Creative Learning

Peru Forensic Assistance Project (2011-Present)

luis — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 21:34:45 +0000

Statement of Work: The PFAP will take advantage of the Peruvian Forensic Anthropology Team’s (EPAF) recent organizational growth and expanded geographic focus to enable EPAF to further establish itself as the primary civil society entity with the capability to implement the Peruvian Government’s “missing persons” mandate while adhering to Rule of Law procedures to recover the remains of victims of forced disappearance and other human rights abuses that occurred during the 20-year internal armed conflict.

PFAP Objectives:

Empower the families of the 100 victims of disappearances as the principal advocates to recover the remains of those Peruvians.
Create a positive impact on long-neglected populations in the Pampas-Qaracha river basin through combination of restorative and retributive justice approaches.

PFAP Expected Results/Outcomes:

Nationwide effort to promote the “right to know the truth” accomplished;
Identification of the disappeared of Peru receives increased attention and awareness demonstrated in Peruvian media;
Use of DNA technology to identify the remains of 100 victims; and
EPAF develops no less than 3 cases of forced disappearance.

PFAP is Innovative: Addresses basic human rights issues in a long-neglected area of Peru. Establishes community relationships based on trust in the Pampas-Qaracha river basin that will serve as a platform to encourage other types of needed assistance to flow into the area.

PFAP is Sustainable: EPAF works towards great independence by developing fund raising strategies and using the compassionate content of the program to appeal to a local and international audience.

PFAP has demonstrated impact: EPAF continues to advocate for equal treatment of human rights cases, regardless of who the perpetrators of the crime were. Civil society has a key role to play in the reconciliation process and obstacles, such as investigating and acting on cases of forced disappearances, highlight the lack of transparency and openness on the part of the government to openly and effectively confront their past and promote the healing process in the more remote parts of the country.

America’s Unofficial Ambassadors (2009-Present)

luis — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 21:26:33 +0000

The underlying premise of America’s Unofficial Ambassadors (AUA) is that private American citizens have to do more to improve America’s relationship with the Muslim World. Together, America and the Muslim World face daunting challenges which traditional diplomatic efforts and official development assistance will not solve alone. To complement our government’s programs and efforts, we seek to galvanize the power of people to reach across cultural differences, form partnerships of mutual interest, and build peace. From archaeologists to musicians to engineers, America’s Unofficial Ambassadors, i.e. private citizens representing America through deeds of service, have created a tradition that represents diversity, equality, creativity, and optimism.

Through short-term volunteer service in key areas of human development, Creative Learning is interested in supporting America’s Unofficial Ambassadors to:

Help address human development deficits throughout the Muslim World – the problems of education, health, human rights, and economic development in Muslim-majority countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia are sorrowful. In 2011, we can’t consider these challenges to be isolated to the villages of Indonesia or the refugee camps of Lebanon; we are all connected.
Build positive people-to-people connections between the Muslim World and America – there is no better way to get beyond harmful stereotypes than through the development of people-to-people partnerships built upon substantive achievements in education, health, and other areas of development.
Decrease Islamophobia in the United States – from the debate surrounding the Islamic Cultural Center in lower Manhattan to the stereotyping that occurs on a daily basis across the United States, America has a growing problem in how we view Muslims, including Muslim-Americans. There is no better way to dispel rumors and stereotypes than through first-hand experiences in Muslim World communities and by sharing those experiences with family and friends back home.

By increasing the number of America’s Unofficial Ambassadors to the Muslim World we can begin to address these problems.

By December of 2012, we aim to have 1000 Americans commit to at least 1 week of service in the Muslim World.

