey’s most sensitive and destabilizing problem. The so-called ‘peace process’ between PKK and Turkish government is now shattered in pieces just after the June 7^th elections. The armed conflict still continues to take lives of both civilians and Turkish security forces. Many Kurdish residents are forced out of their homes to move towards more secure areas. As of yet, there are no positive signs for the warring sides returning to the negotiating table for a new peace plan. Considering the historic close relationship between PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party recognized as a terrorist group by Turkey-EU-US) and Russia, it should not be a surprise to the observers of the region to see increased fighting and instability in Turkey’s eastern and south-eastern provinces between the Turkish security forces and PKK militants. That can only mean a further deepening of the insecurity for Turkey’s citizens across the country.

Lastly, Russia and Iran are the two staunch allies of Assad government in Syria. After today the downing of the Russian fighter jet, Turkey has no other option but to treat Iran in a similar fashion that it needs to treat Russia. And that will have serious consequences for Turkey. Beyond the serious obvious energy related consequences mentioned in previous paragraphs, there is a very important corruption trial going on in Iran for over a year now. According to news that are coming out this corruption trial, there are serious allegations for Turkey’s involvement (particularly, the members of AKP and Erdogan family) in international oil-for-gold laundering schemes. Some of the allegations indicate that despite Western sanctions on Iran (especially during the Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s term between 2005 and 2013), the officials linked to the Turkish government helped Iran to get around the sanctions. The investigation reveals that Turkey’s involvement is all but certain, but still, Iran chose to keep most of the serious allegations out of the international media’s attention. If, given the recent developments, Iran decides to release the documents that proves the involvement of the Erdogan’s AKP, that can seriously damage the credibility of Erdogan and the AKP both domestically, and internationally.

The question of whether the Russian Jet shot by the Turkish air force was in Turkish or Syrian airspace is one that will need clear, accurate, and verifiable data to prove. With a crowded airspace like the Syrian one now, it is only a matter of time before other similar events take place with perhaps, serious immediate consequences than have so far transpired. One thing that is clear however, is the mucho and dangerous behavior of the Russian air force over the past couple of years.

It is fairly common that once or twice, military jets from one country can mistakenly enter into restricted airspaces of another country. When this happens, often the intruding aircraft are escorted out swiftly and often followed by diplomatic efforts to warn the intruding country of its violation. When it comes to Russia, it has now become a serious problem as their violation of other countries’ airspaces has in the past few months occurred with a high frequency that has now developed into an almost detectable pattern. Both realists and liberals would find much to say about this almost erratic behavior of the Kremlin. The likes of Kissinger, and Mearshimer would say that these are only the vivid signs of a campaign from a country that has grown confident, or even untouchable given the nature of the current world system. Those on the other side of this spectrum would point to this behavior, as desperation from a country that is in decline and that is engaging in this behavior only to show that it is still relevant.

Regardless of where one might stand on the political spectrum, Russia’s behavior should be seen as a potential trigger for a major international crisis that can have serious repercussions to global stability. On one hand, Turkey responded to what they perceived to be Russian violation of their airspace with shooting down the allegedly, violating military aircraft. Militarily, Turkey’s capabilities are nowhere near those of Russia, and the same can be said of the two country’s economies. Russia’s economy stands today at $2 Trillion dollars, whereas that of Turkey is at $800 Billion, and the two countries spend $ 50 billion a year on defense for Russia and $15 billion for Turkey respectively. These numbers show that standing toe to toe, there is no logical reason why Turkey would take such a drastic measure against so powerful a foe. However, when Turkey’s NATO membership is taken into account, the dynamics shift dramatically. This is because NATO’s defense spending, and the economies of NATO member countries, far exceeds that of Russia. One will never know whether this was the thinking of the Turkish military leadership, however, the Kremlin must be aware of the NATO saying that, “an attack on one, is an attack on all”. It is here that the potential international crisis mentioned in the introduction of this brief appears all but certain should Russia choose to retaliate beyond its strong condemnation given by Kremlin. Either NATO will respond in a unified fashion to any Russian move against Turkey, or Russia will read the sign on the wall and refrain from following its verbal condemnation with any serious escalation. The seriousness of this incident was evident in the press conference where Both Presidents Obama and Hollande were asked as the first question, what the downing of the Russian jet, and whether this was going to pull NATO into a war with Russia.

