2017 Fellows

A Warm Welcome and Settling In

June 29, 2017 by nao247

Naa-Djama Attoh Okine
Health Development Initiative
Kigali, Rwanda

Hello Everyone!!!

On June 16, I arrived at the Kigali International Airport. Joined by my father (who was attending an international conference at the University of Rwanda’s College of Science and Technology campus) and greeted by my internship advisor and colleague, I was shaking in excitement and joy. I had finally reached my new home for the next two weeks!

airplane wing flying at sunset — A view from my plane about 10 minutes away from the Kigali International Airport.

Due to my late arrival, my first night in Kigali was relatively mundane. I hailed a cab to my homestay, a beautiful detached bungalow on the border Nyanza and Kicukiro. Located only 800 meters from the HDI headquarters and a mere 10-minute drive to center city Kigali , the home is perfectly situated. During this first night, I also met the lovely pair of cousins who allowed me to stay in this property: Samantha and Haisa.

tall buildings surround the roads in the city center — A view near the city center

They were kind enough to share all of their knowledge of, tips about, and experiences with Rwanda. One of the most interesting phenomena I observed was that Rwandan population is widely multinational and multilingual. The genocide of 1994 forced hundreds of thousands of Rwandan nationals to flee to the nations of Burundi, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Kenya. The end of the war, followed by vast reconstruction, allowed for these families to return to their homeland. Due to this, an astounding percentage of Rwanda millennials were not born in the country.

Because my arrival was on a weekend, I had two days to get acclimated to the city before my first day at the site. On Saturday morning, my father and I went to Camellia Restaurant, a beautiful indoor/outdoor establishment that specializes in East African cuisine. Afterwards, we went exploring the city center and went grocery shopping at the downtown market, where I immediately realized that I would need to sharpen my Kinyarwanda in order to get a decent bargain.

restaurant entrance with neighboring shops — The Camellia Restaurant, the location of my first meal in Rwanda

the author standing outside — Snapshot of me in front of Camillas

On Sunday, I joined my father for lunch at the Nobleza Hotel, a hilltop resort located about 3 kilometers from my homestay. Our meal was followed by a trip to the MTN to pick up a portable modem and SIM card. Finally, on Monday, I arrived for my first day of work at HDI!

View of outside eating area in hotel, lots of greenery — Nobleza Hotel

Distant landscape and pool view — View from the Nobleza Hotel

To be continued….

A Random Musing: South Asian Life

June 26, 2017 by ma3003

Mehreen Arif
FSB Nepal and HealthRight International
Kathmandu, Nepal

Living in Nepal has evoked a myriad of latent emotions within me that I or rather my surroundings had aided in suppressing. Having studied identity and race discourse in depth during college as part of my English degree curriculum I read works by esteemed historians and authors and wrote numerous papers on the caricaturization of identities and the premise of a nebulous nationalism when it comes to immigrants and first generation immigrants reconnecting or connecting (for the first time) with feelings of American or their native patriotism. I revisited those papers today and entered into a deep rumination and an eventual realization that moving to Nepal for two months is gradually making me relive my yesteryears in Pakistan. It has enabled me to connect with my roots on a more spiritual level that I had been yearning for the past 5 years.

map showing SAARC countries — SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation countries) include all countries in South Asia: Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Maldives (yes the Maldives are a part of South Asia).

My time here is rekindling my memories of the beauty of South Asia and South Asian life. And oh how I missed this.

1) The splendor of speaking in my native language and reconnecting with rare and authentic Urdu (اردو)
words extracted from literature that are not usually spoken in conversational language…

man and his fruit stand — A fruit vendor selling different types of mangoes in Karachi, Pakistan. <https://www.dawn.com/news/1184234>

2) The divine taste of the mangoes – and one of the most popular varieties cultivated in South Asia since centuries is known as “the King of the mangoes” because Pakistani and Indian mangoes (imported to other parts of South Asia including Nepal) are known to be the sweetest mangoes across the globe. If you haven’t tasted a Pakistani or an Indian mango (whether it is a Langra, Chaunsa, Sindhri or an Anwar Ratol) you haven’t lived…

the author posing in colorful shirt — Wearing a traditional Pakistani kurti at the Boudhanath stupa.