To reach that goal, we are working on a number of fronts:

Raising awareness that private American citizens can volunteer effectively. Our Project Director is writing a book about different volunteers’ experiences throughout the Muslim World; we are collecting stories and photos for our online Community Forum and Facebook Page; expanding the AUA Network, a community of past, current and future volunteers who share impactful experiences; and looking for current volunteers in the field to blog about their experiences.
Increasing access to credible and safe volunteer opportunities by providing the AUA Directory of Recommended Organizations that send or host American volunteers in Muslim majority countries.
Supporting high impact volunteer service through the AUA Mosaic Scholarships and Building Peace by Building Homes. The Mosaic Scholarships support under-represented Americans of all ages to volunteer in the Muslim world. In May 2012, AUA will lead a delegation of peace-building volunteers to build homes with Jordanian families in the village of Al Taybeh. Creative Learning is accepting applications for the Mosaic Scholarships and Building Peace by Building Homes trip now.

America’s Unofficial Ambassadors is a citizens’ initiative – its success relies upon the actions and efforts of private citizens like you. Think about what you can do to help build peace between America and the Muslim World. We have some ideas about how you can get involved, take a look here.

Regional Forensic Assistance Network (2011-Present)

luis — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 21:24:51 +0000

Statement of Work: The RFAN will increase the capacity of Latin American indigenous forensic organizations to use DNA analysis and systems, established at the Guatemala Forensic Anthropology Foundation (FAFG) laboratory in Guatemala, to enhance their abilities to analyze and identify victims of human rights violations. RFAN will give all participant organizations access to civil society-based information sharing network promoting South-South cooperation and capacity-building.

RFAN Objective: Strengthen the capacity of forensic anthropology organizations in Guatemala, Peru and El Salvador to identify victims of armed conflicts through DNA analysis.

RFAN Expected Results/Outcomes:

Search for missing and disappeared in urban areas –recovering the missing from the Guatemalan civil war buried in urban areas and identifying them by DNA analysis.
Regional training with DNA laboratory access – Pro-Búsqueda in El Salvador and the Peruvian Forensic Anthropology Team (EPAF) trained to collect and analyze DNA samples and to analyze these samples in FAFG’s DNA lab. Pro-Búsqueda and EPAF able to analyze raw data, make comparisons and manage data in their own countries.

RFAN is Innovative: RFAN links modern-day forensic analysis techniques to identify thousands of “disappeared” which were previously unidentifiable due to lack of DNA analysis capacity among Latin American forensic organizations. FAFG, as regional leader, will build technical capacity through a South-South approach while empowering and training other Latin American geneticists to raise their technical expertise.

RFAN is Sustainable: FAFG will work to develop a dependable revenue stream from outside sources requiring DNA processing services to ensure laboratory sustainability. FAFG will establish itself as a regional training center for ISO 17025 certified DNA analysis.

RFAN has Demonstrated Impact: FAFG will continue to produce breakthroughs in applying DNA processing in developing countries and share knowledge and experience with sister forensic organizations to improve identification of victims of forced disappearance in the region.

School – 2 – School Jordan (2011-Present)

luis — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 20:50:00 +0000

About School to School
School-2-School (S2S) is a cultural exchange and educational development program that enables schools in the United States to partner with elementary schools in countries emerging from conflict or facing the challenges of poverty in the Muslim World. This year’s program will continue the success of six previous S2S partnerships in Afghanistan, Iraq, Philippines, Panama, Uganda, and Bolivia.

Through S2S, the US school raises funds to support the purchase of school supplies to benefit a specific school abroad, the host school. The S2S program provides an excellent opportunity for American students to learn about different cultures, as well to connect with fellow students from around the world. In an exciting addition to the S2S program, this year, Creative Learning will support the trip expenses for a volunteer from the US school to visit their host school abroad as an Unofficial Ambassador for up to four weeks in the summer of 2012.

About this year’s program: Queen Noor School in Jordan
During 2012, the S2S program will benefit the Queen Noor High School in Al Wehdat, Amman, Jordan. The school has 750 students from grade 8 to grade 12 (age 13-18) and the number of students in each class ranges between 40 and 58 per class.

