Voices of the Voiceless - NOHA Alumni Community

Sexual Violence
Against Men
Voices Of The
Voiceless
Europe’s Silence
Over Roma Women’s
RIGHTS
Violence Changes Our Lives,
Not Our Spirit
Contemporary Forms Of
SLAVERY
The Humanitarian
Congress in Berlin
Recommandations
Comics and documentaries
...
C’ nect
OnNecting humanitarian ideas and experiences
16 th edition
July 2013

2 ...C’neCt - 16 th Edition / July 2013
Monrovia, Liberia
01 December 2008
The United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) launches the
"16 days of Activism" campaign with messages on thousands
of wooden stars to strengthen the rights of women and to
stop gender based violence.
Credits: UN Photo
Letter from the editors Contents
When the 2012/13 editorial team met to
decide the topic of this year’s issue, the
ideas flowed freely – climate change, refugees,
children, civil-military relationships,
international humanitarian law and
corruption were discussed. Finally, a
questionnaire was sent to all the NOHAs
asking them what they found most interesting.
Gender received the majority of
votes. We were very happy to receive a
diversity of articles that reflect part of
the complexity of the concept of gender.
In this issue, you can read about the violations
of Roma women’s rights in Europe,
sexual violence against men, the
special needs of girl soldiers, and about
the role played by women in building
peace in the DRC. You will also find a
feedback on the participation of the Bochum
students in the Humanitarian Congress
in Berlin, as well as an article on
contemporary forms of slavery. A few
suggestions of interesting comics and
documentaries are also included for you
to enjoy in your free time.
Your editors
The Humanitarian Congress in
Berlin
Contemporary Forms of Slavery
Europe’s Silence Over Roma
Women’s Rights
Sexual Violence Against Men
Voices of the Voiceless
Violence Changes Our Lives,
Not Our Spirits
Comics and Documentaries
NOHA 2013 Fall School
Thanks and acknowledgements
p.4
p.5
p.7
p.8
p.10
p.12
p.14
p.15
p.16

...C’neCt - 16 th Edition / July 2013 3
Gender
Gender is defined as “the relations between men and
women, both perceptual and material. Gender is not
determined biologically, as a result of sexual characteristics
of either women or men, but is constructed
socially. It is a central organizing principle of societies,
and often governs the processes of production
and reproduction, consumption and distribution”
(FAO, 1997).
A gender analysis is the study of men and women’s
relationships and respective control and access to
resources. Its integration in humanitarian needs assessments
brings an understanding of how men,
women, boys and girls are respectively affected by
conflicts and natural disasters and of the potential
contributions they may make to interventions.
As mentioned above, gender roles are socially constructed,
which means that they are sustained by institutions
and social interactions. Conflicts and disaster
greatly affect these roles and may either result in
greater inequalities between men and women or be
potential starting points for positive change. Indeed,
gender equality is one of the Millennium Development
Goals and is considered a key to developing
the seven other goals. It plays an essential role in
the reduction of poverty and promotion of sustainable
development.
Conscious of the importance that gender mainstreaming
and the promotion of gender equality
have in interventions, the Inter Agency Standing
Committee (IASC) sub-working group on gender in
humanitarian action produced its Gender Handbook
in Humanitarian Action. This handbook is
directed at humanitarian actors and aims at facilitating
more systematic and consistent practices in addressing
the different needs and capacities of men,
women, boy and girls in crises.
Considering gender as a “lesser priority” in emergencies
inevitably results in improper planning and
an exacerbation of already existing inequalities between
men and women. It is therefore incompatible
with both needs-based and rights-based approaches
to humanitarian action.
Louise Guevara
NOHA 20 Global Event - Celebrating 20 years of NOHA
- Brussels, 15 October 2013
2013 marks 20 years of NOHA. More than 3000 NOHA graduates are now working in a wide and diverse
range of countries, contexts and organisations. What started as a project with five European universities
collaborating to provide competent managers for humanitarian aid programmes has evolved to become a
humanitarian educational platform providing an increasing range of educational and research projects
through a range of European and global partnerships.
The NOHA 20 Global Event aims to celebrate 20 years of NOHA. The event will take place in Brussels
on the 15 October 2013 and will gather eminent humanitarian leaders and NOHA graduates and provide
them with an opportunity to learn the lessons from the past and reflect on current and future issues affecting
humanitarian action.
For further details on the event and registration to participate, please visit the NOHA website: nohanet.org.

