Egyptian Ambassador Discussion

Jonathan Beatty

Professor Craig

World Politics 001H

Date of Submission: 3 December 2011

Extra Credit Paper – A Discussion with Egyptian Ambassador to the United States Sameh Shoukry

On December 2^nd, I attended a discussion with the Egyptian Ambassador Sameh Shoukry in the SIS Founders Room at 3 PM.

The event started with the Dean of SIS introducing the Ambassador and the Ambassador giving the audience a brief overview of the last year in Egypt. Ambassador Shoukry stated that the objective for Egypt moving forward is democracy. He stated Egypt is managing a political road map of reconstruction; Egypt is conducting parliamentary elections, creating a constitutional committee to rewrite the constitution, and then conducting presidential elections. Ambassador Shoukry emphasized that in the future Egypt is looking to create a separation of powers. The parliamentary elections will consist of one-third popular representation and two-thirds individual election of candidates. The run-off election is on Monday.

The short overview was disappointing to me. The question-answer section ended up being extremely interesting. I am going to share some of the most interesting and revealing questions and responses. I promise it is an interesting and surprising read!

Question: What is the role in the future for the United States in Egypt? Do you see military generals continuing to be in control?

The ambassador responded that the United States has demonstrated interest in being involved and has provided economic aid to help Egypt recover from the revolution. The United States will not have any pertinent impact in the selection of the president. He said that presidents in Egypt have come from the military in the past so that might be a factor. He also said a future issue to be addressed will be the role of the military. He indicated that in the people’s minds the military is on a pedestal. But that he is unsure what the position of the military will be in the future.

Question: What are the prospects for an Egypt-Israeli Peace Treaty? Current situation?

The Ambassador responded that the government in Egypt knows this is an issue that needs to be addressed and that some form of a treaty is important. He stated that the relationship between Egypt and Israel is a “Cold Peace,” with the two tolerating each other.

Question: What was the culmination of factors that caused the revolution?

The Ambassador responded that it was a combination of mismanagement of the previous regime, the regime not addressing the needs of the people, the ruling party ignoring other parties in the government and ignoring the political and human landscape, liberalization in politics and media, the severity and brutality associated with suppressing those who did not agree with the ruling group’s views, the availability of technology which exposed the problems, and the unspoken issue of succession after the current president.

Question: Given current election projections, do you see minorities being involved?

The Ambassador responded ensuring equality and stating the two main parties are ambitious and might not be accepting, but the predominant moderate sections of these parties have demonstrated being open to Egyptian Christians, even saying one group would be fine with Christians in the President’s cabinet.

Question: I’m studying abroad in Egypt next semester, any recommendations?

The Ambassador responded quickly saying to spend less time at the university and more time in Cairo. I was disappointed by this answer.

Question: Will the military be privy to the removal of its special status?

The Ambassador replied saying that the military runs several enterprises which is what gives them influence. This has made them self-sufficient.

Question addressed to the Dean: Does the current US administration have an image problem promoting democracy when the tear gas used on the protestors was from Philadelphia?

The Dean replied that some countries see the United States as hypocrites because of this issue and because sometimes we do not support democracy when it goes against our national interests. In response to the comment about tear gas, he stated that tear gas was not a bad technique to deal with a violent crowd as opposed to force.

Question: 12,000 people have been arrested in Egypt for no reason so why is there still military tribunals even though change is occurring?

The Ambassador replied that the current constitution allows the military to conduct these tribunals. He said that most were actually arrested for normal criminal charges, not trumped up charges. He also stated that bloggers can be arrested because if they post things negative about the military, the military has the legal right to arrest them.

Question: Can you give us perspective on the United States’ hypocritical perception? To what extent can the United States be a positive influence?

The Ambassador answered by not answering the question and stating that violence was unacceptable and that tear gas is an internationally-recognized form of crowd control by saying it had been used to control the Occupy protests in the United States. He stated the United States should continue to support and advise, not to try and force influence on the upcoming elections.

Question: If Egypt is truly transitioning to democracy, why are members of the NDP not being held responsible for the crimes committed?

The Ambassador stated that most of the high-up individuals in the previous regime have been indicted and that the legal process takes time. There is a delay taking place because of the attorneys representing the civil suits calling for the judge to recuse themselves.

Question: Given journalists are being targeted, how is the freedom of the press increasing?

The Ambassador stated that he shares the anger over the capturing and torturing of journalists but he stated, not trying to justify it, that there are a large number of journalists who continue to operate without being captured and tortured.

Question: Will women be accepted into the political arena in Egypt?

The Ambassador replied that the Freedom of Justice party demonstrates supporting women. He said that he sees women as restricting themselves by not advocating for their rights and restricting themselves with skewed interpretations of Islam. The previous regime is partially to blame for this.

Question: What is the next step for the Egyptian economy?

The Ambassador replied stating political groups have not really showed economic platforms. He stated that since no one has presented a vision, everyone is hoping that the revolution has not hurt the economic infrastructure of Egypt. People hope that when the government is stable, the economy will stabilize. He said that the Freedom of Justice is advocating for a market economy with an emphasis on individual freedoms. The Leftists are leaning more towards socialist ideas in relation to the economy which he says will not work in the reconstruction of Egypt.

Question: How can you now represent post-revolutionary Egypt after being close to the past president and regime?

The Ambassador replied that the Foreign Service serves Egypt, not a regime. He also stated that toward the end of the last regime there had been improvement, including giving independent newspapers more rights.