Based on the current needs of the Queen Noor school in Jordan, the S2S program will fundraise for the purchase of an Interactive White Board. Many of the teachers at the Queen Noor school are ICT literate and use ICT in different disciplines and the lead teacher is looking forward to connecting the teachers in the US. The target fundraising goal is $5,000.

Why should my school participate?
The S2S is a unique program that exposes students to cultural tolerance and global awareness by connecting them to their peers in a school in the Muslim World. By creating positive grassroots connections with the citizens in the Muslim World, your school will take a leading role in building peace and dispelling harmful stereotypes associated with America and the Muslim World, both overseas and at home. For the US school’s unofficial ambassador, the S2S program is a unique opportunity not just for personal and professional development but to directly support education programs in Jordan while dispelling stereotypes about America.

Who can apply?
Creative Learning welcomes applications from public and private schools in the United States at the elementary, middle, or high school level. A teacher, administrator, or other educator can serve as a school’s point of contact and/or unofficial ambassador for the proposed partnership with a school in Jordan.

This is a competitive program and applications are accepted on a rolling basis. A full application can be downloaded online here. Applications should be submitted to Carola Mandelbaum.

Where can I learn more about the School-2-School program?
CL welcomes questions from anyone interested in learning more about the School-2-School initiative. Please contact Carola Mandelbaum.

Forensic Assistance Project (FAP) (2009-2010)

luis — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 21:31:34 +0000

FAP Objectives

Guatemala: Support the Guatemala Forensic Anthropology Foundation’s (FAFG) DNA laboratory operations and ability to positively identify thousands of victims of disappearances and mass killings; improve ability to conduct forensic operations and use DNA sampling and processing to analyze remains and reference samples.

Peru: Demonstrate the power of genetic analysis to improve regional capabilities for positive identification of thousands of victims of disappearances and mass killings; -improve the ability of the Peruvian Forensic Anthropology Team (EPAF) to build institutional capacity in forensic anthropology to uphold the principles of democracy and promote human rights; -support results that help identify victims’ remains, illuminate the history of tragedy, and find the truth about what happened.

FAP Expected Results/Outcomes

Guatemala: Laboratory accredited, fully staffed and operating at optimal level, collected 200 buccal samples and 50 skeletal samples per month; new DNA testing approaches established; and an expanded database to include a wider cross-section of family references and trained staff on use of cutting-edge forensic techniques.

Peru: Office of Missing Persons in Ayacucho expanded; -Provincial capacity increased; DNA analysts trained; -DNA buccal and skeletal samples outsourced; -National Council of Reparations supported with collection of ante mortem data; -Forensic Database expanded.

Statement of Work: The FAP will increase the capacity of the FAFG in Guatemala to operate their newly established DNA processing laboratory, improve their ability to collect samples and information related to victims of human rights violations. The FAP will also strengthen the capacity of the Peruvian Forensic Anthropology Team (EPAF) to increase the number of identified remains and gather more evidence that could be used in legal proceedings, improve their ability to collect samples and information related to victims’ of human rights violations.

Program Length: 12 months. Start Date: 1/13/2009

FAP is Innovative: Links modern-day techniques with need to identify thousands of “disappeared” Guatemalans and FAFG organizational ability to function in tenuous human rights environment.

FAP is Sustainable: FAFG expertise to be utilized in geographic areas that were devastated by extreme violence during the conflict era and where thousands of people remain missing. EPAF helps GoP overcome lack of information as obstacle to reparation benefits.

FAP has Demonstrated Impact: FAFG will work towards developing a revenue stream from outside sources requiring DNA processing services to ensure sustainability of the laboratory. In Peru, increased number of victims of disappearances positively identified.

Photos by Alain Wittmann

Guatemala Defend the Defenders (GDD) (2008-2009)

luis — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 21:30:53 +0000

GDD will enhance the capacity of select human rights (HR) organizations to develop and improve their capacity to provide better security for their staff and improve their effectiveness as they advocate for human rights.

