Seasons Greetings!

Happy Holidays from all of us here at CUPID! We wish you safe travels wherever the journey may take you!

“Brown, Proud”

“Brown, Proud”
Written August 14, 2009
Performed on Dec. 3 for World AIDS Day, in recognition of the fact that when we solve our own problems, we also solve the world’s.

A boy’s head was turned from mine on the bus
I saw his dark hair, slumped shoulders
He could be my little brother
Could be a neighbor kid out on the court
I’ve seen boys like him before
Populating the stoop of my Spanish Harlem apartment
Boasting a Domenicano pride on their chests
Baring grins and passing footballs
Over my head as I duck with groceries in hand
I know I’ve seen that hesitant sideburn
On other faces rocking dreadlocks and Jordans
Shooting the breeze outside the Johnny’s
Chinese restaurant in the nation’s capital,
400 years after their ancestors built it
I swear to you that brown nose is familiar
As the scent of fresh mint
Lathered in Asian tea and softened with French bread
On a spring morning when North Africa
Began to rise and fall in a new day
I can’t see his face, but I know as deeply as
I know the color of my blood
That it is all the brown boys I’ve seen in my short lifetime,
All the wayward fathers
Confused by their passion and betrayed by their strength
All the babies who succumb to the lie that
Growing older is growing wiser and stronger
All the brown boys whose mothers’ love
Suffocates away their ability to love another woman
And expect a partner, not another mother
All the chocolate eyes and shapely jaws
And potential-brimmed hands
Whose elders fought, not just to exist,
But to be heard and respected
Who laid down their lives and swords and refused Alabama buses
For brown boys who picked them back up
Without knowing what for
Whose lovely brown eyes scream
For a reason to exist,
But not for much more
And I look down at my own brown hand
With the same red blood in my veins
And I thrash myself for not turning to
All the brown boys on my stoop, my steps,
On the sidewalks and buses of my dreams
For not telling them their purpose,
A reason to be and to thrive
And to make my brown hand beam with pride.
If blaming them doesn’t help the backslide
If cursing their habits their speech or their pride?
I see it was never their burden to bear
They wear the mask
But it’s me behind what they wear
I curse myself for thinking and thinking
And never saying a word
The brown boy at the window?
On the stoop and the steps
At the ballgame
In the courtroom
At the party
In the rastas
Behind bars
Or at the frontdesk
In the bossman’s chair
At the podium
In the Versace suit
One fist held high for justice
One fist ready to fight for honor
The one more ready to quit than to try
The one with more bling than Biggie and 50
The one with a meek woman in tow
The one in my family photos
The one in my bed?

All beckoning me to see into their chocolate eyes
To turn their heads
Towards mine and no other
And say: “One day, my brown brother, you will make me proud?”

Ihotu Ali

“Dead Mums Don’t Cry”

Written Nov. 24

Although I find the title slightly morbid, this is a great film. By “great,” I mean “tragic” and yet eye-opening in terms of what is truly meant when we talk about “political will” and “power” and why so many of us run off to get public policy degrees and join Obama’s administration to “make change.” Dr. Grace Kodindo, one of my professors at Columbia, is featured here for the beautiful, optimistic soul that she has, and to show the serious need for political agitation to reduce maternal deaths in Chad…. and so many other places…. not excluding the US.

In an abstract, BBC-documentary-created-kind-of-way, we see that the doctors and nurses are there (although we know that most less developed countries have physician shortages, especially in rural areas), and the knowledge is there, but the resources and infrastructures are too fragile to save lives. Even with Chad having oil reserves, there still lacks the “political will” and management to make decisions in well-lit offices that will filter down and translate into oxygen in surgery rooms and access to contraceptives that will prevent abortions, and so many other small, inexpensive items that may save lives.

At the end of the film, the Minister of Health (a woman!) comes to visit Dr. Kodindo’s clinic, and although she seems to sympathize with the women’s plight, you can tell in her eyes that it’s “just another sad story” and she quotes management and organization as the problem. I wonder if she finds it within her power to make and inspire those changes, and if she alone can begin to put maternal health at the top of the priority list of the government, and of the Ministry of Health. I wonder if she feels empowered to be an “agitator” to move what resources are there into a much needed direction.

It’s hard to get a “handle” on such an enormous issue as maternal health or public health in general, but slowly issues are coming into focus. As someone with a background in policy, now moving into the field of health, I wonder how I personally can feel empowered to do the research to identify problems, make the case for new priorities, and yet also be the one who speaks out and presses for change. I fear there is no class that teaches this.

Ihotu Ali

Hopenhagen*

‘Twas the night before Copenhagen, and all through the House,

Not a creature was stirring, not even Kucinich, the mouse.

With Michelle in her kerchief, and Barack denying the C.A.P.,

We had just settled down, for a long winters nap.

