HOPS

It was surprisingly difficult to find this next NGO. Apparently MK and Americans have different definitions of certain words upon giving directions. After 3 phone calls and 20 minutes we were finally able to meet. It made me VERY apprehensive for the meeting, as English was the main problem in the communication in the directions. However, the meeting went decent, not great, but still very good. The NGO is trying to be very active and is actually making a difference in Macedonia.

Association HOPS (Healthy Options Project Skopje) is an NGO that works for those that society often ignores. Most of their biographical information is from a handout as they just referred me to a printout. They began in 1997 as a needle exchange center (meaning that they give out free clean needles to drug users in exchange for dirty ones no questions asked to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS/STDs) as part of the Soros Foundation.  Their mission is to  promote, respect and protect human rights and liberties aiming to promote health and socioeconomic status of all people, especially drug users, sex workers and other marginalized communities based on the principles of harm reduction through equal access to services, empowerment of the community, capacity building, research, analysis and advocacy. They developed different programs to serve these communities. In 2001, they began to build the capacity of programs in Strumica, Bitola and Ohrid to offer the same programs as they had in Skopje. Then in 2004, they began working with the Ministry of Health to implement activities from the National Coordinated Response to HIV/AIDS. HOPS, along with the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria, opened programs in Kumanovo, Kavadarci, Stip, Ohrid and Gostivar. This grew into the Macedonian Harm Reduction Network founded in 2005 with 20 members.

While HOPS originally began working with drug users, they turned to sex workers as well in 200. Mostly to help prevent HIV/AIDS in their population and families. They offer a daily center for sex workers to go to to relax and get condoms or health care.

Currently there are 13 NGOs that are working in harm reduction with 15 needle exchange centers. The main issue is quality/availability for the population they are trying to serve. Currently they serve about 9-1,000 unique people annually. Many people come back in everyday, but they receive a special identifying number to track them so that the numbers are not incorrect. They do not have to give any specific information (like names or the MK version of social security numbers) just enough information to use the same number every day. However, you can not provide services to those who are under 18 here without a parent’s permission. So if someone tells them that they are under 18, they can not give them condoms or clean needles. But, if they say they are 18, you are allowed to treat them (even if they look younger).

There are roughly 8-10,000 “problematic” drug users in the country and roughly 50% are reached through these exchange centers. HOPS is continuing to scale up these centers as well as focus on quality care.  HOPS only works with the non-stimulant drug users (such as with heroin, methadone, or cocaine).

These centers provide counseling for people who might want to get off drugs or out of the sex trade. They also can help them fill out official paperwork to receive state aid or whatever they are trying to do. (You need the state ID card in order to receive the state run health care services.)  There are state run addiction clinics to help people come off of drugs, but they are only for those who are getting out of prison and they aren’t accepting any other patients as of now. HOPS is in the process of trying to set up other clinics in Skopje but no municipality wants to have that clinic near them. They do also offer services to sex workers who want to escape that life style, but they then stated “They choose to be sex workers and we can’t help them.” (Further stating that in a 30% unemployment climate, who would hire them for legitimate jobs?)

HOPS is in the process of re-structuring their services. They want to provide education in the centers, complete research about the drug problems in MK, and provide advocacy (to lobby the government to provide the services needed to fulfill people’s needs). HOPS hopes through education they can convince drug users to not make as risky decisions. They are involved in building capacities in the local government/municipalities or other NGOs often through  trainings

Most of HOPS money comes from international sources, but there are some funds that are domestically based (not totally functioning). When HOPS applies internationally, they do so with the government who will then get the majority of the funds to re-distribute. There is good implementation of their services, but HOPS finds it difficult to work with the government. While HOPS is currently searching for new international donors, they will try to work more closely with the government for funding. The government provides the medication for HIV/AIDS but not for the needle exchanges. The City of Skopje, specifically center, does help with one of the exchange centers but it does cover their rent and helps to fund some creative workshops.According to HOPS, philanthropy in MK isn’t seen as intrinsically good, but even if people donate, they do not give to the marginalized. Also, neither government party  wants to help. (A benefit to this, is that HOPS is never accused of being part of the government or opposition.) The government does, however, utilize the resources of HOPS when it pleases them (such as when they need data for a report).