Project objectives and results: GDD will provide technical assistance to key Guatemalan civil society defenders of human rights to achieve the following objectives: 1) Develop and improve their internal capacity to provide better security for their staff; and 2) Improve their ability to more effectively advocate for human rights. Expected results include reduced potential danger to HR defenders, increased capacity among the selected HR defenders, and enhanced Government of Guatemala political will to combat impunity related to HR defenders and threats against them.

Project is innovative, sustainable and has a demonstrated impact: GDD will implement a program based on best practices and lessons learned from international human rights defenders’ experiences and monitoring from local HR groups. The project will assist four HR groups that receive threats and analyze data sources to identify trends, geographic areas and motives for threats and attacks. GDD will support longer-term institution building and move towards increased sustainability of defenders’ groups, garner support from other donors (UN through CICIG, UNDP DIGAP ), build capacity by training defenders’ staff to understand issues and conduct their own security planning, train local security expert to continue work started by the Senior Security Advisor, and establish a Defenders Protection Network.

Program length: 12 months

Photo by Luis Zetino

Guatemala/Peru Latin American Initiative for the Identification of the Disappeared (G/P LIID) (2007-2008)

luis — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 21:30:10 +0000

Background

Guatemala and Peru have endured violence, political oppression and human rights violations in recent decades, due to the extreme political instability and lawlessness that challenged the principles of democracy in much of Latin America between 1975 and 2000. Many thousands of disappearances and extrajudicial executions occurred during this time of military dictatorships, internal conflicts, and paramilitary, guerrilla and terrorist activity. In Guatemala, the 36-year internal armed conflict (1960-1996) claimed the lives of 200,000 people. The victims were mostly indigenous people and of those, 56,000 are considered disappeared. Similarly, Peru suffered internal conflict and unrest from 1980 through 2000 that killed approximately 70,000 people. Of those, nearly 12,000 are disappeared, over 1,000 were executed, and at least 500 were victims of massacres. In both countries forensic anthropologists have risked their lives to identify clandestine graves and exhume human remains from individual and mass graves.

The G/P LIID project

The proposed Guatemala/Peru Latin America Initiative for the Identification of the Disappeared (G/P LIID) project will provide technical support and institution building to help Guatemala Forensic Anthropology Foundation (FAFG) and the Peruvian Forensic Anthropology Team (EPAF) increase the number of identified remains and gather more evidence that could be used in legal proceedings. G/P LIID project’s collection of victims’ identities will help further the Rule of Law (RoL) processes in Guatemala and Peru. In addition, positive identification of victims also would help resolve numerous issues related to inheritance, property ownership, and reparations where kinship is crucial to making and settling claims. Positive identification of remains also will provide closure for surviving family members. This is especially important to the majority of the victims of human rights violations who are indigenous Mayan (in Guatemala) and Quechua (in Peru). These indigenous cultures maintain the belief that the dead are counselors and guides for the living, and all deceased must have a proper and dignified burial of their remains.

Successful identification of victims of human rights abuses will dignify the deaths of those who were disappeared, tortured, assassinated or subjected to other human rights abuses. CL’s proposed G/P LIID project addresses the following objectives:

Demonstrate the power of genetic analysis to improve regional capabilities for positive identification of thousands of victims of disappearances and mass killings;
Improve the ability of FAFG and EPAF to build institutional capacity in forensic anthropology to uphold the principles of democracy and promote human rights; and
Support results that help identify victims’ remains, illuminate the history of tragedy, and find the truth about what happened.

Photos by Gregory F. Maggio, Alain Wittmann

Guatemala Human Rights and Outreach (GHRO) Program (2007-2008)

luis — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 21:29:27 +0000

The Guatemala Human Rights Outreach Program (GHRO), financed by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, was implemented by Creative Learning Inc. from February 2007 to December 2008. GHRO enhanced the capacity of human rights organizations to coordinate and build partnerships with the Government of Guatemala (GoG) to investigate, document and prosecute high profile cases of human rights violations that occurred during the armed conflict. GHRO also worked to strengthen public outreach. The program expanded the efforts of the “Working Group for Justice in Guatemala” (WG), which supports judicial processes to resolve human rights violations. It also used a radio soap opera to encourage citizens to rely on Rule of Law processes to educate and advance human rights issues. In addition, GHRO also supported the operationalization of the National Commission for the Search of the Disappeared (NCSD) and the creation of a consolidated database for the National Registry of Victims of Disappearance (NRVD).