4 ...C’neCt - 16 th Edition / July 2013
The Humanitarian Congress in Berlin:
“Tough Choices - Ethical Challenges in Humanitarian Action”
Charlotte Sielicki
T
he Congress was not only
an interesting platform to
discuss current problems
in the humanitarian field, but also
a great opportunity to meet people
and organizations. During
both days one could collect many
fliers, booklets and information
packets from various stands.
They presented their organizations
very well. Detailed questions,
about salaries for instance,
could unfortunately not be answered
to our group of students
who are very new to this field.
We saw it as just another experience
in how to act and communicate
with NGOs.
One of the highlights
was the keynote
speech of
Hugo Slim on Saturday.
A
part
from the keynote
speeches it was always
possible to choose one
out of three different speeches.
As MSF and Médecins du Monde
organized the Congress the main
focus was on medical issues. I
really liked that and thought that
would be especially relevant for
me with my background in health
economics. In the end I was almost
the only one in the room
without a PhD in medicine. That
meant that discussions were
more about very specific
and technical questions. Still, the
speakers had important field experience
and spoke about high tech
surgery in low tech countries,
Chagas and non-communicable
chronic diseases and the resulting
questions thereafter was worth
the effort in attending these talks.
O
ne of the highlights was
the keynote speech of
Hugo Slim on Saturday.
In accordance with the theme of
the Congress of 2012 he talked
about “Humanitarian Ethics: Doing
the Right Thing in War and
Disaster”. After the Intensive
Progam in Warsaw, we were already
familiar with many things
like the humanitarian principles,
but as Slim is a very passionate
speaker it was easy to listen to
him. Unsurprisingly there is no
solution to what the right thing to
do is, but at least Slim asked many
critical questions for us to think
about. The best was of course the
participation of two of our fellow
students, who engaged very professionally
in a discussion with
Slim after the speech. A bit disappointing
were the so called
workshops. I went to the one
about water and sanitation, but
until the end I did not understand
the difference with the
other speeches. This is not to say
that it was not interesting, but I
had expected something different.
T
his is actually a good
point to sum up the
Congress. It was different
in many ways. Some speeches
were not about what the title
indicated, and others were much
more interesting than expected.
All in all, we had a great weekend
in Berlin with many new
insights into the humanitarian
world, hot debates, nice talks
and drinks. Definitely a valuable
experience.
The Humanitarian Congress in Berlin
Last year’s Congress took place on October 12 th -
13 th , 2012. This year, it will take place from 25 th —
27 th October 2013. The theme will be » No access!
Who cares? How to reach people in need? «
For more information, please visit: http://
humanitarian-congress-berlin.org
"When a person is down in the world, an ounce of help is better than a pound of preaching." E.G. Bulwer-Lytton

