Decoupling corruption and natural resource protection: Senegal leading the way

The external dimension of the Common Fisheries Policy is one of the issues causing a big clash of opinions in both decision-making bodies, the Council and the Parliament (The raporteur of the external dimension MEP Isabella Lövin has been doing an amazing job putting together her report for the Commission’s reform).  Until now, the fact that the EU paid for fishing rights in the waters of non-EU countries has not  really been an issue for debate. Nor has there been a big debate about the environmental and social consequences of these agreements.  This changed in December 2011 when the Parliament voted against the renewal of a fisheries agreement with Morocco, demanding stronger environmental and especially human rights clauses in these agreements.  Despite this being a very strong message to the Commission and the third country, there were many who argued that this could only lead Morocco to sell those fishing rights to other countries such as China whose priorities in such agreements are far from the inclusion of environmental and human right clauses. Unfortunately, despite the fact that the Ministers and MEPs who used such arguments were usually only caring in supporting the economic interests of their wealthy external fishing fleet, they do have a point.

That is why I was very excited to read this article in the guardian today on the decision of the new Senegalese government to revoke the fishing licences of 29 foreign fishing vessels.  Senegal cancelled its licencing agreements with the EU fleet in 2006 in an attempt to protect its industry from foreign vessels.  However, these vessels found loopholes, obtained flags of convenience from other countries and were able to continue their destructive practises at the expense of the local fishers and economy.

This move from the Senegalese government shows that Europe financially helping developing countries in exchange of their resource rights is not helping their environmental, social and political development. In a corrupt government especially, such financial aid can prove detrimental, not only to the resource itself but also to those local communities that depend on that resource.

Supporting this countries in tackling corruption is vital for their future. This will be the only way to achieve environmental and social justice across the world.  Because important changes can only come from within.

I am hoping that this political change in Senegal is only the start for Africa.

Fisherman in Joal Fadiouth, Senegal. March 2012

Rubina on being vulnerable

Ever since I came across Brené’s Brown TED talk on vulnerability,

I make myself watch it when I feel I am at the point of falling back into ‘my dark zone’. So I made myself watch it today. It did make me smile.  However, I have not yet embraced my vulnerable self enough to feel better.

The first time I watched this talk I decided to be brave, embrace my vulnerability, and share my feelings. I did. It didn’t work. That means the right person for me is yet to come. For the past 2 months I have been trying to be brave. I have been emailing important people telling them how amazing and passionate I am and why they should want to have me in their team.  For one reason or another, I am still unemployed.

And for this I feel shame. Shame that comes from feeling I am not good enough, not qualified enough for my ideal job, not pretty, nor thin enough for that guy. Being part of the vulnerable world we live in requires that I accept that I cannot have the perfect life.  And not be ashamed for my imperfections.  Because perfection only exists in our minds.  Vulnerability on the other hand is real, and only accepting it can lead to happiness.

“Have the courage to be imperfect. Have the compassion to be kind to yourself and to others. Have connection. Let go who you think you should be in order to be who you are. Fully enhance vulnerability. What makes you vulnrable, makes you beautiful”

Note to self: Believe that you are enough – Vulnerability is not weakness, it’s what makes us beautiful – Embrace it

I want no part of a fixed system

This is an article of mine which was published in the Cyprus Mail on the 18th of Janualy 2012 detailing the saga of my experience applying for a civil servant’s post in Cyprus. It is no longer available online and I wanted to have an online copy of it. When it was published it caused quite a stir as this is a hot topic in the Cypriot society. The presidency is now less than two months away and I would have loved to be able to help. I feel I could be a great addition to the fisheries team.

JUST LIKE many Cypriots around my age, last year I applied for one of the temporary officer positions for the six-month Cypriot presidency of the EU which starts this July.  

I was not planning to apply. It’s widely known in Cyprus that those without an insider’s ‘assistance’ are not hired for such positions. But then there were quite a number of temporary position openings in the different governmental departments and ministries to assist during the presidency, so perhaps even contactless me had a chance. And, I thought it would be a shame to ignore the opportunity to assist my country during such an important period.

The position I applied for was that of an officer at the department of fisheries and marine research (DFMR). Last March – after three years of hard work and just before my 27th birthday – I successfully defended my PhD and was awarded my doctorate in European Fisheries Governance from Bangor University in the UK, one of the leading universities in marine sciences. 

