During our class on International Security, we visited Ermelo, a Dutch military base located in the province of Gelderland. We had the privilege to share opinions and learn the first-hand experiences of Battalion Commander Jaco Brosky in Bosnia and Afghanistan. Despite the severity of the situations that occurred in Bosnia and continue today in Afghanistan, Commander Brosky spoke very frankly about each case. After outlining both successes and failures in these examples, he insisted that a “comprehensive approach” to tackling these problems is a requisite of the global community. The overarching concept that Commander Brosky was pushing is the need to coordinate and facilitate cooperation between civil and military branches of government.

As students of International Relations, hearing the perspectives of military officers was eye-opening and refreshing. In the classroom we often delve into scenarios of the past and the lessons learned from them, but infrequently see the viewpoints of members outside our field of study. This excursion gave us the chance to see that people in the military are not hard-headed and trigger-happy individuals, but rather people that are looking for a solution just as much as we are.

As Commander Brosky mentioned, the military is not all about filling the bad guys with lead. Indeed, the intricacies of a military endeavor are convoluted to say the least. A few of the many tasks they are given include juggling the baffling numbers of NGOs, increasing the infrastructure of the countries in question, and distinguishing between civilian and target populations. The media often paints the military as a “shoot first, ask questions later” type of institution, but this is not so everywhere in the world. A captain who serves under Commander Brosky mentioned that the armed forces of different countries each have their own approaches. Indeed, some of them do shoot first and ask questions later, but others, like the Dutch military, are calling for greater cooperation between the diplomats and the generals.

The more you study International Relations, the more cynical you tend to become about the world system that prevails today; at least this has been my experience. However, rather than nurture this cynicism into pessimism, it is important to maintain a hopeful outlook on the world. The teachings and perspectives of our professor, the ex-diplomat, Marije Balt, coupled with the uniting opinions of Commander Brosky, has added a breath of fresh air towards this outlook that is sometimes difficult to maintain.

Rather than being taught in a stringent and dry academic approach, learning from someone who has worked in our field of study has been like looking through a hole in the fence of my future. Seeing the cooperation between the military and civil arms of the government has given new dimensions to what an ordinary International Relations class would look like. It also inspired new thoughts and ideas for how to conduct ourselves when we are the ones at the future negotiation tables.

Instructor Ivan Augsburger submitted the following short introductions written by his students about each other.

Julia Taylor by Sarah Poss: A native of St. Louis, Ms. Taylor is a sprightly and jubilant young woman.  Among her many fine qualities, Ms. Taylor demonstrates great strength and determination.  Her desire to travel and expand her knowledge drove her to take on two jobs in order to support her dream of seeing Europe.  She said, “I finally got a sense that my hard work paid off upon arriving in Europe and living on my own.”  She thinks her greatest accomplishments are being able to work hard and support herself.  Moving to Leiden alone and being financially independent are certainly accomplishments themselves.  With Ms. Taylor’s work ethic and strong motivation, this future special education teacher has many adventures in front of her.

Charef Scandar by Marjorie Peters: Charef is from Egypt. He’s very passionate about sports and the places that he wants to visit. He is good in football and race car driving. Charef loves going to the beach and said, “Malaysia is my dream destination.” He has great skills on the water. Jet skiing is one of them. Camping and fishing are among the other things that he’s good at. He is very talented in many different ways. His drawing is very artistic and creative. He’s also a champion in video gaming. Charef is good at everything.

Damla Turhan by Julio Vera: Damla Turhan is from Istanbul, Turkey and is a 20-year-old student at Webster University in Leiden. She is majoring in Psychology and enjoys it a lot. Her favorite class is currently Adolescent Psychology and she would like to take more social classes in the future. Damla really enjoys horseback riding, researching films, and music – mainly African music and from old records.

Yu Zeller by Judea Favela: Yu is a twenty-one-year old Freshman at Webster University. He enjoys almost all sports; he also enjoys House Music and he likes to try new things. Among trying new things he likes to eat different meats such as whale meat, pigeon meat, deer meat, and also cow tongue. “I even tried pig’s vagina once,” he said with a chuckle. Yu is a firm believer that everyone needs to try everything once. He thinks that in order to be more well-rounded, you must get out of your shell, and try new things.