Igor / Stocckvault
...C’neCt - 16 th Edition / July 2013 5
Contemporary forms of slavery:
A reality that cannot easily be gotten rid of
Olga Dalbinoë
T
he notion "contemporary
forms of slavery" covers
a variety of human rights
violations, such as slave trade,
child abuses, sexual mutilation,
human trafficking, exploitation
and prostitution.
P
rohibited and criminalized
under the 1956 Supplementary
Convention on the Abolition
of Slavery, there is no consensual
form of slavery, regardless of
if it is by "inducing the person to
give himself", or if the person
receives remuneration. The modern
term "human trafficking" is
controversially comprehended as
one of the most deplorable contemporary
forms of slavery, even
if it is less permanent, if racial
differences are not a key justification
and if there is no compulsory
legal ownership of people.
T
oday, in South Africa, for
instance, human rights
are highly protected under
the Constitution. According
to the 2009 Human Rights Report by
the United States Department of State,
even though the government generally
respects the rights of its
citizens, concerns over the use of
force by law enforcement, legal
proceedings and discrimination,
persist.
S
outh Africa, being a transit
and destination country
for trafficked men, wom
en and children, consequently
commits violations in terms of international
human rights law.
I
ndeed, based on the 2012 Human
Rights Report by the United
States Department of State, subjected
to forced labor and sex trafficking,
people are trafficked
"mainly within the country, from
poor rural areas to urban centers".
There are thus likely, among other
things, to be compelled to domestic
servitude, sex trafficking and
tourism through an organized
commercial sex trade, working in
street, deportation, forced marriage
in the tradition Ukuthwala and the
forced labor and prostitution following
suit.
S
outh African's children suffer
a wide range of severe
abuses. Being deprived of
their basic human rights, such as
the right to life, to dignity, to be
protected from any kind of exploitation
and the right to education,
has led these children to face a
critical situation.
T
he South African government,
in spite of having
ratified the United Nations
Convention on the Rights
of the Child, does not fully comply
with the minimum standards
for the elimination of those contemporary
forms of slavery
through trafficking.
The modern
term "human
trafficking" is
controversially
comprehended
as one of the
most deplorable
contemporary
forms of slavery.
A
s
such, although increased
efforts have
been demonstrated in
terms of repression and rehabilitation
for victims, the low awareness,
inadequate resources being
dedicated to this issue and the
absence of formal procedures for
identifying victims amongst vulnerable
groups, including illegal
migrants, are core concerns.
C
ontemporary forms of
slavery in this country,
which is far from being
an isolated case, show the reluctance
of addressing this issue in
society, as a positive conclusion
has not yet been reached.
"Help a man against his will and you do the same as murder him." Horace

Peter Alexander Robb / Stockvault
6 ...C’neCt - 16 th Edition / July 2013
The
Gender
Issue
“Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity.” ― George Carlin

...C’neCt - 16 th Edition / July 2013 7
Europe’s Silence
Over Roma Women’s Rights
In
recent years much attention
has been paid to the
violation of the fundamental rights
of Roma women by some European
governments, international
organisations and activists. But
despite all the research, reports
and special programmes, the plight
of many Roma women has hardly
changed, if at all. Many women
continue to face degrading treatment
within their traditional customs
and practices and endure
widespread discrimination in terms
of their fundamental human rights.
In some cases being subjected to
practices as extreme as coercive
sterilisation. In light of these
harmful attitudes and practices,
Europe appears to be mute.
In
some European countries,
Roma women have
been subjected to coercive sterilisation.
In Central and Eastern European
countries these practices
are still ongoing, although it is
hard to pinpoint. Some Western
European governments, for example
Sweden, have approved compensation
mechanisms for the victims
but have yet to recognise the
racial-targeting of these harmful
systemic practices. The governents
of Europe have been weak to
give a proper remedy to victims,
or more pressingly, to stop the
practice once and for all.
Many women continue
to face degrading
treatment within their
traditional customs
and practices and endure
widespread discrimination
in terms of
their fundamental human
rights.
On
the other hand, domestic
violence is another
reality faced by Roma women
in a variety of European countries.
In a survey conducted
among 237 Roma women in Macedonia,
over 70% of the women
interviewed stated that they had
been victims of violence at the
hands of their partners, their inlaws
and other members of their
families. Most of the cases remain
unreported due to several factors
such as, violence against women
being culturally accepted in Roma
families, a fear of being excluded
and shamed by their relatives,
further victimisation on the
hands of civil society or the lack
“A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic.” ― Joseph Stalin
of trust in seeking legal help. A
number of practical issues including
the lack of alternative
housing, employment opportunities
and a lack of economic means
to survive on their own,
make it practically impossible for
Roma women to escape from this
sitution of domestic violence.
Ch
ild marriage and the human
rights abuses correlated
with it are problems present
today in a variety of Roma communities
throughout the old continent.
Child marriage impedes girls
from attending school and thereby,
diminishes employment opportunities.
In a survey conducted
among 237 Roma women
in Macedonia, over
70% of the women interviewed
stated that
they had been victims
of violence at the hand
of their family members.
Moreover, it also has a significant
impact on the health situation of
Roma girls and their infants as