Reaction: I was disappointed in the discussion. The Ambassador was honest, which was refreshing, but he danced around some of the questions like a true diplomat would. During the closing, the Dean stated that the Ambassador had made a transition from a traditional diplomat into an ambassador to the American people by speaking to groups around the United States about Egypt’s current situation. Personally I found the discussion engaging but the fact that he avoided some questions completely or responded to a question with an answer that did not answer the question at all made me feel like he thought he was wasting his time. I learned a lot, but it was disheartening.

Ambassador Rao on India's Role in the World

In an event sponsored by the Kennedy Political Union, the South Asian Student Association, and the American University Club Council, Nirupama Rao, the Indian ambassador to the United States, quite comprehensively discussed how the uniqueness and diversity of India affect its developing role in the world. The ambassador touched upon the topics of economics, energy independence, food security, health care, terrorism, and their relationships with other states like the US, Pakistan, and China. Her discussion was expansive and only briefly touched upon each topic, but the clarity and eloquence of Ambassador Rao provided for an informative talk.

When Ambassador Rao first took the stage, first she stated that she believed she should set the scene for India’s role in the world by first illustrating the current state of the world. According to Rao, there has been unprecedented change in the world based on the expansion of technology and globalization. This has led to enhanced productivity and higher life standards. People are now closer and can come in contact with each other instantly. However, this development of technology has presented serious challenges in the world. One challenge is that the benefits and harms of technology are uneven in financial and environmental terms. Another challenge, as the ambassador insightfully pointed out, is that increased connectedness leads to increased vulnerability. Pirates and terrorists have capitalized on this, and thus have added to world conflict. But to respond to this, Rao believes that countries can collectively rise to meet the challenge.

With this, Ambassador Rao segued into India’s role, illustrating what it can contribute to the world. Her first topic was India’s economy, to which she said that India has been a very unique model of development. It is a model of democracy, and its economy holds promise in that role. The economic growth of India has lifted millions of its citizens out of poverty, thus increasing the presence of a middle class within the country. For India, its foremost task is maintaining this economic growth. Ambassador Rao stated that in order to do this, the country understands that they must not look inward, but outward to relations with other countries. She insisted that the global community should look at India and understand that the benefits of its growth would also register worldwide, as it can be adapted to other developing countries in the world.

Next Ambassador Rao spoke about the topic of energy and climate change. She asserted India’s ambition to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions twenty to twenty-five percent by relying on alternative energy sources such as solar, wind, and nuclear energy, as well as clean coal. The ambassador also offered a glimpse into the international work India has done for energy and climate change. India has established a joint center for research on energy, and has also participated in climate change summits.

With that, the ambassador transitioned into discussing the food security of India. According to Rao, India is currently self-sufficient, but still needs to improve. Some ways India has been making improvements in farming is by India’s Innovation Stimulus, in which innovations in technology are being developed to assist farmers. One example Rao provided of this is the provision of cheap cell phones to help directly connect farmers to one another (for more examples, here’s a link to a particularly interesting NY times opinion piece on the stimulus: http://nyti.ms/scmYhj). Another way Rao illustrated India’s food security is in the country’s provision of food to others, such as the establishment of an India-Africa food processing center.

The next topic for discussion on Ambassador Rao’s list was health care in India. She stated that India’s generic drugs companies were leading the world, with India now having the largest new drugs pipelines in generic companies. India has also been working with the US in ensuring the health of the population by collaborating with the US’s National Institutes of Health. Also, India has been seeking to prevent pandemics by focusing on the work of global disease controls centers.

With that, Rao continued on to speak about the heated topic of peace and security. She reminded the audience that terrorism is a major threat in India, and the country has been evaluating how to best address this. India has been making regional efforts to decrease terrorism, such as aiding in the development of Afghanistan institutions. Rao also insisted that a powerful method of decreasing terrorism is to eliminate perpetrators and their safe havens, and that the fight against terrorism must and will be long term.

Next, Ambassador Rao delved into the specific international politics of India, and discussed the country’s current relationship with the US and India’s geographical neighbors. The relationship the country has with the US is of great value, according to Rao. The two states help forge global consensus, and their collaborative partnership is based on shared economic interests and shared democratic values. Rao then paraphrased Obama, pronouncing the partnership of US and India as one of the defining partnerships of the twenty-first century. As for India’s neighbors of Pakistan and China, Rao began by informing the audience that India is in a “complex neighborhood”. She would not delve into their current relations with Pakistan. With China, the ambassador conceded that there has been peace between the two countries for four decades, but India is concerned about China’s military expansion and strong nationalism. She acknowledged that engagement is necessary, and that there may not be solution without confrontation.

For her closing statements, Ambassador Rao spoke of India’s great diversity. She illustrated India as a mosaic that incorporates a thousand years worth of diverse cultures. Rao affirmed that every one of these cultures has a place and voice in India. Because India is composed of so many cultures and voices, ultimately it provides India with strength as a country. Finally, she encouraged the linkages between students and India to continue, stating, “India encapsulates many worlds and multiple universes. It may take a lifetime to understand India, but now is the time to begin.”

Overall, this presentation by Ambassador Rao was enlightening on many levels. It is difficult to imagine a clearer and more comprehensive illustration of the state of India and its role in the world. Ambassador Rao’s elonquence, extensive knowledge, and pride for India most certainly made this an event worth attending.

Hidden Forms of Human Trafficking: A Critical, Gendered Discussion

Last Thursday night, I had the pleasure of delving into another interesting yet horrible international topic: the issue of human trafficking. The panel discussion was organized by the group Dignity for Women Worldwide (DWW), and sponsored in part by the Kay Spiritual Life Center, the International Peace and Conflict Resolution program at SIS, the Break the Chain Campaign, and the AU Student Government’s Women’s Initiative. DWW is a student formed organization created last year to discuss the position of women in many international situations.