On another hand, if Russia’s incursions into the airspaces of the various countries that it has violated had resulted into these countries shooting down of the Russian jets, Russia would be today in serious diplomatic and military confrontations with more than one powerful countries. As a reference, the U.S. has escorted Russian jets out of its airspace, the same is true for Britain, Sweden, Norway, and others, hence the pattern mentioned at the beginning of this brief.

With the stress put on the Russian economy by the sanctions following its involvement in Ukraine, coupled with the ongoing investigation into the downing of the passenger airplane into the territory controlled by the Russian backed rebels, it is hard not to come up with the conclusion that Russia is involved in one of the most serious chess games any country has ever played. The bigger question here then becomes, what are Russian’s intensions in this whole development? This question is perhaps more relevant to those with the realist bend, where the nature of international relations is widely believed to be anarchic, and where actors are perceived to be rational.

I remember the day when my parents told me we were moving to Canada. Although I didn’t understand why, I remember feeling the excitement of living in a place where I could build snowmen and have the perfect ‘white Christmas’ every year for the rest of my life. It wasn’t long until I found myself in Calgary, a city near the Rocky Mountains that was essentially the furthest I had ever been from home. At 8 years old, it was hard to understand that I would never play with my cousins, see my grandparents, or go to school as I was used to. It was then that I understood Medellin would no longer be my home.

As the years went by, I experienced a variety of mixed emotions that ranged from happiness and satisfaction, while others were more closely aligned with resentment and anger. I constantly thought to myself: I didn’t agree to come… why did they make me leave? It wasn’t until I visited the Mennonite Church here in Quito, home of the Colombian Refugee Project, that I understood the reasons why my parents made the choice that they did.

Listening to the testimonies of some of the weekly attendees was probably the most humbling and touching experience I have ever had in my entire life. Sarah*, a single mother of two from Colombia, explained her precarious situation as the Guerrilla was after her young boys to join the rebel army. Anna*, a young afro-Colombian woman from Colombia described how racism and discrimination pushed her out of the only place she had ever known, forcing her to leave family and friends behind. These testimonies are only two examples of thousands of experiences Colombian refugees face as they cross the border from their home to the unknown. Although each story and experience is unique, they seemed to have one thing in common: these individuals were never given the choice to stay.

Then it hit me – all these years I have acted as though my parents were trying to hurt me when in reality, the choice that they made probably hurt them more than I could ever imagine. Until now, I had never taken the time to truly appreciate all of the sacrifices they made in order to give my brother and I the best future that they possibly could. Even though we weren’t refugees, nor were we ever prosecuted by the guerrilla, or forced out of our country due to the color of our skin, the experience was just as heartbreaking – they didn’t believe they were given the choice to stay.

It all started when my dad’s job began to send him to San Carlos, a town near Medellin where the guerrilla’s presence was prevalent. Somehow, the overwhelming feeling of insecurity that he felt on his travels always tended to follow him home. As a result, insecurity and fear led to my dad’s anxiety and depression, which began to negatively affect us as a family. It wasn’t easy. But in order to ensure his health and our overall well being, he made the decision that it was time for us to go.

After leaving the workshop, I was immediately overwhelmed by guilt. How could I have ever been so insensitive? It was at this precise moment that my presence in the church changed from one of selflessness to one of self-seeking – I had never had the opportunity to reflect or analyze my own situation until I was presented with a visual of what the worst-case scenario could potentially look like. Its true, my parents had left everything behind. They left the house where they saw my brother and I take our first steps, the five minute walk to my grandparents’ house around the corner, the security of a well-paying job, and the country where they had met and fallen in love. They gave up the comforts of everything they had known and took a risk that had the possibility of bringing them something better, while it also had the possibility of bringing them complete failure. Despite the odds, like many Colombian refugees that cross the border into Ecuador on a daily basis, they decided to take the risk.

I was lucky. I had a wonderful childhood, a great education; I met my boyfriend, fell in love, and had the opportunity to meet people from countries all over the world. People I would have never had the opportunity to meet otherwise. The sad part is that all of these aspects of my life had been taken for granted until this moment. Therefore, I would like to thank the Mennonite Church in Quito as well as the coordinators of the Colombian Refugee Project for granting me the opportunity to be appreciative and thankful for all of the things, experiences, and people I have in my life. Each one of these things has made me the person that I am today.