3) The beauty of wearing shalwar kameez and embroidered cotton kurtis (South Asian short blouses) with abandon…

4) The delight upon seeing stationery shops (with Oxford mathematical tools like compasses and dividers reminding me of my O-level geometry classes), map houses (where geography books and maps are sold), the odd khokas (roadside food stalls) and paan shops (a betel leaf wrapped delight), the churiyaan (bangles) and mehndi stalls (henna), the incessant traffic, the beautiful terrain and ancient banyan trees to even the species of crows in South Asia that I have yet to encounter anywhere else…

large tree — A Banyan tree. <http://www.thelovelyplants.com/the-banyan-tree/>

5) The Nescafe gold instant coffee jars, the Cadbury silk bars, Spout gum, UHU sticks (glue), Surf excel (detergent), guava and mango pulp drinks, mithai (South Asian desserts), digestive biscuits, sarsoun ka taail in it’s most pure and organic form (mustard seed oil) and South Asian food… all types of Nepali food – fairly reminiscent of Pakistani and Indian cuisine as well…

6) Playing mesmerizing Bollywood songs and movies and watching invigorating Pakistani and Indian talk shows – usually accessible online only in South Asia…

7) The euphoria and sheer excitement of watching a Pakistan v.s. India Final Cricket World cup Championship match and failing to conceal my uninhibited jubilation when it culminated in Pakistan’s historic ICC (International Cricket Council) win since 1992…

author's laptop showing cricket game next to pizza box — Watching the Pak v.s. India ICC Final cricket match in my hotel room with some pizza.

The team on the field — <https://www.dawn.com/news/1340320/>

8) The adroit craftsmen selling handicrafts, artifacts and souvenirs around places of worship or at museums…

religious souvenirs on display — Nepalese artifacts at the Swayambhunath temple.

9) Being greeted by a cacophony of sounds from the numbing noise of construction drills or honking horns when walking on the occasional unpaved road alongside a sewer redolent of animal excrement or rubbish discarded by shop owners… (okay maybe I didn’t miss #9 all that much)

10) The affable people all around who are ever willing to lend a helping hand and the circle of mutual respect often missing from Western cultures that binds the South Asian populous – whether it is showing respect in the form of greetings like “Namaste/Namashkar” and the joining of hands, or saying “Salaam” with a gesture of raising the hand to the forehead, or letting elders walk in front of you and addressing family members with their distinct titles highlighting and appreciating their familial roles, from Didi (sister), Bhai (brother), Bhabi (sister-in-law), Jeeja (brother-in-law), Uncle, Aunty etc….

I can keep writing and adding to this list but that will take too much time and space. This was just an attempt at sharing a portion of a huge piece of what South Asia means to me and how I take pride in calling myself a South Asian American.

people praying in front of large mosque — Eid prayers being offered at the Badshahi Masjid (mosque) in Lahore, Pakistan. <http://www.asianimage.co.uk/news/14601045.Stunning_images_of_Eid_prayers_from__around_the_world/>

Moreover, June was the month of fasting (Ramzan) for Muslims all over the world and in Nepal. After fasting we celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr. Eid is a time of celebration and festivity spent with family and friends marking the end Ramzan. We fast to get closer to God, to understand the suffering of those less fortunate than us and those who cannot afford to have three meals a day. It teaches us patience, perseverance and resilience. Ramzan was a bit more special for me this year because I am in South Asia for one and secondly it overlapped with the Tibetan holy month of Saka Dawa. The video above shows a Tibetan prayer service that I observed at the Swayambhunath temple and I understood how Tibetan Buddhists also share the same core principles of a holy month with giving thanks in order to receive blessings. And with this I wish you Happy Saka Dawa and Eid Mubarik from Nepal.

Environment and Human Rights Research Group and Bogotá

June 23, 2017 by lm3401

Liza Martinez
Universidad del Rosario, Environment and Human Rights Research Group
Bogotá, Colombia

Hello from Bogotá, the capital of Colombia. With over 10 million people, Bogotá seems to be the place where all the craziness of this country converges. The combination of high costs of living despite high levels of poverty, the heavy traffic full of expensive cars for “high-class” people and an overcrowded public transportation system for low-income people, and the low levels of perceived sense of security in the city, gives a sense of absurdity that is very enjoyable. A study published in the larger newspaper in the country the day after my arrival showed that only 20% of the people living in Bogotá feel safe. However, life here is very similar to life in New York.

city plaza with large building and marchers in the distance — View from my office window. Behind the tree, you can see the marchers passing by on their way to the Plaza de Bolivar.

Upon my arrival to Bogotá, the city entered “protest” mode. The teachers and other public sectors went on strike for more than three weeks, asking the national government for better working conditions. I have had the opportunity to evidence the business of the city during the protests, since the office of the Environment and Human Rights Research Group of the Universidad del Rosario is located in the downtown area, just two blocks away from the Plaza de Bolivar, where the headquarters of the national government are located.