Interity Alpha Omega

This was the first meeting I had with an NGO not in their office, but for good reason. They are changing offices right now and the new one is not set up. Technically, they are still looking for new office space. They lost their last office due to an inability to pay the bills anymore because of a loss of funding. So we met over tea in a local restaurant.

Integrity Alpha Omega is a varied NGO based in Skopje. According to their website, they aim for the “creation of new opportunities for all people, for development and improvement and for education. This organization invests in people, in their capabilities, interests and in their will. The creation of strong integrity among the people, people who will be independent, fulfilled and with healthy character, is the main goal for this ngo.”

They began 4 years ago when they realized that people were complaining without doing anything about it. They constantly heard people state that “you have to be close to the parties” to receive any help from the government. They had a shared vision to face the problems that trouble society head on. When they began searching for donors and projects that interested the founders, they began to narrow down their ideas from “helping society” to  their current specific focus. They focus mostly on healthy living and an active lifestyle. They believe that this is key to a successful future. As part of this, they also help with youth empowerment. When they saw that no one was challenging these kids, they wanted to help them become a better person. They also help with renovation in local schools or hospitals when it is needed. Ideally, they told me, they like to respond to the different problems they see every year.

They have completed many different projects over their four years:

• Weekends of Change: They group youth of different ethnicities together to show them the common language of sports. They help form multi-ethnic clubs that are sports related over these weekends. The kids will spend time together and learn new sports together.
• Go Pink: A walk against breast cancer that they host every May
• Run Towards the Goal: A running fundraiser for different charities. They have sponsored special needs and Roma charities, and school/hospital renovations with this money.
• A triathlon in August to just get people out and about in a healthy way.
• Orphanage Sports Camps: A sports camp for those children in an orphanage. They believe that most of the time the orphans are ignored and with this camp they were able to reach out and not only empower them, but teach them more about sports!

They find it hard to find sponsors in MK because, they claim, many people still have the mindset of “money laundering” organizations. They try to fight this perception by being completely transparent in their use of any money they receive as well as filing timely reports with their donors. In addition, if they (or other NGOs) receive funding it might only be for the specific projects but not for overhead costs. Also, they claimed that due to their local nature it is even harder to get funding for their operational costs. They have run into positions where they are offered services or “things” instead of money for them to provide services.
When asked about the government, they said that in the beginning it was really difficult because they weren’t part of any specific political party and they wanted to keep it that way. Eventually through, according to them, their dedication to their cause and not giving in convinced the locals and government that they were here to stay. Their main issues have been with other city governments (not in Skopje) wanting a cut of the grant; specifically asking as a bribe. (Struga, however, was very supportive and easy to work with.) They haven’t received funding from the MK government, but have had numerous grants from foreign embassies. The US embassy was apparently very helpful in their beginning stage in convincing others that this NGO was important.

They were offered space in the NGO center here by the goverment, but they turned it down. The space is shared with any other NGO that wants to use it. Basically it has free internet and desks, as well as a conference room. But this is not what they were looking for, they wanted a separate space.

They do have big goals for the future. If they can get funding they want to open a day center for youth. They also want to start a program for those youth in an orphanage to provide them with the skills that they will need to live on their own after they turn 18. They want to continue the programs that they have created (such as Weekends of Change) as well as address new problems that they see. But they are currently searching for more funding in order to make these goals come true.

Disabilities in MK

The meeting with Polio Plus (only in MK, the EN page is not working) was a bit different than my other meetings. I recently met a Political Officer at the Embassy who has been giving me some more contacts with NGOs. She had a meeting scheduled with Polio Plus, who I had been trying to meet with for about 2 months, and invited me along. This made for some different observations and discussions that I usually had. They were more direct in asking the US government for help, specifically stating that “we” should help them lobby. At the same time, they were much more critical of the current government and their actions regarding people with disabilities than many NGOs I had visited. I was able to learn most of what I would by myself. I might try to email them a few more questions soon. As I was typing this up, I realized that I actually learned more about how disabilities are treated in MK than I did about Polio Plus, so this is more about that than the organization (thus the reason I am putting it on my travel blog and waiting to publish it on my research blog!).  

