GLOBALVANTAGE

ConflictGlobal Journal ProjectA Shared Voice ISSUE 11 || AUTUMN 2015

Life and the Troubles15 streets of BelfastOn the Theme - Page 2

Hostage in IranImprisoned by KhomeiniOn the Theme - Page 5

Riots in UkrainePhotos from the frontlinesOn the Theme - Page 6

Moving an NFL FranchiseOvercoming sports conflictExperiences - Page 26

Editors Note

In our basic, elementary learnings of cre-ative writing, we are taught to present con-flict in every scene. We are taught that conflict is action, and only with action can we inter-est our audiences. Beyond even this, we are taught that conflict must always be resolved. In growing up however, we learn that conflict is much more than that. Even with just 17 years behind me, I know this well.

My recent experience of conflict lay in regard to my personal beliefs and my loyalty to fam-ily. My father was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Marine Corps, and although I have grown up a politically attentive and outspoken liberal, it was not until this year that I consciously felt caught between my allegiances.

This year, after an in-depth study of the 2003 conflict and Iraq War prior, I have decided to no longer decry the war. I refuse to dishonor what my father and others like him have done for this country. I believe that our perspec-tive in hindsight is far different than it was on September 11, 2001 and that those who have switched their position on the war may have forgotten this. At this time, we can do little more than learn from it.

BY CAITLIN BOWEN, PRS 2016, EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Conflict is a natural experience, and whether internal or external, it is something we will all endure. In choosing Conflict as the theme for Issue 11, we recognized the current situa-tion of not only our world, but also ourselves. In doing so, we decided that conflict is not inherently badits goodness or badness de-pends on how it is handled. We explored dif-ferent outlets from which our authors could share their relevant experiences, and in doing so worked to create one of our most diverse and interesting issues yet.

In its conception, we recognized the strength in both words and in photography, specifical-ly as a means of expression for thoughts and feelings often difficult to express. With photo stories from Ukraine, Vietnam, and Mali, we provide more personal perspectives to issues widely publicized but not known intimately.

In an exclusive, anonymous interview with a woman born in Northern Ireland, we are able to explore the Troubles through the eyes of a child. By narrative and reflection, the inter-viewee considers not only the conflict itself, but also explores its influence on her life to-day.

Beyond our On the Theme section, more subtle, complex conflicts exist. Articles by Theodore and Evangelia Laliotis discuss growing up in Greece during the Italian and German occupation. Although they are about conflict in the most traditional sense of the word, the Laliotis stories are enhanced by personal narrative in which they analyze and discuss the divides that formed within their community and reflect on how they were shaped by these experiences. In a less tradi-tional realm of conflict, Jim Bailey, former Executive Vice President of the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens, recounts over-coming conflict in the sports world. Bob Har-ris discusses overcoming unfamiliarity, which he sees as the modern-day travelers biggest challenge. And Geri Portnoy describes her passion for peace and the potential for using lessons from yoga to resolve conflict.

It is with great pleasure that we present to you Issue 11 of Global Vantage.

Staff

Editorial Staff: Business Staff: Editors-in-Chief: Brian Chekal, CCA 2015 Chief Executive Officers: Peter Lillian, CCA 2015 Nicholas Marr, PRS 2016 Anthony Oliverio, PRS 2016Executive Editors: Caitlin Bowen, PRS 2016 Chief Financial Officers: Gabriel Piscitello, PRS 2016 Colin Loyd, CCA 2015 Jonathan Prvanov, PRS 2016 Layout Director: Mina Fardeen, PRS 2016 Chief Operating Officers: Sam Dutt, CCA 2015 Web Editors: Derek Albosta, PRS 2016 Vincent Wang, PRS 2016 Garrett Conway, PRS 2016 Marketing Director: Lauren Lipman, PRS 2016Editors: Anurag Aiyer, PRS 2018 Staff: Adrian Agresti, PRS 2017 George Biddle, PRS 2018 Ziad Badr, PRS 2017 Patrick Bjornstad, PRS 2018 Adam Bell, PRS 2018 Gavin Conway, PRS 2018 Dana Carney, PRS 2017 Weston Corbeil, PRS 2018 Alex Gorman, PRS 2016 Mina Fardeen, PRS 2016 Keara Keitel, PRS 2018 Katy Laliotis, CCA 2017 Kyle Ramsay, PRS 2017 Noah Larky, CCA 2017 Jack Uchitel, PRS 2018 Liana Merk, CCA 2017 Zachary Weber, PRS 2016 Tanner Muirhead, PRS 2016 Connie Yu, PRS 2018 Beckett Quinney, CCA 2015 Nicholas Rosetta, PRS 2018 Rahul Saripalli, PRS 2016 Vincent Wang, PRS 2016 Faculty Points of Contact: KGSA Journalism Club Staff:CCA: Tanner Kortman Liaison: Asha Jaffar, KGSA (tanner.kortman@sduhsd.net) Production Advisor: Istabua Hamza, KGSAKGSA: Richard Teka Human Resources Advisor: Habiba Andeyi, KGSA (KGSA.teka@gmail.com) Marketing Advisor: Beaturice Awino, KGSAPRS: Christopher Burman (cburman@pacificridge.org)

ON THE THEME

EXPERIENCES

ACROSS LONGITUDES

POETRY

COMMENTARY

The World as 15 Streets: A Childs Perspective of the Troubles, interview by Gabriel PiscitelloA Girl in the Slums by Rachel Stacy A Hostage in My Own Country by Hossein SalimiViolent Clashes in Kiev by Jerome SessiniConflict in Mali by Ferhat Bouda

Growing Up on the Island of Rhodes During World War II by Evangelia LaliotisGrowing Up in a Greek Village During World War II by Ted LaliotisKeep the Dream Alive by Jim BaileyWhat We Take for Granted: Why I Spend New Years Eve Around the World by Thomas Dixon

The East Meets the West: An Interview with Sandeep Das by Vincent WangStrength of a Woman by Cynthia AmondiThe Girl by Gloria MwanigaI Am Immaculate by Immaculate WanderaKibera and Its Problems by Zubenda Bakari

Changing the World Means Being Changed by Bob HarrisNature Deficit by Andrea JuskaitisOriental Express by Paola Nez SolorioThe Yoga Formula for Dealing wtih Conflict by Geri Portnoy

Divided by Rachel WellsThe Best Place to Be by Gladys MasistaThe Plant and the Women by Warda Yusuf

ISSUE 11 || AUTUMN 2015

Inside GLOBAL VANTAGE2

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NEWS & UPDATES 58Social Action Project Update by Anthony OliverioThe Last Word by Liana Merk

(On the cover) An Orthodox priest blesses protesters at a barricade. Photo courtesy of Jerome Sessini/Magnum Photos. Photo story on page 6.

PERSPECTIVESTRUGGLE

PERSECUTIONUPRISING

COMPLEXITY

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

On the Theme: Conflict

The World as 15 Streets:A Childs Perspective of the Troubles

AN INTERVIEW BY GABRIEL PISCITELLO

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

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

During the height of the conflict, what was daily life like for you and your family? At the time, I would not have said that I was there during the height of the conflict. I saw it through the eyes of a child as I started living there at six or seven and stayed there until I was 11. My perspective was very much based on 15 streets. That was my world. Although there was a lot of activity from the British military (British soldiers were present 24 hours a daythey were armed, wore bullet-

proof jackets and would travel down the streets that we lived in throughout the course of the day, going from doorway to doorway) the soldiers would sort of have a friendly relationship with the community that I lived in, but it was always a hostile relationship from our side. When a soldier would say to you, Are you alright there? or, Hows your bike? you were not supposed to speak to them or interact because of the community pressure. You were told as a child not talk to soldiers.

