June 6^th, 2018

6:45 CEST

Our day began earlier than it ever had before, on a sunny morning at 6:45. We loaded onto the bus, sandwiches in one hand and passports in the other. Our itinerary was stock full, beginning with a two-hour travel time to the city of Strasbourg. Strasbourg is a town full of brightly colored houses and tourists crowded into gift shops. However, on this particular day, we were visiting the Council of Europe. The Council of Europe is an organization of mostly European states that get together to discuss human rights violations. The Council does not have the power to enforce its rulings, but it plays a crucial role in making human rights an internationally discussed issue. The entrance to this impactful building displays the flag of each member state, lined along bright green grass.

After being ushered inside by a security guard, we began our tour that started with an introduction to the member states of the Council. They had a map on display, showing a fully filled in Europe, all except for Belarus. Our tour guide informed us that Belarus refuses to outlaw the death penalty, one of the main requirements to join the Council.  Then, we were led to the grand meeting room of the parliament. The meeting room is crowded with row after row of chairs and desks in place for a multitude of representatives. This room is where countries from all over the region gather to bring about change and the hopeful betterment of people. The council members do not sit in order of country, but in alphabetical order of their last name. This system is one way to prevent bias because the goal of the Council is to represent international interests as opposed to national interests.

Our passionate guide then led us to be informed by none other than Angus Macdonald, a Scottish communications officer of the Council of Europe. Angus, sunglass clad and sitting atop a desk, spoke to us about why the world needs the Council and how it inspires change across the globe. Angus welcomed our questions throughout his talk, addressing our concerns about migration reform and members attempting to leave the Council. He introduced the Council by exemplifying the distinctions between the Council of Europe and the European Union. The Council has 47 member states, while the EU is soon to have 27. The idea of the Council is in fact older then the EU, Winston Churchill mentioning it in 1943. There was also some confusion expressed on why the Council and the Union have the same flag and the same anthem. Angus clarified that the Council had both its flag and anthem first and that the EU decided to use them as well. He informed us that if the EU had the budget of the Council, then it would only last for two or three days. The budget discrepancy demonstrates how much human rights truly takes a backseat due to what a state considers a priority like trade and economic regulations. 

We departed the continent’s leading human rights organization, back on the bus to eat the five-star sandwiches Dr. B got for us. After a short drive with a scenic view of the surrounding mountains, we arrived at the Alsace-Moselle Memorial. This museum featured how World War II affected the region. There was an overhang that gave way to a gorgeous view of the mountains and little town nestled between them. Obviously, we had a photoshoot there, taking advantage of Hamid’s not so hidden photography skills. The entry room of the museum came as quite a shock to me. As we were led into a dimly lit room with portraits lining the wall, I saw the immense amount of history pertaining to Metz. There it was-photographic proof of the German occupation of Metz. It wasn’t just the Germans, but the Nazis in particular. It was such a strange experience seeing pictures of streets that I have walked several times a week that were packed with Hitler supporters instead of shoppers and their dogs.

Passing through the photography exhibit and rooms filled with flashing lights along with makeshift tanks, it was easy to see how well done this museum truly was. There were train cars with uneven floors, rooms lined with flags, and truly captivating videos presented throughout it all. Just before the exit, we were presented with an interactive projection style game. After hearing echoing laughter and shouts of agreement, Hamid and I walked into a brightly lit room filled with mirrors on the walls and images projected onto the ceiling. The majority of our little group had been entertaining themselves by ranking how important different aspects of the EU were. It was a very interesting set up and a good idea on the part of the museum designer. There were also impressive graphics displayed on the ceiling, often incorporating the flag of the EU (and the Council of Europe). We then flooded into the gift shop, surrounding the EU paraphernalia like the true fangirls we have all become. I bought a mug with the EU stars engraved on it; it shall soon be filled with hot chocolate and marshmallows.

Our day got increasingly heavier as we continued with each step of the itinerary: from the Council of Europe to the Alsace-Moselle Memorial to Natzweiler concentration camp. On my previous trip to Europe I had been to Dachau, so I sort of knew what to expect. The thing about concentration camps is that if you don’t read the signs, you don’t immediately know what it is. Natzweiler is at the top of a winding mountain road, surrounded by a grand expanse of cedar trees and blue skies. It was not until we entered the museum that the expected atmosphere was revealed. A somber black and white film depicted what life was like while the camp was active. Stairs led down into the exhibit, an extensive history of World War II and its respective human rights violations were on display. They had conveniently laminated English versions of the information in bins next to each section.