The discussion began with a reading of the UN’s definition of what human trafficking is to try and clear up any misconceptions. The United Nations definition of human trafficking is “The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation". (UN) It is a blatant violation of basic human rights that is silently slipping under the radar while look on in disgust but do nothing about it.

The first panelist to speak was Tiffany Williams, who is the Advocacy Director for the Break the Chain Campaign at the Institute for Policy Studies. She has focused on research and writing that highlights the connection between immigrant rights, workers rights, and human trafficking. She stated that domestic work is often considered women’s work because of centuries of gendered and racialized views established by the general hierarchy of most societies. Domestic labor is often not considered productive labor, and it has resulted in general disregard for the necessities of domestic workers. In fact, even during the New Deal era, domestic workers were not ensured Social Security until the 1950s – both domestic workers and farmers dealt with many problems such as this during the New Deal era. Ms. Williams pointed out that there are still not many protections for domestic workers. The Break the Chain Campaign began as a result of the influx of domestic workers into DC, and has been working hard ever since. Many of the workers that come seeking aid mostly do domestic work for international diplomats, members of the IMF, and members of the World Bank. Most of these domestic workers are immigrant women of color, and although they may be suffering major issues, diplomatic immunity makes incarcerating these felons for their mistreatment even harder.

Evelyn Chumbow is a living testament and a powerful symbol of hope for many in this kind of situation. She is an inspiring speaker who was brought from her native Cameroon to be a slave in the US. She is now studying as a full-time student in the University of Baltimore’s College of Arts and Sciences to become a social worker. She explained how she was brought here at the age of nine under the pretense of being adopted to have a better chance in life, to start her education and make something of herself. She didn’t start school until she was eighteen. As soon as she arrived in the US, her passport was taken away by the Cameroonian diplomat who had come to take her away and was forced to clean, cook, and take care of the two children in the home. If she did not do all of the tasks in a timely manner, she would be beaten or face worse. She would sometimes go without food for 2-3 weeks or even a month. One punishment she was subjected to was standing up in place from 10:00PM until 5:00AM so that she would be ready to help the kids getting ready.

Evelyn has not seen her parents in over eighteen years. She is twenty-six now and still has never been back to Cameroon. She really wants to go back though. She also does not like that when it comes to human trafficking, people almost always think only of sex trafficking because what she suffered is just as terrible. She barely knew the value of a dollar and would accidentally steal food without even knowing it when getting food for the family, how to call 9-1-1 for help, and she had to sleep on the cold floor of the garage. She spent a lot of time contemplating suicide, becoming a prostitute, and anything else that could get her away, and she thanks her friend, Melanie, for being an inspiration to get through. Her trafficker was eventually incarcerated and is now spending a seventeen-year term in prison. Before she taken to prison, her trafficker spread vicious lies about Evelyn, making her the most hated person in her community. Evenlyn’s family was even threatened, but she spoke out nonetheless. She wants to inspire more people to speak up, and also wants Congress to focus less on American girls involved in sex trafficking and do something about this very prevalent issue.

The third panelist, Chissy Mueller, is a project coordinator for the Caribbean at the International Organization for Migration (IOM) office located in DC. She has recently been covering the Caribbean region of her organization and as such has not spent a lot of time in DC. She wanted to focus more on men in human trafficking since most of the attention usually goes on women. For in fact, a recent study in central Asia showed that 70 percent of the people being trafficked were males. A lot of awareness and academic research is now shifting to include men. One of the biggest issues is that of the trafficking of fishermen in Thailand. There is a chronic shortage of fishing hands that hurts Thailand’s fish industry, so recruiters scour Southeast Asia seeking potential workers. The workers are promised jobs in factories and more, and then transported and traded off several times before being bought by the captains. The night before they go to work, they are taken to a karaoke bar to spend their money and accumulate massive debt due to inflated prices. This is when the hell begins.

Due to debt bondage, they must work off what they owe before they can leave. Thus the men are forced to work 20 hour days nonstop, getting worn down and abused, and if you cannot work anymore, you get thrown over the edge. One might think that a mutiny could be organized, but then the workers are reminded that the captain killed people before – sometimes he gives a live example as incentive to work. Being so far away from mainland society, there really is little hope of people coming to save you. If a worker falls asleep on the job he will most likely be beaten with a stingray tail. Thus they are left with two options: stay or jump ship.

This situation has no paperwork involved so it is even harder to track the process. Worse even more, if you stay at an NGO shelter, you will not be allowed to work. Meanwhile in Belarus and Ukraine, the trafficking situation is much more believable. As Ms. Mueller put it, it is a formal façade. The recruiters accurately mimic serious companies and other groups with convincing legal documents, but when the work begins it is brutal once again. They receive no pay to work in terrible factories for seven days a week, dealing with beatings, sexual abuse, and terrible living conditions. Victims of the trafficking ordeal often deal with psychological trauma. In some situations, people are even docked pay for simple requests. One man was fined 150 Euros for requesting gloves to handle materials. People who would show up late to meetings would be docked $40.00 and then an extra $40.00 for medical attention. Even begging is part of the trafficking ordeal, as children are commonly used for this, as well as petty theft and drug dealing.