Everyday life did not feel any different from living here [San Diego] because, in a way, you do not know what you do not know. I did have an experience that made me realize that life was different in Ireland than in England when we first arrived [in Belfast]. I traveled over with my father and my grandparents. The house that we were going to be renting was not ready, so we stayed with family that was just a couple of doors down from us. There were about ten family members there to welcome us. Partway through the gather-ing, as the grown-ups were having a drink and the kids were having lemonade, I heard this popping noise. All the doors were closed, one of the family members that was playing the piano stopped, all the lights were turned off, and everyone had to lie on the floor. I

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

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remember laughing because I thought, Why are we all lying on the floor? It was just this bizarre situation, and I remember thinking, Its a game. Then I suddenly realized that the window at the end of the room had a board in front of it. I asked my grandmother, Why is the boarding up there? She replied, Thats so they dont break the windows. There was obviously some sort of firefight that went on outside, so we all had to keep our heads down. After that stopped about 40 minutes later, we all got up and started playing the piano, all the lights went back on, and it was as if nothing had happened. That was my first night there, and that was when I realized that things were different in that respect, but overall, it just felt very normal. I do not ever remember feeling afraid or intimidated in all the time that I was there.

How did the conflict impact the way that you interacted with your commu-nity? Furthermore, did you have any relationships with Protestants, and if so, how were these affected by the turmoil?

I had absolutely no contact with the Protestants. You could never have any

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

of thing in the Protestant areas, but I do not know for sure because I never actually went in a Protestant area. It was drummed into us that as Catholics, you did not cross that line; that is their area and this is ours. Well, you might be able to cross the line if there was not a check-point, but you would be taking your life into your hands if you did. Not to mention you probably would not come out the other side.

You were saying that because you had an English accent, going to school was very difficult

It was difficult because the English were seen as the enemy if you were a Catholic. The Irish Republican Army (the IRA) wanted a free Ireland and wanted to be free of the monarchy in England. As a Catholic child being dropped into school, it was a really difficult situation for me because I was viewed as the enemy. It probably took about six months for me to drop my heavy English accent and be broad. It took about a year to be accepted in school. Students there ostracized me and were suspi-cious of me. I was bullied, but I learned to stand up for myself. I used to say, Im a Catholic like you are!

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

How old were you when you realized the magnitude of the conflict and its broad influence on world history?

Probably about 25! When I see on televi-sion the terrible conflicts [going on in the world], at first I think, Oh my God, those poor children! But children are so resilient. I was about nine years of age when we would run five streets away from where I lived to an urban park. There was one particular instance when we were playing we heard gunfire about 10 streets away. Then you would hear the sound coming a little bit closer. When the shooting was, perhaps, on the next street over, we would say, Okay, lets go! and run back home. I think those sorts of memories remind me [of the magnitude]. When I see the photographs now in the newsreel, I think, Hold on a minute, I was in that park!

How did growing up in a war zone influence the decisions that you have made throughout your life?

It helps put things in perspective. It is now that I am an adult and a parent that I under-stand [the magnitude of the conflict]. It has affected my life because I now have a greater understanding of how the human spirit, tenac-ity, and will to live can overcome a lot. We are very resilient, children in particular.

Are there any specific anecdotes that highlight your experience with the conflict?

There are two experiences that stand out. I was around nine years old and playing ball with a couple of other children in the street. We saw a line of people outside one of the houses. We were all just giggling and joined in the queue, waiting, not knowing what it was all about. We walked into a room where there was a box that everyone was standing very somberly. The box was an open coffin for a young man for whom they were having an open casket ceremony. I do not remember anything about him except that he had a suit on and his hands were clasped together and holding rosary beads as though in prayer. Also, I noticed that hands were slightly discolored. As I came up closer to him, I could see that it looked like there was a hole in his hand that had been filled, and he was almost painted. He was about 18 years old. This young man had been very heavily made-up, and he had bruises on his face and on his hands. I had never seen a dead body before. Afterwards, I remember speaking to my dad about it. I was quite a lot older then and he recanted the story to me

of what happened. The man and his girlfriend were going to church and they were caught taking a shortcut that Sunday morning. They should not have been going down a Protestant area, and they were badly beaten. The young man was crucified while his girlfriend was murdered. A couple of months after this incident, we were playing and I remember looking at the Protestant side. I remember seeing a queue, just the same as the queue that I went into on the other side of the street, and I have no doubt that one of the paramilitary organizations had done the same to some of the ones over there. That family was victim-ized as much as the other side.

I also remember one instance from when I was 10 years old. I was playing in the park I mentioned earlier with my friends and we heard gunfire. We started running from the street that went from New Lodge Road to Duncairn Gardens. I ended up running down a street on my own. There was a heavy amount

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

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Solicited by Pacific Ridge School editors

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

Living life without hope is like living in a hole without anything that is of importance. Girls and boys in Kibera are living without hope in their lives. It is a routine because most have experienced problemsthey are forced to get pregnant early and also they are expected to get married sometimes.

I have a neighbor who got married when she was in fifth grade. It was because she was forced by her parents just because they had no place to take her. They were broke, had no money to pay for her school fees and other needs.

As this moment she has three children. She works in a club as a waitress but I believe that she has the potential to be someone better in life. That is the life that girls go through if the people responsible take no helpful action.

I was born in the city of Arak, Iran in 1932. We were a middle class family of four brothers and one sister. I was the youngest of my siblings. When I was eight years old, World War II began. Unfortunately, Iran participated and was constantly occupied by U.S., Russian, and British forces. My own city, Arak, helped the forces fight against Germany at great cost. The city was filled with soldiers and the sky with airplanes. It was a scary time for every-one. The economy crashed and people were in a very bad situation.

I decided to put all of my focus into school. I tried to be the best of the class and ignore the chaos around me. By the time I gradu-ated, I was number one in my class. They awarded me a medal and I then moved to Tehran and enrolled in the Police Academy. Putting my past behind me, I started working in the police force. After 20 years, I retired and started working in a taxi company. Two years later, I became the director of the company with 500 employees and 20,000 members.

In 1979, the demonstrations started. The Islamic movement filled the streets of Tehran and other major Iranian cities. The rebels rallied support against the King of Iran and praised their leader Khomeini as the true leader of their country. The situation went from bad to worse. I could feel the tension build among my fellow citizens, and we hated seeing our good leader be criticized for things he did not do.

On February 12, 1979, the dissent boiled over. The King of Iran was forced out of his frightened country and the new leader, Khomeini, began to arrest people of high ranking. They did not want anyone of former power to threaten their new government. They were ruthless and often put down people without a trial or judgment. On February 17, eight members of the Revolutionary Guard came to my home, blindfolded me, and took me to prison. They dragged me to the Prison Yard and began to yell at me. Because of my former status as colonel in the police force and my new director position at a big company, I was deemed a threat to them. I was pushed against a wall and forced to say that what I had done in the past was wrong. The main guard said they would count to three and then shoot me. One guard behind him then said they should first ask their Imam (Khomeini) what to do. They already had four other prisoners who could be useful later. So, they brought me to a prison cell with the other four prisoners. We shared our stories, but most of all our disbelief that this could all be happening to us.

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A Hostage in My Own CountryBY HOSSEIN SALIMI

It was surreala bad dream.

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

Believe me, that night, I nearly plucked out half of my eyebrows. It was the only thing that kept me sane. I had to tell myself that I had done nothing wrong. Why, why, why! After that night, I was in prison for one more year. They did not let me see my family. I just waited for somebody to call me to execute me. I was stuck in a cell with 24 people. It was a terrible situation, and we had all lost hope. Whenever a guard came to the cell, I thought that I was next! But after my year was up, they told me I could leave. They expected me to stand up and walk out of the cell that tortured me for one year.

