URGI Minutes 4/12/10

Theme this month: Genocides in History

Upcoming Events:
* Refugee CAMPus: April 22nd 3pm

Shropshire at Eastman

-In places like Kosovo, Darfur will teach kids music (therapy through music and its healing power)
→need awareness help (perhaps a powerpoint on Uganda), will co-sponsor and help them out.
→April 29th-as a study break in Hirst. Send some volunteers

Awareness- Joe
Joe’s big question! What do we do post-genocide?
- issues in Kosovo, South American (Chile), Holocaust, oppression in Burma/Sri Lanka or even NYC and yet the international community always vows not to let it happen again
- Darfur- we had the chance to help and stop it but we didn’t. why?

What happens after and why is there an inadequate response? 3 things: trials/ tribunals and truth commissions, reparations

1)trials
benefits: air the issues, create an aura of fairness, accountability, re-establish/establish cause, learn from past atrocities, serve to warn others about consequences if they continue their violence, public records
problems: retroactively apply to international standards (Guantanamo bay), international tribunals rely on politics, effect: they prosecute low ranking officials and not the greater people responsible, process doesn’t HEAL- people subject to intense questioning, cross-examinations

2)truth commissions (when govts officially investigate wrongs committed ex. Congressional hearings for Iraq war in mid 2000s)
benefits: seek to have a more complete record, emphasize plight of vict ims and those affected. (ex. Hutu were writing history. Commissions interviewed Tustis- often time journalists), help victims tell experience and feel better, non-involved bystanders can tell stories as well.
Problems: unrepresented populations that still remain (Iraq-Sunni’s experience with Saddam were left unaccounted for while Shiite’s weren’t.) , those who establish commissions impose constraints on time/ area., do not test witnesses assertions so they don’t criticize them

3)reparations- consist of money/ other valuable assets as a symbolic representation of violence that has occurred, shouldn’t replace, should be more explicit and those responsible should be more public about acknowledgement of atrocities.
benefits: process for seeking them builds public support, builds awareness, gi ves victims recognition
problems: lead society to believe the people no longer need to discuss atrocities because government has given amends.
-restitution (form of reparation) – returns property seized. Seems lke morally correct thing to do but, it is difficult to find artifacts after some time. When a new government gets into this, difficult to return because the people that have gained them over time will be upset as well- dissonance between those people and the ones who it has been seized from.
Symbolic; significant items (ex. holy land)
Pure: return everything


APOLOGY: admission of an error with expression of regret. Official apologies can be made which will help in healing
Problems: fail to change behavior, fail to acknowledge acts that have been committed. May also be deficient when made by others than those who actually committed crime (Japanese and Chinese)- words without action ( not fulfilling) , makes it hard for apologies to be effective.

→Emotions: vengeance, forgiveness, - variables that make those three topics ineffective.
→mix of the three the best idea and can there be peace?


Ongoing projects:

* Old and new e board members meet
* Banaa.org – Bridget, Joe, and Luke
* Saturday Volunteering:
o *Meet at ITS at 9:40* About 2 hours
o Orientation Volunteering Application
+ Due May 14th
+ Elena, Cassie, Luke, Bridget, Justin