Weekend!

I've made it through my first week! I am getting settled.

My bicycle: I haven't fallen off again. So that's good. However, I have gotten lost many times. Fortunately, I ran into someone from the office that lives down the street from me and was able to follow her in on Wednesday. I still managed to get lost on the way home from work that day. I'm sure I'll catch on eventually. I do live near the Peace Palace and everyone knows where it is, so it is easy to ask for directions. Although I did have one man tell me directions part of the way and suggested that I stopped again for the rest of the directions. Maybe it is written on my forehead that I can only handle a bit of directions at a time.

I met someone at work yesterday who is from Chicago. There are not a lot of Americans at the ICC, so it is pretty rare to run into one. While we were talking, I realized that we had been at the same conference in Chicago a couple of years ago. Small world, huh? Well, not too small: it was a conference on the ICC. She is leaving next week, though.

The IT department had a after-work party on Friday. It was pretty geeky, but I did get to meet people from other sections (like Ms. Chicago). They are putting in a bar next to the cafeteria to use on Fridays. With the World Cup about to start, they've put in 2 big screen TVs so we can watch.

I have worked out some projects to do while at the ICC. One of the big things they are working on right now is reparations. The ICC is the first court to focus so much on victims of crimes. It allows both participation in the process (with counsel) and reparations (payback for the crime committed). So, how does one get paid back for their village being destroyed, children being forced into serving in the militia, and the pillaging and rapes? Good question. We have applications for reparations from victims kind of sitting there waiting for the trial to finish. The Chambers (Judges) and the Registry (my division is under this) arms of the ICC, though, have started thinking about what they will do when the first trial ends. I will be working with someone in my division (Victim Participation and Reparations Section-VPRS) to help figure all of this out. It seems so far that the largest problem is funding. The defendants do not always have money, so how will the ICC find funds for these victims. And, what if the defendant is found "not guilty," will victims get any reparations? For VPRS, they are still seen as a victim, even if someone has not been found guilty. There is a Victims' Trust Fund, but it may not have enough money for the number of victims. Also, sometimes reparations would consist of rebuilding towns, offering education, counseling, etc. Money is not always the only issue. In some of these villages, there are not a lot of programs. So, the question is how do we rehabilitate (or make the victim whole again)? If there are not counselors in the area, ones will need to be brought in - so it is more than a money question. Someone will have to work on the logistics of these things. Another question is about presenting the evidence of harm caused. It looks like for now that a hearing would be scheduled after the verdict in the case. Attorneys for the victims would then have to present evidence to the court and the court would need to decide whether to award reparations or not. Basically, what I will be working on are procedures and standards for this process.

Another thing I am supposed to work on is to ensure victims' counsel are doing what they are supposed to do. Since we have contact with the victim from the application to participate process, they sometimes let us know that their counsel are not adequate. There is a process by which the victim can put in a request to the court to have their counsel changed; however, many of these victims are more concerned about eating, lodging, etc. And, many do not have computer or even phone access. So, they are not really concerned with correcting their counsel. From VPRS's perspective, though, it is thought that if the ICC is going to provide and pay for counsel for victims, counsel should be meeting the needs of these victims. Anyway, this should be quite the challenge because the VPRS does not have any authority over victims' counsel. So, my first thought is to offer some sort of training to the attorneys and build a cooperative relationship. Training for Victims' counsel by VPRS is something that has been established and defined in the court, so that is a good window to use (I think).

My next simple project is looking at the effects of staff's contact and exposure to victims of very serious and often shocking crimes. For example, one of the data entry person (usually a pretty straight-forward, low stress job) has to enter the descriptions of the crime from the victim applications into the computer. So, day in and day out they are exposed to horrible situations. How does this affect them? For this, I am looking at Vicarious Trauma and Compassion Fatigue. These are two concepts used in the helping profession to describe the effects of working with clients over time. I'm putting together some information on these (may send them out here, too) and looking at possible training for staff members. VPRS also has field staff, who are obviously having more exposure to victims' experiences. They do not come in the office too often, but I am looking at other possibilities of support for them.

On a positive note, I got a new computer at work. I was getting this blue screen (of death) and my computer kept freezing up. So, I called IT and they started to help me, then asked what kind of computer I had. Apparently mine is from 2003 and they are in the process of changing those out. So, he told me to put in a Ticket in the IT system for a new computer. I said okay, but was a bit skeptical since I am not really an employee. But, I asked a colleague and she said it was fine. Woohoo!! I don't have to wait 10 minutes for a page to load anymore.

So, now the weekend. It looks like it just started raining. Yuck! And, it is about 60 degrees. It was sunny this morning, so I went out and picked up a few things. I've been cleaning today - loads of fun. I found the laundry today. For some reason, they do not let you do laundry yourself here. All of the laundry places have to do it for you. It costs about 8 Euro ($10) for a load of laundry (so I hear). The one near my house is conveniently not open on weekends. It is open from 8 to 5, like most everything around here. So, I will take some on Monday and hope it doesn't cost a fortune. Of course, it doesn't matter; I still need clean clothes.

Funny thing: I saw a person riding their bike with a baby kart attached to the back. In the kart was a dog. It was so cute!!

And, by the way, I am working with people who are either British or learned British-English, so I'll be picking up some of the terms, I'm sure. (Just a warning).

Well, that about sums up my life in The Hague for now. Hope everything is well for you!

Until later,
Michelle