Global Vantage Issue 11

GLOBAL
VANTAGE
Global Journal Project

A Shared Voice
Life and the Troubles

15 streets of Belfast
On the Theme - Page 2
Hostage in Iran
Imprisoned by Khomeini
Riots in Ukraine
Photos from the frontlines

Moving an NFL
Franchise
Overcoming sports conflict

Experiences - Page 26
Conflict
ISSUE 11 || AUTUMN 2015
Editors Note
BY CAITLIN BOWEN, PRS 2016, EXECUTIVE EDITOR
n our basic, elementary learnings of creative writing, we are taught to present conflict in every scene. We are taught that conflict
is action, and only with action can we interest our audiences. Beyond even this, we are
taught that conflict must always be resolved.
In growing up however, we learn that conflict
is much more than that. Even with just 17
years behind me, I know this well.
My recent experience of conflict lay in regard
to my personal beliefs and my loyalty to family. My father was a Lieutenant Colonel in the
Marine Corps, and although I have grown up
a politically attentive and outspoken liberal, it
was not until this year that I consciously felt
caught between my allegiances.
This year, after an in-depth study of the 2003
conflict and Iraq War prior, I have decided to
no longer decry the war. I refuse to dishonor
what my father and others like him have done
for this country. I believe that our perspective in hindsight is far different than it was on
September 11, 2001 and that those who have
switched their position on the war may have
forgotten this. At this time, we can do little
more than learn from it.
Conflict is a natural experience, and whether

internal or external, it is something we will
all endure. In choosing Conflict as the theme
for Issue 11, we recognized the current situation of not only our world, but also ourselves.
In doing so, we decided that conflict is not
inherently badits goodness or badness depends on how it is handled. We explored different outlets from which our authors could
share their relevant experiences, and in doing
so worked to create one of our most diverse
and interesting issues yet.
In its conception, we recognized the strength
in both words and in photography, specifically as a means of expression for thoughts and
feelings often difficult to express. With photo
stories from Ukraine, Vietnam, and Mali, we
provide more personal perspectives to issues
widely publicized but not known intimately.
In an exclusive, anonymous interview with a
woman born in Northern Ireland, we are able
to explore the Troubles through the eyes of a
child. By narrative and reflection, the interviewee considers not only the conflict itself,
but also explores its influence on her life today.
Beyond our On the Theme section, more

subtle, complex conflicts exist. Articles by
Theodore and Evangelia Laliotis discuss
growing up in Greece during the Italian and
German occupation. Although they are about
conflict in the most traditional sense of the
word, the Laliotis stories are enhanced by
personal narrative in which they analyze and
discuss the divides that formed within their
community and reflect on how they were
shaped by these experiences. In a less traditional realm of conflict, Jim Bailey, former
Executive Vice President of the Cleveland
Browns and Baltimore Ravens, recounts overcoming conflict in the sports world. Bob Harris discusses overcoming unfamiliarity, which
he sees as the modern-day travelers biggest
challenge. And Geri Portnoy describes her
passion for peace and the potential for using
lessons from yoga to resolve conflict.
It is with great pleasure that we present to
you Issue 11 of Global Vantage.
Staff
Editorial Staff: Business Staff:
Editors-in-Chief:
Brian Chekal, CCA 2015
Chief Executive Officers:
Peter Lillian, CCA 2015

Nicholas Marr, PRS 2016
Anthony Oliverio, PRS 2016
Executive Editors:
Caitlin Bowen, PRS 2016
Chief Financial Officers:
Gabriel Piscitello, PRS 2016

Colin Loyd, CCA 2015
Jonathan Prvanov, PRS 2016
Layout Director:
Mina Fardeen, PRS 2016
Chief Operating Officers:
Sam Dutt, CCA 2015
Web Editors:
Derek Albosta, PRS 2016
Vincent Wang, PRS 2016

Garrett Conway, PRS 2016
Marketing Director:
Lauren Lipman, PRS 2016
Editors:
Anurag Aiyer, PRS 2018
Staff:
Adrian Agresti, PRS 2017

George Biddle, PRS 2018
Ziad Badr, PRS 2017

Patrick Bjornstad, PRS 2018
Adam Bell, PRS 2018

Gavin Conway, PRS 2018
Dana Carney, PRS 2017

Weston Corbeil, PRS 2018
Alex Gorman, PRS 2016

Mina Fardeen, PRS 2016
Keara Keitel, PRS 2018

Katy Laliotis, CCA 2017
Kyle Ramsay, PRS 2017

Noah Larky, CCA 2017
Jack Uchitel, PRS 2018

Liana Merk, CCA 2017
Zachary Weber, PRS 2016

Tanner Muirhead, PRS 2016
Connie Yu, PRS 2018

Beckett Quinney, CCA 2015

Nicholas Rosetta, PRS 2018

Rahul Saripalli, PRS 2016

Vincent Wang, PRS 2016

Faculty Points of Contact:
KGSA Journalism Club Staff:
CCA:
Tanner Kortman
Liaison:
Asha Jaffar, KGSA
(tanner.kortman@sduhsd.net)
Production Advisor:
Istabua Hamza, KGSA
KGSA:
Richard Teka
Human Resources Advisor:
Habiba Andeyi, KGSA
(KGSA.teka@gmail.com)
Marketing Advisor:
Beaturice Awino, KGSA
PRS:
Christopher Burman
(cburman@pacificridge.org)

Inside GLOBAL VANTAGE

ON THE THEME
ISSUE 11 || AUTUMN 2015
The World as 15 Streets: A Childs Perspective of the Troubles, interview by Gabriel Piscitello
A Girl in the Slums by Rachel Stacy
A Hostage in My Own Country by Hossein Salimi
Violent Clashes in Kiev by Jerome Sessini
Conflict in Mali by Ferhat Bouda
EXPERIENCES
23
Growing Up on the Island of Rhodes During World War II by Evangelia Laliotis

Growing Up in a Greek Village During World War II by Ted Laliotis
Keep the Dream Alive by Jim Bailey
What We Take for Granted: Why I Spend New Years Eve Around the World by Thomas Dixon
ACROSS LONGITUDES
34
The East Meets the West: An Interview with Sandeep Das by Vincent Wang
Strength of a Woman by Cynthia Amondi
The Girl by Gloria Mwaniga
I Am Immaculate by Immaculate Wandera
Kibera and Its Problems by Zubenda Bakari
COMMENTARY
40
Changing the World Means Being Changed by Bob Harris

Nature Deficit by Andrea Juskaitis
Oriental Express by Paola Nez Solorio
The Yoga Formula for Dealing wtih Conflict by Geri Portnoy
POETRY
56
Divided by Rachel Wells

The Best Place to Be by Gladys Masista
The Plant and the Women by Warda Yusuf
NEWS & UPDATES
58
Social Action Project Update by Anthony Oliverio

The Last Word by Liana Merk
(On the cover) An Orthodox priest blesses protesters at a barricade. Photo courtesy of Jerome Sessini/Magnum Photos. Photo story on page
6.
On the Theme: Conflict

PERSPECTIVE
STRUGGLE
PERSECUTION
UPRISING
COMPLEXITY
The interviewee discusses daily life and the separate cultures of the Troubles.
Rachel Stacy considers problems in Kibera, Kenya and the importance of hope.
Hossein Salimi recalls his imprisonment in Iran following Khomeinis rise.
Jerome Sessinis photos capture the recent riots in Kiev, Ukraine.
Ferhat Bouda shares his experience photographing life in Mali during the conflict.
The World as 15 Streets:

A Childs Perspective of the Troubles
AN INTERVIEW BY GABRIEL PISCITELLO
Editors Note: Due to the sensitive nature of the content of this interview, the interviewee has chosen to remain anonymous. The interviewee was born in 1963 England to an Irish Catholic father and an English Protestant mother. Her mother died of meningitis in 1964,
leaving her father and grandparents to care for her.The interviewees family moved to Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1969, where she lived
until 1974 when she joined her father in Birmingham, England (who had moved there a year earlier).While she lived in Belfast, the
ethno-nationalist conflict known as the Troubles was at its height. Between 1968 and 1998, nationalist disputes between the unionist and republican populations of the territory resulted in violence and increased societal tension.While not inherently sectarian, the
conflict elevated religious tension among Protestant unionists and Irish Catholic republicans across Northern Ireland, the Republic of
Ireland, and the United Kingdom. The interviewee now lives in San Diego with her family. The following is an edited transcript of our
conversation:
an you describe the area that you

lived in?
I lived in a central area of Belfast. The street

that we lived on was called Hillman Street,
and it was in between two primary, arterial
roads. One was a Catholic main street and
the other was a Protestant main street.
The Catholic street was called New Lodge
Road, which was a hub of activity for the
Irish Republican Army. Opposite that was
a Protestant main street called Duncairn
Gardens. It was a highly populated, inner city
area and a big activity point for the Troubles.
During the height of the conflict, what

was daily life like for you and your
family?
At the time, I would not have said that I was
there during the height of the conflict. I saw it
through the eyes of a child as I started living
there at six or seven and stayed there until I
was 11. My perspective was very much based
on 15 streets. That was my world. Although
there was a lot of activity from the British
military (British soldiers were present 24
hours a daythey were armed, wore bullet-
Children in Belfast during the 1970s. Photo courtesy of Jeffrey Blankfort.
2 ON THE THEME
proof jackets and would travel down the

streets that we lived in throughout the course
of the day, going from doorway to doorway)
the soldiers would sort of have a friendly
relationship with the community that I lived
in, but it was always a hostile relationship
from our side. When a soldier would say to
you, Are you alright there? or, Hows your
bike? you were not supposed to speak to
them or interact because of the community
pressure. You were told as a child not talk to
soldiers.
Everyday life did not feel any different from
living here [San Diego] because, in a way, you
do not know what you do not know. I did
have an experience that made me realize that
life was different in Ireland than in England
when we first arrived [in Belfast]. I traveled
over with my father and my grandparents.
The house that we were going to be renting
was not ready, so we stayed with family that
was just a couple of doors down from us.
There were about ten family members there
to welcome us. Partway through the gathering, as the grown-ups were having a drink
and the kids were having lemonade, I heard
this popping noise. All the doors were closed,
one of the family members that was playing
the piano stopped, all the lights were turned
off, and everyone had to lie on the floor. I
Children in Belfast during the 1970s. Photos courtesy of Jeffrey Blankfort.

remember laughing because I thought, Why
are we all lying on the floor? It was just this
bizarre situation, and I remember thinking,
Its a game. Then I suddenly realized that the
window at the end of the room had a board in
front of it. I asked my grandmother, Why is
the boarding up there? She replied, Thats
so they dont break the windows. There was
obviously some sort of firefight that went on
outside, so we all had to keep our heads down.
After that stopped about 40 minutes later, we
all got up and started playing the piano, all the
lights went back on, and it was as if nothing
had happened. That was my first night there,
and that was when I realized that things were
different in that respect, but overall, it just
felt very normal. I do not ever remember
feeling afraid or intimidated in all the time
that I was there.
How did the conflict impact the way
that you interacted with your community? Furthermore, did you have any
relationships with Protestants, and
if so, how were these affected by the
turmoil?
I had absolutely no contact with the
Protestants. You could never have any
contact with the Protestants. I knew the

word Protestant, but I had no idea what it
meant. Likewise, I knew that Catholic was
a religious term, but I did not understand the
difference. All I knew was that there were
very clear, segregated areas where we lived
and where somebody else lived. You were
never allowed to cross the line and go into
a Protestant area. Many of the Catholic and
Protestant areas of Belfast had lines of demarcation based on where the soldiers would
put a checkpoint. For example, immediately across the street that I lived on was a
Protestant area, Duncairn Gardens (the main
arterial road that I spoke about earlier), and
there was a checkpoint with a turnstile where
the soldiers would check anybody going in
or out of there. Now, it used to be that there
was not very much activity because it was
between a Protestant and a Catholic area, so
it was more to manage the break between the
two areas. In a lot of the other checkpoints,
you would have a Catholic area where they
would just do a stop-and-search. You would
just be walking down the street and they
would stop you, look in all your bags, search
all your pockets, and you had to comply. I
am sure that they probably had a similar sort
of thing in the Protestant areas, but I do not

know for sure because I never actually went in
a Protestant area. It was drummed into us that
as Catholics, you did not cross that line; that is
their area and this is ours. Well, you might be
able to cross the line if there was not a checkpoint, but you would be taking your life into
your hands if you did. Not to mention you
probably would not come out the other side.
You were saying that because you had
an English accent, going to school was
very difficult
It was difficult because the English were seen
as the enemy if you were a Catholic. The Irish
Republican Army (the IRA) wanted a free
Ireland and wanted to be free of the monarchy
in England. As a Catholic child being dropped
into school, it was a really difficult situation
for me because I was viewed as the enemy.
It probably took about six months for me to
drop my heavy English accent and be broad.
It took about a year to be accepted in school.
Students there ostracized me and were suspicious of me. I was bullied, but I learned to
stand up for myself. I used to say, Im a
Catholic like you are!
ON THE THEME
How old were you when you realized

the magnitude of the conflict and its
broad influence on world history?
Probably about 25! When I see on television the terrible conflicts [going on in the
world], at first I think, Oh my God, those
poor children! But children are so resilient.
I was about nine years of age when we would
run five streets away from where I lived to an
urban park. There was one particular instance
when we were playing we heard gunfire
about 10 streets away. Then you would hear
the sound coming a little bit closer. When
the shooting was, perhaps, on the next street
over, we would say, Okay, lets go! and run
back home. I think those sorts of memories
remind me [of the magnitude]. When I see
the photographs now in the newsreel, I think,
Hold on a minute, I was in that park!
How did growing up in a war zone
influence the decisions that you have
made throughout your life?
It helps put things in perspective. It is now
that I am an adult and a parent that I understand [the magnitude of the conflict]. It has
affected my life because I now have a greater
understanding of how the human spirit, tenacity, and will to live can overcome a lot. We are
very resilient, children in particular.
Are there any specific anecdotes that
highlight your experience with the
conflict?
There are two experiences that stand out. I
was around nine years old and playing ball
with a couple of other children in the street.
We saw a line of people outside one of the
houses. We were all just giggling and joined
in the queue, waiting, not knowing what it
was all about. We walked into a room where
there was a box that everyone was standing
very somberly. The box was an open coffin
for a young man for whom they were having
an open casket ceremony. I do not remember
anything about him except that he had a suit
on and his hands were clasped together and
holding rosary beads as though in prayer. Also,
I noticed that hands were slightly discolored.
As I came up closer to him, I could see that it
looked like there was a hole in his hand that
had been filled, and he was almost painted. He
was about 18 years old. This young man had
been very heavily made-up, and he had bruises
on his face and on his hands. I had never seen
a dead body before. Afterwards, I remember
speaking to my dad about it. I was quite a lot
older then and he recanted the story to me
4 ON THE THEME
Children in Belfast during the 1970s. Photos courtesy of Jeffrey Blankfort.