From the window of my office, I would see the protest marchers on their way to the plaza. They would chant loudly as they agglomerated in the plaza to protest as one. Since the marchers were numerous, they caused a lot of mobility disturbance. There were several days when I had to work from home.

Entrance to the Law School offices of the Universidad del Rosario.

Working with the Environment and Human Rights Research Group has been an interesting experience. During my first week in Bogotá, I met with the director of the Office of Environmental Issues from the Ministry of Mines and Energy. At the end of the week, I joined a meeting with a “collaborative group” composed of government stakeholders who work on issues related to artisanal small-scale gold mining (ASGM) in the country.

building with fancy stairwell — Law School offices of the Universidad del Rosario.

In the meeting, there were officials of the army in charge of the Brigade Against Illegal Mining (created in 2015), representatives from the Office of the Ombudsman, the office of the Attorney General and all the members of the research group I am part of. I presented my project during the meeting, and the people from the ombudsman’s office expressed interest in collaborating with me. They conducted a similar study in 2015 and mentioned that they had difficulties with the data collection because the communities they investigated had little trust in governmental offices. “Coming from academia,” they told me, “the communities will be more open to talk with you.”

hall of an office building — Entrance to one of the Offices of the Ombudsman.

One thing that has been a challenge for me is to understand the point of view of the representatives of the Colombian government. As a Colombian, I am familiar with the generalized mistrust in government offices here; it seems to be the norm for Colombians. However, entering the government offices and talking with people who are working hard to improve the current catastrophic situation caused by the use of mercury in ASGM has challenged my personal assumptions.

These individuals seem eager to work hard to overcome the difficulties they themselves are encountering in improving the country’s environmental and social issues due to ASGM. They also acknowledge that there is corruption and talk openly of the disasters that it causes in building the government’s credibility.

In sum, my time in Bogotá and with the research group has been very rich, and I have felt welcomed by the team as well as by the entire city. In my next blog, I will detail the issues of gold and mercury and the economics around them. Keep reading!

graffiti on wall — Graffiti located just in front of my office building in the Parque Santander.

Mapping Elpída Home for Refugees

June 22, 2017 by mal776

Michael Leonetti
Elpída Home for Refugees
Thessaloniki, Greece

Driving up the Lagada highway in Thessaloniki, the Elpída Home for Refugees is impossible to miss. In an industrial area full of rusting warehouses and abandoned factories, the multicolored murals that cover most of the building (itself an old textile factory) separate it from the rest.

Colors light up the interior as well: wall art by residents and volunteers, hundreds of hand-knit blankets (courtesy of a German women’s knitting group), crafts materials, greenery, etc. While most of the neighboring industrial carcasses are eaten by weeds, Elpída is alive.

When I arrived, the site was slightly under capacity at around 20-25 families (~100 people in total). The residents are almost exclusively Syrian, with a few from Iraq. Several are Kurdish. This is small by the standards of a refugee camp.

Each family has their own studio apartment on the top floor of the building, which also hosts a lounge with tables, couches, and a television, a large industrial kitchen and WASH area, a food distribution point (overseen by a Kurdish woman from Syria), a heath clinic, and several classrooms. In one of these classrooms, volunteers can take bi-weekly Arabic classes from a Syrian resident. I’ve been attending as often as possible.

The first floor hosts the majority of the services provided at Elpída . On one end is the ERCI office and volunteer lounge, a (colorful) room where we start and end every day with a briefing/conversation about ongoing projects for the residents. Also on the floor is the office of the International Organization for Migration, the main school area, and several important on-site actors: our protection officer, a social worker, and a human rights lawyer.

Our warehouses make up the ground floor. The majority of the space is used for storage—tools, materials, clothing, beds and blankets, water, etc. The shop occupies one half of one warehouse. In this space, stocked and arranged like the floor of a department store, complete with racks and fitting rooms, residents browse for clothes and items for their rooms. Instead of cash, we use a point system that gets refilled monthly. In addition, residents often earn points for the services they provide to the community: teaching the kids, cutting hair, repairing clothes, running food distribution, and so on.

The warehouse also includes the NFI (non-food items) shop. This is basically a small CVS: toiletries, cleaning supplies, hygienic products, etc. Here, we use a quota system. Each resident’s quota is determined by the size of the family and individual needs. For example, a woman with six children has a higher quota for laundry detergent than a woman with two. Next to NFI is a large laundry area with café seating for residents.

Behind the building, we have a grove of olive trees about 100×100 yards. This holds the vegetable garden (a collective effort between residents and volunteers), an outdoor classroom, and a former chicken-coop-turned-doghouse.