They had one of the larger offices that I had seen in Skopje. The had one large office room/entry way where there were three desks and a seating area set up, then there were two smaller rooms off to the side, with a conference room in the back. We met in the conference room.

They tend to focus on policy implementation and legislative changes, rather than services to the people. They do help those who are disabled fight for their legal rights. They do provide some services, such as mediation in the labor market, providing legal advice (such as how to make complaints), and helping them write business plans.

They are mainly funded from international organizations or embassies. The funds are small for NGOs in MK especially if you are focused solely on one issue. Even further, disability is lower on the funding tier in all locations, according to Polio Plus. Disabilities have received some funds from the state, roughly 2 million Euros, but it only goes to the older Union of Disabilities that was set up by the state. In the Union of Disabilities, there are 7 separate organizations that provide services to the disabled. The regulations, however, are from the Yugoslav era. The funding also only goes to the traditional organizations that use the medical approach.

Like in the US and elsewhere, disabilities still face harsh discrimination. Although in MK people with disabilities are almost all treated as if they are “crazy” or “have something wrong” or “aren’t normal and need to be excluded from daily life.” There is a law on discrimination that, according to Polio Plus, is actually discriminatory. In order to be hired as a manager or someone above the bottom level of employment, you have to be tested if you have a disability. The person with a disability, be it mental or physical, has to prove that they are mentally capable by going to a medical commission that examines their ability to work. All people with a disability are grouped together, in the guise of protecting those with mental disabilities.

There is no “gate-keeping” for disability status in MK. Almost any one can be declared disabled. The government then provides a subsidy for the disability (roughly 7,000 MKD/month minimum[$150]). However, with all of the “extras” that people might qualify for, they could end up getting 15-16,000 MKD/month [$318-340]. This is a decent salary in MK, and thus provides no incentive for them to go out and search for work on their own, especially if they are employed at all (even part time), they only get the lower 7,000 plus their salary.

Polio Plus submitted the first (and only so far) Citizen’s Initiative law to the MK parliament. It was essentially a law to retrofit all building to make them handicapped accessible. In order to do this, you have to get 10,000 signatures. To get these, you can’t just sign them with a notary, oh no, you have to go into your local governmental office with an official register and sign there after proving that you are who you say you are. They submitted this law a while ago, but there has been no movement on it in the Parliament. The word is that this law would be too expensive to implement, so they aren’t voting on it.

In the years that Polio Plus has been around (12), there has been a change in the attitudes of people towards those with disabilities, but it is slim to none. The example they gave, is that if in 1991 those with disabilities were considered at step 1 to the rest of society being at step 5, now they are at 5 while the rest of society is at 10.They were trying to show that while changes have been made, those with disabilities are still the last considered group of people. Many people here do not have a creative mentality, and they believe that change is taking too long to occur. While many work to solve the issues that people with disabilities face, no real progress is being made. There has been a shift from institutionalization to community based care, but not enough of one.

They claimed that almost no one is motivated to learn to work with those with disabilities because it takes too much work. There is some training available, but mostly it is in the medical approach. (which is a way of thinking about “what they can NOT do” rather than what the CAN do. According to BFI’s educational resources, the medical approach sees the disabled people as the problem. That the people who are disabled need to be adapted to fit in the world as it is, and if this isn’t possible, they need to be hidden. I had to look this up as I was not quite sure what she meant by the medical approach).

They have tried to work closely with different Members of Parliament, and different governmental bodies, but the others often do not want to work with those with disabilities (they don’t make as good of a picture story). Polio Plus isn’t sure how to change the system. They have to be extra cautious on how they try to change things.

There is also a group of companies called “Shelter Companies” (this lead to a bit of miscommunication in the beginning of the description), because they “shelter” those who are disabled. In these companies they must meet a few regulations: have a minimum of 10 people working, with 4 of them with disabilities. They must also keep the people with disabilities employed for 3 years, and in the second company where the person is hired, they have to be employed for 5 years. They get the following benefits as a way of getting companies to hire more people with disabilities:

• they don’t have to pay taxes for any of the people working for them
• The state can pay between 20-100% of the salaries in the form of a grant (less common)
• The companies do not pay the profit taxes.
• The customs fees are free
• they get reimbursed for 10,000 MKD for equipment.
• The social packages are covered by the government for all workers

The companies can request this after 9 months of employing the people with disabilities. Mainly the companies in graphics and printing take advantage of this program. However, there is a large scale abuse in this program. There is a commission that has to determine if you meet the standards for receiving this aid, and it is staffed by those who are connected. They often run the companies that are already receiving this aid and therefore have no desire to allow more companies into this special tax zone.