A week later, after reuniting with my family, I got a letter that called me to Islamic Court. They said that on February 21, 1979, I had caused rebel activity with five of my friends. They were accusing me of something impossible. When I went to court, the three clergymen stated that they even had a picture of me on a roof shooting the resistance. They claimed that I was fighting for the King and rebelling against Khomeini when really I was in their jail. They refused to show me the picture. I told them that this was physically impossibleI could not have been in jail and on the roof at the same time. After checking their records, they decided to let me go. I was finally free.

My wife and I moved to America following the trail and reunited with our three children. We now live a happy life, but I will never forget my experience.

BY RACHEL STACY

Written at Kibera Girls Soccer Academy

Solicited by Canyon Crest Academy editors

A Girl in the Slums

Violent Clashes in KievBY JEROME SESSINI

UKRAINE. Kiev. February 19, 2014.Anti-government protesters clash with police and hold barri-cades in Euromaidan Square. Photo courtesy of Jerome Sessini/Magnum Photos.

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UKRAINE. Kiev. On February 20th, unidentified snipers open fired on unarmed protesters as they advacned on Instituska Street. According to an official source, 70 protesters were shot dead. Ukrainian riot police claimed that several policeman were wounded or shot dead by snipers as well. An unofficial source said that snipers opened fire on the police and protesters at the same time in order to provoke both camps. Photo courtesy of Jerome Sessini/Magnum Photos.

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UKRAINE. Kiev. February 19, 2014. Anti-government protesters remain mobilized against riot police and hold barricades in Euromaidan Square. The day before, at least 18 people were killed, including seven policeman. Protesters launch molotov cocktails with a makeshift cannon. Photo courtesy of Jerome Sessini/Magnum Photos.

UKRAINE. Kiev. On February 20th, unidentified snipers opened fire on unarmed protesters as they advanced on Instituska Street. According to an official source, 70 protesters were shot dead. Ukrainian riot police claied that several policeman were wounded or shot dead by snipers as well. An unofficial source said that snipers opened fire on the police and protesters at the same time in order to provoke both camps. Photo courtesy of Jerome Sessini/Magnum Photos.

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UKRAINE. Kiev. On February 20th, unidentified snipers opened fire on unarmed protesters as they advanced on Instituska Street. According to an official source, 70 protesters were shot dead. Ukrainian riot police claimed that several policeman were wounded or shot dead by snipers as well. An unofficial source said that snipers opened fire on the police and protesters at the same time in order to provoke both camps. Photo courtesy of Jerome Sessini/Magnum Photos.

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Solicited by Pacific Ridge School editors

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UKRAINE. Kiev. February 19, 2014. Anti-goverment protesters clash with police and hold barricades in Euromaidan Square. Photo courtesy of Jerome Sessini/Magnum Photos.

Conflict in MaliBY FERHAT BOUDA

During my previous travels to Northern Mali, I would first fly into a neigh-bouring country on the border and try to find passersby who could help me cross the border. Most of the time, these people were drug traffickers or were selling cigarettes, gas or weapons. They were Africans trying to get to Europe. So, Id often leave by myself. Ive never been hired by a magazine and I have had to pay for everything myself.

But I didnt have a choice because there was no other way to get into northern Mali and I had the obligation to show what was happening in the region! Its often very risky to leave with these peoplethe biggest risks are the kidnap-pings that happen in the region!

But to take the series of photos shown here, I left from Bamako. Its the only trip Ive made

with a colleague, a fellow photographer. I went with another person to share the expenses. The trip by taxi, or fixeur, costs a lot of money in areas of conflict.

We arrived in Bamako and it was the first time I was able to return to Kidal since the begin-ning of the conflict. Im interested in this conflict because I had worked with the Berbers and the Touaregs, an ethnic branch of the Ber-bers. It was also my goal to work in the area. I wanted to continue working with the female Touareg fighters with whom I had started to work during my first trip.

Why Kidal? After the French Army passed through at the beginning of 2013, the Islamists left northern Mali.Timbouktou and Gao were won back by the Malian army. Of course, the French Army and the MINUSMA (United Na-tions peacekeepers) were present at their side. But the Touareg rebels (The National Move-ment for the Liberation of the Azawad) share Kidal with the Malian army despite the fact

that they are enemies. The rebels are in a re-stricted zone, while the French Army and the MINUSMA maintain peace in the city between the two enemies and keep the Islamists away!I am interested in Kidal at this time because I want to see and document the lives of civilians in this conflict zone. Unfortunately, its hard to do this in a time of war! Most of the time we have to choose a side, either the rebels or the Malian army!

It took us almost 10 days to reach Kidal, even though its a trip that normally takes three days. When we got to Gao, we had to stay there because the route was dangerous and our driver didnt want to run the risk of traveling with just us.

We tried to travel with the U.N. peacekeep-ers and the French Army, but unfortunately nobody wanted to take on the responsibility of travelling with us because on the road in Mali, anything can happen! The only option that was left for us was to wait for the Malian army con-

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voy to leave and accompany them. After waiting for a week in Gao, the convoy finally left. After two days on the road, we arrived in Kidal!

30 minutes after we arrived at the rebel Touaregs camp, they told us the bad news: two French journalists, Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon from Radio France International had been abducted and killed. They knew the area and were specialists in the region.

It is nearly impossible to work in Kidal and its even forbidden to go outside. Before the assas-sination of two colleagues, we had planned for the Touaregs to help us work in the city. They would accompany us and hide their weap-onsthey do not have the right to go outside with their weapons. But the situation was very complicated, thus they didnt want to risk do-ing this with us in Kidal!

We decided to go further north. Of course

the further north you go, the greater the risk! But we didnt have a choice. We were there to work, so we were accompanied by the rebels up north to document their daily lives. We had hoped in the meantime that the situation in Kidal would change and allow us to work in the city!

We had hoped that in the meantime, the situ-ation in Kidal had changed. But when we re-turned to the city several days later, it had got-ten even worse. There was no chance to get our work done and due to the state of emergency the city was in, nobody would take the risk to drive us out to Bamako. The only way out was by plane, either operated by the UNO or by the French Army. It required some intervention by our agency but finally they got us on a French Army plane back home.

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

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(Above) The entrance to Kidal is shown as we return to Bamako with the Malian Army. Photo courtesy of Ferhat Bouda.

Solicited by Pacific Ridge School editors

(Above) A picture of a road in Kidal. Photo courtesy of Ferhat Bouda.(Below) MINUSMA military at the entrance to the city of Kidal. Photo courtesy of Ferhat Bouda.

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The conflict has had profound consequences on the lives of children in Kidal. Photo courtesy of Ferhat Bouda.

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Pictured here are the Touareg rebels barracks. They do not have the right to go out with arms. Photo courtesy of Ferhat Bouda.

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(Above) After having heard a gunshot, a MNLA rebel prepares himself in case of an attack. Despite their confinement, the rebels are always in an alert state of mind. Photo courtesy of Ferhat Bouda.

The French Army patrols the streets of Kidal. Photo courtesy of Ferhat Bouda.

Growing Up on the Island of RhodesDuring World War II

ExperiencesADVERSITY

RESOLVEADVENTURE

Evangelia and Ted Laliotis discuss their childhoods on the Island of Rhodes during World War II.Jim Bailey recounts overcoming conflict in the sports world.Thomas Dixon explains his adventures on New Years Eve around the world.