Julio Vera by Damla Turhan: Julio was born on August 28, 1993. He is from the city of Monterrey in Mexico. Julio is not an only child; he has a fourteen-year-old sister. Julio likes to travel because he enjoys observing different cultures. He has traveled around Europe and North America. In his opinion, so far the most culturally interesting place he has been is the Netherlands. The reason for this is because Dutch people ride bikes everywhere. Currently, Julio is studying International Business Management at Webster University in Leiden and his favorite course that he has taken is Micro Economics.

Kevin Goeldner by Mohsin Beg: Kevin Goeldner is nineteen years old and has lived all his life in Germany. The city Kevin comes from is Dusseldorf. It is his first time living in a different country, which is The Netherlands. His most favorite sports are fencing and playing tennis. He loves playing video games on his laptop. He has a great passion in playing computer games.

Kylie Luteraan by Amber de Neve: It’s a generally known fact that cats are awesome. Kylie agrees; she likes cats very much. However, she can’t keep one as a pet because she is living in the dorms. There are a few reasons for this. One, the student dorms have a strict no-cats-allowed policy. Hypothetically, Kylie could still get around this and sneak one in. However, Kylie might attract unwanted attention as she hurriedly runs up the stairs with a meowing box. The most pressing problem though is the lack of space. “Where would I even put the litter box?” Kylie ponders. Oh well, Kylie can always get a cat later and perhaps have a pet rock for the time being.

Getting to Know Sarah Mahaffey by Tanya Hirmiz: Sarah is nineteen years old. She was born on the Dutch/German border: however she considers herself German. She lived in Georgia for five and a half years because her father was in the military. Sarah said, “I call Berlin or Georgia home depending on where I live.” She now has lived in the Netherlands for ten years. Sarah’s father is Irish and her mother is German Italian and she has a sister who is ten years older and is in the Air force. Sarah is currently studying marketing management at Webster University. Her hobbies are running, singing, and dancing. She explained that she is a picky eater. Her favorite color is white and her favorite number is thirteen. Sarah’s fear is she is afraid of heights. She knows two and a half languages, which are English, German, and a little Dutch. Sarah is a bright person for knowing two and a half languages.

Sarah the Psych Major by Julia Taylor: Sarah Poss is a twenty-two-year-old Psychology major from Orange County, California. As college students, it is easy for us to see people as only their major; it would be easy to look at Sarah and say, “That’s Sarah the psych major.” Upon interviewing Sarah, though, I found that she is much more than that. Sarah was home schooled as a child and finished high school at just seventeen. College wasn’t in her plans at that time. In fact, Sarah didn’t really care for school, as her passion in life was ballet. “You only need to be able to count to eight to be a dancer,” Sarah said, and thus got a job as a dancer in the Dutch National Ballet. While there, Sarah met her current fiancée, but not before moving to Russia for two years at the age of nineteen. Now, Sarah has moved back to Amsterdam to be with her fiancée and has since started her own business: an on-line dance wear store, for which she designs the clothes. Sarah says she wants to someday work as a psychologist for the C.I.A. Sarah Poss is a unique and multitalented young woman – far more than simply “Sarah the Psych major.”

Tanya  Hirmiz by Sarah Mahaffey: Tanya is a twenty-one-year-old native Californian with a heritage stemming from Iraq. She speaks English, Aramaic, and a bit of Arabic. Her family still lives in San Diego, and her siblings, which include two younger sisters and one younger brother, all admire her international living in the Netherlands. When asked about traveling to Iraq, she answered,”I never visited Iraq, nor do I ever want to.” Her favorite color is pink and her lucky number is seven. She is currently a freshman at Webster University studying ABSS (Applied Bachelor of Social Sciences). She grew up in California until two years ago when she moved with her husband to The Netherlands. Though she does not eat seafood, Tanya enjoys fishing. Tanya is a perfect example of multicultural living as she is an American with Iraqi roots living in Holland.