Youth Forum Bitola

My next meeting in Bitola was with Youth Forum. I do not have as much information about this NGO mainly because they were mostly uncooperative in the interview, in fact insulting myself and my research technique. They barely volunteered any information outside of a direct answer to my broad question.

Youth Forum began in 1999 by young people to meet the needs of the disadvantaged youth without an ability to express themselves artistically. It was very difficult to get started (finding office space mainly). They want to give information to young people about culture, arts, and the protection of human rights. They wanted to be able to give information that people would need when they need it. They are a grassroots organization, and claim, that their people are very enthusiastic. It was very difficult for them to implement any changes in the beginning, but now things are different. Some things can’t be helped, but the majority of the problems are with a lack of enthusiasm.  Many people are depressed, and it is difficult to push for them to become more active. Especially with no cooperation from the municipal government.

They do most of their activism in Bitola, but some of there members also act as a journalist in other parts of MK. They began with a researching of problems in Bitola for the youth. The youth there are very diverse but many are interested in the same thing (such as theater and sports). Thus it became easy to direct them to create a play together, or play a game. And once you can bring them together, it is easier to share how similar people are. Some people still cause problems, but Youth Forum feels they are gaining ground.

Youth Forum sponsors shows, concerts and publishes a magazine. They have also completed two “docu-movies” about Bitola and the surrounding areas. They stated that it is very difficult to provide these services because the space for public theater is missing in Bitola. They want bigger support from foundations, donors, and other small NGOs.

There was more interest in the past, but now only a few connected people are interest. They feel like since there is no real violence going on now, no one is interested. Youth Forum likes to help the Roma, Albanian, and Turkish NGOs, but is afraid that they will collapse within the next few years. These NGOs need more support. There is really no ethnic violence now, there was violence in the past (particularly around 2001). According to Youth Forum, the Roma were really discriminated against with jobs that were really forbidden for them to enter. Some coffee bars refuse to serve the Roma. With no interest from the government, the discrimination continues.

They haven’t received national government funding but the municipality helps to cover the rent or electric bills. The Agency for Sports helps some, with $1000, but that allows some publications to be made. Mostly they receive foreign aid. Without this aid they wouldn’t be able to survive, some have been from local embassies.  

Youth Forum would like to be able to work in the schools, but they are unable to do so. They do promote the EVS volunteering at local universities. Youth Forum is both a sending and receiving organization.

They are working closely with a new program “Open Municipality” that aims to make the municipality more open to the public.They cover the meeting of the local city council. Then they investigate how they work and publish the findings. They claim that their coverage is different than the local newspapers. They claim that the newspapers often just say “There was a meeting.”

They host 2-3 events a month and a few annual activities. They are trying to gain a interest from the community. They are always open to the community to discuss their work and plans. They have a lot of ongoing projects, including conferences and seminars. They try to do everything to benefit the youth. They have more than 100 members, but only 15 are generally active at one time on a certain project.

They have faced many problems in their years. According to Youth Forum, there is no mentality on volunteering, or thinking it is ok (they want jobs, and therefore shouldn’t volunteer). There is an NGO forum of civil organizations, but it doesn’t work properly. They try to help with minority NGOs, such as including them in the documentaries. Youth Forum was told to be quiet before the election, and they would receive cash after the election. No one reacted to Youth Forum going public with this information.

They also fight against the perception that the NGOs are created to cause the problems in society. The real problem is that the people spending the money are not receiving truthful or good reports. There are some NGOs who didn’t use the money correctly. In the past it was easier to gain funding, due to the Kosovo crisis. Some NGOs didn’t use the money correctly. They fight the perceptions by being diligent. According to them, the difficult problems are with personal mistakes, but most people have an agenda. Be it political basis or even “trying to help.” There were more integration with the NGOs, there wouldn’t be as many problems.