BY EVANGELIA LALIOTIS

History tells us that wars begin, mostly, for expan-sionism, and so did WWII. It resulted in the devas-tation of many countries, the loss of lives, and immea-surable human suffering. At its the end, there were no winners.

I was born on the Island of Rhodesit is part of a cluster of 12 islands, the Dodecanese Islands, located on the Eastern part of the Aegean Sea. The Islands were sold by the Byzantine State to the Knights of St. John in the year 1303. In 1522, the Ottoman Empire conquered Rhodes, and in 1912, following the Italian-Turkish war, the Dodecanese Islands were given to the Italians by the Turks as part of the war settlement. Thus, the Islands became an Italian territory.

I feel rather special as my island remained Greek in its spirit, beliefs , language, religion, and customs after so many centuries of foreign occupation. It was a struggle for my ancestors to survive financially and to remain true to their Greek ethnicity.

My parents learned how to cope with adversities from their parents and their parents from their own parents, and so on. In order to survive, they had to learn to keep a low profile, they had to be friendly and accommodating to the different occupiers, but at the same time, secretly they observed our Greek Orthodox religion and our culture. The Greek Orthodox Church played a major role in the successful preservation of our Greek-ness through so many generations.

When WWII came to my island, we already knew how to live with very little and how to make additional adjust-ments. I remember how little I had as a tiny child. No toys, no dolls, no new clothes, not much to eat. But I also remember how loved and secure I felt in my home. My This record player was the only source of entertainment

in the Laliotis household in Epidaurus, Greece.

History is philosophy teaching by example. - Thucydides

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numerous friends shared similar experiences to mine. Our older siblings read books to us and taught us how to play with seashells, round sea pebbles, how to explore the surrounding small hills and collect snails, oregano, wild fruit, and other fun things essential for our survival. When the bombings started, first by the English because we were under Italy, and then by the Germans as they wanted to occupy our land, it was a very scary time. It was equally scary when the German army occupied Rhodes. The Germans took all the food from the markets in order to feed their army. They imprisoned and killed many local people. For about three months, famine was widespread and people in the cities died due to lack of food. By then, we were living in our country home and my parents were selling all the jewelry and other precious possessions for a loaf of bread and a piece of meat so that us kids could survive. The Red Cross and UNRRA (United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration) came and brought various food essentials that averted total loss of life on the island.

As we all know, one of Germanys objectives was to eliminate Jews. Rhodes, being at the crossroads of trade and commerce between East and West, had a substantial Jewish community living there for many centu-ries. When the Germans came to Rhodes and started rounding up Jews to send them to concentration camps, my father, taking a great risk, and against my mothers advice as she was concerned about her childrens lives, provided refuge to a Jewish family until they were able to obtain secret passage to Turkey via a fishing boat. If the Germans had found out what my father had done, our lives would have been in great jeopardy.

At the end of WWII the Dodecanese Islands were finally united with Motherland Greece. The official ceremonies of the annexation took place in April of 1947. All the inhab-itants of the island from the various villages came to the City of Rhodes where the Greek flag was raised while everyone sang the Greek National Anthem. We were all kneeling in the streets and crying. This was an overwhelm-ing experience that still brings awe and tears to everyone who was lucky enough to have participated in this extraordinary event. Finally, the Islands became part of Greece and we became Greek nationals.

What were the effects on the life of a little girl that lived and witnessed so many adversi-ties? It is difficult to forget the sacrifices that

my parents made so that my older sister and I could feel secure, warm, and not hungry. It is wonderful to look back and remember the loving home that my parents made for us. They taught us a lot. But the most important lessons were to always be careful and to honor and preserve our religion and culture. The responsibility for the survival of our race fell on us. I believe that I became a flexible, resil-ient, and hopeful person. I can adjust well to changes and I believe that with hard work I can reach the goals I set for myself.

I left Rhodes as a young woman and came to the United States to study and meet my uncles and aunts and my numerous cousins. I got a degree from UC Berkeley, and became a Social Worker in medical settings. I was a good Social Worker because I knew what it felt to be deprived, to be scared, to constantly having to make adjustments and surviving with only the bare essentials. I taught my patients and their families how to best deal

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with their problems and how to best access their resources and strengths. It took a lot of hard work and commitment on my part to bring positive changes to their lives.

I was blessed with the love and the values that my family instilled in me. In turn, it is with this that I made a good life for myself, and with my husband.We raised our children here in the United States and made a good loving home for them.

(Above and below) The decaying roof tiles of the Laliotis house.

Evangelia Laliotis worked as a nurse at a hospital in Los Altos, CA for many years. She currently lives in Los Altos with her husband Theodore. The two of them continue to be very active mem-bers of the Greek church and the Greek community in their area.

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I was born in a rural farm and grazing area of Southern Greece, part of the Peloponnese re-gion. It was just before Greece was attacked and finally succumbed to the fascist forces of World War II. At that time, Greece, a mountainous Mediterranean country, had a weak economy mostly consisting of land farming, livestock rais-ing (sheep and goats), and fishing in the Medi-terranean.

Greece was drawn into World War II by being asked to surrender to the Italian fascist forces on October 28, 1940, after much of Europe had already been invaded and captured by the Ger-man and Italian forces. The German and Italian aggressors felt that Greece would easily surren-der, but they forgot the resilience and historic heroism that Greeks had shown from ancient to medieval and modern times, resisting and fend-ing off many aspiring conquerors.

Thus, when the Italians asked Greece to sur-render to their forces, Greece answered with a resounding no. When the Italians attempted to invade Greece, they were driven back by the heroic Greeks on the mountains of Western Greece; the Italian Army was almost thrown in the Adriatic Sea.

This unexpected Greek Resistance caused a sig-nificant delay in the schedule of the fascist forc-es. They were required to pull back, regroup,

and try again with the German Army in the spring of 1941. This delay of plans proved to be significant in giving time to the Western Allies to organize and eventually beat the fascist forces and win World War II.

The Laliotis family consisted of about ten re-lated households with homes at the foot of a small mountain near a natural spring and a small church sanctuary to serve our religious needs. The mountain is where the flocks of sheep and goats grazed and they were herded by my uncles and older cousins. The majority of our olive trees populated the mild hillsides. The farm-land in the small valley below the mountain was where we cultivated and grew wheat, corn, and vegetable gardens for feeding our families. We also maintained chicken coops for eggs and meat, as well as stables for our horses, mules, and donkeys (which were our work animals used in farming). Thus, we had our meat from our livestock and chickens, the olive oil from our trees, the bread from wheat and corn, and our vegetables from the gardens. We also hunted for wild game on the mountain. That is what we lived and grew up with. We basically produced everything we needed to live on.

World War II was a major disruption to our quaint village life. As a young boy around 5 years old, I remember the German and Italian soldiers would raid our homes as they also needed food to live on. There were no grocery stores to buy

food from so they would loot our households for bread and olive oil; they would take our chick-ens and any other food items we were stocking for our needs.

The war encouraged the emergence of traitors among our communities. The weaker people in our communities were tempted by the German and Italian soldiers to become informers in exchange for favors and preferred treatment. It was very disappointing and painful to see one of my uncles become such a traitor and provide in-formation to the soldiers about assets of friends and relatives that they may have hidden in places away from their homes in order to protect them from the soldiers. The worst part was that his actions were not something he was doing incon-spicuously but he was openly walking around with the soldiers and leading them to the vari-ous hideaways. He was enjoying the power and advantage he had over the community. When the war was over and the soldiers left, this uncle, who we had nicknamed the traitor, disap-peared to another part of the country because he knew that he could not survive in the commu-nity. We knew where he was living, but none of the relatives wanted to go after him because they felt that self exile was enough punishment.