Nick van Praag © The World Bank
8 ...C’neCt - 16 th Edition / July 2013
demonstrated by the increase in
infant mortality among this ethnic
group. Victims of child marriage
also face heightened vulnerability
to poverty, severe forms of exploitation
and domestic violence. There
has not yet been any real effort
of any international or national
authority to address the problem
of child marriage among the Roma
community, and to a certain extent
this silence also rules in civil society
groups.
At
the same time, discrimination
against the Roma on
the basis of race and sex is common
in several social services.
School segregation, employment
discrimination and limited access
to health care are reported in many
European countries. They remain
far behind others in terms of educational
attainment, employment
levels, housing and health standards
and they have almost no political
representation. Their exclusion
from society encourages prejudices
and makes them victims of
flagrant racism. As concluded by
the EU agency for human rights
(FRA) “Roma are Europe's most
discriminated minority”.
St
ates have the responsibility
to protect, preserve
and develop minority cultures as
part of the European Heritage,
but this work must go hand in
hand with specific efforts to prevent
practices that harm individuals
and restrain their fundamental
human rights. It is time to
implement concrete actions, from
the policy level to on-the-ground
education that guarantees all women
and girls their fundamental
freedoms and rights even if this
means going against traditional
customs and practices. As mere
individuals, we all know that negative
attitudes towards Roma are
not just a concern for national
authorities and international organisations,
but also for us all.
Paula Fernández Seijo
Sexual
Violence
Against
Men
On
a cold October day in
Berlin, Salome Atim
addressed a full room of humanitarian
workers, doctors, and students
(including some Bochum
NOHAs) and said in a matter-offact
tone: ‘The police attitude is
that men cannot be raped.’
At
im, a counseling psychologist,
spoke alongside
Wynne Russell, an Australian
researcher, about the challenges
and realities facing male survivors
of sexual violence in her
home country of Uganda. She
talked about the difficulties these
men face when they seek help in
their homophobic country, citing
examples of counseling staff reacting
with ‘Are you homosexual?’
when a client reports that he
has been raped.
‘The police attitude is
that men cannot be
raped.’
“In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.” ― Anne Frank

AD / Stockvault
...C’neCt - 16 th Edition / July 2013 9
She explained that she counsels
married couples separately, and
sometimes finds both partners
have been raped but are too
ashamed to tell the other. She
spoke of wives divorcing their
husbands after learning that they
had been raped, because they did
not believe them to be the masculine
figures they once were.
Perhaps most important was
simply that she spoke about an
issue that is rarely reported, discussed,
and addressed.
‘Are you homosexual?’
Ru
ssell and Atim emphasized
how the expectations
for men in Uganda to be
strong and powerful often made
them silent about the abuse they
experienced. Seeking help and
counseling was risky, and confidentiality
was a top priority for
Atim. There was a wide range in
the type of sexual abuse men
were subject to, and some of the
situations had no clear resolutions.
Russell presented the scenario
of men who have both
raped and been raped, and of
men (and women) forced to sexually
abuse men or face violent
consequences.
Th
ere are several important
lessons for humanitarians
to take away from
Atim and Russell. The first is language
based. Russell reminded
the group that ‘gender-based violence’
and ‘violence against women’
are not synonyms - ‘genderbased
violence’ is inclusive of
both men and women and should
be used in circumstances where
services and
In a study conducted
in Liberia in 2008, 120
of 367 male former
combattants reported
that they had been sexually
abused.
counseling would also be available
to all genders.
Th
e next lesson is not to
underestimate the prevalence
of sexual violence against
men, especially during times of
conflict. While statistical
“There is nothing that war has ever achieved that we could not better achieve without it.” ― Havelock Ellis