*Names of Refugees have been changed for their safety and security.

Julie Moreno was a participant in the UMass Boston/FLACSO Summer Institute on Conflict Transformation Across Borders in Quito, Ecuador.  She is the Program Coordinator and Research Assistant at the Center for Mediation, Peace, and Resolution of Conflict (CEMPROC).

From July 27-29, 2015 I was lucky enough to attend a workshop entitled “Migration, Urbanization, and Health in Southern Africa: Interdisciplinary Conversations,” hosted by the African Centre for Migration and Society at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. This three day, interdisciplinary workshop and meeting brought together researchers – including graduate students – from across the Southern African region and beyond to discuss the intersecting issues of health, migration, and urbanization in the region. My fellow participants brought a breadth of expertise in differing fields of study to bear on these intersecting issues, including psychology, geography, sociology, anthropology, and public health. As a doctoral candidate in global governance and human security, and as one who has done previous work on migration and health in South Africa, I felt right at home in this interdisciplinary approach to understanding how the complex phenomena of migration, urbanization, and health interact with each other in South Africa and throughout the region.

Among the many topics presented were talks on urbanization and health, primary health care, securitization, discrimination against migrant pregnant women, and migration and health in Botswana. For my own presentation, I talked about some of the previous work I have done in Johannesburg with civil society on how migrants access – or do not access – public health care services in the city. Each of the presentations provided unique insights and perspectives on the themes of the workshop, which provided a useful platform for us to retool and expand our thinking on how migration, urbanization, and health interact in these Southern African settings. It was also was striking how many of these seemingly dissimilar research projects brought forth some similar ideas and themes. Many of our discussions focused on questions such as how to define a migrant and how to define health – questions that may, on the surface, appear simple and straightforward but in reality can be quite complex and highlight a potential difficulty in working across disciplines where definitions very often may differ.

In my own work, I have thought a lot about how to bridge these interdisciplinary divides – but have yet to find a clear cut answer. As someone with a professional and academic background in public health, who is trying to engage with broader issues of migration, public policy, governance, and marginalization, it is sometimes difficult to decide on methodology, conceptual and theoretical frameworks, and positioning in the literature. In my contribution to this conference and discussion, I looked to the concept of human security, applying this framework to the (in)accessibility of health care services to migrants in Johannesburg. The idea behind human security, first developed in a 1994 UNDP Human Development Report, is to bring the referent of security to the individual, rather than the State, and includes focus on the things that affect an individual’s every day life – access to food, a good job, and personal, community, and political security. In addition, the authors of the 1994 report identified health security as one of the components to overall human security. And while there is much being written on health security, there is – somewhat surprisingly – very little empirical work in the literature examining health as a component of human security or the intersections between health and human security more broadly.

Interestingly, I find that some of the concepts within the human security framework align closely with the social determinants of health framework, originally developed by a group of experts commissioned by WHO and released in 2008. Put simply, the social determinants of health look beyond health care services and the health sector to try to understand how an individual’s social, economic, and political position can affect their health. Income, education, gender, social class, and the political and socioeconomic context in which one lives are all significant contributors to health and well being. What both human security and the social determinants of health helps us to realize is that in order to develop a comprehensive understanding of health and wellbeing, we need to look beyond simply health care services and the health sector.

All of this brings up back to two of the questions that emerged from the conference and were posed earlier: how to define a migrant and how to define health? While these frameworks alone are not able to answer these questions, they do seem to provide tools for understanding the complexities of migration, health, and the interaction between the two. Migration is not a homogenous endeavor, nor are experiences and understandings of health. Both are greatly influenced by the social, economic, and political contexts in which they occur. An interdisciplinary approach allows us to critically engage with this complexity, and is the type of work that will continue with the newly formed regional network on migration, urbanization, and health in Southern Africa.

In liberal democracies, any political party that fails to fulfill its promises and looses touch with its constituency suffers greatly in the polls. The Labor Party’s loss against the Conservatives in Britain only a few months ago and PASOK’s dramatic decline and Syriza’s groundbreaking ascend in Greece since 2009 are only the few instances of such shake-ups in the national political scenes. Likewise, the results of the latest parliamentary elections in Turkey proved the quintessential rule mentioned above for the AKP as well, as the governing party since 2002, received %20 less votes in 2015 compared to the prior parliamentary elections of 2011.