Greeks are notorious fighters by their very own nature because of the many conquerors and predators who pursued Greece from the ancient times through medieval times and even recent history such as WWII. As a result, Greek Re-sistance fighters who did not accept the domi-nance of the soldiers, organized themselves and took to the mountains. While they lived in the mountains, they were able to obtain arms, and they conducted raids on the German and Italian soldiers in any way they could. Sometimes they would ambush soldier contingents and some-times they would make nightly attacks on their compounds. The Germans, in particular, were very vengeful and would respond by committing heinous crimes against innocent local communi-ties. Luckily, such reprisals did not take place in my village or the surrounding villages. One of the worst reprisals occurred in the city of Ka-lavryta, at the heart of Peloponnese, where the Germans gathered all males age 13 and older, about 500 of them, lead them to a remote loca-tion away from the town, and machine-gunned them. Only 13 of them survived.

Growing Up in a Greek VillageDuring World War II

BY TED LALIOTIS

This wall inside the Laliotis house contains portraits of the entire family.

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Ted Laliotis is a technology executive and entrepreneur in Silicon Valley. He is currently the President of Laliotis & Associates, a sole proprietorship in the field of venture capital and entrepre-neurship. He is an IEEE Fellow, and recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

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The saddest thing was the occasional violence and physical harm to members of our families if they resisted the looting by the soldiers. For that reason, in order to protect us, our parents would frequently move the children to spend the night under tents in the valley, away from the homes, if there was evidence that the soldiers may be coming on a given evening.

The occupation by the German and Italian armies lasted until about 1945 when the West-ern Allied forces, including the United States, were able to defeat the Fascist forces and free up all of Europe, including Greece.

It was about that time (1945) that I started at-tending grammar school. The school was lo-

cated at the larger village that was located about two miles away from our homes. My cousins and I had to walk about one hour in the morning to get to school and about one hour in the after-noon to get back home.

Most children from our village and surround-ing area did not attend high school after gram-mar school as the nearest regional high school was about 30 miles away in the larger city. After grammar school, most children would stay and work in the farm along with the rest of the fam-ily.

My father, rest his soul, who had also served in World War I (circa 1918-1922) was a visionary who had decided that he would work harder and

seek the necessary funding to provide his three sons with high school as well as college educa-tion at any cost. He even had to sell some of his farm land to provide funding for our education.

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

Grafiti on a wall in the city.

Keep the Dream AliveBY JIM BAILEY

This article recounts my experiences with football, but it is not necessarily a football story. It is a story about the pursuit of dreams. It is about the passion to succeed and enduring the agonies of failure. My subject is football, but it could just as easily be music, art, science, literature, or anything else that can inspire the pursuit of dreams.

As a youngster my life was consumed by sports. If I wasnt playing sports, I was watch-ing themfootball, basketball, baseball, hockey. Anything that involved athletic ability and competition, I was involved. In high school it became apparent that my best sport was football, so that is what I concentrated on.

I studied the game and worked very hard at improving. I played well enough that I earned a scholarship to play football at Florida State University.

At Florida State, however, it became obvious I was not big enough, fast enough, or skilled enough to play at the college level. I had to face the fact my football career was over. I did not lose my love of the game but assumed I was consigned to being a spectator for the rest of my life.

I graduated from Florida State and went to law school at the University of Michigan. After law school I joined a law firm in Cleveland,

Ohio and devoted my energy to the practice of law. Except for playing some basketball and softball in the evenings, my involvement in sports was limited to weekend viewing.

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

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the home of both teams.

My job was to form a new company to lease the stadium from the city and, in turn, lease it to the Indians and the Browns. I was in heaven. I was back, importantly involved in sports. Not just any sport, but football! And not just football, but the Cleveland Browns! It was the first team I had ever seen play and the team for which I had always rooted. And, as a bonus, I got to work with a Major League Baseball team too.

Then, reality set in. The business of sports is hard work. The people involved are, by nature, very competitive and very demand-ing. An agreement reached at 6:00 pm was expected to be documented and on a desk at 8:00 the next morning. The guy who had to create that document didnt have much time to sleep, and I was that guy. But even so, I loved it. I loved the fast pace. I loved the challenge. And I loved working with the characters involved, especially my client, Mr. Modell.

That transaction was completed in time for the Indians home opening game in 1974. I contin-ued to represent Mr. Modell as he undertook massive renovations of the old stadium. As walls were broken open, the condition of the building was found to be much worse than imagined, requiring a significant amount of unanticipated structural repair. Regardless, Mr. Modell lived up to his renovation obliga-tions and the stadium was gradually updated and upgraded to keep it in usable condition.

As that work wound down, the need for my legal services grew less and less. As I began to devote more time to other clients, I assumed my heady turn through professional sports was drawing to a close. Then, out of the blue, Mr. Modell approached my senior partner and said he had decided to hire a full time lawyer for the football team and asked permission to offer the job to me. Permission was granted, and I readily accepted.

So, I became vice president and general counsel of the Cleveland Browns. For my first few weeks on the job, I had almost nothing to do. My office was crammed into what had been supply storeroom. I began to think I had made a huge mistake. I couldnt imagine that Mr. Modell would continue to pay me for the small amount of work I was produc-ing. Then the dam broke. I dont remember what triggered the change, but seemingly overnight I went from having nothing to do

to working 12 hours a day.

As time went on, I was made the Executive Vice President of the Browns, responsible for all the business, financial and legal operations of the teams. In effect I became the number two person in the organization, second only to Mr. Modell. I directed a staff of more than 100, obtained and managed all financing for the team, and negotiated player contracts. I also was responsible for all the teams stadium and facility contracts and arrangements.

In the mid 1980s, we were able to assemble a group of players and coaches that carried us to the Conference Championship game (the final step for qualifying for the Super Bowl) three out of four years. Even though we didnt make it to the Super Bowl, we were coming close and the future looked bright. During that time, we encountered several diffi-cult business situations, but we were able to

resolve them and concentrate on building and maintaining our football team.

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

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rehabilitating Cleveland Stadium.

The city of Cleveland and the business community recognized these factors. They concluded the Indians needed a new ballpark but recognized the economic damage Mr. Modell would suffer. They also recognized that Mr. Modell would be compelled to oppose a new Indians ballpark to protect his financial interests. In order to obtain Mr. Modells support for a new ballpark, the mayor, the city council president and various civic leaders committed to take care of the concerns of Mr. Modell and the Browns after the Indians needs were satisfied. Mr. Modell agreed.

The Cleveland community proceeded to put together the financing for a new ballpark. Surprisingly, they also decided to build, and did build, a new arena for the Cleveland Cavaliers basketball team. Completing this spending frenzy, they also built the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and a science museum, the latter two in what had been the main parking lot for the Browns at Cleveland Stadium.

While all this new construction was going on for others, Mr. Modell learned that the upper deck of Cleveland Stadium was undergoing an irreversible deterioration that would cause the stadium to become unsafe for occupancy within five to eight years. Because it takes three to four years to build a new stadium, the communitys commitment to take care of the Browns needs escalated from a mere financial adjustment to the necessity for a new or substantially rebuilt stadium for the Browns. Otherwise, the team would be left with no place to play within the next five years.

We embarked on a protracted period of negotiation with the city of Cleveland. I met regularly with officials and pursued a course of resolving the situation for the Browns. We engaged architects, contractors and building experts to come up with a viable solution. A plan for the complete renovation of the stadium was developed, but the mayor had promised to spend money he did not have. City council expressed its opposition to the project. The county officials had no interest in participating, and had suffered their own financial reverses that would have precluded any contribution from them. The governor of Ohio deemed it a local problem that the state could not help solve.