During my doctorate research, I was in contact with fishermen and various stakeholders in Cyprus, Spain, Denmark and the United Kingdom. I gained in-depth knowledge of European and the national fisheries policies of the countries mentioned, along with knowledge with regards to the functioning of European institutions and especially the Commission. Such details could not be included in the strictly formatted application form for governmental positions which simply asks for one’s educational history and any relevant work experience you can provide documentation for. Only if you are asked for an interview – the second stage of the application process – do you get the chance to put forward research experience details like mine.

I did not get to the interview stage. When I rang to find out the reasons my name was not even on the list for interviews, I was shocked to hear that the evaluators had rated my seven years of hard work and study which provided me with a first degree, a Masters and a PhD as worthy of only one point out of the five necessary to reach the second stage.

If all my education had been taken into account I would indeed have been awarded the coveted five points, but my first degree in natural environmental sciences was dismissed because the job listing required a degree in biology or oceanography degree, even though mine was a combination of biology, geography and geography. My PhD was also not taken into account as I had not received written confirmation that I had passed by the deadline for the application for the position.  

Here I would like to mention that the procedures for the point system are flexible depending on the strength of one’s ‘insiders help’. For example, there have been times when chosen applicants have been reminded (!) to hand in the certificates that were missing from their application.  

This was the second (and last) time I applied for a governmental position. The first time I applied was in 2007 shortly before I won a scholarship to study for my PhD. Again, I did not make the list, yet with my points I should have done. 

When I rang the DFMR to find out, I could not believe what one of the officers of the fisheries department told me: “But your Masters degree is in marine environmental protection…this is the fisheries department. It‘s not like we have a regulation to save the dolphin and you will come to save the dolphin.” I could not believe what I was hearing. But then I remembered that in Cyprus, those with the power are only interested in ensuring that their people become part of the advantageous civil service. As a result, many young scientists who return to Cyprus aspiring to offer their services and equipped with knowledge and relevant experience come across closed doors, lose patience and hope and decide to stay abroad where they will be appreciated.

I would finally like to add that last June I was approached by one of the leading political parties in Cyprus. During our conversation and after kindly refusing an offer for collaboration in the upcoming local elections, I was asked whether ‘I required any help’ and whether I had applied for any governmental positions. Even though by that time I had applied for the position mentioned above, I chose to lie and I said I had not. When I then refused their help if I ever chose to apply for a potential governmental position, I was told: “but don’t be so snooty, this is how it works in Cyprus.”

I don’t know where I will be during the Cypriot presidency. I am currently in Brussels on a placement with the Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (the selection for such placements take place at a European rather than a national level). What I do know however is that in a place where how one is valued depends on who one knows rather than what one knows, idealists tend to be marginalised, even ousted.

As I told the party, if this is how the system works, then it is a system I want no part of.

Youth In Action? Only if you allow us

It becomes increasingly apparent to me that the generation gap in the peception of different issues is becoming wider and wider.  This is having a great impact in our chances and hence hopes for changing the world to a more environmentally friendly and socially just one.

You know you are a critically thinking adult when you find yourself having major arguments with those who helped form who you are; that be parents, teachers or people who you idolised at some point in your life.  Opinions formed by some of the younger generation on issues like multiculturalism, nationalism and the economy can differ from that of older generations. And unfortunately, what I am realising more and more is that when my opinions are not in accordance with the views of adults with ‘more exprience in life’ than me, I get characterised as merely (!) an idealist or worse, my ideas are sometimes mocked and laughed at.  It’s time that the older generation understood and appreciated that today’s difficult times require radical changes.  And as a first step we need to change the way we understand or think about the different issues, adapting to today’s social and environmental realities. And yes, like it or not such ideas (in most cases) will originate by the ‘younger and more idealistic generation’.

The recent police’s (followed by the media’s) attack on the Occupy Buffer Zone (OBZ) on the 6th of April came as a shock to me (for that I can definetely be called a dreamer).  For me, the OBZ was an inspiration and a great step of some of the youth of Cyprus (and beyond) in making our fellow Cypriots to try and think outside the box we are educated in.  Unfortunately, the police’s violent attack was not condemned by the majority of the media and public, but was in a way supported. The media chose to focus on the 0.5 gram of cannabis found in the building and on the fact that 16 year old girls were living in the occupied building with men of all ages. * How shocking. Such a living arrangement is bound to mean that all kind of orgies were taking place in the Buffer Zone *

It was in my disappointment that most media and public ignored the fact that these guys have spent the cold winter living in tents and organising events in an attempt ‘to open one’s eyes to the structures that have perpetuated conflict in Cyprus for decades’.  It was a lot easier for them to focus on assumptions regarding what could have been happening in the OBZ, and avoid thinking beyond their comfort zone, beyond the history we are taught. Beyond the fact that the only way to re-unify our island is understand and accept what happened in the past, forgive each other and move forward.  Maybe you should allow our generation to be the one who learns the unbiased modern history of Cyprus.  Then we could potntially live with each other.