of what happened. The man and his girlfriend
were going to church and they were caught
taking a shortcut that Sunday morning. They
should not have been going down a Protestant
area, and they were badly beaten. The young
man was crucified while his girlfriend was
murdered. A couple of months after this
incident, we were playing and I remember
looking at the Protestant side. I remember
seeing a queue, just the same as the queue that
I went into on the other side of the street, and
I have no doubt that one of the paramilitary
organizations had done the same to some of
the ones over there. That family was victimized as much as the other side.
I also remember one instance from when I
was 10 years old. I was playing in the park
I mentioned earlier with my friends and we
heard gunfire. We started running from the
street that went from New Lodge Road to
Duncairn Gardens. I ended up running down
a street on my own. There was a heavy amount
of gunfire and the soldiers were doing their

patrol. As I was running as fast as I could
along the street, there was soldier not too far
in front of me. I remember glancing up and
seeing this woman right on the other side of
the street pull out a gun. The soldier that was
in front of me came around, and she shot him
in the head right in front of me. I was literally 10 feet behind him, and it lifted him up.
As he landed on the ground in front of me, a
woman in this grocery store grabbed me just
threw herself on top of me. After the gunfire
ceased, the woman had a white flannel with
which she was just wiping my face as I was
crying. Later, when I was home and sitting
in the bath, the water in the bath just turned
red. It was completely filled with blood and
I realized that I was covered in this soldiers
blood. It was a surreal experience, and the
next day I got up and went to school.
Solicited by Pacific Ridge School
editors
A Girl in the Slums

BY RACHEL STACY
iving life without hope is like living in a hole without anything that is of importance. Girls and boys in Kibera are living without hope in
their lives. It is a routine because most have experienced problemsthey are forced to get pregnant early and also they are expected to get
married sometimes.
I have a neighbor who got married when she was in fifth grade. It was because she was forced by her parents just because they had no place to
take her. They were broke, had no money to pay for her school fees and other needs.
As this moment she has three children. She works in a club as a waitress but I believe that she has the potential to be someone better in life. That
is the life that girls go through if the people responsible take no helpful action.
Written at Kibera Girls Soccer Academy
A Hostage in My Own Country
BY HOSSEIN SALIMI
was born in the city of Arak, Iran in 1932. We were a middle

class family of four brothers and one sister. I was the youngest
of my siblings. When I was eight years old, World War II began.
Unfortunately, Iran participated and was constantly occupied by
U.S., Russian, and British forces. My own city, Arak, helped the
forces fight against Germany at great cost. The city was filled with
soldiers and the sky with airplanes. It was a scary time for everyone. The economy crashed and people were in a very bad situation.
It was surreala bad dream.

After 15 days in captivity, the guards transferred us to a big prison by the
name of Qasr. It was the biggest in Tehran. We had nothing. No radio, no
TV. We did not know what was happening outside the prison walls. There
were many of us there. Every night they would take a few of us for a
12-minute interrogation. Not many people returned. It is hard to believe
how often someone died. There were no visits, either. Nobody had any
way of contacting his or her family. For two weeks, my wife and children
did not know if I was still breathing or not. Then they dragged me in for
questioning. I was forced to keep my eyes shut. I was unworthy of seeing
the person who interrogated me. They then told me that the next day was
visit day. He said to me, If your wife or relatives do come to see you, say
goodbye to them. They will not see you again.
I decided to put all of my focus into school. I tried to be the best

of the class and ignore the chaos around me. By the time I graduated, I was number one in my class. They awarded me a medal and
I then moved to Tehran and enrolled in the Police Academy. Putting
my past behind me, I started working in the police force. After 20
years, I retired and started working in a taxi company. Two years
later, I became the director of the company with 500 employees Believe me, that night, I nearly plucked out half of my eyebrows. It was the
and 20,000 members.
only thing that kept me sane. I had to tell myself that I had done nothing
wrong. Why, why, why! After that night, I was in prison for one more
In 1979, the demonstrations started. The Islamic movement filled year. They did not let me see my family. I just waited for somebody to call
the streets of Tehran and other major Iranian cities. The rebels me to execute me. I was stuck in a cell with 24 people. It was a terrible
rallied support against the King of Iran and praised their leader situation, and we had all lost hope. Whenever a guard came to the cell, I
Khomeini as the true leader of their country. The situation went thought that I was next! But after my year was up, they told me I could
from bad to worse. I could feel the tension build among my fellow leave. They expected me to stand up and walk out of the cell that tortured
citizens, and we hated seeing our good leader be criticized for me for one year.
things he did not do.
A week later, after reuniting with my family, I got a letter that called me
On February 12, 1979, the dissent boiled over. The King of Iran was to Islamic Court. They said that on February 21, 1979, I had caused rebel
forced out of his frightened country and the new leader, Khomeini, activity with five of my friends. They were accusing me of something
began to arrest people of high ranking. They did not want anyone impossible. When I went to court, the three clergymen stated that they
of former power to threaten their new government. They were even had a picture of me on a roof shooting the resistance. They claimed
ruthless and often put down people without a trial or judgment. that I was fighting for the King and rebelling against Khomeini when really
On February 17, eight members of the Revolutionary Guard came I was in their jail. They refused to show me the picture. I told them that this
to my home, blindfolded me, and took me to prison. They dragged was physically impossibleI could not have been in jail and on the roof at
me to the Prison Yard and began to yell at me. Because of my the same time. After checking their records, they decided to let me go. I
former status as colonel in the police force and my new director was finally free.
position at a big company, I was deemed a threat to them. I was
pushed against a wall and forced to say that what I had done in the My wife and I moved to America following the trail and reunited with
past was wrong. The main guard said they would count to three our three children. We now live a happy life, but I will never forget my
and then shoot me. One guard behind him then said they should experience.
first ask their Imam (Khomeini) what to do. They already had four
Solicited by Canyon Crest Academy
other prisoners who could be useful later. So, they brought me to
editors
a prison cell with the other four prisoners. We shared our stories,
but most of all our disbelief that this could all be happening to us.
ON THE THEME
Violent Clashes in Kiev

BY JEROME SESSINI
UKRAINE.Kiev.February19,2014.Anti-governmentprotestersclashwithpoliceandholdbarricadesinEuromaidanSquare. Photo courtesy of Jerome Sessini/Magnum Photos.
UKRAINE. Kiev. On February 20th, unidentified snipers open fired on unarmed protesters as they advacned
on Instituska Street. According to an official source, 70 protesters were shot dead. Ukrainian riot police
claimed that several policeman were wounded or shot dead by snipers as well. An unofficial source said
that snipers opened fire on the police and protesters at the same time in order to provoke both camps. Photo
courtesy of Jerome Sessini/Magnum Photos.
8 ON THE THEME
UKRAINE. Kiev. February 19, 2014. Anti-government protesters remain mobilized against riot
police and hold barricades in Euromaidan Square. The day before, at least 18 people were killed,
including seven policeman. Protesters launch molotov cocktails with a makeshift cannon. Photo
courtesy of Jerome Sessini/Magnum Photos.
ON THE THEME
UKRAINE. Kiev. On February 20th, unidentified snipers opened fire on unarmed protesters as they advanced
on Instituska Street. According to an official source, 70 protesters were shot dead. Ukrainian riot police claied
that several policeman were wounded or shot dead by snipers as well. An unofficial source said that snipers
opened fire on the police and protesters at the same time in order to provoke both camps. Photo courtesy of
Jerome Sessini/Magnum Photos.
10 ON THE THEME
ON THE THEME 11
12 ON THE THEME
UKRAINE. Kiev. On February 20th, unidentified snipers opened fire on unarmed protesters as they advanced
on Instituska Street. According to an official source, 70 protesters were shot dead. Ukrainian riot police claimed
that several policeman were wounded or shot dead by snipers as well. An unofficial source said that snipers
opened fire on the police and protesters at the same time in order to provoke both camps. Photo courtesy of
Jerome Sessini/Magnum Photos.
ON THE THEME 13
14 ON THE THEME
UKRAINE. Kiev. February 19, 2014. Anti-goverment protesters clash with police and hold barricades in
Euromaidan Square. Photo courtesy of Jerome Sessini/Magnum Photos.

editors
ON THE THEME 15
Conflict in Mali
BY FERHAT BOUDA
uring my previous travels to Northern

Mali, I would first fly into a neighbouring country on the border and try to
find passersby who could help me cross the
border. Most of the time, these people were
drug traffickers or were selling cigarettes, gas
or weapons. They were Africans trying to get
to Europe. So, Id often leave by myself. Ive
never been hired by a magazine and I have had
to pay for everything myself.
But I didnt have a choice because there was no
other way to get into northern Mali and I had
the obligation to show what was happening in
the region! Its often very risky to leave with
these peoplethe biggest risks are the kidnappings that happen in the region!
But to take the series of photos shown here, I
left from Bamako. Its the only trip Ive made
16 ON THE THEME
with a colleague, a fellow photographer. I went

with another person to share the expenses. The
trip by taxi, or fixeur, costs a lot of money in
areas of conflict.
We arrived in Bamako and it was the first time
I was able to return to Kidal since the beginning of the conflict. Im interested in this
conflict because I had worked with the Berbers
and the Touaregs, an ethnic branch of the Berbers. It was also my goal to work in the area. I
wanted to continue working with the female
Touareg fighters with whom I had started to
work during my first trip.
Why Kidal? After the French Army passed
through at the beginning of 2013, the Islamists
left northern Mali.Timbouktou and Gao were
won back by the Malian army. Of course, the
French Army and the MINUSMA (United Nations peacekeepers) were present at their side.
But the Touareg rebels (The National Movement for the Liberation of the Azawad) share
Kidal with the Malian army despite the fact
that they are enemies. The rebels are in a restricted zone, while the French Army and the
MINUSMA maintain peace in the city between
the two enemies and keep the Islamists away!
I am interested in Kidal at this time because I
want to see and document the lives of civilians
in this conflict zone. Unfortunately, its hard to
do this in a time of war! Most of the time we
have to choose a side, either the rebels or the
Malian army!
It took us almost 10 days to reach Kidal, even
though its a trip that normally takes three
days. When we got to Gao, we had to stay
there because the route was dangerous and our
driver didnt want to run the risk of traveling
with just us.
We tried to travel with the U.N. peacekeepers and the French Army, but unfortunately
nobody wanted to take on the responsibility of
travelling with us because on the road in Mali,
anything can happen! The only option that was
left for us was to wait for the Malian army con-
(Above) The entrance to Kidal is shown as we return to Bamako with the Malian Army. Photo courtesy of Ferhat Bouda.
voy to leave and accompany them. After waiting
for a week in Gao, the convoy finally left. After
two days on the road, we arrived in Kidal!
30 minutes after we arrived at the rebel
Touaregs camp, they told us the bad news:
two French journalists, Ghislaine Dupont and
Claude Verlon from Radio France International
had been abducted and killed. They knew the
area and were specialists in the region.
It is nearly impossible to work in Kidal and its
even forbidden to go outside. Before the assassination of two colleagues, we had planned for
the Touaregs to help us work in the city. They
would accompany us and hide their weaponsthey do not have the right to go outside
with their weapons. But the situation was very
complicated, thus they didnt want to risk doing this with us in Kidal!
We decided to go further north. Of course
the further north you go, the greater the risk!

But we didnt have a choice. We were there to
work, so we were accompanied by the rebels
up north to document their daily lives. We had
hoped in the meantime that the situation in
Kidal would change and allow us to work in
the city!
We had hoped that in the meantime, the situation in Kidal had changed. But when we returned to the city several days later, it had gotten even worse. There was no chance to get our
work done and due to the state of emergency
the city was in, nobody would take the risk to
drive us out to Bamako. The only way out was
by plane, either operated by the UNO or by the
French Army. It required some intervention by
our agency but finally they got us on a French
Army plane back home.
editors
Ferhat Bouda was born in Kabylie,

Algeria and lives as a freelance photographer in Frankfurt, Germany. In 2000,
he left his country in order to study film
in France, so that one day, his grandmother might be able to watch films
in her own language. In 2001 Ferhat,
then living in Paris, found a camera
by chance and started to develop his
passion for photography. Since this
time it has been his major focus to take
pictures of socially marginal groups
and minorities. He is attracted by
his country of origin and by regions
of other Berber or nomadic tribes
such as the Touareg or the Mongols.
He frequently returns there in order
to help to draw the attention to the
problems and the needs of the people
in these parts of the world. To make his
pictures accessible to a broader public,
he has been working with the German
Press Agency (dpa) since 2010.
ON THE THEME 17
(Above) A picture of a road in Kidal. Photo courtesy of Ferhat Bouda.