When what from the lawn there arose such a clatter,

He sprang up from his Head to see what was the matter.

And what to his wondering eyes should appear,

But a world in dismay, and eight MDGs, far from near.

Now poverty! Now hunger! Now equality and Ed!

On child! On mother! On the environment ahead!

Come reduction in AIDS, and collective cooperation.

Set aside your reservations, and come every nation.

Janna Metlzer, VP of Communications

Angelie Singh, Co-president

*Inspirational rhythm and meter credit to Clement Clarke Moore, author of  “A Visit from Sain Nicolas”

Next General Assembly Meeting/Happy Hour

Date:  December 7, 2009

Time: 8 pm to 9pm

Location: The Village Pourhouse, 982 Amsterdam Ave, between 108th and 109th Street

Student Group Spotlight on Global Health Forum, CUPID updates and a chance to mingle with students from all graduate programs. Come celebrate the home stretch!

6% of GNP For A Decent Society

Last Tuesday afternoon, on November 14th, one of Columbia’s biggest personalities gave a two-hour lecture on the current state of affairs in U.S. politics. This was a bit unusual for those who are used to  hearing Jeffery Sachs address global leaders on international development funding. However, Professor Sachs came to campus armed with a scathing review of the Obama Administration—much of which had been met by cheers from the audience members.

Professor Sach’s main argument was that in order to fund socially responsible programs (e.g. public schooling, community health clinics, international AIDS treatment) the U.S. government would have to own up to the most politically undesirably method of finance: increasing taxes.

Sach’s brought to light some interesting points about the American social psyche by quoting various opinion polls and political agendas. Americans believe helping the poor is desirable, that health is a human right, that the Federal government is inefficient and the private sector is efficient, and that we cannot cut funding police and public schools. Most significant, however, is Americans deeply rooted fears that a tax increase is a personal assault by the Federal government on individuals. This fear, according to professor Sach’s is rooted in the rise of Reaganism, when Americans were recovering from decades of political distrust (ironically stemming from Republican President, Richard Nixon’s Watergate scandal).

Previously, Americans went through an era of approving fiscal spending on federal social and infrastructure building. In the 1950s and 60s, we spent billions of dollars or highways, science and technology, Medicare, Medicaid, and community development. All of the money came from increasing Gross National Product Federal Taxation level. But by the end of the 1960s, the U.S. capped out at 17-18% (2% of these taxes currently goes towards paying interest on debt). This max is about 10% lower than what most European countries tax, and this difference, according to Sachs, is what allows European nations to pay for socially responsible programs.

Sachs believes one problem with the US is that the majority of people still wants to maintain major federal initiatives, but is not willing to pay for it. He stated that this was “the shallowness of our country.” When Sachs presented the Obama Tax plan, he further chided the President. “In the middle of a government that can’t finance itself, the progressive candidate says we are going to cut taxes.” Sachs restated the administrations plans to reduce the budget deficit down to 4% through reduced defense spending, but then expressed shock and mortification at the fact the US was going to send another 14,000 troops to Iraq at a cost of $1 million per soldier—an “absurd” proposal, according to Sachs

There have been moments when the US has successfully reduced poverty and maintained its budget. The biggest accomplishment being Social Security, which helped alleviate poverty in the elderly. But since the 1980s, the poverty has been steadily increasing to its current level of 20%.  Over the past year, 15% of American households reported facing food insecurity. This group of low income people are part of a greater trend in increasing disparities throughout the global. Sachs, along with requesting increased commitment from all western nations, believes the US should increase its federal taxation levels by 6% to maintain federal programs that have proved essential in reducing income and health disparities. But in the end, Professor Sachs relented to pessimistic undertones, and admitted that the chances of increasing taxes were slim to none.

Angelie Singh

Co-president, CUPID

2010 CUPID Summer Fellows Abroad and NYC Internships

Each summer, CUPID collaborates with organizations around the world working on international development projects to coordinate summer fellowships for students at Columbia University. If your organization is looking for graduate student interns or volunteers to work on a development-related initiative or project, apply to become one of our partnering organizations. Just fill out the application form and sending it to cupidinitiatives@gmail.com by Monday, November 30th, 2009

Application for Partnering Organizations

Improving Maternal Outcomes in Tibet

On Monday morning, October 26, the Department of Epidemiology and CUPID had the pleasure of introducing Dr. Kunchok Gyaltsen and his work to the Columbia community at the Mailman School of Public Health. Dr. Gyaltsen is a Tibetan medical doctor, Buddhist monk, and leader in Tibetan rural development.

Typically, when discussing Tibet, the topic is related to the political strains between the Chinese government and ethnic Tibetans. It would be hard to ignore this relationship when identifying public health concerns in Tibet–this Southwestern region of China that sits amidst the highest landscape in the world. However, Dr. Gyaltsen came to us with a more specific discussion on maternal and child disease measures, outcomes, and interventions for rural Tibetans.

