IARSLCE Conference 2019 Albuquerque

This is arguably the most important conference on research in service-learning.  IARSLCE stands for International Association for Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement Conference.  IARSLCE 2019 is the 19th conference, reflecting the long history of the organization. 

This year the emphasis is on the “international” aspect.  I helped to organise a plenary panel discussion on the second day.  I am also one of the members of the panel, coming from Hong Kong, representing Asia.  Nicole Webster, from Pennsylvania State University, has extensive experience in Francophone Africa, particularly Burkina Faso.  Nascira Ramia, is from Ecuador, Ecuador, representing South America.  Lavinia Bracci, from Sienna, represents Europe.  Finally, there is Andrew Furco, University of Minnesota, an elder of the community and well-known internationalist.  The moderator of the panel is Richard Kiely of Cornell University, an American.  

The panel covers several major regions of the world, by design.  IARSLCE itself is actually quite American-centric.  Its members and most of the attendees of the conference are Americans, and much of their work concerns mainly the USA. For example, the term “women of colour” is used quite often here.  On the other hand, there are a lot of activities in different regions of the world, with their own specific issues, challenges, methods, use of terminology, etc. For example, in latin America, their speak of “Solidarity” rather than service-learning., while solidarity invokes something quite different in Europe.  Some members are now pushing to expand the coverage of IARSLCE, hence the panel.  I was encouraged by some to put my name forward as a candidate for the board.  I don’t think I was well-known in the organization.  But to my surprise, I was elected.  My mission is to help to make the organisation more international.  One of my major objectives is to bring the IARSLCE conference to Hong Kong, perhaps as early as 2021.  

This year the conference is held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.  The territories of New Mexico was inhabited by Indians before the arrival of the Europeans.  Then it was claimed by Spain, and partly by France.  Subsequently a large part of it became part of Mexico, when Mexico won independence from Spain.  Then it passed to American hands when USA defeated Mexico.  

Quite a complicated history in the past 300 years.  Today its population is approximately 2 million, only about 1/3 of that of Hong Kong.  But its land area is 300 times bigger.  Is that unfair?  Or what?

On the other hand, the local beer tastes quite good. 

Running on the San Francisco waterfront

A few hours after landing in San Francisco, en route to a service-learning conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico, I was running along the bay, right outside San Francisco airport. The planes roared overhead.  

But the seagulls, ducks, and other shore birds in the sanctuary did not seem to care.  But as soon as I took just a few steps off the foot path towards them but still at least 30 meters away, one would squawk and everyone would jump into the water and paddle away from the shore.  That’s the duck early warning system at work.  Amazing.  

It was around 18 degrees during the day.  Cool and sunny.  Just a few generally friendly people on the path.  Perfect for running. 

When I went back to the path at night, I saw at one point 6 bright dots lined up in the dark sky, over the water to the east, one of which was clearly a plane landing on the east-west runway.  It turned out all 6 were planes lining up to land.  

A plane was landing roughly every 30 seconds on that runway.  There are 2 landing lanes on each of the 2 runways (east-west, north-south), roughly 200 meters apart. I cannot be fully sure, but I assume the planes are landing on alternate lanes on the same runway.  A plane would be landing before the last one had gotten to the end of the runway, albeit on the other lane.  It is rather dramatic watching the process unfold, knowing that there are hundreds of people on each of the planes.  It must be quite intense working as an air traffic controller in the control tower. 

Cessation of Violent Confrontation is not Defeat

Some protesters feel “forceful” - in effect violent - confrontation is the last hope, that this fight is the definitive fight, that all hope is lost if they cannot push the government to accept their demands.  On the other hand, if the government accepts their demands, then they would have won an important victory. 

The situation may not be as grim as believed.  If, through more and more draconian, high pressure tactics, the government manages to put down this uprising, there will surely be more.  People will rest, gather their strengths, review and learn from the experience, develop stronger conceptual foundations, devise more innovative tactics, organise better, and come out again when another trigger detonates - and contest the elections.  The struggle for more political freedom is a long road, stretching many years, decades, and even hundreds of years - in effect, forever.    

On the other hand, even if the government is pressured to retreat, they will surely come back with more devious laws, policies, and tactics, to try to wrestle back the power from the people.  The establishment will not give up their power and privilege voluntarily and easily.  The fight will continue, one way other another.

What is sure is that if we fight the honourable way, we will build up more and more moral capital.  We will become more and more convinced that justice - and God - is on our side.  The conscience of some of the establishment will be awakened. More and more people will come to our side. Even if we are defeated physically in this round, we will win in the longer run.  The word is mightier than the sword.  Love is stronger than bullets. 

The Fall of the Elite (and redemption?)

I have written many times imploring the violent protestors to stop the violence.  But it is the top government officials who have to bear the ultimate responsibility for the conflagration.  “To whom more is given, the more will be asked.”  The elites of the government wanted and were given the power to govern.   Hence they must bear the responsibility of their policy and decisions.  

They proposed the odious anti-extradition law which started this. They refused to reconsider when millions marched peacefully, multiple times.  They pushed the police to confront the protesters violently.  When the police bristled at the slightest criticism of brutality from the government, amazingly the government backed down.  Instead of the police being an arm of the government, the government essentially gave up control over the police, giving them a free rein.  Instead of governing properly - to understand the issues and to try to resolve the issues, they just stonewalled.  

As numerous people have commented, this is essentially a political problem.  The elites refuse to deal with it as it is.  Instead, they insist on beating up again and again on the public order.  Worse, the actions that the government is taking, such as the anti-mask law, provoke more indignation.  It is as if the government want the situation to worsen.  

Our police used to have a hard-earned reputation of being relatively clean, efficient, and neutral.  Not any more.  The continued beating of people who are already down, purposeful breaking of arms, humiliation of young girls, calling people objects, bold-faced lies, shooting people in the chest, the obvious lost of emotional control, …, have destroyed that hard-earned reputation.  It will take many years to rebuild that reputation, if ever.  For what?  Because the government elite refused to admit they were wrong, to take responsibility for their bad decisions. 

Their supporting legislators and politicians, who cheered and egged the government on, are also responsible.  If they cannot see that their policies and actions are provoking more anger, they are not qualified to govern.  If they can see that, and yet continue to support those wrong-headed policies, …, then I don’t know what they are.  

As bad as the situation is, the elites still have the power to turn things around.  Knowing the past history, however, I am not holding my breath.  

Yet I still hope that those who hold the power will come to their senses. This is not really a matter of blue versus yellow, or them versus us.  It is ultimately a matter of good versus evil, and there is both on both sides.  Some protesters have been violent.  Some police have been brutal, and the government has been cynical.  But we have to appeal to the good in all of us.  The protesters should stick to peaceful actions.  The government should deal with this as a political issue and not just a police matter.  

The alternatives are just too horrible.  God help us. 

Time to break from Violence

On Sunday morning, I ran along Nathan Road.  Some shops were apparently broken into and trashed by protesters in the previous evening.  This is presumably because these shops were owned by people in the pro-establishment, or pro-police side.  

I can understand boycotting the businesses of people you disagree with.  After all, you are free to spend your money the way you want.  But trashing their business, destroying their property?  That’s way over the line.  It is both legally and morally wrong.  

If some police are using excessive force, shooting at protesters without sufficient justification, breaking people’s arms even when the person is already down on the ground, etc., these police should be held responsible.  But that does not justify hurting their family.  That also does not mean all police officers are bad people.  

The real culprits in this conflagration are the government officials and their cronies who arrogantly tried to push through the half-baked unjust extradition law, who hide behind the police instead of dealing with the politics upfront.  

Protesting peacefully en mass is what a large number of HongKongers decided to do.  Now is the time for the peaceful marchers to distance themselves from the violent faction throwing petrol bombs, breaking into businesses, destroying traffic systems, …   Not only is the violence and destruction morally wrong.  It is dragging everyone down a destructive path which we have not agreed to. 

Peaceful tactics take longer to effect.  It takes greater determination, persistence, and ultimately more courage.  But it has fewer side effects, makes deeper impact, has broader appeal, and ultimately, is longer-lasting.  

It should not be left to the violent few to decide where the society should be heading.  It is time for the peaceful majority to tell the violent few that this is not what we want.  If we don’t have the courage to say that now, we will end up having to suffer the consequences that none of us want.  

This is not a matter of us versus them, even though it may appear to be so.  It is a matter of good against evil, and there is a bit of both on both sides.  No one side has a monopoly on goodness, or evil.  We have to guard against the evil that is in us, and appeal to the goodness of our opponents.  Violence cannot do that.  Only peaceful means do.  The high road may seem too far removed from reality.  Perhaps that is exactly what we need at the moment, to step back a little from the conflagration to see a way out.  

May God help us.  

Quaint Little Laos

Laos has roughly 7 million people, just about the same as Hong Kong.  In terms of population, it is a small country, ranked 105 in the world.  In terms of land area, it has !238, 000 square kilometers, more than 200 times that of Hong Kong, ranked 82 in the world.  If only we can purchase some of that land from them, both of us should be happy.  

Pakse, with ~80,000 people, has an international airport, from where you can fly to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, Bangkok  in Thailand, and Siem Reap in Cambodia.  You can actually purchase a picket, check in at the counter, and then pass immigration, all in one place. 

At the gate, you can watch your plane land, passengers walking out, and then walk out to board your plane.  

One thing they have a lot of is cows.  

There are also a lot of narrow, long boats on the nightly Mekong River.  Theoretically, if you jump into the Mekong, and survive the waterfalls and rapids along the way, you can pass through Cambodia, Vietnam, and reach the South China Sea.  

They also have a lot of monks, and their temples look like those in Cambodia and Thailand.  When the monks cross the street they also J-walk just like the rest of us. 

On one of the side walk shrines, there is something that look very like the famous 4-faced Buddha in Bangkok.  Could this also actually be a Brahma, like that one in Bangkok, instead of a Buddha?

They also worship a scared tree, other than Buddha. 

The sunset over the Mekong River can be so so beautiful.  

Apparently, both the young man and the young lady were using their mobile phones, instead of speaking with each other.  On this point, Laos is no different from other countries.