10 ...C’neCt - 16 th Edition / July 2013
data is hard to come by, the Sexual
Violence Research Initiative
paper ‘Care and Support of Male
Survivors of Conflict-Related
Sexual Violence’ cites one study
conducted in 2008 in Liberia.
120 of 367 male former combatants
reported that they had been
sexually abused – usually by rebels
or soldiers. Sexual violence
against men is also not limited to
any geographic area - the same
paper cites widespread rape of
males in detention in Bosnia.
Learn more about sexual violence against men:
The Sexual Violence Research Initiative paper is a great
starting point and can be accessed at: http://www.svri.org/
CareSupportofMaleSurviv.pdf.
Salome Atim’s biography on the Humanitarian Congress page
(http://humanitarian-congress-berlin.org/speakers/salomeatim)
lists some of the articles about sexual violence against
men she has been involved in.
Naz Bagherzadeh
Voices of the Voiceless
Wh
en people talk about
child soldiers, girls
are usually not included. This
article takes them into account by
highlighting the importance of
considering gender inequalities in
peace building assistance. Girl
soldiers are not only vulnerable to
being recruited into armed forces,
but are also prone to becoming
the victims of sexual violence;
they become a target not only due
to their condition as a child but
also because they are females,
meaning they can become sexual
objects and are easily managed.
Th
eir special conditions
are fundamental to take
into account when designing Dis
armament, Demobilization and
Reintegration programs.
Th
is article aims to be an
incentive for future research
and action to their benefit,
by considering four key elements.
It is time for them to become a
priority in the search for peace
and reconciliation. It is time for
us to hear their tuned-out voices.
Girl soldiers are not
only vulnerable to being
recruited into
armed forces, but they
are also prone to becoming
the victims of
sexual violence
In
the identification process,
girls are usually invisible
and will be hidden by the
soldiers. It is highly probable that
many of them have been sentimentally
involved with the integrants
of the armed forces, who
may be facing justice in a different
way than children do.
Th
e latter represents a
challenge for the people
working in the identification
process but also for the girls, and
it needs to be taken into account.
They have to find some support
mechanisms not only as former
soldiers, but also as girls that
were forced to become women.
“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” ― Mother Teresa

...C’neCt - 16 th Edition / July 2013 11
Ar
rriving at the military
bases, where they formally
arrange the first stage of
their disarmament, marks the moment
when they will be the most
vulnerable, as the bases are designed
for adults, and mostly
men. Therefore, the time they are
going to spend there should be
kept to a minimum and they have
to be taken to a specialized place
for former women and girl soldiers
after the identification process
where they can be protected
and start their lives again.
At
this specialized place,
where they are going to
start their reintegration process,
they have to be separated from
men (at least at the first stage).
There has to be a specific health
program for them, including
health kits that are adapted to
their needs. Also, there has to be
a special program designed for
unaccompanied children (mostly
under five and babies), assistance
to mothers that do not feel
capable of dealing with their
newborn babies, and also to girls
that have been victims of sexual
violence and/or are HIV positive
(sometimes they will not admit it,
so there has to be professionals
capable of assisting them or realizing
that there could be
something they are refusing to
tell.)
Fi
nally, but equally important,
is the participation
of the host governments.
They have to be committed to
the rights of these girls and promote
a gender sensitive approach
that fulfills their needs,
mostly related to corporal integrity,
education and health, at least
during the first stage of the DDR
process. Governments have to
be fully involved in their progress.
Mariana Santoyo Bahamón
« mankind owes to the child
the best it has to give... »
Prologue, Declaration of the Rights of the Child, 1959
For further research
This article is based on the Integrated Disarmament,
Demobilization and Reintegration Standards
(available here: www.unddr.org). Mariana wrote
her undergraduate thesis about DDR processes for
child soldiers in Colombia. Feel free to contact her
for further information at:
mariana.santoyo.b@gmail.com
Belet Weyne, Somalia. 17 November 2012
A Somali girl crosses a street on her way to school
while soldiers of AMISOM’s Djiboutian contingent
stand guard.
UN Photo / Stuart Price
“Peace is the only battle worth waging.” ― Albert Camus