Faced with financial ruin and literally becom-

ing homeless in our own city, we were forced to look elsewhere for a solution. We found that solution in Baltimore, Maryland. Baltimore had lost its NFL franchise 13 years earlier when they were unable to meet that teams stadium needs. In the hope of luring a new NFL franchise to Baltimore, the Maryland Stadium Authority had conducted a lottery to fund a new stadium. The money was in the bank. After working with Cleveland for years and never receiving a proposal, it took only 40 days to negotiate and sign a deal to move the Browns to a new stadium in Baltimore. The move was completed and the Browns became the Baltimore Ravens.

It fell primarily to me to conduct all these negotiations both in Cleveland and Baltimore. While it was exciting to be involved at such a high level, it was emotionally draining. The Cleveland Browns had been my team since childhood. Our family had lived in Cleveland for 25 years. Our children were raised there, all of our friends were there, and all of that was suddenly ripped away. We became pariahs in our hometown. The passionate fans of the team knew nothing of all the broken promises. They knew only that their team had forsaken them. My dream job had become a nightmare.

But we had no time to lick our wounds. We had to establish our team in a new town. There were people to hire and to teach about our systems. There were new fans to cultivate. There were stadium designs to be completed and construction projects to be undertaken. Temporary stadium arrangements had to be made. Practice and office facilities had to be procured and readied in short order. And moving and housing had to be arranged for all our staff from Cleveland. It was hectic, but we pulled it off and began the 1996 football season in our new city.

Subsequently, Cleveland was shocked into finding the means of constructing a new football stadium and was awarded a new team. We left the team name and colors behind and the new team is now known, once again, as the Cleveland Browns. The Ravens have adapted to their new city in Baltimore and have produced successful teams.

Four years after the move to Baltimore, my time with the team came to an end. When one takes a job in professional sports, it is impor-tant to realize that such jobs often come to an end. It is an intense and hard-hitting business. Having seen co-workers try to hold onto their jobs after they became ineffec-

tive, I swore not to do that myself. After the ordeals of the failed negotiations in Cleveland and the re-establishment of the franchise in Baltimore, after suffering the acrimony of former friends in Cleveland, and after accli-mating the organization to its new city, I felt my time had come.

Once again, just like at Florida State many years before, my football career was over. My football dream had finally ended. Or so I thought. After consulting on sports-related projects after leaving the Ravens, I was approached to become the president of a new organization known as the United States Football League (USFL). The oppor-tunity to get back in the game one more timeto revive the dreamwas too tempt-ing. I accepted and have since been working to create a new professional football league.

The USFL will not attempt to compete with the NFL in any way. Rather, our objective is to provide an opportunity for young football players to develop their skills and prepare them to advance to the senior league. We are guided by a board comprised of several former NFL executives with a passion for providing a second chance for players who sought to play in the NFL but fell short. We understand their dream and are motivated to help them pursue it. We have dreamt it ourselves. Maybe we still do. Our slogan is Keep the dream alive.

Jim Bailey, who played football at Florida State University and earned a law degree from the University of Michi-gan, was the Executive Vice President of the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns. He is currently involved with creating the United States Football League (USFL).

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What surprises us the most when we go somewhere we havent been before? For me, it was a matter of what I had taken for granted before my first time out of the United States, only to discover that I had been mistaken during said trip. Ever since, my deeply passionate curios-ity about just what I happen to be wrong about, has lead me to attempt to travel around the world such that I may spend my New Years Eves in a new country each year.

Now, I had written previously about my New Years Eve trips for the American Humanist Association (AHA). The article I wrote for them, which came out in 2013, was titled New City, New People: A Humanists Travels on New Years Eve and may be seen at the following link: http://americanhumanist.org/HNN/details/2013-12-new-city-new-people-a-humanists-travels-on-new-years. The purpose of this article is to expand on that AHA article by elaborating on what I have gained from these trips, what I have been surprised and/or comforted by, and what I hope will come to me from continuing to explore the world in this way.

I do encourage readers to see that earlier article as in it, I describe my rationale and motivation for going on these trips. In brief, I will share here the rules I attempt to follow when on these trips, as I had shared them within that aforementioned article:

1) I am trying to challenge my notions, my preconceptions.2) The trips should be for a new country, a place where I have never been before at all.3) It does not matter if the people in the country tend to celebrate NYE (of December 31 to January 1) or not.4) Pragmatically, it must be a spot which is considered safe enough for me to visit.5) I try to bounce between parts of the world, year-by-year.

Its these rules which have guided how I have traveled. Given that I had been in school throughout, I could not afford such a trip each year. Also, I had almost died in 2010 when I was hit by a car, which I have shared extensively about elsewhere. Rather than feeling forced to follow my goal of seeing the world, I will admit that life happens, and so adjust my expectations for travel with it. I do also attempt to carry such a sense with me on my non-NYE trips, such as when I had been a middle school teacher in South Korea, when I

had joined in an archaeology camp in Belize, and when I had made it to Barcelona over one particular summer. I am fortunate to have been able to see the world, and continue to feel ever more fortunate given how I had almost died, possibly leaving much unseen.

It is also my feeling of connection to others that has inspired me to have these tattoos, on my left and right arms, respectively, of the text Lets love each other in both English and Korean (see above).

And so, without further ado, just where have I been for NYE?

Taiwan for NYE2005 (or, the one which opened my eyes, photo below.)

As I noted in the AHA article, I had been so surprised by what had not happened. I had been (culturally) shocked to learn that NYE was not commonly celebrated by people there, meaning that there would be no celebrations, no fireworks, but rather my own mind had lit up upon learning that I could be so wrong about what expected behavior may be. I paused and wondered, Just what else am I taking for granted? I just had to take the steps to find out. Nowhere for NYE2006? (Actually, this one may have been in New York City)

This may have been one of the years where a student budget would only allow so much, or perhaps my idea of spending NYE in a new country each year had not yet formed.

What We Take for Granted: Why I Spend New Years Eve Around the World

BY THOMAS DIXON

Japan for NYE2008 (photos below)

My time in Japan was spent across a number of cities: Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, & Nara. It was there that I could see Kinkakuji and sleep inside a capsule hotel, and have tasty tofu.

England for NYE2007

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

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Canada for NYE2009 - Toronto was there for me, in a sense that I was glad to be there for it. I felt comfortable there. I will admit that I had been surprised by what I spotted while riding the subway once. I also had spotted statues of women on crutches in an art show. (Photos below).

Nowhere for NYE2010? (It was in Washington DC, maybe?)

At this time, I was a premedical student, and so this may have been one of the years where a student budget would only allow so much, and I had already been to NYC.

NYE2011 & NYE2012 (The background photo shows me almost dying after being hit by a car)

I missed two years of this type of travel, as I had almost died when a car hit me while I was on one of my runs on November 22, 2010. My recovery took a long time, and resuming these trips was an important benchmark in my recovery that led me to feel I had control of my life once again.

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Netherlands for NYE2013 (photos below)

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

United Arab Emirates for NYE2014 (photo below)

I was fortunate enough to catch the world record for fireworks with this trip, and to have been inside of the current worlds tallest building, the Burj Khalifa.

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France for NYE2015 (photos left)

My last trip, prior to this article, had me placed firmly in Paris, France. Paris hit me in more ways than one. I have a great story now about my hand getting smacked by a security guard at the Louvre. What happened? Well, I was standing with many others in front of the Mona Lisa, and while I appreciated seeing such an image, I was more fascinated that so many people were taking pictures of it. I mean, arent much better quality images of it available online? Also, wont people believe you if you tell them you were there? If they dont, will an image (which could have been taken by anybody) convince them? So, my inner psychologist turned on, and I thought that the people taking such images were more interesting to me than the Mona Lisa, and so I started to record video via my phone and slowly turn around such that I faced the crowd/mob. Once a guard noticed my recording others, he actually smacked the hand holding my phone, such that my video jostled at just that moment in the recording. Such is a story which almost by itself justified my taking this trip.