The last panelist was Ann Jordan, the Director of the Program on Forced Labor and Trafficking in the Center on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at AU’s Washington College of Law. She is an international human rights attorney who specializes in the human rights issues related to human trafficking, forced labor, and women’s rights. She made a quip about the talk of boys committing theft relating to something out of Dickens, such as in Oliver Twist. She then went on to say that human trafficking is often seen as a silo issue, separate from everything else. It is often thought to only deal with women and sex. The problem is that people has been focusing mostly on prostitution and more with trafficking instead of all the factors it encompasses, including forced labor. If we didn’t talk using “trafficking,” we could connect many women’s groups. The problem is that most of the information we know is based on anecdotes, not real research. We need to find the source of information and get quantitative figures, not qualitative opinions. Jordan pointed out that even with all the laws passed to reduce trafficking, very little has changed. Even when law enforcement is used, the case usually ends up dealing with prostitution. We need to have more labor inspectors and more searching for offenses in the US. Worldwide the forced labor work will continue if we don’t do anything. Peruvian men will still be trafficked in to be sheep herders in Colorado, Uzbeks will still be forced to pick cotton by the government, and nothing will change unless we do something. But what can we do?

The panelists suggest learning about the global community and economy dealing with human trafficking. We should look for organizations to help with the cause while looking for others involved in exploiting the work of these workers. These groups should be boycotted for their exploitation of cocoa, cotton picking, and even iPad production. We are considered responsible in the US because of our materialistic tendencies, and as such we often seek out cheaper clothes even though it could have been made by a forced labor worker.

The panelists seemed to be in agreement on that last point, going on to say that Americans would be much better consumers if we received less illegally made products. Prices would be higher without trafficking, and if capitalism cannot thrive without trafficking, there is evidently something wrong with it. Meanwhile much of Congress is unaware of child labor trafficking. Some may try to hide the truth, but Evelyn has the ultimate proof: scars all over her body. While many still treat her badly in her community because of the situation, she continues to go on with her studies to better her future. As for organizations that can have an influence on the situation they are very cynical with the media and its attention on only certain topics.

This was an incredibly informative talk, and Evelyn is definitely a source of inspiration for anyone in that situation. What I would have liked to ask more is what groups could do the greatest amount of work to cause a positive change in this situation? Is it the government, the media, NGOs, IGOs, or businesses? Who can do the most to stop this horrible issue, and what can they do?

The Future of News and It’s Relation to Bollywood and Nollywood

A couple of weeks ago, we watched the enlightening documentary on Nollywood. This movie really surprised me as I never knew Nollywood existed and never would have guessed that it was so successful. When Professor Craig put the Bollywood movie on Blackboard, I figured that many of you wanted to watch it but didn’t have the time. I thought that it would be interesting to compare both Nollywood and Bollywood and how they connect to The Future of News discussion that we read surrounding media. There were many connections between the themes of The Future of News and the two documentaries. An issue of money, culture and modernity all portrayed the issues that having film industries in India and Nigeria produce. Furthermore, the documentaries showed the possibility of using film as a source of education and news that would otherwise be nearly non-existent.

Both The Future of News and the Nollywood documentary discussed the issue of money that the media faces today. I only wanted to briefly touch upon the subject as it was a less prominent theme in the documentaries. The Nollywood documentary did have a large portion discussing the issue of money in creating movies, just as newspapers and other media sources are having trouble bringing income. Perhaps it is difficult for movies to be funded in Nollywood because not only do they have no aide from the government, but they are such small, independent companies that it is nearly impossible to gather such large sums of money. It is likely that this will only change as the country becomes more developed and the industry does not have to focus on problems such as failing generators.

Furthermore, a focus on culture is prominent in Nollywood and Bollywood films. Countless movies examine the importance of family and religion. In Bollywood, it was customary for movies to be happy and filled with traditional music and dance. It focused on family and romance and tradition was a huge necessity in all Bollywood films. Like Bollywood, Nigerians enjoyed watching movies focusing on their culture. For both countries, these movies were a way to escape from the poverty and problems that they live in every day. Unlike these two industries, Hollywood focuses on special effects and other components that gain favor in the United States. Bollywood and Nollywood try to stay away from Hollywood look-alike themes, effects, etc. This is perhaps like media. It is common for new sources of media to have unique attributes that separate them from The New York Times or other news sources. Twitter or Yahoo! News are ways to spread current events but appeal to younger generations. Even the New York Times has been revamped to have apps on IPhones or other technologies that can gain the attention of our generation. The Future of News uses podcasts of an example of new types of news that not only appeal to a certain demographic but is also unique from the norm, ust like Bollywood and Nollywood.

The Future of News discussed the issues that the country is facing due to a change in technology surrounding media outlets. Like mentioned above, for example, the transition from newspapers to internet news, Nigeria and India aimed to modernize the film industry. Bollywood struggled with the incorporation of modernity. Girls wanted to eliminate their traditional clothing for something more revealing, sparking outcry from older generations. However, more importantly were efforts to transform the Bollywood film industry . The youth in both documentaries wanted movies that portrayed the poverty and discomfort that they live in every day. The idealistic movies that Bollywood once loved soon focused on impoverished children and a corrupt government. Although there was resistance from older generations the new Bollywood films not only gained attention in India, but across the world. Bollywood is a clear example of the struggle to maintain a balance between current outlets and those of the past. Like newspapers and radio news reports, historically idealistic Bollywood movies are being eliminated for more current means. This brings into question the success and approval of these new means of media. Should a larger appreciation and focus be put on preserving media outlets of the past, or should these means of communication be forgotten for a more modern future? India says yes. Despite the popularity of newer movies, people still enjoy watching movies that hide them from the real world, if only for a couple hours. While they have made room for a more current type of film, more traditional films focusing on culture is staying strong in Bollywood.

