Yikes! Pt. 2

12:21 18 October 2008

Two days ago I had a somewhat scary experience. It didn’t involve me except as a witness, but nevertheless it was disconcerting. As Peace Corps Volunteers, we are supposed to be very neutral observers towards the cultural and private lives of the Host Country Nationals- we are here for very specific purposes of education and they don’t include intrusion onto their cultural or interpersonal norms. In many ways this is difficult especially with the practice of Bride Kidnapping (which is often done against the bride’s will constituting what is internationally recognized as a human rights violation). Staying impartial and externally non-judgmental when you hear about these types of occurrences is very difficult for me.

So the other day I heard quite a commotion on the street. Initially I thought it was some kind of celebration and went onto the street to investigate. Unfortunately it was nothing of the sort and instead was a very obvious case of domestic violence. As I walked out onto the street I saw them going behind the door of the compound as the children and grandmother hurried out onto the street. Following this I heard a large argument followed by audible hitting. I retreated back inside knowing that I could not and should not do anything about it but it was still a jarring event. Obviously domestic violence occurs around the world, it just saddens me that it is a fairly acceptable form of “keeping ones wife in line”.

This also relates to my service and the prevalence of corporal punishment here. As a teacher, I often have difficulty keeping my students well behaved. We were told that visits with their parents is often an effective method of getting them to behave better. The problem is that sometimes after a visit with the parents the children will come the next day to school with bruises, obviously there is a balance we have to find between discipline in the classroom and personal health and safety of our students. I don’t want to be responsible for the harm that comes to any of my students.