Photo credit: Nicole Rand

By Taryn Putinta

“One in three women will either be raped or beaten in her lifetime.” That’s a big statistic; when most people read that one billion women will be raped or beaten, it makes them think, “I can’t do anything about that, I’m just one person.” Wrong.  On February 14^th, 2013 you can dance in two flash mobs in Leiden to raise awareness to help put an end to all of it!

Nicole Rand, a senior Psychology major at Webster University has brought this event to Webster and teamed up with the Bijlmer Project, to raise money and awareness to help end violence against women. Nicole explains her motivation behind getting everyone together for this cause. “The strike involves rising up and dancing, to shake the world into awareness to the fact that one in three women will either be raped or beaten in her lifetime, that’s 1 billion women. Hearing this statistic not only outraged me, but also made me realize that I can no longer sit back and do nothing. I must do something to try and stop the violence that so many women experience on a daily basis. Women are the greatest resource on this planet, and we/they need protection, and we need and deserve to feel safe in the world. With this event, I am trying to create awareness, awareness of this terrible fact, but also a demand to stop the violence. I think it is extremely important that all men and women take part in this event, simply due to the fact that this statistic affects everyone on the planet, not just women. It’s especially important that men stand up and fight to end this violence, since mostly men are the ones perpetrating the violence towards women. If men get together and rise to say ‘no more,’ then change will occur, and women must rise to protect their friends, sisters, mothers, daughters, aunts, cousins. Just one is too big of a number, one billion is an atrocity, and things must change.”

Every day for the last two weeks women from the staff and students of Webster have been meeting to practice their moves for the flash mob, “It’s time to break the chain,” so where are our Webster men? It’s time to step up gentlemen! Practice is every day in the Living and Learning Center.onook at the Facebook event page, One Billion Rising Leiden, to keep yourself updated and informed.

The steps are simple, the song is great, and the cause is worthy. What’s your reason to rise? One billion rising is a worldwide event that has flash mobs popping up on every continent! You can find your local rising at http://www.onebillionrising.org/.

Once the hype of almost every major media source around the globe, the Occupy Movement has managed to slither its way out of the news cycle.

How could something that is considered one of the biggest movements of our generation practically dissipate overnight?

Despite what you may have read, or not read—since there is hardly any news coverage on it—this movement and its remaining advocates, are still going full force for the cause.

The Monstrous Media

As the number of articles and activists declined, the more those who did remain involved were sometimes portrayed as “silly hippies that just take up space.”

However, those who have been involved have a slightly different opinion of the decaying publicity and commitment.

“As far as the media coverage is concerned, I think it’s all been negative because their corporate daddies don’t want people protesting, especially with the Occupy movement. It’s not about the news, it’s about what sells. It’s about making money and it’s about influencing people the way they want others to be influenced. You need to search for truth these days,” said activist Colin Healy.

Most news stories about the movement were about arrests made, and clearing out campers for loitering, and violating bans that had not been passed yet, or whatever other excuse they could come up with. The most recent examples are the Occupy Rotterdam and Occupy London camps.

Reporters for Radio Netherlands Worldwide said that over a dozen protesters in Rotterdam were arrested for ignoring a ban on protesting at the Stock Exchange Square at the World Trade Center, put in place by Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb. A judge later ruled that a complete ban would be inappropriate, but agreed that the camp should be moved for events such as, in this case, the Rotterdam Marathon. After the marathon, protesters were told they could not rebuild their camp due to fire-safety issues.

Across the North Sea at Occupy London, reporters for BBC said that five people were arrested for setting up a temporary camp outside the London Stock Exchange on Paternoster Square. They went on to say that an injunction was in place, making it illegal to stage protests in Paternoster Square. Although the protesters’ goal was foiled soon after it began, an Occupy spokesperson claimed that this was something they had wanted to do since October 15^th, 2011 and that, “this is a force that will not be stopped.”

On the Bright side

Although the majority of the media reports deal with arrests, a gleam of goodness does manage to shine through now and again.

Last year, Paul Mason of the BBC met with artists in New York who were affiliated with the Occupy protests.

From painters and actors, to a team with their own 99% “Bat-Signal,” his video explores how these artists were taking their stand and getting the message to as many people as possible. They claim, “We are our own superhero.”