Dr. Gyaltsen has spent the greater part of the last decade gathering evidence on maternal mortality, birth outcomes,  and educational status, and implementing new intiatives to address disparities. Through Dr. Gyaltsen’s survey, known as the Tibet Healing Fund’s Community Assessment, it was determined that 96% of Tibetan women give birth at home and therefore receive little or no prenatal care. This offered one reason to why Tibetan maternal mortality rates are of the highest in the world, and so as PhD student at UCLA, Dr. Gyaltsen not only continued to hone his epidemiological research, but also actively generated interventions to improve maternal health.

One such initiative is the Tibetan Healing Fund (www. TibetanHealingFund.org), a not-for-profit humanitarian organization to improve primary healthcare and basic education for rural Tibetan women and children in the Tibetan regions of P.R. China. This organization, led in part by Dr. Gyaltsen, recently opened a Birth Center, in the community of Rebkong, to provide medical care to pregnant women. Although rural women have the option of going to hospital in Tibet, Dr. Gyaltsen stated that they might face some discrimination due their dress and social status, as well as separate language. This is another reason why

Dr. Gyaltsen believes pregnant women might not be receiving the care they need. The new Birth Center in Rebkong has a Tibetan Ob/Gyn who can monitor patients and provide emergency care where traditional healers have been unable to do so. The Birth Center is a also an embodiment Dr. Gyaltsen’s belief that pregnant women are not “sick” and thus should not necessarily be exposed to the hospital environment. Instead, he stated, they should receive medical care separate from those who are considered sick.

Another important factor in improving maternal outcomes, according to Dr. Gyaltsen, was education of rural Tibetans, especially young women, from primary school to medical school. Dr. Gyaltsen stated that one of the challenges in addressing the disparities in education is that rural Tibetan families see little value in sending their children to school unless they are guaranteed a government job that provides a secure income. A second challenge is the language barrier. Although schools in Tibet may speak Tibetan, often teachers from other parts of China may come to teach in Tibetan schools and then speak and write in Chinese. Without immediate translation, or encouragement of both languages, Tibetans may either be undereducated or disconnected with the Tibetan language, further reducing the likelihood that educated Tibetans could return and care for their rural communities.

The presentation was followed by a Q&A with refreshments. Although early on a Monday morning, students and faculty were engaged and impressed to learn a little more this under researched area of the world

To learn more about Dr. Gyaltsen and his work, please visit www.TibetanHealingFund.org.

 

Angelie

Co-president, CUPID

 

Gender, Peace, and Security: A Conference

On Friday, October 23, ‘Gender, Peace, and Security: A Conference’ showcased experts in gender-based violence and militarism as well as advocates for UN resolution 1325. The event, co-sponsored by CUPID and the Gender Policy working group at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and several other groups, echoed a resounding theme that women should play instrumental roles in each step of the transition to peace and security. Highlights included innovative gender based violence research presented by Jocelyn Kelly of the Harvard Humanitarian Institute, perspectives on the relationship between alcohol, PTSD and perpetration of sexual coercion by Dr. Mike Anastario, journalism animating the voices of female American veterans from Iraq, and a keynote speech by Dr. Anne-Marie Goetz of UNIFEM.

Laura Kelley

CUPID Representative, Columbia Mailman School of Public Health

Anti-Trafficking Policy and its Effects at Home and Abroad

On Monday, 18^th October, the Panel Discussion ‘Anti-Trafficking Policy and its Effects at Home and Abroad’ (co-sponsored by CUPID) featured presentations by Dr. Melissa Ditmore who is a post-doctoral fellow in Behavioral Sciences Training at National Development and Research Institutes in New York; Clara Sommarin, a Child Protection Specialist at UNICEF headquarters; and Anke Strauss from the International Organization for Migration New York Office.

After a general background discussion of trafficking issues and complexities, the speakers unanimously emphasized the importance of looking beyond trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation. While a majority of trafficking victims falls into this category, other groups of victims are being systematically neglected by policies and response mechanisms. Especially the exploitation of boys and men is difficult to be addressed with current mechanisms. Melissa Ditmore highlighted a number of interesting cases and used them to point out major weaknesses in states response, particularly the problem that victims are routinely being arrested in the pursuit of authorities’ attempts to ‘protect their right’. She encouraged the audience to always consider the worst possible scenario and consequence of policies directed at such vulnerable groups. Anke Strauss focused her presentation on the issue of trafficking of boys and men while Clara Sommarin focused on specific issues of child protection, child labor, and the progress of available international legal instruments.

Dominik Paris

Conference Co-Chair-CUPID