Volunteers hold a wide range of responsibilities at Elpída . We are a maintenance crew, occasional babysitters, service providers, shopkeepers, and more. Outside of camp, many of us assist with social media and fundraising. Two of my projects have been to help create an outdoor classroom for the kids and country-specific information sheets for families being resettled in Europe. These sheets have essential information about refugee services and can help ensure that families have the resources to enjoy their rights after arrival.

At 7pm, every non-resident leaves the camp; it is, after all, the residents’ home. This is one example of the autonomy of the site. Our system is more conducive to coexistence and solidarity between residents and volunteers than the usual power dynamics of humanitarian aid. At 10am, we are onsite again and back to work.

Unfortunately, I have to end this post with upsetting news. A few days ago we learned that Elpída is being forced to close by the Greek government at the end of June. I am currently looking for ways to continue my fellowship in another autonomous camp. Details to come in the next post.

#FreeNabeel

June 22, 2017 by gcl255

Grace Larkin
English PEN
London, England

My internship with PEN has been incredible so far. Working with the Writers at Risk program has allowed me to learn about specific cases of writers who are currently imprisoned or exiled. The other day with PEN I attended a protest outside of the Bahrain embassy in London on the one year anniversary of Nabeel Rajab’s imprisonment. Nabeel Rajab is one of Bahrain’s leading human rights activists and the founder of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR). He is also Founding Director of Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) and a member of the Middle East advisory committee at Human Rights Watch.

Nabeel has faced physical intimidation, arrest, detention and travel bans as a result of his work and has been sentenced to prison in violation of rights of assembly and expression. Ken Roth, Human Rights Watch’s executive director, named Nabeel as one of two human rights activists currently imprisoned whom he thought most resembled “the next Nelson Mandela.”

Since 2011, Nabeel has faced multiple prosecutions and prison sentences for his activism. He was in prison from 2012-14, after which he continued to lobby European governments to support human rights and challenge the Bahraini government on claims that they had made reforms. He has been banned from travelling abroad since 2014. Comments on his Twitter account which were critical about the Saudi-led coalition airstrikes in Yemen and alleged torture in Bahrain’s infamous Jau prison led to his arrest in April 2015 and again in June 2016.

the author and Baggot holding protest signs — Outside the Bahrain Embassy with Sophie Baggott (right) from Reporters Without Borders.

Nabeel is currently in detention while awaiting trial related to the tweets, for which he faces up to 15 years in prison: ten years for the charge of “deliberately announcing in wartime false or malicious news, statements or rumours,” two years for “offending a foreign country,” (referring to Saudi Arabia), and an additional three years if he is convicted of “offending national institutions” for comments about torture in Jau Prison.

Nabeel is also facing separate charges for “broadcasting false news and spreading tendentious rumours that undermine the prestige of the state” for pieces in The New York Times and Le Monde. If found guilty, he could face an additional three years in prison.

Rajab’s health has suffered during his detention. He has needed two operations and has developed other conditions that required emergency treatment. He has been in solitary confinement for much of this time and has been denied access to proper care.

On 17 May 2017, Nabeel’s trial related to the tweets was postponed for the 14th time, to 7 August.

It’s important that we keep reading the work of writers like Nabeel, so I’ll leave you with the words he has been imprisoned for: “Letter From a Bahraini Jail.”

Private Police and Gentrifying Neighborhoods

June 20, 2017 by tm1872

Tiffen McAlister
Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center (NOFHAC)
New Orleans, LA, USA

Hey, y’all! I’m a 2017 Gallatin Global Fellow in Human Rights, and for my research, I will be returning to my hometown, New Orleans, to study the relationship between private police and a gentrifying neighborhood.

After living through Hurricane Katrina, I saw my city go through radical changes. In the wake of the hurricane, real estate prices dropped dramatically throughout the city and consequently, gentrification began. Katrina displacement, as well as a massive influx of people moving to the city and seizing the opportunity of a “cheap” lifestyle, have resulted in countless people from my home being displaced.

Given that, I feel incredibly lucky that I will be working with the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center (NOFHAC). The NOFHAC, established in 1995, has been a crucial actor in fighting for New Orlineans’ housing rights before and after Katrina. Unfortunately, Louisiana’s complete lack of tenants’ rights statutes has left activists with very few legislative avenues to pursue housing rights, yet NOFHAC’s tireless auditing of landlords and developers using federal discrimination law has made a tangible difference in fair and equitable housing throughout the region. This, in conjunction with their community housing rights education programs, has made them the preeminent leader in New Orleans housing rights.