Unanswered Questions

Most towns still may have a small group of protesters, but how many are actually there for the cause? Has it just become a haven for the homeless, or is it really for those who are determined to make a difference?

As far as the media is concerned, have the stories stopped due to lack of interest by today’s on-the-go and short attention-spanned readers, or is that their plan to aid in silencing protesters? Is the media to blame for so many having abandoned the cause?

These are all questions that I myself tried to find the answers to, however, with the police clearing out protesters due to special events like the one mentioned above in Rotterdam, these questions still remain unanswered.

Photo Credits:

1^st Photo: http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&gbv=2&biw=1366&bih=667&tbm=isch&tbnid=DoPGGmiD5mpHcM:&imgrefurl=http://www.occupyphillymedia.org/content/we-are-still-here&docid=irX0vWIovdig-M&imgurl=http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lvnwamuQvJ1qeshubo2_500.jpg&w=426&h=640&ei=li6pT9uUCNSL4gTGy9HvDw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=187&vpy=281&dur=323&hovh=275&hovw=183&tx=110&ty=170&sig=108640267840933107319&page=2&tbnh=155&tbnw=116&start=21&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:21,i:120

2^nd Photo:  “American Wasted” by Chris Garza

 Article links to stories mentioned:

Occupy Rotterdam: http://www.rnw.nl/english/bulletin/occupy-rotterdam-protesters-arrested

Occupy London: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-17919750

New York Artists: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17903474

Photo credit: Brittany Brown

By Brittany Brown

Hallo. Hoe gaat het? Ik spreek geen Nederlands. These may be simple Dutch phrases for local residents in Leiden, The Netherlands, but for some Webster University students, it is a different experience to not know the language at all.

Leiden is filled with many different cultures, but the official language of the country is Dutch. For new students, this poses a problem. Often, many become overwhelmed and speak in English. The location often determines the outcome of the experience.

Senior International Relations major from Istanbul, Ela Goksun, had a frustrating first interaction with the Dutch culture. She is a strict vegetarian. After the plane ride to Leiden, she went to grab a sandwich. There she ran into the language barrier. “I asked one of the employees to read me the ingredients to make sure it was vegetarian friendly. . . . He then read the ingredients [in Dutch] and was too shy to translate them for me.” She left the store with no sandwich in hand.

The language barrier does not stop there. The streets are filled with Dutch conversations and laughter. Advertisements, restaurant menus, train stations, and the grocery store are filled with the Dutch language.

Supermarkets seem to be the most frustrating place for new students in Leiden. The packaging around the food is all in Dutch. The fruits and vegetables are self explanatory since there is no box surrounding them. However, for boxed foods, one must examine the pictures and learn what the food is that way.

A junior Audio Production major student from America, Alex Cupp, had difficulties at the market. He wanted to purchase vegetables, but the man could not understand what Cupp was saying. The employee then called another worker over who spoke broken English. Cupp repeated himself, but it did not help. Eventually he pointed at the vegetables and then the employee understood.

Not speaking the Dutch language in Leiden can be an unsettling feeling for a person. Webster University offers free counseling service to those students who are struggling with the new culture changes. Felicia Maer is the school’s counselor who will listen.

At the beginning of every semester, Maer gives a presentation to the new students. She offers words of encouragement and explains that when students arrive in Leiden, they are in the “honeymoon phase.” Everything in Leiden is great to them. Then, eventually reality sets in. The person soon realizes how the Dutch culture is different. In some severe cases, students may fall into a depression state.

Maer interjects her philosophy and informs the students she is there to help. She wants to ease the transition phase into a new culture and offer support. Her information and contact details can be found in pamphlets in Webster University’s main building as well as in the Living and Learning Center.

Even after three years of living in Leiden, junior Psychology student from Canada, Taryn Putinta still struggles with speaking fluent Dutch. She is the student government’s president and every semester shows the new students around the town. “The easiest way to learn Dutch is by asking questions. . . . The Dutch are more than happy to help.”

(Webster Leiden also offers Dutch conversation classes. Beginning classes will start in the Fall 2 term.)