(Below) MINUSMA military at the entrance to the city of Kidal. Photo courtesy of Ferhat Bouda.
18 ON THE THEME
The conflict has had profound consequences on the lives of children in Kidal. Photo courtesy of Ferhat Bouda.
ON THE THEME 19
Pictured here are the Touareg rebels barracks. They do not have the right to go out with arms. Photo courtesy of Ferhat Bouda.
20 ON THE THEME
ON THE THEME 21
(Above) After having heard a gunshot, a MNLA rebel prepares himself in case of an attack. Despite their confinement, the rebels
are always in an alert state of mind. Photo courtesy of Ferhat Bouda.
The French Army patrols the streets of Kidal. Photo courtesy of Ferhat Bouda.
22 ON THE THEME
Experiences
ADVERSITY
RESOLVE
ADVENTURE
Evangelia and Ted Laliotis discuss their childhoods on the Island of Rhodes during World War II.
Jim Bailey recounts overcoming conflict in the sports world.
Thomas Dixon explains his adventures on New Years Eve around the world.
Growing Up on the Island of Rhodes

During World War II
BY EVANGELIA LALIOTIS
History is philosophy teaching by example.
- Thucydides
istory tells us that wars begin, mostly, for expansionism, and so did WWII. It resulted in the devastation of many countries, the loss of lives, and immeasurable human suffering. At its the end, there were no
winners.
I was born on the Island of Rhodesit is part of a cluster
of 12 islands, the Dodecanese Islands, located on the
Eastern part of the Aegean Sea. The Islands were sold
by the Byzantine State to the Knights of St. John in the
year 1303. In 1522, the Ottoman Empire conquered
Rhodes, and in 1912, following the Italian-Turkish war,
the Dodecanese Islands were given to the Italians by the
Turks as part of the war settlement. Thus, the Islands
became an Italian territory.
I feel rather special as my island remained Greek in its
spirit, beliefs , language, religion, and customs after so
many centuries of foreign occupation. It was a struggle
for my ancestors to survive financially and to remain true
to their Greek ethnicity.
My parents learned how to cope with adversities from
their parents and their parents from their own parents,
and so on. In order to survive, they had to learn to keep
a low profile, they had to be friendly and accommodating
to the different occupiers, but at the same time, secretly
they observed our Greek Orthodox religion and our
culture. The Greek Orthodox Church played a major role
in the successful preservation of our Greek-ness through
so many generations.
When WWII came to my island, we already knew how to
live with very little and how to make additional adjustments. I remember how little I had as a tiny child. No
toys, no dolls, no new clothes, not much to eat. But I also
remember how loved and secure I felt in my home. My
Thisrecordplayerwastheonlysourceof entertainment
intheLaliotishouseholdinEpidaurus,Greece.
EXPERIENCES 23
numerous friends shared similar experiences

to mine. Our older siblings read books to us
and taught us how to play with seashells, round
sea pebbles, how to explore the surrounding
small hills and collect snails, oregano, wild
fruit, and other fun things essential for our
survival. When the bombings started, first
by the English because we were under Italy,
and then by the Germans as they wanted to
occupy our land, it was a very scary time. It
was equally scary when the German army
occupied Rhodes. The Germans took all
the food from the markets in order to feed
their army. They imprisoned and killed many
local people. For about three months, famine
was widespread and people in the cities died
due to lack of food. By then, we were living
in our country home and my parents were
selling all the jewelry and other precious
possessions for a loaf of bread and a piece of
meat so that us kids could survive. The Red
Cross and UNRRA (United Nations Relief
and Rehabilitation Administration) came and
brought various food essentials that averted
total loss of life on the island.
As we all know, one of Germanys objectives
was to eliminate Jews. Rhodes, being at the
crossroads of trade and commerce between
East and West, had a substantial Jewish
community living there for many centuries. When the Germans came to Rhodes
and started rounding up Jews to send them
to concentration camps, my father, taking a
great risk, and against my mothers advice as
she was concerned about her childrens lives,
provided refuge to a Jewish family until they
were able to obtain secret passage to Turkey
via a fishing boat. If the Germans had found
out what my father had done, our lives would
have been in great jeopardy.
At the end of WWII the Dodecanese Islands
were finally united with Motherland Greece.
The official ceremonies of the annexation
took place in April of 1947. All the inhabitants of the island from the various villages
came to the City of Rhodes where the Greek
flag was raised while everyone sang the Greek
National Anthem. We were all kneeling in the
streets and crying. This was an overwhelming experience that still brings awe and tears
to everyone who was lucky enough to have
participated in this extraordinary event.
Finally, the Islands became part of Greece and
we became Greek nationals.
What were the effects on the life of a little
girl that lived and witnessed so many adversities? It is difficult to forget the sacrifices that
24 EXPERIENCES
(Above and below) ThedecayingrooftilesoftheLaliotis house.
my parents made so that my older sister and

I could feel secure, warm, and not hungry.
It is wonderful to look back and remember
the loving home that my parents made for us.
They taught us a lot. But the most important
lessons were to always be careful and to honor
and preserve our religion and culture. The
responsibility for the survival of our race fell
on us. I believe that I became a flexible, resilient, and hopeful person. I can adjust well to
changes and I believe that with hard work I
can reach the goals I set for myself.
I left Rhodes as a young woman and came
to the United States to study and meet my
uncles and aunts and my numerous cousins. I
got a degree from UC Berkeley, and became
a Social Worker in medical settings. I was a
good Social Worker because I knew what it
felt to be deprived, to be scared, to constantly
having to make adjustments and surviving
with only the bare essentials. I taught my
patients and their families how to best deal
with their problems and how to best access

their resources and strengths. It took a lot of
hard work and commitment on my part to
bring positive changes to their lives.
I was blessed with the love and the values that
my family instilled in me. In turn, it is with
this that I made a good life for myself, and
with my husband.We raised our children here
in the United States and made a good loving
home for them.
editors
Evangelia Laliotis worked as a nurse
at a hospital in Los Altos, CA for many
years. She currently lives in Los Altos
with her husband Theodore. The two of
them continue to be very active members of the Greek church and the Greek
community in their area.
Growing Up in a Greek Village

During World War II
BY TED LALIOTIS
was born in a rural farm and grazing area of

Southern Greece, part of the Peloponnese region. It was just before Greece was attacked and
finally succumbed to the fascist forces of World
War II. At that time, Greece, a mountainous
Mediterranean country, had a weak economy
mostly consisting of land farming, livestock raising (sheep and goats), and fishing in the Mediterranean.
Greece was drawn into World War II by being
asked to surrender to the Italian fascist forces
on October 28, 1940, after much of Europe had
already been invaded and captured by the German and Italian forces. The German and Italian
aggressors felt that Greece would easily surrender, but they forgot the resilience and historic
heroism that Greeks had shown from ancient to
medieval and modern times, resisting and fending off many aspiring conquerors.
Thus, when the Italians asked Greece to surrender to their forces, Greece answered with a
resounding no. When the Italians attempted
to invade Greece, they were driven back by
the heroic Greeks on the mountains of Western
Greece; the Italian Army was almost thrown in
the Adriatic Sea.
This unexpected Greek Resistance caused a significant delay in the schedule of the fascist forces. They were required to pull back, regroup,
and try again with the German Army in the

spring of 1941. This delay of plans proved to be
significant in giving time to the Western Allies
to organize and eventually beat the fascist forces
and win World War II.
The Laliotis family consisted of about ten related households with homes at the foot of a
small mountain near a natural spring and a small
church sanctuary to serve our religious needs.
The mountain is where the flocks of sheep and
goats grazed and they were herded by my uncles
and older cousins. The majority of our olive
trees populated the mild hillsides. The farmland in the small valley below the mountain
was where we cultivated and grew wheat, corn,
and vegetable gardens for feeding our families.
We also maintained chicken coops for eggs and
meat, as well as stables for our horses, mules,
and donkeys (which were our work animals
used in farming). Thus, we had our meat from
our livestock and chickens, the olive oil from
our trees, the bread from wheat and corn, and
our vegetables from the gardens. We also hunted
for wild game on the mountain. That is what we
lived and grew up with. We basically produced
everything we needed to live on.
World War II was a major disruption to our
quaint village life. As a young boy around 5 years
old, I remember the German and Italian soldiers
would raid our homes as they also needed food
to live on. There were no grocery stores to buy
Thiswallinsidethe Laliotishousecontainsportraitsoftheentirefamily.
food from so they would loot our households for

bread and olive oil; they would take our chickens and any other food items we were stocking
for our needs.
The war encouraged the emergence of traitors
among our communities. The weaker people in
our communities were tempted by the German
and Italian soldiers to become informers in
exchange for favors and preferred treatment. It
was very disappointing and painful to see one of
my uncles become such a traitor and provide information to the soldiers about assets of friends
and relatives that they may have hidden in places
away from their homes in order to protect them
from the soldiers. The worst part was that his
actions were not something he was doing inconspicuously but he was openly walking around
with the soldiers and leading them to the various hideaways. He was enjoying the power and
advantage he had over the community.When the
war was over and the soldiers left, this uncle,
who we had nicknamed the traitor, disappeared to another part of the country because he
knew that he could not survive in the community. We knew where he was living, but none of
the relatives wanted to go after him because they
felt that self exile was enough punishment.
Greeks are notorious fighters by their very own
nature because of the many conquerors and
predators who pursued Greece from the ancient
times through medieval times and even recent
history such as WWII. As a result, Greek Resistance fighters who did not accept the dominance of the soldiers, organized themselves and
took to the mountains. While they lived in the
mountains, they were able to obtain arms, and
they conducted raids on the German and Italian
soldiers in any way they could. Sometimes they
would ambush soldier contingents and sometimes they would make nightly attacks on their
compounds. The Germans, in particular, were
very vengeful and would respond by committing
heinous crimes against innocent local communities. Luckily, such reprisals did not take place in
my village or the surrounding villages. One of
the worst reprisals occurred in the city of Kalavryta, at the heart of Peloponnese, where the
Germans gathered all males age 13 and older,
about 500 of them, lead them to a remote location away from the town, and machine-gunned
them. Only 13 of them survived.
EXPERIENCES 25
seek the necessary funding to provide his three

sons with high school as well as college education at any cost. He even had to sell some of his
farm land to provide funding for our education.
Grafiti on a wall in the city.

The saddest thing was the occasional violence
and physical harm to members of our families
if they resisted the looting by the soldiers. For
that reason, in order to protect us, our parents
would frequently move the children to spend
the night under tents in the valley, away from the
homes, if there was evidence that the soldiers
may be coming on a given evening.
The occupation by the German and Italian
armies lasted until about 1945 when the Western Allied forces, including the United States,
were able to defeat the Fascist forces and free up
all of Europe, including Greece.
It was about that time (1945) that I started attending grammar school. The school was lo-
cated at the larger village that was located about

two miles away from our homes. My cousins and
I had to walk about one hour in the morning to
get to school and about one hour in the afternoon to get back home.
Most children from our village and surrounding area did not attend high school after grammar school as the nearest regional high school
was about 30 miles away in the larger city. After
grammar school, most children would stay and
work in the farm along with the rest of the family.
My father, rest his soul, who had also served in
World War I (circa 1918-1922) was a visionary
who had decided that he would work harder and
I was the youngest child in the family, but both

my older brothers and I had to leave the house at
the village at the age of 12 years old in order to
go rent a room in the larger city 30 miles away.
We went to high school there, and then after
high school, moved to Athens, which was 100
miles away, for college. My two older brothers
did exactly that. One became a school teacher
and the other received a degree in mathematics
to eventually became a meteorologist. I did not
have to go to college in Athens. I was fortunate
to be invited and financially sponsored by my fathers sister, who had immigrated to the USA at
an early age and was living in San Francisco, to
come and attend college in the USA. I graduated from UC Berkeley in 1964 with a degree
in Electrical Engineering. I met my wife, also
a foreign student from Greece while at college;
we got married in 1966, and the rest is history.

editors
Ted Laliotis is a technology executive

and entrepreneur in Silicon Valley. He
is currently the President of Laliotis &
Associates, a sole proprietorship in the
field of venture capital and entrepreneurship. He is an IEEE Fellow, and
recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of
Honor.
Keep the Dream Alive

BY JIM BAILEY
his article recounts my experiences

with football, but it is not necessarily a
football story. It is a story about the pursuit of
dreams. It is about the passion to succeed and
enduring the agonies of failure. My subject is
football, but it could just as easily be music,
art, science, literature, or anything else that
can inspire the pursuit of dreams.
As a youngster my life was consumed by
sports. If I wasnt playing sports, I was watching themfootball, basketball, baseball,
hockey. Anything that involved athletic ability
and competition, I was involved. In high
school it became apparent that my best sport
was football, so that is what I concentrated on.
26 EXPERIENCES
I studied the game and worked very hard at

improving. I played well enough that I earned
a scholarship to play football at Florida State
University.
Ohio and devoted my energy to the practice

of law. Except for playing some basketball and
softball in the evenings, my involvement in
sports was limited to weekend viewing.
At Florida State, however, it became obvious

I was not big enough, fast enough, or skilled
enough to play at the college level. I had to
face the fact my football career was over. I did
not lose my love of the game but assumed I
was consigned to being a spectator for the rest
of my life.
Then one day, the senior partner at my

law firm threw a small file on my desk and
told me to handle the legal work involved.
Inside that file was a brief Memorandum
of Understanding signed by the mayor of
Cleveland, the owner of the Cleveland Indians
Major League Baseball team, and Art Modell,
the owner of the Cleveland Browns National
Football League team. My firm represented
Mr. Modell, who had agreed to take over and
renovate old Cleveland Stadium, which was
I graduated from Florida State and went to

law school at the University of Michigan. After
law school I joined a law firm in Cleveland,
the home of both teams.

My job was to form a new company to lease
the stadium from the city and, in turn, lease
it to the Indians and the Browns. I was in
heaven. I was back, importantly involved in
sports. Not just any sport, but football! And
not just football, but the Cleveland Browns!
It was the first team I had ever seen play and
the team for which I had always rooted. And,
as a bonus, I got to work with a Major League
Baseball team too.
Then, reality set in. The business of sports
is hard work. The people involved are, by
nature, very competitive and very demanding. An agreement reached at 6:00 pm was
expected to be documented and on a desk
at 8:00 the next morning. The guy who had
to create that document didnt have much
time to sleep, and I was that guy. But even
so, I loved it. I loved the fast pace. I loved
the challenge. And I loved working with the
characters involved, especially my client, Mr.
Modell.
That transaction was completed in time for the
Indians home opening game in 1974. I continued to represent Mr. Modell as he undertook
massive renovations of the old stadium. As
walls were broken open, the condition of the
building was found to be much worse than
imagined, requiring a significant amount of
unanticipated structural repair. Regardless,
Mr. Modell lived up to his renovation obligations and the stadium was gradually updated
and upgraded to keep it in usable condition.
As that work wound down, the need for my
legal services grew less and less. As I began to
devote more time to other clients, I assumed
my heady turn through professional sports
was drawing to a close. Then, out of the blue,
Mr. Modell approached my senior partner and
said he had decided to hire a full time lawyer
for the football team and asked permission to
offer the job to me. Permission was granted,
and I readily accepted.
So, I became vice president and general
counsel of the Cleveland Browns. For my first
few weeks on the job, I had almost nothing
to do. My office was crammed into what had
been supply storeroom. I began to think I
had made a huge mistake. I couldnt imagine
that Mr. Modell would continue to pay me
for the small amount of work I was producing. Then the dam broke. I dont remember
what triggered the change, but seemingly
overnight I went from having nothing to do
to working 12 hours a day.