Moreover, the globally illiterate were mentioned in The Future of News. This idea correlated completely to both documentaries. In both Bollywood and Nollywood, producers and directors are focusing on creating and filming movies that can educate the people of their countries. It was interesting, for example, that the Nigerians went so far as to hire military to train their actors in an effort to add a realistic view to the movie. As previously mentioned, Bollywood films have transformed to portray the current disposition of Indians. They show the impoverished lives and unpleasant futures that Indians face. However, Nigeria took an interesting approach. Not only did they film movies portraying current life in Nigeria, but historical events that have helped to form and effect the country today. I quickly began to wonder whether film could be a main source of communication in both countries. Obviously both developing countries, filled with struggles to provide sufficient education to their people, have a lack of reliant and strong means of communications. Furthermore, the film industry in both countries is extremely popular and common. It seems that both industries are taking the right approach to transform movies from fiction to a way to educate the people. I wonder if more attention is placed on educational films, could this form of media transform the globally illiterate to the globally literate and educated? The movie industry is clearly extremely popular in both countries and movies are created so quickly, that it may be an efficient way to inform the youth on current events.

Lastly, another theme of The Future of News discussion was an increased creation of smaller media outlets that are centralized in smaller areas versus larger forms of media companies, etc. Both Bollywood and Nollywood use smaller production companies instead of a few powerful ones. In Nigeria, directors or producers own their own companies and create smaller, ore lower budget films that are just as popular. In Bollywood, Hollywood movies and other big name movies only make up for 5% of the film industry’s income. Smaller Bollywood companies are much more popular and make a lot more money as they stay true to India’s movie preferences. This is absolutely comparable to newer types of news sources. The question is, how can bigger news companies transform themselves to stay popular and profitable?

The two documentaries were extremely enlightening in depicting the themes that The Future of News touched upon. The film industries in the countries face the same issues that other forms of media deal with today. Some of these problem s have possible solutions while others do not. Perhaps the most important theme is the importance of education and acknowledgement of current events. Film can definitely be used as a media source to present this information. Clearly, despite the many issues, both Bollywood and Nollywood have been extremely successful in gaining the support of viewers in the film industry.

Mercenaries and Arab Spring

In class on Monday we discussed mercenaries and how they affect International Relations. We mostly examine the relationship between the United States and private military forces and contractors. However, the remaining dictatorships in the Middle East have used mercenaries more frequently and prevalently in the aftermath of the Arab Spring with compelling results. Specifically, the Syrian government has been using mercenaries from Iraq, Iran, and Lebanon. Free Syrian Army chief Riad al-Asaad has reported that Hezbollah and infamous Iraq’s anti-American Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr have sent these private mercenary forces. Moreover Ammar al-Wawi, the spokesman for the Free Syrian army, has indicated that this action has been taken because the Syrian Arab Army has begun to lose control over its own security forces. In clarification, the Free Syrian Army is the main armed group in opposition to the Syrian government while the Syrian Arab Army is the major military force of the state of Syria. As evidence of Al-Wawi’s claim, the Jordanian government has reported that the state has received over one hundred Syrian military and police defectors. Subsequently, the state of Jordan has declared that it will host these Syrian defectors.

The case in Syria is symptomatic a deeper problem in the Middle East. A United Nations expert group has recently warned of “an alarming resurgence in the use of mercenaries and a major expansion in military and security companies operating without regulation or accountability.” In other words, states in the Middle East are using PMFs to engage in conflicts and these mercenaries are not regulated and are not accountable in the same ways as traditional military forces. This resurgence is relevant is highly relevant to the topics that we have discussed. First, it reminds me of Professor Chenoweth’s talk on civil resistance. On her talk, Professor Chenoweth demonstrated that non-violent resistance movements are statistically more effective at achieve their goals than violent resistance groups. One of the variables that Chenoweth examined was the defection of security forces. That is, non-violent resistance groups are more effective at gaining support of national security forces. The support from these defected security forces helps resistance groups gain momentum and traction. The case in Syria and throughout the Middle East extends Professor Chenoweth’s argument ushering in a new line of thought. It answers the following question: how does a state respond when its security force defects? One could do an in-depth analysis on this issue alone. Substantiating Professor Chenoweth’s hypothesis, it seems that the use of mercenaries is also an indicator of upcoming political and social upheaval. As luck would have it, news sources have indicated the Libyan government also used the PMFs from not just Serbia, Ukraine, and Romania, but also Syria. The same UN expert group that I previously referenced has corroborated this claim and also asserted that the same in true in the Ivory Coast. In those two countries, rebel groups have deposed the dictators despite the state’s use of mercenary forces.

The ineffectiveness of PMFs in the Arab world can also be used to draw interesting conclusions about international structure. Additionally there are many further lines of inquiry that can be speculated upon. Personally, I wondered if this habitual use of mercenaries by Arab dictatorships was a result of the rational model, the organizational process model, or government bargaining. It seems like to be that policymakers in these states operate under some form of prospect theory, in which their reference point is to have a security force to defend their command. Once this force is lost, it must be immediately replaced and PMFs offer a viable, quick replacement. Despite this hypothesis, I lack evidence to substantiate any claim. Moreover, the use of mercenaries by both the global North and the global South can be used to further examine the North-South gap militarily. Traditionally, when developed states and developing or undeveloped states are compared militarily, it is in terms of their technological capabilities and raw manpower. The use of mercenaries, which are outside the bounds of national forces, can provide a fresh examination of the differences between the militaries of the global North and South. All in all, the appearance of mercenaries in Arab Spring pervades through many issues that IR scholars discuss and is a topic that should not be ignored or missed.