With the assistance of the NOFHAC, I will examine how certain gentrifying neighborhoods employ private police forces. In recent years, New Orleans has contracted private police to deal with a great deal of their security concerns due to a rising crime rate and a falling budget. This, in conjunction with the area’s rapid rate of gentrification, provides an opportunity to examine how private police can affect how a neighborhood gentrifies.

I will hopefully come to understand how policing policy can impact housing policy by answering the question of who private police are accountable to in a changing neighborhood: the historic resident or the recent resident. I believe that how a community is policed plays an integral role in how that community forms, and I hope this research will provide substance to that belief.

Resisting Oblivion: Grassroots Advocacy in Hong Kong

June 20, 2017 by rl2874

Rachel Law
Society for Community Organization (香港社區組織協會)
Hong Kong, China

Hi everyone! I am a rising junior studying politics and economics at NYU’s College of Arts and Science. I am honored to be one of the Global Human Rights Fellows this year and am grateful for the opportunity to have studied alongside the other fellows over the past few months. I am excited to work on issues related to rights of prisoners and ethnic minorities in my home city, Hong Kong, over the summer.

This summer, I am working at Society for Community Organization (SoCO), a Hong Kong-based human rights organization dedicated to serving and empowering underprivileged communities through community organizing and the facilitation of grassroots, citizen-initiated advocacy. Some of the issues SoCO has focused on in the past include living conditions in cage housing and subdivided units, ex-offenders’ rights, and rights of new immigrants.

building exterior — SoCO main office in Homantin, Hong Kong

Since mid-May, I have begun working on my two projects under the guidance of my supervisor, Annie. My first project is on inmates’ rights to complaints and fair treatment in prisons and focuses on the improvement of the independence and transparency of prisons’ internal complaints system. My second project looks into the only legislation governing over racial discrimination in Hong Kong—the Race Discrimination Ordinance, which currently does not adequately tackle racial vilification on social media—and explores possible solutions to mitigate the gap.

While I spend most of my time conducting research and analysis into existing legislation and other scholar reports, working at SoCO is much more than mere paperwork. During my first few weeks here, I have already had numerous opportunities to interact with different stakeholders, including ex-offenders, government officials, and other scholars, attend various talks and workshops led by experts in the field, and help organize press conferences. I will hopefully hold press conferences for each of my projects at the end of my internship as well.

man and woman presenting at conference — Press conference calling for independent review of suicides in police custody

My experiences at SoCO so far has allowed me to get a better glimpse of the practical challenges to grassroots human rights and policy advocacy and to start to develop skills to navigate it through interacting with different parties. Through my work this summer, I hope to gain a better understanding of the dynamics of policymaking, as well as knowledge of the practical realities of the criminal justice system. Ultimately, I hope to explore how my experience might be useful for criminal justice reform in Mainland China through the “One-country Two-systems” framework.

In the coming few weeks, I will be writing more about my summer experience at SoCO, including what a typical workday is like and some challenges that I have encountered during the course of my internship. Thank you for reading and stay tuned!

A Protest against Toxic Prisons

June 20, 2017 by hz1400

Hai Zhou
Human Rights Defense Center (HRDC)
Lake Worth, FL, United States

Hey Guys! Thanks for checking out my third blog. Getting tired of all the academic ideas and don’t know how to relate to them? No worries, because in this blog, I would like to share with you some participatory experiences I’ve had.

From June 2-5, I went to Denton, Texas, to attend the second national Campaign to Fight Toxic Prisons following last year’s initial gathering in Washington, DC. I participated in two days of panels and workshops in which more than 100 people from all over the country came together in the environmental science hall of University of North Texas, and on the last day I joined a protest in front of the FMC Carswell in an attempt to raise people’s awareness of the environmental health of inmates and to show our resolution to fight mass incarceration.

Participants at the convergence holding up their fists — Campaign to Fight Toxic Prisons convergence in Denton, TX

People participating in the panels were from all walks of life—former prisoners, those whose parents or children have been incarcerated, journalists and staff writers covering environmental journals, and those like me, who are doing research on environmental justice and the health of inmates. We discussed research on mass incarceration and its social implications, listened to former inmates sharing their stories about unfair treatment before and after being incarcerated, and talked to current prisoners via phone about their living conditions.

Among all the conversations, health stands out as a prominent issue, and it is indeed a perennial concern at all levels of correctional facilities. Talking via phone, one current prisoner complained about the overheating in summer. The only solution given was to drink more water—water found to contain arsenic 2.5 to 4.5 times the standard set by the EPA. Thankfully, after a lawsuit, the prison brought in bottled water and has recently installed a water filter.