As time went on, I was made the Executive
Vice President of the Browns, responsible for
all the business, financial and legal operations
of the teams. In effect I became the number
two person in the organization, second only
to Mr. Modell. I directed a staff of more than
100, obtained and managed all financing for
the team, and negotiated player contracts. I
also was responsible for all the teams stadium
and facility contracts and arrangements.
In the mid 1980s, we were able to assemble a
group of players and coaches that carried us
to the Conference Championship game (the
final step for qualifying for the Super Bowl)
three out of four years. Even though we didnt
make it to the Super Bowl, we were coming
close and the future looked bright. During
that time, we encountered several difficult business situations, but we were able to
resolve them and concentrate on building and

maintaining our football team.
As the 1980s turned to the 1990s, the tide
began to turn. As our football team began
to falter, our business operations also faced
new challenges. Because the Cleveland
Indians played 82 games a year in the stadium
(compared to just ten games by the Browns),
the Indians were our primary tenant. But,
as other Major League baseball teams were
able to secure glamorous new ballparks,
the Indians became dissatisfied with the
antiquated Cleveland Stadium. They mounted
an effort to have a new ballpark built just for
the baseball team. In reality, they needed a
new ballpark to remain competitive with
their opponents. But, they also represented
a vital economic component of our stadium
operations. Their departure would leave Mr.
Modell with no financial means to recover
the millions of dollars he had invested into
EXPERIENCES 27
rehabilitating Cleveland Stadium.

The city of Cleveland and the business
community recognized these factors. They
concluded the Indians needed a new ballpark
but recognized the economic damage Mr.
Modell would suffer. They also recognized
that Mr. Modell would be compelled to
oppose a new Indians ballpark to protect his
financial interests. In order to obtain Mr.
Modells support for a new ballpark, the
mayor, the city council president and various
civic leaders committed to take care of the
concerns of Mr. Modell and the Browns after
the Indians needs were satisfied. Mr. Modell
agreed.
The Cleveland community proceeded to put
together the financing for a new ballpark.
Surprisingly, they also decided to build, and
did build, a new arena for the Cleveland
Cavaliers basketball team. Completing this
spending frenzy, they also built the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame and a science museum, the
latter two in what had been the main parking
lot for the Browns at Cleveland Stadium.
While all this new construction was going on
for others, Mr. Modell learned that the upper
deck of Cleveland Stadium was undergoing
an irreversible deterioration that would cause
the stadium to become unsafe for occupancy
within five to eight years. Because it takes
three to four years to build a new stadium,
the communitys commitment to take care
of the Browns needs escalated from a mere
financial adjustment to the necessity for a
new or substantially rebuilt stadium for the
Browns. Otherwise, the team would be left
with no place to play within the next five
years.
We embarked on a protracted period of
negotiation with the city of Cleveland. I met
regularly with officials and pursued a course
of resolving the situation for the Browns. We
engaged architects, contractors and building
experts to come up with a viable solution.
A plan for the complete renovation of the
stadium was developed, but the mayor had
promised to spend money he did not have.
City council expressed its opposition to the
project. The county officials had no interest
in participating, and had suffered their own
financial reverses that would have precluded
any contribution from them. The governor
of Ohio deemed it a local problem that the
state could not help solve.
Faced with financial ruin and literally becom-
28 EXPERIENCES
ing homeless in our own city, we were forced

to look elsewhere for a solution.We found that
solution in Baltimore, Maryland. Baltimore
had lost its NFL franchise 13 years earlier
when they were unable to meet that teams
stadium needs. In the hope of luring a new
NFL franchise to Baltimore, the Maryland
Stadium Authority had conducted a lottery
to fund a new stadium. The money was in the
bank. After working with Cleveland for years
and never receiving a proposal, it took only
40 days to negotiate and sign a deal to move
the Browns to a new stadium in Baltimore.
The move was completed and the Browns
became the Baltimore Ravens.
It fell primarily to me to conduct all these
negotiations both in Cleveland and Baltimore.
While it was exciting to be involved at such
a high level, it was emotionally draining. The
Cleveland Browns had been my team since
childhood. Our family had lived in Cleveland
for 25 years. Our children were raised there,
all of our friends were there, and all of that
was suddenly ripped away. We became pariahs
in our hometown. The passionate fans of the
team knew nothing of all the broken promises.
They knew only that their team had forsaken
them. My dream job had become a nightmare.
But we had no time to lick our wounds. We
had to establish our team in a new town.
There were people to hire and to teach about
our systems. There were new fans to cultivate.
There were stadium designs to be completed
and construction projects to be undertaken.
Temporary stadium arrangements had to be
made. Practice and office facilities had to be
procured and readied in short order. And
moving and housing had to be arranged for
all our staff from Cleveland. It was hectic, but
we pulled it off and began the 1996 football
season in our new city.
tive, I swore not to do that myself. After the

ordeals of the failed negotiations in Cleveland
and the re-establishment of the franchise in
Baltimore, after suffering the acrimony of
former friends in Cleveland, and after acclimating the organization to its new city, I felt
my time had come.
Once again, just like at Florida State many
years before, my football career was over.
My football dream had finally ended. Or
so I thought. After consulting on sportsrelated projects after leaving the Ravens, I
was approached to become the president
of a new organization known as the United
States Football League (USFL). The opportunity to get back in the game one more
timeto revive the dreamwas too tempting. I accepted and have since been working
to create a new professional football league.
The USFL will not attempt to compete with
the NFL in any way. Rather, our objective is
to provide an opportunity for young football
players to develop their skills and prepare
them to advance to the senior league. We
are guided by a board comprised of several
former NFL executives with a passion for
providing a second chance for players who
sought to play in the NFL but fell short. We
understand their dream and are motivated
to help them pursue it. We have dreamt it
ourselves. Maybe we still do. Our slogan is
Keep the dream alive.
editors
Subsequently, Cleveland was shocked into

finding the means of constructing a new
football stadium and was awarded a new
team. We left the team name and colors
behind and the new team is now known, once
again, as the Cleveland Browns. The Ravens
have adapted to their new city in Baltimore
and have produced successful teams.
Four years after the move to Baltimore, my
time with the team came to an end. When one
takes a job in professional sports, it is important to realize that such jobs often come to
an end. It is an intense and hard-hitting
business. Having seen co-workers try to hold
onto their jobs after they became ineffec-
Jim Bailey, who played football at

Florida State University and earned a
law degree from the University of Michigan, was the Executive Vice President
of the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland
Browns. He is currently involved with
creating the United States Football
League (USFL).
What We Take for Granted: Why I Spend

New Years Eve Around the World
BY THOMAS DIXON
hat surprises us the most when we go somewhere we

havent been before?
For me, it was a matter of what I had taken for granted before my
first time out of the United States, only to discover that I had been
mistaken during said trip. Ever since, my deeply passionate curiosity about just what I happen to be wrong about, has lead me to
attempt to travel around the world such that I may spend my New
Years Eves in a new country each year.
Now, I had written previously about my New Years Eve trips for
the American Humanist Association (AHA). The article I wrote
for them, which came out in 2013, was titled New City, New
People: A Humanists Travels on New Years Eve and may be
seen at the following link: http://americanhumanist.org/HNN/
details/2013-12-new-city-new-people-a-humanists-travels-onnew-years. The purpose of this article is to expand on that AHA
article by elaborating on what I have gained from these trips, what
I have been surprised and/or comforted by, and what I hope will
come to me from continuing to explore the world in this way.
I do encourage readers to see that earlier article as in it, I describe
my rationale and motivation for going on these trips. In brief, I will
share here the rules I attempt to follow when on these trips, as I
had shared them within that aforementioned article:
1) I am trying to challenge my notions, my preconceptions.
2) The trips should be for a new country, a place where I have never
been before at all.
3) It does not matter if the people in the country tend to celebrate
NYE (of December 31 to January 1) or not.
4) Pragmatically, it must be a spot which is considered safe enough
for me to visit.
5) I try to bounce between parts of the world, year-by-year.
had joined in an archaeology camp in Belize, and when I had made it to

Barcelona over one particular summer. I am fortunate to have been able
to see the world, and continue to feel ever more fortunate given how I
had almost died, possibly leaving much unseen.
It is also my feeling of connection to others that has inspired me to have
these tattoos, on my left and right arms, respectively, of the text Lets
love each other in both English and Korean (see above).
And so, without further ado, just where have I been for NYE?
Taiwan for NYE2005 (or, the one which opened my eyes, photo
below.)
As I noted in the AHA article, I had been so surprised by what had not
happened. I had been (culturally) shocked to learn that NYE was not
commonly celebrated by people there, meaning that there would be
no celebrations, no fireworks, but rather my own mind had lit up upon
learning that I could be so wrong about what expected behavior may
be. I paused and wondered, Just what else am I taking for granted? I
just had to take the steps to find out.
Nowhere for NYE2006? (Actually, this one may have been in New
York City)
This may have been one of the years where a student budget would
only allow so much, or perhaps my idea of spending NYE in a new
country each year had not yet formed.
Its these rules which have guided how I have traveled. Given that
I had been in school throughout, I could not afford such a trip each
year. Also, I had almost died in 2010 when I was hit by a car, which
I have shared extensively about elsewhere. Rather than feeling
forced to follow my goal of seeing the world, I will admit that life
happens, and so adjust my expectations for travel with it. I do also
attempt to carry such a sense with me on my non-NYE trips, such
as when I had been a middle school teacher in South Korea, when I
EXPERIENCES 29
England for NYE2007

With a ticket to London, I was able to experience what had been the best NYE of my life for many years, capturing this following photo
in the process:
Japan for NYE2008 (photos below)

My time in Japan was spent across a number of cities: Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, & Nara. It was there that I could see Kinkakuji and sleep inside a
capsule hotel, and have tasty tofu.
30 EXPERIENCES
Canada for NYE2009 - Toronto was there for me, in a sense that I was glad to be there for it. I felt comfortable there. I will admit that I had
been surprised by what I spotted while riding the subway once. I also had spotted statues of women on crutches in an art show. (Photos below).
Nowhere for NYE2010? (It was in Washington DC, maybe?)

At this time, I was a premedical student, and so this may have been one of the years where a student budget would only allow so much,
and I had already been to NYC.
NYE2011 & NYE2012 (The background photo shows me almost dying after being hit by a car)
I missed two years of this type of travel, as I had almost died when a car hit me while I was on one of my runs on November 22, 2010. My
recovery took a long time, and resuming these trips was an important benchmark in my recovery that led me to feel I had control of my
life once again.
EXPERIENCES 31
Netherlands for NYE2013 (photos below)

This trip may be my favorite thus far, perhaps unfairly so, as it was my first NYE trip post-accident, and so I felt that I could have this aspect of
my life back again. I have actually been making the distinction, when people ask me Which trip was the best? of noting between best NYE
night vs. best trip overall. For night, UAE has since set the current world record for fireworks, and so that takes the cake. For best trip
overall, Ill tell you Amsterdam. It may be that I had felt the most comfortable/relaxed/carefree there, I suppose.
United Arab Emirates for NYE2014 (photo below)

I was fortunate enough to catch the world record for fireworks with this trip, and to have been inside of the current worlds tallest building,
the Burj Khalifa.
32 EXPERIENCES
France for NYE2015 (photos left)

My last trip, prior to this article, had me placed firmly
in Paris, France. Paris hit me in more ways than one. I
have a great story now about my hand getting smacked
by a security guard at the Louvre. What happened?
Well, I was standing with many others in front of the
Mona Lisa, and while I appreciated seeing such an
image, I was more fascinated that so many people were
taking pictures of it. I mean, arent much better quality
images of it available online? Also, wont people believe
you if you tell them you were there? If they dont, will
an image (which could have been taken by anybody)
convince them? So, my inner psychologist turned
on, and I thought that the people taking such images
were more interesting to me than the Mona Lisa, and so
I started to record video via my phone and slowly turn
around such that I faced the crowd/mob. Once a guard
noticed my recording others, he actually smacked the
hand holding my phone, such that my video jostled at
just that moment in the recording. Such is a story which
almost by itself justified my taking this trip.
Parisians did not smile much, and my Paris friends had
indicated to me that such is their cultural norm not to,
such that my picture with the guard is likely his biggest
smile possible, and my fake screaming is with other
tourists.
I was beside myself after I had returned shortly
before the Charlie Hebdo attacks, noticing that where
I had stayed was walking distance from their offices.
I reminded myself that such is a reason for me to
continue these tripswhen tragedy hits a specific area,
its no longer out there to me, but rather its familiar,
and so I may feel a sense of connection that I continue
to develop as I grow.
Solicited by Canyon Crest Academy editors

Thomas Anthony Dixon Jr. earned his Masters of Education
at Temple University in 2014. Since almost dying when hit
by a car on 11/22/10, he has resumed his New Years Eve
trips by being in Amsterdam for NYE 2013, the United
Arab Emirates for NYE 2014, and Paris for NYE 2015. His
digital memory app, ME.mory, is currently in beta-testing
for iPhone and Android, with updates at http://me.mory.
jumpbuttonstudio.com/. Thomas may be reached at https://
www.facebook.com/thomasanthonydixonjr.
EXPERIENCES 33
Across Longitudes
INDIA
KENYA
KENYA
KENYA
KENYA
Sandeep Das offers insight into his life as a traveling musician and philanthropist.
Cynthia Amondi writes about being taught and inspired by an extraordinary woman.
Gloria Mwaniga urges action to confront the hardships faced by women in Kibera.
Immaculate Wandera illustrates the importance of determination in her life.
Zubenda Bakari analyzes the myriad issues in Kibera.
The East Meets the West:

An Interview with Sandeep Das
BY VINCENT WANG
hat was the deciding factor that

caused you to pursue music as a
career? Why did you choose to pursue
the tabla?
The first reason is a funny one. I used to get
into trouble at school as an eight-year-old by
tapping on the desk or tapping my foot on
the floor during class. One day, my teacher
called my father and told him he needed to
take me to a doctor because I was constantly
disturbing the class. After considering this
for a while, my father decided that it was my
good sense of rhythm, as we listened to a lot
of music at home and local concerts. Also,
because my father was a government official,
many musicians would stay at our house. My

father had seen that I could tap and keep
rhythm pretty well. So thankfully, instead of
taking me to a doctor, my father got me my
first pair of tabla drums. It was my fathers
premonition, or his vision, that there was
nothing wrong with me and that all I needed
to do was learn music. I still remember the
smell of the first instrument I got and how
I would wait for school to be over so I could
go home and practice. I used to love playing
soccer and flying kites. But ever since the
tablas came, all I wanted to do was practice
them.
The decision to pursue music as a career came
much later. My father took me to one of the
Sandeep performs at the Rhythm of Life Concert.
34 ACROSS LONGITUDES
biggest tabla maestros and by the time I was

15, I was playing with some of the most
famous Indian musicians in the world. For
example, my debut was with Ravi Shankar,
which is almost unthinkable nowadays. I
learned from one of the masters and continued my educationI went to high school
and college and received my bachelors
degree in Honors English literature. The
moment of my decision came when I qualified for personal management. The deal
was to pick up that selection and continue
college for personal management, or to
give it up then and there. I called my father
and told him that I qualified for personal
management, but did not know if I should
pick that up or continue with music. He
Sandeep working with children as part of the Silk Road Outreach Program.
said, Now that I have guided you, my son,
the time has come for you to make a decision
about what you want to do. This decision
was very difficult, so I called him back again
from a payphone in Bombay and told him to
give me some tipsI was confused. After a
long conversation, I decided that I would love
playing music more than anything else. My
father said to not worry, follow my heart, and
do what I wanted to do in life. That is when I
decided to give up my academics completely
for a year and to try music only. So, the plan
was to move to Delhi and try music full-time
for a year; if it works out, great, and if it does
not, then I would give music up completely
and fall back on studies. That is how my
journey started. Eventually one concert led
to another, and before I knew what happened,
I was a professional musician.
What makes you so passionate about
music?
I am doing something that I enjoy. No one is
forcing me to do it. I do not have goals set by
someone else; no one is telling me, You have
to achieve this, do this, and complete this
field. I think the biggest point is that once I
have the instrument out, nothing in the world
can divide me from it. That is the biggest
driving factor: what I do gives me happiness
and gives others happiness. Once you start
playing professionally, you play with different
musicians in different places, and you learn
so much. You meet people who teach you
not only about music, but also give you new
perspectives of the world. For example, before

I started playing in Azerbaijan, I thought it was
just a small country in the world and I would
not care much for it. But now, if there were to
be an earthquake in Azerbaijan, I would care
greatly because I have a friend there whom I
met through music. Similarly, when there is
a fire near San Diego, I care because I have a
friend whose family is there for which I really
care. Those are things that give me the inspiration to keep striving for success.
Why did you move to the United States
from India? Are there any impactful
experiences you have had while transitioning between cultures and societies?
There is more than one reason for my move to
the United States. One was definitely music.
I am primarily an Indian classical musician
trained to play Indian classical music. Though
my first tour to the United States was in 1990,
I would play Indian classical concerts and go
away so much that I would turn off Western
classical radio stations and I had no idea who
Yo-Yo Ma was, even though I had played with
him numerous times. I only played Indian
classical concerts because I came from a really
different background; however, once I was
exposed to a different form of music thanks
to the Silk Road Project of Yo-Yo Ma, I was
inspired to keep collaborating with different musicians such as Keyhan Kalor and
Sujahba (an Indian sitar player). That is when
I received my first Grammy nomination.
Musically, I started learning and seeing things
in a completely different way. I saw that by

living in India, it would be very difficult
for me to pursue learning about different
perspectives. I could live and die just being
an Indian classical tabla player, or I could
take it to the next level and play with different musicians from around the world. I had
to think about making it to a place where
collaboration with others was important
and emphasized. I also started playing with
large Western-style orchestras, ensembles,
and other groups of non-Indian musical
style. The travel situation was also getting
more and more difficult whenever I needed
to leave the country to perform with
others. All these factors prompted me to
think If not now, when? So, I decided to
give it a shot and move to the United States.
The second reason is that, having visited
this country in 1990, I felt that this was a
country in which I wanted my kids to grow
up, a country where they could get a true
worldly perspective. It would have been my
fourth and final year performing with the
ensemble as an Indian musician, so I felt
that I would rather try moving to the United
States. If living there did not work, then I
could always move back. I did not want to
die lamenting about what I could or should
have done. I always try to live my lifelike
every freelance musician shouldgoing by
my gut feeling. I think it was a gut feeling
that moving was something we should try, I
shared the idea with my wife and children,
and here I am.
ACROSS LONGITUDES 35
Sandeep in concert.
As for impactful moments, I have been coming
here since 1990, and I would actually say the
biggest change was for my children and wife
rather than for me. I think their experiences
were more concerned with leaving India. But
for me, it was easy moving to a new home
because I already had friends around me from
music.
In regard to this issues theme, Conflict,
were there any social conflicts that you
had between Indian and American
cultures since you moved here?
I would say that the United States is an
amazing society, but one of the funnier
experiences I had about social conflicts was
actually about getting health insurance and a
cell phone when we first moved here. It was
inexplicably difficult compared to what I had
imagined because for everything I needed
to get, I needed a Social Security number.
However, the Social Security Department
very clearly says not to even inquire about
it, and that it will be effective once you
have lived here for 12 days. The dilemma we
faced was that I could not have my family and
children here without health insurance. So
there I was: wanting to move to this country
but not ready to have my family enter without
health insurance. That was a unique situation
in which the right hand did not know what
the left hand was doing.
The other conflict I still remember was
buying a cell phone. When I went to buy a
cell phone for my wife and me, they asked
for a $2,000 deposit because we did not have
a credit history. I really had to fight that, and

I said, Your damn phones dont cost $2,000
so its not worth it. I remember these situations where I really had to fight to get health
insurance and a cell phone for us, which were
some of our most challenging experiences.
Other than that, I think this country and
society is very open compared to trying to do
something similar in India. For one, the school
system was completely different. When my
kids went to school, they had never studied
in the United States, so there was no concept
of Advanced Placement or Honors classes
at their schools in India. In India, the only
choice was to do well and study all the same
subjects at any given time. The way teachers
in the United States responded to that and
helped them understand the new system was
unique, and we all appreciated that.
My wife also had an especially unique
moment. Living in India, she had never seen
snow. She never thought that trees would shed
all their leaves just before it started snowing.
So, the first time I was driving her from the
airport to home, she was very sad to see that
the entire city did not have any trees with
leaves. That really affected her and she only
told that to me a year later. I felt sorry for
what she must have gone through psychologically at that time. That just goes to show how
different cultures and geography can really
affect someone.
Your organization, Harmony and
Universality through Music (HUM),
works to promote global understand-
ing through musical performance and

education: Could you explain the
work you do with HUM and what you
intend to accomplish with it? For what
purpose did you develop this organization? What stage is the program in now
and how have people reacted to it?
I primarily started HUM because, musically,
I felt that it was limiting to be a traveling,
professional musician but not be acquainted
with knowledge and understanding of
global music and global musicians. What
was being promoted to India in the name of
world music was not world music at all.
It was supported by big companies, but was
basically really bad music. I was with Yo-Yo in
Chicago playing at the Millennium Park once,
and I came to the realization that Yo-Yo had
given us this beautiful experience of the Silk
Road Ensemble that brings different cultures
and peoples together through music. I asked
myself, What am I doing to bring this experience forward?
At the time, my answer to myself was dissatisfactory. I felt that I was not doing anything
to bring this idea forward, and I was just
trying to have great time and learn lots of
new things but in the end, I was just going to
go back to India and not do anything about it.
So that was one thought, and coupled with
what was going on according to me musically
and especially with exposure to music from
outside of India, I felt that I had a huge source
of amazing musicians and friends that I should
bring to India to give Indian people an idea
of what good world music is. In the process, I could also expose the
younger musicians to this experiencewhen I was 15, 16, and 20,
I never had the opportunity to even hear musicians of this caliber. I
asked myself how it would feel if I were able to do something that
would allow youth to hear and work with these fabulous musicians
and learn from them. If I were do something like this in India and
if other musicians could do this in China or Iran, maybe 10 or 15
years from now millions of people can get together and do something
to carry forward the amazing idea that Yo-Yo gave us. So these ideas
coupled together were some of the biggest driving forces.
In respect to what the New York Times may write about me or what
people may say about me, I think that every human knows right away
whether the work they have done was great, good, or average on any
given day. I think a measure of success is what you feel inside you,
which is very important. And, groups of supportive people can help
as long as Indian classical musicians and music lovers feel that I am a
decent tabla player, I am pretty happy. As long as I feel that I am trying
to give the best to my children, and that they are happy, I am successful. The same goes for my wife and friendsif a majority of my friends
think that I am a decent guy, I will be happy.
Then, I suddenly felt that just playing music and bringing in musicians
was not good enough. So, I started to look for underprivileged but
musically talented children, and I found three visually impaired
children who were super talented. I brought them in and they
performed with us in the first concert. I promised myself and the
crowd that this event would not be a one-time affair, that I would
make sure to help the kids continue playing music. I am very proud
to say that last year, we partnered with a German firm that is helping
us to run the first Indian national scholarship for specially disabled
children to help them learn Indian classical music. The three visually
impaired children are learning Indian classical music, two girls are
currently learning folk music, and one boy is learning the tabla. I
recently was able to introduce them at a Delhi concert, which was a
very successful performance.
In the end, something like HUM or what Yo-Yo is doing with Silk Road
becomes top priority as we grow old. It is not just about playing
concerts or making money, it has to be about something more than one
person. I think that I am fulfilling that part of my life with HUM. If I
am able to change the life of even one child for the better, like a student
with Parkinsons that plays the tabla, I would call that a success. I am
not worried whether my neighbor knows me or not, or how famous I
am. I will be the happiest man on the planet if I am able to positively
change the lives of others and to bring happiness to myself and others
around me.
Based on your experiences as a musician, what do you

believe the meaning of success is in life and society?
A Grammy-nominated Indian tabla player, Sandeep Das

has composed and played for Yo-Yo Mas Silk Road Ensemble. Inspired by the Silk Road, Sandeep founded an
organization, Harmony and Universality through Music, in
2009, which is comprised of world-class artists whose goal
is to promote global understanding through musical performance and education.
Definitions of success are personal matters for everyone. I see artists

who, according to the world, are very successful. Yet, I have known
them personally and some are unhappy and insecure. They are not
content with what they have, and they are always worried about what
somebody else has. I think I have been very fortunate from day one
in that I have been successful in many ways. I always feel that if I
am satisfied with myself after a concert, I am successful and happy.

editors
Strength of a Woman
BY CYNTHIA AMONDI
n the great walls of Nairobi is a city called Kibera where women livestrong women who go through a lot of hardship but still stand up
to fight. They are women who strive to exist even though the world pushed them around. We have extraordinary women in Kibera but one
woman stood out for me: Sarah. Sarah is a great example of the women fighting hard to make Kibera and the people living there happy.
Sarah has faced a lot of disheartening problems in her life. She was married and blessed with three children, and all of them go to school. She
is a single mum to say the least; even though she lives with a husband, she is the bread-winner of the family. She wakes up every day to look for
work and hustlethat has been her life.
She is my neighbor and she has inspired me to keep working hard in school because she wishes she had been in a school and become educated.
She dreams the same for her children and is hoping to one day be able to send her kinds to university. She does not depend on her husband to
provide for her. She would rather sit in the sun and work than subject her kids to torture. She has taught me to not let the world define you.
She may not be rich, educated or very influential but her life is what inspires me. She is a fighter and a brave person who the world brought to
teach me. Women learn from each other but I am learning from the best. The strength of Sarah has saved me and I will become an exceptionally
strong woman if I work hard and try not to repeat the mistakes that Sarah made when she was young.
The Girl
BY GLORIA MWANIGA
ome of the communities in Kenya discriminate against kids. Girls have been denied the right to an education. In many societies girls are
forced to get married because very few see the need to educate a girl.
The society engages girls in some illegal activities which are very hurtful, making some of them lament that they think that the world has left
them alone. They ask, Why have we been left alone?
Girls are mostly known to face many more challenges compared to boys. During their menstrual cycle they lack sanitary towels to use. Some
communities send girls away during their menstrual cycles and come back after they finish the cycle. Some societies also force girls to stop
school once they hit their adolescent stage because they feel you are already a woman and should get married.
We need to protect and help those young girls because women are powerful and they can bring more to the society and help people. We women
are made in such a way that we see the world differently. There is a lot we can do and there is a lot we can offer.
Women are the mirrors of their communities and they can offer help to the people. I am grateful for institutions like KGSA that help girls in
areas where women are less appreciated. There are several organizations that help girls and help them see their worth. We hope one day that
societies will appreciate girls.
Women have and will have the potential to change communities. We have the power and the strength to bring change and it will only come if we
are given the opportunity to be educated. Kibera Girls Soccer is an example of the things that make me see women will one day see their worth.
Women will one day all be educated and become leaders. We believe anything is possible. Let us stand for women and girls.
KSGA students and graduates at KGSAs ninth anniversary event.
I Am Immaculate
BY IMMACULATE WANDERA
ust as one of the heroes I feel more than happy to call myself one of them. I will call
myself an iron. An iron because I have accomplished one of the many things I never
dream I would achieve. My name is Immaculate and this is my story. After completing
my primary education my parents did not have money to send me to high school so I
remained home while the rest of the team that I completed primary school with went
on with their education.
We had a neighbor who to take girls to Nairobi for workit was mainly house work,
and I would got to Nairobi to be a house help. I had to choose between going to
Nairobi and keeping the hopethe hope of one day being in schoolalive. I traveled
to Nairobi, to a place that I later knew as Kibera, one of the biggest slums in the
world. The family that I was acquainted with was a happy and a very loving and caring
familythey gave me hope and strength. Unfortunately they had expected to meet
a mature girl, someone who was not as little as I was at that time. I worked for the
whole year as their house help and I saved some money while working, knowing that
it would be my school fees. I never knew a school called Kibera Girls Soccer Academy
that helped girls who could not afford to pay school fees.
Pictured above are KGSA students Sophira,

