Guest Bloggers Ana and Krisha!
We awoke once again very early in the morning only to barely catch the tram to the International Criminal Court (ICC). Once there, we were graciously greeted by a French man who explained the operational logistics of the facility and the rules we were to abide by. We were permitted to watch the Thomas Lubanga trial. Being given headsets and translators, many of us had fun listening to the history being revealed in front of us in French, in Swedish, or even in Arabic. Much of the trial that we watched was blurred on the screen, and a noise that very closely resembled hamsters on helium filled the headsets for privacy. After finally settling in and getting a sense of our bearings, we only ended up watching about 6 minutes of riveting testimony. The trial was abruptly cut short as the public session was closed. Obviously, as members of the public, we were immediately escorted down the stairs to a room where a man who worked as the assistant to the president of the ICC spoke to us. Afterwards, an unusually tall man (well not really unusual in the Netherlands, but he was pretty tall by our standards) with a very definitive hair structure (also known as Speed Racer), decided to make a power point presentation that lasted (at least it seemed like) a good two hours. Just as the heavy eyelids of many a student started to droop and heads started to fall into hands resting on desks, the unusually tall man ceased in his explanation to call on John who had most unexpectedly raised his hand. As he asked for permission to use the restroom, the entire room ROARED with laughter and this great instance of comic relief. One by one, everyone took the opportunity to stretch their legs and make a trip to the restroom as well. John is quite the trendsetter.
We took the extremely well-ventilated tram back to Kaiserstraat to eat lunch. After about 45 minutes we met back at the stop to go to the U.S.- Iran Claims Tribunal. At each desk was a pile of paper and a pencil. As the speakers began their spiels on why the tribunal was created etc, we all took to doodling and passing notes until Jess reminded us to pay attention. All of a sudden jaws dropped, pencils were put up, and all eyes were focused on the speaker: an extremely attractive man who took the attention of ALL 19 girls in our group including Jess. A sense of déjà vu overwhelmed most of us as the speaker asked if we had any questions, and Ben raised his hand to ask to go to the nearest bathroom facility much like John had done earlier this morning. Once again, snickers echoed all around the room. Following the tribunal, we journeyed to the computer lab.
While much of the group sent e-mails home and “facebooked,” the rest of us proceeded to make finishing touches on our papers and do last minute research for the upcoming debates at night. Partaking in our daily game of “let’s try not to get hit by a car/bike/tram/another pedestrian,” we dodged the oncoming traffic like bullets and successfully made it back to the home (to the hostel) to a delicious, authentic Dutch meal which seemed like noodles. Later we walked to the beach for our night session of class. During this time, we held three debates: whether Al-Bashir, the Sudanese President, should be indicted or not, whether child soldiers should be prosecuted for their war crimes or not, and whether U.S. officials that permitted torture at Guantanamo Bay should be held accountable or not. The loud soundtrack that accompanied the second debate varied widely as it consisted of an ambulance whose siren almost sounded like a toy Tonka truck’s horn, African drumming that came from a nearby restaurant on the beach, and even the not so occasional screeching of brakes as many cars nearly escaped collisions. The audience was definitely engaged during the third debate about U.S. officials being prosecuted as the pro side opened with a spirited explanation. On the other hand, the con side decided to paint a dramatic scene of a terrorist attack on the Liberty Tower in L.A. (it was fictional of course). The attention of the audience was momentarily diverted as a presumably 8 year old naked girl crawled across the beach in front of us while chasing a man. A hiatus had to be taken before we could resume the serious debate. We ended the day with a game of soccer and some ice cream on the beach.
At about many of us came home only to continue the previous enthralling debates from before until about . We were all exhausted from a fun-filled day and tried to go to sleep. Unfortunately the noise from the drunkards at the bar kept us awake. We were so glad that we could wake up late the next morning to go on a nature walk.
Lesson/Quote of the day:
“A lot of _____ fondling happens in isolation actually!”
–Anonymous
Vigorous debate on the beach about whether U.S. officials who approved torture should be prosecuted.