June 7^th Election

Just over a month ago, on June 7, the most recent and arguably consequential parliamentary elections took place in Turkey. The election resulted with the following two very important developments: on one hand, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) secured %41 of the votes, down 9 points, and consequently lost the majority in the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) that is necessary to form a government on its own. On the other, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) ascended spectacularly by capturing %13 of the votes in the polls, pushing them over the national threshold to acquire seats in the parliament. Therefore, HDP’s gain translated into the AKP’s actual loss of its majority as it ultimately stripped it of the ability to form a single-party government.

This outcome shocked many within the AKP even though in the past several years, there were early signs (i.e. Gezi protests, the 17/25 corruption scandals) indicating its imminent downfall. Moreover, AKP’s loss of the ability to form a single-party government created a jubilant mood across the anti-AKP movement, as ‘coalition’ became one of the most-pronounced words in the public spheres for the first time in 13 years.

This is one of the famous photos that circulated in the media about the 17/25 corruption scandals.

The warning signs of the declining influence of the AKP pointed to the need for it to reconcile with the dissatisfied voters whose support it desperately needed. Instead, the AKP chose to double down with its divisive rhetoric that further alienated a substantial chunk of Turkish voters. Days before the June 7^th election, when it was becoming clear that HDP may surpass the national electoral threshold of %10, the AKP embarked on a campaign to remind voters of the disastrous experiences of coalition governments in Turkey over the past couple decades. According to their argument, Turkey needed a ‘single-party’ government (Notice the implied notion that this ‘single-party government’ has to be AKP, not one of the other parties).

Even though it is far from being clear whether a coalition will be formed or the country will face an early election in the coming months, it is crucial to revisit the issue of what I coined as ‘informal coalition’ (IC) in Turkey. First, IC can simply be described as a highly diverse group of concerned citizens who were frustrated deeply by the economic and political instability prior to the 2002 elections. These concerned citizens decided to give unprecedented support for AKP. Second, while there were numerous small groups within the IC; the overwhelming majority was the concerned citizens of the ‘center-right conservative liberals (C-RCL)’, and the former prime minister and current President Tayyip Erdogan-led ‘reformists’ (yenilikci) – former members of the National Vision (Milli Gorus) movement.

It is important here to point out what I see as the crucial role of the C-RCL for the survival of AKP and Erdogan’s rule in Turkey. Understanding the role that C-RCL plays in keeping Erdogan in power is important for the following two reasons: one, to gain insight into what is happening in the post-June 7^th election Turkey, interested parties need to grasp the dynamics of its internal politics. Two, for Turkey to maintain its hope of joining the European Union, and for its alliance with the West in the fight against ISIS to work, it is crucial that it maintains a functioning government.

Understanding the IC: Coalition of The Concerned Citizens

Even though AKP may give the impression of a well-established party today, it started as an IC that was formed by concerned citizens who came from diverse political backgrounds within the Turkish society. Within the IC, the overwhelming majority came from the C-RCL that traditionally voted for the True Path Party (DYP)-Motherland Party (ANAP) duo for many years. In addition, the C-RCL was composed by many non-political sub-groups, i.e. Gulen Movement, that were convinced that by supporting the AKP in the polls, Turkey could finally overcome its decades-long political and economic stalemate.

The second large block that formed IC was and still is the National Vision movement supporters. The National Vision, an Islamist grassroots organization, was represented under various party names (RP, FP, SP) in the polls. Similar to CHP and MHP, this political movement has a core support base that has been crucial for the AKP’s ability to stay in power since 2002. The majority of the National Vision members stood by the Erdogan –led AKP despite the reformists’ declaration of breaking with the National Vision movement during the formation of the AKP in 2001.

The IC’s initial momentum came from the natural outcome of the deep frustration in the society during the spectacular failure of the coalition government (DSP-MHP-ANAP) led by Bulent Ecevit, the former chairman of the Democratic Left Party (DSP). The coalition government lasted less than 3 years – between 1999 and 2001. During the tenure of this coalition government, Turkey went through one of the most devastating economic and political crises in its history.

