From Personal Reflection to Social Investigation:

Undergraduate Research as an Antidote to Autobiographical Cliché

Greg DowneyUniversity of Notre Dame

gdowney@nd.edu

Cultural Differences & Social Change

• Re-entry course– Target: students

returning from service & study in the developing world.

• Three phases– Re-acclimation

– Contextualization

– Strategies for change

Cultural Differences & Social Change

• Goals– Provide forum for reflection.– Convert energy & enthusiasm into academic

ambition.– Locate site in relation to broader patterns.– Consider reasons for hope.– Professionalize progressive students.– Build inter-generational conversation.

Cultural Differences & Social Change

• Assignments:– 10 writing assignments

– Annotated bibliography

– Presentation of work

• Global Challenges conference.Sponsored by NAFSA: Institute for International Educators, the Kellogg

Institute for International Studies, the Center for Social Concerns, and the Notre Dame College of Arts and Letters.

Deprivation and Destruction in Honduras

Cooperatives and “Stacked Laws”Many cooperatives are living on land that was taken from wealthy landowners either by the state, or by the campesinos who occupied it and were later granted a title by the National Agrarian Institute (INA). Both situations lead to constant battles between the cooperatives and the “original” owners that are difficult to settle.

State laws regarding agrarian reform are in continuous flux. Some of the land titling practices date to colonial times, while others are changed with every new administration. This results in what E. S. Roquas labels “stacked laws,” where the overlaying of multiple practices and laws results in inconsistencies that are confusing not only to landholders, but also to lawyers, judges, and policy makers.1

It was March 7th, and the military Cobra unit

arrived at 10:30 in the morning. They put all of the

women on a bus to Santa Barbara. The men were

pulled out of their houses and forced into the street.

The children were in school, but those too young to

attend watched from the woods, behind trees. The

Army spent seven and a half hours bulldozing our

homes. When they finished with the houses, they

burnt our crops too. Our beans, our corn, we spent

years cultivating our land, and in minutes it was all

gone.-Jose Adolfo Sanchez

leader of Nuevo Despertar

Agrarian Reform in the ConstitutionArticle 344: the goal of the Agrarian Reformation is to “guarantee social justice in the field and increase the production and the productivity of the farming sector.”4

Our three main objectives are “to benefit small and

medium size producers by granting them definitive

property titles which will convert them into

legitimate owners of the land…to provide rural

people with security and peace so that they can

invest in their parcels and participate more fully in

the development of the production process…and to

ensure that coffee farmers, and small and medium

size producers can obtain technical assistance and

credit to increase the production of food, work and

family income.”2

-Proyecto de Titulación de Tierra para los Pequeños Productores

(Land Titling Project for Small Farmers)

Escrituras Públicas v. INA Titlesescritura pública – in land transfers, it is a notarized document that states a property transaction has taken place. In Honduras, escrituras públicas are registered with the Real Estate Property Registry (RPIM).

INA titles – are personal documents given to the owners of a parcel of land by the INA. They are registered first with the National Agrarian Registry, then with the RPIM. The titles don’t always make it that far.3

When one person holds the escritura pública, and another the INA title, it is up to the municipal judge to decide which takes precedence.

It is not unheard of for judges to “allow themselves

to be influenced by factors other than the evidence

presented in the case.” They are known to be

influenced by “the political party of those involved

in the lawsuit, or offers of money or other favors.

There are people who went to law school so that

they could become judges and sell enough verdicts

to retire after a year and become gentlemen

farmers.”5

Dagoberto Mejia Pineda; director of the Public Prosecutors Office

- Rina Menjivar Special Prosecutor Against Corruption

Notes1 Roquas, E. S. “Stacked Law: Land, Property and Conflict in Honduras.”

Wageningen University. 12 February 2002. http://www.agralin.nl/wda/abstracts/ab3145.html (12 April 2003).

2 Jansen, Kees and Esther Roquas, “Modernizing Insecurity: The Land Titling Project in Honduras.” Development and Change. 29 (1998): 81-106.

3 Wetzel, Melanie. “Registry of Deeds.” http://www.honduranlaw.com (23 March 2003).

4 Honduras, Gobierno de, Unión Europea. “Legalización de la Tenencia de la Tierra: Aspectos Socio-Organizativos y Vinculación con el Desarrollo Productivo.” March 1999. http://www.property-registration.org/iram_MM_1999_01_def.pdf (20 November 2004).