LOJA in Tetovo

My next meeting was with LOJA in Tetovo. They were having a German Film fest and invited me to watch the film fest as well as interview them. Loja mean games in Albanian, and traces it back to how their NGO got started. Essentially they help with video production for cross cultural discussion. There are 7 people who work at the NGO, 5 of who are local in Tetovo, and one is from Germany (not sure who the other person is, just realized that it only added up to six).

In 1999, while they were directing and rehearsing a play and they could see all of the refugees from the Kosovo crisis. (Need some reminding on what exactly happened? Click here.) The people who later formed LOJA, decided to become involved and to do something for the kids who were suffering. They were playing games to help the kids forget what they had seen. After the refugee camp was moved, they decided to continue the work. They were being told that there was peace, but the founders kept seeing a different story on the ground. They wanted to help prevent a crisis situation from developing. So they decided to create an NGO to help maintain the change. In 2001, they felt the changes in the ethnic group before the tension escalated. Their target community is the youth, because they are easier to change when shown the benefits of cooperation. Where LOJA is known (such as in Tetovo) the community is very responsive to their efforts, but they face resistance from other communities.

From 2000-2004 they worked on the Babylon projects, whom they shared office space with.These were the first attempts in non-formal intervention. It is different in a post-conflict society than a society before the conflict. They are trying to reach their aims and help groups be resistant to extremists. But their work can be destroyed within hours. They are trying to give messages that will stick through and after the fights that people are going to have. They try to bring people together who share things in common, rather than what separates them. (They are teachers/journalists/workers rather than Albanian or Macedonian.) Part of this cooperation involved creating the following video:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/r3muc80-Poo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Currently, they run 4-5 projects per month and are the only ethnically mixed organization in MK. There are other organizations that have both ethnicity’s (or all) but they are either All Albanians or Macedonians in higher positions, with the opposite in lower positions. At LOJA both Macedonians and Albanians are equal.  They work mainly with culture. When I talked to them in October, they had 4 projects they were working on:

1. extra-circular activities for future teachers. This one has been running for 4 years. They provide training and direct workshops. LOJA also runs small pilot projects with different ethnic groups.
2. Robert Bauch Tifgen (possible spelling errors, because I could not find anything related to many different spellings of this name) cultural activities, such as with the media to try to create different resources.
3. Franco-German youth exchange as a resource center for South Eastern Europe
4. In cooperation with a Swiss group- network of participation with cultural memories. To provide different perceptions of history. Bring reasons why to cooperate and to do so through art.

LOJA is often critical towards the governments view of civil society (in this case, I mean the real government not the party in power). Mike (my contact) believes that it is more complicated due to the mixed groups, than the government gives on. There is a difference between the government’s discourse vs. the actuality on the ground. The government/party in power believes that if you are not for this particular government, then you are against it.

LOJA has never gotten any money from the government, and they are dependent on external funds. They are now able to self finance. They often offer training abroad for training (and they get some extra salary out of it). They have been working in the public sector for 9 years, yet they are the only cinema in Tetovo. There is no public cinema in Tetovo. In addition, the government is in charge of cleaning up the trash on the streets. (In MK, they have big trash containers on the street and everyone brings their trash to these like they would a big dumpster in the US. Sometimes these are over-flowing.) Right in front of LOJA, there is one of these set of trash cans. Usually it is over flowing, and they do not clean it up until the day after any LOJA event. LOJA thinks this is on purpose.

There are no big cultural events in Tetovo, none sponsored by the municipality even with partial support. When the municipality does support something, no one sees where it goes, it is suggested that sometimes that it lines the pockets of the officials, or fictive projects. Mike states that the government is discriminatory towards non ethnic Macedonians. The state will enforce laws, only the negative ones. Mike claims that the government needs external support to change the laws and how they are enforced. Further, Mike claims, the government is doing very little to help bridge the gap ethnicities, sometimes they even cause the problems. Thus, this part of the government’s job is left in the hands of civil society and international organizations.

When the 2001 crisis occurred, the Ohrid agreement ignored the basic problems. The current government, Mike alleges, will miss the opportunity afforded by this agreement if they continue on the same path. While in theory, the framework has been implemented, the policing infrastructure has not been fully changed due to problems in finances.