Iran is not willing to expose its nuclear plans to the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency). Therefore, the United States and the European Union have banned the trade of Iranian oil and blocked money transfers to the central bank of Iran. As part of the European Union, The Netherlands take part in this decision.

The IAEA controls countries’ nuclear activities worldwide. With the IAEA not being able to do the research which is needed to determine whether a county has pacifistic intentions or not, the U.S. and the EU have imposed sanctions on Iran.

On 31 December 2011, U.S. President Obama composed a law that was intended to increase the pressure on Iran to fulfill their international duties. International banks (such as private and state-controlled banks) will be excluded from the dollar system if they maintain their business relations with the Iranian central bank.

This has resulted immediately with the Iranian rial depreciating 30% against the U.S. dollar, and has ultimately led to a massive inflation with no possibilities to pay Iran’s imported commodities.

Also, the EU imposed a complete embargo on Iranian petrol. Deliveries of equipment for the Iranian oil industry and investments in Iranian oil companies have also been banned.

At the moment, the relationship that The Netherlands has with Iran is only a consular relationship due to the vast Dutch community in Iran. On the question if the current tensions between the U.S. and Iran could inflict serious damage to the relationship between China, Russia and Western countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs only said that Iran has to participate in the international community and has to agree to the terms of the IAEA demands.

The curiosity that results from these unanswered questions increases, and leads to new questions such as: Where do the interests of the U.S. and the EU lie in order for them to impose such sanctions?

It is curious that when this reporter interviewed him, the spokesperson for the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not want to go deeper and answer the question about Israeli sources that claim Iran already has two nuclear missiles. He also refused to comment on the possible consequences of a war between Israel or the U.S. with Iran, and the consequent endangerment  of populations all over the world.

The “diplomatic track” that The Netherlands follows in the conflict with Iran seems to be the way it handles its foreign affairs. Therefore, it is unlikely that the Dutch Secret Service (AIVD) will bring its information about possible Iranian nuclear plans into the open before The Netherlands shows a readiness to  provide its military support to yet another war in the Middle East.

Photo credit: Safia Elwakil

By Safia Elwakil

Since last year the heart-rending deportation of the Iraqis and Mauro’s story “The Angolan boy” has made refugees the center of debate in The Netherlands. Their inhumane treatment emerged in mainstream media and people are starting to question the integrity of the IND (Integration and Naturalization) ministry, responsible for Dutch refugee policies.

Even though public attention dwindled about the subject there are still tragic stories that need to be told. Mai Elhaboubi, an Iraqi woman who came with her family to The Netherlands in 2008, left Iraq in the hope of a better life for her children. She wanted to provide with them the security and safety that they need in order to thrive. Since her arrival in The Netherlands, she and her family have not left the premises of the Katwijk refugee camp. Her family consists of Ali (7), Faja (10), Abd Elazziz (18), Hadil (20), and her husband Hesham. He is chronically sick and is not able to work, and Abd Elazziz suffers from obesity and receives treatment at the Obesitas center, where a dietician guides him.

Hadil has been accepted to pursue a medical degree at De Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, but unfortunately was diagnosed with cancer a few months ago and is receiving chemical treatment to curb the tumor. Due to restrictions refugees have to get a stamp at specific times every time they leave the camp. It already was hard for Hadil to go and attend classes, and her mother has been battling to get permission for her daughter, but due to Hadil’s illness, the girl is always too tired, and stopped going. She now studies at home.

Because of the husband’s condition, Mai is the one responsible for the family and with the little Dutch that she has learned, she tries to arrange everything: she meets with lawyers, applies for a residence permit and tries her best not to get deported. “We are still in the process of trying to get a permit on medical grounds, but it is sure taking too long.”