Traditionally, CSOs and government representatives have often been at odds regarding the investigation of human rights abuses during the armed conflict. The formation of the Working Group, in itself, represents a major achievement in bringing disparate actors together to work on specific cases. The creation of the WG, part of Creative Learning’s unique strategy, demonstrated the commitment of the CSOs and the GoG to search for solutions to the obstacles and bottlenecks that inhibit progress in human rights cases

Support to Operationalize the National Commission for the Search of the Disappeared (NCSD)

GHRO supported the creation of the NCSD by fostering dialogue between human rights organizations, the Ombudsman’s Office for Human Rights and other judicial authorities to establish a unified vision of NCSD’s role within Guatemalan society. Through a grant to the International Center for Human Rights Investigations (CIIDH), GHRO also promoted advocacy efforts to sign off on the mandate that would officially create the NCSD and approve its operating budget.

Create a Consolidated Database to Operationalize the National Registry of Victims of Disappearance (NRVD)

GHRO supported the Forensic Anthropology Foundation of Guatemala (FAFG) to design and develop a database with the PDH that would consolidate databases of victims of disappearances. FAFG gathered data from key organizations by using their records for disappeared persons. The result was the completion of 8,083 profiles. In addition, FAFG developed searching modes to produce cross reference data reports and formatted the database to be a web-based structure.

Radio Soap Opera

One of the key components of this activity was to produce fifteen new chapters of the radio soap opera El Trapiche and to coordinate outreach activities in local communities to encourage people who witnessed human rights violations to contact government officials. El Trapiche, an imaginary village in Guatemala, created the backdrop for human rights storytelling and enabled people to reflect on their daily lives as well as human rights abuses during the 36-year conflict. El Trapiche was broadcasted on several local radio stations. Our subgrantee, IGER, also held art workshops, contests and drama presentations to involve local community youth and students to highlight the themes of the radio soap opera, human rights and rule of law.

Three High Profile Cases

GHRO supported local CVO’s FAMDEGUA, GAM and ADIVIMA in their work to advance cases of human rights violations. The cases included the Panzos massacre, the Rabinal Military Post human rights abuses case and the case of the disappearance of the three founders of GAM.. GHRO supported the construction of their litigation strategy and reorganization of their case by contracting The Myrna Mack Foundation (MMF) to provide technical support to all three organizations in improving their legal strategies.

Photos by FAFG

Forensic Team Tracks Disappeared Peruvians as Fujimori Returns to Face Justice (2008)

luis — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 21:28:52 +0000

October 2, 2007, Lima, Peru and Washington, DC: A Peruvian team of forensic scientists is insisting that the Peruvian government delegate authority to civil society to locate and identify thousands of Peruvians who went missing during two decades of internal conflict.

The case was made recently at a briefing in Washington for The Advocacy Project (AP) by Jose Pablo Baraybar, Director of the Peruvian Forensic Anthropology Team (EPAF). Mr Baraybar was accompanied by officials from Creative Learning, a nonprofit organization in Washington that is supporting EPAF’s work in the United States.

Mr Baraybar spoke one day before the former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori was flown back to Peru to face possible trial for widespread human rights abuses, including disappearances that occurred during his 10-year presidency.

EPAF has documented more than 13,000 disappearances – almost 4,000 more than the estimate of the 2003 Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission – and warned that the number will continue to rise.

Mr Baraybar said that most of the missing had been kidnapped by the Peruvian security forces, which used disappearances in their counter-insurgency operations and even wrote the practice into manuals. Still, he said, the Peruvian government has shown a complete lack of leadership on the issue. A consolidated list of the missing has yet to be compiled, and reports about clandestine graves – said to number more than 3,000 – are not followed up.