12 ...C’neCt - 16 th Edition / July 2013
Violence changes
our lives, not our spirit
Th
e Democratic Republic
of Congo is currently
the poster child for the
helpless female victims of war.
One does not have to look far to
learn about the unimaginable
things women, and men, are enduring
on a daily basis in many
areas of the DRC. What we are
not hearing about is how women
have fought to be a part of the
peace talks, to be a part of the
government, and to be a respected
part of society with an
equal voice. As usual, these women
are not doing it by force, by
taking up arms and causing more
grief.
Co
ngolese women have
began to form selfhelp
groups in the early 2000s in
churches to provide support networks
for each other and lay the
foundation of a more cohesive
civil society. Congolese women
went from having zero female
representatives at the 1999 peace
talks to filling 10 percent of the
seats in a 2002 Inter-Congolese
Dialogue aimed at post-war reconciliation
and national, social
and political stability. Later in
2003, Article 51 was added to the
transitional constitution to ensure
women’s participation in the transition.
During a referendum in
2005, 51 percent of the electorate
was female.
Women have fought to
be a part of the peace
talks, to be a part of
the government, and to
be a respected part of
society with an equal
voice.
Al
though war has since
then returned to Eastern
Congo, women continue to do
their part. Different women associations
exist - some have political
or economical motivations,
others support ways for Congolese
women to have meetings
and face their day-to-day challenges.
In the east of DRC there
are several committed groups that
work in the grassroot level.
AF
EM-SK is a non-profit
organization created
under Congolose law in 2003,
whose members are composed of
women active in South Kivu's media
and news organization. AFEM-
SK specializes in the production of
rural and urban radio shows with a
major focus on women, drawing
on radio clubs and local activists as
a base; this organization also produces
news reports from the field
and sends news back to local radio
stations. South Kivu Women's
Media Association's overall objective
is to promote peace through
the media by the following specific
objectives: work for women's and
Congolese women's advancement
through available media outlets;
Congolese women have
began to form self-help
groups in the early
2000s in churches to
provide support networks
for each other
and lay the foundation
of a more cohesive civil
society.
“You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having both at once.” ― Robert A. Heinlein

Eskinder Debebe / UN Photo
...C’neCt - 16 th Edition / July 2013 13
inform women of their rights and
the mechanisms in place to protect
those rights; encourage women's
freedom of expression; fight for
equal rights between men and women;
fight for quantitative and
qualitative gender parity in organizations
and in all areas of public
life; facilitate women's involvement
in good governance
and the brokering of lasting peace;
Violence has changed
and will keep changing
women's lives, but it will
not silence their fight
and spirit for living in
peace and equality.
support activities for women's
development by helping them
with communication and access
to available media outlets; and
fight against all forms of sexual
violence through the media.
Th
is organization is only
an example of many
women organizations that keep
working in the east of DRC in
collaboration with international
and local organizations. Violence
has changed and will keep changing
women's lives, but it will not
silence their fight and spirit for
living in peace and equality.
Iratxe Ciriza
Goma, DRC. 23 May 2013.
Women carry placards with
messages of peace during Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon’s visit
to Heal Africa, an organization
that provides health services
and other support to women
and children affected by the
conflict in the Democratic Republic
of the Congo (DRC).
“Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.” ― A. Einstein

