Rome Statute: The International Criminal Court

monro1ck:

As I settle back into my life in the United States, I feel as if my heart is still in The Netherlands. When I decided to study abroad I did not know how much of an impact and change it would have on my life. This experience has helped me find the fuel to my passions and had forever changed me. I have taken so much from this trip and it has truly helped me in developing my personal identity. As sad as it was to leave Dr. Hope May so wisely stated to us on our last night, “this is only the beginning”. 

This trip has opened my eyes up to a whole new world of organizations and people that are devoted to a field I am passionate about. A first impact this trip has had on me was opening doors to organizations where I can work with victims of armed combat. The Trust Fund for Victims is an unique organizations that works to give reparations to the victims of armed combat. This organization is the first of it’s kind. It works with the International Criminal Court to get the victims reparations when a person is convicted. What draws me to the trust fund is that it is not simply money given to the victims. The mandates giving to the Trust Fund by the Rome Statue includes psychological, physical, and emotional trauma support to victims under the ICC jurisdiction. Since I have returned home I have gotten a job working as a victimology research assistant and I hope to continue doing this work with The Trust Fund someday. 

Since I have been home my focus has been centered around getting back. I have begun my application to Leiden and have learned a great deal about myself and my personal identity because I studied abroad. I want to continue my studies in The Netherlands and continue to fight for peace through law. Here on the home front I have gotten opportunities to continue to work with my fellow travelers in spreading the idea of peace and justice on our own campus. I made the choice to study abroad because I had no idea what I wanted to do after I graduate in May. I found my passion and my career goals through this program. I am applying to Leiden to study International Public Law specifically peace development and relations. This program has given more than I ever thought it would.

One reading that we have done that has really opened my eyes to my own possibilities is ‘Do The Work’ written by Steven Pressfield. This small, but powerful book, is an attack on the resistance in one’s life. The resistance that stops one from achieving greatness. 

“Resistance will tell you anything to keep you from doing your work. It will perjure, fabricate, falsify; seduce, bully, cajole. Resistance is protean. It will assume any form, if that’s what it takes to deceive you. Resistance will reason with you like a lawyer or jam a nine-millimeter in your face like a stickup man. Resistance has no conscience. It will pledge anything to get a deal, then double-cross you as soon as your back is turned. If you take Resistance at its word, you deserve everything you get.”

“Resistance is always lying and always full of shit.”

These particular lines of the book on resistance have come to be a part of my day-to-day life since I have returned home.This book has motivated me to realize that I have the capability to achieve what I feel in my heart. I am able to pick up my life and move to another Country to follow and chase my dreams. Since my return the resistance in my life seems to be at an all time high, people telling me there is no way I can go, others saying that I am crazy. The one thing I have learned from this trip is that if my heart  tells me it is what I need to do and where I need to be then blind faith will have to be trusted. This is exactly what the message in ‘Do The Work’ is, to act not think and once you start the worst thing you can do is stop. This is where I have gotten my drive to keep going even though resistance seems to rearing its ugly head at me. This book came from Pressfield being unhappy with his life and his work, he started things he did not finish and faced a lot of resistance in his writing career. This book’s message is not just for people doing world changing projects, but even the minuet task. In today’s society everyone is faced with more resistance than ever before. I highly recommend this read to people even if you do not feel you are not acomlished. There is always more work to do in today’s world. 

An inspirational person I was lucky to meet during my time in The Hague was Lyemah Gbowee. She won the nobel peace prize in 2011 for ending the 2003 civil war in Liberia. Upon meeting her I presented her with the question Dr. Hope May asked us students around the table at lunch one day. I asked her what the most important thing she has learned in her life. Her response was immensely inspirational to me for beginning my journey in fighting for peace. Her answer was not to ignore humble beginnings, but embrace them. She followed by saying that if your heart tells you to do something and everyone else is telling you that you are crazy, follow your heart and trust in it. She said that she did not do what she did to become famous and does not really enjoy the lime light, she did it because it was the right thing to do for her people, because her heart told her to do it. A women of her color and age had no place in an international crisis but she put herself there because she knew it is what she had to do. I became to admire her more than I already did before I met her. She faced so much resistance and still continued to fight for her people and her country. I live everyday not ignoring what my heart is telling me even though people do actually think I am crazy. Leyhma’s life and her stories captured not only my mind but my heart. 

The imprint that The Hague left on me will forever stay with me till my hopeful return. I learned so much about myself and my passions from being in an environment that fueled my mind, heart and soul. Peace through law is what I hope to continue to fight for even in a small way. I would not trade the friendships I made, the memories I made, and the education I gained for anything.