Several former inmates discussed their solitary confinement experience and mentioned that it led to them experiencing mental health issues. Participants who had children in prison shared stories about how their children lost more than 20 pounds during incarceration and how they were neglected when they requested medical treatment, despite the fact that their conditions worsened over time.

We know that health care is a basic human right, and I believe that health should be guaranteed based on the simple fact that one is a human being. Everybody should have access to nutritious food, clean water, some private space, and a healthy social relationship with others. With that in mind, we were ready to make our voice heard.

Demonstrators holding banners at FMC Carswell — Action Day! Marching towards FMC Carswell

On June 5, we went to FMC Carswell to hold a demonstration regarding toxic prisons. Carswell, a federal female prison located within one mile of the Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base, a Superfund site, is known for offering insufficient health care despite being a medical center. People raised banners that read “Fight Toxic Prisons” and used a bullhorn to chant, “You are not forgotten! You are not alone! We will fight to bring you home!” while marching down the street towards Carswell.

After the demonstration, I wondered for a long time about what the effects of the convergence and demonstration might be. I think the biggest impact is that we sent a message to all inmates that we care about them, that we believe health is a human right and will continue to fight for them not because they are prisoners, but because they are people.

A Friendly Family: Obtaining research approval and making friends at the Friends of Shanta Bhawan clinic

June 14, 2017 by ma3003

Mehreen Arif
FSB Nepal and HealthRight International
Kathmandu, Nepal

Hello everyone, I come bearing glad tidings. I have received Nepalese Health Research Council (NHRC) approval for my project. However, I am also in dire straits, because I am still waiting on American (IRB) approval, and that will take some more time. But I keep telling myself that everything will hopefully fall into place soon enough and that patience is pivotal for me.

The good thing is that however frustrated I get about approval proceedings, my patience is far from wearing out because the approval proceedings has offered me a unique opportunity to get to know the people of The Friends of Shanta Bhawan (FSB) clinic.

doctor in her office — Dr. Laxmi Luitel (one of the three physicians at FSB clinic).

I have been shadowing Dr. Laxmi Luitel (one of the three physicians at FSB). Dr. Laxmi grew up in a rural part of Nepal and moved to Kathmandu to become a Health Assistant (paramedic). Soon she got married and had a baby boy, but decided she wanted to do more. And hence started her pursuit of becoming a doctor. With the support of her family who took care of her baby in Nepal, she set off with her husband to China where they both pursued medicine for 4.5 years. Dr. Laxmi is a primary care physician but hopes to one day specialize in gynecology because of the dearth and demand of female doctors in the country and her passion for helping women.

Empowering the girl child in South Asia and Africa is a big feat and one that is often accomplished by social workers or NGOs but seldom thought of as a doctor’s or public health professional’s job. But I have realized that is very much a doctor’s and a public health professional’s job.

the author with three students at a temple — Exploring the Boudhanath temple with UC Davis medical students – (left to right) David Chang, Alejandra Beristain-Barajas and Margarita Cabaral.

A few days ago I had the unique opportunity of meeting three amazing first year medical students from UC Davis who were on an observational placement also shadowing doctors and nurses at FSB. These three individuals became my friends in only a few hours and we hung out for the three days they were at FSB, then had a farewell dinner (for them) together on Saturday.

Much like Dr. Laxmi, Alejandra, David and Margie taught me the meaning of service and commitment to bettering peoples’ lives as they shadowed at FSB, served and raised awareness at health camps in villages, and taught local school children about medicine and health.

Going back to Dr. Laxmi again: she owns a hospital in the ancient Newar town of Sankhu (outside of Kathmandu) with her husband, but she is committed to her service at FSB clinic as well, so she works here from 9 am to 3 pm everyday (besides Saturdays) and then works at her hospital from 4-5 pm till nighttime.

My shadowing experience with Dr. Laxmi was extraordinary.

doctor examining a patient — Dr. Laxmi checking a patient with joint pain.

Not only did I get to observe physical exams, pelvic exams (pap smears), patients with diabetes, uric acid, hypertension, piles, UTIs, gastro-intestinal issues, chest infections, pneumonia, pulmonary tuberculosis, jaundice, thyroid problems, constipation, pregnancy issues, vitamin deficiency and infertility; but I also got to see the smile, heartening responsiveness and sheer concern with which Dr. Laxmi treats her patients. This is something that I have read a lot about in my public health curricula at university but had never really experienced first hand: the importance of empathy, bedside manner and trauma informed care principles in medical practice.