You say too I am being too idealistic? I say this could be a probability if you give us a chance to form our future.

There is a similar argument to be made on multiculturalism.  The typical arguments that ‘the current wave of migration is leading to an increase in crime’ and ‘these migrants are stealing our jobs’ is actually tiring me out and makes me very sad. As a migrant living in Brussels I have not commited any crimes (unless you include that time in the UK that in my tipsiness I attempted to ‘steal’ a traffic cone) nor I am planning on stealing someone’s job – I am merely here to potentially fill a position someone already here does not want or has not got the qualifications for.  Some of you are thinking that my case is different than the case of the Asian or Arab person coming to your country stealing your jobs. Maybe you are right, their case is different. The difference is that if I decide to move back to Cyprus without a job, my family or surrounding society will be able or willing to help me survive until I find a job.

As a young person who lives abroad, I see multiculturalism as something that will strenthen society and make it more resilient rather than as a threat.  I see this wave of migration as an opportunity to learn from each other and learn how to live in peace with each other.

Multiculturalism is not the threat to anyone’s identity, culture, language or religion.

Nevertheless, one can argue that capitalism is the threat to all the above. This obsession with money, is replacing the things that form our identity. I am not an economist, but I feel that we have created an unescesarilly complicated economic system. I will not go as far as saying that we do not need money (even though I found Daniel Suelo’s attempt to prove / show that money is an illusion inspiring). But, if 1 euro today is not the same in value as 1 euro a year ago, doesn’t that mean that something in this system is faulty? All we hear about is austerity measures, and funds needed to bail out whole countries. Wouldn’t it best if we radically transformed the system that created this mess?

Even though it’s not easy, I try to remind myself that I can help play my part in shaping the future.  My generation (the lost generation as many of you call us) has ideas as to how this future can become better.  But you have to first listen to us, try and understand us and maybe even allow our ideas to become something more than that.  For some of you, we are too young to understand life. But what you don’t understand, what you keep fail to appreciate is that we do!! Of course our understanding of life is different. Nevertheless, our understanding of life is more relevant to the current multicultural norms, the social and environmental circumstances.  And this understanding sometimes mean that if you let us we might just be able to make this world a better place.

We might be young, but our Ideas Matter!

In February, me and some of my fellow Stagiares (Blue book Stagiares of the European Commission Winter Stage 2011-12) organised our own TED inspired conference. Our aim was to give a platform to our fellow Stagiares to express and attempt to inspir with their Ideas, hence the name of the Conference:

Stagiares’ Ideas That Matter 

I attempted to inspire too with a topic that has been bugging me for a while… What is the best way for me to go about helping to Change the World? You can watch me here:

Rubina on being a Woman

I like to think myself as a feminist. I always tried to do things by myself, from the simplest things like carrying my shopping from the supermarket and walking to the recycling bank with a wheely bag full of glass bottles; to promoting myself and my qualifications in my (until know) unsusccesfull efforts of being offered my dream job.  I have refused to grab onto helping hands but at the same time I put myself ‘out there’, hoping that my qualifications and persistence for justice and self-respect will shine through.

As women, we should feel proud for what we have achieved and we should never forget that we only have the choices we do because other women left this for us as their heritage. Even though it might feel as a heavy heritage to carry, we owe it to these women and we need to at least try and make them proud.  Not that many decades ago, we did not even have the right to vote. Now we do get to vote and we are (usually) able to go after and fight for our dreams. We have the choice to make decisions.  These decisions however can often disappoint people.  Being a woman today, or maybe I should say, being a woman lucky enough to have had a childhood, family and friends like mine, comes with a ‘burden’ of making choices that could disappoint people.

I remember the first time I felt I really let my parents down.  It was the day I pierced my nose without telling them. So, when they saw my for them beautiful face with a silver ring hanging from it they were shocked and disappointed.  I felt awfull. So from then on, even though I did not stop from doing what I wanted to do, I made sure that I would discuss it with them first.  So, when I decided to have my first (and second) tattoo, I made sure that I discussed it with my parents first.  I have now made a choice to stay abroad for a little bit longer.  This is so I can pursue gaining experience that will help my career so I can be happy when I actually move back to Cyprus. I am also discussing this with them.