Until the facts are known and bodies returned, relatives of the missing will be unable to come to terms with their loss, said Mr Baraybar: “We must investigate the crimes of the past to build peace in the future.”

While the Peruvian government should provide overall guidance, said Mr Baraybar, the tasks of exhuming bodies, identifying remains and informing relatives should be left to specialists like EPAF.

EPAF was set up in 1997 and is one of several Latin American forensic teams that investigates the abuses of former regimes. The teams are renowned for using science to advocate for relatives of the missing, and several of their members, including Mr Baraybar, have lent their expertise to the International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague.

EPAF’s work has acquired added significance following the recent extradition to Peru of Mr Fujimori, who was president of Peru when most of the disappearances occurred. According to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the Fujimori regime used death squads to eliminate suspected terrorists.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission estimated in 2003 that more than 69,000 Peruvians had died in the violence and at least 8,500 had disappeared. According to the Commission, most of those missing were poor, Quechua-speaking Indians. Almost half lived in the Department of Ayacucho.

The figures shocked Peruvians, but EPAF now suggests they are an under-estimate. The EPAF team is also uncovering new cases in isolated areas of three departments – Ayacucho, Huanuco and Junin – that were barely investigated by the Commission. This, says EPAF, is a strong argument for strengthening the forensic capacity of civil society.

Many Peruvians want to put the past behind them and enjoy the country’s booming economy, but they have been reminded of the disappearances by a series of sensational disclosures by former death squad members. The problem for EPAF and human rights advocates is that the government’s follow-up to such charges has been under-funded and lacking in direction. This has hampered efforts to bring the killers to justice. Only 60 cases are currently before the courts.

One case under investigation concerns the Army Base of Los Cabitos, in Ayacucho, where more than 500 people are thought to have been killed. Fifteen bodies have been found and prosecutors are prepared to issue indictments, but the case is hampered by the lack of rigorous forensic data. EPAF is now seeking $6,000 to use detection dogs from a California-based institution to seek out clandestine graves on the base. Creative Learning is coordinating the appeal in the United States.

Eventually, EPAF would like to see a partnership between the Peruvian government and civil society to carry out forensic work, such as exists in Guatemala, and a vigorous national program to determine the whereabouts of those missing and return the remains to their families.

Meanwhile, EPAF is creating a database and systematically collecting ante-mortem information on the disappeared, including the clothes they wore, that will help with identification. EPAF has also developed software to record information from relatives.

Mr Baraybar described identification as a “humanitarian service” for relatives who “should not be held hostage to the long process of justice.” Recovering, identifying and returning the remains of those missing “does not prevent justice being served on its own terms or at its own pace,” he said.

The Advocacy Project has agreed to build a web page for EPAF on the AP website that will hopefully evolve into EPAF’s own website, to be used in EPAF’s advocacy.

For more information on EPAF, contact EPAF at epafperu@epafperu.org or Jose Pablo Baraybar at baraybar@epafperu.org

To help cover the cost of using detection dogs in the Los Cabitos investigation: Click Here or contact Carola Mandelbaum at CarolaM@creativelearning.org

Guatemala Reparations and Reconciliation Project (2005-2006)

luis — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 21:28:13 +0000

Creative Learning has been awarded a grant by State Department to develop the Guatemala Reconciliation and Reparations Program (GRRP). This 15-month project will establish a Working Group with members of the Government of Guatemala, civil society organizations, and victim’s organizations, working together to channel information into formal processes of investigation and reparations, addressing the painful issue of human rights violations in the 36 year internal conflict. Recognizing the extent of abuses under military and non democratic governments is a necessary step in the process of national reconciliation. The GRRP will develop the capacity of local Guatemalan institutions to organize evidence obtained from exhumations and victims’ testimonies, and the Working Group will prioritize issues and select communities for reconciliation activities.