It should also be noted that due to the dust, pollution and unhygienic conditions of the Jorpati and Boudha area many patients come in with pulmonary tuberculosis, gastrointestinal diseases and UTIs. And during the physician visits Dr. Laxmi not only told her patients about their diagnosis but what stood out to me was that she would make an extra effort to educate her female patients about hygiene and sickness. She drew diagrams to explain the position of the urethra, vagina and anus and how clean wiping and safe sex measures should be implemented in order to avoid UTIs and pelvic inflammatory diseases.

As I shadowed Dr. Laxmi we saw all types of patients from infants, to children, to adults (including Nepalese ethnic minorities and Tibetan refugees).

doctor examing xray — Looking at an X-ray.

I also recognized that the Nepalese ethnic minorities or Tibetans usually came in with a family member who had a better command of the Nepali language because the Nepalese ethnic minorities were comfortable speaking their regional/tribal languages and the Tibetans were comfortable speaking Tibetan. Language plays a huge part in access—access not just to healthcare or education but to a sense of identity and belonging.

Furthermore, I observed that the doctors (Dr. Laxmi, Dr. Shyam and Dr. Bhumi Upreti) at FSB see on average 45 to 48 patients a day and on busier days – almost 80 to 88 patients per day.

doctor meeting patient — Dr. Upreti with a patient.

What was more noteworthy was that after a physician visit if a patient was prescribed to get X-rays, EKGs, ultrasounds, abdominal scans or blood drawn for testing – they can do so at the clinic there and then and wait on their reports and refer back to the physician again – all within the span of one visit. Additionally, the set fees for physician visits are NPR 50 for previous patients (US $0.49 = 49 cents) and NPR 60 for new patients (US $0.58 = 58 cents). Ultrasounds, scans and X-rays all range from NPR 250 to NPR 600 (US $2.50 to $6.00).

doctor and ultrasound machine — Dr. Sam in the ultrasound room.

One of the physicians Dr. Sam (Dr. Shyam Shrestha) also serves as the ultrasonologist, thereby curbing additional expenses for the clinic so that the clinic continues to provide subsidized care for its patients while also providing free tuberculosis medication.

The clinic also offers free lunch everyday at 11:30 am sharp for all of its staff prepared by Mona ji, Mina ji, and Babita ji. They are extremely hardworking and contribute to the well oiled (food) and structure of FSB.

woman posing with food at a table — Babita ji.

At FSB I have enjoyed copious amounts of chawaal (rice), daal (lentils), masala, vegetables, fried potatoes, tea, and the list continues; all thanks to the ladies who work in the kitchen and feed about 27 people daily and now graciously feed me as the 28^th person.

man sitting at a table — Staff Boy and Helper, Imamil Miya.

At the end of the day they leave the kitchen spick and span with pans, plates and utensils neatly stacked.

Moreover, I sit next to Ms. Ishwori Shah the Finance and Admin Chief of the clinic and adjacent to Ms. Sarita Basnyat the Finance and store assistant (who has worked at FSB since 1992). Both women handle the finances, revenue and external communication with donors/suppliers of FSB clinic. Ms. Ishwori continues to help and support me during my time at FSB clinic.

woman at computer — Ms. Ishwori Shah the Finance and Admin Chief of FSB busy working at her desk.

woman in red — Ms. Sarita Basnyat the Finance and Store assistant working at FSB since 1992.

man posing — Mr. Anil Regmi the Administrator working at FSB since 1997.

man at a desk — Mr. Trilochan Mansing Pradha the Staff Administrator.

nurses in office — The nurses Yeshoda, Preksha and Anita with Dr. Laxmi. They dutifully administer vaccinations every Wednesday on vaccination day.

man sitting at a desk — Mr. Sanjaya Singh Basnyat – the Executive Director of FSB clinic.

These people (along with many others who are not mentioned in this post) constitute the staff of the Friends of Shanta Bhawan clinic under the guidance of Sir Sanjaya Basnyat (the Chief Executive Director of FSB). Sir Basnyat is very inviting towards volunteers, international physicians, NGOs, researchers, and donors who could contribute to the enrichment and prosperity of the clinic. He has also helped me tremendously in preparing for my project in Nepal.

