1.50pm- Hello everyone! I know I have not been very good at keeping you all up to date lately but that is because I am very busy! This week we had the Critical Engagement Diploma Period, which I really enjoyed. It is a programme formulated by 8 former AC graduates to encourage discussion and critical thinking. We were split up into randomly selected groups of around 20, with one graduate leading the sessions. My leader was a lovely lady from Korea. Each morning we met in our groups and followed the session prepared for us. It was very interactive and included things like role play, debates and just informal group discussions. Each day had a different theme- Identity, Diversity and Global Justice. However by the end you realise how they are all connected and intertwined in the world we live in. In the afternoons we chose 4 Workshops to attend, again run by the graduates and relating to the career they had chosen/ causes supported since leaving AC. I attended workshops on International Development, Media Production, Social Enterprise and Urbanism. They were all very interesting but my favourite was Media. It really confirmed my interest in the media and the discussion we had about censorship/influence of the media is something I feel strongly about. I also learnt a lot about possible careers which combine the UWC ethos of helping the world with a more conventional "career". Urban development and businesses with a moral conscience, for example. In the evenings two different films were shown in the Tythe Barn (arts centre), relating to the themes of the days. Wednesday night was a documentary film about identity and followed the lives of Bosnians in the 1990s. It showed the complete disintegration of a community before our very eyes. Originally the village in the film was a happy, peaceful mix of Muslims and Catholics (and had been for generations). However the film showed how the quickly advancing war changed this. Amid suspicion, rumour and fear, friendships which had lasted for 40 years began to fall apart. Ultimately neighbours, who had once cared for each other as family, simply watched as the Muslim family fled and their house was destroyed. This was repeated throughout the community. A Catholic house untouched here, a Muslim house burned to the ground there. The documentary was a tragedy for so many reasons. The way in which the personal friendship faltered, the extent of the rascism that appeared but also the everyday suffering and pain of war. The knowledge that in the next village, the Muslim houses would remain untouched but the Catholic houses destroyed displays the unfairness, and to me, illogical effects of war. Terrible human suffering and despair was inflicted on innocent people because of their identity.
On Thursday night we watched a film called "The Lost Boys of Sudan". Again, a documentary of real footage and true stories. It followed a group of young Sudanese boys on their journey from a refugee camp in Africa to the "perfect land" of America. It was a story of dashed expectations and broken lives. However through the struggle, there always remained some laughter and affection. Despite being very moving and upsetting, the strength of humanbeings and people who have suffered unbelievably was uplifting in this film. However the problems encountered with diversity within a nation are very troubling. In the nights after CE, everyone was very tired and sleepy by around 9pm (unbelievably early for AC). This meant none of us got our work done and so now the library and quiet rooms are full of people studying. I have some revision to do for Maths and E Systems and then homework for French and English. Last night over 130 students went to Cardiff to watch the new Harry Potter film together. I didn't go as I am not a HP fan and also we went out for a meal for my Buddy Dorm's Birthday. This morning I worked and then went down to lunch. I now am going to have to work a lot today and tomorrow. Normal codes start again on Monday. Had better go. Love to everyone.