Parisians did not smile much, and my Paris friends had indicated to me that such is their cultural norm not to, such that my picture with the guard is likely his biggest smile possible, and my fake screaming is with other tourists.

I was beside myself after I had returned shortly before the Charlie Hebdo attacks, noticing that where I had stayed was walking distance from their offices. I reminded myself that such is a reason for me to continue these tripswhen tragedy hits a specific area, its no longer out there to me, but rather its familiar, and so I may feel a sense of connection that I continue to develop as I grow.

Thomas Anthony Dixon Jr. earned his Masters of Education at Temple University in 2014. Since almost dying when hit by a car on 11/22/10, he has resumed his New Years Eve trips by being in Amsterdam for NYE 2013, the United Arab Emirates for NYE 2014, and Paris for NYE 2015. His digital memory app, ME.mory, is currently in beta-testing for iPhone and Android, with updates at http://me.mory.jumpbuttonstudio.com/. Thomas may be reached at https://www.facebook.com/thomasanthonydixonjr.

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Across LongitudesINDIA

KENYAKENYAKENYAKENYA

Sandeep Das offers insight into his life as a traveling musician and philanthropist.Cynthia Amondi writes about being taught and inspired by an extraordinary woman.Gloria Mwaniga urges action to confront the hardships faced by women in Kibera.Immaculate Wandera illustrates the importance of determination in her life.Zubenda Bakari analyzes the myriad issues in Kibera.

The East Meets the West:An Interview with Sandeep Das

BY VINCENT WANG

What was the deciding factor that caused you to pursue music as a career? Why did you choose to pursue the tabla?

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

many musicians would stay at our house. My father had seen that I could tap and keep rhythm pretty well. So thankfully, instead of taking me to a doctor, my father got me my first pair of tabla drums. It was my fathers premonition, or his vision, that there was nothing wrong with me and that all I needed to do was learn music. I still remember the smell of the first instrument I got and how I would wait for school to be over so I could go home and practice. I used to love playing soccer and flying kites. But ever since the tablas came, all I wanted to do was practice them.

The decision to pursue music as a career came much later. My father took me to one of the

biggest tabla maestros and by the time I was 15, I was playing with some of the most famous Indian musicians in the world. For example, my debut was with Ravi Shankar, which is almost unthinkable nowadays. I learned from one of the masters and contin-ued my educationI went to high school and college and received my bachelors degree in Honors English literature. The moment of my decision came when I quali-fied for personal management. The deal was to pick up that selection and continue college for personal management, or to give it up then and there. I called my father and told him that I qualified for personal management, but did not know if I should pick that up or continue with music. He

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Sandeep performs at the Rhythm of Life Concert.

said, Now that I have guided you, my son, the time has come for you to make a decision about what you want to do. This decision was very difficult, so I called him back again from a payphone in Bombay and told him to give me some tipsI was confused. After a long conversation, I decided that I would love playing music more than anything else. My father said to not worry, follow my heart, and do what I wanted to do in life. That is when I decided to give up my academics completely for a year and to try music only. So, the plan was to move to Delhi and try music full-time for a year; if it works out, great, and if it does not, then I would give music up completely and fall back on studies. That is how my journey started. Eventually one concert led to another, and before I knew what happened, I was a professional musician.

What makes you so passionate about music?

I am doing something that I enjoy. No one is forcing me to do it. I do not have goals set by someone else; no one is telling me, You have to achieve this, do this, and complete this field. I think the biggest point is that once I have the instrument out, nothing in the world can divide me from it. That is the biggest driving factor: what I do gives me happiness and gives others happiness. Once you start playing professionally, you play with different musicians in different places, and you learn so much. You meet people who teach you not only about music, but also give you new

perspectives of the world. For example, before I started playing in Azerbaijan, I thought it was just a small country in the world and I would not care much for it. But now, if there were to be an earthquake in Azerbaijan, I would care greatly because I have a friend there whom I met through music. Similarly, when there is a fire near San Diego, I care because I have a friend whose family is there for which I really care. Those are things that give me the inspi-ration to keep striving for success.

Why did you move to the United States from India? Are there any impactful experiences you have had while transi-tioning between cultures and societies?

There is more than one reason for my move to the United States. One was definitely music. I am primarily an Indian classical musician trained to play Indian classical music. Though my first tour to the United States was in 1990, I would play Indian classical concerts and go away so much that I would turn off Western classical radio stations and I had no idea who Yo-Yo Ma was, even though I had played with him numerous times. I only played Indian classical concerts because I came from a really different background; however, once I was exposed to a different form of music thanks to the Silk Road Project of Yo-Yo Ma, I was inspired to keep collaborating with differ-ent musicians such as Keyhan Kalor and Sujahba (an Indian sitar player). That is when I received my first Grammy nomination. Musically, I started learning and seeing things

in a completely different way. I saw that by living in India, it would be very difficult for me to pursue learning about different perspectives. I could live and die just being an Indian classical tabla player, or I could take it to the next level and play with differ-ent musicians from around the world. I had to think about making it to a place where collaboration with others was important and emphasized. I also started playing with large Western-style orchestras, ensembles, and other groups of non-Indian musical style. The travel situation was also getting more and more difficult whenever I needed to leave the country to perform with others. All these factors prompted me to think If not now, when? So, I decided to give it a shot and move to the United States.

The second reason is that, having visited this country in 1990, I felt that this was a country in which I wanted my kids to grow up, a country where they could get a true worldly perspective. It would have been my fourth and final year performing with the ensemble as an Indian musician, so I felt that I would rather try moving to the United States. If living there did not work, then I could always move back. I did not want to die lamenting about what I could or should have done. I always try to live my lifelike every freelance musician shouldgoing by my gut feeling. I think it was a gut feeling that moving was something we should try, I shared the idea with my wife and children, and here I am.

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Sandeep working with children as part of the Silk Road Outreach Program.

As for impactful moments, I have been coming here since 1990, and I would actually say the biggest change was for my children and wife rather than for me. I think their experiences were more concerned with leaving India. But for me, it was easy moving to a new home because I already had friends around me from music.

In regard to this issues theme, Conflict, were there any social conflicts that you had between Indian and American cultures since you moved here?

I would say that the United States is an amazing society, but one of the funnier experiences I had about social conflicts was actually about getting health insurance and a cell phone when we first moved here. It was inexplicably difficult compared to what I had imagined because for everything I needed to get, I needed a Social Security number. However, the Social Security Department very clearly says not to even inquire about it, and that it will be effective once you have lived here for 12 days. The dilemma we faced was that I could not have my family and children here without health insurance. So there I was: wanting to move to this country but not ready to have my family enter without health insurance. That was a unique situation in which the right hand did not know what the left hand was doing. The other conflict I still remember was buying a cell phone. When I went to buy a cell phone for my wife and me, they asked for a $2,000 deposit because we did not have

a credit history. I really had to fight that, and I said, Your damn phones dont cost $2,000 so its not worth it. I remember these situa-tions where I really had to fight to get health insurance and a cell phone for us, which were some of our most challenging experiences. Other than that, I think this country and society is very open compared to trying to do something similar in India. For one, the school system was completely different. When my kids went to school, they had never studied in the United States, so there was no concept of Advanced Placement or Honors classes at their schools in India. In India, the only choice was to do well and study all the same subjects at any given time. The way teachers in the United States responded to that and helped them understand the new system was unique, and we all appreciated that.