Additionally, the common principles and elevated concerns for the well being of the country were the leading drivers for C-RCL’s support for the Erdogan-led AKP in the polls. These common principles and concerns could be described as follows:

• Taking Turkey out of the decades-long cycle of political-economic turmoil.
• Speeding up the EU integration process by adopting a series of urgently needed legislation for the betterment of the minority rights.
• Rebalancing the civil-military relations in line with those of modern Western democratic standards.

Furthermore, AKP’s promises also included the fight against rampant corruption and an increase in promoting transparent governance in the state structure. In short, ‘modernizing Turkey in every way’ was the core undertaking that the voters believed in and therefore lend their support for AKP. These promises were important key factors for the AKP’s rise to power by securing %34 of the votes in the parliamentary elections of 2002, and for its subsequent victories in 2011.

Scene from an election rally in Turkey

How important is the IC for Erdogan-AKP duo?

Here, it is crucial to look into the election results between the 1991 and 2002 timeframe, so that we may have a better idea about IC and its significance for AKP-Erdogan duo.

What does the %10 electoral threshold mean?

Any party that receives less than %10 of the votes nationwide does not get to be represented in the parliament. For instance, in 2002 elections, DYP received about 3 million votes (%9.5) and therefore did not pass the threshold and did not get to send any MP to the national assembly.

In the table above, the National Vision (RP, FP) received %17, %21, and % 15 of the votes in 1991, 1995 and 1999 parliamentary elections, respectively. During the same time period, the two main center-right parties, DYP and ANAP, totaled %51, %39, %25 of the votes in 1991, 1995 and 1999, respectively. The DYP and ANAP duo could only get %14.5 of the votes in 2002, while AKP captured %34 of the votes. Nine years later, while DYP and ANAP were wiped off of the Turkish political scene, AKP was able to increase its votes up to %50 in 2011 elections.

The AKP’s core voter base, starting with the 2002 elections, has always been the National Vision. The rest of the voter support came heavily from the C-RCL voters who used to vote for the DYP-ANAP duo for many years prior to AKP’s rise to power. Therefore, it would be feasible to assume that AKP’s core voter base could total merely around %15-18 of the votes, if or when the C-RCL decides to abandon the AKP entirely.

As the June 7 election results indicates, while the sizeable portion of the C-RCL continued to support AKP in the June 7^th election, some within the C-RCL ended their support for the Erdogan-AKP duo. For the first time in 13 years, AKP lost big in the polls and to many, this constituted a significant break that the opposition had been waiting for. The Anti-AKP movement is encouraged greatly by such a tender and fluid situation that surfaced at the June 7^th election. I believe that the AKP’s higher echelon and Erdogan are well aware of such a delicate a situation. I suspect that Erdogan fears that the outcome of the June 7^th elections has created the possibility of an unstoppable downturn similar to that of the DYP-ANAP duo for the party in the coming years if not months.

IC No More: Consolidation through Polarization

As many would agree, the deep resentments and disagreements within the IC initially started to surface in 2010 (Gaza Flotilla incident with Israel) and then this divergence increased dramatically after the 2011 parliamentary elections. In spite of the Erdogan’s promise of ‘open arms to everyone – voted for or against AKP’, AKP’s leadership increasingly ignored the demands for further reforms. Specifically, they ignored the demand to create a modern and civilian constitution. The party’s leadership started to sideline many of its original supporters in the IC and even framed the slightest criticism as a treason that was ‘orchestrated by domestic and foreign enemies’.

During the 2011-2013 period, the IC was in full swing of falling apart. The broad spectrum of intellectuals, writers and scholars from the C-RCL were expressing deep concerns for AKP’s unfortunate transformation from a broad-based reformist movement to a single-man’s authoritarian agenda. Marred with corruption scandals, the over-confident Erdogan-led former members of the National Vision were increasingly using fear-mongering tactics against the other members of the IC.

The Gezi protests in June 2013 and the eruption of the corruption scandals in December 2013 (coined as 17/25) were the two most important events that marked the beginning of the end of the IC. One of Erdogan’s oldest friends pointed out the AKP’s unprecedented transformation saying, “AKP is now governed by a small elite group of oligarchs”. Such references were among many others that indicated the AKP’s stark divergence from its founding principles that were shared by millions of Turkish citizens in 2002. It was becoming clear that Erdogan was aiming to ‘own’ the AKP by consolidating as much vote and power as possible. For Erdogan, the consolidation was necessary for AKP’s (and his) continued rule in the country. It was inevitable that this approach would only create catastrophic consequences on the cohesion that Erdogan desperately needed. These consequences were a direct result of the highly polarized methods used by Erdogan in order to consolidate power.