14 ...C’neCt - 16 th Edition / July 2013
Recommandations:
Comics and documentaries
Naz Bagherzadeh
Cris Ntchantchou
Comics
Footnotes in Gaza
by Joe Sacco (2009,
Metropolitan
Books)
Sacco blends comics and
journalism in his telling of
the stories of two Palestinian
towns, Rafah and
Khan Younis. He interviews
local residents and
interweaves their stories
with the history of the
massacres that took place
in the towns in 1956. Sacco
also wrote a series of
comic books about a twomonth
trip to Palestine in
the early 90s, which have
been collected and published
in one volume
(Palestine, 2001).
Safe Area Goražde:
The War in Eastern
Bosnia 1992-95 by
Joe Sacco (2000, Fantagraphics)
One of the reasons Sacco’s
work is so compelling
is that he allows himself to
chronicle his own experiences
as well as those of
the people around him.
Safe Area Goražde translates
the oral history of a
range of citizens in one of
the UN ‘safe areas’ of the
mid 90s and tracks Sacco’s
own worries, too. He also
published The Fixer: A
Story from Sarajevo (2003)
and War’s End: Profiles from
Bosnia 1995-96 (2005).
Burma Chronicles
(2008, Drawn and
Quarterly)/
Chroniques birmanes
(2007, Delcourt) by
Guy Delisle
Delisle is a comic book and
animation artist married to
an MSF staff member.
Through his wife’s job, Deslisle
ends up living in Burma
with their infant son.
His book is not meant to
tell a humanitarian or political
story - instead, Delisle
gives simple but detailed
snips of his life as an expatriate.
He later wrote about
his stay in Jerusalem
through MSF (Jerusalem:
Chronicles from the Holy City,
2012/Chroniques de Jérusalem,
2011), and has also chronicled
the time he spent
working in Pyongyang for a
North Korean animation
studio (Pyongyang,
2003/2005).
Kabul Disco, Volume
1 (2009, HarperCollins)
/ Kaboul Disco
T.1. : Comment je ne
me suis pas fait kidnapper
en Afghanistan
(La boîte à bulle,
2007) by Nicolas Wild
In 2005, the author, a
young French comic book
artist finally finds a job - in
Kabul. His task is to create
a drawn adaptation of the
Afghan constitution and he
later works on the recruitment
campaign of the Afghan
army. It is a very nice
read that tells about his life
among the international
community in Kabul with a
lot of humor and irony. The
book also has a sequel
(Kabul Disco Book2: How I
Did Not Become an Opium
Addict in Afghanistan/ Kaboul
Disco T.2: Comment je ne suis
pas devenu opiomane en Afghanistan)
in which the author
recalls his work on an
awareness campaign against
opium.
Documentaries
The Fahamu Refugee
Programme (FRP) aims at
centralizing and promoting
information sharing, related
to refugee legal aid. Their
websites includes an “other
resources” page where you
can find, amongst other
things, a list of documentaries
about refugee issues
as well as links to the pages
where you can stream them
f o r f r e e . h t t p : / /
www.refugeelegalaidinform
ation.org/other-resources
Among all the films, the
following two are particularly
relevant to the topic of
this issue of C'nect.
Getting Out (Refugee
Law Project, 2011)
Getting Out is a 60 minutes
documentary produced by
the Refugee Law Project, in
collaboration with the
Ugandan Civil Society Coalition
on Human Rights &
Constitutional Law. The
film, shot in Uganda, South
Africa, Switzerland and the
UK, follows the life of 5
LGBTI individuals who
have to get out of their
countries before they can
come out safely. As they
tell their story and what
they went through before
and while trying to obtain
a refugee status, we discover
the flaws, failures
and hypocrisy of the asylum
system.
Gender Against Men
(The Refugee Law
Project, 2009)
This documentary deals
with the hidden issue of
sexual and gender based
violence against men in
the conflicts of the Great
Lakes region. It raises
many questions and asks,
among other things, why,
in the eyes of the international
community, gender
based violence remains a
women’s issue and which
could be the consequences
and whether unaddressed
legacies of sexual and gender
based violence against
men could potentially fuel
future conflicts. It also
shows how an approach of
dealing with rape that is
targeted at women only
works to the detriment of
all..
Another link to this movie
as well as to 15 other documentaries
relating to refugee
issues can be found
on the website of Forced
Migration O n l i n e
(FMO) at http://
www.forcedmigration.org/
podcasts-videos-photos/
video.
"Peacekeeping is not a job for soldiers, but only soldiers can do it." Dag Hammarskjöld, Former UN SG