Warda, and Tima.
Fortunately, one day, the man that I was working for as a house help saw the potential
in me and went ahead to ask the head of Kibera Girls Soccer for a permission to take
me in as a student. I got in. That was the best day of my life. I could not believe it. I
used my savings to pay my registration fees and small things to use in school like books
and pencils. Since then I work as I go to school and, I give thanks to Kibera Girls soccer
Academy for everything. My dream of being in a school was made true. I am now about
to complete my high school education and I am very hopeful I will get great grades and
get admitted to go to college.
Kibera and Its Problems

BY ZUBENDA BAKARI
ibera is the second largest slum in the

whole world. Being the second largest
slum in the whole world does not mean that
there are no problems affecting us. There is a
myriad of problems that affect us as the people
living here. These problems range from poor
housing to security. Many people living in
Kibera have unpleasant houses by which you
can find two or three people living in a 3 by
6 house. It is very shameful that children
are using the same room as their parents.
The other problem is the increase in crime
rates. Due to lack of money children are not
continuing with their education because of a
lack of resources. The people living in Kibera
also encounter a lack of water.
minds of the people and make them see that education can help us analyze things differently and
maybe we can bring apply those ideas to changing in the world.
Written at Kibera Girls Soccer
Academy
Mwanaidi Ismael films a Member of Parliaments speech during the festival.
People are affected so much by what is going

on and we hope that with enough pressure,
the government will come back to Kibera and
help the people living there because it is their
responsibility. As a resident, I am doing my
part of working hard to better my community
and make the lives of the people living there
better.
My major concern are schools and education
for the youth because the youth need it to
change societythat is what can change the
Commentary
TRAVEL
RELATIONSHIP
HEALING
ROUTINE
Bob Harris discusses embracing other people, places, and cultures.

Andrea Juskaitis urges a stronger connection to nature in todays technological world.
Geri Portnoy considers yogas connection to conflict resolution.
Paola Nez Solorios photos show daily life along Vietnams Oriental Express.
Changing the World Means

Being Changed
BY BOB HARRIS
t should be obvious that if you arent

meeting local people as you travel, youre
not truly visiting another country. What is a
country, if not the lives of the people who
live there? But ironically, while the Internet
makes travel historically easy, the Instagram
era may also make it more self-focused than
ever. I think thats a shame. The innocent
hey-Im-in-Paris! joy of seeing yourself paired
with the Eiffel Tower is terrific fun to share,
but repeated to excess, it also risks reducing
humankinds greatest endeavors into rotating backdrops for round-the-world-withduckface. A quick glance at Facebook shows
that many travelers take hundreds of selfies
for every one caring portrait of a local person
they meet. Its a tremendous waste of opportunity. Thats not travel. Its narcissism with
a passport. If we need to look that much at
ourselves, we can just stay in the bathroom.
But its also understandable, because its
easier than real travel. Looking people in the
eye, spending time with them, meeting them
on their own terms, listening to their stories,
and fully embracing them as equals is hard,
especially at first. This isnt because any of
those skills are particularly difficult. Were
social animals. Conversation and connection
are basic human instincts.
Its hard because other people have different
lives and ways of seeing the world, and if you
open your heart when you encounter them,
youre going to feel stuff. And you dont know
what.You dont know if it will be good or bad.
You dont know how long youll keep feeling
it afterward. But you do sense that you will
be changed by the encounter, and in ways that
you can neither predict nor control.
Embracing this process is the difference
between a tourist and a traveler. As a tourist,
you see things and move on. As a traveller, you
see people, and part of you never leaves.
40 COMMENTARY
I didnt learn this easily. I grew up in an

Ohio town that the 2000 U.S. census listed
as 97.3% European-Americanthe single
whitest city with a population above 50,000
in the entire United States. I never heard a
word of a language other than English until I
was in high school. Travel seemed like asking
for confusion, loneliness, and danger. I had to
teach myself to stop, to take time, to be interestedand to risk being changed. But after
visiting nearly 80 countries, its the single
most valuable thing I can share.
To give you the flavor, here are a few people
Ive encountered along the way, and what the
encounters have offered so far:
Alexandria, Egypt (shown above), during

the U.S. invasion of Iraq, when Americans
were frequently cautioned against travel to
the entire Mideast.
Id exited the wrong train station and was
thoroughly lost when I was approached by
seven young men who asked where I was
from. I said I was American, expressed regret
for the devastation happening not tat far away,
and told them I was glad to still be able to visit
their country. They basically gang-befriended
me, and we spent a chunk of the day asking
questions about each others countries.
At a time when American media was flush
with anti-Arab stereotypes that have yet to
relent, it defied every prejudice I could have

embraced.
Bali, Indonesia (shown above left), 2004,
right after the terrorist bombings in Kuta.
Again, I found myself in a place that Americans
were being strongly advised not to visit. And
as you can see, I was in terrible danger: these
women, carrying offerings to their gods,
might have welcomed me into submission.
Kuta is one beach in one town on an entire
island, itself only one of thousands of islands
in the country. I was reminded of local news
everywhere, which is always about fires and
crimes and things going boom. If you didnt
know any better, you could see your own
hometown as terrifying.
It started to dawn on me that maybe the
whole world is a little like thatthat there
are certainly neighborhoods you want to
avoid (Iraq, Afghanistan, western Sudan,
etc.), but most of it might be a lot kinder and
friendlier than it would ever pay the news to
report.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (shown

bottom right), 2008. By now Id become a
professional travel writer, working for Forbes
Traveler and getting a free ride in many of the
worlds fanciest hotels.
This was fun for a while. But in Dubai,
billion-dollar palaces are built by immigrant
laborers from some of the worlds poorest
regions, men paid as little as six dollars a day
yet worked to near-death in the blazing heat,
and willing to endure so they could send a
few bucks home to help feed their kids. This
wasnt completely different from the way my
own dad worked himself silly just trying to
put food on the table. Meanwhile I was getting
paid to stay in the air-conditioned palaces
theyd built, less due to any virtue on my part
than my good fortune in the birth lottery. Had
I merely been born in many parts of South
Asia, I might well have been one of these men.
I wanted to help, but it seemed impossible.
What can a dude from Ohio do about any of
this? It became very hard to reconcile this in
my conscience.
Thing is, the guys in Dubai had signed up
for that hell because, believe it or not, it was

potentially a better option than anything back
home. So if I wanted to help people like them,
maybe part of the answer would be helping
to build small businesses and grow the economies where they came from.
Eventually I found a charity called Kiva.org
that allowed me to put the money Id made as
a travel writer to work for others, by investing
in microloans to help grow small businesses
all over the world. So thats what I did.
Pretty soon, I wanted to get in the field and
see if it did any good.
Cusco, Peru (shown top right), my first
stop as I began visiting microfinance institutions and clients Id invested in. Asociacin
Arariwa is a Peruvian organization that not
only funds thousands of small businesses, but
also provides education and other logistical support to their clients. The woman Im
standing with, Clotilda, had already worked
for more than a decade to help mom-andpop businesses get on their feet. (By the way,
I didnt tell clients that Id helped support
their loan. For one, I didnt deserve any real
COMMENTARY 41
Western media portrayal of poverty, doesnt it? Cute African kid, check. Barefoot adult,
check. Bare wooden shack, check. If you squint, you might even see Sally Struthers choking
back tears in the background.
creditif I hadnt, another Kiva lender surely
would have. Also, the sense of indebtedness
would have been total ick. So I just showed up
as an American writer who was curious about
their lives, which was true, validating, and way
more important anyway.)
When I first walked into Clotys office, hoping
eventually to meet some local clients Id lent to
online, I was secretly nervousI didnt know
the local culture, I was a beginner in the field,
and I was afraid Id be an imposition. But Cloty
welcomed me like an old friend, which made
a huge difference. If she hadnt, I dont know
if Id had the courage to continue the project.
She taught me a lot in a very short time, just by
example. Her whole job is dealing with nervous
people trying to do something theyve never
tried before.
It only occurred to me later that this something
we all do a lot more often than we realize.
Defaulting to friendship and encouragement at
the right moment can change a life.
Near Muranga, Kenya (shown above). This
is the family of a client named Symon, who had
borrowed money to buy a cow.
This looks a heck of a lot like the standard
42 COMMENTARY
Except thats not whats happening here. Not remotely. In dairy country in Kenya, highly
productive hybrid cows are income-generating capital equipment, purchased, paid off, and
employed somewhat like a taxi in New York City. The new cows increased milk pays off the
loan in the first year, after which the cow becomes a steady source of cash flow. This family
wasnt interested in a handout; they were being supported by a new, growing, independent
enterprise with an established business model.
Meeting these folks wasnt like Bono playing white savior while striding through a refugee
camp. This was simply saying hello to smart, friendly neighbors who were building a good
business to support a beautiful kid, nothing more. If Id been locked up in not seeing these
folks as equals, it might have been harder to see that.
Our most charitable intentions may still be laced with hidden prejudices. Pulling those apart
and disposing of them is a vital step in being able to listen and help where we can.
Near Siem Reap, Cambodia (shown above). Look at this womans smile for a minute, will
you? Take it in. Imagine what shed be link to hang out with. Read her face as you would if she
got into an elevator with you, and let yourself form a quick impression. I bet you can already
see that shes someone youd like.
When I met them, Nary and her husband were both working two jobs, often 12-hour days
each, trying to save enough money to start a family. The corrugated tin behind her is their
house. Its a much harder life than Ive ever had, and I grew up working class by Western
standards. They didnt exactly win the birth lottery the way most people reading this did. But
look again at that face.
A life at the $3 or $6 or $10-per-day level is often imagined by Westerners as a sort of
waking doom. This can be reinforced by a lot of the portrayals of poverty that are used in the
fundraising materials of various charities, playing on guilt and similar emotions. And it works.
Fundraising appeals that feature darker skin and sadder faces tend to
raise more money. But this isnt necessarily reflective of what you
always find in the field. Nearly every family Ive met at the bottom
of the wealth pyramid loves their kids, enjoy a good laugh, and like
to make new friends exactly like you do. Make no mistake its a
vastly harder life, often in so many ways that it takes lengthy study
just to chronicle them fairly. You do find sadness, fear, stress, and
tragically shortened lives.
But there is also joy, faith, and hope. I think if we can see that, too,
it makes it easier to engage.
Litein, Kenya (shown above), near Lake Victoria, shortly after 90
minutes with a group of deaf-mute farmers hoping to save communally to buy its first cow.
I thought that this visit might present unusual communication
challenges, since I seemed to have no direct way to communicate
with the clients. So the plan was a bucket brigade: the two men
wearing white shirts here are loan officers who speak English and
Swahili (among other languages). The secretary of the group in a
pink suit speaks Swahili and sign language for the deaf. The rest
of the folks here all speak primarily in sign language (although the
lovely little girl in the yellow dress also has the ability to shriek
in mortal terror at the sight of a dude who doesnt look the way
people are supposed to in her experience; notice that 90 minutes
after my arrival, shes still giving me the stink-eye, and Ive chosen
to give her as much space as possible).
So the clients would speak in sign language, which would become
Swahili, which would become English, and vice versa. I wondered
if it would work at all.
This plan lasted about two minutes before we were all just using our
hands. Are you Christian? just takes crossed index fingers and raised
eyebrows. Are you Muslim? needs only a crescent-shaped hand.
(Skeptical agnostic who tries to see with his heart was a little harder,
admittedly, but you can imagine it, I bet.) Jobs, family size, hopes,
even jokes all of it, we did in near-silence, smiling and laughing. It
was one of the most unexpectedly beautiful days of my life.
If you worry about language barriers, let that go right now. About 90
percent of all communication is non-verbalwe communicate with
our eyes, our hands, our body language, and so much more, literally
every waking moment.
Be yourself, and people can usually see you just fine.
Outside Beirut, Lebanon (shown top of following page), yet
another gang-befriending. When I was these students age, Lebanon
was a country where Americans were in headlines for being kidnapped
and worse. Its still a country under intense sectarian stress. But at a
popular spot for local tourists, this group of young people already
had experience separating the Americans they directly communicated with from the policies of our government. So for me, they had
nothing but friendship and questions. Save cosmetic differences, it
felt little different from meeting curious high school kids back home
in Ohio.
I was truly shocked by how much I enjoyed Lebanon. The local Kiva
partner, Al Majmoua, considers non-sectarianism their core value,
and their work strives to create a society where rival communities
trade and see each other as partners. My respect for the people I met
at Al Majmoua is boundless.
COMMENTARY 43
Unfortunately, shortly after I left, the Syrian civil war began and
refugees began streaming across the border. Everyones life has
become harder of late. And when I think of these kids, or my
friends at Al Majmoua, Lebanon will never again be a place merely
in the news. It is a place where there are people I care about very
much. This is one way that real travel changes you.
Parts of your heart stay everywhere you go.
See a pattern here? Not hard to make friends. This is the island of
Mactan in the Philippines (shown above, bottom right), and the
gang works for the local Kiva partner, bringing finance, training,
and other support to clients all over the island. We ordered pizza
and sat up talking late into the night.
Two major typhoons have rolled though the area since then. I watch
the news, email, tweet, ask how I can help, send funds, send notes,
and feel relieved (so far) to find out everybody Ive stayed in touch
with is okay.
44 COMMENTARY
Parts of your heart stay everywhere you go. More joy, more sadness.
Both.
I wouldnt trade.
Chennai, India (shown above, bottom left). Heres Ram and Smita,
founders of Rangde.org, Indias largest microlending platform, when
we went out to dinner in Chennai.
Ram and Smita live in a country that has more people in poverty
than do the poorest twenty-six African countries combined. (This is
staggering to grasp, yet true. India has a lot of poverty.)
Most people would shrink from facing a task like that. Not Ram and
Smita. Inspired by Kivas example, they built an online platform so
that Indians could focus on lending to other Indians. Then Ram and
Smita began criss-crossing India for years, finding local partners. Ram
and Smitas work has so far helped more than 30,000 Indian families.
These are some seriously cool people.
Those families are still just a tiny fraction of the hundreds of

millions of Indians who lost the birth lottery. It would be so easy
to become discouraged, to give up, to feel yourself spitting in the
proverbial ocean. But Ram and Smita stay focused on what they
can do, and so they accomplish amazing things.
Every time I think the world is too big and overwhelm looms,
I think of Ram and Smita. And I wonder what the world would
be like if more of us made our lives about solving problems and
helping people, rather than ignoring them.
Finally, heres the kicker: this isnt just about being overseas. Of
course not.
New York City (shown right), just a few months ago.
It can be difficult to spend time with strangers of different economic and social backgrounds anywhere. Speak to
the homeless woman, spend time with the immigrants doing
construction work next door, walk with the person of a different
ethnicity and really listen with an open heart, and feel your heart
struggling. It takes courage to see the world around you in full.
Even here, outside the Plaza Hotel, on some of the priciest real
estate in America, there is want. A shocking number of Americas
homeless are actually veterans who are suffering from PTSD,
alcoholism, or other adjustment issues. The next person you pass
on the street may, in fact, have risked his or her life to protect
yours.
Let that sink in.
And here we have a choice. Pass by in safety, or stop, listen,
and try (and very possibly fail) to help. You will be changed, in
ways you cannot predict or control. Knowing that, and stopping
anyway, may be what it means to become more fully human. Its
hard. You risk being changed. I dont do it all the time, and I
dont pretend to. No one can.
But we can try.

editors
Bob Harris is an author and TV writer. In

2008, he became a luxury travel writer for
Forbes, the profits from which he soon invested
in thousands of microloans to small businesses
via Kiva.org. His later travels to personally
meet many of the clients are chronicled in
The International Bank of Bob (Bloomsbury,
2013). For more, visit bobharris.com.
COMMENTARY 45
Nature Deficit
BY ANDREA JUSKAITIS
There is new life in the soil for every man. There is healing in the trees for tired minds and for our overburdened spirits, there
is strength in the hills, if only we will lift up our eyes. Remember that nature is your great restorer.
- Calvin Coolidge, 1924 speech1
umans have always had an intimate

relationship with the earth. Over two
thousand years ago, Chinese Taoists created
gardens and greenhouses to improve human
health, and, until the last fifty years or so,
our ancestors hunted, gathered, farmed and
fished; their entire existence was outdoors.
Nature was revered as the source of all life
and human civilization understood that we
are intricately bonded to the earth. A century
ago, eco-pioneer John Muir observed that:
Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, overcivilized people are beginning to find out that
going to the mountains is going home; that
wilderness is a necessity; and that mountain
parks and reservations are useful not only as
fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but
as fountains of life.2
However, Richard Louv, in his book The Last
Child in the Woods, writes, Our children
are the first generation to be raised without
meaningful connection to the natural world,
coining this divide between children and the
outdoors as nature-deficit.3 He says, This
collective disorder threatens our health, our
spirit, our economy, and our future stewardship of the environment, and he argues that
the natural world is a powerful restorative
power, where a reconnection to it is funda-
46 COMMENTARY
mental to human health, well-being, spirit,

and survival.4
What are the implications of this radical shift
from coexisting with the natural world to
being so disengaged from it? As human civilization becomes increasingly more disconnected
from Mother Earth and more connected to
technology, we are, essentially, disconnecting
from our true nature. Essentially, a denatured
life is a dehumanized life.5 Research indicates
that anxiety and depression rates globally
are staggering, perhaps most alarmingly in
children. Despite the explosion in popularity
of technological devices and social media sites,
a pervasive loneliness infiltrates our society.
Chronic stress has reached epidemic levels,
so entrenched in peoples lives it becomes the
new normal and they can no longer remember what its like to feel truly relaxed. Our
society, Louv states, has developed such an
over-sized faith in technology that we have yet
to fully realize or even adequately study how
human capacities are enhanced through the
power of nature. Tapping into the restorative
powers of the natural world can boost mental
acuity and creativity; promote health and
wellness; build smarter and more sustainable
communities, and economies; and ultimately
strengthen human bonds. As he says in his
book, The Nature Principle, it is about the

power of living in naturenot with it, but
in it.6
When I was around 10 years old, I went
backpacking with my family in the Sierra
Nevada Mountains in the Tahoe National
Forest. I felt so independent carrying my
Kelty external frame backpack-I had everything I needed right on my back! It was a
steady, but strenuous upward climb to Loch
Leven Lake. We passed through patches of pine
forest, negotiating large erratic boulders and
scrambling across exposed granite. I learned
to differentiate the various evergreen trees
and riparian plants, and from that experience,
I grew an affinity for the Ponderosa Pine with
its tall, straight, thick trunk, clad in scaled,
Calvin Coolidge Quotes, brainyquote.com,
accessed 2015.
2
Stephen R. Fox, John Muir and His Legacy
(Boston: Little, Brown, 1981), 116.
3
Richard Louv, Last Child in the Woods: Saving
Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder (New
York: Algonquin Books, 2005), 3.
4
Richard Louv, The Nature Principle: Human
Restoration and the End of Nature Deficit Disorder
(New York: Algonquin Books, 2011), 3.
5
Ibid., 23.
6
Louv, The Nature Principle, 9.
1
rusty-orange bark. How I love the smell of

the butterscotch-vanilla scent coming from
the peeled off bark! I remember my brother
would stop often to pull up a rock and look
for creatures like salamanders, newts, or
horned toads.
Once he found an olive green-colored rubber
boa-a rarity- and he begged my parents if he
could take it home with him. Along the way,
we saw deer, marmots, hawks, and golden
eagles soaring majestically above looking for
their next meal. As we continued our fourmile ascent, we would drop our canteens into
the frigid waters of the nearby stream- runoff
from the snow-packed mountains. That first
night, we celebrated our day by sitting around
the camp fire eating freshly caught brownspotted trout, cooked over an open flame
with a touch of lemon and butter. It was this
memory that thrust me into the world of
backpacking and hiking-that propelled me to
make choices in my life that would constantly
lead me to nature.
By the time I was in 11th grade, my family
had gone on dozens of backpacking trips and
nature became more of a centerpiece in my
life. Moreover, this feeling of kinship with
nature only increased by my having read
Henry David Thoreaus Walden. The themes of
the importance of nature, of calmly reflecting
and thinking for oneself, resonated with me
for years afterwards. In retrospect, this was

the pivotal transformation of my life.
I gravitated towards Thoreau, because, like
myself, he liked to get his feet muddy; all
nature was a tonic for him. Nearly everyday,
year round, he was out walking-exploring and
studying every nook and cranny in Walden
Woods. On warm Sunday mornings, he waded
up to his shoulders in the Concord River
while his neighbors sat high and dry in their
church pews. While they tilled their fields, he
climbed the tallest white pine trees he could
find in a search for bird nests, pinecones, or
a fine view.
As his understanding and intimacy with the
world of nature developed, Thoreau became
one of its earliest champions. Watching
Concord stripped of its forests for farming
and fuel-wood, Thoreau looked to the future
and raised new possibilities. Each town
should have a park, or rather a primitive
forest, of 500 or a thousand acres, where a
stick should never be cut for fuel, a common
possession forever, for instruction and recreation, he wrote.7
Thoreau looked at things and thought about
them, and tried his best to place them within
the context of his broad experience. He
moved slowly, and he paid attention. I spend
much of my summer on a small island in
Maine, and when I am there, my senses are

peeked: I notice the tadpoles evolving into
little frogs as I walk by the pond near the old
farmhouse. As I approach the shore, I hear
the lobsterman shouting through the early
morning mist, making sure their traps are all
emptied before plunging them back into the
freezing waters of the Sheepscott River.
During low tide, I step onto the beach and
pick up green and blue sea glass, noticing the
way the delicate shells and rocks are intermingled, and watch how the tide laps upon
the sand taking seaweed along with it. I hear
the squirrels yammering to the birds to leave
their acorns alone, while the bell buoy gongs
in the background. And, like Thoreau, I talk
to anyone along the way, greeting them with
a smile and a warm hello.
There is no doubt that people are drawn
to the outdoors for refreshment and ideas.
American painter Richard C. Harrington,
like many creative artists writes, For me
to be removed from the environment, not
to be outside on a regular basis, leaves me
stressed, depressed and generally unhappy.8
Simply put, being outdoors, amidst the trees,
feeling the air on my face, dealing with the
Paul Moliken, Transcendentalism: Essential Essays
of Emerson and Thoreau (Delaware: Prestwick
House, 2008), 81.
8
7
(Left) In the high Uintahs Wilderness, Utah. Backpacking at 11,300 feet near the Rocky Sea Pass. (Below) Me backpacking in
the Tushar Mountains.
COMMENTARY 47
(Clockwise from left) Hiking through the Narrows

in Zion National Park. Entering the impressive
Wall Street section.
The Virgin River meandering its way through the
Narrows in Zion, Utah.
Backpacking with Pacific Ridge School students.
Taking a rest in the Narrows.
elements, makes me happy. You arent ruled
by the lust to have more, know more, be
more-you live thoughtlessly, which means
you live in the moment. Nature reminds me
how simple and achievable life really is. When
I begin to stress, or sweat the small stuff, I get
back outdoors and remind myself what really
matters.
Louv writes, The future will belong to the
nature-smart-those individuals, families,
businesses, and political leaders who develop
a deeper understanding of the transformative
power of the natural world and who balance
the virtual with the real. The more high-tech
we become, the more nature we need.9 So,
how do we develop meaningful connections
with others, and ourselves clear our minds,
calm our fears, open our imaginations, and
restore our souls? We have unlimited choices:
Go for a hike on a local trail, take a trip to
the beach, soak up the sun, and listen to the
48 COMMENTARY
sound of the waves rolling onto the shore. Just

go outside and take a walk around your neighborhood. Integrating nature into our lives
is easy and doesnt cost a thing. In the words
of naturalist John Muir, Everybody needs
beautyplaces to play and places to pray in
where nature may heal and cheer and give
strength to the body and soul alike. In the
natural world, there is no room for judgment
or comparison. No pressure or competition.
We can be our natural selves; remove the
masks, let down our guard, and be playful. So
go. Go outside and be free.
9
Andrea Juskaitis is currently an

English teacher at Pacific Ridge
School in Carlsbad, California. She
enjoys spending time outdoors with
her husband, two daughters, and her
dog.

editors
The Yoga Formula

for Dealing with Conflict
BY GERI PORTNOY
hen I was younger, I was passionate about peace. I had a peace t-shirt
business, I taught kids about peace and the
environment, and I ultimately decided to go
to graduate school to study and learn about
peace and conflict resolution. I attended the
University of Notre Dames graduate studies
program with students from around the world:
Vietnam, Uganda, Palestine, Israel, Chile, and
dozens of other countries. Each person in that
program had a passion, a burning desire, to
play a significant role in creating a more peaceful world.
Looking back, I can see that much of my love
for peace arose from my fear and hatred of
conflict. Conflict was so uncomfortable, and I
wanted to find a way to get out of it. Sometimes
I would avoid it and run away. Sometimes I
would overpower the other person and win
the conflict, sometimes I would give in to
what the other person wanted and lose the
conflict, and sometimes I would simply ignore
the conflict and pretend it did not exist. None
of those options were completely satisfying.
Through my work in the International Peace
Studies program at the University of Notre
Dame, I was introduced to mediationa
process of conflict resolution through which
each side is able to express their needs, wants,
and desires. The other side listens and reflects
back on what was heard. Ultimately some
type of win-win agreement is reached that
serves both parties. This process worked well
in the mock mediations we set up, but in real
life, human relationshipseven in the peace
studiesare often very messy.
How do you know when a conflict is worthy
of investing your time and energy in to work
it through, and when it is better to just let it
go? There are times when working things
out with another person is not worth your
time or energy, because maintaining a relationship with that person is not important to you.
Perhaps you have outgrown the friendship,
perhaps they are not trustworthy, perhaps
they are mean, disrespectful, or violent, and
the most mature and healthy thing you can do
is consciously separate from that person, get
them out of your life, and let the conflict go.
On the other hand, in life there are many
relationships with people that you really care
aboutpeople and relationships that really
matter to youones that feed your soul and

challenge you to the core, ones that nourish
your heart and break it wide open. For
these situations in which you are in a healthy
relationship with someone else who is mature
and available enough to work things out with
you, there is a new type of conflict resolution emerging in the world. It is based on the
ancient model of yoga.
In a yoga practice, you step onto your mat and
do various yoga postures to stretch yourself.
It is a practice designed to evolve and grow
you, and help you find peace at the very core of
your being. How does that happen? You learn
to stay present while you are being stretched or
pulled in two opposite directions. This is what
conflict is: a situation where there are two
opposite sides pulling against each other and
creating a type of tension. Sometimes we have
internal conflicts, where two sides of ourselves
are in opposition, such as wanting to take an
art class but needing to take a math class to
fulfill the requirements for college. Sometimes
we have external conflicts, such as being in an
argument with your parents about how late to
stay out on a Saturday night.
Either way, the yoga formula for dealing with
conflict is to hold the stretch. To turn inside
and notice the tension you feel in your body
when you are in a conflict. Again, if the conflict
is with someone you do not really care about,
you might just walk away and not include him
or her in your life. But if the conflict is with
someone you value, you can learn to hold the
tension inside you and let it help you grow. You
can take five minutes to share your truth with
the other person, and give the other person
five minutes to share his or her truth with you.
There should be no interruptions while each
person is sharing a perspective.
In order to stretch, the yoga formula invites
you to stand in the other persons shoes, to
really experience their reality, and it invites
the other person to do the same. This is how
you stretch and grow. If the other person is
not capable of understanding your view, you
might try more traditional conflict resolution
techniques like mediation.
The Yoga Formula for Conflict Resolution
is that you can learn to hold someone elses
view and your own view and honor the validity of both. Heres an example from my own
life. I recently met my biological mother
for the first time. She had given birth to me

when she was 16 years old, and gave me up to
a wonderful family for adoption. We had not
seen each other in over 50 years. When I met
her, she did not want to stay in communication with me because it was difficult for her;
it brought up old unresolved feelings from
her past. I, on the other hand, really wanted a
relationship with her. I wanted to get to know
her and learn more about my biological family
roots and in doing so, learn more about myself.
We had opposite viewpoints. I had to learn to
hold the tension of this unresolvable conflict.
I listened to her view, she listened to my view,
and we both just sat in the tension and let it
stretch us. I did not need to make her change
her mind. We just let each other be who they
were and have the view they had. Over time,
she changed her mind. Not because I made her,
or talked her out of her truth, but paradoxically, because I could just hold space and let
her have her viewpoint, her own set of feelings.
We both grew and evolved just by holding the
un-resolvability of the situation and letting it
stretch us.
Albert Einstein once said, No problem can
be solved by the same level of consciousness
that created it. This is the larger invitation for
all of us on planet Earth today. Our problems
no longer can be solved by just one person, or
solved by the same level of thinking we have
used up to this point. We are now being called
to stretch and grow in our capacity to hold
conflictto be able to see all sides of a conflict
and to hold the tension that creates. To breathe
and feel the intense stretch of it allallow our
problems, personal and global, to grow us
to break our hearts open to the next level of
our capacity to love. For it is in this great and
brave endeavor that we can reestablish hope for
our future. It is only by evolving and growing
ourselves through each conflict we encounter in life that we can move beyond the old
paradigms and start to open up into a higher
and broader level of consciousness, one that
recognizes the fundamental oneness and interconnectivity of everyone and everything. That
is the very essence of the practice of yoga.