Works Referenced

http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=211101

http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/21336-rebel-army-chief-accuses-hizbullah-of-sending-mercenaries-to-syria

http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/syria-rebels-assad-regime-recruiting-iranian-hezbollah-mercenaries-1.398010

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/syria/army.htm

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2011/11/2011111214047782304.html

http://www.sawtbeirut.com/lebanon-news/rebel-army-chief-accuses-hizbullah-of-sending-mercenaries-to-syria/

http://honors-wp2011.blogspot.com/2011/09/professor-chenoweths-talk-on-civil.html

News Coverage Case Study: Al Jazeera and CNN

In the talk entitled The Future of News at the Council on Foreign Relations, the speakers questioned the quality of international news coverage in the US. To investigate this possibly shortcoming, two major news networks that cover international news, Al Jazeera and CNN, may be used as a case study. These networks have two types of broadcasts; Al Jazeera has Arabic and English versions and CNN has domestic and international broadcasts. Unless specifically stated, assume Al Jazeera English and the domestic CNN broadcast are being considered, because these are most available to an American audience and are therefore competitors. To compare their quality, the networks’ performances are analyzed in categories: coverage of local, regional and international news, bias and presentation of the “other side,” censorship, and viewership. Considering these criteria, one can get a general sense of how CNN’s coverage compares to an international competitor's.

First to consider is the networks’ coverage of news at the “50, 500 and 5000 foot” ranges, to use the same terms used at the Council on Foreign Relations. The definition of “local” (50 foot) and “regional” (500 foot) for each network must be established before beginning analysis. Al Jazeera is largely viewed as simply an Arab news network, but it is based in Qatar. Therefore, Qatari issues are considered local. Regional issues for Al Jazeera are those from the greater Middle East. The categories for CNN are a bit different; state level issues are considered local and national issues are regional. The reason for this difference is the size of the US compared to Qatar. It would be unreasonable to assume it takes the same effort to cover all of the US and it does to cover Qatar.

With respect to local coverage, Al Jazeera has been criticized by some for neglecting Qatari issues. In “New Media, New Politics?” Jon B. Alterman states that Al Jazeera fails to report power struggles and criticism of Qatari foreign policy because it is a Qatari funded organization (24). There are others, such as Hugh Miles, who hold the opposite opinion. In his piece “Think Again: Al Jazeera,” Miles cites Al Jazeera’s coverage of the trial of those charged with planning to overthrow the emir and on-air debates on whether or not there should be a US air base in Qatar as proof that the network covers local issues. There were no available texts on CNN’s local news coverage, so this analysis is based on first hand research and experience. CNN.com has a local news section, but it just redirects to locally run sites. On their broadcast, local news is present when the story is a national concern or controversy. For example, New Jersey’s budget cuts were all over CNN, not because the network regularly reports on the state’s policies, but because there were calls for the federal government to follow this model. Also, southeastern states get air time during hurricane season because a possible natural disaster, even one affecting a few states, is a national concern. In terms of local coverage, Al Jazeera is better (not because its coverage is perfect but because it makes a significantly greater effort to examine local issues).

Next is the question of regional coverage. Al Jazeera has a reputation for covering stories that Arab governments try to censor. Alterman explained that the network has a history of criticizing the Saudi government in a way no one has dared to before. Avi Jorisch cites the history of unhappy Arab governments closing Al Jazeera network offices as proof that they challenge the regional status quo. Also, Al Jazeera has been a major source of information on wars in the Middle East and, recently, the Arab Spring. The network showed coverage of what actually happened during the revolutions, whereas state-run networks showed peaceful footage to convince the public there was no major unrest (Miles “The Al Jazeera Effect”). It was difficult to find analysis of CNN’s coverage of regional news. The domestic broadcast of CNN spends the majority of its time on national issues. Lucinda Fleeso explains this focus in “Bureau of Missing Bureaus.” She states that the domestic broadcast focuses largely on national issues like its competitors Fox and MSNBC. Since national news is CNN’s main focus, it is superior in this category. (CNN spends a higher percentage of time on regional issues than Al Jazeera.)

The final category relating to the geographic focus of the networks is global news coverage. According to Miles, Al Jazeera created two programs after the attacks of September 11^th strictly dedicated to US issues. One show covered the US presidential race in great depth. The other regularly interviewed Bush administration officials and other politicians about domestic issues (Miles “Think Again”). These shows went beyond headlines from the US and exposed the Al Jazeera audience to US concerns, even those not directly related to Qatar or even the Middle East. Of the hours Al Jazeera devotes to news each day, at least four hour-long shows are strictly dedicated to going “[b]eyond the headlines to the heart of the news of the day” (Al Jazeera). The network focuses on news from around the world regardless of regional relevance. A study by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press showed that 38% of CNN’s stories on international issues were centered on America’s relationship with the other country rather than on the other country. The report also showed that more than 90% of all of international stories studied, including CNN’s, were about breaking news and went no deeper into analyzing global happenings (Kohut 2). Also, unlike the hours of international news shown by Al Jazeera, CNN has a tendency to include short stories: “CNN also carried more short foreign pieces than ABC: 47% vs. 15% under 90 seconds” (Kohut 1). Another, fairly simplistic but enlightening, way to see the geographic focus of each network is their weather maps. Al Jazeera goes through the weather in major cities all over the world during its meteorology section. CNN, on the other hand, only shows US weather. Due to Al Jazeera’s focus on international issues regardless of their regional importance, it is the better network in the comparison of international focus.

