Mural at UNHCR (UN Refugee Agency). “As one I am fragile. Together we are strong. Standing together for refugees.”
Today was another Orientation day. I won't start my research until Sunday--the start of the work week in Jordan and most of the Middle East. For me, I'm sure the change in the work week will require some adjusting, but I'll manage.
In the morning, we met with several individuals from the International Rescue Committee to discuss the Syrian conflict and what is currently happening at the borders for the refugees. After lunch (I ordered a halloumi sandwich--my fav), we met with an individual from the UNHCR, the UN Agency for Refugees. We met at one of their registration sites and learned about the process of what happens when refugees arrive in Jordan. We also discussed the many issues involved in providing services to refugees. Refugee access to health care was definitely a concern mentioned by ICR and UNHCR in today's meetings. Fortunately, my project involves refugee access to healthcare so both meetings were extremely helpful to my project.
I'm of course learning a ton of new things, but I found this one tidbit very fascinating. At Jordan Banks, you can use the iris of your eye to access your account through an ATM and for other purposes. Fascinating.
While at the UNHCR, I saw the mural above and had to take a picture. I love street art and murals, so I had to add it to my collection. It has a nice message as well.
Overall, things are going smashingly well.
I flew into Amman during the early morning of June 27th (around 1:00am). After a few hours of sleep, my team and I started our day with touring Amman, and we completed a very successful day one of orientation. We visited the Citadel, a historical site at the center of downtown Amman. The views are breathtaking, and it was hot of course. However, its a dry heat -- much easier to handle I think. We also visited several markets, a Roman theater, and Wild Jordan (a restaurant/coffee shop with offerings of the many, many natural attractions outside of Amman).
In our Orientation, we also discussed Humanitarianism, its definitions, frameworks, assumptions, and ethics. I'm new to the study of Humanitarianism and Global Relations, but I began to see many similarities between the changes in this work and higher education. The basic concepts and approaches to innovation are very similar.
Tomorrow, we meet with the International Rescue Committee (IRC), and we'll be digging further into our projects.
Now, I must drink more water and sleep.
FYI, I'm posting a few photos and videos on Instagram as well (drshubbard).
I close with a photo from the Citadel.
I took this picture from the entrance of the Umayyad Palace in Amman's Citadel.
Dear Friends,
As some of you know, I am leaving today for an adventure. Earlier this spring, I found out that I received a Zolberg Fellowship from the New School's Institute on Mobility and Migration. Therefore, I'll be spending all of July and half of August in Amman, Jordan where I'll be working with the International Rescue Committee on several machine learning and data visualization projects related to refugees. I'm looking forward to the many opportunities and challenges that will come with this project.
I'll have more specifics on my projects in the coming days when I arrive. Plus, I plan to keep this blog active with many photos and descriptions about my adventures in Jordan.
Daniel will be home taking care of Doralee. I'll miss them both terribly of course. But, adventure calls. I'll leave the post with a quote from the Hobbit.
“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no telling where you might be swept off to.” –J.R.R. Tolkien
Best,
Steve
Before I start my Fellowship next week, I spent some time organizing data concerning Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs). Some of my past research involved MSIs, and I thought it would be useful to find unique ways to organize the data. For this first prototype, I created a circle pack data visualization that organizes MSIs by Carnegie Classifications (2015/Basic). The visualization can be found by clicking the image below. It works best on a non-mobile device and full screen.
This is my first post on my new blog. I'll have a lot more to add in the coming weeks concerning the Zolberg IRC Fellowship and other summer adventures. I have some exciting weeks ahead. I'll announce what I'll be doing in the next day or two.