5 Honduras, República de. “Constitución de la República de Honduras, 1982.” 1 February 1999. http://www.georgetown.edu/pdba/Constitutions/Honduras/hond82.html (27 January 2003).

6 Wetzel, Melanie. “Corruption.” http://www.honduranlaw.com (23 March 2003).

Map found at: “World Press Review Online.” http://www.worldpress.org/profiles/Honduras.cfm (26 November 2003)

Honduras

Land Possession and Use

A young member of Nuevo Despertar hides behind his new home, next to the remains of his old one

4

By Kim Fletcher

The Mapuche have long, proud history of protecting their land and cultural identity against attempted domination, beginning with the Incans 800 years ago. However, in 1810, the newly formed state of Chile claimed the land, which included the majority of the southern cone, as its own. By 1885, most Mapuche territory had been annexed during this violent campaign called the “Pacification of Araucania.” Indigenous settlers of this land were relocated to impoverished rural or urban communities or forced into slavery.

After decades of marginalization and neglect, the Mapuche saw real efforts to by socialist ruler Salvador Allende to grant them autonomy and improve the miserable conditions of rural and urban natives. However, General Agosto Pinochet reversed those initiatives when he toppled Allende in a 1973 coup. By denying these indigenous people citizenship, he paved the way for his ambitious neo-liberal economic reforms contingent upon the exploitation of Chile’s natural resources. Pinochet took their land and sold it at a discounted rate to private logging and energy companies to subsidize those industries.

A History of Oppression

“You can only exist in context with your environment, When your environment is healthy, so are you.”--Hilda Huenteao, Mapuche woman

“The forest is an integral part of our culture. Without it, we are nothing.”--Berta quintreman,

Mapuche woman

Environmentalists and human rights activists alike have come to the defense of Chile’s endemic flora and fauna threatened by the growing presence of Pinochet-era tree plantations and projects like the Ralco River Dam. Pine and eucalyptus trees replace tracts of biodiverse temperate rainforest, and the profits from their harvest flow out of the region.

Those Mapuche still struggling to subsist on their in this depleted environment are left with contaminated water supply and infertile soil. No less devastating, the mapuche have witnessed the destruction of their cultural heritage and sacred places of worship. One such project lead by American Boise Cascade Company was recently assessed a $200,000 fine for the destruction of and archeological site and environmental damage. But for the women protecting their foothold in the Ralco dam site, this money does nothing to atone for the cultural genocide that their people endure.

Environmental Degradation

In 1993, a series of Indigenous Laws were passes to protect the Mapuche people against the government’s expropriation of indigenous lands for public good. This new legislation returned ownership of the land and decision making power back to the Mapuche. However, the willingness of the Chilean government to enforce this law has waned under pressure from foreign lumber and energy companies eager to push their own agenda. In the early stages of the Ralco River Dam project, two Mapuche members on an advisory committee were replaced with two non-indigenous members to speed the approval of the company’s proposal.

Mounting frustration on behalf of the Mapuche has resulted in violent confrontations between timber workers and resistant Mapuche leaders.

Discrimination in the courts and a lack of political recourse has driven a small percentage take matters into their own hands. Increasing insurgence raises the concern that the Chilean government is unable to deal with this conflict. To regain logging and energy investor’s confidence, they passed an anti-terrorist law permitting military to detain Mapuches suspect of terrorist activities for weeks longer than traditional law permits.

According to new legislation, any Mapuche who chooses to sell his land to a corporation is entitled to both monetary compensation and a comparable piece of property. To comply with this regulation, many corporations have begun constructing permutas, upgraded housing communities, in anticipation of large scale relocation. In the Endesa case, 87 Mapuche families have already been moved to a plot of land 30 miles NW of the dam site. There, Endesa has established housing units with electricity and running water, introduced modern farming techniques, and provided training and jobs within the plant.

Despite these efforts, the displacement has been traumatic for the Mapuche people. Because their culture is so spiritually and physically tied to their land, many traditions have been difficult to recreate in a new setting. In the absence of ancient places of worship, attendance to religious ceremonies has plummeted. Women have abandoned traditional artisan craftwork to for factory jobs. Many of the elders criticize these permutas in their departure from the traditional, agrarian way of life. The four families left in the Biobio river valley are courageously fighting against tremendous odds. But having already endured the loss of community and exploitation of their sacred land, they take a heroic but likely futile stand.

This essencence of this notorious “Mapuche Problem” is not captured by acts civil disobedience or peaceful protest. The real problem is the plight of a culture on the brink of extinction—poverty, hunger, discrimination, marginalization, and political oppression. These are the issues underlying rebellion. The Mapuche people should not be viewed as an obstacle to progress, but a link to the rich cultural heritage of Chile. With community support and global awareness, the fight is not futile. It is just a matter of convincing the world that the prize is worth winning.

The Indigenous Mapuche of Chile

The escalating tension between Spanish energy company Endesa and the Indigenous people of Chile culminates today in the story of four Pehuenche Indian women who are literally standing in the way of the completion of a $570 million hydroelectric dam under construction in the Biobio River Valley. Of the 93 Mapuche families that occupied the land prior to this project’s inception in 1997, only these four have rejected offers of up to $1.1 million to relocate. Under assurance from the Chilean government, Ralco will proceed with the dam and the remaining Pehuenche removed from the land by force, if necessary.

Feigned Reform

Whose Mapuche Problem is it?

By Leigh Hellrung

Sites of preliminary research Map by National Geographic Source: http://www.wall-maps.com/wallmaps/Continents/NGafrica.htm

Background: street boys at Pandipieri Catholic Center (2002)

For more information:Kenya: Sniffing Glue – personal accounthttp://pangaea.org/street_children/africa/glue.htm

BBC Internationalhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A751114

SSIP- Solutions for Street Childrenhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/360/A691977

KenyaRegion: East Africa

Population: 32 million (UN, 2003)

Children in Poverty: Nairobi alone is home to approximately 60,000 street children. By 2005 that number will have doubled. Located in Nairobi, Kibera is one of the largest slums in East Africa. For every 10 boys, six take drugs or addictive substances. Solvent abuse is prevalent in the form of glue-sniffing. Girls on the street do not last long. For every 10 girls on the street: 9 have an STD and 3 are HIV positive.

Average annual income: US $350 (World Bank, 2001)

UgandaRegion: East Africa

Population: 25.8 million (UN, 2003)

Children in Poverty: There are over 10,000 street children in Uganda. This problem began in the 1970’s and continues to be a problem because of civil war, poverty, and the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Average annual income: US $260 (World Bank, 2001)

What do kids know at the age of 7, sniffing glue? Can God even

judge them? And we're so concerned with everything else we

forget the small thing we like to call

humanity. It irks me that we spend so much time fighting for this

and for that, looking at the big picture, but forgetting the small picture. I am only an observer of truth. I

return now to the land of spirits.

Gaga Ekeh

The Abuse of GlueEffects: Drugs reach the brain more rapidly and efficiently when they are sniffed. The lungs admit oxygen promptly and effortlessly into the bloodstream. Inhaled drugs readily follow the same short route when they are inhaled reaching the brain in seconds. Most of the harmful effects of glue sniffing are related to the brain and nervous system. Glue sniffing has numerous hallucinogenic effects. The experience of solvent inhalation is like being intensely drunk for a short period of time. The short period of high exacerbates the prospect of repeated abuse. Sniffing solvents reduces breathing and heart rate and can cause damage to the nasal membrane. Users may feel thick-headed, dizzy, giggly, and dreamy. Some feel nauseous and may vomit. With larger doses users may hallucinate. The effects last between 15 to 45 minutes. Headaches and feelings of drowsiness are common after-effects. Long-term abuse can damage the brain, liver, and kidneys. Glue sniffing has become the drug of choice, growing fast among street children in Kenya and Uganda.

Reasons: Street children start taking drugs from a very tender age. Glue sniffing can be termed as “group activity” among street children. When street children in Uganda were asked how they got into sniffing dendrite (glue), most said it was their friends, influenced by older street peddlers, who taught them. They said they had to take drugs to forget their hardships and worries. Life is so hard on the streets because of the suffering and threats all the time. They insist that they need something which enables them to survive against the odds. In Kenya, most children said they use glue twice or three times a day, but the maximum they have taken is 15 times in a single day. Because the effects last only 15 minutes, it appeared they take dendrite every time the effects wear off. Most said the “trip” they get from the high is very enjoyable and relaxing.

My Experience Over a year has passed since my experience abroad in Kisumu, Kenya. I had many eye-opening experiences, but one visual in particular still haunts me…

Working in the street children’s program of the Pandipieri Catholic Center, I had the opportunity to follow workers throughout the shanty areas recruiting homeless children from the street into the rehabilitation program. The situation we encountered that night shocked me. I saw malnourished children, no more than 12 years old, dazed and confused wondering around the bus depot in a drunken stupor. Their drowsy blood-shot eyes were daunting. Their mouths were spattered with white specks of glue. It was difficult trying to coax them off the street; they were high on glue. Others sat in the shadows gripping a glue jar covered with a piece of plastic over the top. How did these children ever wind up in this mess of substance abuse? What can we do to combat this problem? This was by far the largest obstacle in removing children from the street. Perhaps if we are aware to the causes and effects of this substance abuse, we can better address the problem of street children.