After the interview, we attended a movie event sponsored by the German Embassy. It was the first movie of the week long event. They had translated the German into both Albanian and Macedonian. They also had the German Ambassador’s speech translated by different women into both Albanian and Macedonian. They are very careful to have both ethnicities represented. After the movie, they had a small reception with food and juice provided. Many people mingled, but it did appear that they were in separate friend groups.

“My fear,” Mike finished with, “intuition, suspicion tells me that this government will break Macedonia so it makes no sense.”

Gender vs. Sex Beginings...

Now that I have decided to “summarize” these books I have been reading and I look towards what yesterday appeared to be a very small amount of research, I feel overwhelmed. Do I just provide you with quotes? Do I provide you with my reactions to said quotes? Do I try to integrate these quotes into a paper? (What do I write the paper on? Have you ever tried to write a paper without a prompt? Let me tell you that it is hard.)

 
So here’s to trying to figure something out!

Jelisaveta Blagojevic argues that notions of gender are understood in a way that cross other differences (such as race or class) (Blagojevic, 11). Due to the fact that gender crosses so many different boundaries, Blagojevic continues her argument by stating that to classify gender into one discipline, such as women’s studies, is false. Besides the fact that gender crosses many boundaries, “gender” is also a dynamic concept and the ideas are constantly changing. Rada Ivekovis supports Blagovevic by stating that “the sex or gender dimension is…a social, economic, political, [and] symbolic order which means that is it a hierarchically constructed” (Ivekovis, 43). Since the notion of gender is both a social notion and a political argument, Ivekovis argues that by those definitions it is hierarchically constructed, with the male gender above the female gender (or any other gender that may exist). The differences between the sexes (of male and female) was the first “globally accepted [order] in a patriarchal regime [that was] subsequently made into a complicit instrument for the maintenance of all other known hierarchies and orders” (Ivekovis, 46).**

It is also important to note, and often forgotten or just not noticed, that ‘sex’ or ‘gender’ or anything really is “accessible to us only through culture, as already mediated, and thus as already gendered” (Ivekovis, 45). Culture is already gendered, or often becomes gendered as we consume it though advertising or walking down a street. A question can be raised where do we draw the line (further, DO we need to draw a line?) between biological sex (such as in the DNA) and social gender? Ivekois argues that the line is not important, but what is important is to acknowledge the differences between the definitions and their possible applications. If we draw the line socially between biological sexes, what do we (society) do with people who so strongly identify with the gender that not match their biological sex? Where are they to fit into our social discourse? Where are they to go to the bathroom? Which side would they be on when we split into boys vs. girls in the playground? Most often they are forced to join in with their biological commonly accepted sex of male or female (in the western world), no matter the emotional or psychological consequences. If we draw the line based on what these individuals choose to  identify themselves as we (as society) would have to address all of the above issues as well as many more. Why do we delineate the roughly 6.97 billion people into only two categories? What happens with the established hierarchy between male and female if we acknowledge that gender/sex is not predetermined by random happenstance in the reproductive cycle?

The world would have to change. And that scares many people.

*In fact it could be noted that all examples of identity in fact cross all other boundaries and to specify that one form of your identity cross any other more so than the other form is far to simplistic an outlook on a complex issue.

**I acknowledge that this is a western feminist perspective and is not seen in many other cultures as the basis of society or even other hierarchies. While this particular subject is far to vast for me to cover at this time and in this research, I wish to acknowledge that I recognize the problems with this quote and others like it.

Jelisaveta Blagojevic, “Introduction,” in Gender & identity: Theories from &/or on South East Europe, ed by Jelisaveta Blagojevic, Katerina Kolozova, Svetlana Slapsak. (Belgrade Women’s Studies & Gender Research/Athena, 2006).

Rada Ivekovic, “The Fiction of Gender Constructing the Fiction of Nation: On How Fictions are Normative and Norms Produce Exceptions,” in Gender & identity: Theories from &/or on South East Europe, ed by Jelisaveta Blagojevic, Katerina Kolozova, Svetlana Slapsak, 43-65. (Belgrade Women’s Studies & Gender Research/Athena, 2006).