But my pursue for a help-change-the-world-career is not the only dream I have.  Despite people seeing me as this career oriented girl, suprise, suprise, there’s more to me! Just like most girls who were read fairytales, I also want to find my prince one day. I also want to have a house not far from the beach, with a vegetable patch, fig and citrus trees, olive trees, dogs and cats and maybe goats (for the halloumi of course).  I want a traditional clay oven to bake my bread. And I want children (I know that the overconsumptive West is overpopulated so I might adopt).

However, there are things you can actively pursue and things that you just have to wait till they find you (and just hope that they do before you reach retirement!).  So for now, I am being a career-girl because I have the power to do this.  I might have lost a prince or two in the process.  I might have also been disappointing family and friends who are so eager to have me back to the motherland.

My grandmother rang me the other day and in her failed attempts to convince me to ‘just’ move back to Cyprus and find a job she said  ’Just come and we will find you (then swiflty changed it to YOU will) find a young man. He doesn’t have to have a PhD you know’!

I know there is a very funny side to this comment but it did make me very upset.  I know that for grandma Maria, who is about 70 years old and never really had the choices that I have, being a single woman working abroad is some sort of a curse, and not something that a woman would do to herself.  I can’t seem to be able to explain that I am happy being absorbed in my research and my career. And that’s fine.  She did grow up in a very different world.  And even though I am so grateful of the choices I have today, when things get tough I am very jealous of that world with not that much choice!

Being a woman today gives me the choice and allowance to choose who I am and be proud of it.  I am proud of making it where I am without the ‘Cypriot-type-networking’ helping hand.  I am proud of my skills even though I am still unemployed. I am proud that despite the loneliness I often feel, I chose not to settle for someone who cannot intellectually challenge me, or for someone who is just a pretty picture without the 3D filling that match my personal 3D glasses. I am proud that I still manage to get up when my 3D filling does not match the 3D glasses of a guy I like.  I am proud to be a super-girl but I am also proud to sometimes allow people to see that I am also just a girl.

And you should be too.  You are never just a mother, or just a wife, or just an employee. We make our choices to be a wife, a mother, a career woman.  Some of us are happy being one or some of these. Some of us aspire to be all of these.  But we are never JUST that. We are women and we should be proud of that.

My (small) contribution: An ode to OBZ, the movement which made me feel a proud Cypriot

I still remember the excitement and hope I felt once I heard about the OBZ.

It was after receiving an event invitation via facebook about the first get together on the 15th of October.  I watched carefully and with great anticipation for what this would bring! And when the movement decided to camp and occupy the dead zone i felt proud.

Proud of my fellow Cypriot youngsters for taking this issue into their own hands.  Proud of this initiative that reminded me that Cypriot youth is not just those simply sitting in cafes chatting about their new designer handbags or enganging in a debate about the Cypriot left and right politics.

These guys made me feel proud to be a Cypriot youngster. And that came at a time where I was finding it hard to feel there was much to be proud of in terms of being a Cypriot (no matter how dramatic this sounds!)

Of course like most movements / families / groups, OBZ had its ups and downs.  Me, being abroad, I managed to keep myself updated about the ongoings of the movement mainly via facebook, where I also read Michalis’ note about the recent sad and disappointing occurence within the deadzone:  http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150573133876875

I was shocked it came to this. Not with Michalis leaving the movement he invested so much into, but to the fact that the older generation is once again, one way or another, obstructing the path we are trying to create towards a unified and better Cyprus.

I don’t think I have the right to comment on the issues that led to this as I have been absent.  Yes, I have been abroad but maybe I could have done more from Brussels. Again maybe not.  Michalis stated it very well:

OBZ was a beautiful idea that managed, for a time, to reignite the hopes and dreams of all of us that had been hoping to orchestrate a grand action for the reunification of our island and the education of our peers as to how Cyprus is not the centre of the static globe which sits in the middle of a universe that revolves around it, and that the Cyprus problem is but one of the countless local manifestations of a pathological global system.

OBZ did reignite my hope. And that hope, I do not want to lose.  Because no matter how ‘stupid’ this country is, it is still my country, our country… and as long as some of us keep our hope for a better future and a unified Cyprus, there is still a chance!

 There it was, the Buffer Zone, occupied, and this is what has become of it. Where were you? Where was your voice?

As I tried to spread the word before, I am trying again now.  I realise my voice is not as strong and powerful via social media but I am hoping to maybe keep some hope alive.  I am hoping to pass back a little bit of the hope that I received back in October from you guys.  Let’s not allow this to be the end of OBZ. Let’s do something the previous generations did not do. Let’s learn from our mistakes.