Who’s to Blame? Chemical/Glue companies: The active ingredient in glue, dendrite, is the substance driving addiction among children. Can these companies use an alternative, safer chemical to manufacture their product? Are companies trying to pinch pennies by using the more harmful ingredient? Can companies raise the price of their product to discourage children from buying? One way to address the abuse problem is the addition of a vomit-inducing ingredient to discourage abuse. So far, companies have done little in the areas of Kenya and Uganda to ease the burden.

Government: Does the solution to this problem lie on the shoulders of government? So far the Kenyan Government has taken steps to criminalize the supply of harmful substances to minors and glue sniffing by children. According to a recently passed criminal law amendment, it is a crime to provide substances to children that the Minister for Health deems harmful. This is one step in the right direction. The Ugandan Government has done little to discourage glue-sniffing.

Shopkeepers/Venders: Big problem - shopkeepers are willing to sell glue to children with enough money. More awareness must be raised to address the problems of abuse. The new law passed will help curve abuse.

Parents? More and more families have been migrating to the cities in hopes of finding prosperity. Poverty and AIDS have robbed children of their parents along with vital parental guidance. HIV/AIDS is the real culprit here.

Police Officials: Street children complain of abuse by police officers. Police have a low regard for children on the street. They often use street children as scapegoats. They must focus their attention on the older street dwellers who often influence these vulnerable children.

Street Peddlers: Older “more experienced” street dwellers often abuse children on the street. They force children to beg and steal for sustenance and prostitute female street children. They entice children with glue to influence their decisions. Police officers must focus on these men instead of strictly targeting street children.

Street ChildrenWho? Street children are those vulnerable children living and loitering on the streets, ranging in age from 4 to 18 years. They live on the street for survival, not by choice.

Why? The most obvious reasons are due to poverty. They are victims of urbanization. Their families left the rural countryside for the city, where life was said to be easy and wealth plentiful. However, opportunities turned out to be scarce and poverty plentiful. Many of these families found themselves living in the growing slums around the city, fighting to survive from day to day. The HIV/AIDS pandemic has exacerbated the situation by robbing children of their parents.

Survival: They often live among street peers; lack parental guidance; experience financial hardship; have been undernourished since birth. They scrape by begging for money or committing theft, violence, or prostitution; they often join gangs so as to reinvent a family structure. Many of them turn to solvent abuse - they inhale the fumes of glue from plastic bottles, which dulls the sensations of hunger and hopelessness.

Environment: The children live on the urban outskirts of towns commonly called city states. These are areas where populations exceed 100 thousand people. They live in and around shanty communities often times near landfill areas. Conditions are very unsanitary; heaps of trash and puddles of sewage lie throughout the community. Slabs of cardboard are the only things separating their bodies from the cold ground. These observations are based on my experience living in one of these shanty communities in the city state of Kisumu, Kenya.

Street Children of Kenya & Uganda: The Problem of Substance Abuse

By Charlie Longanecker

ConclusionsStreet Children are but one visible sign of African poverty. The problem of glue-sniffing among street children has become epidemic not only in Kenya and Uganda but in all third world countries from South America to the Middle East. This problem can no longer be ignored. The World Health Organization must analyze this problem and contribute to prevention efforts. Chemical/Glue companies also have an obligation to raise awareness and fund rehabilitation programs. The U.S. Government must make good on their promises of African relief, which could be used to aid rehabilitation programs. Why am I so passionate about the issue of glue-sniffing among street children? I have seen the false hope it gives in the eyes of the children. It gives children a reason to stay on the street. Yes, there are many other issues concerning street children that must be addressed. However, this is the one problem I have stood face to face with and cannot erase from my mind.

Jinja

Photos of Ugandan street boys.The New York Times,

2002

From cliché to research

• Personal narratives:– Introspective, egocentric & increasingly formulaic.

– Achievement orientation: “Just did it!”

– Theological orientation: “Touched by an angel.”

• Move away from individuals & self.– Investigation of social, political & economic world.

Thank you for your attention.

For more information:

http://www.nd.edu/~gdowney/

< Look for “Links for Students” >

Or just e-mail me: gdowney@nd.edu