As soon as we began walking through the gallery, rain began pouring down outside. By pouring down, I mean exactly that-water pounding down and thunder echoing in our ears. Some brave souls decided to run into battle with the rain to head towards where the camp was. Soon after we saw them disappear into the ocean that the outside had become, hail began pelting down. This vastly limited the desire of the rest of the group to head to the camp. We all wondered around the upstairs for a while as Dr. Markley told us stories about Romania and we read about atrocities of the past. It began nearing our departure time and yet some of us had not yet braved the weather in order to go to the other museum and physically walk through the gate of the camp. A few of us decided it was worth seeing, even if only for a few minutes. With umbrellas in hand and our feet hopefully avoiding puddles, we ran outside. It is impossible for me to grasp how it must have been, being persecuted each and every day while being surrounded by a beautiful landscape of alps. The physical camp is very flat with long and short buildings on each end. There were also large patches of dirt covering the ground, just how it was at Dachau. The small museum they had at the top of the hill was also very interesting with lots of models of different portions of the war displayed. It was then time to leave, all of us heading toward the bus soaked from head to toe.

It was once again time for a two-hour ride back so we all passed out quite quickly. When we woke up, Pedro informed us that Dr. B was getting pizza for all of us, bringing a cheesy end to our day.

We hit the ground running for our second day with Dr. Markley! To get our minds warmed up, we took a short quiz on the readings and some of the material covered from our first lecture. The five question quiz was based on the Donnelly chapters we read before the class began. The questions covered topics from characterization of periods in our history, to different models of human rights, to ways in which human rights are used as a foreign policy tool.

After the quiz we continued lecture from yesterday. We began by discussing the whether an international human rights regime has developed after WWII and the major issue that national implementation of international human rights is a slow and difficult process. There were a variety of opinions about 172 countries agreeing to International HR being a regime. I personally believe that out of the almost 200 countries on the globe, the current 172 countries agreeing on a set of rights is an accomplishment, especially with such differences among all of us. There is of course always room for improvement—one day I hope that all humans, regardless of nationality, race, gender, sexuality are granted equal rights across the globe.

A question that garnered a lot of attention in our class was “Why do countries ratify conventions but don’t apply international human rights laws?” We concluded that many do it for political and international validity. Signing on to a convention also holds the country accountable to their citizens. Another topic of discussion is why we should be concerned with other countries human rights practices. It’s important here to emphasize that we are discussing human rights. Therefore, we should value all human lives regardless of nationality. We also have to remember atrocities in our history, such as the holocaust and Rwandan genocide. Many countries turned a blind eye to what was happening in these countries and countless lives could have been saved.

We followed this with a couple of open discussion questions regarding the division of human rights, and how to define them. We ultimately came to the conclusion that human rights can be divided into social and economic rights versus civil and political rights, and this often dictates how countries implement human rights policies. Some value civil and political rights over social and economic rights. However, Donnelly says that we need to value both equally. This brought us to the term cultural relativism— you have to understand human behavior in the context of its own culture. Countries often cannot come to a consensus on what rights should be established and how to enforce them. That’s what makes it so difficult to implement human rights legislation and policy on an international scale.

The discussion on human rights was wrapped up with a review of the three models of human rights—cosmopolitan, statist, and internationalist. We discussed how these play a role in an anarchic international system, or a system where the actors are states and there is no supranational organization. The class was broken into two groups who compared and contrasted cosmopolitan and internationalist and statist and internationalist. Cosmopolitan is more individual focused, human rights should be implemented by the individuals, while statist argues the states are the primary enforcers of human rights, and internationalist argues for a supranational organization to enforce the human rights that are determined by the states. We also pointed out that implementation of an international human rights law takes some sovereignty away from states, and this can be a major problem for states.

The final activity of the day was to prepare a presentation for Thursday. Our task was to find a human rights violation in the member state that we were assigned and then to find other member states with a similar political background or in the same region and make a presentation on these violations. My member state was Finland, so I grouped with Gemma, Shekinah, and Hamid who worked on Ireland, Denmark, and Sweden, respectively. We decided to make the focus of our presentation Finland and their violation of the right to privacy—both in the physical and digital worlds. Finland does not require a court order for search and seizure of property, and they are now implementing a legislation that allows for civilian and military surveillance by the government. This requires altering the constitution, and violates the right to privacy that is important to citizens. It draws to many people’s attention the fact that human rights need to be extended beyond just the physical world, as much more of our lives is playing out in the digital sphere.

All in all, day two of human rights lecture with Dr. Markley was full of introspection, discussion, and a new understanding of how complex human rights is. She creates a safe space for us to express our points of view, and challenges us to think differently. I can’t wait to visit the council of Europe and for our site visits in Brussels where we will hear about how these human rights theories are put into practice!

Today was the second day of our weekend trip with the Georgia Tech Lorraine (GTL) students. We loved getting the chance to show 15 of our peers what we have been studying for the past three weeks. We spent the day touring the beautiful city of Strasbourg, France!