As a result, the support of some in the IC, namely Gulen Movement and some other conservative liberals, were not just sacrificed but they were immediately turned into ‘enemy #1’. Especially the Gulen Movement was declared by Erdogan as the illegal ‘parallel structure’ within the state and deemed that it was to be eliminated entirely for almost all the wrongdoings that took place during the AKP’s 13 years of ruling.

Alternatively, the US-led international allies were also concerned about increasing instability in Turkey during this time. However, the priority for the US-led allies was about what was happening in Syria. Their reluctance to be more critical of the AKP was due to the critical situation in Syria. Geopolitics, and a waning credibility acquired during the 2002-2011 period of the AKP’s reign were its own remaining cards to play. However the wide spread corruption scandals, a dissipating economic stability and a growing frustration within the society for AKP’s mishandling of the state power were slowly working against it.

Between the years of 2013 and 2015, AKP’s conversion from an ‘informal coalition’ to ‘one-man show’ intensified. Some in the C-RCL, including the Gulen Movement, pulled their support entirely during this era, while the rest were gradually starting to ask serious questions about the grave developments that were taking place in the country daily. For many around the country, the stark contrast between what AKP represented in 2002, and then later in 2015 is almost like day and night; from a broad-based IC in 2002 to the one man’s party in 2015.

Sleepless Nights for the Erdogan-AKP Duo

The outcome of the June 7^th elections is a ‘stern warning’ flag, waved by Turkey’s citizens for AKP to go back to its original founding principles and values when it was formed in 2001. So far, voter support has decreased from %50 in 2011 to %41 on June 7 of this year. If the party ignores this warning, it is very plausible that AKP will continue its decline and eventually will lose its significance in the Turkish political landscape just like it did for the DYP/ANAP duo. Even the remote possibility of such a depressing outcome certainly means more sleepless nights not just for the top AKP officials but Erdogan as well.

The stakes are especially high for Erdogan as he is likely to run for the presidency once more in about 4 years. Given the seriousness of the number of allegations linking him and his family members directly to the 17/25 corruption scandals, his political future will be on shaky grounds for sometime to come. Furthermore, it is unlikely that he will be elected as a president one more time when AKP has mismanaged its political capital as proven by the significant loss of support within the Turkish society and especially among the C-RCL. Since he ‘successfully’ polarized the majority of Turkey’s voters, almost all of his support for his bid for the presidency has to come from the AKP’s voter base.

In short, the AKP’s officials need to remember that their party’s success was the outcome of an informal coalition between the years 2002 and 2011. Ignoring the AKP’s own background and assigning blame for Turkey’s current troubles to ‘highly coordinated domestic and foreign enemies’ will only destabilize Turkey further and place it in an even weaker position in it’s regional race to acquire supremacy in both diplomatic, and economic realms.

(This article was written in the weeks prior to the Iran Nuke Deal)

When nurses are also patients: IPV and the health system as an enabler of women’s health and institutional agency in Johannesburg. Global Public Health (published online 3 April 2015), 14 pp.

C Sprague, N Woollett, J Parpart, A Hatcher, T Sommers, S Brown & V Black

Abstract:

While violence against women is a recognised global health problem, women’s agency in marginalised settings is poorly understood, particularly in relation to health systems. We explored agency as a practical and theoretical construct through qualitative research among 20 nurses with direct or indirect experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV) in Johannesburg. Interviews conducted from August 2013 to March 2014 generated rich descriptions from respondents in five health facilities. Nurses’ self-reported IPV matched national prevalence of 24-31%. Findings revealed the way in which agency is enacted by nurses, allowing them the economic means to leave abusive partnerships, yet disabling them from agency and health promotion in their workplace. At the same time, nurses expanded agentic possibilities for patients by enabling a national response to IPV within South African health clinics – one that is largely undocumented. We posit that nurses can serve as important agentic actors in public health systems in low- and middle-income country settings by assisting patients to address IPV, even in the absence of targeted training and guidelines. To ensure the health and well-being of women experiencing IPV, nurses should be supported by the health sector to respond skilfully to patients and to safely process their own experiences of violence.

Article link here:

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17441692.2015.1027248#abstract