editors
Geri Portnoy is a certified yoga
teacher. She holds a masters degree
in International Peace Studies from
the University of Notre Dame and
has implemented the peer mediation
programs in public schools throughout Southern California. She is a
writer, poet, spiritual teacher and
the founder of Yoga of Awakening,
an integrated system for modern day
spiritual awakening.
COMMENTARY 49
Oriental Express
BY PAOLA NEZ SOLORIO
The morning train passing by as people get ready for their day. This street is part of the principal route of 1726 Km single track
North-South Railway line, running between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
(Above) Women in a local salon. (Below) The Oriental Express passing through. Vietnam Railways (ng st Vit Nam) is
the state-owned operator of the railway system in Vietnam.
52 COMMENTARY
There is a strong sense of community as space is practically shared and a whole part of their lives happens outside their homes.
COMMENTARY 53
A young man relaxing outdoors, sitting on the train tracks.
54 COMMENTARY
Paola Nez Solorio is a Mexican photographer, and currently works and lives
in both Mexico and New York. She graduated in 2010 from The International
Center of Photography.
Since 2005 she has been participating in various groups exhibitions in Mexico
and New York. She had a Solo Show in 2009, in Mexico. She is also finalist and
winner of several international photography competitions and awards, among
which are: 2nd Prize of The Julia Margaret Cameron Award in the Landscapes
and Cityscapes category, a 2011 Silver Medal of the Prix de la Photographie
Paris, Exposure finalist, Havana Times finalist and the National GeographicPDN World in Focus Contest finalist. In 2013 she had her first solo show in New
York of her project Serenade for New York.
Publications which include her work are The New York Times, EL PAIS, BBC,
BBC World, RTVE, American Photo, Cuartoscuro, PDN, NBC, COSMO,
Popular Mechanics, Havana Times and One Life Photobook among others, as
well as web portals worldwide.
editors
COMMENTARY 55
Poetry
COMPLEXITY
GRATITUDE
GROWTH
Divided by Rachel Wells

The Best Place to Be by Gladys Masista
The Plant and the Women by Warda Yusuf
Divided
BY RACHEL WELLS
e live in a world
dominated by differences
In countries divided by oceans, rivers,

documents, and hinderances
by rugged terrains and flat grass land prairies
by the histories of our names
and the actions of our ancestries
such a paradox
all worn out and bent
all it takes is a change of definition
We live in a world of resent

for the writers of our history books
followed by tears of relent
for the followers of many a livelihood,
religion, and ideal
took
just because we are all different

doesnt mean we cant make it the integrating factor
that makes us all the same
Our hours are dominated by our futures

and our moments squandered
by our pasts
complexly because we all have some thinking-meat in our craniums

we have a love-blood pumping apparatus in
our chest
we have soft pink, green, mocha, brown,
black, white, purple, mahogany hides
that get all tingly when someone special is
near our sides
we all have a food grinding balloon in our
bellies that get all fluttery when we are
nervous
we all have a way of expressing our lovely
emotional ways in our own personal services
Weve built a world defined by how very

different we all are
with a desire to so very much be the same
we all have the capacity to identify together
with these strange things called smiles and

frowns
So although we are oh so different
complex and intricate
and so prone to blame
we really are all the same
editors
56 POETRY
The Best Place To Be

BY GLADYS MASISTA
ou were there when we needed you

You gave us shelter
You housed over a million families
Motivation came from you
Your environment and your people
Kibera is the best place because we are able to house all
Since 1963 independence came knocking
Your existence began
People were too congested
You were able to house all of us
Kibera is the best place to be
Schools, hospitals, centers, houses
You have good leaders
Journalists, politicians and rappers
Kibera the is best place to be
The Plant and

The Woman
BY WARDA YUSUF
ater is the center of growth

A human being is like a flower
Shades, a glass that cracks and breaks
A woman is like a colorful flower
That is grown in human rich soil
A farmer who loves the plant
Benefits of the plant plays vital games
Serving and breathing
The plant in the core
The farmer
The plant of the future
The plant that stands firm
Burying grace which is the mother
The woman
Pictured from the left are Beverly (Grade 10), Wandera (Grade 12), and
Seru (Grade 12). They are performing a poem.
Written at Kibera Girls Soccer

Academy
POETRY 57
News and Updates

SOCIAL ACTION
THE LAST WORD
A look inside GlobalVantages latest social action project.

Liana Merk reflects on the significance of Conflict as a theme for Issue 11.
About Our Social Action Projects

At Global Vantage, our mission is not only to share stories, but also to strengthen our local and global community through our
Social Action Projects. As we collect stories, we develop relationships, shed light on issues, and often discover specific projects
we can undertake to help to reduce or resolve these issues. This is where the concept of Social Action Projects was born. Global
Vantage works independently to plan, coordinate, and manage our projects. As you read about our completed and current Social
Action Projects, please consider the contribution you can make to ensure that we will continue to make a difference in our
community.
Helping Babies Breathe Project - $1,200

By Anthony Oliverio
Traditionally, Global Vantage embarks upon social action projects in response to particularly inspiring articles published
in the magazine. This year, we deviated from that protocol when we were approached with the opportunity to save lives
by partnering with the Helping Babies Breathe Project in its effort to send neonatal resuscitation kits abroad.
Our project contributed five NeoNatalie newborn resuscitation simulators, complete with copious educational materials, to the Navys Project Handclasp. As part of Project Handclasp, the kits that we provided traveled with Navy personnel to Papua New Guinea and are being used to teach native Papuans how to save the lives of their newborns. This type
of education is crucial, given that Papua New Guinea has one of the largest infant mortality rates in the world, largely
due to the lack of widespread knowledge of newborn resuscitation techniques. Fortunately, we are already beginning
to receive updates from instructors using our kits, and they continue to reaffirm the positive impacts our NeoNatalie
devices have on the Papuans.
The photographs below illustrate the engagement between Navy personnel and their eager students as potentially
lifesaving information is conveyed. To learn more about the benefits of our project and gain a deeper understanding of
the experiences of members of the Navys Project Handclasp, please look for a project follow-up article in Issue 12 of
Global Vantage.
58 NEWS AND UPDATES
The Notre Dame Cathedral. Photo from Thomas Dixons trip to France.
Find GlobalVantage Online!

We are expanding our online presence through our website (Vantage.theGJP.org)
and social networking platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Find us online by searching for Global Vantage, or simply use the QR codes to the right to go directly to
our Facebook and Twitter pages. Subscribers will receive updates on articles and
Chapter news.
Have a question or a comment? You can register on our website to post comments
on specific articles. If you wish to communicate with the staff, feel free to message
us on either Facebook or Twitter or email vantage@thegjp.org.
NEWS AND UPDATES 59
The Last Word

BY LIANA MERK, CCA 2017, EDITOR
onflict, the theme of Issue 11, may be a loaded topic to discuss, but it is undoubtedly one of the most important.
After all, society is defined by the continuous change and development it engenders. Conflict is all around us. It
is a constant presence in society, and its veins run deep.
The consideration of the conflicts around us carves the path for an improved society as a whole. We evolve by learning
from others and grow by taking in stories of love and loss from one another. By sharing our emotions through writing,
its possible to connect and shape the lives of so many.
Conflict, and the valuable judgements that accompany it, often requires us to reflect on who we truly are, and its ubiquity allows us to sympathize with and grow closer to those that share in this shared human experience.
The ongoing conflict of our world is arguably one of the best opportunities to learn about one another. The questions
of how conflict arises, how it is managed, and how it is resolved can ultimately lead to a better world. Perhaps we can
begin to understand those around us and, piece by piece, shape the future of our society. I hope the articles within this
issue of Global Vantage have opened your eyes to the experiences of others and inspired you to share your own stories
within your community.
A poster from the celebration of KGSAs ninth anniversary.
60 NEWS AND UPDATES
A picture of Kibera Girls Soccer Academy.
Support GLOBAL VANTAGE

Global Vantage would like to thank all of its donors who made this issue possible. To offset the printing costs, we rely on readers like you to support our
efforts. With your help, we are able to bring you stories from various generations, perspectives, and parts of the world. As you enjoy the stories on
the preceding pages, please consider donating in one of the following ways:
Subscriptions:
An annual subscription costs $50 and gives you three issues of the magazine along with a Global Vantage T-shirt. To subscribe, please visit vantage.
thegjp.org/subscribe where you will be guided through the process.
Donations:
To donate, visit secure.thegjp.org and designate Global Vantage in the
provided space. You will have the option to specify the amount.
Advertisements and Corporate Sponsorships:
If your company is interested in sponsoring an issue of Global Vantage or placing an advertisement, please contact us at vantage@thegjp.org.
Colophon
Issue 11 of Global Vantage was created using Adobe InDesign CC on Apple
Macbook Pro computers.
The section headers in this issue were
set in Century Gothic Bold (46 pt.), the
article titles were set in Century Gothic
(26 pt.), the article body text was set in
Perpetua (10 pt.), the authors names
were set in Optima (12 pt.), the biographies and captions were set in Minion
Pro Bold Italic (9.5 pt.), the footnotes
were set in Perpetua (7 pt.), and the
Staff List and Colophon were set in
Century Gothic (8 pt.).
The magazines 64 pages are printed
on 80# paper, gloss finish, saddle stitch,
full color. 1,000 copies have been produced at the cost of $5,000 dollars.
The magazine template was designed
by Alexandra Cortes, Gabrielle Clarke,
Rachel Perelman, Delaney Miller, and
Mina Fardeen. For all other design and
layout credits, please reference the
Staff List on the inside front cover. If you
would like more information or wish to
reproduce any articles featured in this
magazine, please contact the editing
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NEWS AND UPDATES 63
Canyon Crest
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GLOBAL

Global Journal Project

Life and the Troubles

Photos from the frontlines

Overcoming sports conflict

ISSUE 11 || AUTUMN 2015

Conflict is a natural experience, and whether

Beyond our On the Theme section, more

Inside GLOBAL VANTAGE

ISSUE 11 || AUTUMN 2015

Growing Up on the Island of Rhodes During World War II by Evangelia Laliotis

Changing the World Means Being Changed by Bob Harris

Divided by Rachel Wells

NEWS & UPDATES

Social Action Project Update by Anthony Oliverio

On the Theme: Conflict

The World as 15 Streets:

an you describe the area that you

I lived in a central area of Belfast. The street

During the height of the conflict, what

Children in Belfast during the 1970s. Photo courtesy of Jeffrey Blankfort.

proof jackets and would travel down the

Children in Belfast during the 1970s. Photos courtesy of Jeffrey Blankfort.

contact with the Protestants. I knew the

of thing in the Protestant areas, but I do not

How old were you when you realized

Children in Belfast during the 1970s. Photos courtesy of Jeffrey Blankfort.

of gunfire and the soldiers were doing their

A Girl in the Slums

A Hostage in My Own Country

was born in the city of Arak, Iran in 1932. We were a middle

It was surreala bad dream.

I decided to put all of my focus into school. I tried to be the best

Violent Clashes in Kiev

UKRAINE.Kiev.February19,2014.Anti-governmentprotestersclashwithpoliceandholdbarricadesinEuromaidanSquare. Photo courtesy of Jerome Sessini/Magnum Photos.

Solicited by Pacific Ridge School

uring my previous travels to Northern

with a colleague, a fellow photographer. I went

the further north you go, the greater the risk!

Ferhat Bouda was born in Kabylie,

(Above) A picture of a road in Kidal. Photo courtesy of Ferhat Bouda.

Growing Up on the Island of Rhodes

numerous friends shared similar experiences

(Above and below) ThedecayingrooftilesoftheLaliotis house.

my parents made so that my older sister and

with their problems and how to best access

Growing Up in a Greek Village

was born in a rural farm and grazing area of

and try again with the German Army in the

food from so they would loot our households for

seek the necessary funding to provide his three

Grafiti on a wall in the city.

cated at the larger village that was located about

I was the youngest child in the family, but both

Solicited by Canyon Crest Academy

Ted Laliotis is a technology executive

Keep the Dream Alive

his article recounts my experiences

I studied the game and worked very hard at

Ohio and devoted my energy to the practice

At Florida State, however, it became obvious

Then one day, the senior partner at my

I graduated from Florida State and went to

the home of both teams.