Though Al Jazeera presents more international news than CNN, that fact could be inconsequential if the news is presented in an extremely biased and one-sided fashion. Al Jazeera has promised to present both sides of the issues; the network’s motto is “The opinion and the other opinion.” Everyone from al-Qaeda leaders to Israeli government officials have been given air time on Al Jazeera (Miles “Think Again”). These people clearly possess conflicting opinions, yet the network airs them both. Al Jazeera also makes an effort in some of its shows like “The Opposite Direction” and “The Other Opinion” to have people with conflicting ideas debate. Though Al Jazeera has been said to be intensely antiAmerican and antiIsraeli, it gives time to the politicians of these countries but also to those who hate them. Miles states that this criticism of Al Jazeera’s bias has led the network to work even harder to make sure all sides of an issue are covered (“Think Again”). CNN has received similar praise for impartiality about its coverage of national issues. A CNN viewer is likely to see interviews with both democrats and republicans. A study of the political bias of major US news networks showed that CNN fell in between conservative FOX and liberal MSNBC (Fowler). For international coverage, it has been the network’s mission to "get the foreign news from foreign reporters" (Brislin). Despite the use of foreign reporters, CNN, specifically CNN International, has not been praised for impartiality in international coverage and has even been called “American-centric” (Al‑Najjar). Though CNN tries to show other sides of an issue by using foreign reporters, it comes off as one-sided, hence the accusations of being American-centric. Al Jazeera is superior as far as bias and showing all sides of an issue.

Censorship of the networks is the next concern. It does not matter what the networks try to cover if their ability to report is restricted. Al Jazeera has a history of airing stories banned on other Arab networks (Alterman 24). The censorship concern for Al Jazeera is coverage of Qatari issues, but there is no clear answer as to whether or not Qatar’s government restricts coverage of domestic issues. CNN, on the other hand, has recently been accused of censorship related to the Iraq war. A CNN war correspondent said the Bush administration and the FOX network pushed for restriction of war coverage (Johnson). Though CNN has experienced government restraint on its coverage, Al Jazeera receives greater pressure. Considering this, CNN is superior regarding censorship.

Viewership is the final category and the most easily quantified. Both networks reach viewers around the world, so the difference is the size of their audiences. It is estimated that Al Jazeera has around 50 million viewers (Miles “Think Again”). CNN is said to be available to 2 billion people (“CNN Worldwide Fact Sheet”). All 2 billion people who can watch CNN do not necessarily do so. Still CNN is better in the viewership area by a great margin.

In short, Al Jazeera was deemed superior in the areas of bias and showing differing opinions, local coverage, and international coverage. CNN was better with respect to censorship, regional coverage and viewership. The three and three split may make it seem like CNN and Al Jazeera are evenly matched, but there is a superior network. The comparison stems from questions of international coverage, therefore, for this subjective evaluation, the categories of coverage of global issues and impartiality and showing multiple opinions are the most important. Al Jazeera was the better network with respect to both of these categories. Further, according to Badreya Al-Jenaibi1 (and I agree), “Al-Jazeera has more news analysis than the CNN” (94). Al Jazeera’s focus and in-depth coverage makes me believe that it covers international news better than CNN. Further analysis would be necessary to truly compare all of the US news industry to foreign news networks, but if CNN and Al Jazeera are representative of their respective groups, it seems the US has subpar international news coverage.

Works Cited

Al Jazeera. "Programme Schedule." Al Jazeera. Web. 28 Nov. 2011.

Al-Jenaibi, Badreya. "The Competition Between Al-Jazeera’s Arab News Diversity and US Channels: Content Analysis of Iraq War." Canadian Social Science 6.4 (2010): 81-96. CSCanada. Web. 29 Nov. 2011.

Al‑Najjar, Abeer I. "How Arab Is Al-Jazeera English? Comparative Study of Al-Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English News Channels." Global Media Journal 8.14 (2009). Global Media Journal. Purdue University. Web. 30 Nov. 2011.

Alterman, Jon B. "Satellite Broadcasting." New Media, New Politics?: from Satellite Television to the Internet in the Arab World. Washington, DC: Washington Institute for Near East Policy, 1998. 15-32. Print.

Brislin, Tom. "Journalism Ethics in Asia." University of Hawaii. University of Hawaii. Web. 29 Nov. 2011

"CNN Worldwide Fact Sheet." CNN Press Room - CNN.com. Web. 28 Nov. 2011.

Fleeson, Lucinda. "Bureau of Missing Bureaus." American Journalism Review (2003). American Journalism Review. Web. 28 Nov. 2011.

Fowler, Nancy. "Measuring Political Bias of Network News." Washington University in St. Louis. 14 Apr. 2011. Web. 27 Nov. 2011.

Johnson, Peter. "Amanpour: CNN Practiced Self-censorship." USATODAY.com. USA TODAY, 14 Sept. 2003. Web. 28 Nov. 2011.

Jorisch, Avi. "Review of Al-Jazeera: How the Free Arab News Network Scooped the World and Changed the Middle East." Middle East Quarterly X (2003). Middle East Forum. Web. 28 Nov. 2011.

Kohut, Andrew, director. A CONTENT ANALYSIS: International News Coverage Fits Public's Ameri-Centric Mood. Rep. Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, 31 Oct. 1995. Web. 29 Nov. 2011.

Miles, Hugh. "The Al Jazeera Effect." Editorial. Foreign Policy 8 Feb. 2011. Foreign Policy. Web. 27 Nov. 2011.

Miles, Hugh. "Think Again: Al Jazeera." Editorial. Foreign Policy 12 June 2006. Foreign Policy. Web. 28 Nov. 2011.

"Hidden Forms of Human Trafficking": A Call to Awareness and Social Responsibility

When one considers the exposure the media gives to human trafficking, what do they usually hear about? Although the majority of documented human trafficking is domestic and menial labor-related, the media seems to give the most attention to sex trafficking. And while sex trafficking does deserve to be addressed and quelled, millions of trafficked domestic laborers haven’t been given nearly as much assistance to escape their situation as they should have. A panel presented by Dignity for Women Worldwide, Break the Chain Campaign, AUSG Women’s Initiative, and Kay Spiritual Life Center set out to make known these “hidden forms” of human trafficking in order to give a voice to the suppressed voices of trafficked domestic laborers.

The panelists were Tiffany Williams, the Advocacy Director of Break the Chain Campaign; Evelyn Chumbow, a Cameroonian former domestic labor trafficking victim turned survivor and speaker; Chissey Mueller, a project coordinator for the Caribbean at the International Organization for Migration (IOM); and Ann Jordan, the Director of the Program on Forced Labor and Trafficking at AU. AU International Relations doctorate student Sheherazade Jafari moderated the discussion. All of these women provided incredible insight into this silenced form of human trafficking, its commonality throughout the world, and the importance of trafficking awareness.

Ms. Williams began the conversation by giving the audience her insight on hidden forms of labor trafficking and why it is not given the attention it warrants. Domestic work typically involves things like cooking, cleaning, childcare, and other household tasks that one might hire a nanny to perform. Oftentimes, people hire trafficking victims to do this type of work because they are unaware of the trafficked status of their hires. Because this work is done behind closed doors, it is often very difficult to identify and address. Also, trafficked persons often don’t speak the language of their traffickers or their “employers”, silencing these trafficking victims even further and rendering many helpless. Many cases have been passed off as simply “hard work”; it is certainly a more easily disguised form of trafficking than sex trafficking.

The organization Ms. Williams works for, Break the Chain, recognized the need to bridge the gap between these relatively helpless, immigrant trafficking victims and being able to identify and address their situations as forms of labor trafficking. Thus far, they have been able to successfully identify and stop hundreds of cases of human trafficking throughout the United States. Americans may be surprised to learn that many forms of human trafficking are facilitated in the United States, despite our country’s reputation of supporting international human rights.

Evelyn Chumbow was one of those cases that took place in the United States before she escaped her situation at age eighteen. After nine years of slavery performing domestic labor as a housekeeper, trafficked by a fellow Cameroonian, Evelyn received the help of Break the Chain to be freed of her captor. Evelyn and her parents were tricked into believing that an American family was adopting Evelyn. Being adopted by an American family means great opportunity for education that children otherwise probably wouldn’t receive in Cameroon. Thus, an opportunity to be adopted by an American family was never questioned by Evelyn’s family, and her Cameroonian trafficker whisked her away to the United States.

Thanks to Break the Chain’s efforts, Evelyn was freed from her captors and is now a student at the University of Baltimore. She hasn’t seen her parents in eighteen years but plans to return to Cameroon as soon as physically possible in order to reunite and bring awareness to her fellow Cameroonians about the dangers and very real possibility of being trafficked. She mentioned that Cameroonians simply do not talk about the reality of trafficking in their society. Trafficking of one Cameroonian by another is a taboo subject that most, especially older Cameroonians, often won’t admit that it happens. Evelyn is already considered an outsider by Cameroonians in her community here in the U.S. for coming forward about her captivity by another Cameroonian. However, this motivates Evelyn all the more to encourage dialogue about and wariness of all forms of human trafficking. She believes that organizations like Break the Chain and genuine efforts to talk and write about human trafficking are going to be the fire that fuels more awareness and action on the subject.

Chissey Mueller detailed a case study of male trafficking trend in Thailand that was very insightful into trafficking in Asia. Like Evelyn and many like her, men from bordering countries are given false hopes of well-paying jobs in Thailand and then trafficked into a laborious job without hope in sight. This specific case involved men being tricked into being fishermen on boats in the middle of the ocean without contract, contact with family, or even basic necessities. If a worker falls ill and cannot work, they are often thrown overboard because they are easily replaceable labor. Ms. Mueller brought up the same feeling of desperation Evelyn felt in being kept captive in the United States: as a foreigner in a new land, a trafficking victim becomes further and further removed from everything familiar, including culture and language. Even if these men do have the opportunity to escape, there are very few resources available to them, which reflects the overwhelming attention on not only sex trafficking but also on women over men.

U.S. law enforcement has also not been very keen on addressing the overwhelming issue of human trafficking, domestically or abroad. Ann Jordan talked a little about how laws have more recently been enacted in the United States regarding human trafficking. But, sticking with a common, previously mentioned trend, they tend to focus mostly on cases with females involved, and more specifically females involved in sex trafficking. Therefore, in the past decade that most of these laws have been in place, little to no progress has been made to shut down widespread human trafficking rigs within the United States and involving Americans abroad.

Ms. Jordan acknowledged that some progress to aid law enforcement has been made by a Florida coalition that does its own specialized investigation of suspected human trafficking cases and then reports them to the Fed. She says that these methods of investigation should continue and be adopted by the federal government, noting that we as an audience should support the adoption of updated, more effective federal anti-trafficking laws. A last thing she stressed was social consciousness of consumers, saying that the more aware one is of the origins of the products and services they are purchasing, the more likely it is that consumers can play a role in shutting down the businesses supported by the labor of trafficked workers.

The facts are there: 12.3 million people worldwide are victims of forced labor in the form of human trafficking. Only a fraction of this 12.3 million is representative of sex trafficking victims. As established by this panel, the discussion needs to be opened up to involve all other forms of human trafficking in order to combat trafficking on a broader, more effective scale. This facilitated panel talk should be one of many to come in an effort to make active communities more aware of the presence of human trafficking in their own countries, in addition to offering actions they can take to stomp out the incidence of modern day slavery, both domestically and abroad.