After meeting at GTL for a bus ride through the French countryside, we arrived in Strasbourg at around 9:30 in the morning. We began our day by attending the 2018 European Youth Event. This is an annual event hosted by the European Parliament in order to inspire the youth of Europe to take charge of their future. There were plenty of booths providing information and interactive activities regarding the plethora of policy issues that affect future of the youth of Europe. For more info, check out the European Parliament’s web page on the event at http://www.europarl.europa.eu/european-youth-event/en/home.html.

Upon arriving, Dr. Birchfield found a French student participating in the Europe Calling competition, where youths of Europe compete in numerous debates in the presence of the European Parliament regarding the issues that affect Europe today, such as racism and crime. The young woman’s debate topic was entitled “Freedom of Speech: From Tinder to Facebook.” She asked us about some of our political views as Americans, and then we asked about her opinions on the current state of French politics. She explained to us that she wasn’t a huge fan of French President Emmanuel Macron at first, mostly because he was young and new to the political scene, and needed a few years to show the nation his ideas and values. However, over time, she has aligned with Marcon’s pro-European platform and his “neither left nor right” stance on the political spectrum.  It was so inspiring to see other students who are the same age as us take such an active role in French, European, and even global politics. At the end of our talk, she took a picture with our whole group. Some of the robotic puppets who came through the festival as entertainment wanted to join in our photo as well!

After this, we were given some free time to explore some of the booths set up for the event. Dr. Birchfield expressed to us that this was the perfect time to talk to European youth about the issues that affect them most, so I went around to the various stations to ask questions to the young volunteers. At the mental health station, I spoke with a young woman from Rome. In response to a prompt on the wall, I asked her about how she felt about her country’s healthcare system. She explained to me that in her opinion, Italy’s public healthcare was very poor quality and ineffective, and that to receive proper treatment, people must pay for private health care. This bothers many Italian citizens, who feel that they are paying too much in taxes for a healthcare system that is so poor. She told me that she believes the system needs serious reform.

Next, some of us spoke to a young woman from Galway who was volunteering at the event. She told us that the Irish often feel disconnected from the rest of the European Union due to their geographical separation. She expressed her excitement about Galway being named as a culture capital for the 2018 European Year of Culture, and that there would be similar events in Galway to highlight the city’s unique culture. Lastly, she told us how excited she is to be in Strasbourg and to see the European Parliament, where she considers the center of European democracy.

One of the stations that attracted the most amount of attention was the Google Arts and Culture booth. Here, they had sample Virtual Reality (VR) headsets, highlighting Google’s new VR features related to European Arts and Culture. Here, I asked the attendant, Justine, about this project, which will be featured through July in alignment with the European Year of Cultural Heritage celebration. I had a long conversation about the efforts of the “find your culture” movement. She told me about her views on the recent push to foster a sense of European identity through the rich history of the continent, proclaiming to me that “European heritage connects us all” and that “heritage is alive.” I also learned that Google and YouTube are staging a large collaboration effort to create VR experience videos, so that anyone with internet access can experience a 3D view of some of Europe’s best museums and cultural sites. After our talk, it was my turn to experience the hype of the VR headsets. I loved watching the impressive 3D video of a dinosaur walking through a museum!

The last station that I went to addressed Europe’s commitment to safeguarding the environment, as well as a call for a common world language, Esperanto. The goal was to implement the language of Esperanto throughout Europe to connect the continent’s people, however citizens are expected to still keep their original language, and simply use Esperanto to communicate with people who don’t speak their same language. The lack of a single language has been a barrier within the EU, and the youth of Europe clearly recognize this and are making a strong effort towards European integration.

After our free time to explore the festival, we headed over to the Simone Veil Parliamentarium museum. Our favorite feature of the exhibit was definitely the interactive “Ode to Joy” speakers. We had a fun time dancing the hip hop and rock renditions of the European Union’s famous anthem.

Next, we went out to lunch, where Dr. Birchfield treated the group to typical Alsatian fair, tarte flambée! The meal is similar to a flatbread pizza, without marinara sauce but featuring delicious Munster cheese, the local favorite, as well as various toppings.

After lunch, we began our guided tour of the city, starting with the massive Strasbourg Cathedral, one of the 10 tallest cathedrals in the world!  From its beautiful stained glass windows to its intricate external and internal architecture, it was an incredible sight. We learned all about the churches history of being Roman Catholic, then Protestant, and now Catholic again. I thought it was very interesting that there was no damage to the cathedral during any of the World Wars, but our guide did point out an unexploded shell lodged in a building just across the way. It was just meters away from hitting from the beautiful cathedral!

For the rest of our tour, we walked through the city as our guide highlighted cultural elements such as bakeries, the cheese shop, and the wine shop, as well as the “Petite France” district, and a local school. We finished off our tour at the famous Guttenberg statue. After a fun and informative day in Strasbourg, we headed back to the bus to go back to campus and rest up for our upcoming  free day on Sunday.