In addition, Sir Basnyat is a strong advocate for the health and wellness of the people of Jorpati and Boudha and the importance this clinic holds for the community. For example, in the year 2016 FSB succeeded in providing care to 19,326 previous patients, 12,040 new patients, and 11,296 patients under 5 years old. In the previous year FSB administered roughly 4,414 ultrasounds and X-rays, 65 ECGs and 15,455 pathology (blood, urine, stool, HIV, immunology and vaginal smear) analysis reports. A comprehensive patient census is collected each month and divided by old/new patients, patients under 5, pathology reports, patients for each doctor and even a patient census by caste (Janajati, Dalit, Muslim, Brahmin and Chhetri, Madheshi, and Tibetan refugees). Furthermore, FSB is facing a lot of hurdles with the government’s plan on demolishing the buildings on either side of the Boudha road (including FSB clinic) in order to expand the road.

Due to the subsidized nature of FSB’s clinical services the clinic urgently requires funding and donations after incurring a heavy yearly loss (with an average deficit of NPR 1,00,000/ US $1,000 a month).

Despite all the hardships, Sir Basnyat and the FSB team have a future plan for FSB that includes first and foremost its relocation (which comes with caveats such as losing their present patient influx and generating additional revenue for relocation), providing extensive pediatric and gynecology services, developing a birthing center, establishing an automated registration system, and procuring advanced medical equipment for the clinic.

And hopefully, my research with Tibetan refugees will help FSB in providing counseling and mental health services for Tibetan refugees and expanding services to include Nepalese ethnic minorities as well.

In conclusion, the FSB clinic has benevolently opened their arms and accepted me into their friendly family. I hope to return their heartwarming hospitality through my research and raising awareness not only about Tibetan refugees but about the Friends of Shanta Bhawan clinic alongside HealthRight International and the vital work and much needed care they provide to people in the region.

Mass Incarceration and Environmental Justice

June 11, 2017 by hz1400

Hai Zhou
Human Rights Defense Center (HRDC)
Lake Worth, FL, United States

Hi everyone! Thanks for checking out my second blog about mass incarceration and environmental health. I am now in Lake Worth, a beautiful place where I am welcomed by the beautiful sunshine every day! My reverie with the wonderful weather and beautiful beaches, however, soon vanishes when I start my work. The topic of my study is not very appealing, and in fact it is a bit dreary. In this blog I would like to share a few thoughts and findings about the Prison Ecology Project.

After having an in-depth conversation with Paul Wright and Alex Friedmann, two leaders of HRDC, I had a clearer picture of how the environmental hazards are affecting prisoners and staff inside correctional facilities, as well as people living in the adjacent community. The idea of toxic prisons can arise from two different types of circumstances: the site where a prison is located is in close proximity to environmental hazards (i.e., landfill, abandoned coal mine, waste dump site), or the prison itself is the source of pollutants (i.e., improper discharge of sewage, dumping of coal ash they use to power the generator). Given that prisoners are an invisible population—most prisons are placed in remote areas out of the sight of general public—we want to raise awareness about the environmental factors at play by making more information accessible to the general public.

We figured out that there are two ways of procuring the needed information. We can use the database of the prospective state agencies to search data and documents, and if these are not available on their websites, we can capitalize on the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). I started drafting public record request letters and sending them to individual state agencies that are in charge of environmental protection. The requested information includes actual pollution violations, as opposed to violation of paperwork, by correctional facilities in each corresponding state over the past five years.

screen shot of typed request — NY State FOIA request

I have found related documents from Arkansas, Colorado, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Utah, thanks to their transparency and user-friendly website design. Throughout the open record request process, most states’ environmental agencies have been very responsive, making the research project less daunting than it seems to be. So far, I have received records and documents regarding environmental violations from the states of Arizona, Hawaii, Kentucky, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia, and I would like to express my gratitude for their gracious support.

envelope addressed to the author — A CD from Michigan

A review of these incident and compliance reports reveals that many correctional facilities, both state prisons and local jails, have some issues with discharging sewage into local rivers either on an expired permit or in excess of the permitted level. Other violations include potential contamination of drinking water supplies, dumping coal ash next to a prison complex rather than a waste dump site, and air pollution that exceeds opacity limit.

As I mentioned in my first blog, the fight for prisoners’ environmental health is no easy task, especially in a time when the Trump administration aims to eliminate the EPA’s environmental justice office, whose major function is to protect people from getting exposed to environmental hazards (you can find a link below). The framing of toxicity is key to improving the abhorrent conditions: besides winning the public’s sympathy for inmates, we need to acknowledge the fact that prisons themselves can be sources of environmental hazards. Hopefully, by exposing this information to the public, more people will be cognizant of the toxicity of prisons, will pay more attention to the health conditions of the inmates inside, and will demand criminal justice reform.

letter from prisoner — Letter from a prisoner at Gunnison State Prison, Utah, to the Utah Department of Environmental Quality

letter from communications director — Response letter from the Utah Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Drinking Water