The Washington Center planned a visit for some students to visit the Pentagon last Tuesday. I wish I had a few pictures, but there were no cameras allowed, and all cell phones has to be turned off. It was worth going, to actually say I've been inside the building, but unfortunately we didn't see anything crazy out of the ordinary. Security to get inside was pretty intense, and the place is just crawling with military officials so that made it a pretty great experience. The group I was with was toured by a young Marine, and a man from the Air Force. The most surprising thing I saw in the building was what was in their food court! It is filled with fast food: Mcdonalds, Subway...the building is so big it's an mini city and I guess they've got an expansive gym in the basement too. A lot of the tour was focused on the 9/11 attack, and I actually stood in that part of the building where the plane crashed. 184 people died in the attack, and it's quite sombering to be there and see the memorial with all the names listed.
Saudi Arabian Embassy Visit
Last Monday all the students from the International Affairs program went to visit the Saudi Arabian Embassy. The building stands alone and is quite impressive and made with white marble. The Embassy is beautifully decorated with pictures of Saudi and U.S. leaders together. All the cellphones were taken away at the security desk, so I couldn't take any pictures. That seems to be a DC theme, that places worth visiting there are no cameras allowed. We all sat in a large theater/meeting room and the Saudi Press Secretary spoke with us for about an hour. He had a lot of interesting things to say, so I'll try and write out the highlights. I've taken these directly from my notes-notice the diplomatic tone and language:
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| At the doors of the Saudi Embassy with Shadia. |
- The Arab Spring was a failure of governments to provide services to their citizens.
- Problem in Saudi is that the educational system does not stand up to the international standard. Technological change needs to happen with cultural sensitivities.
- No one should have nuclear weapons
- Problem of Arabs: living in the past
- Saudi Arabia represents the Muslim world
- Israelis are not involved in the peace process; there are talks about a two state solution, but no one wants to move forward
- In regards to Palestine's bid into the UN, statehood is Palestines last card
There was recently a woman in Saudi Arabia arrested for driving and so women's rights in Saudi have hit the international spot light this summer. A student asked him about career opportunities and the fact that women may now how more educational opportunity, but there are huge cultural realities when it comes to women actually joining the workforce. The Press Secretary actually said that the government cannot legislate family affairs. There are positions opening up for women, but there are social contraints and economic realities regarding the role of women that creates enormous resistance. I think this is all the more reason for women in the West to be outspoken about gender equality. Women in the West definitely have great opportunities now compared to twenty years ago, but there are women all over the world that are still struggling to have equal rights.
Human Trafficking
Every year the State Department writes a Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report and that was at the beginning of June and that roll-out event was the one Hillary Clinton attended, but anyways because of that report, The Protection Project wrote an analysis of the report, and I went with the girls I work with. The director of the Protection Project, Dr. M.. and the Ambassador-at-large Louis CdeBaca spoke about the TIP report, and the realities of human trafficking and the role of the U.S. government. Ambassador CdeBaca is a great public speaker and very motivational. He talked about how freedom is everyone's business and that both governments and civil society needs to address this issue. There is always room for improvement regarding human trafficking laws and what not. There was a lot of discussion about criminal justice and the realities that many victims cannot go to the police because of the harm speaking out might put them in and many police forces are not equipped to help trafficked victims.
Our culture of consumerism also drives modern day slavery, so it's also another reason why we need to be aware of the products we use, and encourage companies to understand their slavery footprint. I guess there also is a smartphone app coming out soon that will make a lot of human trafficking information available to the public.
Commencement
Today was the TWC commencement, so my summer here is officially coming to an end. I've had such a great experience here, and I could not have asked for a better summer. I'd really like to come back to this city to work, or go to school, so I don't think I'm saying goodbye to DC for good. I'm going to try and see a few more historical sites, snap a few more pictures, but mostly I want to spend the time I have with friends I've made.
