An Average Week in the Sandbox

Many of you have asked me what exactly it is I do...and that varies day to day and week to week, but I thought I'd share this report with you...I do several reports every week that keep various people up to date on what I'm doing so here is my report for this past week with some info removed and edited...

Oh - and PRT stands for Provincial Reconstruction Team - that is the team I work on.

I. Summary

In an effort to push forward with obtaining funding for new courthouses, I met with a judge and engineer of the court and also visited the new courthouse that is currently under construction. I had several meetings this week including two on the base - a meeting with the Ministry of XXX to discuss future collaboration and a meeting with the director of a newly formed women's lawyers association – and a visit off base to Iraqi NGO. I attempted to visit the main Karbala jail to assess conditions. I also facilitated a visit by the director of the Fulbright Scholarship Program from the embassy in Baghdad, who met with the dean of a local university and presented information about Fulbright to students.


II. Report

A. Meeting with judge & walk to new court

I and some engineers had a fruitful visit with judge xyz this week. The PRT delivered much needed equipment that we provided. The engineers discussed plans for the construction of new courthouses.

B. Meeting with Ministry of xxx

The Ministry of xxx visited me on base to discuss potential collaborative projects. The director requested assistance in facilitating a meeting with the Karbala police to discuss future human rights training. We tentatively scheduled a three-day training on women’s rights to be held at a youth center. Additionally, the director requested basic equipment (copiers, printers, etc) for the office.

C. Meeting with women's lawyers association

I had a meeting to get an update on a newly formed women's lawyers association. The group continued to meet with local judiciary to spread the word about the mission of the association which is to provide free legal help to indigent women. The association also continued to travel to rural areas to educate women of their legal rights and inform them of the services offered. We discussed potential funding sources to keep the association running after current funding expires.

D. Visit to Jail

I attempted to make a visit to the main Karbala jail but was denied access. While guards outside the jail told PRT members that the jail was practically empty and no women or children were being held an NGO contact waiting for us inside the facility reported this information was false. I was attempting to observe conditions inside the facility and assess the accuracy of reports that female prisoners were not receiving health care.

E. Meeting with Iraqi NGO

I visited Iraqi NGO and met with the director. Mr. XYZ was concerned about a current law in front of parliament that will regulate NGOs. Iraqi NGO has been having meetings getting NGO input into changes needed in the law before it goes into effect. Mr. XYZ expressed frustration with the lack of continuity in his relationship with the PRT due to turnover. As a result, the PRT has arranged for several members of the team to meet with the NGO to prevent loss of contact due to turnover. The director spoke about a database that the NGO is helping to create for registration of missing people. Collecting information for the database is going on at NGOs across the country. The end goal is to have a searchable website but the project is underfunded and progress is slow.

F. Fulbright Visit to university

I arranged a visit by the director of the Fulbright Scholarship Program at the embassy in Baghdad. I accompanied him to a local university where he gave a presentation on the scholarship program. He met with the dean of the university and discussed arranging visiting professors to teach journalism and the establishment of a TOEFL center in Karbala. I spoke with him about establishing a linkage between Karbala law schools and American law schools.

G. Additional QRF Proposals

On May 26, three additional grants were approved: office equipment for a court, agenerator for an NGO and office equipment for another NGO. The goods will be purchased and delivered while OPDAT is on R&R in the coming weeks.


III. Accomplishments

Working with PRT engineers we continued the process of gathering information and documentation for packets to secure courthouse funding. I presented much needed office equipment to a judge this week and obtained additional QRF funding for three similar projects. This equipment will make the basics of every day office work much less cumbersome for the organizations involved. I assisted an attorney from the women's lawyers association in preparing an application for a Fulbright scholarship and believes she stands a good chance at being selected.

IV. Challenges

For a second time, a flight for judges from Karbala to fly to a forensics lab for a lecture and tour was not supported. I will consider whether to undertake such missions in the future as obtaining Iraqi support in sending the judiciary to these types of meetings is difficult and OPDAT believes it is counterproductive to get consent and then fail to follow through on providing the tour.

I attempted to access Karbala’s main jail at the Governance Center without success. While I had worked to obtain advance permission to have access to the jail we were denied when we arrived.

I have worked closely with our Community Relations Officer at the PRT in identifying local NGOs that the PRT can work with. We have done substantial work, including providing equipment with multiple grants, with a local women’s NGO that provides employment to widows and schooling/day care for their children. This week, after a visit from the PRT, the center was attacked and the women were brutalized.