Photo credit: Safia Elwakil

Overall, life at a refugee camp is heartless: families live there with their children and are secluded, deprived of any social interaction with the surrounding community. The camp has certain regulations to restrain them: they have to obtain a stamp 6 times a week and they receive a minimum of €4,20 financial aid daily. This makes it difficult for them to travel to neighboring cities, consequently it gets harder to meet locals and create social networks. Furthermore, children receive their lessons in the camp in order to prevent another Mauro story from happening. (Mauro is an Angolan boy who was going to be deported, but his Dutch peers and school pressured the Minister of Immigration and Refugees, Gerd Leers. The boy eventually received a study visa and was allowed to stay in The Netherlands until he finishes his studies.) For Mai and her family, there is no possible way out, unless they succeed in obtaining a residence permit, which is an energy- and time-consuming process that often lasts years.

In 2011 Mr. Andrew Fundingsland, a former Webster University lecturer, started a film project with the students for a film course, collecting footage inside the refugee camps and interviewing as many refugees as possible just to get the truth out about the insensitive Dutch authorities who treated the refugees as second-class people. At the time the Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant wrote an article about the Iraqi families who were awakened in the middle of the night, secretly put on planes, and sent back to Iraq, and then left there at the airport with just €100 per person. When the matter received the media’s attention, Mr. Andrew provided them with the necessary information and footage.

Refugee camps are completely the opposite of the human rights culture acknowledged by the West. After escaping the horrors of a war zone, the least the West can do is to treat them as human beings, and create opportunities that give them a chance to continue their future plans.

“The only active friendships I currently have are internet friendships”

With the Internet being such an easily accessible tool these days, we all, at one point or another, have met a friend through it. But while there are people who have both online friends and real-life friends, there are also people who have only online friends. Such is the case with college student Brian Helms.

“The appeal of online friendships is their ease of maintenance,” Helms says, “I feel that they can be a source of entertainment and I would liken them to the more traditional ‘real’ friendships,” but he goes on to say that, “They can be far more fickle than a traditional friendship. If I am having an argument or am not feeling up to getting angry, it’s only too easy to just close Skype and avoid the other person. They are easy to form, but easy to break.” Helms has not had a non-internet friendship for four years.

Currently, Helms has five online friends. “The oldest would be Matt and I have been friends with him for about 4 years now. I have not made any recent online friends, with the last one being 2 years ago. I don’t just talk to anyone online.”

When I asked him about how he felt about his chosen path, he said, “I feel that I have gained a good circle of friends and feel no need to expand. Although this is both a combination of me not looking, and opportunities not presenting itself. While WoW (World of Warcraft) got me those friends, after I got them I tended to play only with them, so it limited my means of gaining friends that were not brought into the fold by that group.”

Curiously, I asked him how it feels, the difference between real-life friends and online friends that you have never met. He replies, “I cannot talk to some of them for long stretches at a time, but when we start talking it’s like no time has passed. I talk to them as I would someone in front of me. I rely on them just as I would a normal friend. These friendships I’ve made, I feel will probably last longer than some other kinds.”

While some people may think it odd that there are some out there who create friendships with people they’ve never met, in this day and age of technology, meeting someone from the other side of the world has become even simpler than making cereal.

Two things you have to remember about language: one is that language is power; if you do not have the ability to communicate then you are like a second-class citizen. Two, the language shapes the way we think. –Paula Looijmans.

Paula is an English teacher in Business communications, here in The Netherlands. She has been living here for the past 35 years because her husband is Dutch. Paula has always wanted to be a teacher, but what kind of teaching, was always whatever came her way. Although she never went to school here, she recalls when her children went through the Dutch school system, and how different it was to when she went to school in the United States.

Although she went to an all-girls Catholic school, after seeing how the school system in The Netherlands is, she says it isn’t as structured as the school system in the United States. In The Netherlands, by the age of thirteen, the child needs to take tests to determine which track he/she will be in and which studies the student’s main focus should be. This is a disadvantage, she says, because at the young age of thirteen, the child’s knowledge is limited, therefore testing at such a young age might not be so suitable.

Both of Paula’s children, Danielle (30) and Derek (26), still prefer to speak in Dutch rather than English. This is mainly due to the fact that they were raised in Holland, and to fit in with the other children they didn’t want to stand out. Paula was studying abroad in Rome, and decided to visit Geneva, Switzerland. Little did she know, she would end up meeting her soon-to-be husband in a popular café. After that day they kept in touch, and eventually married and now, they both live in Risjwijk, The Netherlands.