...C’neCt - 16 th Edition / July 2013 15
NOHA 2013 Fall School in Humanitarian Action (HA)
25-29 November 2013
Humanitarian Action today has to take into account political, cultural, legal and
health dimensions. For the fifth time, the NOHA Fall School will be conducted by
university staff and field actors in order to provide professionals with a global approach
and specific tools.
Objective
The Fall School aims at training professionals
dealing with projects in HA in order to
give them a critical overview of HA in a
multidisciplinary perspective and the relevant
information for evaluation of projects.
New challenges in HA will also be examined.
Target audience
Civil servants, staff from local, international
and civil society organizations, and more
generally those who are involved in HA and
feel the need to upgrade their basic
knowledge and skills.
Organising Committee -
Catholic University of Louvain
(UCL)
This fifth NOHA Fall School is run by the
European Network on Humanitarian Action
(NOHA) and the day-to-day management
is supervised by Prof. Catherine
Gourbin, national NOHA director,
and Vincent Eiffling, coordinator at
the Catholic University of Louvain (UCL)
in Belgium.
Registration
Admission is granted on the basis of the
past education (Master degree or equivalent)
and/or experience in the field. Candidates
should send back a CV and a letter of motivation
before November 1st, 2013.
For interested candidates, please donwload
the registration form at: http://
www.nohanet.org/images/icagenda_doc/
NOHA-DepA4-FallSchool-13.pdf and send
it to the address specified on the form.
Fees
The participation fees amount to 300 euros/
person. Daily lunch and working material
are included. Free-of-charge positions are
available for ECHO staff members.
"A man cannot be made comfortable without his own approval." Mark Twain

Thanks and
Acknowledgements
Chief Editor
Cristal Ntchantchou (Bochum)
Editorial Team
Iratxe Ciriza (Deusto)
Olga Dalbinoë (Aix)
Marike Keller (Bochum)
Mariana Santoyo Bahamón (Uppsala)
Proofreading
Marike Keller (Bochum)
Layout
Cristal Ntchantchou (Bochum)
Authors
Naz Bagherzadeh (Bochum)
Iratxe Ciriza (Deusto)
Olga Dalbinoë (Aix)
Paula Fernández Seijo (Uppsala)
Louise Guevara (Uppsala)
Cristal Ntchantchou (Bochum)
Mariana Santoyo Bahamón (Uppsala)
Charlotte Sielicki (Bochum)
Photo Credits
Cover page: UN Photo
p. 5: Modern Slavery. Igor / Stockvault
p.6: Myspace Lovers. Peter Alexander Robb/
Stockvault.
p. 8: An elderly Roma woman. Nick van
Praag / The World Bank.
p.9: Human Shadow. AD/ Stockvault.
P.11: Stuart Price / UN Photo
p. 13: Eskinder Debebe / Stockvault
Printing:
Wulff GmbH
Druck & Verlag
Lütgendortmunder Str. 153
44388 Dortmund
We would also like to thank Karolin Etterer
(Bochum), Dominik Dross (Bochum), Annewil
Hooijer (Groningen), Bidzina Karchava
(Louvain) and Nuria Reed (Uppsala) for
their precious help and support.
With the support of:
NOHA Universities: