|
|
| Sunday, July 3 through Wednesday, July 6, 2011 Everyone arrived without too many problems on Sunday. We hung out in the common room playing “the name game” until we were all there. After that, Jess and Dave explained what the program would be like and, of course, explained the rules. Then we went down to dinner, coming back later for icebreakers and “speed bonding.” We then bonded as a group by sharing some really embarrassing stories, and a Ben and Jerry’s trip. We all discovered that night that the dorms are freezing cold. After not sleeping all that well, we went to breakfast, coming back for a group discussion on Just War until lunch. Lunch was followed by another riveting lecture on the law of war, the ICC and the Geneva Conventions. After which we had free time until dinner. Some of us played frisbee, while others read up on our assigned readings. After dinner we had quite the experience. We had to run through the pouring rain to get back to the dorm (actually, most of us stopped running because we were already soaked). It was both horrible and fun at the same time, we all agreed that it was a great bonding experience. The rain postponed our plan for going to a baseball game and watching Fourth of July fireworks so we watched Judgment at Nuremburg that night. The next morning we discussed the movie and the concepts of impunity and accountability from breakfast until lunch. After lunch we discussed the UN charter and other scintillating topics, then we had time to work on our first writing assignment in the computer lab. After that it was time for the baseball game. About half the group chose to go straight there, the rest of us had dinner first, getting there at the top of the third inning. We had to take a free public bus to get there. For some, it was their first experience with public transportation! We watched as a team of US collegiate all-stars defeated their Japanese counterparts with a thrilling late inning comeback. Their was much signing, dancign and merriment during the game at the Durham Bulls minor league ballpark. The game was followed by an awesome fireworks display, and then it was time to go home. There was some drama concerning meals on Wednesday. For some reason, our meal cards stopped working. With some creative problem solving by our fantastic staff, we were able to crack the code and gain entry for another hearty and sumptous meal. After breakfast we were treated to a lecture about the former Yugoslavia, and the ICTY given by our other teachign assistant Hunter. After this we went to lunch, following which we had free time, where a group volleyball game broke out. by guest bloggers Kathryn Long and Emma Gatewood Thursday, July 7
Today was another beautiful day in Durham. We woke in the morning and went to the dining hall for an excellent breakfast, then hurried back to Bell Tower for class. Kris, a current Duke Law student, was our guest teacher for the day, and she led discussions about African conflicts and child soldiers. First off was Sierra Leone, the setting for A Long Way Gone, one reading book for this course. Her powerpoint was very informative, correcting stereotypes and raising interesting questions. It was a special treat because Kris had an internship at a law firm in Sierra Leone, and so was able to bring personal experience to the lesson. The next stop was Rwanda, where we went into great detail about the 1994 genocide, its causes and results. Finally we landed in Uganda, discussing a long and unresolved conflict. Throughout all of these presentations, we learned the country’s history relating to the conflict, as well as its recruitment for child soldiers during the war. We also discussed the ad-hoc tribunals for the Sierra Leone and Rwanda conflicts, and specific defendants indicted by the court.
We took a break to stretch our legs and headed to the dining hall for another nutritious meal. After a quick lunch, we returned to the classroom to work in groups on an interactive child soldier journey. We were given real scenarios regarding situations a child soldier has faced in Uganda, and then had to make a decision based on two options listed below. An example of a scenario: The rebels invade your village and shoot your brother for refusing to join their forces. They approach you, and you know if you protest joining the rebels, you will be shot as well. What do you do? A. refuse to join and die, or B. join reluctantly. No one in our group chose option A because the goal was to survive, but it was hard to fathom that children are faced with these situations on a daily basis throughout countries currently in conflict.
Moving on to another uplifting topic, we grabbed a handful of pretzels and got comfortable for a documentary about Sierra Leone called War Don Don. This is a documentary about Issa Sesay’s trial at the Special Court for Sierra Leone. He was a senior officer and commander of the rebel forces (Revolutionary United Front) and was responsible for ordering the death and torture of Sierra Leone’s civilians. He was accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity, and for a movie spoiler, was convicted of 16 out of 18 charges.
Following the documentary, we rushed to the computer lab to finish off our essays due the following day. We have been working on an essay in which we prosecuted war criminals and faced the daunting task of trying to defend them as well. We got creative in learning how to carry out a prosecution and defence, but was ultimately very informative. Dinner followed essay writing, and then we were caught in a rainstorm. Having to run from the dining hall to our dorms with 30 people and two umbrellas resulting in a soaking bonding experience. We collected our wet laundry to put in the dryer and grabbed our pillows and blankets for an informative movie marathon. Our plans to attend an outdoor concert in the Duke Gardens fell through due to the heavy rain. But the rain was not enough to prevent us from a vigorous game of soccer. After a thrilling winning goal by Emily Rosenthal, which sparked a wild frenzy of celebration, we headed back to our comfortable lounge for more war films.
By Emily Yankowitz and Alicia Lamb
Friday, July 8
We awoke before quickly grabbing breakfast and rushing to the classroom for another exciting day. The morning consisted of learning about The Hague and how it is not a country or a court, but in fact is a city in The Netherlands. Jessica taught this lesson and provided local knowledge as she is currently a resident in Utrecht, which is a city not far from Amsterdam. Cheese, wooden shoes, windmills, water, canals, and tall people came to our minds when first asked about The Netherlands. But these stereotypes were quickly broken down as we learned about the true international culture of the Dutch people.
The presentation also included more details about The Hague and specific locations we will be visiting while there. As we talked about the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, as well as other significant sites in this city, our excitement level skyrocketed and we couldn’t wait to get there.
Our afternoon was long awaited and took place on the beautiful West campus. Our dorms are located on East campus so we have been unable to roam around West campus, until today! We caught the campus bus together and walked to the Chapel to take a group picture. After embarrassing ourselves with endless jumping photos, we headed to lunch. The food options were endless and all of us tried a local ice cream pop (Loco Pop) to finish it off. Students went to the Duke Book Store where many bought Duke attire to sport tomorrow for the travel day.
After a brief but heavy rainstorm we headed to the impressive Duke Law School where Kris showed us around. We saw students hard at work in the library preparing for the Bar Exam and so were repeatedly told to contain our excitement. We then went into an impressive classroom where students presented their opening statements for various books we had to read. We then got the special opportunity to listen to Dave Frakt’s famous closing argument that he presented at Guantanamo. He was defending Mohammad Jawad who was a child accused of throwing a grenade in Afghanistan and was held at Guantanamo until Dave’s skilled defence released him. See Dave’s website for more information: www. davidfrakt.com/davidfraktnews.aspx
We headed back to the dorms where many did laundry and packed for The Netherlands! After some free time we went to our last dinner at Duke. After dinner, we burned off some calories with a highly competitive sand volleyball grudge match, until we were forced to head indoors by an approaching lightnighg storm. We spend the rest of the evening packing and getting excited about the Netherlands! We continued the war crimes film fetival with Hotel Rwanda, another light-hearted happy film, and then those who stayed awake continued the night by watching the 80s classic, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. It was a great last day at Duke University with Duke TIP, and all of us are eager to head to Europe tomorrow!
By Emily Yankowitz and Alicia Lamb Days 7-9 July 9-11, 2011, by Jeannie Corbitt and Maryanne Smith (Note - this is a PDF file, so you have to click on the link to read it) The Peace Palace, home of the International Court of Justice in the Hague July 12 - 14 By Marlee Goldstein and Frances Brumley
Today, the Duke TIPsters woke up eager to enjoy yet another day exploring our surroundings and learning about the justice system institutions in the area. We had a delicious breakfast provided by Hotel Mimosa where students savored freshly baked croissants and rolls, cheese, meat, cereal, yogurt, and fresh fruit. Many had coffee to start their day, fight off the last effects of the jet lag, and negate their fatigue from being awoken by loud seagulls (there are advantages and disadvantages to being two blocks from the beach!) in the middle of the night.
After breakfast, we embarked on the beautiful walk to the Peace Palace. The nature filled, green, tree lined trail contrasted the area of our hotel, and we were eager to see the ornate and historical Peace Palace again. We were greeted by a humorous Frenchman, Boris Heim, who worked for the ICJ (the highest court of the United Nations). We sat in the room where hearings for the ICJ are held while Boris explained the function, set up, and restrictions of the ICJ. We also discussed America’s international reputation, and many students were shocked by America’s unwillingness to cooperate with the ICJ and international law.
We then had a buffet lunch at the Peace Palace which consisted of sandwiches and soup. After lunch, we went to the Peace Palace Library where the enthusiastic director of the Peace Palace Library, Jeroen Vervliet, showed us books that were hundreds of years old and explained the Hague Academy classes held at the library. After the formal presentations were concluded, many students were excited to use their free time to eat, take a nap, and go on the computers at the local library, which were reserved for our use. A few students have found a fabulous café across the street from the library called Zarautz which has a delicious club sandwich.
At six, we all met at our hotel to begin our leisurely walk to our favorite hostel, Jorplace, for dinner. Many of us, however, were surprised to find that the weather had taken a turn for the worse. With our rain jackets on, we went to the hostel where we had an Italian inspired meal and celebrated James’s birthday with stroopwaffles (our favorite Dutch treat) supplied by our ever-thoughtful staff.
Because of the weather, we had to abandon our evening plans of going to the Madurodam amusement park. So, many students further satisfied their sweet tooth by buying gelato. We spent the rest of the evening trying to stay dry and warm and entertaining ourselves.
On Wednesday, the group woke up a little earlier than usual, and got dressed up in our fancy clothes. We had a morning appointment to make at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). This court tries the perpetrators of the most serious war crimes committed during the conflicts of the same region. Because we were walking to the court that morning, many girls wore flip flops and had their dress shoes stuffed in their purse.
After about a twenty minutes walk, we arrived at the court. Upon arrival, we were ushered through the routine security and check in proceedings. To help us better understand the function and structure of the ICTY, we were given a thorough presentation by one of the investigators, an American with a Ph.D. in Balkan history, who worked to collect evidence for the court. We also learned some background information on the man we would be seeing in trial that day.
Students and instructors then excitedly made their way upstairs to the gallery to watch some of the court proceedings. We were fortunate to be able to witness part of the trial of Radovan Karadzic, the former President of Republica Serbska. He is accused of many serious war crimes including ordering the Srebrenica massacre. We sat down on wooden chairs facing a huge glass wall and were able to see the entire court room.
After this fascinating glimpse into an international justice trial, we went to visit an NGO called the United Network of Young Peacekeepers (UNOY). Our group was greeted with coffee and cookies, which we were especially grateful for because of the chilly rain outside. One of the women who worked at this organization introduced us to what UNOY is about and some examples of their current projects. Then, we concluded our time there with an interactive activity. Everyone was split into groups of three or four, and each small group was paired with another small group. Each pair a groups had to debate each other on a topic that had something to do with youth activism and involvement. The audience decided who they thought was the winner of the debate by walking to the side of the room of the team they agreed with.
Pretty tired and ready to get out of our dressy clothes, we returned to the hotel to change before heading to dinner back at the hostel. Everyone was feeling much better after a meal and some gelato. Then, in the rain, we walked through a nicer residential district on our way to Madurodam. This a tourist attraction which exhibits a miniature version of the Netherlands. There people can see four feet tall versions of some the most famous Dutch landmarks and buildings. But when we arrived many students and some of the instructors decided to take the tram straight back to the hotel because it was raining harder and harder and the Madurodam has no roof. While most people called it a night, a few brave souls stayed behind to see this attraction, and most of them will tell you that it was one of their favorite thing about the trip. Wednesday, July 14 Today started with another delicious breakfast at Hotel Mimosa, followed by a mad dash through the pouring rain to the busstop to catch the long bus ride to the International Criminal Court, or ICC. We got off the bus and took refuge in a gift shop, where many of us purchased inexpensive umbrellas. It turns out that you get what you pay for, because none of the umbrellas we bought survived the day. We then trudged a couple of blocks in our dressy clothes to the ICC, where we expected to see some African rebel leaders on trial for conscripting child soldiers. To our mild disappointment, the court session was closed to the public that day. However, we got a very informative presentation from a Greek lawyer who worked in the Chambers of the Deputy Chief Judge and also from a lawyer from Sri Lanka who worked in the Prosecutor's office. We learned all about the Rome Statute (the treaty that set up the ICC) and how the court exercises jurisdiction and what kind of crimes can be tried there. We also got a tour of the court room from the glassed-in spectator viewing gallery. It is a very impressive operation as they have to conduct proceedings in multiple languages, up to four at a time, simultaneously. After the tour, we grabbed another bus to the central part of Den Haag (The Hague), where we were planning to have lunch and see an art museum. It was raining so hard, that the road was flooded and the bus had to take a long detour. When we got off the bus, the wind was blowing at such a gale force that many of us decided to return to the hotel rather than brave the elements. The wind blew so hard that it turned all the umbrellas inside out, snapping some of them like twigs. All of the Hague was like a graveyard for dead umbrellas that day, which we saw abandoned everywhere. Some hardy souls bought garbage bag ponchos and endured the downpour to make it to the Mauritshuis museum, home of the famous Vermeer painting "Girl with a Pearl Earring." There were a lot of great paintings by Dutch masters and the museum was free for students! After the museum, some students went off with Hunter in search of some warm, waterproof clothes, as most of us were unprepared for temperatures in the 60s and soaking rain. Things improved in the evening, as we had an indoor activity planned -- bowling! Who knew they had bowling in the Netherlands? Jess strutted her stuff and blew away all the students with strike after strike, revealing one of her many hidden talents. The bowling alley played great music and there was much dancing and merriment. We were sad that this was our last night in the Hague, but very excited to be heading to Amsterdam in the morning. By Noelle Spencer and Emily Rosenthal:
Friday July 15, 2011
Greetings from Amsterdam! Prior to leaving, our class finished packing our things from Hotel Mimosa in The Hague. To our relief, there was no rain outside! Around 9:45 we took the tram to the Schiphol airport, where we promptly dropped off our luggage at the Hilton Amsterdam. Our class was eager to explore the city and in a matter of minutes, we were off and ready to grab a bite to eat at the delicious cafes that are spread throughout the city. As we walked around, we all noticed how crowded Amsterdam was compared to The Hague. Additionally, we enjoyed the canals and boat rides seen in virtually every aspect of the city as well as the architecture and closeness of all the buildings.  After devouring 2011 TIPsters in Amsterdam! lunch, we headed to explore the two major museums: Van Gogh and Rijksmuseum. In a sleek and modern building, the Van Gogh museum had much variation. Out of the five floors, each one had a main theme, such as symbolism, historical references, and landscape design. Tons of tourists were already viewing this famously beautiful artwork, and we were excited as well. One of the highlights of the Van Gogh museum would be the self portraits created by Van Gogh. These portraits portray the artist at many stages of his life and his career. It is an understatement to say that we were amazed. Even after this experience, there was still more to come. The Rijksmuseum, located right across from the Van Gogh showcase, had Dutch paintings from the Golden Age. One of the most well known paintings, The Night Watch by Rembrandt, was in this museum, and the Duke TIP students were taken away by its massive yet extremely detailed image. For those of us who had time to spare, the students had ample time to shop for friends and family around the Museumplein, or square. It is here where we purchased the traditional Delft blue souvenirs and Dutch shoes. In fact, some of the students even bought some cheese home to share with family members. Our entire group met at the I Amsterdam (“I Am Amsterdam”) sign, a photo op for us all,   Guest bloggers Emma, Noelle and Alicia
and then proceeded to dinner at Restaurant Dubbel where we enjoyed steak, fish, or chicken served with tomato soup. It was delicious! The fun didn’t stop there, as we soon walked briskly to a local theater in Amsterdam to see the brand new Harry Potter 7 movie. .jpg)
Guest bloggers Emma, Marlee, Emily, Noelle and Alicia show off their Harry Potter tickets in Amsterdam! Speaking in British accents and discussing possibly plotlines for the widely anticipated film, we collected our tickets and headed into the theater where we were given 3D glasses. You read correctly: Not only were we seeing the new Harry Potter movie, but we were seeing it in 3D! After the movie (I won’t ruin it for the few who haven’t seen it yet) some of the TIPsters even cried over its dramatic ending. We took the tram back to our hotel where we hopped into our comfy beds and awaited the following day. It was a jam-packed yet fantastic day in Amsterdam.
Saturday July 16, 2011
We all woke up Saturday morning feeling energized and ready to go to the Anne Frank House after our late night out at the last Harry Potter movie. Everyone was dressed and ready to go to view the memorable house that reminds each and every one of us about the horrific scenes and atrocities that occurred during World War II. The Anne Frank House is just one of many stories told to remind us what happened to Anne and her family. Before going into the house we were given an information session that provided even more information about the Frank family before, during, and after the war. We then proceeded to walk the halls of the Anne Frank house. It was clear that everyone felt a sense of the powerful memories when walking through the house. To picture that someone could live in secret for more then two years. Everyone walked out of that house and was speechless of the sight they had just witnessed.
After everyone finished the tour of the Anne Frank House we split up into different groups to go shopping and eat lunch. Although it was drizzling a little that could not stop the Duke TIP group from getting where they needed to be. As we wandered around the city many of us picked up souvenirs for family and friends, even picking up some little gifts for ourselves. We then all met up again in efforts to still see the concert planned for us in one of the parks in Amsterdam. Unfortunately it was raining a little too hard for the band to play, however we went to a little café where we all hung out and got some hot chocolate to warm ourselves up.
We did not spend a long time there considering we had a boat tour to get to. Despite the rain we were still able to go to the canal and enjoy a boat ride overlooking all of the views of Amsterdam. During the boat ride everyone looked out into the main sights of the city and could not believe we only had one more day left in this beautiful city.
After the boat tour, it was time for dinner. We were really in for a treat. It is only appropriate to eat Dutch food while in Amsterdam and that is exactly what we did. For our last meal we ate typical Dutch food, which everyone seemed to enjoy. It was definitely a great end to a fabulous trip. Sunday, July 17 Not so fast. It turns out our trip was not really over. We went to the airport this morning, checked in, went through the elaborate security procedures, and then waited, and waited, and waited, only to be told that our flight had been cancelled. While the prospect of another day in Amsterdam sounded fun, most of us were eager to get home to our families and many had vacations or other summer camps planned, and the flight cancellation was definitely putting a kink in our plans. Dave Frakt rushed back to the airline ticket counter to try to rebook us all back to the States, but only succeeded in getting one student home today, despite spending all day at the ticket counter. Aside from the lucky departee (Marlee) and two students who met family members here in the Netherlands and went off on vacations (lucky ducks), the rest of us were given rooms at a local hotel and rebooked on flights tomorrow, some with connections in Brussels, Frankfurt and Paris! Fortunately, the hotel they sent us to was very nice and they served a great dinner, which improved our moods somewhat. On the bright side, we all got to spend a little more time with some of our wonderful dear new friends. | |
|