My wife also had an especially unique moment. Living in India, she had never seen snow. She never thought that trees would shed all their leaves just before it started snowing. So, the first time I was driving her from the airport to home, she was very sad to see that the entire city did not have any trees with leaves. That really affected her and she only told that to me a year later. I felt sorry for what she must have gone through psychologi-cally at that time. That just goes to show how different cultures and geography can really affect someone.

Your organization, Harmony and Universality through Music (HUM), works to promote global understand-

ing through musical performance and education: Could you explain the work you do with HUM and what you intend to accomplish with it? For what purpose did you develop this organiza-tion? What stage is the program in now and how have people reacted to it?

I primarily started HUM because, musically, I felt that it was limiting to be a traveling, professional musician but not be acquainted with knowledge and understanding of global music and global musicians. What was being promoted to India in the name of world music was not world music at all. It was supported by big companies, but was basically really bad music. I was with Yo-Yo in Chicago playing at the Millennium Park once, and I came to the realization that Yo-Yo had given us this beautiful experience of the Silk Road Ensemble that brings different cultures and peoples together through music. I asked myself, What am I doing to bring this experi-ence forward?

At the time, my answer to myself was dissat-isfactory. I felt that I was not doing anything to bring this idea forward, and I was just trying to have great time and learn lots of new things but in the end, I was just going to go back to India and not do anything about it. So that was one thought, and coupled with what was going on according to me musically and especially with exposure to music from outside of India, I felt that I had a huge source of amazing musicians and friends that I should bring to India to give Indian people an idea

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Sandeep in concert.

of what good world music is. In the process, I could also expose the younger musicians to this experiencewhen I was 15, 16, and 20, I never had the opportunity to even hear musicians of this caliber. I asked myself how it would feel if I were able to do something that would allow youth to hear and work with these fabulous musicians and learn from them. If I were do something like this in India and if other musicians could do this in China or Iran, maybe 10 or 15 years from now millions of people can get together and do something to carry forward the amazing idea that Yo-Yo gave us. So these ideas coupled together were some of the biggest driving forces.

Then, I suddenly felt that just playing music and bringing in musicians was not good enough. So, I started to look for underprivileged but musically talented children, and I found three visually impaired children who were super talented. I brought them in and they performed with us in the first concert. I promised myself and the crowd that this event would not be a one-time affair, that I would make sure to help the kids continue playing music. I am very proud to say that last year, we partnered with a German firm that is helping us to run the first Indian national scholarship for specially disabled children to help them learn Indian classical music. The three visually impaired children are learning Indian classical music, two girls are currently learning folk music, and one boy is learning the tabla. I recently was able to introduce them at a Delhi concert, which was a very successful performance.

Based on your experiences as a musician, what do you believe the meaning of success is in life and society?

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

In respect to what the New York Times may write about me or what people may say about me, I think that every human knows right away whether the work they have done was great, good, or average on any given day. I think a measure of success is what you feel inside you, which is very important. And, groups of supportive people can helpas long as Indian classical musicians and music lovers feel that I am a decent tabla player, I am pretty happy. As long as I feel that I am trying to give the best to my children, and that they are happy, I am success-ful. The same goes for my wife and friendsif a majority of my friends think that I am a decent guy, I will be happy.

In the end, something like HUM or what Yo-Yo is doing with Silk Road becomes top priority as we grow old. It is not just about playing concerts or making money, it has to be about something more than one person. I think that I am fulfilling that part of my life with HUM. If I am able to change the life of even one child for the better, like a student with Parkinsons that plays the tabla, I would call that a success. I am not worried whether my neighbor knows me or not, or how famous I am. I will be the happiest man on the planet if I am able to positively change the lives of others and to bring happiness to myself and others around me.

A Grammy-nominated Indian tabla player, Sandeep Das has composed and played for Yo-Yo Mas Silk Road En-semble. Inspired by the Silk Road, Sandeep founded an organization, Harmony and Universality through Music, in 2009, which is comprised of world-class artists whose goal is to promote global understanding through musical perfor-mance and education.

Solicited by Pacific Ridge School editors

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Strength of a WomanBY CYNTHIA AMONDI

In the great walls of Nairobi is a city called Kibera where women livestrong women who go through a lot of hardship but still stand up to fight. They are women who strive to exist even though the world pushed them around. We have extraordinary women in Kibera but one woman stood out for me: Sarah. Sarah is a great example of the women fighting hard to make Kibera and the people living there happy.

Sarah has faced a lot of disheartening problems in her life. She was married and blessed with three children, and all of them go to school. She is a single mum to say the least; even though she lives with a husband, she is the bread-winner of the family. She wakes up every day to look for work and hustlethat has been her life. She is my neighbor and she has inspired me to keep working hard in school because she wishes she had been in a school and become educated. She dreams the same for her children and is hoping to one day be able to send her kinds to university. She does not depend on her husband to provide for her. She would rather sit in the sun and work than subject her kids to torture. She has taught me to not let the world define you.

She may not be rich, educated or very influential but her life is what inspires me. She is a fighter and a brave person who the world brought to teach me. Women learn from each other but I am learning from the best. The strength of Sarah has saved me and I will become an exceptionally strong woman if I work hard and try not to repeat the mistakes that Sarah made when she was young.

The GirlBY GLORIA MWANIGA

Some of the communities in Kenya discriminate against kids. Girls have been denied the right to an education. In many societies girls are forced to get married because very few see the need to educate a girl.The society engages girls in some illegal activities which are very hurtful, making some of them lament that they think that the world has left them alone. They ask, Why have we been left alone?

Girls are mostly known to face many more challenges compared to boys. During their menstrual cycle they lack sanitary towels to use. Some communities send girls away during their menstrual cycles and come back after they finish the cycle. Some societies also force girls to stop school once they hit their adolescent stage because they feel you are already a woman and should get married.

We need to protect and help those young girls because women are powerful and they can bring more to the society and help people. We women are made in such a way that we see the world differently. There is a lot we can do and there is a lot we can offer.

Women are the mirrors of their communities and they can offer help to the people. I am grateful for institutions like KGSA that help girls in areas where women are less appreciated. There are several organizations that help girls and help them see their worth. We hope one day that societies will appreciate girls.

Women have and will have the potential to change communities. We have the power and the strength to bring change and it will only come if we are given the opportunity to be educated. Kibera Girls Soccer is an example of the things that make me see women will one day see their worth. Women will one day all be educated and become leaders. We believe anything is possible. Let us stand for women and girls.

KSGA students and graduates at KGSAs ninth anniversary event.

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I Am ImmaculateBY IMMACULATE WANDERA

Just as one of the heroes I feel more than happy to call myself one of them. I will call myself an iron. An iron because I have accomplished one of the many things I never dream I would achieve. My name is Immaculate and this is my story. After completing my primary education my parents did not have money to send me to high school so I remained home while the rest of the team that I completed primary school with went on with their education.

We had a neighbor who to take girls to Nairobi for workit was mainly house work, and I would got to Nairobi to be a house help. I had to choose between going to Nairobi and keeping the hopethe hope of one day being in schoolalive. I traveled to Nairobi, to a place that I later knew as Kibera, one of the biggest slums in the world. The family that I was acquainted with was a happy and a very loving and caring familythey gave me hope and strength. Unfortunately they had expected to meet a mature girl, someone who was not as little as I was at that time. I worked for the whole year as their house help and I saved some money while working, knowing that it would be my school fees. I never knew a school called Kibera Girls Soccer Academy that helped girls who could not afford to pay school fees.

Fortunately, one day, the man that I was working for as a house help saw the potential in